Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

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Leaving the city involved multiple checks, and entering the city was no less challenging. Moreover, because the Church was conducting searches on every street in the city, Shard and Miss Maid had to take a long detour by carriage before finally returning to the quiet Saint Delan Square at night.

The gas lamp's glimmer illuminated the deserted square, where darkness had now fallen, and only a flock of pigeons perched there, likely wondering why no one had fed them that day.

Miss Tifa Servet did not leave the carriage, sending Shard upstairs to retrieve the vampire tooth.

The gas lamp at home probably needed cleaning, as the light on the staircase was a bit dim, but for an outlander, this was the light of home.

After ascending the stairs with a thudding sound, Shard found that Miss Beyas had already arrived:

"Oh, Shard! Good evening!"

She sat on the sofa, holding a teacup and waving cheerfully at Shard, with a bottle of red wine on the coffee table in front of her. Since Shard was still asleep when she left, seeing him safe and sound now naturally made her very happy.

"Good evening."

Returning home, Shard was pleased too, picking up the orange cat that ran over, then briefly discussing the matter of the vampire teeth with Miss Beyas and Luviya, who was standing by the window looking down at the carriage. He then took the Relic and, cradling the cat, turned to go back downstairs.

Back inside the carriage, Miss Maid merely glanced at the tooth Shard had placed in a paper wrapper and set it aside, trusting in Shard's credibility.

Anxious to return home, Shard wanted to take his leave, but Miss Maid called out to him.

She brushed back a stray hair from her ear and blinked her eyes as she looked at Shard:

"Mr. Hamilton, on behalf of Miss, I would like to thank you again."

"No thanks necessary... What do you mean?"

Shard looked at the black-haired maid, not understanding the point of her abrupt remark.

She was a bit embarrassed:

"These words, I shouldn't be the one to say them as a servant. The Council has always coveted the secrets held by the Blood Spirit School, and you probably can't imagine the value of the vampire's corpse and this tooth. Miss is not in good condition today, so I thought it should be me to express our gratitude to you. Mr. Hamilton, you have done well."

"You don't need to thank me, Miss Servit, Miss Galina and I had previously agreed that this was a fair trade."

Shard said, once again catching a whiff of the maid's fragrance.

"Perhaps it's more than just a trade, Mr. Hamilton. After this incident, Miss probably will consider you a close acquaintance. You have shown your worth."

"Then... I am honored?"

Not knowing how else to respond, he said just that.

The maid, now close at hand, revealed a tender smile:

"Actually, I admire someone like you too. You seem out of place in this world, but sitting in front of me, you are so real. If I didn't intend to follow the Miss as her witch, right now I might want to give you a kiss. Mr. Hamilton, your kind is quite rare."

"Really? So... are you saying I'm a good man?"

Shard hesitantly asked, and Miss Maid paused for a moment, leaning forward, but ultimately drew back:

"Good men often don't live long, and I rather hope you're not purely a good man."

"Rest assured, I'm not that kind of person."

"Then, goodbye, Mr. Hamilton. Oh, don't forget this."

She handed Shard the old manuscript of "Draleon Ancient Fairy Tales Stories Collection" which he had acquired from an auction:

"This book has been in my hands for the past few days, and I must admit, you have a good eye."

"Goodbye, Miss Servit... Actually, I've always been curious, what's that scent of perfume you're wearing? It really smells good."

Shard knew it was impolite to ask, but he did anyway, and the black-haired maid seemed surprised, but then smiled:

"You can smell it? Only very few people can detect this scent of perfume, which is mixed by the Miss according to an ancient potion recipe circulated within the Council. Although it's perfume, its making involves a magic potion."

"Does the magic potion have a name?"

Shard was curious, and after hesitating, the maid replied:

"Witch's Scent." Continue your saga on My Virtual Library Empire

Even for the Duchess, it would not be possible to produce 1200 pounds in cash at once without any preparation, especially since Miss Galina had not expected Shard to be able to procure the vampire's corpse.

Therefore, Miss Galina gave Shard a bank draft to be cashed directly at Draleon Kingdom Bank.

By the time Shard, cuddling the affectionate cat, returned upstairs, both ladies were quite satisfied with the significant sum they had earned. They planned to divide the 1200 pounds among themselves, of course, not evenly. Since Shard had defeated the vampire, he would take 500 pounds for himself, while the two ladies would each get 350 pounds, with Shard responsible for withdrawing the money from the bank,

After agreeing on the matter of vampire teeth, they began to prepare dinner. Because of the ongoing martial law, it was impossible to dine out despite the considerable earnings.

Fortunately, both young women living alone could cook, and the three of them sat together to enjoy dinner, and of course, they did not forget the adorable Mia Cat.

Their relationship was unique, neither friends nor lovers for the time being. As the Diviner with purple eyes would say, fate had already interconnected the three of them. They were like the adventurers in ancient stories or friends in fairy tales embarking on a magical journey:

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"Luviya, diviners really do like to use the term 'fate,' don't they?"

Shard said at the dinner table, where each of the three had a glass of red wine in front of them, brought by Miss Beyas upon her return in the evening to celebrate their victory.

The long-haired female sorcerer with chestnut locks raised an eyebrow at the term Shard used.

Miss Beyas had bravely charged to the third floor the night before, and although the impact on the Evil God was minimal, her status as The Chosen One was thus exposed to the Church.

During the day, Miss Beyas underwent questioning by the Church, responding to many inquiries about the awakening of her powers according to the blueprint already designed by Miss Annette. But, like Miss Galina's attitude, what mattered wasn't the awakened Chosen One; rather, it was those who had not yet awakened.

There were thirteen Chosen Ones in total, and regardless of what the final door really signified, what mattered was bringing as many Chosen Ones as possible into one's own sphere of influence.

As such, aside from the considerable attention Sun Church had been paying to Miss Beyas, the other Churches were actually more concerned with the method by which the Chosen Ones awoke.

Miss Beyas might briefly visit the Church Papacy of the Sun Church next, but she would still remain at the Tobesk Parish afterwards, continuing her current life, as after all, The Chosen One no matter how special, she was still only a Second Ring Sorcerer...

"Three Rings now. During the day, the church opened up a collection of books to me, and then I was promoted," Miss Beyas said with a smile, and with this development, Shard, still at the Second Ring, remained the lowest in terms of level.

Besides those books, according to Miss Beyas, the Papacy was also preparing other rewards and a training plan. As long as she didn't die, it was certain she could reach the Thirteen Rings; a young girl like her had a high investment value.

After finishing dinner, the three returned to the living room to continue discussing matters on the sofa.

The conversation finally turned to the white-robed God from the previous night, and Miss Beyas asked the same question Miss Annette had:

"Shard, there is only one thing I care about; the rest doesn't matter at all—are you human?"

"Absolutely human."

Shard nodded affirmatively, and that put the young girl's mind at ease. Compared to the curious female diviner, Miss Beyas cared about very little else. Knowing Shard was human and that both the Maze Lock and God Summoning were related to him was enough for her.

Of course, Shard still hadn't told anyone that both God and Saint were actually him; he was not merely a vessel. He used the "Time Key" to explain everything, and about his real special nature till he achieved deification, he wouldn't tell anyone.

"But no matter what, Shard, you saved everyone."

Under the light of the gas lamp in the living room, Miss Beyas' smile was indeed very beautiful.

"But my exploits will remain unknown to all."

He felt a bit regretful about this, as otherwise, he wouldn't have to worry about money for decades if every person in the city just gave him a shilling.

After concluding their discussion about the previous night, it was finally time to divide the spoils from the Ruins. The letters and books could be shared, but the Relics could not be split.

Originally six Relics had been recovered from the Ruins, but the Demon Eye was taken by the Evil God, leaving only five. Now that the fang had been sold to Miss Galina, only four remained.

"No, indeed it's five. Look at this."

Shard took out a ring box, and inside was a pebble-like ring which the ladies recognized but showed expressions of disdain; they did not share the hobbies of men:

"You went to the charity ball before breaking into the Ruins just for this? Since it was given to you by that lady, you should keep it for yourself."

Although Luviya had guessed that Galina Cavendish was a Witch, Miss Beyas was completely unaware of this. She seemed somewhat anxious, not about the origin of the ring, but worried for Shard, therefore, she kept cautioning:

"Shard, you must not use this casually unless absolutely necessary... I really wouldn't want an associate of mine to turn into some androgynous creature."

"Of course, once this all blows over, I plan to sell it."

The ring's band appeared to be made of pebble material, but the actual ring was still metallic. Under the sheen of the gas lamp, the metal ring seemed to emit a glimmer. This strange halo attracted the cat that had been lying on the coffee table.

"Meow~"

Standing up to take a look at Shard, and under the gaze of the three, Mia swung her tail and managed to slip the ring onto the tip of her tail.

"Hm?"

Shard startled and tried to hold her, but Mia eluded him effortlessly.

"Meow~"

The orange cat jumped onto the sofa and lay down, curling into a ball and fiddling with her tail in front of her. Seeming interested in the ring on her tail, Mia had found a new toy.

The [Transmutation Ring] automatically fit different finger sizes and surprisingly also fit the cat's tail. However, since cats cannot perform incantations, there was no worry of the ring taking effect. Still, the ring couldn't be left with little Mia for long, as the Whisper Element of a [Relic] could have an influence on intelligent life.

But taking it out occasionally for the cat to play with was alright.

Shard caught Mia and removed the ring from her tail, placing it back into the ring box.

"Does the Relic [Transmutation Ring] affect animals in any way?"

Having seen what occurred, Miss Beyas quietly asked the diviner beside her, who shook her head:

"There is no record of that, as this ring has never encountered an animal capable of casting Spell Words."