Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Miss Luisa, after the curtain rose for the third act, reminded Shard to listen and watch attentively, making sure he would not get distracted. When the scene shifted back to the fairy tale featuring Princess Tawel singing her part, she patted Shard to notify him it had begun.
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The "Kiss of the Tree" in the opera had been altered slightly to align with the plot development, based on an ancient story. One prominent change was crafting a storyline resembling a romantic relationship between Princess Tawel and the ancient tree within the forest.

In the opera, the tree itself was personified and appeared as an elf in a green suit, engaging in a long duet with Princess Tawel.

Once this part of the story began, Miss Luisa did not speak another word to Shard until it ended, after which she quietly asked for his opinion.

Shard replied with thoughts he had prepared earlier:

"The singing was excellent, but if we consider the story itself, none of the versions you've shown me explicitly describe their relationship as romantic. This is obviously to appeal to contemporary audiences, and the story used here isn't intended for children. But if we think more deeply, exploring the core of the relationship between Princess Tawel and the ancient tree through love, friendship, and even a spiritual connection that transcends both, it might offer different interpretations."

After Shard finished, he saw Miss Luisa looking at him strangely in the dark:

"Is there something wrong with what I said?"

He asked quietly, slightly embarrassed, and the blonde girl shook her head:

"No, I just didn't expect you to think so deeply. Shard, you truly have a Talent."

But Shard knew, he had just done too many reading comprehension exercises.

Miss Luisa had invited Shard to the opera not only for "Kiss of the Tree" but also to meet someone for a transaction. After the third act concluded, the blonde girl stood and left her seat.

Though she didn't expect any mishaps, she still told Shard that her rendezvous with the goods owner would be at the entrance to the second-floor public restroom. If she did not return within half an hour, Shard should come to find her.

"Is the goods owner someone you know?"

Miss Luisa, dressed in her highly distinguishable evening gown, implied the other party should be someone familiar.

"Not very well, a Correspondence Circle Mage from Xerxes Higher Medical Academy in Tobesk. The Three Great Magics Academies have a close relationship, so if necessary and they trust the person, knowing each other's identity isn't an issue,"

explained Miss Luisa softly, then bent down and passed in front of Shard.

Shard thought about the current time, reminding himself to be alert as he continued to sit and watch the opera.

"Do you find the opera interesting?"

he asked silently in his mind.

[Very interesting.]

Hence, Shard's eyes did not wander elsewhere but remained intently fixed on the stage so as not to let "her" miss any details.

Twelve minutes after Miss Luisa had left, a disturbance arose from the northwest entrance of the first floor's auditorium. Since there were no lights on and the northwest entrance was directly below Shard's location, he couldn't see what was happening.

Soon after, the auditorium's entrance on the second floor also began to echo with muffled footsteps. Though these footsteps were subdued, they still caused a slight disturbance among the audience.

Shard turned to look, but could not see much in the darkness. He could only see a group of people entering from the rear entrance, then progressing to inquire of each individual.

Their speed was rapid; as they subdued the audience's disturbance, they reached the front rows within five minutes. It was only when they drew closer that Shard saw they were uniformed officers, but it was hard to tell whether they were from the Religious Tribunal or MI6, as they wore Riddlevitch Field uniforms.

"Sir, where is your companion?"

First, they asked about Shard's identity, and then pointed to an empty chair nearby. Shard shook his head, reached into his chest, and under the wary eyes of the other, pulled out his MI6 credentials:

"One of us."

He whispered, passing the credentials over. The middle-aged officer, surprised, accepted them and examined them under the stage lights in front, then immediately said:

"Sir!"

He even wanted to salute, but Shard stopped him.

"Shh, keep your voice down."

Shard took back his credentials but didn't let him leave. Speaking in a lowered voice, he asked:

"My companion has gone to the restroom, and whoever you're looking for, it can't possibly be her. What's this about?"

"Our superiors sent us to arrest someone, sorry sir, I can't tell you who, but it's related to last week's poisoning case."

Shard nodded understandingly. Since the night of last Thursday, True God Church had resolved to completely eradicate the cultists who dared to summon the Evil God twice in the material world. If cultists were causing trouble locally, then certainly within the noble circles of Tobesk, there must be supporters and sponsors, hence in recent weeks, occurrences where the police and MI6 agents suddenly burst into a building and took someone away were happening all over the city.

The Church would rather arrest the wrong person than let anyone slip away. Despite the seemingly peaceful nature of the current era's True God Church, institutions like the Religious Tribunal were not simply figments of the public's imagination. The Church of the Five Gods managed to coexist harmoniously with both the material world and human secular authority not through gentle missionary work.

The police came quickly and left quickly as well, not disturbing the audience's enjoyment of the show. Shard started timing, and 28 minutes after Miss Luisa had left, he also left his seat, bent down to navigate the aisle between chairs, and hurried towards the exit of the second-floor auditorium.

Queen Maria's Opera House was as large as Saint Delan Square. Each floor had several public restrooms, and when Shard found the blonde girl who was late in returning, she was standing near the restroom on this floor's corner, speaking softly with another man also dressed in a black suit.

Hearing footsteps, both stopped talking. When Miss Luisa saw it was Shard approaching, she pressed her hand on her forehead:

"Oh, I completely lost track of time. The police came so quickly, we each ducked into the restroom for a while and got delayed. Detective, over here."

She beckoned Shard over, and then introduced him:

"This is Mr. Harry Walker, a senior at Xerxes Higher Medical Academy, a dear friend of the doctor."

Standing next to Miss Luisa, the middle-aged man with yellow hair, wearing a black silk hat and monocular, quickly handed a business card to Shard. Mr. Walker ran a winery locally and was quite well-off.

"Walker, this is a member of our team, Mr. Shard Hamilton."

Shard also extended his business card, showing that correspondence amongst Circle Sorcerers from different academies indeed maintained good relations.

"Hamilton? Wait a minute, why do you look so familiar?"

The middle-aged man shook hands with Shard warmly, then revealed a sudden realization:

"Hamilton from Rejed? Are you the knight who was knighted half a month ago?"

"That's me."

Shard modestly nodded.

"Oh, Luisa, your team is really lucky. Why don't we ever come across such prestigious team members? Mr. Hamilton, I have a shipment detained outside Tobesk, could you..."