Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

As per the agreement, after successfully receiving the inheritance, Mrs. Lemer was required to pay Shard 5 pounds in cash as a commission. This was one-tenth of the inheritance Mrs. Lemer received, which was definitely not a small sum for a middle-aged woman nowadays.

Of course, she did not regret it when it actually came time to pay. On one hand, she was indeed a kind woman; on the other hand, a slightly malnourished middle-aged woman in a cramped room would not want to anger a young and strong detective.

But as she was about to hand over the money to Shard, Shard waved his hand and refused:
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"I don't think we necessarily need to pay the commission fee in cash, I'd like these books."

He pointed to the pile of old books placed together with some old clothes:

"These old books are quite interesting. How about giving me the books to offset part of the commission fee? Of course, Mrs. Lemer, if you're worried that I won't give a fair price when estimating their value, you're also welcome to have someone appraise these old books."

"There's no need, Detective, I trust you—please feel free to take them."

The lawyer just now had already said that these old books were worthless, so the middle-aged woman did not suspect Shard's actions.

He pulled the box containing the old books towards him and then found the old books and diaries and stacked them together. Mrs. Lemer was not concerned about the notebooks either; perhaps, to her, a woman who could barely read, notebooks and books were the same.

"Seven in total, most of them are adventure novels, and there are a few navigation logs and diaries. Let's value them at... one shilling per book?"

Mrs. Lemer had never bought books but knew that the price wasn't too high, yet certainly not low. She probably took this as Shard looking out for her and said, somewhat embarrassed:

"No problem, Detective."

Thus, Shard obtained the diaries that recorded the sailors' secrets and over 4 pounds in commission. In return, he gave Mrs. Lemer the address of Old John's Pawnshop, suggesting that many items from the inheritance were difficult to find proper use for, and Old John happened to like such miscellaneous items, so selling to him was appropriate.

For seven shillings, Shard had snagged the diaries of the deceased Circle Sorcerer; he had gotten a bargain, so before leaving, he reminded Mrs. Lemer again that having suddenly come into such a sum of money, it would be best for her family to move to a safer place:

"Many of your neighbors saw me and Lawyer Laurel coming here today. You'd better come up with a plausible reason for our visit... How about the news of your missing husband's death?"

Shard suggested, as the stolid woman didn't know how to respond.

"Anyway, take the money and move out of this place as soon as you can. Most importantly, make sure you don't let anyone know you've received this sum of money—not even the children."

Actually, Mrs. Lemer should know these basic precautions, given she had managed to survive with her two children. Shard knew he was being repetitive, but he couldn't help but feel uneasy not saying it aloud.

"Besides, you know where to find me if you need help with anything else in the future. I offer discounts to my regular clients, and recently my detective agency has expanded quite a bit... I wish you a pleasant life."

This time, since he had taken advantage of her, if Mrs. Lemer really needed help with something else, he would definitely not be stingy with his time.

After leaving the attic and bidding farewell to the suddenly wealthy middle-aged woman, Shard stood underneath the building covered in graffiti and looked up at the house that couldn't get sunlight throughout the year due to the surrounding buildings.

Having received such a large sum of money, Mrs. Lemer's family life was bound to change, and perhaps the children's futures would change, too. However, what would become of this family's story, Shard could no longer imagine.

Maybe in half a year, a year, or two years, he would think of this commission while playing with a cat or when sorting through files and then try to find the Lemer family to see how they were doing.

But for now, Shard was more concerned with his own affairs. His commission concluded, he would re-enter the year 3002 that evening.

The Time Key corresponding to the Common Era Calendar year 3002 had the mission "Assist mortals in completing the God Summoning Ritual—Contact the Old God Blazar Gate." Although it sounded easier than the mission associated with the 1068 key, "Witness the Last Wish of an Old God," Shard believed the Creator of Innocence could have easily fulfilled the children's three wishes and that it was only because of seeing himself, their "future child," appear that the Creator allowed him to undertake the mission for amusement.

This thought sounded ludicrous, but based on Shard's brief experience with that Old God, he had a strong hunch he might be right.

This time, the task was to help three witches whose ritual had encountered real difficulties. Therefore, even though he would only come into contact with a deity at the end of the mission, the level of difficulty was by no means less than the first.

Up to now, Shard had obtained information about the Old God "Blazar Gate" from various sources. The era in which this Old God appeared was untraceable, with the earliest documentary mention of their name dating back to the Third Era. Similar to the Creator of Innocence, the Old God "Blazar Gate" was also a very low-profile deity with an extremely small number of followers, and there was no concrete evidence to prove that its worshippers ever formed a church or order.

According to the records of the True God Church, the Old God "Blazar Gate" possessed the power of time and space. The most significant event related to them was that at the end of the Fourth Era or the beginning of the Fifth Era, they appeared in the material world in the form of a Saint and prevented a major disaster caused by the loss of control of the Angel-Level (1st Level) Relic "Tattered Old World Map." This disaster directly led to the formation of the five main continental landmasses of the Fifth Era and had an impact on the civilization of an entire era.

Since Miss Feliana had attempted a God Summoning Ritual in the Fifth Era, Shard originally thought there would be more information about this deity in the Academy Library, or even records of the event left by Miss Feliana herself. However, the materials Miss Danester provided to Shard were not more extensive than those from the church.

Even if Miss Feliana's affair was considered confidential by the Academy and not to be disclosed lightly, the lack of information about the Old God "Blazar Gate" was questionable, as the Academy had no need to conceal anything about this deity. The current situation made it seem as if Miss Feliana's God Summoning had never happened, which is why there was hardly any information in Saint Byrons.

Shard couldn't help but feel a bit worried, the events of the year 3002 seemed to have other unexpected developments.

Surprisingly, the information that Luviya had found from the Prophet's Society turned out to be unexpected. Unlike the Church of the Five Great Deities and the Three Great Magics Academies, which only appeared in the Fifth Era, the Prophet's Society, like the Blood Spirit School, was an ancient organization that had endured through several eras.

Within the Society, they found some of the books listed by Miss Feliana, and in the Tobesk Branch's database, Luviya even discovered an old book that described the Deity related to "space."

However, that book was classified within the Society and could not be taken out of the library. Therefore, Luviya could only transcribe the content that Shard needed. The information was not long, just half a page, briefly outlining how the Holy Emblem of the Old God "Blazar Gate" could be used in mystical rituals and explained that this Deity had power not only over time and space but also over nature.

Although the domain of a Deity's clergy did not necessarily indicate their strength, the information at hand suggested that it would not be a simple matter to engage in rituals that involved the Old God "Blazar Gate."

After leaving Mrs. Lemer's house, Shard spent all the remaining time of the day organizing these materials. However, after supper, an unexpected visitor came calling.

It was Captain Lades, who Shard met for the first time since the award ceremony two weeks ago. The captain now had received a notice from the Draleon Royal Army, confirming that he would return to the front lines at Rising Wind Trail at the end of August or in September.

The captain came this time not only to invite Shard for a drink before he left but also to inform him that he had moved to another place to live.

Having his honor redeemed and cleared of disgrace, with the military rank of an officer, Captain Lades, with the help of his friends, had rented a nice apartment in the Tobesk Western District, planning to spend the remainder of the summer there.

"People's fate is indeed uncertain; the ups and downs I've experienced this year, have been more complicated than the first half of my life. Hamilton Detective, sometimes I wonder how fate truly views ordinary people like us."

"Captain, are you pondering philosophy?"

Shard asked with a smile. Different from the first time he accidentally met the captain at the club, now Captain Lades had drastically changed his spirits. He had completely emerged from the nickname of "Captain Eight-Guns" and was about to face a brand new life.

"No, this should be theology."

Captain Lades shook his head:

"Detective, would you like to play Roder Card? No betting, just a couple of rounds for fun, I know you're a good Roder Card player."

"Not tonight."

Shard regretfully shook his head:

"I have to step out in a while, and I have an important commission to carry out tonight, with a client who is a very dignified and remarkable person. Captain, let's play cards together some other time."

"Alright, since it's like this, I'll take my leave. Oh, do you know about last week's incident? The police chief of Riddlevitch Field was later killed by someone who broke into his house, and although the curfew has ended, it's still best not to wander around the city at night... If your client truly has an exceptional status, then ignore my words. I've heard Miss Galina..."

He stopped talking and dared not say more, apparently having heard some rumors.

Shard saw the captain off downstairs and watched him walk away from Saint Delan Square. Leaning on the door, he thought about how all the ordinary people he had encountered thus far, who had come into contact with Relics, either had their lives significantly affected like Professor Manning and Captain Lades or faced life-threatening dangers like the little girl's family and the group that encountered the Mermaid Statue.

This world was indeed not very kind to ordinary people, especially those who were unfortunate.

"After coming to this world, it was perhaps not Dr. Schneider's luck but mine that I was able to meet him immediately."

Sighing, he adjusted his mood, closed the front door, returned to the study, and once again went through the information about the Old Gods he had found. After eleven o'clock at night, he played with Mia for a while and planned to find time to give the cat a bath.

The past was very dangerous; this time he would not take Mia with him. After the midnight chimes sounded, Shard stood at the bedroom doorway, holding a briefcase with documents, and inserted the already damaged key into the keyhole:

"May the World Tree bless me through the endless reaches of time."

Click—a sound was heard as the lock turned, and Shard opened the door. Familiar white mist floated out like wisp of cotton, and Shard reached out trying to catch it, but the mist was not a tangible substance:

"Mia, wait for me three seconds."

The cat, accustomed to Shard's periodic entries through such doors, no longer felt curious. Lying lazily on the couch, it meowed in response, resting its head on its small paws, half-closing its eyes as if napping.

However, the cat could still see Shard; it watched him step through the door and then waited obediently for his return.