Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Captain Lades had not come to town on leave today, but had been sent to find someone to help repair a broken steam engine at Red Water Camp.

Upon hearing that Captain Lades was also from Red Water Camp, Shard inquired about Lieutenant Houghton of the first company, whom Lecia had asked Shard to investigate.

Captain Lades was not particularly wary of Shard and directly told him that recently Lieutenant Houghton had won a large sum of Gold Pounds playing cards in town and that he had even been seen smoking a cigar outside the camp during his night duty rests.

"Was it an expensive cigar?"

Shard asked.

"Are there any cheap cigars?"

Captain Lades curiously counter-asked.

Thus, the investigation Lecia asked Shard to conduct was simply completed.

Being very familiar with the school set up in the castle, Captain Lades, hearing that Shard was looking for someone, volunteered to guide him. Since he had already found the person he was looking for, he was thinking of sitting in a tavern in town before the evening roll call.

Since he had encountered Shard, he might as well lend a hand.

Although it was called "Mechanical Academy," the folk studies department of the school was not small at all. With Captain Lades in military attire leading the way, they encountered no obstructions as they moved through the Academy.

They passed by scholars walking with books in the castle and young students discussing their coursework and grades, and finally, in a somewhat narrow single office on the east side of the third floor labeled "Folk Studies - 11," they met Professor John Dunn.

Professor Dunn was a bald middle-aged man who looked only in his forties. He was somewhat casually dressed but had very sharp eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses.

Seeing an officer bring a stranger to visit, he was a bit surprised and stood up to welcome them. But after Shard introduced himself and mentioned Granny Cassandra, the professor immediately understood:

"Good afternoon, Mr. Watson, Captain Lades. So you are people from Ms. Cassandra, I see. Please, have a seat. Here's the situation."

He treated the captain as someone also involved in investigating the antique's disappearance. Since the captain had nothing planned for the afternoon, and seeing that Shard didn't mind, he also sat down to listen.

"Our Academy's folk studies department has a good relationship with Cassandra Auction House, or rather, the foundation of the academy's folk studies is majorly sponsored by Cassandra Auction House."

As he spoke about this, the professor seemed very candid:

"Our relationship with Cassandra Auction House goes back over a hundred years, and our graduates are very welcomed by the auction house. Recently, I acquired a very nice Bronze Jar, which Ms. Cassandra purchased upon hearing of it. I planned to hand over the Bronze Jar to the auction house this week, but the jar was unexpectedly stolen."

"Stolen? Do you have any clues?"

Shard took out his notebook to take notes.

The professor nodded:

"That Bronze Jar is definitely still within the academy because its size is roughly... hmm."

The professor looked around:

"Roughly as tall as the captain here. Transporting such an item in and out would require registration, and we are certain it wasn't taken out."

"Why didn't you report it to the police?"

Captain Lades curiously asked.

"It was an internal theft within the academy, after all. It wouldn't look good for us if it got out, and..."

The professor's gaze wavered a bit:

"The means by which the antique was acquired, are somewhat, that is, just somewhat... inconsistent with the compulsory national rules generally upheld by the public... you understand?"

Shard and Captain Lades both nodded, implying illegality, but they were not concerned with that affair:

"Apart from knowing the jar is definitely inside this castle, are there any other clues?"

Shard asked again.

"I know I shouldn't casually suspect my own students, but Mr. Henry Val, a 22-year-old folk studies student due to graduate in two years, is a major suspect. You can investigate him; your role here is as detectives hired by Cassandra Auction House. I have already informed the academy in advance, so you can move freely here."

Henry Val was a student at Midshire Fort Mechanical Academy, coming from a wealthy farming family in the northern part of Midshire Fort. However, two years ago, for certain reasons, his family fell into decline, yet the young student, accustomed to a wealthy lifestyle, continued to maintain his standard of living and was discovered by the academy in the winter of 1851 selling prohibited drugs downtown.

After strong admonitions and being forced to repeat a year, the young Henry Val resumed his normal state. The suspicion arose because someone had seen him lurking near Professor Dunn's office shortly before the theft of the Bronze Jar, and he exhibited unusual behavior when the professor confronted him.

"I can't directly ask my own student if he is a thief."

Professor Dunn said helplessly:

"Honestly, I would prefer not to believe that my student is a thief, which is why I asked Ms. Cassandra to send competent assistants to help me investigate. I don't know how much Ms. Cassandra is paying you, but I can give each of you five pounds if you can find the Bronze Jar."

The folklore professor seemed quite wealthy.

Shard glanced at the captain beside him, who nodded slightly, indicating he was also interested in earning this money, and Shard didn't mind having an extra hand to help.

"Very well, Professor."

Shard had originally wanted to ask about the "Twin Gods" before continuing his investigation, but Professor Dunn seemed busy as well and told Shard to return after he had figured out the antique theft.

Thus, Shard and Captain Lades left the professor's office and found Mr. Henry Val in the great library in the Academy's basement.

He was a young man with yellow hair, wearing glasses like the professor, and was dressed in his own clothes rather than the Academy's uniform, which did not reveal his family's fallen status.

When Shard and Captain Lades approached him, the young man was searching for books in the "Folklore and Culture" section. Seeing them come over, he put back the book he had initially intended to pull out. Shard glimpsed the title, which read "Legendary Tales: Vampires in the Shadows."

This most likely belonged to a genre of popular fiction or urban legends.

"Gentlemen, can I help you with something?"

The young man with the yellow hair asked, his tone slightly impatient. He looked exceptionally tired, with heavy dark circles under his eyes.

"We've been hired by Cassandra Auction House to investigate an antique theft and would like to ask every student who had entered the professor's office last weekend."

Shard said, looking past the man he was talking to. Captain Lades and Mr. Henry Val surely couldn't see it, but he clearly saw a young woman's spirit crouching on his back.

It was an evil spirit, but not powerful enough yet to be visible to ordinary people in daylight. When the evil spirit attempted to roar at Shard, it stopped moving altogether after receiving a stern glance from him.

"There are indeed many evil spirits in Midshire Fort,"

Shard thought to himself.

"No problem, what do you want to ask?"

Mr. Val said, his expression revealing nothing unusual. Shard signaled to Captain Lades to assist with note-taking, then asked:

"You were in the professor's office over the weekend, which the professor said was about the end-of-year exams. Did you notice the large bronze jar in the corner?"

"Yes, it was quite large, hard to miss."

"Did you ask about that jar?"

"Yes, I asked, I was curious about it."

"Then, did you tell anyone else about the bronze jar?"

The young man thought for a moment, showing a trace of impatience:

"I think I mentioned it at Barbara Jeline's weekend party, but I can't remember who all heard me mention it. However, those who did hear it should be no less than a dozen."

"A dozen," in common Draleon language, also means the number 14, said to originate from the initial sales of fish cans which were bundled together in groups of 14.

"No problem, thank you for your time."

Shard said, motioning for Captain Lades to thank Mr. Val as they left. After leaving that row of shelves, Shard looked back to make sure the man hadn't followed them.

At that moment, Captain Lades whispered:

"Something's off about that young man; his gaze was a bit too fierce. It's like... I've seen that kind of look too often, especially since most students here don't really have much social experience. Henry Val, he has definitely seen blood."

The Captain was quite certain; having risen through the ranks from an ordinary soldier before becoming "Captain Eight-Guns," his judgement was likely correct.

"Seen blood?"

Shard nodded, thinking of the evil spirit wrapped around Henry Val and draining his life force, probably the source of the "seen blood":

"Captain, could you possibly keep an eye on him? Observe whether he leaves the library, and if he does, try to find out where he goes."

"Do you have other clues to investigate?"

Curiously asked Captain Lades.

"Yes, I am a professional detective; I have not yet encountered a commission I could not resolve."

Shard said with a smile, tapping his chest proudly, as Captain Lades recalled a scene a few months ago. Shard had helped a woman find her lost child in the streets of Tobesk, seemingly perceiving clues out of thin air and finding the culprit's alley without any detours.

"Very well, and might I also ask other students about the bronze jar while I'm here?"

The Captain trusted Shard implicitly.

"Good. Oh, and ask if there have been any murders at the school in recent weeks,"

Shard mentioned, causing Captain Lades to frown slightly:

"You mean... No problem, leave it to me."