Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Mr. Hamilton, the results obtained from divination and prophecy are often vague and metaphorical. Therefore, it may not mean that you can become a knight but something else entirely. Moreover, divination is not always right."

Mr. Stan admitted with regret, arms crossed. Shard offered no opinion on the matter, instead adopting a thoughtful expression.

Considering what to have for dinner.

After the divination was over, he bade farewell to Mr. Stan and Mr. Mark, and left the Prophet's Society. Normally, one would need to pay after divination, but both gentlemen insisted on not taking Shard's money. Compared to his contributions to the Tobesk Branch on the matter of the Roder Card, a little coin was nothing. Continue reading stories on empire

It was Mr. Mark who invited Shard to visit the Society frequently. Apart from the official Roder Card competitions, the Society would often organize card gatherings with many of the city's Roder Card enthusiasts' clubs. Occasionally, they would even host periodic get-togethers for divination enthusiasts, and Mr. Mark subtly hinted that many fine young ladies would be in attendance.

Stepping back from the cool indoors to the outside, the sultry air woke the napping cat. The current time was two in the afternoon, the hottest time of the day.

Seeing as there was nothing else to do, Shard decided to go home and read to pass the remainder of the day. It was snowing in the study room, an even more comfortable place than the Prophet's Society's Divination Room.

Not long after leaving the Prophet's Society, while walking along Silver Cross Avenue with the cat that was gradually growing warm in his embrace, he unexpectedly saw a young woman with brown hair approaching. It was Iluna Beath.

She was alone, walking nearby like any ordinary citizen. Upon seeing Shard, she gave him a look, and he very consciously did not greet her.

Half an hour later, he welcomed a visit from Miss Beath back at his house.

After being invited into the room by Shard, Miss Beath didn't sit down immediately. Instead, with permission, she went into the kitchen of room number one on the second floor and looked out the window at Yordle Palace.

Due to the layout of the room, this window provided the best view of Yordle Palace.

"No problem."

She wiped the sweat from her forehead before finally settling down in the living room. She cocked her head, glancing at the tea table where snowflakes were softly falling from the ceiling and melting in the basin beside the table.

She caught some snowflakes in her hand, the cool sensation pleasing the young lady:

"Detective, what are you up to?"

"Cooling the room down."

Shard, who was in the kitchen preparing tea, said. Miss Beath could not naturally associate this with Maze Lock, so she took it as some small-scale, snow-bringing Arcane Technique that Shard had mastered:

"You should be mindful of your consumption. A First Ring Sorcerer's spirit isn't plentiful. What if you waste too much and find yourself in danger?"

She advised with the tone of someone who had been there before.

"You're right, but it's just so hot... Miss Beath, what were you doing just now? Surely you weren't just passing by, were you?"

"Of course not, it's a task for Blackstone Security Company."

Shard had thought she would keep the task information a secret, but instead, she openly shared, almost as though complaining to Shard:

"The Royal Family wants to hire a group of Circle Sorcerers for a one-week protection of Yordle Palace, apparently related to spies. The Church originally didn't want to get involved in such matters. Our cooperation with the Royal Family doesn't include playing bodyguard for them.

But it seems the King has agreed to relax some religious regulations and promised that we only need to protect Yordle Palace, focusing on bold Circle Sorcerers, ordinary people we can ignore, so we've been summoned. The job involves surveilling the perimeter of Yordle Palace, looking for suspicious individuals."

Despite saying so, she sat on Shard's couch with no intention of leaving. Raising her head to look at Shard, her bangs shifted to one side as she continued to complain:

"Detective, do you know how painful it is to have to keep walking outdoors in this kind of weather? My shift is from one to four in the afternoon, which is the hottest time,"

As she spoke, she reached into the basin to grab a handful of snow, happily forming it into a snowball, then attempted to grab the cat with her ice-cold hands. But the increasingly clever Mia Cat nimbly jumped onto Shard's lap instead.

Shard was curious about the Church Ring Sorcerer and continued to inquire:

"I don't know much about you, so is this matter commissioned by the Royal Family to your Blackstone Security Company, or is it a task given by the Church? This relates to the issue of the reward."

"Both, so in addition to the Church's contribution, there is also a hefty reward, the captains are thrilled... I'm very happy too, and I don't even have to pay taxes,"

Shard felt envious inside but did not voice it.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

As Miss Beyas spoke, she looked around Shard's living room hesitantly before asking:

"Detective, can I stay here until four in the afternoon? I won't disturb you, you can rest assured on that point."

"Oh? Are you not continuing your work?"

Shard pointed in the direction of Yordle Palace. Although Miss Beyas acted immaturely, he had always thought of her as a responsible person.

"I'll move a chair over to that window, I can see much more from there than I can wandering around the streets."

She gestured towards the kitchen.

"But staying here, if you spot a suspicious person near Yordle Palace, it seems you won't be able to rush over there immediately... unless you jump straight out the window."

Shard added, not because he wanted to send her away but because he was worried about potential delays.

"That's alright, the likelihood of an incident occurring during the day is low anyway, so the main task is observation, not combat and arrest. Otherwise, a Second Ring Sorcerer like me wouldn't be involved in this mission."

Having said this, she embarrassedly asked again:

"Can I stay here? It's just for today. Tomorrow it'll be another squad's turn, and then it won't be our concern anymore."

Shard thought for a moment and saw no need to send her away:

"No problem, but you're not allowed to force Mia to follow you."

He noticed Miss Beyas's intention to catch Mia Cat, and the Female Sorcerer smiled awkwardly, seemingly not giving up on the idea of holding the orange cat.

"I promise I won't touch your cat today. Sitting here is much better than on the street, the temperature here is really nice."

She said happily, standing up to straighten her skirt and adjust the wrinkles at the collar of her lady's shirt before moving to get a chair.

Initially worried that Miss Beyas's presence might lead to unexpected incidents, Shard saw that nothing had happened by the evening when she left Saint Delan Square.

The entire afternoon, Miss Beyas sat in front of the window, drinking tea and dutifully observing the vicinity of Yordle Palace. Meanwhile, Shard took a book and sat on the sofa, chatting with her off and on during a slightly cool afternoon.