Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1908 - 1907: Pursuing Wisdom and the Demonologist

"Do you know anything else? Your plan to rebel against your ancestor was definitely not a recent thought. Before the ’God Summoner’ explicitly intervened in this matter, what exactly did you prepare?"

Shard continued to ask, after all, the emergence of the ’God Summoner’ happened last summer, and according to snippets from Maria Edwards, Nadia Folan had gotten this idea over a decade ago.

"I won’t disclose my trump card to you."

"Then, what is your trump card targeting? In your view, what is your ancestor’s biggest threat? A weapon? A relic? An ally? Or some power I don’t understand?"

"Eyes that see through fate."

Nadia Folan confidently answered:

"All along, our ancestor has prophesied the fate of all family members. Although he cannot know everything about the future, he has long seen the direction of the fate stream. To save ourselves, holding the power to defeat him is important, but it is even more crucial to escape the fate he has divined. This requires a fate-interfering relic more powerful than the [Remains of the Defiler] contained by the Church of Creation, the [Twenty-Sided Die of Destiny] contained by Saint Byrons Integrated Academy, or the [Misfortune Organ] held by the Prophet’s Society."

She paused to give Shard time to think:

"This is my most important tip for you: when fighting your ancestor, always carry a fate-interfering relic. Otherwise, every attack you target at him, he can predict in advance."

Shard frowned:

"The three relics you mentioned are all famous Keeper of Secrets Level (Level 3) relics. Relics interfering with fate above this level each carry reasons why they cannot be used casually."

"There are rumors that the Prophet’s Society recently discovered a Level 0 fate-related relic. Unfortunately, time is scarce, otherwise, if it could be found, the success rate of defeating the ancestor could increase to at least fifty percent."

The woman said. Although Shard was accustomed to the fear and awe the Edwards had towards the diviner, he couldn’t help but retort:

"So you believe that even though you have provided me with valuable information, our current success rate is still below fifty percent?"

"At best twenty percent. Although you are strong, the ancestor has been scheming for two hundred years, which is not something you can counter in just two months. According to rumors, you are a Circle Sorcerer skilled in spatial power. Then you must understand, it’s even possible that in the end, you’ll never see the ancestor deliberately hiding from you. I have never liked leaving my future to fate, but the family banquet on Wednesday can only see if fate favors us."

Footsteps came from the stairs, as a servant brought a tray with the rum for Nadia Folan.

She downed her drink in one gulp, then stood up to leave. At this moment, it had been less than ten minutes since she had sat down:

"That’s all I have to say, I hope to see you at the Wednesday banquet."

"Please wait, I still have one last question."

Shard called out to her:

"Do you know what kind of deal the [Truth Society] is conducting with your ancestor? What do they want from the Edwards family?"

The woman sat down again and, after a moment of thought, replied:

"I also want you to answer one question: do you have a relationship beyond friendship with any member of the family?"

"What is the purpose of this question?"

Shard squinted slightly.

"To determine to what extent you are willing to go against the ancestor."

"Yes. I am romantically involved with a lady from your family."

Nadia Folan didn’t ask Shard for evidence:

"The Truth Society does not particularly seek human alchemy materials, nor do they hope for the ancestor to divine for them. They want the ancestor’s research on souls. I don’t know much, only that it concerns the creation of souls, the ignition of spirituality, and the birth of wisdom. Perhaps they are pondering the origin of souls, the Truth Society’s research is always that strange yet creative."

"Soul... soul research is strictly forbidden in the Sixth Era."

"Yes, but human alchemy cannot do without this part. The demons summoned and collaborated with by the ancestor also provided him with ample materials. Although the ancestor’s main research focus is not this, the cooperation with the Truth Society has indirectly promoted the ancestor’s progress in the direction of human alchemy."

"What is the Truth Society trying to do?"

Shard thought to himself as Nadia Folan stood up. She didn’t bid farewell to Shard, but walked directly toward the stairs. Shard listened as her distinctive heartbeat reached the first floor, and then she left the tavern, disappearing into the rumbling sound of the rain.

Shard didn’t linger there for long either. Shortly after Nadia Folan left, he too stepped into the rain, opening his umbrella.

Thinking over the new information in his mind, he quickly left the slums along the alley and found a carriage at the street corner, instructing it to head to the pier by the Duin River in the city.

Not wanting to disturb the secret meeting, Shard didn’t even have Megan arrange a carriage for his return. Instead, he let the small boat wait for him on the river to take him back to the yacht. He didn’t engage in conversation with the coachman during the ride. After getting off the carriage, he opened his umbrella and descended the steps through a gap at the riverside street to reach the pier by the bank.

However, he originally arranged for the small boat to come after ten o’clock to prevent suspicion from lingering too long. But it was only half-past nine now, and his meeting with the cultist ended much faster than anticipated, so he had to wait for another half hour.

This was not all bad; Shard had time to stand in the rain with his umbrella, pondering the newly acquired intelligence and converting it into strategies to incorporate into the Wednesday night’s action plan.

He still hadn’t made progress on how to land on the island with Megan and Audrey, but Shard felt it necessary to carry another relic that could interfere with divination, in addition to "The Twenty-Sided Die of Destiny." While his fate was difficult to divinate by others, if a diviner only relied on strong inspiration to sense his next move in battle, it wouldn’t involve specific divination actions.

"The cards are his means of resurrection..."

This was also worth noting. Regardless of whether this information was deliberately released by Laplace Klein Howard, that deck of cards indeed needed to be contained or destroyed in advance.

The rain was getting heavier. Although he initially planned to keep waiting here, the umbrella couldn’t stop the rain being blown onto him by the wind. Shard, thinking about his plans, turned around and climbed the steps back to the road alongside the lake, considering finding a place nearby to take shelter from the rain.

On one side of the street was the Duin River, and on the other were two-story low buildings. Because it was close to the slums, the street view and the outer walls of the houses appeared quite poor in the rain. There were no taverns on this street, so Shard planned to find a place with an overhead shelter to avoid the rain for a while.

Although there were gas street lamps on the street side, they were spaced far apart. Shard could only rely on his dark vision to sweep over the nearby street scene and set his sight on the signboard of "Jenny’s Flower Shop."

The structure of the flower shop was completely consistent with the buildings on either side. However, to conveniently allow the flowers to enjoy sunlight, the shop owner had forcibly set up a small balcony on the outer side of the flower shop’s second floor, extending toward the street.

This meant that there was a sheltered area below on the first floor, formed by the balcony extending toward the street. Therefore, Shard went over there.

The flower shop was already closed, and through the dirty windows, one could see the withered roses displayed inside. However, there were no traces of any elements nearby, and Shard didn’t expect to come across any relics casually, so he didn’t pay it much mind.

Outside the flower shop, there was a round table and chairs fixed to the ground, seemingly part of the shop owner’s decoration of the storefront. Shard put away his umbrella and stood by the wall, then sat down by the table and placed a candle on the table. He then watched the curtain of rain sliding down the edge of the balcony above his head and flowing down the street to the Duin River.

"A rainy day showdown..."

He continued to think about the arrangements for Wednesday while waiting for the arrival of the boat, also gazing at the rain-drenched view of Green Lake City street. He sighed at this city destined to be recorded in history books but then suddenly noticed another figure walking in the rain from the intersection, holding a black umbrella.

Shard heard a whistle sound and saw the figure intentionally wobbling as he walked. As the figure approached, he finally saw the man’s specific appearance.

The top of the head was very bald, with only a fuzzy stubble left. The skin was dark, and the eyelids of both eyes were extremely double-layered. He was wearing an unusual, brown old-style robe like what people in desert regions often wore, but at least that clothing looked quite warm in the rainy night.

Additionally, there were a pair of brown boots that seemed to have both laces and buckles, but the boots were quite worn-out, making it clear that this person was not from the upper-class society.

Shard stood up and looked at "Demonologist" Mr. Sean Asmon, who appeared in this rainy night. The scholar under the umbrella looked cautiously, with a slightly cold smile, surveying the sheltered spot under the flower shop. In the candlelight on the table, he saw Shard staring at him in surprise.

The middle-aged man with dark skin also recognized who was sitting by the table. He then curled his lips and stopped his steps after stepping through the puddles on the street, displaying the peculiar upward slanted smile he typically wore.

The umbrella was closed under the flower shop balcony, and Sean Asmon’s peculiar Delarion language was spoken:

"Mr. Watson, Mr. Watson, we always meet in unexpected settings. It’s been a long time since our last meeting in the Randall Valley."

The rain drizzled on. Though Shard had expected that he would likely encounter this gentleman again in the Green Lake Region, he didn’t expect the meeting to occur in such an environment.

The two shook hands, the scholar’s hand still as rough.

Shard paused for a moment—

[No trace of elements.]

Only then did he feel at ease.