Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1909 - 1908: [Tragic Opera · The Wedding at Rayman Manor]

Shard glanced sideways at the withered, blackened roses in the shop window behind him, then continued greeting:

"Mr. Asmon, long time no see. Heavy rain, nighttime, flower shop, candles, our meeting this time, is in such an interesting setting. Would you like to sit down and have a chat?"

The Demonologist didn’t mind the dismal surroundings, and sat down at the table in front of the flower shop. As the sleeve of his robe brushed across the table, the notebook he carried with him, worn at the edges, lay on the table.

Shard pointed to himself:

"I spent most of the spring in the Randall Valley; I must admit, the spring there is truly beautiful. After the Golden Dawn Opera Group left the Randall Valley, I also left. Then I went to Velindale City, intending to go to Tobesk to watch the city-wide horsemanship competition, but was delayed because of some trivial matters... tedious policemen... and came here, hoping to see if there’s anything new during the two countries’ negotiations."

He said with a smile:

"I was at the scene of the assassination not long ago. I’m planning to use that assassination as a prototype to write a good detective and spy novel. The ’Hamilton Detective Stories’ might encounter a contender. Oh, speaking of which, what’s this about Demon rumors in the Green Lake Region?"

Mr. Sean Asmon leaned slightly forward, his black eyes fixed on Shard in the candlelight:

"An assassination? That was just a brief shower before conspiracy and war. But a chance encounter does indeed make for a good story. Yes, there are local legends about Demons, which is why I’m here. It’s said that the island in the center of Green Lake is called ’Demon Island.’ I stayed in the City of Glass for half a month, then came here to explore the legends of the long-fallen Edwards Family from a century ago."

"Oh?"

Shard feigned interest, listening to the sound of rain, watching the face of this strange man in the candlelight:

"So you’re investigating that. Interesting. Did you go to the island? I’ve heard that it’s shrouded in white mist all year round."

The black eyes of the Demonologist also looked at Shard, and he shook his head:

"I didn’t go to the island. After all, it’s rumored to have Demons, one can’t get involved so easily, right?"

"Your caution is admirable. It’s a pity we’re not at a tavern, or I’d really like to buy you a drink."

Shard said with a smile, the man in the brown robe had an even odder smile on his face:

"No, no, I prefer this cold, dark environment to a tavern. It’s wonderful to talk about stories with a friend in such a peculiar setting. No drinks necessary, Mr. Watson, would you like to play a game of Roder Card? Just like before, I’ll trade road fees in Roder Cards."

"What, you’ve gotten your hands on Special Rule Cards again?"

Shard was a bit surprised.

"It’s not luck; an old gentleman who commissioned me to investigate a Demon Curse haunting his family gave it to me as a reward. But in fact, there was no Demon Curse; it was just the shadows of a philandering gardener and a laundress at night."

He took out his deck, handed it over the candle to Shard. Shard flipped the first card, and in the card’s background, there was a strange black figure dancing with a figure in a red gown, with a manor building on fire in the background.

"Sad Opera at Rayman Manor’s Wedding," suit Sun 11. When this card is drawn, toss a coin to guess heads or tails. If guessed correctly, and the total hand Points, including the hole card, is even, you may choose to discard this card and draw another.

"Oh, the Sad Opera series."

Shard murmured softly.

The "Sad Opera" series collects those traditional operas that end in tragedy. The corresponding series is the "Joyful Opera" series of cards.

Apart from the "Sad Opera" moniker, people generally also call them the "Fifteen Well-known Tragedies." As for "Rayman Manor’s Wedding," it tells the story of a romance between the manor’s gardener and the cook, which leads to three generations of the family’s love, ethics, wealth, and power struggles. The background during this is a grand national and epic narrative. All the conflicts erupt at a wedding feast on a rainy night, finally leading the gardener to gun down nearly everyone, then walk into the distance with the cook’s corpse during a rainy night, only to be struck dead by Thunder in the final act of the story.

At the end of the opera, every named and renowned character, including the family dog and named horses, dies, turning it into the tragedy of tragedies. Naturally, this was the type of story Dorothy disliked the most.

Luckily, it’s a story adapted from traditional literature, not an Ancient Fairy Tale, so Shard wasn’t worried about having to delve into it seriously in the future.

"Although it’s a series released over a decade ago, due to not having been reprinted and the card artwork being extremely exquisite, the price of the ’Sad Opera’ series cards remains high. Let me think... how about if I win, I’ll buy this card for 40 pounds, and if I lose, I’ll buy it for 55 pounds?"

Shard asked the man across the table. The latter placed his right arm on his leg, leaning slightly forward:

"No problem. Of course, we must also not forget our unfinished story."

He retrieved his cards, and together with Shard, shuffled the deck.

"Yes, yes, I’m eager to hear the continuation of that story."

Shard said sincerely.

"So, Mr. Watson, do you remember where the story left off?"

"Of course."

He gazed at the candlelight, retelling the long and eerie story amidst the increasingly loud sound of rain:

"A mysterious being, who truly possessed the rumored powers of a demon because of people’s beliefs. It brought disaster to the world until it met a man without desires, and only because of the man’s ’wish’ to seal the demon did it accompany him throughout his life.

After the man died, the demon took his soul and, in one night, returned to his hometown, devouring all his relatives. But those admirable people did their best to protect the last boy. The boy did not use silence to avoid the demon but made a wish like the first man: I am willing to seal you with my life, just like my grandfather did.

He then embarked on a long journey until one day, the boy who had grown up met a girl he loved. When she wanted to keep him, the young man killed her, just to ensure that after his death, the demon would not take his form to claim her soul."

Shard sighed, placing the washed deck to the right of the candle, while Mr. Asmon’s deck was placed to the left.

"The story last time was truly helpless and sad, but neither I nor the Circus Magician who was playing cards with us could say the young man’s choice was wrong. If he hadn’t done that, the girl’s fate would likely have been exactly like the young man’s family members."

"Mr. Watson, as a writer, don’t you like tragedies?"

The two prepared to draw cards, even though playing under the candlelight on a rainy night street was strange, the atmosphere was indeed nice.

Shard nodded:

"Yes, I never like tragedies."

The card game used the classic best-of-three format; if a tie occurred, they would play until one side won two rounds. The gameplay also didn’t include any tricks; Shard felt that facing this scholar who seemed to come from the pre-steam era, it was better to be traditional.

The first hole card and the second card were drawn, Shard’s face-up card was Star 13, the highest number. He smiled, inserting Star 13 beneath the hole card and gently lifting the latter, not intending to hide the first card:

"Sun 5, Star 13. Oh, the first round already presents me with a challenge."

The Demonologist didn’t reply, continuing to reach for his own deck:

"The protagonist of this story is still the young man who grew up. After killing his lover in the riverside village, he continued his journey far away, seeing more things and experiencing more tragedies. The middle-aged man, using his life to seal the demon, on a rainy night like tonight, arrived at a village plundered by bandits."

"In just a few words, a person has lived through half their life."

Shard commented, finally reaching for his third card:

"Maybe sometimes you should test your luck, anything less than 4 will do, I trust my luck... Oh, Moon 1, seems like my luck isn’t too bad. 19 points, I’ll stay."

Across the table, the Demonologist displayed Star 9, Flower 5, and Sun 10 together:

"Seems like I’m still lacking some luck."

Despite the blowout, he didn’t seem surprised at all, then started the second round with Shard:

"Even in the rain, the blazing fire still lit half the night sky, and the limbs of the villagers twisted in the village while the wailing injured turned to ashes in the fire. The middle-aged man walked from outside the village, facing the bandits setting fire for amusement in the rain. A dark shadow emerged from behind him, and a sharp longsword avenged the innocent. Even without using the sealed demon’s power, after so many years of journeying, he had become strong enough."

Sean Asmon smiled at Shard from the other side of the candle:

"And within the bandit group, he rescued a noblewoman who occasionally rested in the village and was captured by the bandits intending to demand ransom from her family later."

Shard sighed:

"Meeting a girl again, since he bears the responsibility of sealing the demon, he should not form ties with anyone. I can see now that his life had turned toward inevitable tragedy the moment he decided to seal the demon alone as a child."

The first two cards of the second round came into Shard’s hand; he looked and continued to draw, while the sallow-skinned man across the table stopped drawing, leaning forward, still staring at Shard.