Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1752 - 1751: The Reed Thicket

After Shard helped Megan put on her coat, Miss Danester finally asked the question she really wanted to ask:

"If I didn’t hear wrong, the Mirror Keeper said you are a God Summoner?"

She still wore a smile on her face, making it clear that all her earlier talk was leading up to this question. She seemed to enjoy watching Shard look flustered and at a loss more than actually exposing him.

But Shard calmly replied:

"He mistook me for someone else. He not only said I was a God Summoner but also claimed I was a member of the Edwards family. But the Academy has investigated my background, and I’m very sure I have nothing to do with Green Lake or the Edwards family."

The female sorcerer showed a regretful expression:

"Yes, Ail Harken really talks too much."

Even Megan understood what she was regretting, but Miss Danester quickly turned to the brunette behind Shard. However, the Academy Librarian did not speak to Megan but instead asked Shard:

"You’re definitely not from the Edwards family, but what about this lady? Introduce her to me."

"Hmm..."

Shard glanced at Megan, and after she nodded, he said:

"Yes, this is the girl I mentioned, who helped me land on the island and search for clues about the Edwards family."

"She’s truly beautiful, and although your love life is somewhat complicated, I must admit you have an excellent eye."

Miss Danester commented, as Megan stood behind Shard with her head down, determined not to speak proactively.

"You both should understand the matter of The Chosen, so I won’t explain. The Chosen of Space is suspected to be connected with the entire Edwards family, so Miss Edwards, you know what you will face. Your ancestor just claimed he’s The Chosen, but we can’t just believe everything he says; you must remain vigilant."

Megan lightly nodded while holding Shard’s shoulder.

"Miss Edwards, although you are a High Ring Sorcerer, you probably aren’t at Twelve Rings. So, in the upcoming conflicts, you can’t be considered a strong player. If needed, you can keep in touch with Saint Byrons. I don’t know your background or origin, but since you are Shard’s... you are my student’s female friend, you are a friend of Saint Byrons."

The red-haired Thirteen-Ring Sorceress offered this suggestion, which also benefits Saint Byrons. After all, this is the first time a suspected The Chosen has been connected with the Academy, as The Chosen has reached the sixth instance.

"Thank you."

Megan squeezed out a voice from her throat, fearing her identity might get discovered.

Miss Danester nodded, then said to Shard:

"I’ll return to the Academy, and I’ll bring a team back in a week or two. Make sure to see me then. Don’t stay here too long; although I ’believe’ you aren’t a God Summoner, others probably won’t."

Shard was awkwardly at a loss for words, making Miss Danester’s smile even broader. She looked up at the still absent triple moon and reminded her student:

"Be careful; after tonight, there may be more anomalies in the Green Lake region. Also, don’t forget to learn the Arcane Technique [Black Moon Insignia] tonight. If you miss tonight, arrange additional rituals could cost you dearly for a long time."

"Goodbye, Miss Danester, and have a pleasant night."

Shard bid farewell to his teacher, and the red-haired sorceress waved:

"Goodbye, see you soon. And until I arrive at Green Lake, don’t venture to the island lightly unless you have a special reason."

"I understand."

Shard said, looking at Miss Danester’s rose-red eyes, which bloomed with a smile, then turned into a ball of light and flew into the distance, truly returning to the Academy.

"Don’t move yet; she might come back."

Just as Shard was about to turn to speak to Megan, the girl behind him grabbed his shoulder, preventing him from turning his head.

"She’s my teacher, not an ambushing villain."

Shard reminded, while re-arranging the Illusion Technique to cover the surroundings. Miss Danester could locate them because Shard had purposely left traces for her and Miss Galina; otherwise, even High Ring Female Sorceresses like them wouldn’t easily spot the two.

"You never mentioned your often-mentioned teacher is actually ’Red Moon Witch’ Danester."

Once the Illusion Technique formed, Megan finally allowed Shard to turn around, then enthusiastically threw her arms around his neck:

"This all makes me look silly; it turns out you’ve always been confident about everything."

She was definitely not blaming Shard, which Shard could feel from her enthusiastic embrace:

"I planned to tell you about my teacher after revealing my true identity to you. Miss Danester is a really nice person, but I didn’t expect her to fly here to find me directly."

Megan rested her head on his shoulder, softly continuing in Shard’s ear:

"This is no ordinary teacher-student relationship; you truly have a great teacher... I should have figured it out myself. You are from Saint Byrons and ascended to the Six Rings in less than a year. Your teacher must be very powerful. Plus, you mentioned your teacher is a woman, so it has to be the Red Moon Witch."

She bit her lip, but since neither of them could see each other’s face at this moment, Shard didn’t see this action:

"If I remember correctly, Miss Danester is the Academy Librarian at Saint Byrons Integrated Academy. If you are her only student, won’t you be the next Academy Librarian?"

"Theoretically, that’s the case, but these things are still too far away."

Shard said, then suddenly paused, sensing Miss Galina appearing at the edge of the Illusion Technique. Fortunately, he was tightly holding Megan now, so since the badge was already hot, he didn’t need to worry about Megan noticing the anomaly.

The Church’s team would soon search here, to prevent Miss Galina from being discovered by the Church’s squad, so Shard did not inform Megan immediately, but instead partially removed the Illusion Technique to allow the Duchess to enter this reed field.

He certainly didn’t want Miss Galina to see him embracing Megan as she arrived, so he tried to let go of the girl in his arms. Unexpectedly, Megan refused to let go and said with a slightly coquettish tone:

"Do you really not want to be with me?"

Cold sweat trickled down Shard’s back because from his direction, he could clearly see the beautiful red-haired Duchess walking silently out of the dark reeds. Without moonlight, her entire face was hidden in shadow.

Because of Shard’s Illusion Technique and Miss Galina’s own concealment skills, Megan, who had her back to her, did not notice the arrival of her Council colleague, only sensing Shard’s heartbeat suddenly speeding up, assuming it was because of her.

The red-haired Grand Witch slightly lifted her head, allowing Shard to see her expression clearly using Dark Vision. Her face showed no anger nor killing intent; rather, she smiled at Shard as if she had anticipated seeing this scene.

Seeing Shard open his mouth to call her by name, Miss Galina raised a finger to her lips to signal Shard to keep silent, then her voice resonated directly in Shard’s mind:

"If you acknowledge knowing me now, you can forget about ever getting into my bed again."

Shard, still holding Megan, winked at the not-far-away beautiful red-haired Grand Witch:

"Hmm... Are you serious?"

He didn’t possess any skill to speak in someone’s mind, but he believed his expression had accurately conveyed the meaning of those words.

So the Duchess thought for a while, feeling she was at too much of a disadvantage. She then gently bit her lower lip, gave Shard a charming look, and blew him a kiss:

"Help me; don’t meet with me now. I must give Audrey a ’surprise’ this time. Fine, after the banquet on Friday, I’ll give you a surprise too."

Only then did Shard nod gently. As the Red-haired Witch retreated into the darkness, temporarily hiding, he spoke to Megan:

"Someone else is coming, though they’re temporarily blocked by my Illusion Technique. But it seems they’ll soon break through the illusion, and they possess a very peculiar power... It seems to be the same red-haired lady who appeared with Miss Danester just now. Is she a friend of Miss Danester’s? Strange, how come I’ve never seen her before."

Megan’s face changed, and she promptly released her hold on Shard:

"You should leave first; she’s likely here for me. The other party is very... very unreasonable and has a bias against men, a very strange woman."

Shard couldn’t help but ask:

"Are there really people like that? Do you need me to stay and face her with you? Would she harm you?"

"No, absolutely not. You should go first, go now and don’t look back!"

Then she kissed the side of Shard’s face and pushed him to leave.

Shard waved goodbye to Megan:

"I’ll come and find you tomorrow, same place as always."

The Sorceress was reluctant to part ways with Shard like this:

"What’s tomorrow? Don’t you still want to know my current soul status? Go to the inn room and wait for me; I’ll come shortly to explain my situation now."

So Shard nodded. She watched Shard take a step back, disappearing into the reed cluster, then immediately patted her face, transitioning from Megan to Audrey while adjusting her mood and expression.

Turning her head, the red-haired Duchess’s face first appeared in the gaps of the reeds. Even in such a bad environment, the elegantly and charmingly red-haired Grand Witch then fully appeared before her.

Galina Cavendish wore an inscrutable smile, tilting her head to look in the direction where Shard disappeared, then spoke:

"Good evening, Audrey."

She assessed her colleague:

"You seem very different."

"Good evening, Galina."

Audrey Edwards seamlessly blocked the view of the Red-haired Witch, deeply grateful that Shard had left in time.