Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1776 - 1775: Everyone’s Preparations

After bidding farewell to the doctor, Shard encountered Priest Augustus, who had not yet left, downstairs, and then left together by carriage.

Priest Augustus had deliberately waited for Shard, of course, because he had something to say:

"On Wednesday, did you use the Thorn Ring I gave you?"

"Yes, I used it to use the power that someone else lent me. Now that Thorn Ring is full of cracks, I think it’ll be destroyed if I use it again."

Shard sighed about the effect of that ring:

"It really helped me, otherwise I couldn’t think of how to resolve the situation at the time... As for the skull matter, I still have no clues. Priest, can’t you create an alchemical tool for long-distance tracking of bones?"

"Young man, don’t consider alchemy as all-powerful."

The priest shook his head with a smile:

"You don’t need to rush about this matter; whether we find it or not doesn’t really affect us much. Anyway, if I need to go there, I can leave anytime. If it weren’t for not wanting the Church to know where I went, I could even get the train tickets and accommodation expenses reimbursed by the chapel... The young people managing the finances in the church now are all the ones I trained back in the day."

At least while Dr. Schneider was in Green Lake, Shard didn’t want Priest Augustus to go there. But from the current situation, this time Shard really needed the help of the entire group.

The carriage first dropped the priest off at the Dawn Chapel, and then brought Shard home.

When going upstairs, he found the house quite lively. Dorothy, Luviya, and even Iluna were there, the purple-eyed girl was preparing tea in the kitchen, and Iluna was excitedly discussing with Dorothy about the details of the serialized story published in the Steam Bird Daily this week:

"Is this going to be serialized in five or six long installments? The story setup this time is too interesting; the missing pet dog and that strange cat must have very important stories. It would be a pity if it ends with just three parts."

Dorothy’s recent serialized work, Cat, Dog and Detective, was based on Shard’s experiences in Randall Valley. Ston Osenfort had summoned a demon to deal with the Stone Heart Demon, which transformed into a butler and maid, and after being liberated by Shard, gave him important clues about the final puzzle. After hearing this story, Dorothy cleverly transformed their identities into a cat and a dog. So far, the story had been published in two parts in the newspaper and received widespread acclaim.

Seeing Shard return, the girls all stood up to greet him. Miss Writer noticed that Shard and Iluna had something important to discuss, so she temporarily bade farewell to handle affairs at the publisher, agreeing to return in a little over an hour.

After all, it was Saturday, and she wouldn’t miss her date.

"What is this painting?"

After sending Dorothy off, Iluna on the sofa curiously pointed to the painting covered with black cloth on the wall and asked Shard. Shard casually gestured, and the cloth flapped open on both sides, revealing a vividly colored underwater mermaid oil painting.

Iluna was stunned:

"This... I’ve never seen such a beautiful painting. I’m not saying I lack art appreciation, but this painting... no one would deny its artistic level. I’ve never seen such an art piece. Even the broken arm statue that Shard once gave to Princess Angelina Cavendish... is this also Shard’s work?"

She looked at Shard in shock, and Shard immediately denied:

"I don’t have that level of skill, and besides, I’m not that unlucky."

"Shard said not to look at this painting too much."

Luviya, who came over carrying a tea tray, reminded. She hadn’t seen ’Desire,’ and Shard couldn’t possibly describe it to her in detail, so she only knew roughly:

"But Shard said you’ve seen the entity depicted in the painting."

"At the shore of Pantanal Lake."

Shard also reminded.

Iluna thought for a moment, first shocked, then showed a dissatisfied expression, obviously remembering the incorrect assessment that the woman’s head in the water gave her. Although ’pure’ is a relatively positive neutral term, she didn’t want to be deemed pure at almost eighteen... especially with Shard there at the time:

"Actually, this painting isn’t very pretty."

She said softly again.

Luviya laughed, and Shard also glanced at the painting. It had been hanging there for half a week without any anomalies, but he wouldn’t let his guard down, as he could never fully comprehend ’Desire’s’ strange thoughts.

Leaving Mia in the living room, Shard first went to the bedroom to change clothing before sitting down to discuss matters.

"The Church has already given me orders. I leave on Monday, but I can’t reach Green Lake next week."

Iluna shook her head:

"The Church planned for me to return to the Papacy first for half a week of training."

"Training for what?"

Shard asked, curious, while Luviya seemed to have a guess:

"The method to counteract spatial power?"

Iluna nodded:

"Yes, the island is very dangerous, but as one of the Chosen, I can’t avoid setting foot on it. To prevent unexpected events, I need some safety training, at least to have a chance to defend myself when facing chaotic space."

This wasn’t difficult for her. The power of "Balance" could maintain space stability. Although its effects weren’t as targeted as Shard’s "Spatial Stabilization Aura" for unstable spaces, with a bit of training, Iluna could learn methods for self-defense.

"Though it’s not my first business trip, it’s already early June, and I’m afraid I won’t be back until at least the end of the month."

Iluna said, sneaking a glance at the two of them. Luviya gave Shard a look, hinting at him, and Shard understood what she meant:

"If you’re not back by your birthday, I’ll celebrate it on Luviya’s behalf."

"I wasn’t talking about my birthday..."

"I’ve already prepared the gift."

The girl with purple eyes said, and Shard also nodded: 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"I want to prepare something unexpected this time. An 18th birthday is quite important."

He had already selected a gift but wasn’t sure if he could get it, considering the gift was still in the Fifth Era.

Iluna expressed her thanks shyly, and Luviya took out the small pouch Priest Augustus had given her during the group study session:

"It’s perfect that Iluna is here too. I’ve gathered enough coins, and before Iluna departs, we need to clarify a few matters. For example, whether the Prophet’s Society’s traitor, who claims to be the ’Chosen of Space’, truly is who he says he is."

The drawstring bag was opened, revealing four coins inside. Three of them were identical, a completely new type of coin Shard had never seen before.

The coins were quite large, about the size of half a hand, made of brass, though relatively thin. The side Shard considered to be the front featured an image of a house, while the back was filled with text:

"A house is not a home, but without a house, there cannot be a home."

"Poet-Level Relic [Home Coin], a simple and straightforward name. Its function is that during a night of the Yellow Moon’s fullness within the span of three celestial moons, tossing this coin into a lake or river at midnight will legally and reasonably secure you a house of your own within a month."

Luviya explained, and both Shard and Iluna were quite interested in it. The Female Diviner added:

"It could be a simple straw hut, or possibly an expensive property like No. 6, Saint Delan Square, which most people couldn’t afford in a lifetime. A Poet-Level Relic, not very dangerous, though houses obtained with such coins tend to attract some unsavory things."

She gave an example:

"For instance, if a Humanoid Relic visited the neighborhood, it would most likely go directly to a house obtained with this kind of coin. Houses are important, but I doubt anyone would risk that."

"No, I think someone might... oh, I recognize the last coin."

The Outlander reminisced about his homeland and picked up the remaining coin from the pouch:

"Scribe Level Relic [Soul Coin of the Zealot] (Chapter 796), this coin can be used for transactions with demons or certain humanoid relics, but doing so would taint one with indelible sins. I didn’t expect Priest Augustus to actually find such a coin for us."

"The priest is quite a remarkable person."

Luviya said, then asked Shard to bring out the only remaining [Wraith Iron Coin]:

"With this, aside from the [Diviner’s Silver Coin] we’re unwilling to consume, we have five coins we can spend. I intend to attempt a high-level divination. Shard, Iluna, I’ll need your help."

"What are you going to divine?"

Shard asked.

"I still can’t directly divinate the identity of the Chosen, but as my level rises, I’m now able to touch upon vague information about the Chosen. Since this time’s Chosen of Space possesses the characteristic of ’United as One’, I will divine how many people are within the components of that ’United’ and who they might be."

They all went to the second room on the third floor. This room, still without a defined purpose, was quite spacious, making it very suitable for holding a ritual.

Theoretically, Luviya’s special method of divination couldn’t be enhanced by any means. Even relics that could assist in divination, such as the [Diviner’s Silver Coin] and the [Obsidian Pendulum] in her hand, had no effect on it.

Shard and Iluna vaguely understood that Luviya’s special divination was related to her powerful abilities in bygone times. Therefore, strengthening this power could only be accomplished using might that transcends the mundane.

Such as the power of the Chosen.

Following Luviya’s instructions, Shard drew the pattern of the sun, moon, and stars on the floor, which he and Miss Danester had been investigating. Luviya sensed this ritual circle had a significant origin and decided to try it.

As for Iluna, she summoned the Ring of Fate behind her, transforming the Brass Life Ring into a dark golden Balance. Then, she carefully cradled her Balance and handed it to Luviya.