Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 508 -

"Miss Galina even doubted whether I was actually a man," Shard explained with a smirk as he stood at the entrance ramp to the bridge, searching the river's surface for those occasional red halos.

"It's quite funny, the Deity himself acknowledged that I am indeed a man."

"That's good to hear," Luviya responded, barely suppressing her laughter.

After entering the Lower District in the northern part of the city, Daknis had stopped swimming at the riverbed's bottom and instead moved swiftly near the water's surface. When he finally chose to come ashore to avoid being detected by the church, he used the Dark Vortex to transition directly from the water to the land.

With no water flow to obscure his vision anymore, he could easily discern the direction of the blood red halos this time.

As Shard and Luviya chatted, they turned off the tree-lined river path into a small side alley. Unlike others who might move across rooftops, Daknis used his Dark Gift at every intersection to move without leaving any traces.

He was so cautious that he circled the nearby area several times, nearly drawing the attention of residents in nearby blocks due to the aimless wandering of Shard and Luviya.

Eventually, Daknis abruptly emerged from the alley and started moving eastward.

He hadn't left the Lower District but presumably thought he had managed to shake off his pursuers, hence he no longer circled around. Finally, he entered Rotten Fish Alley, where the blind musician, Mr. Mendis, once lived.

He walked beneath the gray bridge hanging between two towers, passed by a building that had been ravaged by fire, and entered a slightly wider alley. Continuing east, he went through dilapidated apartments with peeling walls in the Lower District, following the direction of steam pipes, until he arrived at the main hub with a large locust tree at the center of Five-Forked Road.

"I've taken this route before when I was searching for the late blind musician, Mr. Mendis," Shard and Luviya said. Knowing that the path ahead was littered with dung and trash, they covered their noses and mouths with their collars in advance.

"Where did you start your journey from then?" asked Luviya.

"Hymn Square, which is the center of the Lower District."

"I often come around here; the Lower District's magician black market accounts for sixty percent of the city's market," Luviya added.

The two were almost retracing the steps Shard had taken on his last visit, walking through the complex network of slums and onto the streets north of Hymn Square. On this foggy morning, bustling with crowds, they actually entered Hymn Square.

"His hideout is nearby?" Luviya expressed in surprise while Shard stood beside the square, watching as the targets of the red halos headed straight for a location he was well familiar with:

"There's more to be surprised about."

"What is it?"

"He's living here."

Following the direction Shard pointed, Luviya looked past the square's vendors and crowds to see the inn occupying a large area on the east side of the square, where she saw the wooden sign with the image of the Three Cats and the name "Three Cats Inn."

"Are you sure he's staying here?"

Luviya sounded incredulous. This was not one of the possible hideouts they had discussed on their way here, such as the city's underground sewage system, drainage ditches by the river, crevices in dead-end alley walls, or abandoned, haunted houses.

"What surprises me more is that he's been staying here, and yet the church still hasn't found him."

Shard was equally astonished because the Echo of Blood couldn't be wrong. It was a tracking of blood, time, and space. Unless Daknis realized someone was using this ability to track him, he couldn't possibly counteract it.

"He might have disguising abilities. Perhaps when we find him, he may look different from what you saw," Luviya reminded. Shard nodded and hesitated,

"Although we're sure he's in the Three Cats Inn, let's go in to make sure for safety. We don't need to see him; we just need to confirm his exact location. Once confirmed, we'll immediately report the information to the church."

In such a crowded place, neither Shard nor Luviya wanted to confront Daknis head-on.

"No problem, but wait a moment,"

Luviya took out a coin and flipped it:

"No worries, although the divination result might not be completely accurate, I'm sure we're not in any danger this time."

"Alright then, please follow me."

They merged into the route letting out onto Hymn Square from the edge of the square where the late summer sunshine streamed down from behind the surrounding buildings. It was already ten in the morning, and as Shard led Luviya through the crowd, he thought that if all went well, they could have lunch together at noon.

And if all went as expected, this adventure would be Shard's last for the summer.

Shard was already familiar with the Three Cats Inn. Upon entering, he did not approach the counter but found a table near a female bard playing the lute. He called over the waiter to order some drinks and food.

Luviya observed the situation on the first floor and borrowed the Roder Card to perform a divination.

Shard's eyes carefully watched the first-floor staircase because what he saw was the traces left by Daknis within the last 24 hours; thus, the red glows on the first floor were indeed numerous.

By the depth of the colors, one could effectively distinguish how recent these red glows were. Shard found the glow he had been tracking all along, and after comparing it with other glows, he could mostly confirm that Daknis had not come down after returning here last night.

This raised a new problem; although he hadn't found any other traces of his movements near the Three Cats Inn on the way here, this Six Rings Warlock, who possessed a demon, might still be here. However, the possibility that he had left using other means couldn't be ruled out either.

The waitress brought over a tray carrying the Three Cats Inn's specialty "Sheep's Milk Beer". As the hops floated above the liquid surface, the full cup set down on the wooden tabletop made a 'thud' sound.

Luviya took back the cards and handed them to Shard. After the waitress left, she said quietly under the sound of the lute:

"Daknis is most likely still here, but I can't be completely sure. Shard, for safety, we can't go upstairs directly."

"Yes, I understand. But we can't just leave either..."

Shard looked up and thought:

"It's ten o'clock and three minutes now; we'll sit here for half an hour without making any additional moves. After my 'Echo of Blood' status expires, if Daknis still hasn't come downstairs, I'll think of another plan."

"No problem."

Luviya said, taking a sip from her glass and then frowning:

"Oh, this is really bad."

At ten twenty-seven, Shard's eyes returned to their normal state, but Daknis still hadn't appeared on the first floor of the Three Cats Inn. During this time, four people had come down from upstairs, but none were magicians.

Seeing that the time was about right, Shard took Luviya to the counter. Mrs. Sangmi, the inn's owner, clearly remembered this detective who had won the 'King's Secret Order: Substitute' from her, and while wiping her hands with a towel, she joked with a smile:

"Oh, isn't this Hamilton Detective? Here again? Look, you've brought another girl with you this time. She's pretty. Is she your new assistant?"

Luviya raised her eyebrows.

"Mrs. Sangmi, good afternoon. I'm here for some business again, but I don't have time for cards this time."

Shard greeted her familiarly, hoping that this time it would be as smoothly as the last.

"Don't worry, I don't plan to give you my painstakingly collected cards again before figuring out how to deal with you."

Mrs. Sangmi put down the towel she was using to wipe her hands, then curiously asked:

"So, detective, who are you looking for this time?"

Shard did not want to involve ordinary people in the affairs of magicians, especially since Daknis was not an ordinary magician.

While thinking about how to talk her into giving him the ledger directly instead of asking for clues about the guests from her, an abrupt voice rang in his ear:

[Outlander, be careful behind you. A High Ring Sorcerer has entered the inn.]

"What? A High Ring Sorcerer?"

His eyes slightly widened, then turning to Mrs. Sangmi, he shook his head:

"I also wanted to inquire about Miss Mary. My client is really troublesome, always with additional requests. But I can't find her directly this time; she satisfied with lies, so I want to learn some information from you."

Mrs. Sangmi, unaware of Shard's initial intention, didn't catch the sudden change in his topic. But Luviya, knowing what Shard had initially wanted to ask, looked puzzled yet remained silent at the side.

[It's coming in your direction.]

"I really don't want to deal with this type of technician worker, but she obviously withheld some information last time. Oh, I even left Mr. Mendis's belongings with her, and she still deceived me," Shard complained while standing at the counter.

"It seems you rarely deal with such professionals. They always have been like this,"

Mrs. Sangmi said, shaking her head as if it were the norm:

"Such people, always…"

"Madam."

[It's him.]

A man, quite shorter than Shard and somewhat thin, came to the counter, took off his hat, and while knocking on the table, he spoke up. He looked quite affable and also appeared ill. Although it was still warm at the end of summer, he was wrapped in a coat.

That coat was dark red, almost approaching black, with all its double-breasted buttons fastened as if he feared freezing to death should any of them come undone.

He apologized to Shard with a smile:

"Sorry, sir, I have an urgent matter to discuss with this lady; may I speak first?"

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Saying so, he handed Shard a coin; Shard nodded in understanding and sat down with Luviya at a slightly distant spot.