Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 572 - Trivial Matters in the Card Game

Chapter 572: Chapter 572: Trivial Matters in the Card Game Chapter 572: Chapter 572: Trivial Matters in the Card Game As expected, Shard’s second game in the Big City Player’s rematch ended just as it had started—with 10 copper coins, totaling 25 copper coins. This time, he didn’t draw any from the Genesis series but unexpectedly drew a Demon Card.

The four gentlemen who lost to him were regretful, yet all expressed at the end that Shard had played well. Mr. Vigil Cameron, who had ties to Carsonrick, showed great interest in Shard, not only wanting to invite him to play cards sometime but also seeking a private conversation with him after the game had ended.

Shard, of course, politely declined.

He could tell that Mr. Cameron wanted to be alone with him and understood that the man probably thought he was the “Grey Hawk” after seeing Genesis: Silver Moon. Even if driven by the money to complete the task, Shard could not possibly engage in such sensitive discussions here.

Moreover, he planned to wait until there was news about the blood purchase, find out the exact price, and then decide whether to undertake the task valued at 2,000 pounds.

After the card game, Baron Lavende stayed in Hall 3 to watch others play cards. Having spent a full day out, Shard only thought about going home to rest with Mia.

But before he left Hall 3, a maid dress like one from the Opera House, after gaining permission from the staff of the Prophet’s Society, hurried into the gaming side hall and predictably stopped in front of Shard:

“Mr. Hamilton, Miss Cavendish requests your presence upstairs.”

“Which Miss Cavendish?”

The words had slipped out before Shard noticed the odd looks from the people around him.

“You’ll know once you’re up there,” the servant carefully said. Feeling embarrassed by his slip, Shard quickly left with Mia. Later, in a box on the third floor which offered the best view of the Opera House’s main stage, he met Princess Angelina Cavendish.

“Knight, so who did you think it would be? My great-aunt Galina? Or perhaps Sister Lecia?”

The Little Princess laughed heartily and invited Shard to watch the opera with her as a thanks for saving her previously.

The Princess, free from political responsibilities and only concerned about her marriage issues, surely lived a comfortable life.

Everything proceeded as planned. On Thursday, Shard went to the Shadis Cotton Mill in the west of the city for the third card game. The Prophet’s Society wasn’t really setting up the game on the mill’s inner open space but had transformed the mill into a venue resembling a steam loom exhibit, inviting card players to play among steel machines, some rusty and others shiny and new.

The environment was very intriguing, and today, Shard met no acquaintances during the game. However, after finishing cards and dining nearby, he indeed encountered a team from Blackstone Security Company, which was part of the Sun Church’s Circle Sorcerer squad performing a mission in the west city.

Iluna was delighted to run into Shard, and her captain, knowing Shard was a friend of hers, allowed Iluna a brief chat with Shard before leaving.

Later, Shard learned from Luviya that that afternoon, the team from Blackstone Security Company had encountered a rare humanoid Relic in west city. Although the mission was completed, this encounter still resulted in nearly half the team members needing at least a week of psychiatric and psychological counseling and evaluation before they could return to work.

However, Iluna was evidently unharmed.

On Friday, after the card games in the east, west, and south parts of the city had concluded, Shard headed to the Three Cats Inn in the north. He was well-acquainted with the place, so he thought this visit might finally spare him Mrs. Sangmi’s teasing about “bringing yet another pretty girl.”

This time, he brought a cat.

Mrs. Sangmi had also participated in the Big City Player’s rematch and, although she had made it to the rematch, revealed during casual conversation that she had lost all her copper coins the day before.

While Shard was waiting for four other people to start their game, Mia Cat unexpectedly picked a fight with the inn’s cats, which were nearly feral and adept at both fending off their kind and hunting mice. The three cats were all larger than the young Mia Cat, but Mia still defeated them. This likely had nothing to do with the Divine Power she had absorbed; after all, Mia’s “ferocity” was well-known by the time Detective Sparrow had found her and arranged for her to stay at a pet shop.

The day’s competition ended with Shard’s victory. Before leaving, the innkeeper Mrs. Sangmi cheerfully wished Shard the best in winning the championship of the Big City Player’s:

“Rather than offer discounts to strangers, I’d prefer to give them to you, Detective, since you’re such a well-behaved guest.”

On Saturday, before heading to Dr. Schneider’s psychological clinic for a meeting, Shard first went to the Prophet’s Society to complete the fifth card game in the core city area.

This Roder Card competition involved many people in the city, and even doctors who usually didn’t play cards were interested in the outcome. When Luviya and Dorothy entered the meeting room at the psychological clinic, they heard Shard discussing the odds of underground gambling with the doctor.

Although Dr. Schneider didn’t play Roder Cards, he was well-aware of the “Big City Player” and after hearing a detailed description from Shard—who mentioned wanting to place a bet but being troubled by the lack of a reliable outlet—tentatively said:

“Betting on the championship in an underground casino, huh… I think I can manage something, but Shard, how confident are you of winning the championship?”

“Over sixty percent,”

Shard cautiously said.

“That conservative, huh?”

Luviya, who had just entered, asked with a smile, and Dorothy, following her, teased:

“Shard, I’ve heard that you’ve never lost a game of Roder Cards.”

Shard glanced at Mia, and Mia’s lack of reaction to Dorothy confirmed she wasn’t the Princess.

“So you’re that good… How much capital can you put up?”

The doctor squinted and asked, considering his own savings of just over two thousand pounds and the high risk of such an “investment,” Shard conservatively replied:

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“1,200 pounds.”

This loss was bearable for him.

“Fine, I’ll add 800 pounds, and after today’s meeting, I will place a bet. Now we are in the final stages of the rematch, and I suppose your odds are already below 1.5, but there’s still money to be made,”

the doctor said, having broader connections locally than any Outlander, and as a single, middle-class psychological doctor, his savings were also quite substantial, so producing 800 pounds was not an issue.

“Then count my 500 pounds in,”

Dorothy said, seated on the single sofa on the east side.

“Where did you get all this money?”

Luviya asked in complete surprise.

“Royalties. The first volume of ‘Hamilton Detective Stories’ is about to be printed after this month’s serialization ends. This is the advance,”

Dorothy said with pride.

“I can’t pull out that much money, but 200 pounds is no problem,”

Luviya shrugged her shoulders, sitting on the single sofa opposite Dorothy, then sighed as she looked at the empty seat beside Shard. Normally during meetings, the two ladies would sit on single sofas, the doctor would sit on the long sofa, and Shard and Priest Augustus would sit on the long sofa opposite the doctor:

“It’s good that Priest Augustus isn’t here,”

Priest Augustus would have criticized them, as he always despised gambling.

“But don’t think for certain that I’ll win,”

Shard cautiously reminded everyone as they seemed eager to join.

“No worries, I can afford to lose 800 pounds,”

the doctor said nonchalantly:

“However, my luck isn’t particularly good, just don’t blame me for dragging you down in such an activity.”

“I trust Shard’s luck,”

Dorothy didn’t comment on the doctor’s words.

“I also trust Shard’s luck, especially with the Roder Card,”

Luviya echoed, winking at Shard.

“No, no, no, luck is a tricky thing,”

Shard thought of the fates of those who manipulated luck, as well as his own experience of being shot in the street almost leaving his body dead on the sidewalk.

“Let’s try out this luck then,”

the Diviner with purple eyes said, then pulled out a six-sided die from his pocket and handed it to Shard:

“Try it out, roll three times. Add a little wager; if the sum of the three rolls is equal to or greater than 30 points, I’ll give you a little gift; if it’s less than 30, your cat comes home with me tonight.”

“Meow?”

Mia looked up at her.

“That’s not fair,”

Shard objected, but still brushed off the cat’s extended paw before taking the seemingly ivory die.

The first roll was a six, the second was a six, and the third was a five.

“Should I gather more money?”

The doctor fell into thought, while Luviya rose from her seat amidst Dorothy’s astonished gaze and naturally kissed Shard on the cheek.

This was probably that little gift.

Last week at the study session, Shard inquired about his “Second Ring” Spirit Rune recommendation from the Academy, and after a week’s consideration, combining some data about himself provided by Shard, the Academy finally recommended [Thunder] as Shard’s next target.

The Spirit Runes recommended by the Academy for Low Ring Sorcerers mostly involved Nature Elementals, as they were somewhat easier and practical. Opting for [Thunder], on one hand, was due to the phenomenon of lightning slicing through the sky in mysticism often being connected with abnormal Space-Time occurrences. On another hand, it was because the Academy felt Shard was lacking in offensive Arcane Techniques and had too many supportive ones, thus they recommended this Spirit Rune capable of linking various powerful attack-class Arcane Techniques.

The book provided by the Academy was the ‘Book of Wild Thunder’, written in the obscure language of the Fifth Era, it described prophecies about thunder. Unlike the chaotic and difficult-to-understand stories in ‘The Mad Light Chaser’, the prophecies in the ‘Book of Wild Thunder’ could all be understood through normal logic.

Only, the terrifying and bizarre extent of those ancient prophecies was mostly more horrifying than the “Sea Return” ritual Shard had personally experienced. The Academy advised Shard to interpret one prophecy at a time, not to read too much content at once. But for Shard, such books still did not pose an influence on him.