Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 659 - The Reappearance of the Star Whale
Chapter 659: Chapter 659: The Reappearance of the Star Whale
Chapter 659: Chapter 659: The Reappearance of the Star Whale
The old witch sitting on the sofa nodded slowly to Shard:
“Yes, there is a witch in Velindale City, but I can’t tell you which one. You’ve already heard the rumors, huh? Fine, I’ll speak to her next week and tell her to keep a low profile for the time being.”
Shard nodded and said nothing more. He was merely curious, now that both of the major human kingdoms in the material world had obtained some theoretical materials and models of the “difference engine”, which direction this civilization of the Steam Age would take.
Throughout the entire day, Shard did not leave Midshire Fort. After lunch, he went to the House of the Blind and the railway black market to gather information. He did not hear any particularly valuable intelligence, but he did hear that after the earthquake, the nights in the Sicarl Mountain had become dangerous.
The Circle Sorcerers living in this city knew that the Evil Spirits here were growing stronger. And lately, the True God Church was frequently going in and out of the woods, presumably beginning to conduct a large-scale ritual.
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After returning home in the evening, he solemnly put away the 200 Krone, then went to find Dorothy and asked her to tell Lecia that the briefcase had been delivered to its intended destination. As for the 1,000 pounds promised by the Princess of the Southern Nation, Shard was in no rush to retrieve it from the address on the note. On the one hand, the information should not reach Tobesk so quickly, and on the other hand, the Grey Owl needed to maintain some dignity.
He planned to go and collect it in a few weeks if he was short on money.
Afterward, Shard wrote a letter to Miss Galina, wanting to talk to her about the witch in the capital of the Southern Nation, Velindale City.
He was not yet very familiar with Granny Cassandra, but he had come to trust Miss Galina considerably. It was necessary to inform Miss Galina that the Princess of Carsonrick possessed the power of a witch.
That night, Luviya, who was stargazing in Saint Delan Square, burst excitedly into Shard’s bedroom at one in the morning, once again.
Mia, who had prior experience, immediately dove under the covers, determined not to be tossed into the closet by Shard again.
“Oh, Shard, wake up, take a look at what I’ve found!”
The girl with purple eyes was trying to rouse him with a hand-drawn star chart and a black-and-white photograph in hand, standing beside Shard’s bed.
Mia poked her head out from under the blankets, curiously peering at the shaking photograph, while Shard, sleepy-eyed, yawned and got up from his comfy bed nest:
“Oh, Luviya, do you realize it’s one in the morning?”
Still, he turned on the gas lamp on the bedside table and took the hand-drawn star chart and its photograph:
“I see… your hand-drawing is very accurate? Yes, it’s quite good.”
“No, it’s an omen—the big one is coming from the starry sky!”
Luviya was especially excited, and her words immediately woke Shard up completely, who looked up in alarm:
“We haven’t even resolved all of Midshire Fort’s issues, and now something is coming from the starry sky again? Indescribable Evil Objects? An Evil God preparing for Godfall? Or Ancient Ones that exist in the void?”
“No, no, it’s the Star Ocean Whale!”
Luviya was excessively excited, now only the gas light by the bed was lit in the bedroom, and she stood in the shadows by the window, her purple eyes gleaming as if they really emitted light:
“The one you’ve mentioned to me before, haven’t you tasted its Blood Brew?”
Shard, still somewhat muddled, thought for a moment:
“Yes, Miss Galina said that due to the overhunting by the Witch Empresses of the Fifth Era, those celestial creatures moved from appearing in the material world every 300 years to every 1,200 years or more. And what used to be individual appearances are now in groups. The last time they appeared was…” (Chapter 569)
His memory was a bit fuzzy, having been woken up abruptly.
[Over six hundred years in the Common Era Calendar.]
She whispered in Shard’s ear with a smile.
“Over six hundred years in the Common Era Calendar.”
He yawned and pulled the cat out from under the blanket. He usually did not allow the pet cat under the covers, although Mia hardly shed any fur and had no odor on her, but he still believed it was better not to let pet cats under the covers.
“Indeed, six hundred years after the 1,200, isn’t it now? It’s the year 1853!”
Luviya pointed excitedly upwards:
“Through observing, I am almost certain that the Star Ocean Whale will appear in the night sky of the material world before the end of this autumn! There must be an optimal observation point, oh, I must seize this once-in-1,200-years opportunity!”
“Does the Academy know about this?”
Shard asked, suppressing the urge to yawn again.
“The Academy’s astronomy equipment is better, and the night sky in the Far North is much clearer than the city’s night sky… Yes, the Academy should also be able to observe this omen tonight! This autumn’s stargazing activity might incorporate observing the Star Ocean Whale as high-value exam content!”
She leaned over to hug Shard’s head, kissed him quickly, and spoke rapidly:
“I must get high scores so that I can take Professor Scar Ranch’s ‘The Starry Sky and Another Me’ next spring!”
Having said that, the girl with purple eyes turned and left the bedroom, and by the sound of it, she returned to the third floor. Shard was left sitting on the bed holding his cat, the man and the cat looking at each other.
“What just happened?”
He asked Mia.
“Meow~”
The cat in his arms rubbed against Shard’s pajamas, then squinted as if she’d fallen asleep again.
(Mia running…)
“Why do you look like you just woke up?”
On Thursday morning, Miss Galina sitting on the sofa teased Shard, who shook his head:
“I had a strange dream where I was running on the sea surface, then chased by a huge killer whale.”
“Then did you kill the whale?”
“No, an even bigger Mia suddenly leaped out of the sun and snatched the whale out of the sea.”
Laughter suddenly came from the side. Shard and Miss Galina both looked over to find that it was the young maid who had brought the teacups and couldn’t help laughing.
This maid’s name was Vera Torian, one of Miss Galina’s personal maids, and Shard had seen her many times.
“Control yourself, and do not embarrass me in front of others.”
Miss Galina said, and then Tifa took the young maid who had accidently laughed into the kitchen for a talking-to.
“I’m probably a bit too kind to them, so these girls indeed tend to be a bit unruly at times.”
The Red-Haired Witch said to Shard, then picked up a teacup:
“But you didn’t write to me just to meet my personal maids, did you?”
“Of course not, it’s like this—I encountered a female sorcerer with witch powers at Midshire Fort, but she was not one of Granny Cassandra’s people, she is a princess from Carsonrick.”
“Oh? Are you sure, the princess of Carsonrick, was at Midshire Fort?”
That was what Miss Galina was interested in.
“She was still in Midshire Fort yesterday morning. I figure even at her quickest, she couldn’t possibly return to the capital city of Velindale today. A little investigation should clarify this.”
“That’s quite intriguing, she actually turned the princess of Carsonrick into one of her followers.”
Miss Galina laughed, not as surprised as Shard had been yesterday.
“So, is there really a Grand Witch in Velindale City?”
“Yes, indeed there is, but I won’t say who it is.”
“Then, the Carsonrick Royalty has Circle Sorcerers as well?”
“Of course. Since you know Lecia, you should be aware that the Draleon Royal Family, which means our Cavendish Family, has ties with Zaras Literary Academy, hence we send family members with talent there to study. So as one of the human kingdoms standing side by side with Draleon, would the Carsonrick Royal Family really have no ties to the mysterious world at all? Even if not to compete with Draleon, the Anjou Family would also need to be wary of the Church of the Five Gods.”
“Which academy is the Anjou Family connected to? Saint Byrons, where I studied? Or Xerxes Higher Medical Academy, known for its expertise in magic potions and alchemy?”
“The latter. But I can’t be certain that the princess you met was nurtured by a witch rather than by Xerxes, and that’s quite interesting. I think it warrants further investigation.”
Miss Galina narrowed her eyes, contemplating her own schemes. Although that southern nation princess was a follower of another Grand Witch from the Council, Miss Galina didn’t mind exploiting these matters to gain some benefits. After all, her domain, the County of Saradiel, lay in the southwestern part of the kingdom and bordered the United Kingdom of Carsonrick.
“The Draleon Royalty is connected to Zaras Literary Academy, and the Carsonrick Royalty to Xerxes?”
Shard was still pondering this.
“Yes, even though the Three Great Magics Academies are on the edge of the sphere of human civilization, they have their own industries within society, which is why they have connections with the Royal Families.”
“But in this era, there are only two greatest human kingdoms. If Zaras is tied to one and Xerxes to another, what about Saint Byrons?”
“Saint Byrons doesn’t need it, because it is very powerful on its own.”
“Why is that?”
“Because Saint Byrons specializes in containing Relics.”
Miss Galina put it simply:
“The topmost Grand Witches of the Fifth Era could themselves rival Tier 0 Relics and even converse amicably with Saints, but the Thirteen-Ring Sorcerers of the Sixth Era cannot. That’s the reason.”
Miss Galina had other matters today, so after chatting with Shard for a while, she left.
Shard had his own business too, leaving Mia to watch the house. After preparing her lunch, he set off for Midshire Fort.
Today was Thursday, and last week after solving the murder case at Midshire Fort Mechanical Academy, Captain Lades had invited Shard to meet up at the camp on Rising Wind Trail during his day off today. Old friends could chat or go hunting together.
Of course, if the fog didn’t roll in on Sicarl Mountain this afternoon, Shard planned to look for the Demon Hunter’s sword as well.
Therefore, after leaving the Ruined Tower and passing through the woods to the main mountain road, Shard didn’t head down toward Milestone City but instead continued upwards along the mountain path.
Rising Wind Trail was one of the most important passages for trekking across the national border of Sicarl Mountain, and Captain Lades’ Red Water Camp was the largest military camp alongside the trail.
