Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 900 - 900: Banquet Games

"Big guy?"

Thinking back to the incident at Lakeside Manor, Shard instinctively thought of Godfall, showing a hint of panic on his face, but then remembered that the relic "Desecration Cross" was on him, which he used to steal...

"I don't know what you're thinking, but from your expression, you're probably mistaken."

Miss Galina stretched out her hand and pointed at Shard's forehead with her slender, white finger.

Miss Sylvia added while flipping through Shard's manuscript:

"It should be some kind of relic, a location-based relic, because we don't know exactly what it is yet. It will likely fully appear in the center of Lake Schluch tonight between eight and ten. For now, only we know this; witches have an extraordinary level of perception about elements and relics."

"That's basically how it is."

Miss Galina said, handing her wine glass to Shard, gesturing for him to taste it. Shard then drank the red wine at the bottom of the glass, and Tifa continued to pour more wine.

"Should we cancel the banquet? Considering there are so many ordinary people here."

Shard asked.

"No need, the opponent won't be particularly strong. Besides, you know that the characteristic of location-based relics is that as long as you don't enter inside, you won't be greatly affected. The Church has arranged a squad of Circle Sorcerers to protect Margaret Anjou, who was attacked in Huntington. If anything happens, the two of us and the Church's sorcerers can handle it."

Miss Galina said, and Shard felt much more relieved, handing back the refilled wine glass by Tifa. Her relaxed attitude toward Angelina playing in the manor also indicated that the Grand Witch really didn't feel there was any danger.

"And even if an unsolvable problem appears, aren't you here too?"

The Duchess added jokingly, shaking her fingers, seemingly intentionally showing Shard her nails.

Miss Sylvia raised her eyebrows, feeling that Galina Cavendish's words seemed to have a deeper meaning. Considering Shard could go to Huntington anytime, and he had the flames from Sister Delphine of the Spiritual Practice Order, the young Grand Witch felt it necessary to investigate the events that happened in Mountain City in the fall.

"I'm just Four Rings, not having power like you."

Shard said casually, but still had a little worry in his heart:

"What's the reason for this anomaly? The appearance of location-based relics, could it be that this manor's luck has always been bad?"

"It's unclear at the moment. If there's time later, I'll try to find the Speaker at the Council; she's very knowledgeable about phenomena like this."

Miss Galina shrugged, sipping the wine from the glass Shard had drunk from.

It proved that in cities where the first Chosen One Iluna resided, the likelihood of accidents was significantly higher than in other places.

The two witches had a lot more to discuss, so Shard didn't stay long here and soon left. After Shard closed the door, Miss Galina half-complained to Miss Sylvia:

"He didn't even compliment my nails. I specifically used the formula you gave me to make the nail polish; isn't it beautiful?"

Miss Sylvia didn't know how to respond; although she knew of Shard's private relationship with this powerful lady beforehand, she didn't think their relationship had reached this level:

"Hmm..."

"Miss, maybe Mr. Hamilton was just attracted to other parts of your body. Compared to nails, you had many places that drew his attention today."

Tifa whispered, and the Duchess showed a satisfied smile, continuing to look at the manor garden in the sunset, holding her wine glass:

"Tifa, I really don't know what kind of love potion the knight gave you. But, you do have a point."

Miss Sylvia took a sip of her wine, concealing her expression, internally reassessing what Shard's appearance meant for the Witch Council, but thinking of the young gentleman's demeanor just now, his firm handling of the "Pantanal Evil Objects" statue in Huntington, and the manuscript in hand, she couldn't help but marvel internally:

"However, Shard Hamilton does indeed have the ability to attract witches."

On the other side, Shard had already left the third floor with little Mia. Since the horse racing invited by Angelina hadn't started, Shard took this opportunity to get some food in the garden, trying to fill his stomach as there were plenty of things to do tonight.

The Esberg family's banquet truly spared no expense; even though it was already winter at the end of Frostfall Moon, one could still see fresh summer vegetable salads and timely fish from the West Coast on the dining table.

As for the five-layered big cake, it didn't seem much when viewed from upstairs, but standing beside it, looking up, Shard felt he wouldn't see a dessert of this scale anytime soon.

But the big cake, which had firmly attracted little Mia, wasn't the most eye-catching thing in the long table area. At the end of the long table near the entrance to the mansion, hundreds of red paper boxes piled into a small hill, filling the ground and a small part of the table.

Guests wearing retro robes, regular formal wear, and red wool sweaters paired with waistcoats from various backgrounds gathered there, smiling as they watched people try to open those boxes.

This is a traditional reserve item for the Draleon wedding banquet: the "Lucky Red Box". Guests attending the banquet can open the boxes at their leisure, but no matter what they find inside, they must carry the items with them all night. Although there are a few valuable souvenirs in these boxes, most of them contain prank toys.

Nobles enjoy such "mischiefs" at wedding banquets, and people even compare which family prepared the most distinctive "Lucky Red Box" for their wedding.

Shard spotted his friend Baron Lavende among the crowd. The last time he saw him was last week when they played a round of Roder Card at the Prophet's Society to thank him for introducing business. The baron opened a box and pulled out a doll in a dress not much larger than his palm. Amidst the uproarious laughter, he somewhat grumpily placed it in the pocket of his formal attire's chest.

People laughed even more joyfully.

"Shard!"

Baron Lavende also noticed Shard eating and waved, walking over to encourage him to give it a try:

"Only true brave ones would do this!"

He persuaded, while Shard stifled a laugh and glanced at the doll's head peeking from his chest, handed him a glass of red wine:

"I've heard of unlucky folks open boxes and find a donkey ear hair clip, ending up wearing it all night."

"Now that donkey ear is a unique souvenir that can sell for 50 pounds. Oh, Shard, as the champion of the Big City Player, you should trust in your luck."

Baron Lavende continued to coax, and Shard, thinking he had nothing else to do for now, really went over. The excited crowd spotted Shard and called out "Rejed's Hamilton," and exaggeratedly claimed the Esberg Family might have prepared "expensive" souvenirs.

"Is there a donkey ear hair clip this time?"

He casually jumped to open a box, and Baron Lavende beside him laughed and answered:

"I've heard there are cat ears."

"If I really get a cat ear hair clip, I'll put it on my cat."

He said, touching Mia, who was still staring tilted-headed at the big cake, the cat completely ignored Shard.

Shard's luck wasn't too bad; inside the box was a pink veil. Although it was somewhat inappropriate for a man to wear this, Shard still tucked it into his chest pocket and exposed a corner, making Baron Lavende with the doll significantly disappointed:

"Look, before the Roder Card game starts, I'm already unlucky."

There were still ten minutes left before the horse racing officially began, Shard agreed to meet Baron during the Roder Card game and headed to the manor's gate.

The tents already glowed with bright, warm lights, illuminating the world in the last rays of sunset. Ropes with colorful flags almost connected all buildings in the courtyard and garden.

After the Esberg Family took over this manor, they renovated the courtyard, creating interconnected ground canals not densely arranged. The canals were roughly a quarter of an adult's width, very shallow, only enough to submerge small animals like Mia, covered with stone slabs for convenient walking.

Under the unclear moonlight, outside the bright tents, were canals floating with leaves and petals from unknown sources. The water in the canals was even flowing, directly connected to the fountain and Lake Schluch behind the manor.

Though Shard had never seen similar decoration in this world, he had to admit that while it increased the manor's maintenance costs substantially, it also enhanced the manor's landscape level.

"Speaking of which, can you swim?"

He asked while observing the lively tents, various music intertwining, and invited bards playing and singing merry tunes inside the tents. Outside, the horizontal gas pipelines lit gas lamps illuminating diverse ribbon decorations hung at tent entrances, guests of various attires joyfully enjoying the night's bustle under colorful flags.

This wedding banquet would certainly be talked about for many years.

"Meow?"

The cat softly meowed on Shard's shoulder, not clearly expressing what it meant.

"Mia's last bath was almost two months ago. Although winter has arrived, the temperature isn't particularly cold; perhaps it's time for another bath."

Shard muttered, while the "her" beside his ear chuckled softly without responding.

"What a bustling scene~"

Looking up, luxurious enjoyment and civilized firelight were vividly displayed. Though merely a wedding banquet, in Shard's view, it perfectly showcased this world's, this era's, pinnacle of civilization's bright flame.

"Civilization~"

Thinking about the possibility of the world's end invoked some melancholy. He looked towards the manor's gate, where, in the final glow of sunset, Princess Angelina Cavendish was already smiling and waving at him.