Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 914 - 914 The Foggy Lake

"Miss Servit" looked at Shard, and then at the maid holding the cat. She hadn't noticed before, but now she realized how well-figured the maid was:

"Truly remarkable, Knight Hamilton, I didn't expect such a card game to appear."

It's beyond simple "remarkable." The rules of the two Roder Cards influenced each other, allowing Shard, who was bound to lose, to win after flipping the fourth card. Not even the finals in Big City Player were this exciting.

Shard let out a sigh of relief. Of course, he had no idea what his fourth card was but was very confident in his luck:

"Miss Servit, your card skills are excellent too. This is probably why the Roder Card attracts us so much."

His voice was normal, yet it was about to be drowned in people's loud discussions.

Miss Servit, whose real name was "Miss Pavo," stood up and extended her hand to Shard, who also reached out to hold the gloved hand.

"You won. I hope we have the chance to play Roder Card again next time. Knight, congratulations. You truly deserve to be the champion of Big City Player 1853."

The female sorcerer said, then left with her silver notebook, without intending to continue talking with this group of men. Shard, as the sole winner, remained standing by the table under the grape arbor accepting everyone's congratulations, but his eyes were still on the direction Miss Pavo had left.

The female sorcerer walked towards Lake Schluch, which is also where the witches claimed the "Keeper of Secrets" would soon appear. For such an important matter, Shard didn't believe this Six Rings female sorcerer didn't have other companions.

After all, when scheming against Princess Margaret, who appeared to be an ordinary person in Huntington City, she had brought two companions to increase the success rate of the operation.

Shard squinted slightly. While still dealing with those congratulating him on his victory, he had already reached a conclusion in his heart:

"The cultists of the Fury Storm are very likely at Lakeside Manor. This time, I can't let them leave."

As the final winner, Shard acquired the Roder Card with the flower 5 suit, the [Life Ritual: Wedding]. Even though his original goal wasn't to win this card, when this beautiful Roder Card was handed to him, Shard couldn't help but show a genuine smile.

Although the "Early Winter Roder Card Tournament at Lakeside Manor" had ended, people were reluctant to leave. Instead, they gathered in small groups, discussing the just-concluded "thrilling" card game. Two gentlemen boxing under the grape arbor, cheating in the card game being caught, and the final thrilling match all made this Roder Card game a hot topic among local players for the coming weeks.

Baron Lavende and Baron Rwanda even wanted to invite Shard to stay for another game, but Shard pointed to Tifa, who was standing aside holding a cat:

"I want to walk by the lake with Miss Servit... She is Miss Galina's personal maid."

"Oh, so it's Miss Servit. I thought she looked familiar. Then we won't disturb you."

The two barons showed a knowing expression and agreed with Shard to play cards together at the Prophet's Society next time when they had time.

After bidding farewell to his friends, Shard and Tifa left the lively area under the grape arbor, heading towards the direction Miss Pavo had left.

Once away from the grape arbor area, the surroundings suddenly quieted down, and even the heart, excited by the Roder Card, gradually became calm. Tifa followed Shard with Mia in her arms, glanced at the young detective's profile, and then asked softly:

"Did that Miss Servit have a problem just now?"

Being chosen as the apprentice of the Grand Witch, she was naturally quite perceptive.

"Circle Sorcerer of the Truth Society, Six Rings."

Shard lowered his voice a bit, one hand in his pocket, and with the other, he touched his ear. He squinted slightly, looking towards the darkness ahead, as they had now walked into the garden path unlit by gas lamps.

The lakeside of Lake Schluch was just a few hundred meters away. The temperature by the lake at night in winter was very low, so there were hardly any other people there. Shard could already feel the abnormal distribution of elements, the Whisper Element was diffusing, yet it seemed to be trapped by some invisible force, merely surrounding the lake's edges:

"She probably also came for the matter of The Chosen One, but that is not important to me. I have other things, very important things, to confirm. It's probably going to be dangerous next, Tifa, are you coming with me?"

"She is Six Rings, and I'm Six Rings too."

The maid reminded.

"Alright then, prepare the spellcasting materials and weapons. This time, I hope for some surprises."

Because some time was wasted accepting the prize and congratulatory messages, by the time Shard and Tifa set out to find the Truth Society's female sorcerer, five minutes had already passed since the card game ended.

But fortunately, the back garden of the Lakeside Manor, although vast in area, still has boundaries. Moreover, Shard roughly guessed where the other party wanted to go, so he quickly saw the lady in the black and red dress again by Lake Schluch.

During this wedding banquet, all areas in the manor's front courtyard and back garden, even including places like the forage house and barn, are open, but there will certainly be remote areas with almost no people. At this time, Miss Pavo, a Circle Sorcerer of the Truth Society, was standing in a secluded spot by Lake Schluch. There were no gas lamps here. Behind her were trees with only a few dry leaves in early winter, and in front of her was Lake Schluch under the starry sky.

It was extremely quiet around, the moonlight did not illuminate her in the shadow of the trees, but instead, the lake water reflecting the glimmer of the Star Ocean cast sparkling waves at her feet, lighting up those black patent leather high heels.

The silver notebook had now turned into a large book with a silver cover, hovering before her and slowly turning pages by itself. Miss Pavo's appearance had reverted to the look Shard first saw her in Huntington City.

She stood before the open book, eyes closed and arms spread wide as if embracing, appearing to be controlling the self-turning pages of the book.

The sound of rustling pages echoed, with only a few small boats gently drifting on the surface of Lake Schluch; the light flickering on the lake water seemed dreamlike under the starry sky and indeed revealed a brilliance not belonging to mortals.

Shard and Tifa watched this scene from within the grove, with Miss Maid's right hand forming a "Dharma Seal" state, using the witches' secret technique to cast an illusion and conceal their presence.

Despite Tifa's concealment, Shard still controlled his breathing frequency. They dared not get too close, but he could still sense that the silver book glowing under the moonlight was a relic and that its level was not lesser than Sage Level (Level 2).

"What exactly is Miss Pavo's position in the Truth Society?"

Aside from the element disturbance caused by the book, a layer of white fog had unknowingly risen on the lake surface. The fog gradually obscured the lake reflecting the starlight below the starry sky, spreading towards the lake shore but never leaving the water's boundary. Something indeed was emerging; the core Spirit Rune of Space-Time allowed Shard to feel the spatial disturbance, a site-type relic was about to emerge at the center of Lake Schluch, a place that originally should not exist.

"Meow~"

The cat, resting and slumbering in Tifa's embrace, suddenly opened its eyes, with its eyes glowing like candlelight in the night. The young cat had no idea what was happening here but seemed to faintly smell something very pleasant.

Wanting to meow, Shard's hand reached over Tifa's chest and touched the cat with open eyes; hence Mia obediently closed her mouth, waiting for delicious treats to be offered by Shard voluntarily.

Clearly, Miss Pavo was not the only one waiting around the dissipating white fog spreading from the center of the lake, but everyone was very patient. Shard tried to empty his mind, sensing the surrounding situation. After confirming that there was no one peeping nearby, he mouthed to Tifa:

"Disguise us."

Miss Maid nodded, took out three pebble rune stones from her pocket, kept one for herself, handed one to Shard, and the other was placed under Mia's paw. The cat did not like this strange thing but did not throw it away either.

Originally, the rune stones only had ink-drawn runes on them; as Tifa softly chanted an incantation, the runes emitted a faint pink glow. Without any other unusual phenomena, Tifa gently nodded to Shard suggesting it was done.

Both she and the lady from the Truth Society were at Six Rings, and she was taught by an Eleven Rings witch personally, possessing witch abilities herself; Shard trusted her disguise skills very much.

Prepared, Shard did not launch a long-range attack directly behind Miss Pavo, nor did he step forward to appear instantly behind her to strike a sword, instead intentionally made some noise in the grove and led Tifa to the shadows by the lake.

The white fog swirled here, as if drawing the boundary between the abnormal world and the normal world. Miss Pavo was manipulating the relic with challenging spellcasting, yet she still managed to turn around at the first sound, only the silver book paused its automatic page-flipping.

"Who are you?"

The woman asked with a frown.

"Isn't it a bit silly to ask such a question now?"

Shard slightly shook his head, Miss Pavo scrutinized him and the ugly woman holding a dog behind him.

"Woof!"

The "dog" barked.

"Are you here for The Chosen One too?"

Miss Pavo showed no change of expression. Although she turned to look at the two, her hand raised once more, controlling the glowing silver book to continue flipping pages.

"No, no, we are here for you, lady of the Truth Society."

Upon hearing Shard mention "Truth Society," Miss Pavo's expression changed slightly but remained calm:

"A Sage does not seek only the things before them; a wise planner won't just see the scenery right in front. Tonight's moonlight is just right; since you are not here for moon watching, and appear here at this time, I imagine we have a common purpose."

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