Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 923 - 923: Busy After the Banquet

"Oh~"

Irregular routines always give people headaches. Shard only realized it was time to wake up when he vaguely felt someone tugging at his hand.

Today, opening his eyes required more determination. He only vaguely remembered going to bed at four or five in the morning, and it was now seven o'clock on Wednesday morning.

"Mia~"

Shard murmured in complaint, actually blaming himself for staying out too late at the party.

"Meow~"

But the sound seemed to come from farther away, and amidst the meowing, Shard heard the laughter of a young woman.

He opened his eyes to see Tifa smiling, standing by the bedside looking at him:

"Shard, Miss Writer has called you to breakfast."

"Us?"

Still sleepy, Shard paused for a moment, then suddenly sat up in bed.

The morning sunshine streamed through the window of the guest room on the third floor of Galina Manor, the warm early winter sun still carried a delightful warmth. Snowflakes had piled up a thin layer on the windowsill, and Shard's dynamic vision was so good he could see it was still snowing outside. Although the estate's courtyard couldn't be seen from the bed, there was likely a layer of snow in the yard too.

The bedroom was quite warm, with Mia sprawled on the windowsill, "watching intently" at Shard, and it was evident the bed was not occupied solely by Shard.

In a haze, he recalled that after the late hours last night, he had played a "sheep driving game" with people braving the snow in the garden, then had rowed with Angelina on a boat on the reopened Lake Schluch, and finally participated in a rapier duel held somehow on the second floor of the estate, essentially a safe duel with heavy armor and blunt swords coated in white chalk.

After passing the "trials of power, wisdom, and charm," Shard had the rare chance to relax a bit, and though he didn't drink excessively, he participated in nearly all subsequent activities.

Those bizarre memories and scenes flashing with lights were somewhat blurred now. He only remembered Angelina lifting her skirt edge to bid farewell, and Princess Margaret almost laughed unladylike upon seeing Shard's cat "chase" the estate's cats—the nocturnal cats had climbed onto Shard's shoulder and were spotted by Mia.

The last memory of the banquet was two witches standing by the window looking at Snowfall Manor beneath the fireworks, while Shard sat on the sofa watching the backs of two beautiful ladies.

After the banquet finally dispersed, a small number of people stayed overnight at Lakeside Manor, Miss Sylvia and Princess Margaret returned to their lodging manor, and Shard left with Miss Galina, accompanied by...

"Oh, has it dawned?"

The red-haired princess on his left hand side complained with closed eyes, regardless of Tifa standing by the bed:

"I'm skipping breakfast, don't wake me up before ten."

With that, she shrank her sleek neck under the quilt.

"I'm skipping breakfast too."

The blonde Miss Writer on his right hand side murmured as if dreaming, her beautiful golden hair scattered on the white down pillow, the morning light outside shining on the pillow, making the bright golden strands truly gleam. Duo'lu was not fully awake yet; otherwise, knowing Tifa was standing by the bed, she definitely wouldn't speak so relaxedly.

"Last night..."

[Do you need me to help you remember?]

"No, no, no!"

Shard immediately responded in his heart, now fully awake. The Day of the Red Butterfly officially began yesterday afternoon at Peace Chapel, and of course, the two ladies wouldn't waste time, so they followed Shard to Miss Galina's Manor last night.

"Shard, are you going to have breakfast?"

Tifa softly asked again, as if finding the scene not at all strange.

"Yes, I'll be there soon."

Shard felt somewhat embarrassed, and the cat on the windowsill had already jumped down, waiting for Shard to get out of bed to take it to breakfast.

Having received Shard's answer, Tifa turned to notify the kitchen to prepare Shard's portion, but then paused, looking at the sleeping young women on the bed.

She returned to the bedside, leaning forward slightly to kiss Shard.

After releasing him, she pointed to the young women on the bed, then put her finger up to signal Shard to keep quiet, winked her left eye at Shard, and then smiled as she left.

"Hmm..."

Shard felt Miss Maid must be in a very good mood now.

All in all, he didn't leave Miss Galina's Manor all morning but instead discussed the fourth chosen one with the Grand Witch.

It was only at noon that he left with Lecia, Dorothy, and Angelina. Angelina had also spent the night at Miss Galina's Manor, and Shard saw her at the breakfast table but wasn't sure if the Little Princess knew where her sister had slept last night.

The second "Day of the Red Butterfly" officially ended at this point; Miss Writer and Her Highness the Princess were very satisfied this time, and when Shard returned home Wednesday noon, he had to continue with his own tasks.

First, he wrote a letter to Miss Sylvia, inviting her to discuss the paper he wrote, in order to arrange another normal meeting opportunity with Miss Sylvia.

Then, he headed to Midshire Fort from the basement, leaving a letter at the House of the Blind, and agreed with Sister Delphine to visit the Lake Goddess in Huntington City together the following morning.

After finishing these tasks, he took a tour around the black markets in Coldwater Port, Midshire Fort, and Huntington City. He returned home by Wednesday evening.

Due to not getting enough sleep yesterday, he was yawning as he came out of the basement. The snow in Tobesk had stopped, and because the ground temperature was somewhat high, there was almost no snow accumulation on the streets. The sunset's dim glow shone into the house from the window on the first floor, as Mia, having had a good nap, excitedly jumped down from the stairs to greet Shard. The rays of the setting sun highlighted stripe-like patterns on its orange fur.

Back home, Shard took Mia to the Prophet's Society to join Luviya for dinner and explained what happened at Lakeside Manor yesterday at the dinner table.

Of course, it wasn't about the Divinity, but about the Chosen One and the five pieces of the Sage's Glowstone.

"I see. I heard about the incident at Lakeside Manor this morning at the Society, and then received a letter from Iluna. But by the time she arrived at Lakeside Manor, it was all over."

Luviya held a fork, skewering a piece of purple cabbage:

"So this means the Chosen One must have appeared at Lakeside Manor yesterday."

"Yes, but there were just too many people who showed up at the manor yesterday, so it's not easy for the Church and the witches to investigate."

Shard said, wiping his mouth with a napkin:

"By the way, do you remember that 'Miss Pavo' I mentioned? The Six Rings Warlock from the Truth Society, she is suspicious. Not because of her special powers, but because she encountered me in both Huntington and Tobesk. From past experience, the Chosen One indeed often crosses paths with me."

"That's just a hypothesis that still needs verification."

Luviya nodded slightly but didn't plan to waste coins:

"As soon as I see the Chosen One, I can immediately determine their identity. Since this incident happened in Tobesk, I think I need to personally meet the lady."

"Very well."

Shard said, trusting that the girl with purple eyes had her own way of finding Miss Pavo without needing to ask how. In the quest for the Chosen One, the three of them worked collaboratively, and Shard didn't believe he had to do everything himself.

"Luviya, what I need to determine now is whether we need to collect the Sage's Glowstone? If we do, I can discuss with Miss Galina how to approach the first trial of 'finding the Invisible Man in Tobesk City.'

"I'll confirm the identity of the Chosen One, and you figure out the Glowstone issues, but there's no need to rush because..."

Luviya whispered, glancing around:

"The Church also doesn't know who the Chosen of Wisdom is, but they have learned of the cooperation between Apna Library and the Truth Society, thus they know about the Sage's Glowstone. Iluna told me the Church plans to collect the Glowstone first. Since the 'Sage's Glowstone' can only be bestowed once, if there's any clue, the Church plans to have Iluna be the one to receive the Glowstone."

Shard smiled:

"Iluna can get the Glowstone found by the Church, while the Witch Council finds the Glowstone, and I can think of ways to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands."

"Exactly. So, what we need to be cautious of are the movements of illegal Circle Sorcerer Organizations like the 'Truth Society.'

The girl with purple eyes nodded, speaking softly:

"The trial of Wisdom and Knowledge is definitely not something that can be solved with brute force, and there are many considerations to be made."

Luviya pondered, while Shard felt Mia, who was crouching on a high stool beside him, tug at him with her paw and continued tending to his own meal.

The girl with purple eyes chuckled and inquired:

"Knight, what did you do at the banquet last night? All day today, the guests at the Prophet's Society seem to be talking about you."

"They're talking about me? Oh, yes, the card game I played at the manor last night was fantastic!"

Shard took a sip of red wine with a smile on his face:

"Would you like me to tell you about the final round of the card game? Two Special Cards influenced each other, coming in from behind, it was truly an interesting game."

Luviya held back her laughter:

"No, no, no, Roder Cards only took up a small part, they called you the 'King of the Lakeside Manor Banquet' last night."

"Cough, cough..."

Shard choked:

"What?"

"You posed interesting challenges, horseback riding, riddles, darts, Roder Cards, and so on, winning so many of the banquet games, and even danced with the charming girls of the Royal Family at the ball. Rumor has it that you even sparked great interest in Margaret Anjou, who even held your hand and wouldn't let you go. Oh, big boy, what else did you do last night?"

She held her wine glass, her smile making the dimples on her face more noticeable.

"It's all because of tasks."

"Whose tasks?"

Shard thought about it, MI6 tasked him to get close to Princess Margaret, the Grey Glove tasked him to protect the Princess, the Lake Goddess tasked him to prove himself, and Miss Danester tasked him to get close to the Guiding Moon.

"Four different people's tasks!"

His right palm was flat on the table, with his hand upright, extending four fingers.

"You are always so busy."

Luviya sighed, and Mia, thinking Shard was playing with her, pressed her fluffy paw onto Shard's palm. The small cat paw in Shard's palm looked quite amusing.

The girl with purple eyes swirled her wine glass:

"But it's also good this way. Life is so colorful, and with Mia around, although you can't use the underground's Gate of Darkness, we will never have to worry about you losing control."