Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 939 - 939: The Unknown Chosen One

Early on Saturday morning, the overcast sky seemed ready to snow again. A purple-eyed girl made her way through the slightly chilly winter morning fog, tightening the scarf around her collar as she briskly appeared at Saint Delan Square at seven thirty.

The heels of her brown lady's boots clicked on the square's ground as Luviya turned her head towards the center of the square. Now in winter, most of the pigeons that Mia often peeped at in the square had migrated to the south for the season.

Currently, only a few newspaper-selling children remained in the square, waiting for passersby. The kids selling newspapers could accurately discern who would be a customer, thus they did not approach Luviya.

Luviya paused at the steps outside Shard Family's house, looking up at the second-floor bedroom window. Seeing that the curtains were already drawn open, she knew Shard was surely awake. She hummed a tune in high spirits, found the Shard Family's key from her handbag, and naturally opened the door and walked in.

She closed the door behind her, tilted her head to look up the stairs, then deliberately made noise while climbing the stairway. Even if Shard wouldn't hear, Luviya trusted that the sharp-eared cat would definitely catch it.

However, when she reached the second floor and entered Room One, intending to greet Shard, she discovered sitting in the dining room was a beautiful lady whom she'd never seen before.

Initially, she thought the lady seemed mature, but upon closer look at the ethereal beauty's face, Luviya realized she must be younger than herself.

Miss Sylvia carried a morning languor as she sat at the table, holding a teacup in her left hand and reading the newspaper with her right hand. The outward-facing second page reported on the Queen and Princess Margaret watching an opera at the opera house. Upon hearing the sound from the stairs, the lady with black shoulder-length hair turned around. Though she had never seen Luviya, the fact that the other had keys confirmed she was someone familiar to Shard.

"Good morning, ma'am. I am Emma Sylvia, so to speak a scholar."

The Grand Witch introduced herself.

Luviya understood the person's identity and although curious about why she appeared here so early, she introduced herself as well:

"Good morning, ma'am. I'm Luviya Annette, working at the Prophet's Society. I'm Shard's... friend."

She placed her handbag on the coffee table, then entered the dining room too.

Lazily licking sheep's milk, the furry-eared Mia appeared almost translucent under the weak morning sunlight. It turned to greet Luviya with a "meow~" before continuing its breakfast.

Luviya still hadn't seen Shard; she also sat at the table but neither of them initiated further conversation.

A few minutes later, Shard came out of the study holding Miss Sylvia's notebook:

"Miss Sylvia, I've finished copying down your notes, and then... Oh, Luviya, good morning. Have you had breakfast?"

Miss Sylvia didn't stay much longer; she collected her notebook, finished her tea, and took her leave. Shard escorted her downstairs and only returned upstairs after the carriage picking her up arrived.

By then, Luviya was sitting on the sofa, cuddling the satisfied cat, but Mia didn't want to be held by Luviya. It preferred to roam around the house after its meal, thus keeping its adorable form intact.

"Was this Witch with you here overnight?"

Once Shard reached the top of the stairs, Luviya asked.

"Yes, we were discussing the dissertation last night and continued all night long. Oh, and about the power of space, Miss Sylvia also knows Lagre's Leap; she finds my Arcane Technique's range increase rare but not unheard of."

"If someone else said that, I wouldn't believe them, but hearing it from you, I do."

The purple-eyed girl tried to suppress her smile; she knew Shard well.

"Have you finished writing your dissertation? Tomorrow is Sunday, aren't you leaving again then?"

"We discussed until two in the morning last night and finally wrapped up the final draft."

Shard yawned, sat on the sofa with the teapot:

"It was too late, so I had Miss Sylvia sleep in the first-floor guest room overnight, and I offered breakfast this morning as thanks."

Not letting Miss Sylvia rest in the second-floor side room was because she's an unmarried woman; staying in the same house overnight with a strange man wasn't suitable. But sleeping on the first floor didn't pose such inconvenience.

"Luviya, you came to see me this early because there's big news, isn't there... Have you found the 'Invisible Man'?"

"How is that possible?"

Luviya shook her head, finally letting Mia go. Mia hurriedly fled from the sofa, even avoiding Shard, fearing being grabbed again:

"I met that Miss Pawo you spoke of."

Shard was stunned, halting his pouring of the tea:

"The Truth Society's Six Rings Warlock? You really found her? Luviya, although your divination skills are impressive, this operation seems quite swift."

"She was at the Lakeside Manor ball, claiming to be the daughter of Viscount Witte, Mary Witt. The Viscount Witte does indeed exist; the reason this female sorcerer mentioned the nobleman must be significant. So, I used Viscount Witte as a clue for investigation and discovered that he fell from a horse and got injured this spring but didn't end up paralyzed after treatment..."

The purple-eyed girl asked Shard, raising her teacup towards Shard:

"Guess what's going on?"

"Truth Society?"

"Yes, the connection between the Witte Family and the Truth Society goes back at least three generations. Although Viscount Witte doesn't have much fame locally, he is still a noble in Tobesk, so he has provided considerable help to the Truth Society's actions in the Tobesk region. I didn't disturb them; instead, I analyzed with my own divination and some clues. Yesterday evening, I met that lady in the city."

"Is she the Chosen One?"

Luviya can immediately identify their identity as long as she sees the Chosen One—it's her unique ability.

"No."

Luviya shook her head slightly, while Shard seemed a bit disappointed; he really thought that Miss Pawo, who believed that mathematics would never go wrong, was the Chosen One:

"Not the Chosen One, then is she a candidate behind the ranking?"

Shard asked again. In the Midshire Fort incident, Luviya had seen Priest Augustus at Sicarl Inn through the Traveler's Gate, thereby confirming the priest as one of the candidates for the Chosen by Death.

"Not sure for now."

Luviya still shook her head:

"I've known Priest Augustus for many years, and it was only before the Chosen One Ceremony was about to take place that I could determine his identity. Now, the Chosen One of Wisdom and Knowledge has not formally appeared, and there is no trace of the ceremony yet. Currently, I can only determine the identity of the first candidate for the 'Wisdom and Knowledge' Chosen One, and I need to keep watching closely."

Shard nodded:

"Actually, focusing too much on the successors of the Chosen One does not have much significance. Joey Barton lost his qualification due to countless coincidences that cannot be reproduced, combined with his indifference to the position. The qualification then shifted to Sister Delphine, the second candidate. Even then, Joey Barton didn't die; his Chosen One identity was stripped by Death itself. Surprisingly, after he failed, the subsequent three candidates didn't want this qualification either. From this situation, making the first candidate of the Chosen One lose qualification is not easier than directly killing the Chosen One."

Listening to Shard's summary, Luviya nodded thoughtfully:

"The bad news is, it's very difficult for us to alter the Sixth Era epic foretold by the Whispering Verses; the good news is, the epic of the 'Whispering Verses' can deviate."

"Just like your dream, after the battle of Midshire Fort, you mentioned that dream where I didn't exist."

Shard said, then carefully observed Luviya's expression, but unfortunately, Luviya did not react:

"However, when I saw her yesterday evening at Mrs. Wanda's Tailor Shop, my 'other self' warned me that Miss Pawo is extremely dangerous, telling me not to approach her lightly."

"But she couldn't even defeat Tifa. If it weren't for me not wanting to faint again at Lakeside Manor, and instead put all my effort into throwing that second Thunder Spear, I might have let her sleep forever on Lake Schluch on Tuesday night."

Shard was not boasting. At that time, he was in a state of 'Divinity Overflow,' after absorbing divinity, able to be called the strongest mortal in the material world.

"Though she may only be a Six Rings Warlock, the book in her hand is a big problem. That's..."

Luviya hesitated for a moment:

"An Angel-Level Relic (Level 1) 'Smowell Codex,' a book originating from the Second Era, written by a mad mathematician. Legend has it that the madman eventually exploded into a bunch of mathematical symbols, truly turning himself into digits. Angel-Level Relics should never be underestimated; in the proper hands, that book can wield effects more terrifying than a Level 0 Relic."

"You actually recognized what kind of relic that was and even knew the story from the Second Era—that's remarkable."

Shard remarked in admiration.

He had asked many people about that silver book, but even the two witches and the old gentlemen from the Guiding Light Hermitage didn't know its origin.

[Perhaps, it was her 'other self' who recognized what it was.]

"She" spoke beside his ear, seemingly guiding Shard to probe into Luviya's secrets. But since Luviya didn't want to reveal, he wouldn't ask, just as Luviya never questioned his numerous peculiarities.

"Since the Truth Society's Miss Pawo is not the primary candidate for the Chosen One, we don't need to pay her attention for now."

"Yes, we need to wait for the appearance of the next 'Keeper of Secrets' and then compare the next list with the Lakeside Manor's list."

"Tonight, I'll ask Princess Lecia for a guest list, but that list is very long, and the Church hasn't finished checking everyone yet."

Shard proposed, and Luviya nodded:

"Speaking of that princess... You see, I said being close to the princess will benefit our endeavors. If we always have Iluna gather intelligence, it will inevitably lead to suspicion sooner or later."

Taking a glance at Shard, the girl with purple eyes snorted and looked toward the gloomy winter sky outside the window:

"Knight, this isn't a complaint; I said I knew you would do this. Just, never forget what we're doing. Every decision we make may, indeed, impact the trajectory of history for thousands of years to come. What a significant responsibility it is—the future people, how will they evaluate us?"

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