Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 951 - 951 The Stolen Dorothy

Wearing slippers, Shard went downstairs to fetch milk and the newspaper, and incidentally moved the "God's Gift Box" from the basement upstairs. This week's gift was a thick brown wool scarf, perfect for the season. As for this week's task, it was "no tasks."

Shard thought he must have heard it wrong when he received this information from "her," but soon learned the reason behind it:

[The Creator of Innocence believes that children sometimes need rest.]

"Such a respectable deity."

Shard muttered quietly, putting the scarf away, intending to wear it when it snowed. Just as he was "battling" with the cat lying on the scarf for ownership, he heard a knock at the door downstairs:

"Could it be a client?"

However, when Shard opened the door, he saw Dorothy standing there with her head down. The blonde girl looked a bit worn out, as though she had come here after merely tidying up.

"Come in, oh Dorothy, don't you have the key? Why bother knocking?"

Shard let Dorothy in:

"Why so early? Have you had breakfast? If not, let's eat first before discussing matters; I can share Mia's goat milk with you. I secretly tried it last time, and it's quite tasty."

"Meow?"

The cat on the high stairs looked at Shard's back.

"No, there's something I need to tell you. I experienced a theft."

Standing in the hallway, Dorothy said, and Shard was taken aback:

"A theft? Oh, it's not... judging by your expression, it must be that relic, [Thief Jack], right? My dear Dorothy, don't be upset, losing things is normal. I even heard yesterday that the base of the Circle Sorcerer team of the True God Church lost something, and that was a Sage-Level Relic after all."

He took hold of Dorothy's hand:

"Let's talk upstairs. What did you lose? Is it valuable? It wouldn't be a relic too, would it?"

Shard comforted:

"The church lost a Keeper of Secrets Level Relic as well; that relic is so bold, it's bound to cause trouble sooner or later. A lady's Sunlight Gun is ready to fire, and even the gods would curse such shameless thieves."

"Didn't lose anything valuable, it was your things that were stolen."

Being pulled by Shard, Dorothy said with her head down.

"My things?"

Shard blinked, unable to immediately recall what it was.

"Letters, the letters you got from Professor Manning. I organized the contents for you yesterday and placed them on the desk. When I woke up this morning, I found the study window somehow open and two letters missing."

She lifted her head, looking worried at Shard, yet seeing Shard letting out a sigh of relief:

"Dorothy, you really scared me. Coming here early, I thought it was something significant. I understand now why Dr. Schneider is reluctant to see me so early. It's just a few letters, no worries. I'll apologize to Professor Manning; I'm sure the professor won't mind much."

The lively cat led the way in front, and Shard held the blonde girl's hand and continued upstairs.

"Is it really not a big deal?"

Dorothy asked softly, concerned.

"No worries, though, do you remember the specific contents of those two letters? Relic [Thief Jack] wouldn't steal things with no value, and since it only took those two letters, it means the clues about Professor Drake from Huntington that I'm looking for are in those two letters."

The blonde girl nodded:

"I helped you summarize each letter's contents and noted the suspicious points. Although it can't reproduce all the details of those two letters, I remember the general content."

"That's good, thank you for your hard work, Dorothy."

Shard kissed the side of the blonde girl's face, and she seemed to feel better.

[Do you really not care about those two stolen letters?]

While entering the room on the second floor, "she" asked softly.

"How could I not? It dared to steal from Dorothy!"

With a smile on his face, Shard placed the prepared breakfast on the dining table, but Dorothy insisted that Shard sit down and let her handle these tasks.

"I'm truly furious right now~"

Especially while speaking this sentence in his mind, the anger became even more intense. Dorothy was still in the kitchen preparing breakfast, unaware of the changes in Shard's mood, but the cat beside Shard sensed it, tilting its head to look at him and softly "meowing," as though this cat had a magical ability to sense Shard's emotions, similar to that peculiar trait of domesticated pets.

[Note, after absorbing the Old God 'Fury Storm's' divinity, short-term divine influence has altered your personality.]

"She" said softly,

"I understand, but this anger is definitely not just because divinity is affecting me. It actually dared to steal Dorothy..."

The blonde girl tied on an apron, turned on the gas, and lit the somewhat rusty gas stove with a match, clearly thinking that the breakfast Shard made wasn't enough for two people and a cat.

Shard watched the blonde girl's figure:

"Sometimes, appropriate anger helps to stay clear-headed and motivated. I will definitely take revenge!"

Even though two important letters were lost, Dorothy had already sorted out all the contents of the letters and summarized them beautifully with her excellent writing skills.

Specifically, judging from the letters of Professor Manning in Tobesk and Professor Drake in Huntington City, Professor Drake is a person with considerable "ambition" and drive. His purpose in research is quite strong, and he is filled with awe and yet always eager to know more about the unknown and ancient history.

Professor Manning had repeatedly warned Professor Drake that some knowledge was not something they could casually explore, but Professor Drake's replies were rather perfunctory.

This description is entirely different from the one-legged Professor Drake that Shard knew, whom he recognized as someone who led a life of few desires, akin to a plant.

Dorothy's notebook also recorded the general contents of the two lost letters.

Those were the letters from Professor Drake to Professor Manning, inquiring about the exchange visits between the scholars of the two schools for the next year. These were not official school letters but rather exchanges and greetings between two esteemed professors. Initially, in Professor Manning's letters, these two did not attract Dorothy's attention, as she, like Shard, was more concerned with the academic discussions between the two professors.

According to the information noted by Dorothy, in both letters, Professor Drake described his health issues. But rather than being sick, he praised his excellent health, even mentioning running races and staying up late with young people at the school.

If viewed from a normal perspective, there's nothing wrong with this letter, but if presumed that the letter has problems, then Professor Drake's "excellent health" seems quite problematic.

The tone used by Professor Drake in those two letters was quite enthusiastic and overly positive. He seemed to have encountered something particularly good, and his tone was excited as he envisioned the future of his research and planned to personally lead a team to participate in the archaeological excavation work in the Southern Carsonrick Forest. He claimed in the letter, "I have mastered my own body's potential, and I can work another 20 years."

Considering Professor Drake's age at the time, this was quite an unlikely feat.

Two days before the latter of the two letters reached Professor Manning's hands, which was the third day after this letter was sent by Professor Drake, Professor Drake embarked on a search for the "Lake Goddess" and encountered an accident. Therefore, Shard had reason to believe that some unknown phenomenon influenced the professor, causing her to become "very healthy". But the professor realized this health was unusual and potentially life-threatening, prompting her journey to Lake Cherub.

From the clues obtained at Professor Drake's place, aside from the letters, there were also a diary and books. The diary recounts Professor Drake claiming that "double images appeared before his eyes," while the book contained strange writings of [Knowledge is Power].

The former might be related to Professor Drake's "excellent health", and the investigation into the latter led Shard to discover that this peculiar script originated in the Fourth Era, with no clues beyond that.

"From these obscure pieces of information, we can deduce that the 'Lake Goddess' didn't just erase the professor's memory but perhaps even wiped away other traces."

While having breakfast, Shard said to Dorothy. The blonde girl still felt guilty about losing the important letters and, hearing Shard's words, nodded:

"Yes, then did the old professor come into contact with some kind of relic, or was he targeted by something more terrifying?"

"Both are possible."

Shard petted little Mia beside him:

"I also entrusted a friend in Huntington to investigate the events that occurred in the city back then. If we can find the incident involving Professor Drake and compare it with the clues we currently have, we should be able to uncover the truth of what happened to the professor back then."

This meant that the second of the four trials set by the Lake Goddess was completed. But Shard knew things wouldn't be that simple, and perhaps the trouble from back then wasn't fully resolved; the true purpose of the "Lake Goddess" trial was to get Shard to solve that issue.

After breakfast, Dorothy bid farewell to Shard and reminded him that if there was any way to capture the relic that stole the letters, he must call her to help, as the blonde girl was really very sorry about it.

Considering the possibility of theft at home as well, Shard reconfirmed that all his valuable items had already been transferred to the basement before taking little Mia out.

Today's City of Steam Tobesk was still shrouded in thick fog, and after leaving, Shard turned directly towards Silver Cross Avenue. By the time he arrived at the entrance of Prophet's Society, it had already opened.

Shard noticed that the association's sign had been replaced with a new one, and the bulletin board had a new design. This wasn't just because Princess Margaret was going to attend a book salon here, but more so because Prophet's Society had too much gold pound without a place to spend it... The Roder Card was indeed a very profitable business.

As usual, using the excuse of divining for his cat, he met with Luviya during her working hours.

The staff at Prophet's Society had already grown accustomed to Shard's antics, and upon seeing him with a cat, they directly went to inform Luviya, who was on the second floor.

When Luviya opened the door to the Divination Room, Shard was using his right hand to "wrestle" with Mia, which was just playing with the cat. The girl with purple eyes sat down with a smile:

"You always know how to find joy everywhere. Oh, I met Vice President Mark earlier, and when he heard you were here, he asked me to inquire if you'll be participating in this year's end Roder Card contest of Prophet's Society. If you are, I can help register you now."

At the end of the year, whether it's official institutions or steam factories, noble clubs or large organizations like Prophet's Society, they all organize events to commemorate the conclusion of the year. It might be an annual summary from the Council to His Majesty the King, or perhaps some meager handouts from factory owners to workers, or high-end clubs giving gifts to their members.

But for Prophet's Society, the best way to celebrate is by organizing a Roder Card contest, which is also an annual tradition.

"Register me first; if I have the time, I'll participate."

Shard skipped the topic of Roder Card:

"There's something I'd like you to help with."

He placed the remaining two coins - [Coin of Wisdom] and [Dandelion Coin] - on the table:

"Help me divine something."

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