Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1409: Divination, Lunch, and Wealth
"I don’t know the current situation of the Heart of the Earth. From the Guardian’s statements last night, the problem has reached a very serious level."
Shard said.
"The local church is also preparing a major divine ritual, hoping to soothe the Earth with the Sun Church’s ceremony, but it’s hard to say how effective it will be."
Luviya said, releasing Shard’s hand and picking up an orange from the fruit plate on the bedside table:
"Don’t run around these days. Iluna is expected to arrive tomorrow or the day after, and you can let her handle things then."
"Actually, there’s not much left to do."
Shard shook his head:
"I’ll talk to Margaret about the Osenfort business at noon, then return to Tobesk to pick up a commissioned weapon. If the timing is right, I’ll deal with that demon this week. If other situations arise, it might be delayed until next week."
"The association’s weather forecast shows that next week, the first Randall Flower will bloom."
Luviya said, handing Shard a segment of the orange.
In fact, this Saturday is the first day of March, so although this winter felt long and cold, spring is arriving as usual like every year.
"The temperature is indeed rising these days. When I went outside the city to visit the old captain last Sunday, I felt the snow outside the city starting to melt."
Shard said:
"I’m still missing the sapphire earring Osenfort asked me to find. Plus, we’re one gemstone short of opening the Butterfly Graveyard. Speaking of which, there are only these two things left, and the story of Randall Valley is finally coming to an end."
He stretched lazily on the bed, and then, as the blanket slipped off him, he was "scolded" by Luviya. The purple-eyed girl tucked the blanket around Shard:
"In a few days, I’ll be able to get one or two special coins from the association. So, should we use your two to divine the locations of the two items we’re looking for?"
"Better to save them for when Iluna arrives. Let’s use this one first to divine whether a location is needed for the Chosen of the Earth ceremony. If necessary, it’d be best to know exactly where this time."
Shard, dressed in his pajamas, had his belongings on the small table beside him. He reached over for the [Wishing Coin], which Luviya took and gently tossed:
"We’ve used this one."
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tossed the coin high into the air.
The metal coin spinning and ascending in the air showed signs of rust on the surface at the peak, and quickly corroded during its descent, completely turning to dust before landing and disappearing.
Luviya opened her eyes, a trace of purple light flashing in her pupils:
"There’s a result. To conduct the Chosen of the Earth ceremony and purify the Earth at the same time, it needs to be done at a site directly connected to the Heart of the Earth. Otherwise, even a perfectly conducted Feast of the Earth Mother Goddess would have lesser effects."
"At the Night Shrine?"
Shard immediately thought of that place, considering the graveyard below was the entrance.
"That’s just one option."
Luviya shook her head immediately:
"That location is indeed possible, but what I mean is that holding the ceremony on the Crazy Earth, especially the most severely Crazy Earth, is also feasible. You’ve also tried to jump into those black mud sources; the Heart of the Earth is at the source of the black mud, which is your own conclusion."
Shard nodded in understanding:
"Though it’s hard to imagine holding a grand banquet sitting in black mud."
"There’s no other way. Without approaching the twists and madness, the problem can’t be resolved. Oh, there’s also another requirement, although it’s not really a requirement: there should be a long table."
Seeing Shard curiously looking at her, Luviya smiled and said:
"It’s an imitation of the God’s banquet; how can it be a banquet without a table?"
"True, so does it need to be a special long table, or can it be any table?"
"A stone one would do; there’s no requirement in that regard. Also, the divination earlier was quite simple, so the special coin’s effect still worked somewhat. I’ve divined that for the ceremony, as you said, you’ll need to invite others."
She looked at Shard:
"And it’s highly likely that you’ll need to invite other guests possessing the ’Power of the Earth’."
"Besides the Guardians, you, me, Miss Benanis, Miss Lathis, I know the True God Church also has a few Circle Sorcerers who command the Power of the Earth. Together, it shouldn’t be a problem to gather seven or eight people."
Shard counted them, then thought of the barefoot ascetic he encountered in the grove last night.
"Currently, the coins are indeed insufficient, so I won’t divine the specific characteristics or number of invitees for now. I’ll return to the association this afternoon to gather some information. This time, we have no knowledge of the Fragment of Poem Chapter held by the Three Major Academies."
Luviya said, then stuffed an orange into Shard’s mouth:
"Alright, alright, you’d better rest well now, why are we discussing these matters again?"
"I feel quite good now."
Shard insisted:
"When I first woke up, I indeed felt completely unwell, even my heart was racing a bit, but now everything is perfectly fine."
Luviya wiped her orange-stained hands with a handkerchief, turned to look at the closed door, then smiled and said:
"Let me confirm."
She then reached into the quilt, quickly withdrew her hand, and wiped it again with the handkerchief:
"Indeed, very healthy."
"Hmm..."
"Since you still want to talk to me, let’s discuss the matter of the Witches. The Twelfth Rank Aphrola, the Twelfth Rank Galina, the Eleventh Rank Benanis, and although only Tenth Rank, Sylvia, who is about to ascend to the Eleventh Rank. Although Galina hasn’t arrived yet, we can expect that four of the thirteen Grand Witches will come. The Tenth Rank Granny Cassandra you mentioned may not come, but her apprentice is likely to attend. In this sense, you’ve coaxed over a third of the Witches in the Witch Council."
She said with a smile.
"That way of putting it is rather odd."
Shard muttered, while the girl with the violet eyes continued to dream:
"Our current operational capability and intelligence are adequate, but we lack high-level combatants. With the five Grand Witches and Sister Delphine, this gap is filled. I truly hope you quickly acquaint yourself with other Grand Witches, and aim to transform the Witch Council into our own force sooner; it would make operations much easier."
"You aren’t mocking me, are you?"
"Mocking you about what?"
Luviya shook her head:
"From the initial summer night’s Godfall in Tobesk, to events affecting a single city, to incidents affecting a small region, to affecting a portion of the Old Continent, up until now where it may directly impact the entire world. Shard, although our actions are swift, they are still not fast enough. We still require the assistance of other forces. Sometimes, I really wish it were still the Witch Era, in which case, perhaps by the end of this year, the whole world would wholeheartedly support us without asking for anything in return."
"Haha~"
Shard chuckled dryly, still feeling like she was subtly mocking him.
Just like that, Luviya spent the entire morning with Shard in the room, and apart from the Maid coming in to deliver hot tea and replace snacks and fruits, the Witches did not disturb them.
By 11:30 in the morning, Miss Lathis knocked on the door and entered, inviting the two to the dining room for lunch. They sent the Maid out first, then insisted on helping Shard change his clothes.
Luviya, perhaps thinking Shard was still very weak, actually wanted to find a wheelchair to push him to the dining room, but Shard firmly refused.
At the lunch table, the three Witches sat together with Shard, Miss Lathis, Luviya, and the newly arrived Margaret. The hostess of the estate, Miss Benanis, sat at the head seat, with Shard to her left, and Her Highness the Princess at the farthest position. This estate had likely not been this lively for a long time, much to Miss Benanis’s delight.
Even more delighted was Margaret; although seated the farthest away, dining with the three Grand Witches was tremendously exhilarating for her. Of course, she did not forget to inquire about Shard’s health.
The lunch was quite sumptuous, though the ladies all believed that Shard, having just recovered from illness, should not eat too much, thus strictly controlling his portions. The dessert that followed, however, made Shard worry about the ladies, whose average waistlines were less than seventeen inches. He himself tasted a dessert styled like blue crystal rose petals, genuinely made from rose petals. The taste was mildly sweet, and Shard regretted that Mia couldn’t experience it at the moment.
After lunch, he didn’t leave immediately; instead, he held a private conversation with Margaret, and Her Highness the Princess conveyed good news to Shard:
"Most of Ston Osenfort’s business is currently in the Kingdom of Carsonrick, with only a tiny portion in Draleon, which isn’t worth worrying about. I informed my father, and this guy has been getting quite close to Brother William lately, leading MI6 to uncover his business dealings."
Her Highness the Princess smiled:
"The contraband and dangerous goods he smuggled for Brother William involved many big names in the Royal Capital Velindale, inciting my father’s great wrath. I won’t describe to you what he smuggled exactly, but aside from failing to uncover any human trafficking for now, contraband drugs were a common business for him.
Just the crime of smuggling is enough to land Osenfort in prison until he’s 80. However, my father will not mention this to Brother William for the time being, but once we return from handling the Randall Valley matters in Velindale...
The smuggling activities of Ston Osenfort were no secret, even locals in the Randall Valley knew bits about it. No problems arose before because he greased the right palms of big figures in Velindale.
Unfortunately for him, he never managed to sway Margaret.
