Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1513: Partial Truth

"Meow~"

"Good evening."

Led by a servant, Shard entered the room, greeting them with a smile as Mia had already jumped from his arms and ran off to find the unicorn by the fireplace.

Miss Danester also paused her conversation with Emilia. Earlier, Shard had actually overheard some of it outside the door, Miss Danester was informing Emilia about their schedule. It seemed that the two of them were returning to Saint Byrons the next day, and the follow-up investigation of the Battle of Randall Valley would be taken over by other professors at the Academy, which left Emilia, who thought she could enjoy a few more days in the area, quite disappointed.

"Miss Sianod is quite lucky."

As Shard took his seat, Miss Danester said with a smile:

"When she left Saint Byrons with you, it was a Friday night, and tomorrow we’ll return to the Academy by Monday morning.

I checked her class schedule, her first class of the next week, ’Identification and Protection of Level X Dangerous Exotic Creatures,’ is on Monday afternoon. So she can not only make it to the Academy lunch tomorrow but also attend the class right after lunch. I remember Professor Trass, who is in charge of this class, places great importance on regular attendance, so Miss Sianod is indeed lucky."

The female sorcerer was wearing a relatively mature red dress today, with a black belt tied in a simple bow at her side. She wasn’t wearing many accessories, just a pair of crystal earrings. Her somewhat simple makeup could not hide the mature charm filled with a scholarly air.

"Oh, yes, lucky indeed."

The elf girl spoke with a drawn-out tone, sounding dejected and not really seeing this as a good thing. Of course, judging from Miss Danester’s expression, she was fully aware of Emilia’s feelings at the moment.

"Did Emilia encounter any danger after early Saturday morning?"

Shard curiously asked, and Miss Danester shook her head:

"Of course not, with the Academy’s professors around, how could she be in danger? This incident served as a perfect lesson for her, showing how dangerous it is outside the Academy. I think this daughter of the Moon Creek Clan will not be so eager to explore outside the Academy in the future."

"But you also said this is something that might not happen even once in a millennium."

Emilia whispered in rebuttal, realizing immediately what she had said as both looked at her.

And Shard quickly spoke before Miss Danester could respond:

"Yes, something that might not be encountered in a millennium. But that refers to the millennium before 1853, meaning last year."

Shard said:

"I’m not sure if you’ve heard about the recent news regarding Circle Sorcerers all over the Old Continent while in the Academy. If you have, you should understand that lately... hmm, some events have been quite unusual. I’m a correspondence student, so I’m quite informed on this topic."

Emilia gently nodded, somewhat nervously saying:

"I’ve heard about the stinking merman incident at Coldwater Port and also about the time Professor Danester led a team to the Pantanal Swamp Region recently."

"Yes, and such matters clearly have not concluded."

Emilia slowly nodded:

"I understand, it really is dangerous... Professor, even though you canceled the punishment for past events, I’ll submit a report to you when I get back... only for your eyes."

Miss Danester smiled, and Shard felt that the elf was using his words to confirm that "no past mistakes would be punished" as a fact.

Lastly, after bidding farewell to Shard, the elf girl took the unicorn out of the room, leaving Shard with Mia in his arms and Miss Danester to continue their conversation.

"I think it’s up to you to start."

After closing the door, Miss Danester leaned slightly back against the soft sofa, the flickering fireplace light reflecting off her delicate face as she looked at Shard, even raising an eyebrow at him:

"I thought this time I’d still get to see that beautiful female sorcerer."

"She’s occupied, I mean, here’s a gift."

Saying this, Shard handed over the gift box given by Tifa, and Miss Danester seemed surprised:

"What is this? A bribe?"

"It’s just customary to not visit empty-handed."

The female sorcerer nodded slowly:

"Though I’ve had few experiences with you, I feel this isn’t something you would come up with. But gift-giving is pointless... it’s truly beautiful."

Without opening the gift box, she already knew what was inside and couldn’t help complimenting it before casually placing it on a small table beside her.

Shard then said:

"Instead of me speaking, why don’t you ask, to ensure I mention what you wish to hear."

"Also to avoid ’the more you say, the more mistakes you make’?"

Miss Danester wiggled her fingers slightly as she asked, but she tacitly agreed to Shard’s suggestion:

"Since I didn’t ask your purpose for coming when we first met in Randall Valley, I won’t ask this time either. However, you must answer me, Shard Hamilton, after the early hours of Saturday, when you came to see me and requested to find Miss Emilia Sianod, is it related to the Chosen of the Earth?"

She had assumed that Shard fully understood matters regarding the Chosen One.

"It’s alright."

Shard did not lie; the two indeed had no direct connection.

Miss Danester nodded, relaxing slightly:

"That’s good, so this matter relates to your personal affairs. Please tell me, which aspect of your personal affairs is it related to?"

This was a crucial question. Shard pondered for a moment before responding:

"The Time Key."

He decided to reveal part of the truth:

"I encountered some unexpected events with the Time Key I was using at that time. Before activating the key, I knew in some way that I would encounter a rare situation—the task of the Father of the Infinite Tree—so I had to prepare in advance. As for the urgency, it’s because that special method required the key to be activated within two hours."

This was also entirely truthful, and Miss Danester could see that Shard wasn’t lying. When she nodded gently, Shard noticed that she was completely relaxed, which also allowed Shard, who was holding Mia, to breathe a sigh of relief. The cat could sense that Shard’s touch had returned to its usual gentleness.

"A Time Key related to Saint Byrons?"

"Specifically, it’s a Time Key related to the period before Saint Byrons was established. In the past time, I met Miss Fiona Drago, the second principal of Saint Byrons. Of course, at that time, Saint Byrons had not been established, and she was merely an apprentice. She accepted a task from Miss Mana Feliana to go to the Night Kingdom of the Old God, [Veil of Eternal Night], hoping to obtain land in the Mortal World as the future site of the Academy... She was successful, and the time point I arrived was on her return journey."

Miss Danester began to understand:

"So in the past month, you’ve constantly asked me about events before the establishment of Saint Byrons because you were already preparing for that key."

Shard nodded earnestly:

"Yes, but it wasn’t until Friday night that I could use my special method... You know, learning which key might have tasks from the Ancient Gods in advance is a sensitive method, so I kept it hidden."

"I understand now. Although I’m sure you haven’t told the entire truth, it’s good that you’re willing to share this information."

She gave Shard a task:

"Since it involves the history of the Academy’s establishment, and touches upon an Old God, even if you didn’t personally see that Old God in the past, the key you activated can be rated as an [Angel-Level] Time Key. When you go back, organize this investigation into a report and submit it directly to me. I’ll assess your Time Key practice credits this time."

"Alright, no problem."

Shard nodded, so he only needed to write part of the truth himself and then have Dorothy help refine it. Miss Writer excelled at depicting Shard’s experiences half-truthfully.

"Additionally, with spring arriving, have you mastered the Arcane Technique [Dream of the Moon] that I asked you to learn?"

Just as Shard felt relieved, the Female Sorcerer asked, and Shard’s expression immediately turned stiff. It took a while before a Ring of Fate slowly appeared behind him:

"I haven’t learned it yet... However, due to the experience with that Time Key, I’ve filled in the gap of the Five-Ring Spirit Rune. I conducted the promotion ceremony during the day yesterday, and now I’m at the Six Rings. The final Spirit Rune is Enlightenment-Shadow."

Miss Danester glanced at the Ring of Fate and seemed not at all surprised:

"Nearly three months to advance from the Five Rings to the Six Rings. Fast compared to others, but slower compared to your performance last year. However, Shard, succeeding in advancing doesn’t cover up the fact that you didn’t complete the learning task."

"So..."

Shard pursed his lips, and the Female Sorcerer laughed:

"Seeing you so nervous is quite amusing. Alright, I’ll give you another half-month. Today is the ninth day of the Month of Air. If you haven’t completed the learning task by the end of this month, it will be an attitude problem. At that time, I will give you a ’little punishment.’

She winked at Shard, but her demeanor was definitely not joking.

"No problem at all."

"Additionally, I’m taking some professors back to Saint Byrons tomorrow morning and will also escort Miss Annette back to Tobesk City. Shard, will you be traveling back with us?"

"No need, I have my own methods."

"You see, you always have so many secrets."

She held the teacup with both hands and scrutinized her student.

The flickering firelight reflected on Shard’s face, and at this moment, the handsome Outlander was frowning, contemplating if he had missed anything. The Female Sorcerer took a gentle sip of tea; the red tea soaked her red lips, and she marveled silently at the miraculous aspects of her student.

Just as she looked into the tea, she suddenly saw the reflection of the moon on its surface. Inspired, she thought of the Church’s Divination regarding the characteristics of the God Summoner, and nonchalantly asked:

"This cat of yours is beautiful. By the way, do you usually walk your cat?"

Of course, Shard was too shy to say that he always carried the cat while walking, so he slightly lifted his head and said naturally: 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"I rarely walk my cat. When I do, I tie it to prevent it from running around, sometimes I even put a little bell on it."

Anyway, Mia couldn’t talk, so Shard wasn’t worried about being exposed.

Miss Danester felt reassured; after all, the God Summoner in the divination doesn’t use a leash when walking a cat.