Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1520: The Black Key
Twenty minutes later, Ciris Lathes walked onto the stage, still closed with curtains, from behind the stage.
The light focused through lenses above the stage continued to illuminate the area. As the golden-haired girl stepped onto the stage, she even felt a bit warm. With a smile on her lips, she looked up and saw the Blonde Witch sitting alone on the silk, supporting herself on the ground with her left hand while trying to fasten her tight-fitting top with her right hand behind her back.
The witch’s beautiful golden hair appeared even more enchanting under the stage lights. Her already fair skin now had a peculiar and enticing rosy hue in the stage lighting.
"I sent Shard away. The Black Time Key extracted from the land was also given to him... I thought you would let him stay tonight."
Saying this, Ciris knelt on one knee behind her and reached out to help her fasten the garment that was tight around her chest. The young girl’s eyes gazed at the neck, beaded with sweat, inhaling a strange scent.
The witch’s face turned slightly red:
"I’m still a bit concerned. After all, no witch has ever done this. What happened tonight was already excessive."
"Yes, yes, what happened in those twenty minutes, no witch has ever done."
Ciris repeated.
"Of course not. At least someone did it on Saturday."
Miss Benanis immediately retorted, then blushed immediately, fortunate that she had her back to Ciris.
The young girl narrowed her eyes slightly:
"Please take a deep breath. When you sewed this garment, you only considered using the special fibers invented by Miss Sylvia to decorate it with beads that sway beautifully during dancing. Did you not consider whether this outfit suited your figure?"
Ciris asked, and the witch sensed that something seemed off about her friend’s mood, yet the "other me" couldn’t see anything from Ciris’s face. Feeling embarrassed to explain that she deliberately sewed it a size smaller, she changed the topic:
"What do you think I would do? Oh, Ciris, do you think I’m a frivolous person? After all, this is a stage."
"But for you, after a performance where you’ve poured all your emotions, creating a new relationship with a man you approve of on stage isn’t that the most romantic thing?"
Knowing her well, Ciris asked with a smile, as the witch inhaled, finally fastening the hook at the back into place. She stood up, then helped Miss Benanis up as well, and the witch said:
"But I’m covered in sweat, which isn’t romantic at all."
"Stop kidding, Vanessa, a witch’s sweat doesn’t have any strange smell. And from what I see, Shard seemed to really enjoy you being drenched in sweat..."
"Ciris!"
Miss Benanis interrupted loudly, her face flushed with embarrassment, then turned half ashamed and half angry to ask:
"Were you peeking the entire time?"
The young golden-haired girl smiled gently:
"Yes. Including when you said you owed him a promise—because of the puppet incident, he said that promise was to never forget him either."
"You..."
Miss Benanis’s face was completely red, while the young girl looked down at the ground and suddenly looked up to say:
"Spring has arrived, and after resting all winter, the Golden Dawn is also planning the 1854 spring and summer performance venues. I suppose, Vanessa, you weren’t planning to stay lazy in Randall Valley, were you?"
The Witch of the Earth’s lips curved into a smile, thinking of many things:
"So, Ciris, do you have plans for which city the Golden Dawn will go to next?"
"Of course, I do."
Ciris Lathes said, gently tracing her fingers over the witch’s sweaty and flushed shoulder:
"We’re going to surprise him."
(Mia running...)
"So that’s what happened last night?"
On Tuesday morning, pigeons descended in flocks on Saint Delan Square, which, though smoggy, still had decent air, waiting for kind people to feed them. Upstairs on the second floor of No. 6, Saint Delan Square, it was already breakfast time.
The purple-eyed girl sat lazily at the table, listening to Shard recount his experience of watching the performance at the Wilder Opera House.
Shard dipped his breakfast biscuits into hot milk while nodding:
"I don’t mean to praise other ladies in front of you, but that dance..."
"I’m not that petty."
Luviya waved her hand:
"I just felt like laughing."
"Hmm... you feel like laughing because of my performance?"
Shard asked hesitantly, and Luviya shook her head:
"Of course not, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s because of Miss Benanis. She even had the courage to perform that kind of dance and didn’t make you stay over there for the night."
"Oh, Luviya~"
"I know, you don’t like talking about this kind of topic."
The purple-eyed girl said with a smile, stroking the cat drinking goat milk, but even with its head down, Mia avoided her hand:
"However, I’m quite interested in the scene you described. If there’s a chance, I’d really like to see the spectacle you mentioned. Don’t look at me like that, Shard. I’m interested in the meaning represented by the dance. According to your description, it was quite ancient, a very ancient ritual dance, praying for the earth’s abundance and population prosperity. It’s amazing that the Witch could find such information."
Shard recalled the scene from last night, suppressed the excitement in his heart, and continued to eat breakfast with his head down.
"Even though it was just a symbolic ritual dance, I think it still has its effects."
Luviya continued, and Shard raised his head curiously to ask:
"What effects? After she danced, will the Randall Valley Region have a bountiful harvest this year?"
Luviya shook her head, looking at Shard with a teasing expression:
"Of course not. I mean, your performance last night was really impressive. Even if you lent me your Ever-Youth Leaf, I still found it a bit much. Maybe we could negotiate with her to dance that dance for you often before nightfall. I don’t think Her Highness the Princess and Dorothy would object."
Shard almost choked on his bread:
"It’s breakfast time. Let’s talk about something unrelated to the night."
Shard was too embarrassed to continue the conversation, fully aware that the purple-eyed girl was teasing him:
"Speaking of the Ever-Youth Leaf, you fed your Ever-Youth Leaf to me on Saturday, so you should take mine."
"But wasn’t it your last leaf? You said yourself that the last Time Key on the night of the Battle of Randall Valley didn’t grant you any leaves."
Upon mentioning the key, Shard recalled the peculiar black Time Key given to him by Ciris last night when he left the Wilder Opera House with his shirt buttoned up.
Because the area near the Night Shrine wasn’t the location of the Chosen One Ceremony and the Church didn’t know there was an entrance directly to the Heart of the Earth in the cave at the base of the small hill, they didn’t post any surveillance nearby. So Ciris, having gained the Power of the Earth, took the opportunity to extract the key Shard wanted. The ritual was actually quite simple.
The peculiar black key was also made of wood, identical in size to a normal Time Key, and even the ancient Elvish Script carved on it was identical. But as Luvia said in the dream, the wood was completely dead.
Because he had obtained that key, Shard thought that while embracing Luviya in sleep last night, Long-Haired Luvia would guide him into the Dream again to discuss the key, but unfortunately, it didn’t happen.
So, Shard planned to wait until the one-month embargo imposed by the Father of the Infinite Tree was lifted before he would use the key to visit the Bygone Era: Sixth Era. Even a special Time Key was still a Time Key, and Shard had already tried to open it at home last night, but it was still not functional.
But the good news was that the reason it couldn’t be opened was just due to the Tree Father’s prohibition.
"Although there’s only one leaf left, to me, the effects of the Ever-Youth Leaf aren’t really necessary. The life-saving effect is well covered by my False Death. Besides, Luviya, would you really want to see your appearance gradually age?"
Shard joked, and Luviya gently patted him:
"I’ve learned some Arcane Techniques in your Immortality Magic. How could I age noticeably?"
Even as she said this, she still accepted the leaf and gave him a kiss as a token of thanks.
Shard didn’t plan to go back to the Randall Valley today; he couldn’t appear there too often lately. The only thing he needed to do today was to wait for Miss Galina’s "task for Shard" mentioned in the cemetery yesterday, and so he appeared quite leisurely at breakfast.
Even though Luviya was still on vacation today, she had just returned and had a pile of things to handle. Not only did she have to complete her reports to the Academy and the Prophet’s Society about her travels, but also deal with acquisitions announced in the black market before leaving and the backlog of pending work.
So after breakfast, she left, which disappointed Shard, who had planned to spend the morning at home with the purple-eyed girl.
"There’s plenty of time in the future, my Knight. Why so disappointed? Am I usually indifferent to you?"
When Shard escorted Luviya downstairs, the purple-eyed girl feigned dissatisfaction. Then she gently kissed Shard’s cheek and whispered in his ear:
"If you can invite Dorothy over to your house... I wouldn’t mind... consider it your reward."
After saying that, she left with a blush, leaving Shard holding his cheek, wondering if he had misheard.
Since he had no pressing matters, Shard didn’t stay cooped up at home. Thinking that Miss Galina wouldn’t send anyone over too early, he left Mia at home to look after the house and went out, heading to Old John’s pawnshop.
