Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1522: Five Treasures

"Miracles, they will always happen upon you."

Tifa whispered softly as sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating her gentle profile:

"Detective, remember my hint: I hope to see you soon. Even if you haven’t found all the treasures, I hope to see you soon."

With that, she gave Shard a playful wink.

It seemed to be a hint to Shard that even if he hadn’t found everything, he should arrive at Galina Manor by evening.

"Alright, so shall we sign the contract?"

Shard asked again, and Tifa nodded:

"Of course, this is a very formal commission."

She said, taking a scroll from the large pocket of her maid’s dress and handing it to Shard. The scroll’s rod was brass inlaid with silver strands, and the rolled-up paper was not long.

"This is too formal. This is the age of steam, such scrolls were probably phased out centuries ago. I’ve only seen similar items during opera performances."

Despite saying this, Shard still accepted it. Upon opening it, apart from the hints Tifa had given him, the rest of the content was exactly as Miss Maid had described.

The tone of the commission was quite official, like a formal document. Only at the signature area, although it had the Duchess’s official seal, there was no autograph; instead, there was a rather distinct, even showing lip lines, red lip print.

This suddenly made the commission not only informal but also somewhat frivolous.

"Keep the commission contract with you."

Tifa said, standing up to take her leave. But when the puzzled Shard escorted her downstairs, Miss Maid signaled him not to hurry to open the door:

"Actually... I don’t want to leave so soon."

Those beautiful black eyes seemed to be hinting at something to Shard.

"But this commission is urgent, so you can’t waste too much time with me."

She bit her lip gently, unexpectedly showing a momentary vulnerability:

"Knight, you must complete the task quickly. Also, don’t forget you owe me a reward since I gave you a hint."

Saying this, she lightly stood on tiptoe, her red lips brushing Shard’s lips in a soft kiss, separating as soon as they touched:

"So, we’ll meet in the evening, no matter what, you must come."

She waved to Shard, then opened the door by herself and left.

"Do you understand?"

Shard stood at the doorway, watching Tifa walk towards the carriage that had brought her at the street corner, and "she" suddenly asked in Shard’s ear.

"Not really."

Shard hesitated to answer in his heart:

"But, since it’s a commission, it must be completed. So far, my commission completion rate is a hundred percent."

"Strange sense of competition."

"She" chuckled softly, but reminded:

"It’s not a hundred percent, Mia Gold’s commission isn’t finished yet."

"That will definitely be completed, Little Mia is being raised wonderfully by me."

Shard thought to himself, closing the door, then holding the scroll in one hand, letting the contract unfold downward:

"Miss Galina doesn’t know what I got from the demon, so the Philosopher’s Stone can be crossed off. Oh, and the Inexhaustible Spring that pours out wine, although I don’t have that, I do have the Poet-Level Relic [Bacchus’ Bottle], so this can be crossed off too."

He didn’t go upstairs, but simply sat down on the second step to study this commission. Little Mia stood on the higher step watching him; seeing he had no intention of going upstairs, she walked down and settled comfortably beside him.

"The King’s Crown? No need to steal that, thanks to Angelina who got the crown from [God’s Gift Box], so that’s another one crossed off."

"All that’s left is the Holy Grail and your heart."

"She" whispered gently, and Shard nodded:

"Yes, my heart doesn’t need preparation, I know what this treasure signifies; what she wants is just a token of affection. Then there’s the Holy Grail, I could of course go to Randall Valley to seek the Guardian’s help, but that’s too much trouble, I was planning to relax today."

"So, giving up on the Holy Grail?"

"Of course not, I don’t have to go to Randall Valley, there’s no need for that, isn’t Tobesk home to an unresolved ’Crazy Earth’?"

Shard asked with a smile.

[Are you saying...]

"Yes."

Shard nodded, looking at the tightly closed door of his house, recalling the events from a few months ago:

"Before the story of Randall Valley officially began, through Dorothy’s father, I received an investigation on ’Little Martin’s disappearance’ from Professor Martin (Chapter 1170). And that gentleman disappeared because of Miss Norma. My subsequent investigation found that near the outskirts of Tobesk, there was a Crazy Earth. Although the influence there wasn’t major, it led Miss Norma, who grew up there, to voluntarily sacrifice herself and then to gather blood offerings for the Earth."

He recalled the events from January of this year:

"At that time, I dispelled Miss Norma’s resentment, momentarily calming the madness of that land. But this did not fundamentally solve the problem, as the ritual of love only suppressed that land for two or three months (Chapter 1174)... What a coincidence that now, once again, there’s an issue there."

The abandoned manor outside the city remained in a state of disrepair even in early spring. When Shard arrived by carriage, the snow-covered ground of the manor was marked only by a set of unidentifiable animal footprints.

After the carriage departed, Shard climbed over the fence and jumped in.

But, just as Shard thought, due to the special ritual and the liberation of voluntarily sacrificed souls, the madness of the suppressed Earth began to awaken. It was unclear whether this was coincidental timing or a result of the recent disturbances in Randall Valley.

As soon as Shard stepped inside the manor, he immediately sensed a "presence" from beneath the snow-covered ground.

This feeling was quite peculiar, and since Shard’s "Power of the Earth" had been enhanced after that banquet, his perception of the Earth became even more refined.

Moreover, the filth that wasn’t yet fully digested within his soul, originating from the Earth’s origin, also granted Shard some peculiar abilities. When he stepped onto this polluted ground, he instantly felt that he might solve the problem here through "assimilation and absorption" rather than "purification."

"No, I won’t do that."

Shard muttered as he took off his gloves. The "big trouble" within his soul hadn’t been resolved yet, and he couldn’t handle more problems. Besides, he came for the Holy Grail, and absorbing the filth wouldn’t earn him a Holy Grail as a reward.

The exterior of the city was colder than the city itself, so although signs of melting could be seen in the accumulated snow, it still looked like the depths of winter. Shard trudged through the snow, one foot deep, the other shallow, to the spot where Miss Norma had been "voluntarily entombed." Although the event had long concluded, partially buried police lines could still be seen on the snow surface.

"First the soil, then the petals."

Shivering, he scattered the soil and tossed out a petal:

"Power of the Earth: Healing Aura!"

As soon as his words fell, a brown-yellow light took shape beneath his hands, just as it had in Randall Valley.

As Shard pondered what the red-haired Witch he was commissioned by intended to do, he suddenly felt his soul tremble. Immediately, black light uncontrollably shot from his palm and entered the forming Holy Grail.

Although this occurred, Shard continued spellcasting; he had to ascertain what was happening.

Thus, following the normal spellcasting process, the forming Holy Grail entered the ground beneath the snow. The healing aura gushing from the ground indicated that Shard’s sorcery still had a purifying effect.

Since the madness of this land had only just started reviving from being completely suppressed, the spellcasting process was quite short.

Soon, the fully formed Holy Grail emerged from the ground and was caught by Shard.

"Oh, it’s indeed different!"

The filth from the Earth’s origin, yet to be fully digested within him, had affected the Holy Grail. Usually, the cups were earthen brown Soil Holy Grails, but this time, the Holy Grail was actually a genuine Gold Cup.

Because the land purified wasn’t severely contaminated, the golden Holy Grail was slightly smaller, but it was still a derivative of the "Power of the Earth."

"Aside from the material, it seems more powerful."

Having come across various sizes of Soil Holy Grails, Shard was familiar with their display levels of elemental prowess. However, the small gold cup in his hand was noticeably stronger, resembling more closely the legendary ancient cups used to worship an Ancient God and the Earth.

"But it still only has the Miracle Element and no sense of a curse."

[Although you absorbed the concept of "twist" from the Earth’s origin, it’s still the Earth’s origin.]

"She" softly whispered.

So Shard understood that the powers he hadn’t yet digested could enhance abilities related to the Earth. Unfortunately, the similar abilities he possessed were limited to "Healing Aura," "Fossil to Mud," and "Active Soil."

"Then, let me see, the inscription on the Holy Grail is... hmm? Youth?"

The meaning embedded in the ancient rune was quite profound. The most accurate expression would be the "Evergreen Earth, Endless Vitality, Immortal Beauty, Eternal Youth."

"What does it mean?"

Shard looked toward the rim of the cup, flipped it over, and shook it twice, finally giving it two taps:

"It looks pretty good, let’s leave it to Miss Galina to study, after all, it’s what she wanted."

Lowering his head to glance again at the spot where Miss Norma was entombed, Shard thought about how that lady, through deceit, had three young men who loved her dearly, bury her with their own hands. For a moment, Shard felt a peculiar impression, as if this were an omen of sorts.

"Oh, stop overthinking, I should head home and warm up."

Shard shook his head, took out Lecia’s Crystal Shoes, and casually tossed them. The shadow of the Crystal Shoes on the snow became more distinct, but before they landed, both the shoes and Shard vanished from sight.