Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1528: The Flower’s Wager

Shard took out the letter as he spoke. Although it was written just half an hour ago, he made sure to dry the ink completely and create visible creases in the paper to prevent it from looking too new.

Bishop Mephistopheles opened the letter with great curiosity and exclaimed after a quick glance:

"Is it Lat August? So old August is still alive; we haven’t been in touch for many years."

"Yes, when I was in Tobesk City, I often sought the help of Priest Augustus. He has quite a high reputation in our parish."

Shard nodded, exchanged a glance with the doctor, and then said somewhat embarrassedly:

"Speaking of which, there’s something we are quite curious about."

He chuckled:

"Priest Augustus mentioned something related to you. He said that when he was younger, during a business trip to Randall Valley, he made a bet with you and lost 10 pence, which he has yet to repay. Could you tell us what the bet was about? I’m really curious since Priest Augustus often advises young people to stay away from Roder cards."

"He’s still the same as he was when he was young."

Bishop Mephistopheles carefully folded and put away the letter from his long-lost friend and then sighed:

"That was many years ago. If you hadn’t brought it up today, I would have almost forgotten. Lat August is quite an interesting person. To be honest, in all these years, I’ve never met anyone as conservative, cautious, and devout as he is."

The bishop gave quite a high appraisal and then shook his head with a smile:

"As for the bet back then, it’s surprising he still remembers. Young people, you might have come here out of curiosity, but the answer is quite dull. It was merely a casual conversation among young people of that era."

"Then could you waste a little of your time to satisfy our idle curiosity?"

Dr. Schneider also asked, and the bishop nodded:

"It was also during a winter-spring transition season, much like now, although it wasn’t as cold as this year.

At that time, I was just an ordinary priest in this church, and with Augustus, who had come to this city on business when he was young, we went to the city children’s welfare institute to deliver some documents. On the way back, while looking at the scenery along the bank of the Elon River, we speculated when spring would arrive that year—that is, when the first Randall flower of the year would bloom."

Shard and Dr. Schneider exchanged another glance:

"So the content of your bet was the time when the first Randall flower of the year would bloom?"

Shard asked, and the answer indeed sounded dull, but at least they got an answer. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"No, no, we’re neither diviners from the Prophet’s Society nor weather researchers from the Advanced Academy. How could we guess such things?"

The bishop laughed and shook his head, squinting slightly, as if recalled to his youthful days by the memory:

"The weather was really nice that day. I remember Augustus and I were both wearing the church’s standard robes, and on my feet were the leather shoes I had saved all winter to buy, which are still in my wardrobe. As a local, I talked with Augustus about people each year trying to be the first to bring a Randall flower to the City Hall just for the reward. Augustus, in turn, mentioned that he was nurturing a pot of Randall flowers in his room. The sunshine was great that day, and the return trip was quite dull, so since we had a common topic, we placed a silly wager..."

By now, Shard and Dr. Schneider were no longer feeling bored.

"We began to speculate whether the first person to bring a blooming Randall flower to the City Hall that spring would have tampered with it."

The old man winked at them:

"In fact, there are many ways to make a flower bloom unnaturally, but the long-standing tradition of the Randall flower means the City Hall also has methods to examine it. Would you like to guess which side Augustus and I bet on?"

"Priest Augustus surely believed that the first person to bring a flower would have tampered with it."

The doctor answered without hesitation:

"Having known Priest Augustus for many years, I’ve found that he tends to assume the worst, always suspecting strangers of having the most malicious intentions. I once tried to deduce the reason for this mindset using psychological methods, but I could only conclude that past experiences influenced him."

Shard nodded deeply in agreement, and Bishop Mephistopheles nodded lightly too:

"He really is like that. Yes, Doctor, you guessed right. Augustus thought the first person to bring a flower would surely have manipulated it, whereas I believed they wouldn’t. Since it was just idle chat, the bet was only 10 pence. Although prices at that time differed from now, 10 pence was still an amount we both could afford."

"There’s more to this story, right? We know now that Priest Augustus lost, but I think the situation afterward was more than simply underestimating human kindness."

Shard asked, having caught nuances from the old bishop’s expression. The old man nodded again, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked at the wall painting. Only then did Shard notice that the painting was newly hung, depicting a banquet by a forested river.

"Spring came quickly, and the newspapers reported that a poor woman living in a small village on the east side of Randall Valley, raising two kids alone, brought the first Randall flower of the year and received the City Hall’s reward. I investigated through church channels, and until then, no one had brought any flowers; she was the first, so I won."

Dr. Schneider raised an eyebrow:

"But in reality..."

The old bishop, hands behind his back, continued looking at the new painting on the wall:

"Augustus was always a cautious person. Winning a bet from him thrilled me back then. We never brought up the payment of the bet, and Augustus soon ended his stay in Randall Valley and returned to Tobesk City in Draleon.

Half a month later, the church organized a mission to preach in the countryside. I volunteered, and on the way, I found that ’lucky’ woman. At the time I planned to gather information as something I’d boast about to Augustus in the future. After all, youth has its own ideas... Today, that woman has been dead for twelve years. Back then, a devout believer, she confessed to me that she lied."

"Was there something wrong with the flower she brought?"

Shard inquired.

"Indeed, she was just a rural woman and couldn’t truly distinguish a Randall flower from similar ones. She simply went to the City Hall with the hope of surviving with her family. Coincidentally, another gentleman also brought a flower, who was actually the rightful owner of the bonus. However, that gentleman persuaded the City Hall official to let the poor woman get the reward and have her name in the newspapers, greatly improving her livelihood. Since the City Hall got the year’s flower, they didn’t mind this suggestion."

Bishop Mephistopheles took a deep breath, Dr. Schneider nodded slightly, then suddenly hesitated:

"Though it seems somewhat coincidental, the person who actually brought the real Randall flower that year wasn’t Priest Augustus, was it?"

The bishop nodded:

"Yes, that was something I uncovered only later. So, did I really win or did he? I couldn’t figure this out in my younger days but felt ashamed of my ’arrogance.’ As I grew older, I gradually felt I had lost. In reality, even if Augustus hadn’t sent me a letter, I would write to him after a few years when my body could no longer bear these responsibilities, and talk about the past."

The doctor showed a reflective expression; though the story was not thrilling, it was certainly interesting.

Shard chuckled and shook his head. It seemed to him that Augustus probably cared about the bet too; otherwise, he wouldn’t have bothered to submit the pot of flowers. Besides, the priest had already lived through the "Unclassified Level Relic Incident" by then. Even having not become a Circle Sorcerer, he surely had some supernatural abilities.

Shard certainly couldn’t believe it was mere coincidence that Augustus ran into the first Randall flower of that year. He thought it more likely that the priest had actively used some ability to foresee the flower’s emergence beforehand.

Events from years ago taught the two young men not to be arrogant, to understand compassion, and also saved a poor family. Looking back on this matter years later, the "ten pence wager" indeed was not important.

For a moment, all three said nothing, savoring the story until the old bishop spoke:

"Gentlemen, may I trouble you for ten minutes to write a reply letter to Augustus for you to take back with you?"

"Of course, you don’t need to invite us to wait in the office. This gentleman and I will wait outside the church, as we can’t just idle away our time inside the church."

Dr. Schneider nodded, and Shard looked at the brand-new painting:

"Speaking of which, does this painting depict a religious story? I don’t seem to have heard of it; the plaque reads... ’Banquet in the Woods’?"

The bishop raised an eyebrow:

"Ah, that’s another interesting story."

The weather was indeed rather nice, allowing Shard and the doctor to enjoy the scenery even while waiting outside. Consequently, Bishop Mephistopheles didn’t insist they stay. So Shard and the doctor returned to the riverfront bench directly opposite the church entrance. However, the old man feeding pigeons and the man tidying a child’s clothes from earlier had both left.

The breeze carried warmth, making it quite pleasant to sit idly here and watch the people coming and going at the church door.

Since they had temporarily left the church, Shard began to ask sensitive questions:

"Doctor, have you sought out those people involved with demons?"