Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1531: Evolution, Breakfast, and Degree
The severe illness represents the side effect of Shard ingesting those "filthy things," but since the side effects are manifesting, it also means that the power originally not belonging to Shard is successfully becoming a part of him.
Not only can he himself feel within his coma that the upper limit of his spirit and recovery speed are increasing, but the girls who take care of him can also feel it.
"His hair and beard grow so fast."
The 22nd day of the Month of Rising Wind, Saturday.
When Shard awoke to a brand-new morning, he heard Luviya and Tifa speaking. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
He hadn’t opened his eyes yet, unexpectedly discovering that he felt exceptionally good today. Although his body still felt somewhat fatigued, and the headache hadn’t entirely disappeared, compared to the pain that felt like a sledgehammer pounding his temples in recent days, the current sensation was almost like Mia scratching his skin.
From his understanding of his body state, this could almost be considered healing.
"Yes, over the past week, he’s grown taller by half an inch (about 1.27cm). Although it’s not much, considering his age, it’s almost impossible."
Tifa softly agreed.
Shard had no intention of eavesdropping on their conversation and wanted to open his eyes to indicate that he was awake. Yet, he felt the blanket on his side being gently lifted, and then a hand lightly pinching his upper arm:
"It’s not just his height; Shard’s weight has also increased a bit, his bone density and muscle strength have both improved. But strangely, in terms of appearance, Shard’s physique hasn’t changed at all. You can’t see exaggerated muscles; even his abs are at the original level."
Luviya whispered, then released his upper arm and tucked the blanket back in place:
"Even those Arcane Techniques that can permanently enhance physical attributes, like [Iron Body], [Power of the Giant], [Farias’ Strengthening Spell], [Ear of the Silver Knight], don’t have such dramatic effects. I’m even wondering if Shard, with just his physical strength now, could defeat an Earth Elemental Titan with bare hands."
"It shouldn’t be that exaggerated. Miss said that the witches believe Shard’s physical changes are more akin to an... evolution."
It was clear that Miss Maid with black hair was trying to find a suitable expression:
"Circle Sorcerers have different Spirit Runes, causing physical attributes to vary greatly even within the same circle. Those twisted powers probably highly match with some of his Spirit Runes, leading to this phenomenon. It’s an all-around enhancement of physical attributes, where the boost to bare-hand combat abilities isn’t the most important—it’s the further evolution of his life form that’s key."
"He might outlive us all."
Luviya gently said, and though Shard had his eyes closed, he could feel those purple eyes looking at him.
"That’s really wonderful; he won’t leave before I do."
"Please don’t say things like that so early in the morning."
Upon hearing this, Shard finally opened his eyes, and neither Luviya nor Tifa were surprised by his awakening.
Tifa gently supported him to sit up and softly greeted him, as if worried that too loud a sound might make him die immediately. Then she stood up from the chair by the bed to arrange for the maids to bring breakfast.
Luviya touched his forehead and then pressed her hand on his chest to check his heartbeat:
"Your body temperature is back to normal, but your heartbeat is still a bit fast. But you should be fine. According to my divination, your integration with those powers we cannot understand will take a few more days to complete, so your illness will take a few more days to fully heal."
"Let me propose a possibility. Could the reason for my fast heartbeat be because you’re listening to it?"
Shard said, meeting those purple eyes. Luviya also gazed at him, then laughed after a few seconds. Her squinting smile was very beautiful.
"Hearing you say something like that, it shows your spirit is much better than in previous days."
She said, moving Mia, who was lying on the blanket, to the side to prevent the cat from crushing the "physically weak" Shard.
For the past two weeks, Mia hadn’t been in great spirits, lying beside Shard’s pillow all day, as if afraid that Shard might die at any moment. That’s why every time Shard opened his eyes, he’d either see Mia at the head of the bed or on the windowsill—because this cat, nearing one year old, hadn’t left his side at all.
"We prepared daily cat food for her according to your instructions, but her appetite is one-fifth less than what you said."
Luviya said, seeing Shard insist he was fine, put Mia back onto the blanket. Shard leaned against the headboard, stroking the cat. Mia seemed to sense Shard’s improved spirit and lay obediently under his hand without moving:
"It feels like this past week was a dream. Now that I’ve woken up, I still can’t distinguish which memories in the past few weeks are real and which are dreams."
"I still remember one night when I called you to get up and drink medicine. You waved your hands frantically, saying you wouldn’t drink it, as if I was trying to poison you."
Luviya said teasingly, reaching over to tuck in the foot of Shard’s blanket. Shard recalled, realizing that he had dreamed of a story he had overheard in Hometown, about one hundred and five men and three women committing robbery together.
"Now that you’re finally better, we can rest assured."
Luviya said, her gaze tinged with sadness.
"Thank you for taking care of me these past two weeks. If it weren’t for you, I might have just curled up in bed, waiting for the doctor to notice I didn’t attend a meeting before finding me."
"Do you really need to thank us, Shard? You know what this illness is about, so in the future..."
"Luviya, if I didn’t do what I did in the Randall Valley, what else could I have done?"
Shard asked, looking into those purple eyes, though he wasn’t quite sure who exactly he was seeing:
"Sacrifice Ciris? Or let the Guardian self-destruct after devouring the pollution? That’s not the outcome we wanted, especially not the one you wanted."
Luviya pursed her lips and after a moment said:
"Then let the Church handle it, let the damned Crazy Earth spread across the world. You said yourself The End will come as it will, I don’t care about others, I only care about you."
"That’s not something you should be saying."
Shard said with a smile, then reached out to hug Luviya, noticing in the process a set of pajamas he had never seen before:
"But from the current perspective, the outcome of my choice isn’t too bad, right? The story of Randall Valley was resolved rather satisfactorily, and although I’ve been seriously ill for over a week, there’s no danger to my life. Moreover, I’ve gained some benefits. Even if I have to devour odd things again in the future, my resistance is much stronger than it was over a week ago."
"Are you planning on doing it again?"
Luviya’s voice raised slightly as she took Shard’s hand:
"Shard Suren Hamilton, promise me that if you ever want to take risks like this in the future, at least discuss it with me beforehand, okay?"
Generally, being called by your full name means it’s a very serious occasion.
"I know, you wouldn’t lie to me."
Luviya said as Shard pressed his lips together:
"Okay, I promise you, whenever there’s an opportunity, I will take the initiative to discuss it with you."
Miss Diviner’s face lit up with a smile just as Tifa returned with the maids. However, instead of eating first, they started by washing up. Only Shard could brush his teeth himself, but according to the routine of the past few days, Tifa personally wiped Shard’s face with a hot towel.
"I’ll do it myself today."
Feeling that his body was already in recovery, Shard said, only to receive a reproachful look from Tifa, who started to take control without discussing it with Shard.
After the meal, they did a simple check on Shard, and then confirmed that his physical condition had greatly improved. This made the girls very happy, so Luviya went to work at the Prophet’s Society as usual, while Shard was asked to continue resting in bed.
He initially thought of reading some books to make up for the two weeks of "sloth". But as his body hadn’t fully recovered, after half an hour of reading about the impurity purification and handling standard procedures in magic potion making, drowsiness overcame him.
Normally, Shard would persist in finishing the book, but since he was still sick, he simply set the book aside and went back to sleep.
When he opened his eyes again, it was already midday, two hours later.
The house seemed quite lively. Shard heard many voices from the living room. Holding Mia, he attempted to get up and wearing his pajamas, went to the living room, only to find not only Luviya and Tifa but also Miss Galina and Dorothy had arrived.
"Good afternoon, ladies. I’m really glad to see you."
Seeing all the girls he considered "family" in this world, Shard felt his spirits lift even higher.
Luviya wanted Shard to go back to rest quickly, but Dorothy thought it would be good for Shard to get up and walk a bit, and that having lunch before returning to lie in bed was just as fine.
Thus, after a week, Shard finally regained the privilege to eat at the dining table.
The usually solitary dining table suddenly filled with three more people eating with him, making No. 6, Saint Delan Square feel ever more warm and cozy.
Tifa still refused to sit with Galina, remaining busy in the kitchen with the other maids.
Meanwhile, the ladies at the table used the lunch period to tell Shard about what had happened during the week he was gravely ill. Shard always seemed to be surrounded by various affairs, but the world wouldn’t halt just because the Outlander closed his eyes for a sick rest.
"Your honorary degree has already been obtained."
This was news Dorothy had brought back. Although Shard had managed to get a decent paper from the Randall Valley, the subsequent collaboration with Professor Manning and other miscellaneous affairs were all handled by Miss Writer and Her Highness the Princess together.
"The award ceremony for the degree was two days ago. Everyone knew you were gravely ill, so I went to receive your degree certificate and honorary medal on your behalf, Hamilton Honorary Doctor~"
