Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1730 - 1729: Disloyal Men
"I’m not feeling unwell, I’m... Luviya, thank you for helping me last night..."
Dorothy pursed her lips and said. Shard knew she was surely communicating with Lecia in her heart, complaining about Her Highness the Princess’s behavior on Saturday night.
"Gift!"
"Meow!"
Shard took the mask out of the gift box. It was a white cat mask that covered the entire face, secured with straps.
Mia seemed startled by the mask and jumped away from her sheep milk bowl beside it. But after realizing it wasn’t a living thing, she reached out her paw to pat the mask twice.
"Ordinary item."
Shard shook his head and casually placed the mask aside:
"Indeed, I can’t expect to obtain relics like the Master Key or Wraith Iron Coin every time."
Luviya looked at the mask and abruptly asked:
"Do you remember the result of the divination I did for you before you first set out for Green Lake?" (Chapter 1581)
"Of course, I remember: Cat, Twins."
Luviya thought for a moment:
"You’ve almost figured out what Twins means. But what does the cat represent?"
"Does it represent that I’ll acquire ’Cat Transformation’ afterwards?"
Shard asked, but then shook his head. Although his recent adventures have been closely linked to "cats," they were actually preparations for the "Seven-day Trip." In the Green Lake region, even without Cat Transformation, it wouldn’t cause much inconvenience for his actions.
"Yes, if your divination result at that time was correct, what does the cat represent?"
Thus, time moved to Tuesday, the day before the Lunar Eclipse, the 29th day of the Sowing Moon.
Early in the morning when Shard arrived at the Green Lake Hotel, he learned from the newspaper that Miss Galina and her group would arrive in the city tomorrow night or early the next morning. This was as planned, meaning the delegation was not attacked or met with mishaps en route.
On this Tuesday morning, Shard didn’t see Megan at the hotel, but she sent a letter, informing him to prepare for the island landing on Wednesday and sharing other new information.
The news was about the Church’s actions. The Church’s latest round of inspections on Green Lake Central Island had concluded. Although they hadn’t found a way to enter the other island, they discovered a new trait on the island: the rituals and large-scale damages set up on the island would silently disappear.
This means that not only can the Church’s Circle Sorcerers not long-term station themselves on the island, but they can’t even set up rituals to monitor changes on the island.
Now the Church’s team has mostly withdrawn from Green Lake Central Island, only deploying personnel and rituals on the lake surface to ensure nothing emerges from the fog. They were supposed to impose a lockdown on the entire lake area and evacuate lakeside villages. But now, during the two countries’ negotiations, almost the whole world is watching here. If Green Lake were fully sealed off, the commotion would surely be significant.
Furthermore, the Prophet’s Society believes that a complete lockdown might be part of Laplace Klein Howard’s plan, so the lake area is not sealed off, and Megan has already found a way to access the island.
The only concern now is that Shard and Megan might encounter scattered Church teams on the island tomorrow.
Even though Shard didn’t see Megan on this Tuesday, he received a letter from the Furen Brothers. Last week, Shard learned that the brothers belonged to the Rosicrucian Society as Circle Sorcerers, and this organization has absorbed some believers of the Old God, the God of Love.
This time, they wrote to inform Shard that within the Rosicrucian Society, the believers who truly worship that Old God have already reached the City of Glass, Mikaela Ironworks City, where they could meet with Shard today.
Without delay, Shard left Green Lake Hotel, took a carriage, and crossed the border to the city on the South Shore of Green Lake. At the crossing, he also encountered Captain Lades and exchanged a few words with him.
"Duke Galina is about to arrive, and our tasks have gotten much heavier these days."
"Inspecting illegal border crossings?"
The captain shook his head:
"Of course not, it’s about drills and parade formations. The Duke or some other important figure might inspect the military camp, and my superior, Colonel Dewey, takes this matter seriously. You see over there, the soldiers who used to maintain queue order are a whole squad, and now only two groups remain... Guess what the others are doing?"
Shard thought for a moment:
"Cleaning up?"
Judging from Captain Lades’ expression, he evidently guessed correctly.
The location for the meeting with the Furen Brothers was the "Victory Carroll Inn" in Mikaela Ironworks City’s center, which had a superb location that offered a direct view of City Hall and the winding Duin River from its windows.
Moreover, Professor Boulanger, who had assisted Shard, also stayed there, although he should still be with his students, investigating the North Shore of Green Lake.
Victory Carroll Inn was at a five-forked road junction, with part of the hotel extending towards the road junction center, presenting a triangular layout. When Shard paid the carriage driver fee and entered the inn against the backdrop of a parade passing by outside, the Furen Brothers were sitting at a table waiting for him:
"Mr. Watson, over here."
They invited Shard to sit down, and then Eric Furen gave Shard a note with three room numbers on it:
"We still have a meeting to attend, so we won’t be going up with you."
He pointed upstairs:
"Mr. Richard, Mr. Upton, and Mrs. Hope are all in their respective rooms. You can visit them individually or just see one or two of them. They are all Inner Ring members and are the most devout believers of the God of Love among us. However, Mr. Upton has a peculiar personality, so if you communicate with him, please do not mind his offenses. Oh, we told them you are our friend, so you don’t need to worry about identity issues."
Shard nodded to show he understood but asked another question:
"Is it convenient to tell me how many people from the Rosicrucian Society are here this time?"
The brothers hesitated for a moment, and finally Charles spoke:
"We can’t disclose the exact number, but it definitely exceeds this."
He held up three fingers:
"Also, our president is here, and he is a Twelve-Ring Sorcerer. Right now, the president is in contact with the True God Church. He discussed with us the idea of actively revealing our Edwards descendants’ identity."
This is a wise move, as it can protect the Furen Brothers while ensuring that the Rosicrucian Society doesn’t completely lose its involvement in this matter.
Shard nodded:
"Very well. I’ll go up then... when will you have some free time? There are some things I would like to discuss with you. No, not in the next couple of days. How about the weekend?"
The brothers thought for a moment:
"This weekend should be fine. We will contact our aunt then."
"No problem."
Shard nodded, said goodbye to the brothers, and headed upstairs.
The industrial development of the City of Glass is evident in every aspect. Although the Green Lake Hotel, run by the Green siblings, Soren and Helena Green, is the best hotel in Green Lake City, compared to its counterparts in the City of Glass, its interior decoration and living environment aren’t the best.
The Victory Carroll Hotel is what Shard remembers as a Big City hotel, similar in level to the Abundant Land Inn where Luviya and others stayed earlier this year in Randall Valley.
Not only is the decor top-notch, but the high-level rooms reserved for wealthy guests are also quite luxurious.
Among the Circle Sorcerers of the Rosicrucian Society, the three believers of the God of Love reside on different floors. Mr. Upton, who is noted for his "bad personality," and Mrs. Hope reside in ordinary rooms on the second floor, with room numbers 215 and 221, respectively. Mr. Richard, the highest-ranking of the three, stays in the luxury suite 402 on the fourth floor.
Shard chose to go to the fourth floor first, likely because it was a weekday morning, so the corridor on the fourth floor was very quiet. When Shard knocked on the door, the knocking sound felt quite abrupt.
Soon, footsteps were heard behind the door, followed by a voice inside:
"Who is it?"
"Hello, is this Mr. Richard? I’m the friend Mr. Furen mentioned."
After he said this, the door was opened, revealing an elderly gentleman with graying hair, not very tall, appearing to be in his fifties. He frowned slightly, giving Shard a once-over, and suddenly said:
"You are disloyal!"
"Excuse me, what?"
Shard blinked suspiciously, and the old man shook his head:
"You obviously heard that. I said: you are disloyal. Come in, don’t talk at the door." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
"But wasn’t it you who just said I was..."
"Young man, don’t be foolish. In this day and age, how many people can be found who remain loyal to one love all their lives? Human emotions are complex and variable. Compared to others I’ve met, you’re not the worst kind of man."
He said, gesturing for Shard to follow him into the room.
The two took seats in the living room, but Old Mr. Richard did not prepare tea for Shard. Moreover, after sitting down, he didn’t give Shard a chance to speak, handing him an art book instead.
The book was ordinary book size but very thin, with only about a dozen pages, held together by six silver metal rings on the side. It wasn’t an ordinary item, having a Miracle Element, though the traces weren’t very obvious, implying it might be a type of Divine Item.
"Open and look at each painting, then tell me what you see."
Old Mr. Richard said, noticing Shard’s hesitation, he said:
"Whenever I meet a Circle Sorcerer willing to sit down and talk, I invite them to take my ’psychological test.’ Each painting in here is abstract, and you just need to tell me what they resemble in your view. The test results will reflect your views on love, marriage, and lovers. Before our formal conversation begins, please complete this."
This sounded very much like those tests from the Outlander’s homeland.
