Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 475: Technical Worker

After deciding the number of cards to draw, people urged the old antique shop owner to deal.

He excitedly dealt six cards for Mrs. Sangmi first. Mrs. Sangmi didn't hesitate to reveal her hand. Even though the first card, a Flower Suit moon 3 "Special Card [Piano Tune·Summer Night], " drew cheers, it didn't trigger its special rule "This card is not the first one drawn, and all cards in hand must be of the same suit."

"There could still be a King or Queen."

The female shop owner said somewhat unconfidently. Everyone widened their eyes in anticipation as she flipped over the remaining five cards.

With each reveal, someone would whisper "King" or "Queen," but the final tally of 27 points resulted in a bust.

"It seems I've won."

Shard sighed with relief, but the old antique shop owner still dealt him six cards.

Under these circumstances, Shard could have chosen not to reveal his hand; whether he busted or not, he would win. But the people were expectant, and Shard wanted to win with a bit of grace, so he gathered the six playing cards in front of him.

He reached to reveal his hand but then paused, turning to the dark-haired girl at the table:

"Tifa, you help me reveal my cards."

He directly called her by name, and Miss Maid did not object. Instead, she smiled.

She moved to Shard's side:

"Detective, what do you think the outcome will be?"

"Whatever the result, I can accept it."

Pale hands flipped over the cards one by one.

The first one, sun 1.

The second, moon 1.

The third, stars 1.

Quiet murmurs of discussion reached their ears from all around, no one wanting to interrupt the moment. Shard was equally surprised by the results:

"Mrs. Sangmi, you checked both the dealing and shuffling yourself, so don't say we're cheating."

"Rest assured, I can afford to lose, and these cards don't affect the outcome anymore. Let your friend continue revealing the cards; her luck is truly remarkable."

Standing Tifa looked down at Shard, and after he nodded, she flipped over the remaining three cards.

Sun 2, moon 2, stars 2.

Because the Flower Suit 1s and 2s had already been acquired by Shard in the second round, the six cards Tifa revealed were theoretically the smallest number of points possible.

The quiet discussions finally evolved into loud cheers and debates, the likelihood of such a hand being drawn was even smaller than the probability of drawing a Special Card.

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Mrs. Sangmi covered her forehead with a sigh, but her lips still curled into a smile:

"Detective, surely you didn't recruit your assistant from a casino?"

"Of course not, but she is indeed my lucky lady."

Shard joked, smiling at Miss Servit before gathering up his playing cards. The female shop owner then tossed the "King's Spy·Substitute" to him.

As Shard stood up, the dark-haired girl handed him his coat:

"This has been a very enjoyable game. Now, will you give me the information I asked for?"

"Of course, but I won't let you win so easily when it comes to the official matches of the Big City Player."

Although the bet was a Roder Card game, in the end, Shard still gave 20 pounds for the information, claiming to be a gentleman who wouldn't let a woman doing business in the Lower District lose too much money. In reality, he knew that their victory was greatly attributed to Tifa's dice-rolling technique.

After the gambling was over, as agreed, Mrs. Sangmi provided the address of the technician woman familiar with the blind musician.

The women who worked the night at the Three Cats Inn usually slept at their own places during the day or took care of personal matters. The Three Cats Inn provided a venue and protection for their business, keeping them free from harassment by nearby gangs and from being murdered by customers with bad intentions.

Mrs. Sangmi would take a certain amount of protection money but would not provide accommodation and food. After all, she considered herself a legitimate businesswoman, not a lowly madam.

No one knew the real name of the woman who was acquainted with the deceased blind musician; the name she commonly used was Mary. According to statistics, this was one of the most common women's names of the era.

Mary lived in a rental apartment in the northern part of the Lower District of Tobesk, but it was not the kind where each person had a room or even a whole floor. It was a slum apartment where a single room was divided into several small areas for rent.

Shard wouldn't mind going there alone, but he didn't want to take Tifa to such a place. So he asked Miss Maid to wait at the end of the alley while he found Miss Mary in the old apartment building with peeling walls, pervasive odd smells, damp and narrow spaces, corridors full of household items, and almost no room to step into the rooms. After finding her, he took her out of the alley to a streetside restaurant to talk.

It just so happened to be noon, and he offered to buy her lunch. Tifa, still wishing to serve Shard in the manner of a maid while he ate, was forcibly invited by Shard to sit beside him.

"Mary" appeared to be a woman in her thirties, nearing forty, slightly slender, with rough skin, heavy bags under her eyes, and blue veins on her wrists more visible than anyone else's. She wore a red dress characteristic of a technical worker and had cheap makeup smeared on her face. The perfume, which seemed to have been bought from somewhere, was so strong that Shard couldn't help but feel an urge to cough.

Apart from her seductive eyes, this woman had nothing to do with Shard's notion of "pretty." Although it was impolite, Shard thought she resembled a wildflower about to rot away and disappear into the marsh. The slums of Tobesk were this marsh, a place that would consume many, not just their lives but their livelihoods.

Upon hearing Shard was treating her to a meal, the woman happily followed Shard out of the alley. As she walked out of the alley, she even attempted to hook her arm with Shard's to take advantage of the situation.

But when she saw the dark-haired girl in a blue dress at the end of the alley, Miss Mary quickly became docile, possibly realizing that she had no advantage.

Since Shard was the host, she unreservedly ordered plenty of food. Shard didn't mind this; the restaurants next to the slums were cheap, and any bit of information would make the trip worthwhile.

"I want to know about Mr. Frank Bondi."

The woman finished ordering the dishes, then Shard spoke.

"Old Bondy? Are you his creditor? No, I don't know where he has gone."

Miss Mary's accent had a distinct Tobesk touch to it; she must have lived here for many years.

And the people of the Lower District seemed to prefer defining someone who hasn't shown up for a long time as running away from debts.

"No, he's dead."

When he said this, Shard also observed the woman's expression, but she didn't show any particular emotion. She merely looked up, her eyes widened, adorned with exaggerated eyeshadow, and asked curiously,

"How did he die?"

"Suicide?"

The woman was startled for a moment and then spoke with her lower lip protruding slightly,

"Oh, God, suicide is a great sin... but it's not surprising. The last few times I saw him, he was a bit mentally unstable. Do you understand? He was hysterical, as if he feared something, in bed he used to be ***, but now he prefers ***, even burying his *** in my... "

"Enough, I don't want to hear these details."

Shard frowned and interrupted, and Miss Servit was silently taking notes beside him. The thirty-something woman curled her lips into a smile and asked:

"So, what do you want to know?"

"Did Mr. Bondy ever say anything odd? I visited the Noan Opera Troupe where he worked, but Mr. Bondy never mentioned anything to his friends. I think you might be the only person he talked to about it."

"Yes, but..."

She twiddled her fingers.

Shard again handed over a shilling, and the woman laughed as she took it:

"He complained to me that he shouldn't have sought out a doctor to heal his eyes. After his eyes were treated, he always saw vague shadows at night, and later those shadows became clearer. He never said what he saw exactly, poor Old Bondy, scared by his vision. I've heard of such things, it seems his eyes weren't completely cured. Old Bondy had never seen things before, so he was frightened by trivial matters."

"Strange things..."

Shard glanced at Miss Servit, who nodded slightly; their speculation from yesterday seemed correct.

"Then, do you know that he was always using a bright yellow oil drop for his eyes?"

"Of course, it was prescribed by the doctor. He had to keep using that peculiar potion, otherwise his vision would deteriorate and return to blindness."

"If there was a way to stop seeing, to avoid the strange things in the night, why doesn't he stop taking the medication?"

Shard asked, and the woman placed her right index finger in front of her mouth, chewing on her nail with a mocking smile:

"Sir, he had seen Brightness, and you expect him to give it up?"

Shard immediately thought of Mr. Bondy's words in his will—

["I have been in darkness and never lamented my fate, but now why allow me to see Brightness?"]

"I see. Unwilling to lose his sight and return to the darkness, constantly enduring fear, until the madness of giving up the fight against fate, ending his life."

Shard sighed, signaling Miss Servit to take careful note of this part.

"A cowardly man."

Miss Mary leaned back in her chair and said, reaching into her pocket and then actually pulling out a cheap, slim cigarette; but upon catching Shard's gaze, she put the tobacco back again.

"Did Mr. Bondy leave any relics here with you?"

Shard asked again.

"No."

The woman answered very quickly.

"Lies."

Miss Servit suddenly spoke up, and Shard wasn't surprised by this outcome.

"Don't worry, I have special persuasion skills."

Shard said softly, looking around to see that no one was paying attention to them, then took a shilling coin out of his pocket with his left hand and a revolver with his right hand, placing both on the table.

He looked at the woman sitting opposite him:

"Which would you prefer as payment?"

Consequently, he saw the items Mr. Bondy left behind in Miss Mary's cramped apartment.

A patched men's coat, a pair of black rain boots, an Old Roder Card, two mismatched socks, an empty liquor bottle, several scribbled sheets of music, a fountain pen with a somewhat rusty cap, and a flat, arch-shaped bottle.

The bottle contained a bright yellow substance like oil, filling half the volume of the bottle, exactly what Shard found at the Noan Opera Troupe.

He took away the bottle and the sheets of music, leaving the rest for Miss Mary to keep.

With that, the clues investigation for the Three Cats Inn was concluded.