Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 712 - Physical Examination

Chapter 712 -712 Physical Examination

The Prophet’s Society was bustling at noon, with a steady stream of guests in the lobby even as lunchtime approached.

While Shard awaited on the first floor, he happened to run into Vice-President Mark, who was with a group of people moving promotional materials for the next issue of Roder Cards. Seeing Shard standing there waiting for someone, Vice-President Mark asked with a smile:

“Mr. Hamilton, are you here to see Luviya Annette again?”

Because Shard visited so frequently and was almost always there to see Luviya for a divination, the receptionists on the first floor all recognized him. They all laughed when they heard Vice-President Mark’s teasing.

“I’m here to invite Miss Annette to lunch.”

Shard said, somewhat embarrassed, then he patted his cat to make it behave.

“Lunch, huh?”

Vice-President Mark pulled out his pocket watch to look:

“It’s eleven fifteen. Well, then go on and take Miss Annette with you now. There are five minutes until break time, and I don’t think it’s a problem to let her off work early.”

“Would that really be okay? I can wait another five minutes.”

Shard declined firmly with a shake of his head. It wasn’t out of politeness; he had already waited fifteen minutes, so waiting another five wasn’t a big deal.

“Meow~”

The cat in his arms rubbed against Shard’s chest, squirming to find a more comfortable position.

“Alright, why don’t you come sit in my office then? We could talk about the next issue of Roder Cards.”

Thus, during lunch at Canary Restaurant on Silver Cross Avenue, Shard took the opportunity while waiting for the food and told Luviya about his amusing encounter with Vice-President Mark.

As the central street of Tobesk, Silver Cross Avenue had extraordinarily high prices. Canary Restaurant was a high-end establishment, and because they had important matters to discuss, Shard had even chosen a corner for them to sit in.

“But how did it go at Sin Mansion?”

Once the waiter left after serving their food, Luviya finally asked and Shard recounted everything that had happened that morning. Having previously encountered “Desire” at Coldwater Port, Shard had already informed Luviya about this Level 0 Relic, so she was aware of what it was.

Hearing that Shard had once again encountered “Desire”, she was even more astonished than when Shard acquired the third Spirit Rune of the Three Rings:

“You always say you never come across ownerless Relics and even complained that “Blood Coin” appeared just as I arrived at Sicarl Mountain. Look, you’ve run into “Desire” yet again, and it seems to have taken a liking to you.”

She meticulously asked about all the details of Shard’s visit to Sin Mansion that morning, and after lunch insisted on bringing Shard to No. 6, Saint Delan Square for a physical check-up, confirming that “Desire” hadn’t done anything to him.

The first step of the check-up was for Shard to take off his shirt in the bedroom, but as he bowed his head to unbutton it, he realized that Luviya, with her hands behind her back holding the doorknob, was closing the door while stepping backward.

“Hmm… what’s this about? Mia is still outside, isn’t she?”

Due to the lighting, Mia usually napped on the windowsill or the back of the sofa in the living room, at least during summer and fall.

“I’m going to give you a physical examination.”

The girl with the purple eyes said with a smile.

“But haven’t you been…”

“Oh, come on, be a bit more knowledgeable, young gentleman. That time of the month doesn’t last forever.”

So, Shard blinked, and indeed noticed that her vital energy had faded quite a bit.

“Is this really how you’re supposed to use that Arcane Technique?”

“If it’s a physical check-up, of course it needs to be thorough.”

Luviya replied with a smile, pointed at the curtains, and with a swoosh, the curtain panels on both sides automatically drew together.

Consequently, the check-up took up their entire afternoon. It wasn’t until the sun set and scratching noises came from the cat at the door that Luviya confirmed there was nothing unusual with Shard’s body:

“Yes, completely normal. In fact, your physical condition is even better than before.”

“I used the power of the Phoenix Flame to channel the Great Sin of Gluttony, but after all, the flame has scorched my body once over, so it’s normal for my physical quality to have improved… that’s how it always goes in the stories.”

Shard walked to the door in slippers and after opening it, the aggrieved cat immediately meowed.

He smiled and knelt down to pick up the cat. With a twist of his fingers, he formed a small flame which then morphed into the shape of a cat, capturing Mia’s attention straight away.

Luviya, who had re-applied her lipstick in front of a small mirror at the desk, also stood up. Glancing at the bedsheets, she decided to take them home to wash herself, certainly not letting Galina Cavendish’s maids deal with such linens.

“Stories also say that bathing in Dragon Blood can make you stronger, but who would do such a foolish thing? Shard, haven’t you noticed that your body isn’t normal? Devouring the flesh and blood of Desire, being scorched by Phoenix flames, all these things have made you stronger, and even your advancements result in greater physical improvements than what’s considered normal. That’s not at all ordinary.”

Luviya asked, her complexion unexpectedly good despite having stayed indoors all afternoon. She was fixing the collar of her white lady’s shirt, raising it to cover her neck.

“Maybe it has something to do with my biggest secret that I haven’t revealed to you yet.”

Shard was referring to the secret of divinity. He believed it was the divinity deep within the soul that was subtly influencing this body, combined with the special traits of the foreign soul that amounted to nothing, that resulted in this outcome.

“Well, it’s not a bad thing anyway, and…”

She walked towards the bedroom door, her hands gathering her shoulder-length brown hair to the back of her head. The curtains had already been drawn back, and under the light of the setting sun, the girl with purple eyes had rosy and lustrous skin.

At the bedroom door, she kissed Shard’s cheek and then stared closely into his eyes with her purple ones:

“I’m a beneficiary too, aren’t I? You’re doing quite well, Knight.”

Although Shard had started an intimate relationship with Luviya over a month ago, he still blushed a bit—this response made the girl with purple eyes laugh:

“I just hope the effect of the Level 0 Relic ‘Desire’ on you is really just a slight increase in your desires. It’s obvious I’m a ring higher than you, but I already feel somewhat overwhelmed. Also, what do you plan to do with the Book of Pink? Keep it for yourself, or find a reason to sell it to the Academy?”

The sunset was on the horizon, and after an afternoon of hard work, the two decided to go out for dinner. Shard had an appointment with Sister Delphine at eight in the evening, so there was no need to hurry.

“Keep it. The sorcery on it is valuable. I’ve got over seven thousand pounds in savings now, so I’m not short on money at the moment.”

“Indeed, if you ignore those odd uses, it could almost be considered a compendium of basic sorcery.”

Luviya supported Shard’s idea but reminded him to always check his mental state after reading. She was still worried that ‘Desire’ had tinkered with either Shard or the parchment, and this concern was definitely not unwarranted.

After dinner, the two of them took a cat for a walk in the University District. Of the six zones in Tobesk, the University District had the best and quietest environment.

Shard originally wanted to take this opportunity to go to the Black Raven Library to look for an Arcane Technique related to ‘Sloth,’ to augment the power of his new Spirit Runes, but Luviya advised him not to rush.

“First-year knowledge mentioned that Spirit Runes can also affect Circle Sorcerers in reverse. Unlike ‘Gluttony’ and ‘Greed,’ ‘Sloth’ is not your Great Sin. Are you sure you can adapt to its power? If you dig too deep into its power unprepared, ‘Sloth’ will definitely directly affect you.”

Walking along the embankment in the University District, Luviya offered advice, which was to wait until Shard advanced to Four Rings before considering the Arcane Technique for ‘Sloth.’

She made a lot of sense. Shard admitted that both ‘Gluttony’ and ‘Greed’ matched his personality, but ‘Sloth’ was wholly contrary to it. The evidence that ‘Sloth’ wasn’t completely suppressed also lied in the Great Sin Chain, where only ‘Gluttony’ and ‘Greed’ Rune Shackles existed.

Although he had obtained the power of ‘Sloth,’ he hadn’t truly mastered it. ƒrēenovelkiss.com

In fact, this was the normal state for Circle Sorcerers; after acquiring a Spirit Rune, they needed to experience and polish its power to eventually take full control. Shard’s previous Spirit Runes matched so well with him that he had avoided this problem.

By the time they returned to Saint Delan Square, the gas lamps around the square were already lit. And Shard and Luviya began seriously discussing the matter of the ‘Chosen by Death.’

“The information provided by Sister Delphine is very interesting. The suspicion over ‘Reverse Being’ Joey Barton is now greatly heightened.”

Shard placed two brand new Blood Coins, the previous Blood Coins, and the ‘Standing Coin’ on the coffee table, while Luviya produced the ‘Dragon Blood Coin’ and the ‘Diviner’s Silver Coin.’

“We can finally perform divination.”

Luviya was about to start but was stopped by Shard:

“I remember you once said, as long as you see the Chosen One, to be exact the first candidate, you would know ‘it’s him.'”

“Yes, that’s how I found Iluna.”

Luviya nodded, and then Shard said:

“You can’t see Joey Barton, but Sister Delphine will be here in a little over an hour; you can meet her then.”

“That’s a really good idea.”

“Meow~”

Mia pounced on the coins on the table and was caught in mid-air by Shard:

“If we go by that reasoning, Priest Augustus wouldn’t be the first candidate, since you’ve seen him countless times.”

“No.”

Luviya denied Shard’s assumption:

“The Chosen One only becomes apparent when their Talent is developed to the limit, enough to support the Ceremony. That is when I can sense the uniqueness of the Talent upon seeing him or her, and it requires at least a minute of observation.”

“That means the suspicion on Priest Augustus can’t be dismissed yet… No problem, today we meet Sister Delphine, and tomorrow I’ll take the key to the city and let you have a look at the Priest.”

So, the six coins were left unused for now. If Luviya could eliminate suspicion from Priest Augustus and Sister Delphine, or confirm their identities, the cost of divination would be much less.

If there were coins to spare, not only could Luviya continue to divine the current Chosen One Ceremony, but there might also be a chance to divine a solution to the Interstice problem.