Alternating red and green lights became brighter after that spirit appeared, and Shard couldn’t even be sure what color the spirit was originally.

"I am Megan Edwards, my grandfather was Pride Edwards, the third Lord of Green Lake, which makes him your lord. Now tell me, where’s the key?"

Megan was equally agitated by the alternating lights, and her tone was fast as she posed the question.

The other words in her speech had no effect; the spirit at the boat’s prow only reacted to "Edwards" and "key." The spirit, resembling an old Boatman, looked at Megan and, in the intense alternation of red and green lights, uttered several words:

"Materials: egg laid by a rooster, Lord’s blood, flawless yellow sapphire, hundred-year-old red coral, memories regarding family wealth."

"I have them all, hurry and take them. Oh, Sylvia, can’t you make this damned light a little weaker? I can see it even with my eyes closed."

"These lights are caused by the relic; they’re abnormal. Just bear with it for a while longer. Did you really bring all the materials?"

The black-haired Witch relying on Shard asked while covering her eyes; Shard didn’t know why she was leaning on him, perhaps for convenience in spellcasting.

"Of course, it’s not the first time we’re searching for the key!"

Just like Shard, the Grand Witches were also feeling agitated, but the spiritual power of the three was strong, and Megan and Audrey both had a history of madness, so for now, it should be manageable.

For Lord’s blood, any Descendant of Edwards would do; the gemstone and red coral were one of the expensive materials they had long thought of. Memories of "family wealth" were handled by a ledger Audrey pulled out, containing her grandfather’s handwriting. As for the "egg laid by a rooster," she happened to have it with her.

"How does a rooster lay eggs?"

Even though it wasn’t the time to ask, Shard couldn’t help but query.

"I’ll tell you later, but you probably won’t want to know."

"Shard, the relic is going out of control!"

Miss Sylvia’s voice came through, and around him, the frequency of the flashing green light abruptly decreased while the red light appeared faster. The insane lights made Shard nauseous, but he wasted no time and held the staff with both hands, striking the boat’s bottom:

"Spatial Stabilization Aura."

The two Witches present both had Spatial Talent, so they clearly felt the unseen wave brushing past their legs. The strong green light reappeared, and the red light diminished slightly. Megan, eyes closed, handed all the materials to that undead, then asked:

"I want to know your story; I am a descendant of the Island Lord. I want to know how the townspeople I govern died."

The spirit, unaffected by the alternating flashing lights, responded to Megan’s query:

"Monsters underwater destroyed my boat, drowned me in the water."

All the materials in his hand transformed into light and vanished; at that moment, the Boatman’s spirit seemed to regain some consciousness. He completed the mission given by the Soul Storybook and ignored the three on the boat, turning around to gaze at his hometown in the darkness.

The Spiritual Body was fading away until it fully disappeared. But the three on the boat had no time to pay attention to him; the matter wasn’t over. The green light was growing stronger, while the surrounding red light was almost gone.

"Miss Sylvia, I can’t hold on any longer!"

Shard tightened his grip on Yggdrasil’s Staff, pressing the Long Staff against the tower bottom, but the "Spatial Stabilization Aura" had limits as well, and he felt the arcane technique was on the verge of failing.

The black-haired Witch was also casting a spell. She used some unknown Witch’s Secret Arts, and a huge golden circle floated on the water surrounding the boat, enclosing the vessel, but it wasn’t enough:

"Megan, hurry up! Restore them!"

Audrey grasped two metal puppets with one hand and pinched at the green hat with the other, trying to pull it off. Her arm was encircled with flickering runes, but she couldn’t move the displaced hat:

"Damn, why did the relic go out of control so quickly? It’s only been a minute... Megan!"

Two arms extended from her back, tearing through her clothing; the tender white arms were uncovered by clothing, but Shard didn’t have the mind to take a closer look.

Megan swiftly reached for the red hat, and just as Miss Sylvia and Shard were nearing their limits, they finally managed to pull both hats free.

Continuous sounds of glass shattering echoed, and the successfully repositioned hats returned to their proper places. But at this moment, with the final second of alternating red and green lights, a clear "click" sounded beside the trio, and then they felt dizzy spinning, disappearing with the boat into the darkness.

"Oh!"

It felt like plummeting from high in the air; the spatial leap caused sensory confusion, with the three rolling together within the cabin. Fortunately, they didn’t truly fall from high altitudes; when they regained their senses, they looked up to see a gray rainy sky.

The boat was still on the water, and the arms behind Audrey had disappeared. She stared blankly upwards, watching the raindrops fall, and surprisingly felt a long-lost sense of peace within her as she lay in the shattered boat at this moment:

"The family has thrived again. I wonder if my father, in his youth, ever saw such a scene."

That peculiar calmness made her want to lie here for hours without moving, but she didn’t maintain her current state for long. Beside this brown-haired witch, Miss Sylvia, who had also fallen in the cabin, was already embracing Shard and kissing him. The Grand Witch of Space, without a care for the companions around her, invested all her passion into that kiss at this moment.

"Oh, what are you doing! Stop it!"

Megan rebuked righteously, immediately reaching out to pull the two apart. Then somehow, she stumbled and clumsily joined in as well.

A full twenty minutes later, the three of them finally sat up, supporting each other in the small boat gently swaying on Green Lake. The two witches blushed; one buttoned her top dress, while the other lowered her head to tidy her hair, yet both were quite satisfied with the kiss. Shard rubbed off the lipstick marks on his face and neck with his hand—sometimes, the witches’ passion was indeed hard to resist.

"Don’t be fooled by Shard’s decent kissing skills now. When I first met him, his kissing was quite terrible... I just don’t know what Galina is being so reserved about after meeting Shard."

Miss Sylvia laughed as she spoke to Audrey, who ignored the complaints from Megan in her heart and bit her lip as she also began to smile.

Even though they experienced a spatial shift due to space instability, they had only moved a few hundred meters on the lake due to Shard and Miss Sylvia’s arcane technique. The surface of the lake, where rain was falling, was quite calm at the moment; looking around, if not for that fog in the distance, floating on the lake would probably be very romantic.

"Anyway, there’s nothing much going on today. How about we return later? Lying in a narrow boat watching the rainy sky is surprisingly fun; let’s try it again."

Miss Sylvia waved her hand and the key lying on the bow flew over. She then enthusiastically hugged Shard’s arm. Audrey, also tempted, took the flying key and, urged by her sister in her ear, held Shard’s hand as well.

"Emma, I didn’t see you looking at the sky just now... But yes, the scenery here is quite nice."

Ultimately, Shard did not agree to engage in such time-wasting activities, but he did promise Miss Sylvia and Megan that once the matter of Green Lake was settled, he could come back to try it again.

Thus, the three happily joked around as they took the boat back to the yacht anchored on the Duin River. But just as they stepped onto the deck, the smile on Shard’s face disappeared, for the Head Maid, dressed in a black and white maid’s outfit, was standing here with an umbrella.

"What’s the matter?"

Megan immediately put away her smile and asked seriously. If it wasn’t something important, Miss Galina wouldn’t have so easily sent her personal maid to deliver a message.

Tifa nodded and spoke under the gaze of Shard and the two Grand Witches:

"Something happened, but it’s not very urgent. Miss sent me to find Shard because Princess Lecia said that Miss Writer encountered a spatial shift again, and she’s disappeared." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"What?"

Shard was taken aback:

"When? Where did she go?"

Tifa comforted:

"Please don’t worry, Your Highness said Miss Luisa’s location has been confirmed. She’s now at the City of Glass across the lake, and although she was frightened, she isn’t in danger. Miss has prepared a carriage and wants me to go with you to bring Miss Luisa back."

"That’s good. We’ll go right away. Oh, she just arrived two days ago."

Shard’s previously good mood vanished completely, and he looked at Miss Sylvia:

"The carriage is too slow. Can you open a portal and take us directly back?"

The Black-haired Witch closed her eyes to perceive:

"Not right now, the spatial condition isn’t up to standard. It will take about an hour. I’ll ride back with you in the carriage; since we’ve already contacted her, it should be alright."

"Shard, since she’s been found already, don’t be too anxious."

Audrey also comforted by the side, having learned about the relationships and stories between the writer, the princess, and Shard from their conversation yesterday. Thus, she understood Shard’s current feelings quite well.

"There’s one more thing."

The beautiful Head Maid, pursing her lips and holding an umbrella while looking at Shard, clearly indicated with her expression that she hadn’t yet disclosed the worst news.

A sense of unease filled Shard’s heart. As he stepped back, he accidentally bumped into Audrey, the witch’s golden eyes trying to offer him encouragement and comfort.