"You say, I can manage it."

"When Miss Luisa encountered the space anomaly, she was at the desk in her room. Besides her, a part of the chair and desk were also transferred. So... your cat, also went to Mikaela Ironworks City. Her Highness Lecia urges you to go fetch Miss Luisa quickly, that writer is losing control of Mia."

"Oh!"

Shard was almost frightened by Tifa’s expression just now, although Mia’s disappearance was quite serious, fortunately, Dorothy and she were both safe.

After hurriedly bidding farewell to Audrey, he took a carriage and set off with Tifa and Miss Sylvia in the direction of the border. It was still through the army camp near Crossroad Village that they crossed the border. He didn’t let Tifa take out the document issued by Miss Galina, but relied on the connection with Captain Lades to bypass the inspection directly.

They arrived in Mikaela Ironworks City before lunch and met Dorothy and Mia in the manor where Her Highness Margaret was staying. The witches have a special way of contact, and Miss Galina had already informed Miss Benanis, who was still in the City of Glass, of the situation in advance, so she arranged for someone to first bring the unfamiliar Dorothy to Margaret here.

"Meow~"

The study door opened, and Shard hurriedly walked in, followed by Miss Sylvia and Tifa. Mia, who was watching the little pastries on the plate on the coffee table, turned her head, then quickly jumped off the coffee table and rushed to him.

Margaret and Dorothy, who were having a delightful conversation in Casenric Language on the sofa, also stood up. Shard bent over to pick up Mia and finally breathed a sigh of relief seeing Dorothy was safe:

"Good afternoon, Margaret. Oh, Dorothy."

He stepped forward and gave Dorothy a hug. Miss Sylvia reminded Shard from behind him:

"Encountering two space anomalies consecutively and being transferred safely both times isn’t normal. Shard, you need to take preemptive measures for such things. I can set up a ceremony in the room at the Green Lake Hotel to stabilize the space and reduce the likelihood of similar situations, but it’s impossible to reduce the probability to zero."

"I understand."

Holding the girl in his arms, he was well aware that the matter at Green Lake needed to be resolved as soon as possible. Dangers from all sides were coming, and he really couldn’t wait any longer.

"Speaking of which, can Mia sense danger?"

Dorothy suddenly asked, and Shard released her, asking in surprise:

"Why do you say that?"

The golden-haired girl looked at the cat perched on Shard’s shoulder:

"Before the incident happened, I was holding her while reading at the desk, and she suddenly started to struggle and meow. At the time, I didn’t realize what it meant, but when I mentioned it to Her Highness Margaret, I realized something was off."

"This cat is indeed very smart. We offered her pastries, but she wouldn’t eat them; it seems she has to wait until she sees you."

Margaret also said, both she and Dorothy are traditionally considered "golden-haired beauties," which fit the aesthetic view of this era the best. However, Southerners and Northerners have differences in cheekbones, nose bridge, and eye shape, and Dorothy’s hair is less curly, while Margaret inherited the curls from the Anjou Royal Family. Coupled with different growth environments, Dorothy leans more towards a beauty of intelligence and calm, while Margaret is more passionate and flamboyant.

"Mia ah..."

Shard reached towards the cat on his shoulder, which gladly accepted his touch.

Since Dorothy was found and she was safe, the group stayed at Margaret’s manor for lunch. Margaret was very enthusiastic in hosting Shard, Tifa, and Dorothy, even though Dorothy and Margaret only met at a banquet in Tobesk, Margaret still respected this female writer greatly.

After all, the Casenric Language version of "Hamilton Detective Stories" has been published now. The detective novel that caused a sensation upon release in the Northern Country once again sparked a surge of follow-up reading in the Southern Nation. In terms of literary and artistic achievements, this detective story might not compare to those long-famous writers, but in terms of commercial success, Dorothy could already call herself the best-selling writer of this era.

The combined money-making capabilities of Shard, Luviya, Dr. Schneider, and Priest Augustus probably do not match the fraction of Dorothy’s royalties.

After lunch, Ciris arrived at the manor on behalf of Miss Benanis and brought good news:

"Look at this."

The small copper-colored key lay in her hand, its shape and size matching the key that had been obtained from the boatman in the morning:

"Based on the location provided by Shard of the last mayor’s descendant of Green Lake Town, we found the target. Benanis and I personally participated in the operation. After searching his house, we found a small hidden mirror behind an old oil painting."

In the study, Ciris sat on the sofa recounting the events:

"The mirror contains the soul of the mayor from over a hundred years ago. I used the memory threads and the hair provided by Miss Edwards to simulate her appearance, making the soul mistakenly believe that a descendant of Edwards had appeared. Then it told us the formula for the keys."

Miss Sylvia picked up that key:

"Including the key from this morning, we now have six keys here. One from Ghoul Green, one from the Green Siblings, one from the Edwards Brothers, and one from the Furen Brothers. According to Shard, all the keys are complete. The last three are in the hands of the Truth Society, Dragon Feast Cult, and Tyranny Club."

She let the key float in her palm and then spin rapidly:

"Edwards’ Ascension Technique must be related to these keys. Since all the keys have been forged, I think the ancestors on the island would probably do something, right? No, our keys here are already formed; the others might still be gathering materials, but they should be close too."

"Even if they don’t act, the church over there won’t wait. After the divination ritual of the Prophet’s Society ends this weekend, the church will probably start preparing for the final battle. No, maybe they still need to pause the negotiations between the two countries and have important figures leave the area first."

Shard said.

"When do you plan to act?"

Ciris asked him, her beautiful eyes looking at him, full of confidence in Shard.

"When your girls find the wandering soul of Maria Edwards in the Green Lake region and inquire about the island’s situation, then we can start the final plan to ascend the island. Of course, if we can contact the two Edwards who became Circle Sorcerers before that, it would be even better. The island we’re going to ascend is not the one in the mist; it’s another island. This time, it’s not just me going, the True God Church, Prophet’s Society, Council, Academy, and even the Mirror Association will help."

He picked up the cat lying in his arms and then put it down heavily to express his plan:

"Since we have so many helpers, there’s no need to take risks alone. With everyone together, I don’t believe that with so many Thirteen-Ring Sorcerers, plus Sister Delphine, Iluna, and the Guardian of the Earth, if necessary, we can’t defeat Laplace Klein Howard."

Ciris imagined a scene filled with Circle Sorcerers, entering the other island by the entrance divined by the Prophet’s Society, stepping on water, sitting on boats, using strange water transportation devices like Shard’s doctor friend, and even flying in. He couldn’t help but nod:

"It really does sound great. Moreover, with the second candidates, Laster Edwards and Durut Giles in our hands, we have the upper hand. The council will handle preparing the ritual items for them in advance."

"But what if, thinking from a negative side, that diviner limits the number of people for the final battle?"

Recently, having gradually understood what "The Chosen One" and the Whispering Verses entail, Her Highness Margaret couldn’t help but ask.

Shard lowered his eyes and softly said under the ladies’ gazes:

"Then I will personally kill him."

At this point, Dorothy and Lecia had been entirely drawn into the Whispering Verses and the conflict of the Chosen Ones. They were very talented Circle Sorcerers, but their personalities weren’t suited to such dangerous affairs, and Shard had no intention of dragging them into the whirlpool of fate. Nonetheless, it was necessary to inform them fully about the epic of the Sixth Era in the Whispering Verses.

That afternoon, on the way back to Green Lake City, Shard told Miss Writer about the thirteen Chosen Ones and the rules of the candidate mechanism, with Tifa providing additional details alongside.

It must be said that Dorothy, being a lively-minded writer, easily understood this set of rules. She was quite excited, even thinking it very interesting and romantic:

"For a door significant enough to influence an entire era, people originally living all over the world, some already famous, others unbeknownst, gather under the pull of fate to compete for a qualification representing an ancient deity. It’s more interesting than any story I’ve read! Shard, so you’ve been doing such remarkable things all along!"

Telling Dorothy was equivalent to letting Lecia know too, so this was their mutual reaction to the matter.

"Balance, darkness, death, knowledge and wisdom, earth, now we’ve arrived at ’space.’ We suspect you and Lecia are candidates for the Chosen of Space. Your rankings may not be very high, and I won’t let you get involved, but just in case, you need to know about this."

Shard explained his stance, and Dorothy understood his intent:

"We have no interest in becoming Chosen Ones; it’s too troublesome."

This was true, the writer and the princess had their own clear life paths and plans, and they weren’t the type who liked to fight or constantly encountered incidents or uncontrolled relics when they went out:

"Shard, earlier you mentioned that almost every candidate for the Chosen Ones has a special mechanism?"