Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1046: Chosen One Ceremony

"Yes, do you have any special arrangements on Wednesday?"

Shard asked, then looked up to see Mia lying on the back of the sofa, watching them. Shard remembered that he was ’forced’ by Her Highness the Princess last night to come to the warm and soft firelight in front of the fireplace, so he didn’t have time to lock Mia in the room.

"Was it in the living room all night?"

[Yes.]

"Hmm..."

Although Mia was just a cat, Shard still felt an inexplicable sense of shame.

"Lecia doesn’t have any special arrangements; she said she’d decide then. If nothing else, she could spend the whole day for a three-person date at Saint Delan Square."

Talking about this topic made Dorothy a little blushing, but she also looked forward to the day when the three would meet:

"Deep into winter, the weather is so cold, there really isn’t anywhere else to go."

"Yes, so I’ll keep Wednesday afternoon and Thursday open."

Shard nodded. The girl’s smooth legs were exposed under the quilt in front of the fireplace. Seeing Shard’s gaze, the blonde girl playfully pushed him and then carefully retracted her legs:

"Why did Lecia decide to set up a bed in front of the fireplace... I’ll make you breakfast before I go. Although the landlady surely cleans the apartment for me regularly, I still have to go see the Carsonrick Publishing House today to discuss the royalties for the second edition of Hamilton Detective Stories in the Southern Nation."

She gently kissed Shard’s cheek:

"See you on Wednesday."

Dorothy indeed left after breakfast, but she only took her books, notebooks, and some clothes, leaving a small portion of clothing at Shard’s place because there was enough space to store clothes there.

Dorothy left in the snow at eight-thirty in the morning, and Luviya knocked on Shard’s door at eight-fifty — unless necessary, when the girls with keys came, they’d still knock on the door. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

"A strange smell."

Following Shard to the second-floor room, the violet-eyed girl sniffed a few times and looked around without seeing Dorothy:

"It seems your ’farewell’ last night wasn’t in the bedroom but here."

She laughed and walked over to the window, opening a gap:

"Since Dorothy has left, Knight, I’ll come to exorcise demons for you tonight. I paid the deposit a week ago, so you won’t regret it, right?"

Iluna arrived at No. 6, Saint Delan Square ten minutes later and around nine o’clock. Luviya went downstairs to let her in, and when they reached the second floor, the seventeen-year-old girl muttered about opening windows in snowy weather.

At this time, Shard was sitting on the sofa, looking at the "God’s Gift Box." He greeted Iluna, who was seemingly in a good mood, and then reached into the box.

The two girls and a cat watched Shard’s hand as Shard searched around the box’s bottom until he touched the small item:

"Coin?"

That was his first reaction.

"Relic?"

That was his second reaction.

What followed was sheer joy. After the [Master Key], he had finally retrieved a second relic from [God’s Gift Box]. Since acquiring this Sage-Level relic in midsummer, the weekly gifts had finally surprised Shard again:

"It’s a special coin!"

He smiled at the two girls and, after taking out the coin, realized the sky-blue coin looked very familiar:

"Coin of Wisdom?"

Previously, Shard had the [Coin of Wisdom] and [Cat and Dog Coin] in his possession, and earlier, the Truth Society and cultists had used similar coins to "cheat" during the [Dice Story Collection] game.

"It seems you got lucky again."

Luviya took the coin, checking if the "copied" coin could be used in her special divination, and naturally, it could be.

Iluna curiously asked:

"So what’s this week’s task?"

"Accounting."

Shard picked the cat up from the box while the latter seemed quite displeased:

"At least three days in a row record your income and expenses, it’s not difficult."

The three of them gathered at Shard’s home today to discuss matters of The Chosen One. They had confirmed the identity of the fourth Chosen One related to [Knowledge and Wisdom], Sir Lakin Prisia from Carsonrick, and were already rather thorough in understanding that sir’s special characteristics.

"His Chosen One Talent, which allows him to turn books into Spirit Runes, is indeed astonishing. However, it’s the Cherub’s bloodline that we should pay attention to because previous Chosen Ones, even if special, are characterized by their Circle Sorcerer talent itself."

Luviya pointed this out:

"Even Ivan Daknis could only achieve demonic cohabitation due to the [Dark] talent. But Sir Prisia’s ancient power inheriting from his family seems unrelated to his Chosen One Talent, with the unusual features lying in these two points."

"At least for now, besides the scenery Luviya witnessed last night, we haven’t seen how the Cherub’s power assists him."

Shard slightly frowned and said, while Iluna seemed puzzled:

"So converting books into Spirit Runes, is it Chosen One Talent or Angel Bloodline?"

"Chosen One Talent."

Luviya replied:

"If it were Angel Bloodline, demons certainly wouldn’t dare approach him. For now, the ancient power in his bloodline hasn’t awakened, the forced use of [Sage’s Glowstone] only allows partial strength to be utilized through sublimation incantations."

"You know, we’ve talked about so much, but we haven’t decided how to treat this particular Chosen One."

Shard pointed this out, placing his two Radiant Stones on the table:

"Sir Lakin Prisia currently has three Radiant Stones; Iluna and I have three combined, making six already. If we’re willing to gift these to Sir Prisia, he could immediately conduct the Chosen One Ceremony."

"True, but we certainly cannot do that. Shard learned something from the demon, and this person... this person gives me a very strange feeling."

Luviya shook her head:

"Moreover, aren’t you suspicious that he’s up to something?"

"Yes, but we must also know that there’s never an absolute sense of good or evil. I still need to find time to talk to him in detail."

Shard nodded in acknowledgment, and then Luviya turned to Iluna:

"The situation on the Council of Truth’s side still needs more understanding from the Church. Now that the Chosen One Ceremony of Knowledge and Wisdom is coming closer, I don’t believe they would do nothing."

After speaking, she turned to Shard and asked:

"Don’t forget to pay attention to the ’Keeper of Secrets’ bard matter you mentioned. It would be best if we could secure five Radiant Stones ourselves; that way, we’ll be more prepared for any situation."

"But this test is indeed elusive; how do we obtain the Moon?"

Iluna asked in confusion. Luviya thought for a moment:

"It should be a metaphor, perhaps an ancient passing relic. Since it refers to the Yellow Moon, it won’t be Shard’s [Impermanence: Silvermoon]; it’s unlikely for the Keeper of Secrets to ask us to find a living being, so it shouldn’t refer to a special talent or core Spirit Rune either. I think it means an item hidden in this city that can directly represent this Yellow Moon."

"Oh, if there truly is such a relic, I think it’s either Unclassified Level (0) or Angel-Level (1)."

Iluna murmured, promising to obtain the documents from the Church as soon as possible, and Luviya would gather information about the relics from the Prophet’s Society. Although the three could directly get answers with the coins in their hands, with the Chosen One Ceremony approaching, obtaining a new Radiant Stone was not the most important task, so those coins were left with Shard for now, waiting to be put to greater use.

The entire morning, Shard, Luviya, and Iluna were talking at home, preparing for the upcoming Chosen One Ceremony. The full scope of the Chosen One Ceremony was still unclear. To be safe, Luviya consumed the [Cat and Dog Coin] for divination.

Since they had already learned in advance that "five Sage’s Glowstones are needed" and "the location is Heart Lake Island," one coin was enough to deduce the remaining conditions of the ceremony:

"On Heart Lake Island, using the five Sage’s Glowstones as a medium, one needs to learn a unique secret about the world. Because we knew more details in advance, my divination shows that the location for the Chosen One Ceremony seems... not to be in Tobesk?"

Luviya told the two.

"Where specifically, I think I can guess, Tobesk cannot always be this unlucky. I guess it’s probably located further south, but this needs evidence."

Shard said, while Iluna concluded:

"The Chosen One Ceremony also requires oneself to understand the meaning of their identity, which means having a deep understanding of [Wisdom and Knowledge], and requires an artifact with the power of an Ancient God."

She glanced at Shard:

"The [Aikenora’s Arrow of Knowledge] satisfies the condition."

"So, apart from the lack of Sage’s Glowstones, we now actually have enough conditions to allow the Chosen One to complete the ceremony."

Shard said. "World’s secrets," he knew many, such as the current era not being truly the Sixth Era, or that the power of the Old Gods was all inherited from the Ancient God.

"Don’t forget, the ceremony itself will enlighten all mortals nearby. The Truth Society is likely here for this, we cannot be complacent."

Luviya narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at the last two coins on the table:

"This is going too smoothly, which instead makes me feel a bit ominous... While Shard contacts the Chosen Ones, I will look for the second and third in line. Iluna, about the Church..."

"The Church is currently negotiating with the Apna Library. I’ve already reported Shard’s concerns about the library hiding intelligence."

The seventeen-year-old girl said:

"The Church believes the Chosen One Ceremony is most likely to start before the end of this year. This is the prophecy on the Poem Chapter—Wisdom shall arrive before the year’s end."

Today, Iluna took half a day off and has to return to Blackstone Security Company in the afternoon. So, at eleven o’clock in the morning, Shard went out early to book lunch at a restaurant on Silver Cross Avenue. By eleven thirty, the restaurant waiters braved the snow to deliver lunch for the three of them.

Eating this way, of course, costs quite a bit, especially the delivery fee in the snowy weather, which is surprisingly high. But since the three of them hadn’t been together for a long time, Shard didn’t mind such an expense.

Though he’s short on money at the moment, he’s still quite well-off for daily expenses. Besides his savings, there’s also the 1,000 pounds promised in Midshire Fort by Princess Margaret to the "Grey Hawk" in the autumn, which he hasn’t collected yet.

Shard plans to collect it after the princess returns to Carsonrick, to avoid being entangled in the Grey Hawk task again. The princess’s attempted bombing incident last week has MI6 still searching for the person who sent the note and Shard can’t take any more risks.

After having lunch together, Iluna returned to Blackstone Security Company, and Luviya returned to the Prophet’s Society. Shard cleared the dishes, notified the restaurant to pick them up, then left the regular nap-taking cat at home, heading alone through the snow by carriage to Dr. Schneider’s clinic.

Iluna and Luviya left Saint Delan Square together, walking leisurely in the snow. The young Chosen One turned back to look in the direction of Shard’s home, finally asking the question she had been holding onto all morning:

"Luviya, do you know the relationship between Shard and Princess Lecia Cavendish? Last night at the concert hall... the relationship between that princess and Shard..."

The girl with violet eyes raised her eyebrows:

"Yes, she’s Shard’s lover."

"Hmm?"

Iluna looked at Luviya in surprise. She knew the relationship between Shard and Luviya was quite extraordinary, so she couldn’t believe that Luviya would know about Shard and the princess.

"Where do you think Shard gets his intelligence? Besides that Duchess, sometimes he needs help from other worldly powers, and that princess, as a student at Zaras Literary Academy, not only provides him convenience for activities across different places but is also a good source of intelligence."

Luviya looked at her. The lady’s short boots left clear footprints on the snow:

"Pursuing the path of the thirteen Chosen Ones is not an easy walk, and the price Shard pays is beyond what you can imagine."

The seventeen-year-old girl pursed her lips:

"Yes, among the three of us, he pays the most... A lover... Well, only someone with a status like a princess deserves him."

This sentence made Luviya unhappy. The Female Diviner said coldly to the immature girl:

"Oh, Iluna, don’t think like that. Lecia Cavendish is just a lover, after all."

This comment made Iluna happy. She hurriedly walked two steps forward, then turned to look at Luviya:

"Shard, you, and I, we’ll definitely make it to the end, right?"

Luviya smiled and nodded:

"Yes, it’s what we agreed upon."

The Chosen One Miss smiled, her steps immediately becoming lighter. The annoyance about Shard and Lecia’s relationship completely dissipated because of this sentence:

"Just a lover, only. Shard, with his age, status, wealth, and capability... she’s just a princess, but I am the Chosen. Luviya, having a better relationship with Shard, doesn’t mind, and I and Shard..."

Her face slightly reddened as she thought this, internally.

But Luviya inexplicably felt a faint sadness in her heart, not because of Shard’s entangled lover relations, but because of the phrase "until the end".

She didn’t understand where this sadness originated from. She paused, amongst the hustle and bustle of the City of Steam, looking up at the sky covered by grey mist and snowfall.

A long time ago, it seemed like countless people had spoken such sentences to her.

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