Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 591 - : Sister Delphine

Chapter 591: Chapter 591: Sister Delphine

“Don’t worry, what would I do going into that kind of place?”

Shard shrugged his shoulders:

“Only the priest can walk out on his own, and all I can do is figure out exactly what needs to be done to help him get out.”

Tomorrow is Saturday, and the four had agreed to temporarily change this week’s study session to be held at No. 6, Saint Delan Square. Afterward, the doctor left first, while Dorothy stayed to help Shard take care of the cat.

Luviya didn’t rush off either; she made a request to Shard:

“I’ve signed up for the astrology event held by Saint Byrons’ Astronomy College in autumn. This year’s event is quite big, and the academy has sent me a set of specialized stargazing equipment, but my apartment isn’t facing the right direction, and the space is too small…”

It wasn’t that the space was too small, but rather that there wasn’t enough open ground. Diviners’ stargazing wasn’t just a matter of setting up telescopes and astrolabes; they needed sufficient open ground to draw ritual circles, and space to place star maps and various professional instruments whose specific purposes Shard didn’t know.

“No problem, you can pick a room on the third floor. There isn’t even furniture there; I always considered it a space for ritual practice.”

“Great, I think I’ll need to borrow it for an autumn. Your house has a good orientation.”

Luviya nodded, and Shard found her a spare key, telling her to move the stargazing equipment over in the next few days, so she could come and observe the stars whenever she wanted.

He also entrusted Dorothy with looking after Mia, as he might return very late, and then he headed to the first floor with the letter of introduction given by Miss Galina.

On the sofa, Luviya and Dorothy sat opposite each other, with Mia squatting on the coffee table, swinging her head back and forth as she watched the two girls, before finally jumping next to the more familiar Dorothy.

The blonde girl picked up the cat and, smiling, asked the female diviner playing with the key:

“How do you plan to pay the rent? The property prices in Saint Delan Square are quite high… You’re not going to use yourself, are you?”

She asked teasingly.

Luviya shook her head, her brown short hair rubbing against her shoulders:

“Shard won’t charge me rent.”

Dorothy smiled and didn’t continue the joke:

“But are you not worried that stargazing in such a ‘haunted house’ might affect your results?”

“Stargazing and divination are different, even though both are affected by the environment, stargazing is only minimally affected. Moreover, Shard believes that there are no more issues with his house now.”

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Luviya looked up at the ceiling.

“If there really are no problems, why haven’t I seen any living creatures other than Shard and Mia in this house the entire summer? No mice, spiders, flies, ants, nothing.”

Dorothy spoke as she stroked Mia, who didn’t seem very pleased with Dorothy’s petting skills.

Luviya’s smile faded:

“I used to think it was the influence of the basement, but now that I think about it, maybe it’s not just the basement that has issues. It looks like Shard has no intention of moving out, and perhaps only someone as special as him can make this house seem normal.”

Saying this, she stood up, planning to transport her stargazing equipment by hired carriage. The items could be transported in two or three trips, but assembling them would be very complicated.

“Since you were stargazing on the third floor, the main thing that might have affected the outcome would likely be the anomaly on the third floor. Speaking of which, has anything happened on Shard Family’s third floor before? I remember he mentioned it once.”

Dorothy stood up, preparing to leave as well. She wanted to go home and fetch her writing documents and materials.

She had intended to carry Mia with her, but most of the time Mia even refused to leave the house with Shard, so she jumped out of Dorothy’s arms immediately. The cat leaped onto the windowsill in the living room, basking in the autumn afternoon sun, ready to settle down for a good nap.

Dorothy knew the cat didn’t want to go out, so she didn’t try to catch it again. The two girls vanished down the staircase, their voices carrying up from below:

“I remember, wasn’t there someone who went up to the third floor and then never appeared again? Oh, that does sound like something Priest Augustus experienced.”

“Meow~”

The cat on the second-floor windowsill stretched its body, the sunlight shining on its fur. Squinting and tucking in its front paws, the tabby patterns on the cat’s back seemed to emit a golden glow.

That was the sun’s radiance.

(Mia is napping zZ…)

On the other hand, Shard once again emerged in the abandoned tower in the mountains outside Midshire Fort City through the Ancient God Statue in his home’s basement.

This time he didn’t have to worry about being discovered, so he directly used “Lagre’s Leap” to get out of the basement. Instead of immediately following the path he had taken to the city area, he stood behind the abandoned tower, gazing at the sprawling city at the foothills in the distance.

“Midshire Fort…”

The city was divided like a checkerboard, with ant-like pedestrians and carriages moving at a steady pace. Apart from the Nature Chapel at the city center, other prominent features included the factories near the foot of the mountain and the railway that cut through Midshire Fort before entering the mountain pass, representing the most important passage through the Rommel Mountain Range on the eastern side of the Old Continent.

“This doesn’t look like a volcano at all,” Shard muttered, before turning to head down the mountain.

It was already afternoon, and like yesterday, a thin mist had risen among the mountains and forests. Although the mist didn’t particularly obstruct vision, it still troubled Shard as he moved through the primal forest without any paths.

Even though he had traversed the route before, it still took him about the same amount of time to get down as it did the first time yesterday.

First passing through a small village at the foot of the mountain, then through the early mining and smelting factory, he finally found a carriage as he neared the city area to take him to No. 15 Ruff Lane.

Miss Galina had given Shard a way to contact the [Spiritual Practice Order], but Shard thought it better to be introduced by someone he knew than to rashly get in touch with unknown Circle Sorcerers.

Since the “House of the Blind,” the mutual aid association for the blind, is always open during the day, when Shard visited again, Ms. Michelle was busy providing psychological counseling to a lady seeking help, so Shard had to wait nearly half an hour before he saw Ms. Michelle hurrying over.

Normally, she would have her eyes covered with a linen cloth, but this did not affect her movements in the least. Shard guessed that perhaps the linen was transparent, or that she had some sort of “Mind’s Eye” ability.

However, when Shard took out the letter written by Miss Galina and Ms. Michelle removed the cloth from her eyes to read it, he understood that the nuns of the Spiritual Practice Order didn’t truly possess the power to “see without sight.”

“A witch? Mr. Watson, you know a witch?”

Ms. Michelle slightly furrowed her brow as she looked at Shard, who nodded. Of course, he hadn’t forgotten to tell Miss Galina that his alias was John Watson:

“Yes, when I was in Tobesk, I did some things for a lady with an unknown identity, only to find out later that ‘that lady’ was a witch. Hearing that I was coming to Midshire Fort to meet a friend, ‘that lady’ had a servant give me a letter. I thought I wouldn’t need it, but as soon as I arrived in this city, something like this happened to Priest Augustus… Is this letter enough for the Order to offer some help?”

“Certainly, the lady in the letter has given you high praise…”

Shard did not open the letter, so he had no idea how Miss Galina had praised him.

Knowing the Witch Council’s attitude towards men, Ms. Michelle was quite hesitant about the letter. But since Shard had already taken out the letter, she had to send it upwards.

Therefore, Ms. Michelle asked Shard to rest for a while in House of the Blind, while she personally delivered the letter to the Order’s leader, Sister Delphine.

The Spiritual Practice Order is an interesting organization; everyone within this group is addressed as either Sister or Brother. Therefore, based solely on the titles, it is difficult to identify the true leader.

If Shard had first sought out the local Grand Witch and then the Spiritual Practice Order, he might have been able to go directly to the Order’s actual residence, and he would certainly have been treated with courtesy. But given this indirect introduction, he had to wait patiently, and it was uncertain whether the Eleventh Ring’s Sister Delphine was willing to see him or not.

It would depend on whether Miss Galina’s influence was significant enough.

From two in the afternoon until three, Ms. Michelle hurried back to House of the Blind. She first expressed her apologies to Shard for making him wait so long and then asked him to get into a carriage with her to meet the leader of the Spiritual Practice Order, the Eleventh Ring’s Sister Delphine.

The Spiritual Practice Order is a Circle Sorcerer organization outside the church, somewhat larger than the Blood of Mercury Shard had encountered before, but not nearly as large as the Prophet’s Society. They also did not cooperate with the True God Church as comprehensively as the Prophet’s Society did, and they even seemed to exclude the church somewhat. Therefore, Shard, who had only gained preliminary trust, could not directly go to the headquarters of the Order to meet Sister Delphine.

The final meeting place was not House of the Blind but rather a club on the same street as the local Creation Church, two blocks west of House of the Blind.

The club, with its fine decor and façade, was called the “Disciples Club.” From the name, it was hard to guess the nature of the club. Sister Delphine alone met Shard in the reception room on the third floor, and when Shard opened the door, he first saw the nun’s profile.

She looked to be in her twenties, her hair a decaying gray-white. And like the nuns Shard had seen in the Dark Realm, she wore a silver crown-shaped eyepatch over her eyes. Moreover, the patterns on her silver crown were more intricate than any he had seen on the faces of other nuns.

She was dressed in a traditional mix of gray and black skirts, which looked like a nun’s attire, with a black shawl made of what seemed like silk fabric draped over the black top. The shawl looked thin, but when Shard sat down, it felt more like gauze.

Anyone who saw this lady for the first time would think she was definitely a nun who strictly adhered to religious rules.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Watson.”

Her lips moved slightly, speaking in a calm and slow voice. Sister Delphine placed Galina’s letter on the table between them, right beside her teacup, as if she could perfectly see everything in front of her.

“Good evening, Sister Delphine. It’s very presumptuous of me to disturb you like this.”

Shard said politely, his gaze skimming the interior. The reception room was located on the top floor of a high-end club in the city center, but curiously, it was decorated in a simple manner. At a glance, one could not see any valuable antiques or expensive oil paintings; the interior was mainly in cool shades of gray, complementing the aura of the seemingly young nun before him.

“This, too, must be one of the Spiritual Practice Order’s local strongholds,” Shard surmised.

“I have read the letter from the Seventh Seat Witch, Mr. Watson. We have a good relationship with the Council. Since the witch says you are a capable person, we are naturally willing to assist you. Regarding your friend’s matter, Sister Michelle has already spoken to me. So, what kind of help do you hope we can offer?”

The nun asked softly, and even though her level vastly surpassed Shard’s, her tone still carried an innate modesty. Of course, this was not because she had peeked into Shard’s secret divinity; the nun probably always spoke like this.

Moreover, although she too spoke Draleon, her grammar was somewhat strange. Shard thought about it and then understood from the “Draleon Language Pack” that she was using an older set of grammar uncommon in contemporary conversation. This was the way of speaking one would only hear in an old noble family, and Shard was quite curious about her background before becoming a Circle Sorcerer.

“I want to know more about the Interstice of Life and Death. Perhaps you can provide some information.”

Shard said, not touching the tea on the table.

“Certainly, we can provide that. If it would help you save your friend, there would be nothing better.”

“Also, may I ask if there were ever precedents of rescuing those who had fallen into the interstice of life and death?”

The nun nodded:

“The world of the deceased and the world of the living should not overlap in any way; those who should depart must do so permanently. However, those who fall into the interstice of life and death are the ones who should not have died yet passed away unexpectedly. Indeed, targeted rescues have been conducted for them.”

Shard looked at her, believing that Sister Delphine could sense his gaze.

“But we also respect death and maintain reverence for it, and will not disturb those who rest in peace. Therefore, even within the Order, very few know about how to help those unfortunate enough to enter the other world while still alive.”

“May I ask what kind of compensation is required for the Order to help me rescue my friend?”

Shard asked, knowing full well that he would offer payment even when soliciting help from Miss Galina, and so naturally understood that no one would help him without reason.

“Not necessary.”

Sister Delphine shook her head slightly.

“You are unwilling to help?”

“I mean, there is no need for compensation; I am willing to help you on behalf of the Order.”

Shard was taken aback:

“Sorry, are you saying that you’re willing to help me rescue Priest Augustus from that supposed Unclassified Level Relic?”

“Yes.”

The nun nodded.

Her response made Shard feel somewhat embarrassed; he had thought the nun would want him to pay a price, hence her emphasis on the Order’s respect for the laws of life and death.

“I apologize, but may I ask… um… why are you willing to help me? I assumed at the very least you would have me do something for you, complete a difficult task, or even investigate a dangerous Relic before agreeing to help.”

With a tranquil smile beneath the finely patterned silver eye mask, Sister Delphine sat with grace, her fair hands clasped together upon her lap. Even the princesses Shard knew were likely unable to exhibit such elegant demeanor.

“Cleric Lat August already had connections with the Order’s predecessors, and moreover, helping a kind person rescue another kind person is simply the right thing to do.”

She, who had kept her head slightly lowered, now lifted her gaze to meet Shard’s eyes behind the silver mask:

“Mr. John Watson, please answer a question: if it were you, would you help a person whom you do not know, but who is in urgent need of assistance?”

The question hardly required contemplation; if Shard were not such a person, he would not have turned back when that girl’s family was at the brink of being taken by the Evil God, he would not have decisively cast the die when the woman who lost her child sought help, and he would not be here now… The last example didn’t quite fit, as he knew Priest Augustus very well.

“I would, as long as it doesn’t require a great sacrifice on my part, I am willing to help those kind-hearted people.”

Shard stated earnestly, and a smile appeared on Sister Delphine’s face:

“So, the Order is also willing to help you. I don’t wish to speak profound truths, but this is a bond; the Order believes that these bonds of goodwill can make the world a better place.”

In that moment, Shard’s respect for the [Spiritual Practice Order] reached its zenith.