Chapter 1299: Chapter 1299: Whereabouts of the Auction Items
[Outlander, you have returned to the present time.]
Shard stumbled out from the White Mist Gate, leaning against the wall, gasping for breath. He had never been so happy to be illuminated by gas light; he even wanted to write a poem to praise it, but then remembered he didn’t possess such a skill.
Having left the City of Eternal Night, all the damages caused by the terrifying darkness vanished, and because he had nearly melted into the darkness earlier, Shard now felt an unaccountable familiarity with the normal night. Yet the lack of spirit remained unresolved, but fortunately, this was already the Sixth Era.
If the ladies saw him drinking from the pink vial, they might suspect he was secretly taking medicine, questioning his health. Therefore, Shard made sure no one was present before he gulped down the full vial of perfume:
“Oh, finally alive again!”
He was very satisfied with this.
Sure enough, just as Shard put away the perfume vial, Lecia and Dorothy returned with a group of maids, chatting and laughing. They didn’t notice anything unusual about Shard, and Dorothy laughed, saying:
“Shard, we heard about your ‘detective story.’ I really should have followed you; it was truly thrilling and definitely worth writing into a long story in two parts.”
“Well done, Knight.”
Lecia said gracefully, and when the two ladies approached, Dorothy initially wanted to ask why Mia wasn’t seen, but then noticed Shard’s coat was missing. She suspiciously sniffed the air, and caught an unfamiliar perfume scent from Shard.
It wasn’t from Miss Galina, nor Tifa, nor Angelina; it wasn’t even from Queen Diana or any other woman Shard was acquainted with.
And Lecia looked at Shard suspiciously, noticing he seemed even more… charming than usual:
“Since the damn murderer has been caught, let’s continue our reading salon and not waste time. Oh, speaking of which, Dorothy, next we’re supposed to, aren’t we, take turns using your… voice, reading line by line?”
“Your Highness Lecia, shall we discuss it after entering the room?”
Dorothy said, blushing slightly, and each lady grabbed one of Shard’s arms. Amidst the maids’ laughter, they pulled him into the room by force.
The night was as deep and long as in the Fifth Era, yet exceedingly captivating.
(Little Mia running…)
“I thought I wouldn’t see you at all today.”
On Monday afternoon, Randall Valley welcomed a rare sunny winter day. Luviya sat on the first floor of the Abundant Land Inn, holding a book, with a teacup in front of her. Today was her day off again, as she was dispatched locally and the society hadn’t assigned her many tasks.
“Why would you think of me like that? Am I such a person?”
Shard asked the girl with purple eyes across from him. Luviya shook her head:
“Even if you’ve bathed, I can still smell those familiar perfumes on you; I’ve studied arcane techniques related to smell. That was during the First Ring, when I met a dog that jumped out of the void.”
She laughed and put down the book:
“And it’s not thinking of you that way, it’s not expecting that Princess, and our writer friend, would actually let you leave. I thought you all might…”
She blushed slightly herself, as she suddenly thought of that fiery night on the Year-End Festival:
“Overall, it’s good to let you rest, can’t keep running around all the time.”
“Rest is over, so today we’re doing serious business. Oh, this is for you.”
Shard said, taking a sapphire pendant from his pocket and handing it to Luviya.
“You’ve forgotten to put jewelry in a box before gifting it to a lady again.”
The purple-eyed girl muttered, taking the pendant and looking at it in the sunlight streaming through the inn’s entrance:
“A very beautiful sapphire, look, it’s also a nightingale-shaped pendant, why did you suddenly think of gifting me jewelry… this week’s gift?”
“Yes, the task is to polish jewelry for female relatives or friends at least twice. I suppose it was meant for children to polish jewelry for their mothers, unfortunately, I…”
He shrugged. Luviya knew Shard’s past, so she couldn’t say much, just kept the gemstone pendant.
“So, what stories did you encounter in the time of the past this time? Do you need my help?”
The girl with purple eyes tilted her head and asked with a smile. Shard very much wanted to permanently imprint her current appearance in his mind:
“I encountered Miss Fiona Drago.”
“Oh, I remember her, you also met her in the library. So the Great One related to this is…”
“The God of Night.”
By only introducing the responsibilities and not mentioning the widely known aliases, the influence of the Old God wouldn’t be too significant.
Luviya nodded with her teacup in hand:
“Night and moon are both duties of the ancient Moon Goddess. Perhaps, this deity might be of great help to you. And speaking of which, Saint Byrons has some connection with this ancient deity.”
“What kind of connection?”
Shard asked curiously.
“That’s not content from the general education of Saint Byrons’ history at the Academy; it’s from the fifth-grade course ‘Primal Power: Darkest Night.’ Rumor has it that Miss Mana Feliana, the first principal, borrowed power from the God of the Night when building Saint Byrons.”
She cleared her throat with a cough and began to recite:
“On that vast snowfield, the sovereign who held dominion over the night bestowed his territory upon the lady who desired to become a Sage. On that land, Saint Byrons took root and flourished, inheriting and developing its responsibility of teaching and nurturing.”
“So, the event I encountered this time will directly lead to the current appearance of Saint Byrons?”
“Who knows, you’d better ask that teacher of yours, the Red Moon Witch, Miss Danester.”
“This morning… well, after returning home at noon, I sent a message to Miss Danester. But she’s quite busy lately; she won’t be able to see me until the morning of the day after tomorrow, Wednesday.”
Saying this, Shard stifled a yawn, and Luviya pursed her lips:
“You should also take care of your health… What did you all do last night?”
Though restrained, she couldn’t resist asking. She appeared indifferent, but in reality, she was somewhat envious of that Princess’s boldness.
As for the Keeper of Secrets Level Relic ‘Sand of Time,’ Shard had already commissioned Old John and Granny Cassandra to purchase it on his behalf before meeting Luviya. The Guiding Light Hermitage is the most skilled at purchasing such peculiar items, and Granny Cassandra has extensive connections. Even if both parties acquired it, it wouldn’t be a waste; this kind of special time relic is also useful to Shard.
As for how to achieve “being eroded by the night,” Shard still needed to investigate on his own; at least for now, neither Old John nor Granny Cassandra could explain it clearly.
Shard and Luviya soon went to the Wilder Opera House, where they met the Witch and Miss Lathis. It had been a week since the four started their respective investigations into the clues left by Miss Lathis’ father. During this time, not only did Shard and Luviya have their own gains, but the Witch and Miss Lathis also made some discoveries by retracing Mr. Lathis’ exploration path.
After meeting, the four first discussed the situation last weekend regarding the True God Church’s operation against the Stone Heart Demon Order. Except for Shard, the other three ladies were local, so they were far more informed than what Shard had learned from Miss Galina.
Afterward, Miss Benanis gave Shard an envelope containing information on the whereabouts of three auction items that may be related to the “Heart of the Earth” sold by the Cassandra Auction House before Mr. Lathis’ disappearance:
“The statue is currently with Ston Osenfort? What a coincidence; I was just planning to visit him to return a medal. Then there’s the key to that antique mechanism lock, in the hands of Earl Granger? Familiar faces, I can visit them. Lastly, the ceramic vase, this item is in… Randall Valley City Statue Museum?”
The Randall Valley is known for its stone sculpture art, so there’s a dedicated stone sculpture exhibition hall, the “Randall Valley City Statue Museum.” This is a semi-official exhibition hall that collects entrance fees to maintain its daily expenses, and City Hall allocates funds annually as needed. Overall, it’s somewhat similar to Sister Delphine’s Serpent Heart Hospital, except the latter is more independent.
“No problem, today is Monday. I’ll strive to investigate all three items clearly within this week, or at least get them in hand.”
Shard promised, and as for how he would acquire them, none of the ladies inquired; they had great faith in Shard’s abilities.
The four chatted the entire afternoon until it approached evening. Miss Benanis intended to keep Shard and Luviya for dinner; she had already reserved a table at a restaurant. Shard didn’t refuse, only needing to temporarily leave with Luviya for about half an hour before dinner.
The two were to go to the Abundant Land Inn to wait for the elf girl Emilia—both parties had agreed to meet once a week, and Shard was quite looking forward to what surprises the elf girl might bring him this time.
As the light of the setting sun cast over the city, it marked the official end of a laborious day for at least most of the middle class. When the last ray of sunset vanished below the horizon, and the elegant gas lamps in front of the Abundant Land Inn, Prophets’ Society, and City Hall on the same street lit up, Shard and Luviya, chatting idly on the first floor of the Abundant Land Inn, finally awaited the arrival of Miss Emilia Xenode.
She entered the hotel lobby alone, appearing quite familiar with the place. Since she was entering the city, she didn’t bring the little beast this time. And the general appearance of the elf girl hadn’t changed much, except her pointy ears had transformed to a human’s, allowing Shard and Luviya to recognize her at a glance.
“`