Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

The banquet had none of Shard's acquaintances, so he did not stay, carrying his wine glass and heading straight into what was originally the second-floor dining room.

This was the larger auction hall for tonight's charity auction. There were 10 items per session, with a 15-minute break between each session, and it was now precisely the rest time after the session had ended. Shard had just entered the door when a middle-aged woman dressed in a lady's clerical uniform approached him:

"Are you Mr. Hamilton, representing Miss Galina at the next auction?"

She asked softly. Shard nodded, aware that the ordinary person before him was also someone Miss Galina had arranged to be here in advance. The Duchess was worried Shard might encounter some mishaps, as he had never attended such an auction.

The auction process was simple, guests had to book a session in advance, and upon arriving at the restaurant on time, they would receive a wooden number plate. Once the auction began, they could bid using the number plate. Before the auction started, there was time to view the ten items of that session.

"That person..."

The woman whispered as Shard took the number plate from her hands.

"Your three o'clock direction, black dress suit, golden buttons, with a mustache, wearing a black top hat."

She lowered her voice, making sure no one was around, and softly reminded:

"The ring is on his finger."

Shard nodded and then naturally parted ways with the woman. He looked down at his number plate, which ironically had a coat of paint, appearing as if it were a tool borrowed from the auction house.

The man standing at three o'clock, looking at an oil painting, was tonight's target. His real name was Steve Event, a cultist who worshipped the "Lord of the Blood Feast." The "Transmutation Ring" was stolen during its transfer by the Peace Church, and naturally, the thief was a church infiltrator inside the cult.

The ring itself did not stay in the hands of that honorable infiltrator but was prepared by the cultists to be returned to the "Blood of Mercury." Returning such an important relic at an event like today's, fraught with danger, was out of the question; hence, the ring was kept by the Order's Circle Sorcerer, Steve Event.

He was actually a woman and had been wanted by the True God Church for years. By using the power of the ring to turn into a man, she could appear in public. Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire

However, the cursed witches had an unexpectedly high sensitivity to gender. Miss Galina easily deduced who held the ring by stating:

"A man using the ring to turn into a woman still gives me a very repulsive feeling. And a woman using the ring to turn into a man gives the same repulsive feeling. The former is like seeing a rotting corpse; the latter is like seeing rotten excrement. The disguise offered by the 'Transmutation Ring' is useless in front of me."

Thus, it was not that Miss Galina could steal information from within the cultists—purely the use of the "Transmutation Ring" that let her know the target.

Shard looked around and then, holding the number plate, moved to the banquet hall's floor-to-ceiling windows to observe the items in the next auction. His real plan, however, was to approach Steve Event.

Of course, Shard wouldn't rashly strike up a conversation with strangers. Seeing the target standing next to the third auction item, he first walked toward the first auction item pretending to inspect it.

The first item in the next session was a dark red long dress hanging on a wooden rack. Although the dress itself was pretty, and the gemstone buttons and decorations were enticing, the age of the dress was older than Shard's current body. It was a court dress worn by a previous Queen, who wore it to attend a banquet on April 3, 1819, in the Common Era Calendar with the then King of Draleon. That banquet's speech by the king was considered the starting point of a full-scale war that lasted 30 years between the two great human kingdoms of the Old Continent.

The garment likely had some historical value, but Shard couldn't figure out why it was being auctioned for a base price of 80 pounds.

Just then, a noblewoman also came to look at the garment, so he turned to inspect the second auction item.

The second item was an old manuscript, placed in a glass cabinet near the window. The title "Draleon Ancient Fairy Tales Stories Collection" was written in cursive on its cover, but due to its age, the ink had faded considerably, despite careful preservation.

According to the brief introduction on the glass cabinet, the book was 60 years old and had been a childhood reading material of Duke Mychal Moppassant half a century ago. For people in 1863, it was a very well-preserved old book.

At that time, the Maupassant Family still possessed a dukedom, and thus had substantial financial strength. The scribe of the manuscript was a famous author from that era, who left behind a very famous collection of essays even in contemporary times, the "Summer Night Collection." Miss Luisa's award-winning work "Midsummer Night's Wish" was said to be inspired by this collection of essays.

"The starting bid is 30 pounds, and I already know that all the items in this auction will go for more than their listed prices."

Shard deliberately said this in a voice loud enough to ensure Mr. Event standing nearby could hear him.

After examining the old book, he then looked towards the third auction item. It was an oil painting hung on the wall, its vivid colors causing a sense of irritation. The painting was called "Harvest Field," depicted with gold, yellow, and red to illustrate the rice fields in autumn.

The painter had poured a lot of emotion into the painting, so much so that Shard felt a chilling sensation from the wild colors at just a glance, yet he couldn't pinpoint the source of this feeling.

"This must be the charm of art."

Shard spoke, glancing sideways. Mr. Event was engrossed in the painting and didn't speak, so Shard turned to look at the placard displaying the base price:

"Tsk, 160 pounds."

"Strictly speaking, this price isn't high."

The middle-aged "man" finally spoke. He squinted at the painting on the wall, his expression somewhat enraptured:

"The artist's thoughts can be conveyed through their works, and the one who painted this perfectly expressed their emotions of anxiety, unease, and panic using warm rather than cool tones. It's definitely an innovation. Although this painting only fetched 174 pounds at Biford Auction House five years ago, its intrinsic artistic value is much higher than those indefinable abstract paintings. (Note)"

Fortunately, the attendees were wealthy individuals with little understanding of art; if such remarks were made in an art academy or museum, they would have caused a sensation.

"So, sir, you seem to have a deep understanding of oil paintings?"

Seizing the opportunity, Shard asked, and Mr. Event nodded, still looking at the painting but now engaging in conversation with Shard:

"I'm not a Draleon native; back in my homeland, I actually deal in collecting and preserving art."

This profession, in this world, seemed to easily breed madmen and cultists, making it a sort of "high-risk occupation."