Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

That night, after returning home, Shard, though exhausted, still went to Feather Quill Street and found Dorothy, inviting her out for a late-night meal. Dorothy could tell Shard had a lot on his mind, so she put on her lady's coat to keep warm and followed him out.

On Feather Quill Street, there was a restaurant about to close. They chose a seat by the wall where a coal gas lamp with a lotus mouth hung above their table. Shard ordered food for the two of them and the cat, then said somewhat worriedly:

"Don't wear the Red Butterfly Pendant anymore, and tell Lecia not to wear it either."

"Why?"

The blonde girl asked curiously.

"Because it's very unlucky."

While waiting for the dishes, Shard briefly shared the story that had persisted from the Fifth Era to the present. After hearing it, Dorothy covered her mouth, her eyes reddening until the restaurant's waiter delivered the fried shrimp balls and cream bread, then she finally regained her composure:

"That story is just... too... Why should such a thing happen when they were sisters who promised to be together forever?"

"That was Grace and Helen's own choice. We're just bystanders. That's why you shouldn't wear the Red Butterfly Pendant anymore."

Shard pierced a shrimp ball with his fork, looking at the female writer across the gas-lit table:

"Your outcome has to be better than this. I swear."

After speaking, he took the food off the fork and handed it to the cat who had been cooped up in a box all day. The cat, with paws holding the warm food, looked worriedly at Shard, having sensed his poor mood.

"You're very tired?"

Dorothy placed the pendant from her waist onto the table, then looked across at Shard and asked. Shard hesitated for a moment, then nodded:

"After so much has happened, it's just this incident..."

"I understand."

She leaned slightly forward, grasping Shard's left hand that lay on the tabletop, her emerald eyes locking with his, and Shard could see her indomitable spirit.

"Although I don't know exactly what you've been doing in Milestone this autumn, both Lecia and I know you've been trying to help us. You really don't have to work so hard. Just maintaining the status quo, having a soul connected to us from afar, we're already very content with that."

"Your other self is merging. That's not maintaining the status quo."

Shard shook his head while Dorothy, seeing him under the dim gas light, stared at the full contours of his downcast face and for a moment didn't know what to say:

"Shard."

"What's wrong?"

He lifted his head, but the blonde girl just smiled, shook her head, and whispered tenderly:

"Nothing. I was just thinking, if one day Lecia and I could truly see each other face to face, even touch and embrace one another, we would definitely give you a very special gift."

The night at No. 6, Saint Delan Square was peaceful, and Shard slept well. Perhaps due to the many events of the day, he had a strange dream.

In the dream, he somehow found himself in a forest, following a beautiful red butterfly through the woods until he saw a castle in the heart of the forest.

Then the dream became stranger. First, Luviya wrapped in blazing fire suddenly appeared and attacked Shard, and then Mia Cat, whose body swelled into the shape of a large tiger with the character "King" inscribed on its forehead, also holding the "Night Watchman" in its mouth, wanted to kill Shard.

This bizarre dream jolted Shard awake, and it was already Tuesday, with daylight breaking.

He sat up in a sweat, feeling short of breath. Suddenly alert, the images from the dream still lingered in his mind, making it momentarily difficult to distinguish between reality and the dream world.

"This is reality now."

"She" whispered tenderly.

"If it's reality, that's good. Oh, what a bizarre dream. I'd rather spend an entire night watching the moon than have these messy thoughts entangle me."

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he sat up and looked around the dark bedroom.

The weather had turned cooler, and he had already replaced the summer blanket with a thick one. In a little while, the Steam Company would send someone to discuss this year's heating fee, which wasn't the same for the entire city, and Shard needed to prepare firewood for the winter ahead.

He planned to use the fireplace in his home, not just because Detective Sparrow's notes mentioned that winter brought more detective commissions than autumn, so he wanted to create an "professional detective" atmosphere, but also because heating through the pipes alone wasn't enough.

After all, the house was simply too big.

"Meow~"

A soft meow came from beside him, followed by the tickling sensation of Mia Cat rubbing against his hand. He touched the cat that had just woken up and, somehow, memories of the "big tiger" Mia from his dream made him smile involuntarily.

The Red Butterfly Twins' story was a sad one, but Shard's story must go on.

When he went downstairs in his slippers to get the newspaper and milk, he discovered that the birthday gift Lecia had asked him to send to Lady Luisa had already arrived. A finely crafted but not overly expensive red gift box, containing the present, with a blue ribbon tied in a beautiful butterfly knot around it.

Lecia, to guard against Shard making any mistakes, handed him a letter. It was a letter personally penned by Lecia, bearing not only her flowing script but also the scent of her perfume...

"When did my nose become so sharp?"

As he ascended the stairs, Shard brought the bottle to his nose and sniffed it vigorously, ensuring that his sense of smell was in perfect working order (Note).

The letter detailed not only what the gift was and its price, but also where it had been purchased from, and even included a draft of a birthday greeting for Lady Luisa that Shard could copy directly. The greeting was tactfully and appropriately worded, with proper compliments and celebrations, neither too servile nor too proud. An Outlander would have to study the grammar of this world for a long time to achieve such literary flair.

"A white fox fur necklace from the Northern County of Draleon, and a newly published poetry anthology, 'Love and Peace'. Oh, these gifts are truly well-chosen."

The cat, crouched at the top of the second-floor stairwell and originally waiting for Shard to warm up the sheep's milk, saw him standing on the stairs reading the letter and meowed insistently, urging him to hurry upstairs.

It could not afford to miss its daily meal time.

After breakfast, Shard finished writing the letter to be sent to the Luisa family in the study, then composed another to invite friends over to his home tomorrow night to help conduct the ceremony to seal the third-floor boundary, before finally heading out to send them together to the Tobesk Post Office—

The corner mailbox wasn't suitable for sending gifts.

Afterward, he took Mia Cat again to Midshire Fort, walking out of the mountain forest towards the city below in the thin morning fog.

Today's Midshire Fort was quite strange; the density of the morning fog was on par with the autumn haze of Tobesk from earlier that morning.

Tobesk, known as the City of Steam, had been experiencing poor air quality recently due to the steam factories racing to complete their final batch of production before winter arrives and heavy snow impedes traffic. Unlike Tobesk, the autumn fog in Midshire Fort, surrounded by forests and affected by the monsoons, should not have been like this.

As Shard arrived in the city, the fog, far from dissipating, grew even thicker. Standing at the corner on Saint Kara Avenue, where the Cassandra Auction House was located, Shard could only see a distance of forty feet ahead.

Pedestrians on the streets walked cautiously near the curbs, while horse-drawn carriages hung lanterns at the front and back, with the coachmen even continuously shaking their bells to alert others to stay away and be careful.

Just then, a newspaper boy walked across from the other side of the street. Shard waved to summon the boy wearing a patched cap, counted out five pence to hand to him, and then took the newspaper, asking:

"When did this fog come in? Eight o'clock? Seven?"

"No, sir, this fog descended from Sicarl Mountain suddenly last night. I go to bed early, but little Lana, the flower seller, said she saw the fog rolling down the mountain when she got up in the middle of the night," the boy with brown hair replied. After hesitating, he added in a lower voice:

"The Sicarl Morning News, for just four pence."

"That extra penny is a reward for your honesty," Shard said, then turned his head to look towards Sicarl Mountain:

"What's going on with this then? Could it be related to the awakening of the Red Butterfly Twins yesterday?"

Entering the Cassandra Auction House, someone immediately ushered Shard up to the top-floor reception room.

Granny Cassandra was already waiting for him, as usual. Antique oil paintings adorned the walls, and knight's armor, possibly centuries old, stood against the wall. The Old Witch's decorating style may have been a bit traditional, but surprisingly in line with Shard's taste.

Miss Rita Swift, the young apprentice, temporarily playing the role of servant serving tea to them both. Since Shard had already seen her before, there was no need to continue hiding Rita's presence from Shard, "a man of that sort."

"Where are Grace and Helen?"

Shard was hoping to see them as well.

With a smile indicating foreknowledge of Shard's question, the Old Witch responded while holding her teacup:

"Because we've only just finished the ceremony, the teachers are having a hard time controlling the Whisper Element within them completely. To prevent any trouble for us, they are temporarily staying in a room in the basement of the auction house. The walls there have been professionally treated and are sufficient to temporarily contain an Angel-Level Relic. It's been used many times before."

"Then I..."

"Although it's still dangerous, you may go and meet the teachers. Ten minutes at most, then you must come back out. I think the teachers would also love to see you."

Granny Cassandra set down her teacup, gazing out at the fog:

"After so many years, even I am about to leave them. I am truly happy that they could meet you."

She appeared somewhat sentimental, and her affection for Grace and Helen ran deep:

"Granny, do you know our story?"

"Yes, I heard about you and the teachers' story over a hundred years ago when I was about Rita's age, from the teachers themselves. Back then, no one could have imagined that you would really appear."

The Old Witch chuckled from deep in her throat:

"It was only this spring when Helen Black, the teacher, suddenly appeared before me and informed me that you had finally arrived in Tobesk."

With nostalgia written all over her face, the Old Witch continued:

"It was one of the rare times I saw the teacher smile; she was truly glad to see you again."