Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Today's luck was quite good, and when one person and one cat arrived at the Prophet's Society, Miss Annette was there. They met inside the private divination room on the second floor of the Society.

This room didn't need to worry about eavesdropping, after all, the contents of the divination usually involved privacy, so the soundproofing was excellent.

"Detective, I don't think you came to find me specifically to divine 'when your pet cat will be able to return to its owner's side', that's too simple."

Luviya Annette, even when in the Society, wore her own clothing. The only difference was a dangling Ouroboros symbol on her chest to signify her identity. As for the cat-related divination content, it was something Shard had casually thought of on the way there.

"Meow~"

Mia laid on Shard's knees, her eyes wide as she observed the unfamiliar room. This cat preferred being indoors rather than outdoors.

"I came to find you the day before yesterday, but you weren't in, and I ran into your president."

Shard continued, and Miss Annette was very interested in the subject, eager to know what Shard had divined. However, Shard just briefly touched on it before quickly jumping to the real matter at hand:

"Can you speed things up with introducing me to Miss Beyas? If your side of things doesn't get done, I'm going to end up being best friends with her. I'm really worried that when the day comes when she finds out our true purpose, she'll become furious and punch me on the spot."

"You've run into her again recently?"

"Not me running into her, but her running into me. First was Sunday evening, four days ago, when I went to play cards again."

Miss Annette looked at him skeptically, but Shard skipped over the Roder Card process and described the Corpse Relic and the four questions.

"At that point, our relationship could already be considered one of friends. Then two days ago, on Tuesday, I came here to find you. On my way home, I ran into her again as she was going to No. 6, Saint Delan Square to cool off. When she left, she even gave me this."

He took out the brooch that could be used for a onetime "Sunlight Gun," and Miss Annette held it in her hand to examine, unable to help marveling:

"Although I always knew that the powers of The Chosen Ones were extremely strong, I didn't expect that she could create something like this without having fully acquired all her powers."

"The problem now is not this, Miss Annette. If things on your end aren't progressing smoothly, wouldn't it be better if I introduced you to Miss Beyas, and then revealed the details about The Chosen One afterwards?"

He suggested, in this way, there would be no deception on Shard's part, it would be Miss Annette who had something concealed from Miss Beyas.

She indeed hesitated for a moment at Shard's suggestion, but then shook her head:

"I'm sorry, Shard, but the plan still has to come from my side. I've paid the price to divine, in order to find the best way to gain her trust. The method the divination told me is that I should carry out the plan."

"Alright then."

Shard said helplessly, not insisting:

"I have a lead on the whereabouts of the Silver-Eyed One. I can't disclose the source, but it's absolutely reliable. He is hiding in the underground ruins that contain the Sage-Level Relic known as God's Gift Box. I'll mark its location on your map in a moment. The location was procured by Dr.

Schneider, and it involves an adventure on the rainy night of Monday, if you're interested, I can tell you about it."

"You've found it? Oh, Shard, is your life always this colorful?"

The Female Diviner seemed a bit surprised, then said:

"It was me who came to you to cooperate, but now it seems I am the one being helped by you. Shard, I won't go on with the thanks, there will definitely come a day when you can receive a gift from me."

Miss Annette had also been busy these past few days, planning to do a divination with a price. Originally, she wanted to divine the location of the Silver-Eyed One to further contact Miss Beyas. Although she now got the answer directly, the divination still had to happen. The content was about the last condition Miss Beyas needed to truly become The Chosen One.

To become The Chosen One, three conditions were necessary. The understanding of "balance" would have to be reached by Miss Beyas herself. The item containing the Ancient God Power had a lead from Old John, and Miss Annette said she would inform Shard as soon as she obtained it. Only the final condition, completing a specific ritual, was still unclear.

The female diviner with purple eyes still didn't tell Shard what price she had to pay to perform such an accurate divination. But divination of such nature, involving the great prophecies of witches, was likely to come at no small cost.

But according to her, the divination could probably be performed this weekend. Then she would introduce Shard to Miss Beyas, and after that, help Miss Beyas become a true Chosen One, fulfilling the entirety of the first section of the Whispering Verses.

The plan sounded great, and it seemed everything could be done by this week. Shard really hoped no accidents would occur, but everyone understood that the likelihood of things going without incident was virtually non-existent.

After talking about Miss Beyas, Shard picked up Mia Cat by the waist with both hands. The lazy cat knew Shard wouldn't hurt her, so she didn't resist.

"Miss Annette, there's actually one more thing I want you to help me divine about Mia. No, not about when it can return to Miss Mia Gold's side. I want to know if it is a normal cat."

"Meow?"

The cat squirmed in Shard's hands, not out of struggle but simply enjoying the moment.

"Why would you think that?"

Miss Annette put down her teacup, reaching out to hold the small orange cat. But the cat quickly slapped her hand away, and Miss Annette, a bit surprised, looked towards Shard with an amused expression.

Shard was somewhat concerned:

"It's been acting smarter and smarter lately. It might be my imagination, but I can't rule out a real problem. Can you divine it? A regular divination is fine."

"Of course, that's no problem. Although I've never divined for a pet before, I think it will be okay."

This time Miss Annette used a more traditional form of cartomancy. Since the cat couldn't choose the cards, she had Shard use the cat's paw to help select them. They chose three cards, and after looking at them, Miss Annette shook her head:

"No problem, your cat is indeed a cat. At least, that's what I believe."

"Meow~"

Mia's paw broke free from Shard's hand, and she gave a displeased meow at him.

"That's good."

Shard sighed with relief, then asked again,

"So when can it return to its owner? Just give me an answer, after all, that's the reason I came to the Society to find you."

"Do you want it to leave you?"

The diviner asked, holding her teacup and with a smile in her purple eyes. Shard thought for a moment and then shook his head decisively,

"If possible, of course, I'd want Mia to stay with me forever. But after all, it is someone else's cat..."

"Well then, my answer is, it will accompany you forever."

Miss Annette really was understanding.

After leaving the Prophet's Society, Shard walked toward Feather Quill Avenue. It was already eleven o'clock in the morning by the time he arrived at Miss Luisa's rented apartment. Pedestrians were gathered in small groups on the street, seemingly students from a nearby university.

This reminded Shard that the academic report mentioned in the newspaper he saw last week at Captain Lades' house was scheduled for Friday, which is tomorrow. Coincidentally, he had no plans for Friday, so he could consider attending the report to understand the development of materialist physics in the Steam Age where real mysticism existed.

Because he had not written in advance to arrange a visit, Shard was a bit worried that Miss Luisa wouldn't be home. However, the landlady who opened the door turned her head and called up to the second floor upon seeing Shard's face, which meant that the blonde girl was at home.

He was still received in the living room, and unlike Dr. Schneider, who assumed there was another incident as soon as he saw Shard, Miss Luisa thought the young detective had come to consult her on a problem.

"Yes, I came to consult on a problem."

After controlling the cat, Shard took out two leaves. He had come to consult her specifically because only Miss Luisa knew the secret of his time travel.

He gave a rough explanation of the situation but didn't mention the witch or the Sublimation Incantation. He hoped Miss Luisa could help with the use of the two leaves. Although he was just trying his luck, Miss Luisa looked at the leaves and directly gave an answer,

"I know how to use this."

She lazily held her teacup as she sat on the red single sofa.

"Hmm?"

"Shard, haven't you heard of the fairy tale 'Kiss of the Tree'?"

The blonde writer asked.

"No."

He shook his head firmly. The character setup "Waking from Blind Foolishness" may not have given him memories of his past life, but it did provide him with a reason for not being familiar with common knowledge.

"It's also a very famous fairy tale. I still remember when I was a child, my mother would often hug me and tell me these stories under the gaslight at night."

Miss Luisa's lips curled into a smile, but she quickly emerged from her reminiscence and told Shard that slightly sad story,

"The answer you're looking for is in this story, so please listen patiently:

It's a story of friendship between an ancient tree and a girl from the bygone days. Princess Tawel, betrayed by her parents and lover, was exiled to the terrifying Black Forest and eventually came across a strange giant tree deep in the forest.

When she was hungry, the giant tree gave her fruit;

When she was thirsty, the giant tree gave her dew;

When she felt lonely, the sound of the wind played music among the treetops;

When she was tired, a treehouse hidden among the branches offered her safety and warmth.

The girl stayed with the tree for a long time, singing to it under its shade or leaning against it as she told her own stories. Days passed, and no one saw the princess again, but one day, her heartless parents wanted to find her.

However, all they found deep in the forest was a mummified corpse concealed within the hollow trunk of a giant tree. They were together forever."

Miss Luisa's voice was very pleasant, and she became quite emotional while telling the story. She was satisfied with her performance and after a short pause, which gave Shard a moment to reflect, she asked with some anticipation,

"How's the story?"

Shard's first reaction was that the story was definitely not from his homeland. But he couldn't say that, so he could only voice his second thought:

"Hmm... wouldn't children be scared listening to a story like that?"