Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"This card is really interesting,"

He looked at the content of the card. A bizarre entity clutching a spirit seemed alive under the glow of the kerosene lamp.

Shard shook his head, dispelled his illusion, then asked,

"So, how are things on the third floor?"

The long-faced man answered,

"The third floor houses a bunch of impolite people. There are about fifteen or sixteen of them. According to my friend, most of them don't like to go out. They lock themselves upstairs all day and occasionally come down at night to look for some girls. They are waiting for a ship to the New World, probably fugitives wanted by the law."

Having said that, he stood up, bid farewell to Shard, and Shard took the card and bid farewell to Mr. Asmon as well.

He had a very odd feeling, perhaps a special ability of a Circle Sorcerer. Shard was sure he would meet this man, who claimed to be a Demonologist, again.

After Mr. Asmon left, Shard also approached the counter and slid a penny across the desk to the woman,

"Help me send a letter to Mr. Daknis upstairs."

Shard lowered his voice and tore a piece of paper from his notebook,

"I know he stays here."

Having obtained definite information that Mr. Daknis's companions were here, Shard arranged to meet them at another location.

He didn't write who he was, only mentioned he was a fellow from that ship, hence he wished to invite the other party to meet. It would be better if the other party came, otherwise Shard would ask Lecia for help to get the police to inspect the place on the pretext of fire safety hazards, which would surely make Mr. Daknis appear.

The woman took the silver coin, examined it under the gas lamp,

"You came here just for this, right? Actually, you didn't have to bother buying drinks and looking at Roder Cards; just giving money would have been enough."

"You'd probably prefer to do a job for one of your customers than for a stranger who suddenly appears,"

Shard said, noting that buying drinks hadn't cost many pennies and also gave him the chance to observe the inn, a small ploy in getting things done.

"So, are you interested in our girls? Maybe you can entertain yourself while waiting,"

The middle-aged woman asked with a smile, reaching out to touch Shard's face.

Shard stepped back, shook his head regretfully, and spoke in his normal volume,

"I prefer Roder Cards over women."

Behind him came the sound of someone choking on their drink followed by the laughter of men,

"Mrs. Mary, your tricks won't work."

That must have been the woman's name behind the counter.

"Pah, damn gamblers,"

The woman muttered under her breath with a laugh. Shard, feeling good, pretended not to hear and turned to leave the Pink Rose Inn.

He had arranged to meet Mr. Daknis on the roof of a building still under construction, twenty minutes away. The building was largely complete, but the surrounding scaffolding and locks had not been removed yet. The wall, with its strong smell of paint, had a convenient iron ladder for going up and down. Today, for some reason, there were no workers around, making it a handy spot to meet a stranger.

Shard climbed onto the rooftop, holding an umbrella and gazing at the misty harbor through the rain. Because the building was tall, he could faintly make out the distant sea level. The drizzling rain veiled the ancient harbor city in a layer of mist, but it was uncertain how long this calm would last.

After waiting for half an hour, the sound of boots colliding with the metal surface finally came from below. After a quiet wait, Mr. Daknis indeed came alone, as Shard had prepared a mask in advance, so he could not see Shard's face at the time.

The middle-aged man with yellowish-brown short hair and eyelids turned outward, wearing a red glove on his right hand, just like last time.

He, like Shard, was holding a black umbrella, and the two men stood at the edge of the rooftop, looking at each other from a considerable distance, neither spoke first.

Shard was not Luviya; he did not possess the ability to recognize The Chosen One at a glance. The feeling that the whole world's light was shining on one person, which had occurred when he first met Iluna at the pet shop's doorway a month ago, had not appeared at the cruise auction. Thus, like everyone else except Luviya, he could not distinguish the other Chosen Ones before their true awakening.

The woman's voice by his ear, when Shard encountered Iluna again at Lakeside Manor, had hinted at something about "fate." However, on the cruise ship, she did not react at all. It seemed that, like Shard, she only reacted to Iluna as an individual.

[No, I have said that your 'other self's' true talent is to rebound fate. I can feel the fate of The Chosen affecting your fate, such as the night at Lakeside Manor when the summoning ritual of the Evil God occurred and her encounter.]

"But on the ship, I was also involved in the Fishbone Pirate Ship due to The Chosen's special fate."

[But that was just a minor disturbance and fluctuation of fate, nothing compared to the Evil God or a Sage-Level Relic.]

What she said seemed to make sense, meaning only when Shard again got involved in matters related to gods because of The Chosen, could he clearly know whether the other party was one of The Chosen.

But not knowing himself did not matter, [within God's Gift Box] there were still several coins; Shard wanted to meet The Chosen and even obtain items they had used, then have Luviya conduct Divination on questions like "Did Shard encounter a candidate of The Chosen today?" and "Does this piece of clothing belong to The Chosen?"

This would not count as directly divining The Chosen themselves.

Seeing that Mr. Daknis seemed determined not to speak first, Shard then said:

"Good morning, sir, there is no need for the atmosphere between us to be this awkward. I came to ask if you have any good ideas on how to deal with the Curse of the Song of the Mermaid that we bear. I presume you cannot be unaware of this."

"What interests me more is, how did you find me?"

The middle-aged man asked, frowning, then continued:

"Also, if you could take off your mask, I would trust you a bit more."

"No, no, no, that would make me trust you less."

Shard shook his head and then said in a low voice:

"We're both survivors from that ship, why not join together to solve the curse?"

"Sorry, not interested."

Mr. Daknis shook his head slightly, his eyes firmly on Shard:

"Anything else?"

"The church has been searching for us recently, you must be aware of that, right? We can hide separately, but we will be found sooner or later. Isn't it safer to find out together why the church wants us?"
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"I'm safer with my friends, and as for you... I am a Six Rings Warlock; what about you?"

He laughed a bit, his attitude clearly dismissive of Shard.

That pair of blood-red gloves was the only colorful thing on this rain-drenched rooftop.