Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 152 Princess Lecia

Listening to the Blonde Writer's words, Shard sat on his bed with the large apple in hand, confused.

Miss Luisa suddenly stood up, a determined look on her face as she reached out and grabbed the Outlander's hand. Shard, sitting on the bed, didn't even have a chance to dodge.

"Shard, if you're interested in the Enlightenment Element, I'd be more than willing to help you advance on this path... You don't know how incredible the 'Little Match Girl' Spirit Rune is for Circle Sorcerers who seek enlightenment from stories,"

Shard understood the situation and shifted uncomfortably on the bed. Mia saw Shard being grabbed and "roared" at the blonde girl, but her voice was so soft that someone unfamiliar with the cat might assume it was being affectionate.

Shard suspected that Miss Luisa's insistence on him having breakfast in bed was to make him "inescapable". Of course, she wasn't strong, and if Shard wanted to break free, he wouldn't even need to exert much effort:

"Miss Luisa, don't be so excited. You mean to say, you want to guide me in unleashing the power of the Enlightenment Spirit Rune?"

He attempted to communicate with the somewhat agitated Miss Luisa, their proximity a bit too close. Beyond the smell of breakfast, he could detect a scent he recognized from the apartment Miss Luisa rented.

"Not just that, if you need, I can teach you everything I know, Shard. I'm not just a Four-Ring Sorcerer, I have my secrets... and in exchange, you need to cooperate with me in studying the power of your Spirit Rune,"

She looked at Shard earnestly, her golden hair catching the morning light as if it were shimmering. Initially, Shard was startled by the lady's enthusiasm in front of him, but upon reflection, this was actually quite good; he was in need of someone to further instruct him in the arts of Circle Sorcery:

"No problem, that sounds great."

He nodded his head.

A smile appeared on Miss Luisa's face. She released Shard's hand and sat back down on her chair, playfully twirling a strand of hair by her ear:

"That's nice, I thought you would refuse. After all, most people do not like others meddling with their secrets."

But compared to the story of the Outlander, this was hardly a secret.

"What would you have done if I refused?"

Shard asked curiously, continuing to stir his porridge with a spoon. Mia Cat, seeing that the "danger" had passed, resumed peering at Shard's breakfast.

"I would have threatened you with the pages worth 6000 pounds that you burned last night... Just kidding, we're friends. I wouldn't do that, especially since you saved me. But, in a few weeks, when the owner of those pages comes back to Tobesk, you'll have to go with me to apologize.

No need for compensation, my relationship with her is very good, plus, you've agreed to let me study, I mean teach you, which is enough to repay."

Shard found Miss Luisa's attitude amusing, but he also felt relieved at not having to repay for the expensive pages that contained mysterious knowledge.

"Shard, from now on, every Saturday, after you leave the doctor's, come to my place for lessons and research. Don't worry, since I've promised to teach you, you won't need to worry about the Enlightenment Spirit Runes for each of your rings in the future,"

Miss Luisa confidently stated, and it was then that Shard noticed she had begun to address him by his first name without any prelude.

"Also, thank you for trusting me enough to share such a secret. To ease your mind, I will also share my secret with you."

Shard looked up at her, and the Blonde Writer seemed a bit embarrassed:

"The owner of those pages from 'The Little Match Girl' is Princess Lecia Cavendish. We have a very good relationship, but we both prefer not to tell others about it."

"Why? Because you two are..."

Shard cautiously made a gesture, and Miss Luisa's face turned red:

"Of course not, Shard, don't jump to conclusions. It's just that the two of us have an unusual connection, which I will tell you about when Lecia returns to Tobesk. Oh, Lecia is also a Circle Sorcerer, of Five Rings, and is equally proficient in the Enlightenment Element.

She is a student at Zaras Literary Academy; she studied there until the Four Rings, then requested to become a correspondence student. I've fully learned about Zaras Literary Academy through her, knowledge that can help you."

With this, Shard was utterly convinced that Miss Luisa was certainly not some academic spy from Zaras Literary Academy. He even suspected that the female writer was an academic spy from Saint Byrons Integrated Academy sent to steal knowledge from Zaras Literary Academy.

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Yet he still found it strange. If Miss Luisa was indeed close to Princess Lecia, even if they didn't meet, they surely wouldn't always perform Anti-Divination on each letter they exchanged. Logically, Saint Byrons couldn't possibly "be unaware of the connection between Miss Luisa and the Royal Family."

"That's odd."

He thought to himself, continuing to eat. Perhaps all these secrets would be revealed once he met the visiting Princess from a Foreign Land.

Relic malfunctions were never a joking matter. The events of the previous night were triggered simply because the person in possession of the Relic was seriously injured and their body was corrupted by it. The little girl was affected merely because the Healing done by the First Ring Sorcerer was not thorough enough, compounded by her unique soul, which drew the attention of an Evil God.

If Shard and Miss Luisa hadn't visited Little Sophie, there was a high chance that the entire family would have disappeared from the material world without a trace, leaving no clues, and no one would have known what had happened.

This once again taught Shard how dangerous the world truly was. Fortunately, it was just the gaze of the Evil God, and even without being in a state of Divine Afterglow, with a bit of luck, he might have survived it.

Miss Luisa also suffered serious injuries last night, but by Sunday morning, when Shard woke up, she had already recovered. According to her, it was the healing provided when Maze Lock vanished. In the story of the Little Match Girl, the girl finds salvation in the final light of the matches. Reflected in Maze Lock, when it disappeared, all friendly units inside it received some healing.

There were other gains from last night as well; the short but extremely dangerous moment when they were under the scrutiny of the Evil God, the God of the Deep Sea Drowned, allowed both Shard and Miss Luisa to gain from the element of Desecration.

Comparing what they had gained, Shard had acquired the sorcery Underwater Breathing, which allowed him to breathe underwater as the name suggests. Since it came from the gaze of the Evil God, it differed from normal spellcasting that would require materials like aquatic plants; Shard needed nothing at all.

Miss Luisa, on the other hand, had obtained the sorcery Bubblehead Curse and demonstrated it on the spot.

First, she opened her mouth, and a transparent bubble floated out, and then it grew larger until it enveloped her entire head.

Mia Cat immediately bristled and positioned herself in front of Shard, meowing at the "monster," apparently trying to protect him.

"It's okay, it's okay... What good is that?"

Shard comforted the small cat in his arms and then asked Miss Luisa. Miss Luisa popped the bubble with her finger with a pop:

"This kind of bubble can store a large amount of the air we breathe and can isolate toxic gases in environments with poisonous air. In theory, it can also help with underwater breathing, but for a limited time since the air in the bubble is finite."

Thinking about it, Shard still considered the use of Bubblehead Curse to be greater, but Miss Luisa insisted that Underwater Breathing was more useful. Although they lived inland, far from the coast, they could never predict when they might need to undertake an underwater adventure.

Once Shard had clearly recovered, Miss Luisa left Saint Delan Square. They agreed to formally start lessons and research on the following Saturday evening. Miss Luisa would remind Shard at the group gathering on Saturday afternoon and try to find books that could simplify his acquisition of Enlightenment Spirit Runes during the week.

She had slept on the sofa last night and hadn't rested well. Now she needed to go back and rest because she was going to the opera with Miss Annette in the evening.

Before leaving, Shard also asked her about the "White Stone Crystal" and the triangular rune symbol at the bottom of the potion bottle, but the writer did not know.

Miss Luisa recommended that Shard ask Priest Augustus:

"The priest is a Circle Sorcerer from the chemistry institute and has done some research on minerals. He comes from the Church and is an expert in heraldry; he might be able to give you an answer."

Shard didn't go out again that morning. His mental state wasn't great, and he needed to participate in a Roder Card game with the Old Duke at night, so he planned to rest at home during the day.

In the morning, Miss Luisa also helped pick up sheep milk along with the newspapers and letters.

The only letter was from Dawn Chapel, and he had thought it was from Priest Augustus, but after opening it, he found it was from Mr. Frankie of Dawn Chapel. The old gentleman had led the church's "construction team" to help Shard open the first floor the previous evening.

He had said that he would find the key to Room 2 on the second floor and deliver it soon, but he hadn't expected to receive a letter in just one day.

But the letter did not contain good news; Room 2 could not be opened yet.

"The Church wants to find time to hold an exorcism ritual?"

He sat at the dining table, reading the letter with surprise, and he read the key contents:

"Dawn Chapel believes that Room 2, where a mass suicide occurred, may still have hidden dangers, so they want to find time to let professional church personnel perform an exorcism before it can be opened... Well, that's actually good. Maybe they can exorcise Room 1 too, especially since it's free."

Although ordinary people in this era were unaware of the real existence of the mystical, superstition was widespread, and the Church would search for truly mystical-related content among the many true and false "haunted" events. Therefore, the Church advocating an exorcism wouldn't seem out of place to the common folk.

Shard casually set the letter aside and looked towards the location of Room 2 on the second floor, once again asking the voice inside his heart:

"Are you sure, you've never felt an evil spirit on the second floor?"

"Unless there's a special hidden space like the basement, I'm quite sure."

That made Shard much more at ease.