Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

It's already the third day after the Lakeside Manor incident, and Miss Luisa has recovered quickly. When she was strolling down the shaded path with Shard, no one could tell that just three days prior, she had been sustained by "False Immortality."

Perhaps beautiful girls all like cute cats. Miss Luisa was very interested in Mia and even thought she was a pet Shard had adopted. Even after being told that Mia was just staying at his place, the blonde girl still wanted to cuddle the petite orange cat, but Mia refused to leave Shard's side.

"Detective, you really do have a knack for raising cats."

"Speaking of which, may I bring the cat along? Should I send Mia back first?"

Shard asked again; he actually rather enjoyed the prospect of "seeing the world" with a high-level Circle Sorcerer.

"No need, this trip is quite safe. Consider it an opportunity to gain some experience. Detective, you'll eventually have to recover Relics alone."

Miss Luisa said casually, then guided Shard to take a right at the next intersection onto Tian College Street.

Just as Shard had guessed, Miss Luisa's purpose for coming here was to recover a Relic. It all started two months ago when an elderly writer, who lived alone and was acquainted with Miss Luisa, passed away. While people familiar with the old man were sorting through his belongings, Miss Luisa discovered from his diary that he owned a very magical fountain pen.

"Can it write papers or reports automatically?"

Shard speculated, looking at the street where half of the houses were grey stone structures, strikingly similar in design and all three stories high. Stepping into this area felt like an instant transition from the Steam Age back to medieval times.

However, steam pipes clinging to the stone walls, the fashion of pedestrians walking the streets, and the omnipresent sounds of haggling all served as constant reminders that this was the era of steam.

Tian College Street must be part of Tobesk's old district.

"Detective, how could such a good thing exist, and besides, Relics can't just be used recklessly."

Miss Luisa stated, walking side by side with Shard. He noticed that today Miss Luisa did not display the frequent small gesture of touching her earlobe.

"I took the liberty of taking the diary and discovered that if the pen is filled with the writer's blood and uses letters to sketch the figure of any human on paper, that figure can enter the writer's dreams, and then..."

She glanced at Shard, who blinked:

"Why did you stop?"

Realizing with the laughter in his head from the woman, he finally got it; he had not even thought in that direction:

"No, no, there's no need to explain, I understand now. But how can such a Relic still exist?"

After passing Tian College Street, the pair continued eastward. After walking past the private Tian Mechanical Specialist Academy, they turned into Cat Tail Alley, their intended destination.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"This is not even the strangest Relic I've come across; I've seen stranger ones. But this Relic isn't weak, I've found information in the Academy's library. The 'Joyful Dream Pen', according to the classification, should be of Scribe Level (Level 4). This pen actively tempts the user in their dreams to use it correctly.

Ordinary people, under its influence, will try writing with their own blood out of what they believe to be normal curiosity, leading to tragic consequences. I suspect its former owner's death is related to it."

Shard nodded, pondering the possible uses the pen might have for a Circle Sorcerer. Then he realized that at least this pen was of no use to him. The Dream Pen absorbed the blood of its user, not the enemy's blood, and therefore it could not constitute a condition for absorbing the power of a deity.

Miss Luisa continued to speak:

"After the old writer died, the fountain pen mysteriously disappeared. I searched for two months before discovering that before his death, the writer sold this fountain pen to an old professor living nearby named Tiris Manning. Professor Manning is somewhat of a collector, and my purpose today is to visit him."

Professor Manning resided in an apartment at number 17 Cat Tail Alley, and as they searched for the place by following the house numbers, a young flower seller came up the alley toward them.

The girl selling flowers seemed to misconstrue the relationship between Shard and Miss Luisa, and she approached them to sell her wares. She was politely declined by Shard, and the flowers in her basket nearly got bitten by the cat he was holding.

Seeing the patches on the girl's clothes and the clearly ill-fitting shoes on her feet, although he didn't buy any flowers, Shard still gave her three pence as compensation for the scare Mia had caused.

"I didn't expect you to have such a kind heart."

Miss Luisa teased him only after the flower-selling girl had left, knowing that Shard's financial situation wasn't very good either.

"We're all pitiful people. Although I can't help everyone, I'm willing to help those in front of me as long as it doesn't affect my own situation. Mia, those three pence will be deducted from your dinner, so don't eat anything you shouldn't."

As Shard spoke, he stroked the cat's head, and the orange cat squirmed in dissatisfaction.

Miss Luisa smiled gently:

"You really are a good person. If the pitiful girls in fairy tales could meet you, there wouldn't be so many tragedies."

Number 17 Cat Tail Alley was a three-story apartment building with an attic, featuring a dark yellow facade. The bottom of its walls along the street was covered with moss. From Miss Luisa's preliminary investigation, it seemed the entire building was owned by Professor Manning.

Because they had arranged a meeting in advance, when they knocked on the door, a plump maid confirmed their identities and invited them in. Miss Luisa was the buyer on this occasion, while Shard was hired by Miss Luisa as an attendant to protect the delicate lady who carried a substantial amount of cash on her.

The apartment at number 17 Cat Tail Alley was divided into a left and a right side, one side was rented out, and Professor Manning lived in the right building. Under the guidance of the plump maid, they ascended a somewhat narrow staircase to the second floor, where the professor, in a crowded study surrounded by books, welcomed them.

The study walls were adorned with pictures of Professor Manning in various places on the Old Continent. He seemed to be a professor specializing in archaeology, having carried out inspections around the Old Continent in his youth. Even the books piled up in the study were mostly historical in nature.

The price of professional books in this era was still very expensive, suggesting that the professor must be quite wealthy.

Professor Manning was a tall, thin old man with round glasses and a somewhat bald head. Perhaps because he had been teaching for a long time, even when he greeted Miss Luisa and Shard, his tone sounded as if he were giving a lecture. But the elderly professor was relatively kind and even served them with very nice tea.

He also had a pet cat in the house, so he didn't blame the detective for bringing a cat along. However, his cat—completely black—appeared to be fully grown and was very interested in Mia. It hid behind the desk, popping its head out to scrutinize the orange cat Shard held in his arms.

But Mia seemed not to notice it, appearing to have no interest in playing with it.