Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 291 Cat in the Bottle

"No, no, of course I'd be willing to go to the opera. I'm just curious, though, even though the curfew will be lifted next Saturday, aren't crowded places like these subject to controlled opening?"

The aftermath of the Evil God descent event obviously wouldn't just vanish so easily, which is why Shard was curious.

"It's a royal request to open it. It seems to involve a conflict between the church and the royal family. I'm not very clear on the details. Anyway, Shard, do you accept the invitation?"

Miss Luisa asked again.

"Of course, I've never seen an opera before."

Shard nodded, then asked with a hint of suspicion:

"You mentioned going to Queen Maria's Opera House to handle something, it wouldn't happen to be about collecting relics, would it?"

"How could there be so many relics for me to collect? Do you think those are something you can come across just like that?"

Miss Luisa laughed and then explained:

"It's to pick up a delivery. I had someone bring back some sensitive items from abroad, there shouldn't be any accidents. Shard, the number of registered relics doesn't exceed five figures, and we are not chosen by fate, so how could we regularly encounter relics?"

"Speaking of which, Miss Luisa, do you know about the Angel-Level (1st Level) relic incident in one of Tobesk's subordinate towns? This proves that danger is actually very close to us."

Shard had already set Mia Cat aside; the cat's body temperature was higher than that of humans, and holding it in summer was like holding a small furnace. He now picked up his water glass again.

"Speaking of relic incidents..."@@@@

The blonde writer glanced at Shard, her emerald eyes twinkling with amusement:

"My friend, Princess Lecia, is now in Coldwater Port. She wrote to tell me that a severe relic incident also occurred in Coldwater Port City. It was said to involve a set of cursed Sage-Level (2nd Level) mermaid statues."

"Cough, cough."

Shard, who was drinking water, choked:

"Is there any more news?"

"Lecia said that the first group of people cursed by the statues all died, but the last person did not die from the curse but was killed by a gunshot."

Miss Luisa observed Shard's expression as she spoke. Shard, who was wiping his mouth with a towel, didn't notice she was watching him.

"Are you interested in this matter? There's some other news. The church believes the dock scheduler who died from a gunshot was very valuable, perhaps his strange ritual did indeed summon something, so they did divination on the cause of his death."

Shard nodded; he was carrying The Twenty-Sided Die of Destiny at the time and was not afraid of divination:

"I guess they must have divined something, right?"

"Worried about interference from the relic, they specifically asked the local Prophet's Society's diviners for help, even using a large-scale ritual for assistance, and they used a Scribe-Level relic to help as well."

Miss Luisa spoke in a calm voice.

The Twenty-Sided Die of Destiny can interfere with fate, but it isn't the only way to clear away the fog.

"So, what was the outcome in the end?"

He asked.

Miss Luisa lowered her voice as she spoke:

"The divination was very vague, but they still obtained a few important clues."

She glanced at Shard's expression, placed the fountain pen into the crease of the notebook, then said while flexing her wrist:

"The murderer came to the dock scheduler's home—there's a large link to that seemingly ineffectual pentagram ritual."

Shard had indeed decided to investigate after seeing the bloodstains on the ceiling.

"The murderer comes from the sea."

Shard had indeed crawled out from the sea.

"The murderer comes from afar."

Shard had indeed traveled from distant Tobesk to Coldwater Port City.

"The murderer uses the power of the Evil God."

Shard had indeed used the sorcery "Underwater Breathing" from the God of the Deep Sea Drowned.

"Before the murderer left, their body nearly merged with the fish."

Shard had indeed used a fish to carry out spatial travel.

He was very surprised that the divination was so accurate, although he knew that the Church still couldn't possibly know it was him, he was still somewhat worried. Shard hesitantly probed:

"So, the Church believes that the killer of the last deceased is..."

"Meow?"

The ginger cat behind Shard peeked out its head at him, its pointed ears perked up, amber eyes fixed on the bottle.

"Priest, you're actually able to concoct such a magic potion?"

Shard asked, a look of admiration on his face.

"Of course not. What are you thinking? I'm only Second Ring. This top-tier magic potion, which can alter a Circle Sorcerer's body, even Saint Byrons only has a few people who can make it. I bought this expired magic potion from the black market, wanting to research it for a class report. But after getting it, I discovered that not only had it expired for at least thirty years, but also that something terrible had been mixed into the magic potion."

The priest's face turned serious:

"Look closely, is there something black like silk velvet within the white liquid?"

Shard picked up the bottle, shook the liquid that was about to coalesce into a cat, and peered inside for quite some time before he saw:

"Yes, there definitely is."

"This is a curse compound; with this substance present in the magic potion, I'm afraid the bottle will sooner or later give birth to something even more frightful. Therefore, I've tried some exorcism methods in the church."

Although Priest Augustus wasn't a Church Ring Sorcerer, as a senior clergy member, it was impossible that he didn't know any exorcism methods.

"Did it work?"

"It did work. When I first got this bottle of potion, at least one-fifth of its contents were black. I thought it might be mold at first until I discovered it had a strange reaction when it came into contact with the Holy Emblem, which is when I realized it was cursed. But that's all I could do. I remember Luisa saying that you could perform exorcisms too, so I wanted to ask for your help. If it still doesn't work, we'll have to hand it over to the Academy to deal with it."

Stay connected via My Virtual Library Empire

He pointed to the bottle, and both Mia Cat and Shard looked inside with great interest. When the milky, pure white liquid gradually took the shape of a cat, it didn't change like modeling clay; instead, it started forming from the inside out, starting with the organs, which looked disgustingly realistic.

"Exorcism? No problem."

Shard looked around and stood up, picking up his coat from the rack near the doorway. He took the bottle in his right hand, wrapping the coat around it:

"Priest Augustus, please don't look directly at my hand. Silvermoon!"

The dazzling radiance shone through the black fabric, but it wasn't blinding because it was covered.

"If it's not too consuming, try it a few more times."

The priest stroked his chin and suggested, Shard nodded, and then the coat in his hand continued to light up frequently. Not knowing for sure what would be sufficient, he counted to twenty before stopping.

He held the bottle up to his eyes for inspection and saw that there were no longer any black traces in the white liquid. There was, however, some black sediment at the bottom. It looked heavy and needed a strong shake for it to float up, but it did not dissolve.

"Is this good?"

He passed the bottle to the priest, and the Old Cleric looked at it for a long while, finally smiling:

"Very good, this will do. The liquid above is just expired unfinished Magic Potion, and the solid below is the cursed aggregate. Once I separate it out, it can be used as precious Spellcasting Materials... I do have some rather good curses in my Sorcery. Shard, you've worked hard."

"It's just a small matter. Oh, Priest, actually, I have something to ask you too. Next week I want to try preparing some Joy Elixir and Eternal Slumber Water, and I need your guidance. Do you have time?"

"The practical content of the first-year Magic Potion class? Of course, that's quite simple. Come find me at the church on Wednesday morning; Bishop Owen wanted to talk to you as well."

He got up, ready to say goodbye, as curfew was almost upon them, and he could not stay long.

"Wednesday, then? Okay."

Shard stood up, with Mia immediately following.

Descending the stairs with Priest Augustus, the two discussed next week's exams and the matters of Holy Prayer Day.

The Old Cleric was also troubled by the examinations, and it wasn't the exams themselves he complained about:

"Thinking about exams gives me a headache. At my age, I still have to take exams—when I was young, I never thought I'd have to deal with this."

"So what did you think your later years would be like when you were young?"

Shard helped Priest Augustus open the door, as the priest placed his hat on his head:

"To have some savings of my own, and then with the help of the church, take up a government welfare job where I could get paid without working; preferably more than half a pound a week. To have my own house in Tobesk, where I'd drink tea and read the newspaper every day, and maybe keep a cat like you do... Look, Shard, why do I feel like you've already achieved the standards I set for myself when I was young?"

With that, the Old Cleric himself laughed. He patted Shard on the shoulder and then stepped out the door.

The afterglow of the setting sun had reached the rooftops of the houses across the square, and the dazzling golden light made Shard squint instinctively. As Priest Augustus walked into the sunset, Shard stood by the door, watching his figure recede:

"If I can be as carefree as Priest Augustus when I'm old, that would be wonderful."

The young Priest envied Shard's current life, and the young Shard admired the Old Cleric's life experiences, prompting more reflections on his life in a foreign land.

[What reflections?]

Shard gently closed the door, keeping the sunlight and the square outside.

"Even in this world, having one's own house is the most important sign of a successful life."