Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 1073: Apprentice and Another Identity

Chapter 1073: Chapter 1073: Apprentice and Another Identity

Speaking of the Demigod Witch, Miss Galina suddenly raised an eyebrow:

"By the way, the Chosen One Ceremony of Wisdom and Knowledge can give Enlightenment to others. I wonder if it will..."

Miss Sylvia silently nodded, and then the three of them left the Council.

There was an important banquet to attend in the evening, so Shard and Miss Sylvia didn’t stay long. After bidding farewell to Miss Galina and Tifa, the two took the same carriage back to the city.

Almost the moment the carriage left the manor, the young witch sitting opposite Shard immediately spoke:

"Shard, you are even more... remarkable than I thought."

The adjective she first thought of was definitely not "remarkable."

"So what do you want to ask?"

Shard decided to give Miss Sylvia ample trust. This witch, who intended to make him her apprentice, indeed seemed trustworthy.

"Apprenticeship, investment, these don’t need to be discussed for now. What I’m currently very interested in are your past experiences."

She bit her lip, her golden eyes gazing at Shard:

"Yes, very interested."

"I..."

"No, no, first, I want you to fully trust me and not tell your story to me because of Miss Galina or any other reason."

"Full trust?"

"Yes."

The current youngest Grand Witch in the Council gently pulled Shard’s hand with her right hand, and her left hand suddenly looped around his neck.

"Again?"

Emma Sylvia kissed Shard in the jolting carriage.

The perfume scents on different witches are always different, and the scent even made Shard almost forget the time. It wasn’t until Miss Sylvia pushed him away that he frowned and complained:

"Ma’am, this is really impolite."

Witches are always like this.

"Your kissing technique is really poor; what does Miss Galina usually do?"

The young witch wiped her lips and looked at Shard with a playful smile. Shard’s lack of resistance was a very clear signal:

"Don’t ask me why, Shard. In the distant past, it was quite common for a young apprentice to become the lover of the teacher."

Apparently, the chaotic private life of the Grand Witches of the Fifth Era still exceeded Shard’s imagination.

"Not only in the Fifth Era, but even in further ancient times."

She seemed to have seen through what Shard was thinking:

"Now I kind of want to change my mind, young gentleman. Perhaps having you as my lover might be better than making you my apprentice. I admire your soul; Miss Galina is really lucky."

She leaned back slightly, her eyes still on Shard:

"After kissing a lady, is there nothing you want to say?"

"I... Are witches always this impolite? This isn’t the first time I’ve been forcibly kissed by a witch."

"You should get used to it."

Miss Sylvia said, not bothering to ask if Shard wanted to establish a new relationship with her.

She sat by Shard’s side and grabbed his hand:

"There’s less than a twenty-minute drive before we return to the city. Oh, my apprentice, maybe you really should properly learn some lady-kissing techniques."

She said, giving Shard a playful wink:

"I should remind you, we are in a carriage, and if you don’t want to walk back to the city, I guess you can’t refuse me."

Only at times like these does Shard remember that Miss Emma Sylvia is one of the few ladies younger in actual age than this body of his.

On the way back to the city, Shard initially planned to drop Miss Sylvia at the Canary Estate before heading to the northern Saint Delan Square, but instead, he had the driver go directly to Saint Delan Square. The young Grand Witch smirked, wiping her lips, teasing Shard’s "enthusiasm" for learning, but that was not what Shard had in mind.

"Please come inside."

Opening the door to his house, Shard invited Miss Sylvia into the basement. As she curiously inspected the place, Shard summoned his Ring of Fate, the Spiritual Light of the Space-Time Spirit Rune illuminated the walls, revealing the hidden passage:

"Please follow me."

Miss Sylvia followed curiously. As Shard, leading the way, arrived at the center of the circular space and looked at the Ancient God Statue, the place lit up. The witch following behind him was now too stunned to speak:

"Space Ancient God!"

"Yes, ma’am. Try and see if you can approach this Divine Statue."

Shard came to the statue’s edge, as only Circle Sorcerers with spatial power could enter the Spatial Labyrinth through this statue. But first, they needed to approach the Ancient God’s statue, which required a powerful soul and spiritual power.

The witch walked arduously, but with her head lowered, she still managed to reach Shard’s side. Shard took her hand:

"Tomorrow you will be leaving, and I think it’s necessary for you to establish a landmark here. Actually, Miss Galina knows about this place, which is also why I can appear in Huntington City freely. Miss Sylvia, please recite with me—"

He held Miss Sylvia’s hand, touching it to the divine statue:

"May the Primordial Rift bless us in Infinite Space."

"May the Primordial Rift bless us in Infinite Space."

The white mist spread around, engulfing everything. The Grand Witch took a deep breath, looking at everything before her. In her eyes, there was only a dilapidated wooden signpost on the mist-thin path:

"The Council’s records are actually true! The maze left by the Ancient God of Space, a foundational coordinate point passing through the space of the material world! It’s true, the secrets of the world, the mysteries of space, and those ancient legends!"

The witch with black shoulder-length hair looked at Shard with fervent eyes:

"Young knight."

"What’s the matter?"

"Have you kissed other ladies here?"

A moment before, it had not happened, but a moment after, the experience was there. The scent of Miss Sylvia’s perfume was indeed quite pleasant.

(Mia running...)

As Miss Sylvia sat in the carriage returning to the Canary Estate, her face almost bursting into a smile, she arranged to meet Shard at the party in the evening. Shard didn’t stay home either but took a carriage to Old John’s pawnshop.

Upon opening the door, he was surprised to find the shop slightly empty. Given that it was usually a pile of cluttered junk here, there was actually still quite some stock now.

"Old Man John, are you moving the shop?"

Shard asked suspiciously, and as he approached the counter, he saw two black suitcases behind it:

"Dr. Schneider said you’ve been here since he became a Circle Sorcerer, why think of moving now?"

"Not moving away, just going on a trip south for a while... Do you think the winter in the Great Swamp is a bit warmer?"

The old man asked, and Shard pondered:

"You should hope more that there are fewer mosquitoes."

The old man nodded in agreement:

"Yes, I’ve prepared plenty of insect repellent and snake protection potions and powders. Oh, Detective, are you here to buy anything? You’re truly lucky, if you had come at night, I would have already left."

Shard blinked:

"Just passing by, so I came in to look around."

"I don’t believe that, but if you really have nothing, leave now, I’m closing the shop too. I’ll definitely be back before the Year-End Festival. If you need custom alchemical items during this time, go to this address and find Sean. I never imagined I’d end up referring business to other people."

He muttered as he handed Shard a business card, then glanced up at Shard:

"Just as you came, do me a favor. Before this Friday, go to Copus, who sells corpse materials outside the city, and give him this delivery note."

Without waiting for Shard’s agreement, he pulled out a folded piece of paper from under the counter and pushed it to him.

Shard, of course, wouldn’t refuse; Old John, although a bit stingy, always looked out for him:

"I thought you wouldn’t like doing business with those who deal in corpse materials."

"But it’s unavoidable to use those materials. Do you want me to grave rob myself?"

The old man shook his head as he spoke, then handed Shard a handful of loose change:

"Remember, deliver it before Friday. This is 1 pound and 7 pence, consider it your commission fee. I’m being very generous this time."

Shard admired Old John’s ability to know the exact amount of a random handful of change.

Although he ran into Old John, who was about to leave Tobesk, obviously not having the time to help Shard investigate the "Miss Chloe" matter, he went to Coldwater Port City after having lunch at home.

Swimming from the underground cave to the dock, after bathing and changing clothes at Aphrola Manor, he first went to the Circle Sorcerer’s black market at the Seven Brooms Tavern in the city, then by carriage went to the old lighthouse on the sea cliff outside the city, where he met the folklore scholar, Mr. Edmund:

"Thank goodness, you’re not planning to go on a trip to the Pantanal Swamp, are you?"

Shard was relieved upon seeing the familiar old man after knocking on the lighthouse door.

"That’s strange, why would I go to the Pantanal region..."

The old man moved aside to let Shard in, then gave him a curious look:

"How do you know Old John is going there? He shouldn’t have revealed his destination."

"I guessed."

Shard entered the familiar lighthouse, which was well-ventilated, so the fishy odor wasn’t strong:

"I’ve come to commission the Guiding Light Hermitage to investigate a witch from the early Fifth Era. Today is Tuesday, and I hope to have those materials by Saturday night."

"A Witch of the Fifth Era? That’s possible, but such information is expensive, even I can’t offer it cheaply."

The old man warned, gesturing for Shard to sit and talk:

"And I can’t guarantee to find it, you know how sporadic information is from before the Era, let alone from the early Fifth Era."