Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic
Chapter 1079: The Mad Seeker

Chapter 1079: Chapter 1079: The Mad Seeker

The citizens who had gathered to watch had already pieced together what had happened here without needing to specifically inquire about the situation nearby.

The fire broke out at around eight o’clock last night, flames erupted from within the library filled with books, and quickly engulfed the entire building. By the time it was discovered, it was already too late, and the fire burned all night until it was finally extinguished.

As the flames were being put out, people discovered a charred corpse in the library’s basement rubble, and based on the remnants of melted metal items and dental impressions, they identified the body as that of the library’s owner, Mr. Booker.

The entire library was completely consumed, the fire swallowing everything, leaving only the collapsed ruins of the building and those few wisps of warm smoke that were rare in winter.

Onlookers from the nearby residents, firefighters, and police gathered around the ruins, making the once desolate library livelier than anywhere else for the first time, but Mr. Booker, who had passed away, could never know any of this.

In fact, during the winter, due to the use of fireplaces, kerosene lamps, and other sources of heat, fires were a common occurrence, so even with the police investigating, people still believed that it was likely an accident. After all, there were no signs of tampering with the safe discovered later, and the gold items and valuables in the also-burnt basement had not been looted.

Understanding the general circumstances, Shard still found this incident somewhat puzzling.

He and Luviya boarded the carriage again to head home, and on the carriage, Shard asked Luviya to perform a divination to see if it was truly an accident.

Luviya, who was also a Four Rings like Shard at the time, used some debris she picked up from the ruins as divination material and tossed coins three times before nodding to Shard:

"It seems to be an accident. An unattended kerosene lamp ignited the desk, which then spread the fire throughout the entire library."

But after saying this, the girl with the purple eyes frowned slightly:

"But this doesn’t feel right. You know, my divination talent is very good, and this result feels as if someone deliberately interfered with the divination."

There are many ways to interfere with divination, such as the [Twenty-Sided Die of Destiny] Shard carries with him.

Without Shard asking, she tried to break through the interference herself. But it was very difficult, and even by the time they returned to Saint Delan Square, Luviya still hadn’t found a way to successfully conduct the divination.

And when they entered the door, with Mia happily scampering down the stairs, the girl with the purple eyes said to Shard again:

"Yesterday in bed, when you told me about what you did with that princess, I remember you mentioning it. Last night after nine, while you were kissing Margaret Anjou in the back garden of the Canary Estate, Lakin Prisia jumped down from the garden wall."

"Do you suspect he set the library on fire?"

Shard asked while changing his shoes, and Luviya nodded as they went upstairs together:

"You and he went to contain a book on Monday, and the library caught fire on Tuesday night. Where can you find such a coincidence? We need to investigate this matter clearly."

"How about I go investigate now? You know, I still have some connections at MI6."

Shard said, pausing his steps on the stairs, but Luviya shook her head:

"Since the arsonist thought of interfering with divination, it’s impossible they left you any clues. Instead of investigating, why not use a simpler method, Shard, how many coins do you have left?"

"Two [Coins of Wisdom]."

Shard replied, but immediately shook his head:

"I can almost predict that the Chosen One Ceremony will inevitably be held within seven days, only waiting for Margaret’s party to arrive in Huntington City. At this time, are you sure you want to consume the few remaining coins?"

Luviya frowned slightly, paused on the stairs before continuing upwards:

"Having the coins is for divination. My inspiration tells me that this matter is very important and it’s worth it."

So Shard returned to the basement and took out the coins. The two still performed the divination in the living room, and as the sky-blue coin was tossed high into the air, both Shard and the cat saw cracks and rust appear at its apex until it disintegrated into a cloud of dust while falling.

Luviya opened her eyes:

"He went with you on Monday to contain the [Book of the Fool], partly for the relic, but after seeing the knowledge inside, he didn’t care about the book itself; on the other hand, he had already heard of Mr. Booker’s collection and coveted it. On Monday, it was actually a reconnaissance."

"Did Sir really start the fire?"

"Yes, he planned to do this before leaving Tobesk City. This way, it would be impossible for anyone to link it to him. During last night’s banquet at the Canary Estate, he left the estate, snuck into the library, and emptied the basement’s precious collection. Then he killed Mr. Booker, who coincidentally hadn’t left yet, and took the books he fancied from the ground floor."

Luviya spoke with a serious expression:

"Few people know what kinds of books Mr. Booker had in his underground collection room, so after stealing the books, Lakin Prisia put a few books from the ground floor into the vacant space. As for the books that went missing from the library, since the library had a large collection and after such a big fire, it’s hard to tell that several books were missing even before the fire."

She sighed softly:

"Who would have thought that The Chosen One of Knowledge and Wisdom would personally burn down a library?"

Shard pursed his lips slightly:

"Guarding the library is within the domain of the Ancient God [Sage of Silvermoon] with the power of the [Recorder]."

He also remembered what the doctor said in the downstairs hall yesterday morning:

"Mad with curiosity."

"Probably because of this, from your description, the book collector, Mr. Booker, is unlikely to casually sell the books in his collection room."

Luviya nodded, and Shard still couldn’t understand:

"But for a few books, he burned down a library and killed an innocent person? I can now slightly understand why Sir looked down on my friend, Professor Drake, on Monday."

"You yourself mentioned the mad desire for knowledge. And it seems like the things the demon told you about Lakin Prisia are most likely true..."

Luviya took a few deep breaths:

"Shard, if you had the chance to acquire a very precious Roder Card, but you had to burn down a Roder Card Club and kill an innocent person, would you do it?"

"Of course not. Not even for the Impermanence Card would I murder an innocent person."

Shard answered honestly:

"Of course, that’s also because I have more choices."

Luviya smiled faintly and picked up the cat lying on Shard’s lap, and this time Mia surprisingly did not struggle:

"That’s the difference between you and him—the enemy of wisdom is the Sage. Curiosity can be good sometimes, but the thirst for knowledge must be controlled. Think about why knowledge and wisdom are the titles of this Chosen One? Knowledge builds wisdom, and wisdom acquires knowledge."

"Why is it that every Chosen One we encounter is so peculiar? The Chosen of Darkness steps into darkness, the Chosen of Death reverses death, and now the Chosen of Knowledge and Wisdom is madly pursuing knowledge..."

Shard sighed.

"At least Iluna is still considered normal."

Luviya reminded him, and Shard continued to sigh:

"But even so, we can’t resolve Sir Drake before he performs the ceremony. If the qualifications fall into Miss Pawo’s hands, the trouble may be even greater."

This is not only because Miss Pawo is Six Rings, one ring higher than Sir Prisia, but also because she is backed by the Truth Society. A Chosen One appearing from the Truth Society will directly affect the matters after the final door is pushed open.

"Yes. If we can’t simultaneously deal with Sir Prisia and Miss Pawo, and find the third candidate, then resolve it after Lakin Prisia’s ceremony, as we did with Daknis. Or at least let the Church imprison him. Saying so might sound arrogant, but... a rational and wise madman is even more terrifying than a pure lunatic like Daknis."

Luviya said, and Shard nodded. He was about to talk about the ceremony he planned to perform tonight, to resonate with the power of the moon, when suddenly he heard bells ringing downstairs:

"Who would be looking for me now? It’s another client seeking the lost cat."

He opened the door downstairs and found Iluna at the entrance. Shard smiled and made room for her to pass:

"Come on up, Luviya is here too, we’re discussing the Chosen One matters, Sir Prisia has done something wrong."

"Wrong?"

The seventeen-year-old girl quickly entered the door:

"We’ll talk about that later, I have an urgent matter. Is Luviya here too? Great, I was just planning to look for her later."

The two returned to the second floor. Hearing Iluna’s voice, Luviya also stood up from the sofa, and the latter spoke quickly:

"Good morning, Luviya, please listen to me. An hour ago, I received a notice telling me to pack my luggage and probably leave tonight for the south. The notice didn’t mention the specific location, but the landing spot should be in the northern part of the Pantanal Swamp, within Draleon territory."

The entrance to the Great Swamp area isn’t just one place, and the location of Huntington City isn’t strictly the best. However, it’s not the worst either.

"It seems the Church has confirmed it’s Pantanal, their response is really quick."

Luviya nodded, looking at the two standing together:

"This time, we’ll also rely on you both."

Iluna nodded heavily at Shard, then said:

"Wait for my good news, Shard, we’ll meet again in half a week."

"Alright, see you in Pantanal. But before that, we have one last thing to solve."

Shard took out the last Coin of Wisdom:

"Directly divining the Chosen One, Luviya couldn’t provide a result. So, Luviya, please divine what the Pantanal Voodoos, who seem to want to cooperate with the Chosen One in Tobesk, are planning to do recently."

He handed out the coin, and Luviya tossed it into the air. Suddenly, she groaned as Shard quickly supported her. Her continued divination was exhausting her spiritual power:

"The Voodoo Society wants to release the Evil Creatures of Pantanal, and not only Pantanal’s Evil Creatures. There is more than one evil object sealed in the Great Swamp Area. When the stars reach the right position, it will be the best time to break the seals. However, the Voodoo Society must utilize the power of the fourth Chosen One, and the fourth Chosen One chose to perform the ceremony in the Great Swamp Area because the venue provided by the Voodoo Society has a way to enhance his power and allow him to touch the true crown of wisdom."

Luviya was supported by Shard, her purple eyes looking at the two:

"There’s no more information to divine, but the Evil Creatures of Pantanal are even more terrifying than the Level 0 Relic Interstice of Life and Death. Even though the Pantanal Region has almost no human settlements, we absolutely can’t let it return to the material world."