Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1981: Absolutely Loyal Witches (Alliance Hierarch Bonus)

"Yes, a very charming lady."

Megan chimed in as well, and the cat under the dress was certain, for the Grand Witch of Time glanced at her again, because she paused for a moment, and when she spoke again, there was a bit of surprise in her tone:

"Oh, Megan, what happened to you? You’ve become two... so does this mean your problem has been solved?"

"Yes, thanks to you, it has been solved. I think I’ll be advancing to the Twelfth Rank soon, I even feel that the path to the Thirteenth Rank is now open to me."

The cat couldn’t see the expression of the Thirteenth Rank Witch at this moment, but he soon heard Miss Benanis say:

"Your Excellency the Speaker, I have already advanced to the Twelfth Rank."

"I will also soon be performing the ceremony to advance to the Eleventh Rank."

Miss Sylvia also said.

Dim and shadowy figures were spread outside the skirt, and voices mingled, trying to distract the Grand Witch of Time from noticing anything peculiar. Indeed, she was again drawn to these good news:

"It seems that during this battle of Green Lake, something truly unexpected happened. However, why do you all seem so strange? Are you hiding something from me?"

"Absolutely not!"

This was the voice of Miss Aphrola:

"We are absolutely loyal to the Council!"

"Granny, tell me this: are these young women hiding anything?"

"I think not, they have all worked hard, they all have been through a lot this time."

Facing the Speaker of the Council, the other girls seemed somewhat lacking in confidence, except for Granny Cassandra, whose tone was normal. Among a group of relatively young ladies, her aged voice was the most recognizable:

"Speaking of which, Isabella, why are you here?"

The cat under the dress also wondered this, and he also noticed that Granny Cassandra was the only one to directly address the witch by name.

The voice with an indiscernible tone explained:

"I was worried about Megan and Audrey’s situation. Although you all assured me I didn’t have to come personally, how could I not worry?

When the thick fog covered Green Lake City last night, I had already arrived in the area, previously staying on an island in the real world. If I sensed Megan and Audrey were in mortal danger, I would have come to them immediately, but after waiting a whole night, they seemed to be fine throughout."

The cat under the skirt felt quite fortunate that Laplace Howard at the time used the condition of the ’God Summoner’ not summoning gods in exchange for the promise of not harming Megan. Otherwise, had the Thirteenth Rank Grand Witch of Time, who could directly use the power of the Witch Council, really appeared, Shard and that Diviner would probably have been in big trouble:

"Could he have even predicted this?"

The Grand Witch of Time had great trust in Granny Cassandra, and having received her positive answer, she did not pursue the matter further. After a few words with the ladies to ensure they were okay, and knowing the followers were seriously injured but not dead, she didn’t stay there long.

As the Speaker of the Witch Council, she rarely appears publicly, and finally instructed them to quickly resolve the aftermath of this matter, then transformed into a light and left the unique space of Green Island again.

The Butterfly Wing Girl reverted to four people, standing quietly on the dock with Luviya and the witches, waiting.

Five full minutes later, the silver cat, confirmed to be safe, poked its head out from under Miss Galina’s dress, and then the entire cat crawled out. Lecia, quick with her hands, bent down and picked up the cat with a bright smile on her face:

"Knight, oh knight, I told you, I knew I’d catch you in this form one day."

As she spoke, she stroked the fur on the back of the silver cat:

"It feels great, now I finally understand why you like Mia so much."

"Lecia, oh, let me go."

Shard said, and before Miss Galina’s hand could reach over too, he transformed from his cat form back to human form. The ladies all laughed, and even Lecia laughed while helping to tidy his hair.

Since Wednesday night’s "Green Lake Hotel Defense Battle" began, the final act of the Green Lake battle has concluded perfectly. The actors who just left the stage are gone, and the unexpected guest has come and gone as well. The protagonists on stage are safe and have gained new strength. The Outlander who once again interfered with the story’s progress hasn’t had time to jump off the stage but finds himself laughing in the company of a group of beautiful actresses.

After a tiring night, Shard did nothing else. He returned to the Green Lake Hotel on Green Island with the ladies, then saw Priest Augustus and Dr. Schneider had returned, though the doctor seemed injured; Sister Delphine sat at a table by the bonfire on the first floor, nodding gently at him; teary-eyed Angelina came over wanting to hug him but was caught by her sister; Durut Giles stayed at Edwards’ Old House, waiting with the Edwards family for Shard to handle the follow-up; the young ladies guarding this hotel, Miss Tifa, Miss Haley Aflora, Miss Dector, and more girls whose names Shard could not remember, were all here welcoming his return.

Relaxing afterward, he felt mentally exhausted, and after receiving back the equally sleepy cat from Angelina, he headed through the underground passage connecting the forested hotel to the regular hotel, returning to the Green Lake Hotel in Green Lake City.

Now dawn has come, a brand new day has arrived. But for Shard, it is time for rest. Worried no one would take care of Shard, the ladies suggested he not go home yet and rest in the hotel room.

Shard then took Mia back to their room on the third floor and fell into a deep sleep.

This way, although he would miss the remaining half-day of the Day of the Red Butterfly, everyone knew that Shard truly needed the rest.

Shard slept deeply, not even activating Magic - Moon Dream’s effect, simply allowing himself to fall into a simple unconscious slumber.

He seemed to dream about many things—dreamed of the deceased Laplace Howard, dreamed of the bygone Era set ablaze, dreamed that when time collapsed again, he came from outside the world, dreamed of Grace and Helen, Lecia and Dorothy, holding hands at the end of the deepest dark corridor, smiling while waiting for him.

Sleeping till Thursday morning at six o’clock, when he woke from the dream, the scene outside the hotel window was already a sunset.

Rising from the bed in a daze and looking outside, the fog that had enveloped Green Lake City was gone, and after a week of rain, the sky presented an unprecedented clarity. The sunset dyed half the sky red, and flocks of swallows flew in the air towards the distance.

It seems, nothing ever happened here.

The movement of Shard sitting up on the bed startled little Mia, who was lying beside his pillow. Despite having spent most of last night sleeping in Angelina’s arms, the orange and white cat still chose to rest with Shard another whole day.

The sunset outside the window dyed the cat’s orange fur into a reddish hue. Shard rubbed the cat’s back, and little Mia softly meowed, purring as a sign that Shard guessed meant calling for dinner.

"Enhanced Spatial Awareness."

Centered on this room, the layout of the hotel interior, the streets, and even the city was expanding in Shard’s mind, but there was no sign of serious spatial disorder. It seems, everything has temporarily ended.

At this moment the door was pushed open with the sound of a rolling cart, and Tifa led a group of girls in maid dresses into the room, then pushed the door into the bedroom:

"How did you know I would wake up now?"

His surprise was met with a smile from the black-haired Head Maid:

"That’s the maids’ secret."

Shard did not understand the maids’ secret. He originally wanted to chat with Tifa about this past day he slept through and what happened in the follow-up process of the Green Lake battle. But Tifa and the other Miss Maids brought him dinner, then smiled and left his room.

Shard thought that Luviya would be coming to tell him what happened during the day. However, the footsteps immediately sounded unfamiliar to him; with the tray on the small table, he was unable to leave the bed straight away. Curious, he looked towards the door and noticed the stealthy cat already had its paw reaching towards the top right corner of the tray where the grilled veal steak was placed.

Lowering his head to swat away the cat’s cheeky paw prevented Shard from seeing the initial expression of the unfamiliar footsteps girl entering the doorway. Raising his head, he saw the girl with golden-red hair already walked into the bedroom of the hotel room.

"Hmm?"

Lecia and Dorothy’s perfect facial features merged together, the figure averaging the two, only her height was extremely tall, nearly matching the average height of the witches besides Chloe.

She almost directly bumped into Shard, giving the sitting Shard a kiss both familiar and strange.

Shard’s surprise at the moment was not due to loss of memory from sleep causing him not to recognize them, but startled they could appear at this moment:

"Isn’t the Day of the Red Butterfly already over? Aren’t you still supposed to meet only once every 21 days?"

The girl straightened up, sat sideways at the bedside with a smile:

"I thought you would first comment on the kiss.

Yes, originally the Day of the Red Butterfly should have ended two hours ago, but holding the Chosen One Ceremony seemed to reset all our physical special states to zero. This time, the Day of the Red Butterfly has turned into starting from early morning today when we held the Chosen One Ceremony on Green Island. So, it actually hasn’t ended yet."

She leaned down slightly and gently kissed Shard’s lips again, with eyes filled with an emotion almost ready to ignite Shard, leaving Shard even more bewildered.