The news of the Dragon Feast Cult arranging a eting ti with the "God Summoner" ca on the morning of the new Monday, the day after the assassination and border conflict.
Shard was yawning, holding a newspaper and two bottles of goat milk, with Mia gazing at the milk bottle on his shoulder, as he walked out from a hidden space in the basent of the Green Lake Hotel, only to see Luviya standing there talking to Iluna.
He didn’t expect to see them so early. The Prophet’s Society’s large divination ceremony had temporarily concluded, allowing Luviya to relax a bit locally. However, Iluna was supposed to be the main character of the Green Lake battle on Wednesday, and Shard hadn’t expected that she could find the opportunity to arrive here under such tense circumstances.
"As The Chosen One, my freedom is limitless."
The girl with beautiful brown long hair said with a smile, then invited Shard to join her for breakfast.
Concerned about being seen by others, the trio chose to have breakfast in Shard’s room. The Witch Council had yet to report any news from the Dragon Feast Cult due to delays in transmission, but Iluna obtained firsthand information:
"The ti is urgent; the eting is tonight. It’s essentially confird that it’s Nadia Folan who is inviting you for the eting."
During Saturday’s ball, Shard ntioned that the Dragon Feast Cult had discovered another Fragnt of Poem Chapter, causing the main Circle Sorcerers to leave Green Lake, leading Iluna to further speculate:
"On one hand, Nadia Folan is indeed dissatisfied with her ancestor; on the other hand, the Dragon Feast Cult has no interest in Green Lake anymore, considering forming a certain degree of tacit understanding with the True God Church. This should not be a trap; you can go with confidence."
Luviya asked with concern:
"Where exactly is the eting ti and place? Here or across the shore?"
"Not clear. They’ve provided a one-ti special alchemical item only viewable by one person and imdiately destroyed afterward. That item will be delivered to the Witch Council this morning, and Shard should receive it by noon. Although the Church has ans to bypass these constraints, so respect must be shown to the ’God Summoner’."
Iluna explained, and Shard nodded knowingly:
"No problem, I’ll go tonight, hoping Nadia Folan can directly offer a way for to follow gan and the others to the island."
"I heard Priest Augustus saying you brought Mia back to rest early last night; were you making preparations?"
Luviya asked again, and Shard nodded, taking out the small Bronze Bell obtained from Black Mist Camp from his outer pocket:
"That Old God of Wealth and Trade inford of three uses for the Philosopher’s Stone. Using it as a one-ti item to achieve Max Effect Spellcasting will be of great use this ti. Even if not for following Edwards onto the island, nor for use against that Diviner, it’s good to use it for finally sealing the island with Maze Lock ’Kiss of the Tree’. I studied it carefully last night, and despite its complexity, for so reason, I seem to have a talent for using the Philosopher’s Stone; using it to cast spells is quite simple for ... What kind of talent is this?"
He intended to translate the text on the Bronze Bell into Sixth Era’s language and transcribe it when he had the ti and share it with the girls around him. Though the text on the Bronze Bell was sparse, the information it contained was imnse, and once translated and recorded, it could probably be written into a book.
Among them, making the Elixir of Immortality was the most complex, crafting gold was second difficult, whereas using the Philosopher’s Stone as a one-ti item for spellcasting was surprisingly the simplest.
"By the way, Shard, won’t the Church directly contacting you through the Witch Council puzzle the other witches who don’t know you?"
Iluna asked worriedly again, and Shard shook his head:
"It’s okay, Miss Galina has reported to the Church long ago that the God Summoner and she shared so shallow ties; she can contact him, but he won’t necessarily respond every ti."
"Oh, the other witches mistook you for a woman then."
Iluna finally relaxed, secretly hoping Shard could avoid those strange won.
The trio continued eating around the small tea table, Shard stroking Mia as she lapped up the goat milk. He thought no other issues would arise, but upon looking up, he noticed Iluna signaling to Luviya with her eyes. Realizing Shard was looking, Iluna imdiately pretended to be deeply interested in the bacon on her plate, keeping her head down and avoiding eye contact with Shard.
As for Luviya, she took a deep breath:
"There’s sothing else to tell you. I have sothing to give you; I hope you’ll accept it."
Shard blinked:
"You’re giving a gift? What’s there for not to accept? However, my perceived birthday is the day the doctor found , which is next month, on the 22nd day of Sunlight Moon in June. There’s still a month until then; you’re giving a birthday gift in advance? Traditionally, people pay less attention to birthdays after eighteen. I’m not like Lecia and Margaret, those unmarried noblewon; no need to give birthday gifts."
Iluna’s ears moved behind her hair, carefully noting the details of Shard’s birthday.
"Not a gift for you. Actually, I’ve been preparing this item before leaving Tobesk, Old John helped acquire the target item, but it’s been delayed for a while. Until I arrived at Green Lake City, Granny Natalie, an acquaintance of Old John’s here, finally passed it to ."
She cautiously retrieved a red jewelry box, small enough to hold earrings or rings. Upon opening, inside was a vertically embedded round transparent glass, upon closer inspection it revealed a monocle.
"Relic?"
"Yes, a Poet-Level Relic - [Rift]. Its feature is simple: when placed in front of your eye, it makes it easier to glimpse the fine cracks on objects that are hard to notice. It is contained by placing it between two identical objects, and its negative trait is that if you see nonexistent eyes through the rift, eyes will grow on your own body."
Shard took out the arc-shaped glass and found that the surface was not empty but had marked cracks. There was a line of extrely obscure small text on the edge, so small that Shard had to stroke it with his finger for her to decipher—
"The world itself is a rift."
"The primary function of this item is to detect cracks, such as the hidden entrances of secret rooms almost blended with the walls. But it also significantly weakens the power of Demon Eyes, sorcery, and arcane techniques that require ’eye contact’ to take effect when placed in front of you."
Luviya continued, casting a glance at Shard, and revealed her true intention:
"But in truth, few realize this item originates from the early Second Era—around the ti the Ancient Gods began to depart. It once belonged to the temple of the Ancient God of Space, [Primordial Rift], and was part of the eyes of a divine statue. After the statue shattered in unknown eons, it was a top-tier Divine Item, losing power over the millennia, eventually becoming a relic and arriving in my hands."
"An item related to the Ancient Gods?"
"Yes, I’ve t the Old Witch and privately t the Red Butterfly Sisters, confirming they are in the third position. However, as for their items, no need for to prepare, this is for..."
Luviya bit her lip, looked at Shard, and fell silent.
Shard understood imdiately. The first-in-line diviner must be prepared, the item for second-in-line Durut Giles would be prepared by the Witch Council, and third-in-line Grace and Helen already possess the red Treasure Bead. So this is for Dorothy and Lecia.
"I know you dislike such outcos, but we must plan for any possibility."
Luviya continued, expecting Shard to show dissatisfaction, but Shard rely showed a lancholy expression, then nodded, pushing Mia’s little head away from the plate:
"Understood, I’ll give this to Dorothy later and ask her to keep it with the Angel Feather."
"See, Luviya, I said earlier that Shard would understand the necessity of this."
Iluna finally looked up, the girl with purple eyes also smiled:
"Yes, Shard always knows what needs to be done."
Shard looked at the lens in his hand, trying to place it in front of his right eye to look at Iluna and Luviya but was imdiately stopped as both of them grabbed his arm:
"Shard, you must understand, nothing in this world is perfect. So by using it to observe the world, you’ll notice many flaws on things you originally deed ’beautiful.’ We’re having breakfast right now, don’t look at this."
Shard then put away the lens, understanding they didn’t want to ruin the impression he had of them.
"But, you might use it to look at Mia."
Luviya laughingly suggested.
"ow?"
The cat, eating breakfast, suddenly lifted its head, cautiously looking at Shard. Seeing he made no move, it lowered its head again to continue eating.
"Since it’s Monday, Shard, what did you receive this week?"
Iluna asked again.
"Although not an ordinary item, it’s not very useful either. A bouquet of white flowers, probably sprayed with so magic potion, seems to remain in bloom for many days, but the flowers themselves are a common species. The task is to give a flower to a friend; I plan to complete it after Wednesday."
He planned to give Iluna this bouquet along with her birthday gift; otherwise, just a balance and golden apple would be too bland.
While Shard mused, he saw Luviya use her fork to put slices of the apple she’d just cut in front of him. Surprised, he saw her purple eyes watching him intently. Only then did he bite into the apple. He then sliced off a small piece of sausage and handed it to Iluna.
Iluna, having noticed their intimate action earlier, pretended not to see it by lowering her head. But when Shard’s fork reached over, the seventeen-year-old raised her head imdiately. She bit her lip, expectant, and seeing Luviya watching her with a smile, flushed and ate what Shard offered.
She also then picked up a sausage slice with her fork and handed it to Luviya, and Miss Diviner, of course, wouldn’t refuse. The breakfast atmosphere was excellent, and the trio, gathered from the start, were ready to face another challenge with good spirits.
Only the cat remained confused for a long ti why no one fed it.
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