The red accident card was "Elven Treasure", an unexpected event whose probability was increased by the platinum influence card, "High Noble". The kingdom acquired a treasure made by the elves. But this treasure was not a weapon, nor even a physical object—it was a wisp of "wind".
"The Elves' Wind of Freedom". The direction the wind blows is the direction the heart yearns for. That was the card's description. As for the treasure's effect, once used, it would ensure that any event related to natural disasters within a single year would be automatically resolved without needing to use any other cards.
For Jenkins and Miss Silf, who were currently a bit short on cards, this was an excellent draw. But Jenkins didn't plan to use it yet, because the "Elven Treasure" event wasn't as simple as just receiving the wisp of wind. It had been obtained through an adventure after Miss Silf used the "Star-Forged Magic Sword" card once.
While playing out the "adventure" from the magic sword card, she had once again lifted her head as if listening, and had once again heard the voice of an unfamiliar woman. Though she couldn't identify the speaker, she was certain it was the sa person as the first ti:
"The three powerful symbols we need to prepare are not actual, existing symbols, but symbols from the cards within this ga."
This ti, the information was much clearer. The first ti, it had been just a few words, but this ti it was a complete, coherent sentence. According to Miss Silf's description, the speaker was definitely a young woman, and she was speaking standard Elvish.
She was quite certain the speaker was rely a mortal, which allowed Jenkins to imdiately pinpoint the source:
"Sigrid."
As for why they had received such a clear "revelation" this ti, Jenkins attributed it to his own recent reckless decision—his impulse to tell the female king about the knowledge of an electrical age. The "earthquake" that had occurred then was no ordinary quake; the stable space of this realm had likely shifted because of it.
It was precisely for this reason that the transmission of information from the outside had suddenly beco easier.
However, obtaining three elven symbol cards was still quite difficult. "The Elves' Wind of Freedom" certainly counted as one. The "Star-Forged Magic Sword", though created using elven forging techniques, apparently did not qualify as an elven symbol. Therefore, over the next three years, they had to find a way to acquire at least two more treasures related to the elves.
Although they didn't know what kind of help the outside world intended to provide, it was, on the whole, better than nothing.
The seventh year brought no new influence cards, but they did gain a new hazard: "Unstable Populace".
This hazard, along with "Doomsday Theory" and "Pus of Man", increased the probability of certain event cards appearing. And at the very start of the eighth year, it led to the appearance of the "Miserable Era" card.
This was a complex event card. The event described how, despite the developnt of the kingdom's steam industry, the lives of the poor in the lower strata of society had not improved. An accumulation of resentnt, anger, and tragedy ford the "Miserable Era" that began the eighth year. If this event was not resolved, the kingdom would gain the "Miserable Era" hazard, and the appearance rate of cards like "Riots" and "Great Strikes" would increase again.
"How did we beco the villains? We've been helping them all along, so why did it turn out like this?"
Miss Silf couldn't understand it at all.
"Sotis, events develop in a direction completely opposite to people's efforts, not to ntion that fellow we're up against is deliberately steering things. This isn't our fault. It seems this is just how reality is."
Jenkins briefly explained the state of the world at the end of the 18th Epoch, then concluded:
"It's guiding the card ga, forcing the kingdom towards a situation identical to the end of the 18th Epoch. 'Steam Kingdom' has absorbed so many 'Steam' cards that I suspect in the final, tenth year, they'll rge directly into a 'Difference Engine' card. And the hazard centered around 'Pus of Man' will cause the wax figures around us to erupt with the Pus of Man curse."
These were two completely different traps, one inside the ga and one outside. This wasn't even a guess; it was their current reality.
"Then what do we do? Do we just put all our hope in help from the outside?"
"Of course not. There are still three years left in the ga, and I think I have an idea. This Mysterious Realm corresponds to the Savior identity 'Uncrowned King'. The Difference Engine wants to use my failure to prove that I'm not a worthy king of humanity. If that's the case..."
In the end, the "Miserable Era" event couldn't be properly resolved. Simply playing "Maintain Stability" was useless against such a situation, so after the turn ended, the "Miserable Era" hazard appeared.
After that, the three hazards—"Miserable Era", "Hallucinogenic Drug Trend", and "Unstable Populace"—rged together, forming an even more terrifying hazard: "Rampant Cults".
This card was more dreadful than "Black Cult Rumors". The latter referred to a single sect, whereas "Rampant Cults" signified the ergence of an unknown number of cults within the kingdom, all of which were impossible to eradicate.
But "Rampant Cults" didn't remain a hazard for long. It was imdiately absorbed by "Pus of Man", which transford as a result. After this fusion, apart from the unchanged "Doomsday Theory", the successive rgers left only a single hazard card: "Pus of Man - Early Outbreak".
The early outbreak stage of Pus of Man had no imdiate effect, but once the next stage began, it would signify that things were irreversible. The ga would end instantly.
"This is bad."
Jenkins muttered quietly.
The second season of the eighth year was the natural disaster event "Solar Eclipse". Unlike the "Day of the Lunar Eclipse" that had appeared before, "Solar Eclipse" reacted with "Doomsday Theory". But before any more dire consequences could occur, Jenkins's stack of "Maintain Stability" cards finally proved useful, quelling the public's reaction to the unusual celestial event.
The third season's event was a political one: the "Silver Cod Diplomatic Incident". It was a dispute between the southern and central kingdoms over the import of silver cod, which Jenkins also managed to successfully suppress.
The final event of the year was a supernatural one: "Devil's Ga". After hearing the description and confirming it had nothing to do with elves and offered no chance to obtain an Elven Treasure, Jenkins and Miss Silf simply resolved it with brute force.
The three red accident cards that appeared that year were all "Steam", and each was seemingly uselessly absorbed by the "Steam Kingdom" influence.
In other words, during the eighth year, Jenkins and Miss Silf had made no progress beneficial to their ga. Instead, the situation had grown even more precarious. Only eight turns remained. If they didn't do sothing, this would likely be the very end of their adventure.
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