Steampunk: Sixth Era Chapter 758: 758: Lemer Stable

Chapter 758: Chapter 758: Ler Stable

After parting ways with Luviya, Shard took advantage of the morning hours to visit Coldwater Port again with his cat to check if there were any results on the commissions for buying coins and items related to the power of the sun.

In the black market of the Dock Area, the Seven Brooms still yielded nothing. However, the bartender recomnded a specialty from the New World’s autumn season, a disgusting plant called “Lamb’s Ear”. The plant was white and sausage-shaped, swaying side to side upon touch. It could be used as a component in basic healing potions, but unfortunately, there were substitutes such as Mouse Ear Grass in the Old Continent, so it wasn’t very popular.

When Shard went to the lighthouse outside the city, he unexpectedly encountered an attack by rman at the seaside.

It was quite an interesting turn of events. He had originally left the city by carriage, but wanted to see what the autumn beach looked like. Therefore, he disembarked one mile from the cliff where the lighthouse was located, and walked along the beach with his cat.

The port of Coldwater was bustling, and the scenery of the shallow beaches outside the city was beautiful. Shard even found a beautiful conch, intending to take it ho as a souvenir for his living room.

Just as he was picking up the conch, a distant horn sound ca from the sea. Then, amidst Mia’s panicked cries, three wrinkled, bald heads erged from the water.

Not understanding the situation, Shard’s first reaction was to retreat, and then he realized that what erged from the sea was ugly rn. These were not the divine followers of the rn who possessed ntal contamination abilities; even leaving their images in a painting could affect the viewer. These were simply half-breeds.

One of them was short and stout, leaning on a rotten wooden staff decorated with seaweed and topped with a pearl. The other two were larger, holding rust-covered large iron forks due to corrosion from seawater. After the short, stout rman quietly incanted a spell, blue water patterns appeared on the otherwise ineffective-looking weapons, enhancing them with sorcery.

“A spellcaster and two lee fighters? The rn of Coldwater Port really know how to cooperate,”

The three rn, apparently after Shard and Mia, charged at Shard while making gurgling sounds from their mouths once the stout rman completed his spell.

These were the weakest yet most nurous monsters lurking near Coldwater Port. Even three together were roughly equivalent to a human Circle Sorcerer of the Three or Four Rings.

Thus, the ensuing fight was no suspense. Shard unsheathed the “Moonlight Greatsword” and stepped forward, his horizontal slash decapitating the fastest approaching rman. Then the moonlight drawn from his fingertips forced another rman to dodge sideways, allowing him another close approach. His left fist, equipped with the “Mind Crystal Ring,” landed a blow, causing it to fall down bleeding from all orifices.

Looking back at the stout rman spellcaster, he had retreated to a position on the beach, swearing in rman language that was too foul to translate, and then waved his pearl-embedded rotten staff. As the Ring of Fate appeared, a dense school of fish suddenly burst from the sea. These fish fell onto the sand, piling up together to form a fear-inducing, humanoid shape that could trigger trypophobia.

“Summoned entity?”

Shard took a step back to avoid the fishy sll, and his hand pressed down on Mia, who was peeking out from his arms — the cat sniffing around, and then lightly kissed the moonstone ring:

“Muddle!”

Under the hazy yellow moonlight, the school of fish monsters turned and charged towards their summoner, leaving a strange trail of footprints on the beach. The stout rman cried out and imdiately plunged into the sea, with the fish monsters following him.

Shard did not pursue, as he did not want to wet his clothes. He stood on the beach looking at the two corpses:

“After the Coldwater Port incident, these rn beca the only trouble. If the Milestone situation can be resolved, perhaps ‘ghosts’ will beco their specialty too. Each city truly has its own unique features.”

Restoring the canvas toy into real canvas, he used it to wrap the two rman corpses into toy forms, intending to sell them to Mr. Edmund, the old tower keeper. Of course, Mr. Edmund had no interest in studying the bodies but rather the local church would collect these bodies. Shard did not want to go back into the city to the black market, so selling them to the old tower keeper to make a profit was fine too.

Unfortunately, the tower keeper also had no new coins. As for items containing sun power, Mr. Edmund sold Shard a dusty parchnt roll and a round tal badge engraved with a sun pattern for 5 pounds, 3 shillings, and 21 pounds, 14 shillings.

There are many ways to draw a sun pattern, and the badge’s sun pattern was not the holy emblem of the True God “Lantern Bearer”.

“This parchnt roll, it is said to have been found in the ruins of a temple from the Bygone Days in the New World. Although it only has runes representing the sun etched on it and nothing else, it was found beneath a divine statue that only had its base remaining. As for this badge, it’s an antique I recently acquired, and it has a low level of the Miracle Elent in it, capable of slightly enhancing most sun-related arcane techniques and sorcery,”

the old man explained. Shard tried his “Sunlight Ray” and found the enhancent was almost negligible.

“Are these items truly related to sun power?”

Shard was quite skeptical.

“What do you need them for?”

Mr. Edmund asked while packing up his fishing gear.

“To open an ancient seal, I need five different items related to the power of the sun. I have already found three, just two more to go.”

“Then keep looking for more and try them all; eventually, you’ll find the right things,”

Mr. Edmund suggested.

The elderly man gave his suggestion, jokingly recomnding Shard that if he truly couldn’t locate it, he should sneak into the Sun Cathedral in the countryside and slyly steal the Holy Emblem hanging in the main hall.

Of course, he was jesting. The sole consequence of such an act would be a fervent pursuit by the Sun believers from across the world.

Shard first returned to Coldwater Port City, where he and Mia savored the local delicacies of the coastal city. They then returned to Saint Delan Square and took a carriage out of the city to visit the Witch’s Manor to inquire if the witch had acquired any items related to the sun.

Shard hoped he could advance to Four Rings before the affairs at Midshire Fort concluded to garner more strength amidst the troubles he was embroiled in. Therefore, he must enter the year 3024 of the Fifth Era for the third ti soon, to complete the unfinished story. Helping the witches in acquiring the Naless Ritual Book was also essential.

Unfortunately, when Shard arrived at the manor at two in the afternoon, both Miss Galina and Tifa were absent.

They were not in the city, but accompanying Queen Diana at a racetrack in the suburbs, watching horse racing.

“Horse racing?”

“Yes.”

The old steward at the Witch’s Manor said with a friendly smile in the hall:

“Now is the last season suitable for horse racing before winter approaches. There are several well-known racecourses in the south suburbs of the city, with one or two races each week. Local famous riders can register to compete, and there are even official bets. Miss is not keen on this sport, but Queen Diana is quite fond of it, so she often gathers the city’s ladies and mbers of the Royal Family to watch the races outside the city.”

“Then I shall wait here for Miss Galina to return since it is not appropriate for

to go there with all the ladies,”

Shard said, but the old steward shook his head:

“It’s not just the ladies. The racecourse they are at today belongs to the Ler Family, directly adjacent to the Ler Marquis’s manor. Nobles can freely attend, and many who love horse racing do. Besides, not a few are drawn there by Her Majesty. You can head there now; would you need a carriage prepared or would you prefer to ride a horse? The weather is nice today, and the countryside roads in autumn are quite lovely.”

Shard could not ride horses; Tifa had only taught him the basic mounting for now. Moreover, since he was with Mia, naturally, he wouldn’t engage in such a “high-risk” activity:

“Please prepare a carriage for . I’ve never seen a horse race before.”

The Ler Racecourse was located about 2.3 miles (approximately 3.7 km) from the edge of the city. As the carriage carried Shard further south, the road started to seem familiar to him.

After inquiring, he found out that both the Marquis of Ler’s grand manor and the racecourse adjoined another noble’s manor called Lakeside Manor. In fact, the racecourse and the surrounding adows were situated between the two manors, and strictly speaking, half the area of Lake Schluch, adjacent to Lakeside Manor, belonged to the Marquis of Ler.

Thinking of the unique location of Lakeside Manor, Shard inevitably recalled the Roder Card under the vine in the sumr night, the divine statue on the third floor of the manor, and the kick he had made under the moonlight.

Although these events had occurred just half a year ago, it truly felt like many years had passed.

To enter the racecourse, one had to first go through the Ler Manor. Although this manor also spanned an impressive area and featured exquisite sculptures and horticulture, it wasn’t as luxurious compared to Miss Galina’s manor.

A carriage bearing the Duchess of Saradiel’s emblem entered the manor without any obstruction. However, the manor’s courtyard was divided into inner and outer layers, and the carriage did not head towards the three-story mansion in the inner layer but instead traveled along the outer courtyard’s driveway towards the side door of the manor.

Servants were already waiting there. After a brief halt, a servant respectfully asked the carriage’s occupants for their nas. Once the coachman reported the na “Rejed’s Hamilton,” they imdiately knew the current location of Miss Galina.

A dedicated driveway connected the side door to the racecourse, with wooden fences separating the manor from the adjacent adows on both sides. It wasn’t long before the noise beca audible, followed by the sight through the carriage window of the towering wooden and iron fences that enclosed the racecourse and the layered spectator stands at the edge of the racecourse.

The carriage stopped, and after Shard jumped down, he could see the dust kicked up by running horses through the gaps in the fence and hear the cheering and shouting.

Above the racecourse, strears fluttered in the air while people excitedly waved their hats at the riders. Riders freely galloped their horses, and the heavy sound of hoofbeats even startled Mia in Shard’s arms.

Guided by a servant, Shard bent and climbed the rear staircase to the spectator stand, where Miss Galina and Queen Diana sat in a shaded area to the south of the racecourse. Elegantly dressed ladies wore hats adorned with colorful feathers; so held porcelain teacups, others held small binoculars, and still others waved feathered fans, enjoying the dull autumn afternoon.

The shadow of the shade stretched on the sunlit ground, and amidst the stifling heat, the air held a touch of coolness without a hint of breeze. Everyone was so at ease, as was typical for the activities of the nobility.

The tense feelings brought by adventures in Midshire Fort City amid ghosts, dense fog, and chilling winds seed to dissipate entirely at that mont.

The racecourse appeared golden, and the warm sunlight made everyone feel cozy. A smile unconsciously crept onto Shard’s lips; he raised his hand above his eyes to look toward Miss Galina, who seed to sense his gaze and looked back.

Indeed, this autumn in Tobesk was truly serene.