"It's okay,"
Iluna looked up at Shard and smiled:
"There are no guests, but your ho is nice itself; I don't have a formal gown, but you don't need to wear a suit; there's no gramophone and no band, I can hum a dance tune myself. Shard, I am still very good at singing."
As she spoke, she stood up, and Shard also stood up, supporting himself on the table.
The seventeen-year-old girl seed to be in a very good mood. She arrived at the living room ahead of Shard, then spread her arms, closed her eyes, and spun around three tis on the spot under the sunlight. Her skirt flared out like a flower, her figure catching Shard's eyes as her shadow flickered across the walls, sofa, and cabinets.
She stopped and opened her eyes to look at Shard, her brown hair shimring in the sunlight, and her eyes truly sparkled:
"Mr. Shard Hamilton, may I invite you for a dance?"
She extended her hand to Shard.
"Lady, it would be my honor,"
Shard replied with a smile and a slight bow.
The two danced a complete tune under the sunlight, following Iluna's humming. Afterward, Shard escorted the blushing Iluna to the street corner outside Saint Delan Square, and they went their separate ways.
Shard placed three rice-sized mind crystals into a folded paper envelope and headed directly to Old John's Pawnshop.
Since contacting the Guiding Light Hermitage and finding out that Old Man John was also part of the Guiding Light Hermitage, this was the first ti Shard had t him. However, once they t, they very tacitly did not ntion anything about the Hermit Society. Old Man John joked about not having seen Shard recently, then Shard poured the three tiny crystals onto the counter:
"I'd like them set in a ring. Old Man John, can you handle that here?"
He could go to a coppersmith or a blacksmith, but since Old Man John could help Dorothy with alchemical items, making a ring probably wouldn't be a problem either.
"You should have gone to a coppersmith. Let
see, oh, mind crystals? The purity is really good. Were they made by Schneider?"
The old man took out a toolbox from beneath the counter, picked up one of the crystals with bronze tweezers, pulled over a gas lamp, put on professional glasses with adjustable lenses, and examined the tiny crystals seriously:
"Are you looking to make arcane technique spellcasting materials for ntal-type spells? I've made sothing similar, and I can engrave so patterns and runes on the ring to enhance the effect of these crystals. However, when would you like the finished product?"
This ant that Old Man John agreed to take on this job.
"I'd prefer to have it by this evening,"
"Are you in such a hurry?"
The old man took off the complex lenses from his right eye, thought for a mont, and said:
"Then it's going to be a bit more expensive, 13 shillings, 3 pounds, 19 pounds. Which price would you choose?"
"What's the difference between these prices?"
"13 shillings, iron material, I'll just embed the three crystals into the ring, you can co to pick it up by noon.
3 pounds, copper material, I will use alchemical craftsmanship to process the ring to maximize the effectiveness of the crystals, co at two in the afternoon.
19 pounds, it just so happens that I recently made a helt that can shield mind reading abilities for soone else, and I have so scrap material left... don't look at
like that, I'm not skimming off my clients' materials."
Old Man John quickly waved his hand:
"It's just that when making the helt, there were so leftover scraps of a special mind-shielding alloy, enough to make a small ring. This tal can shield external spiritual power, but it is also an excellent conductor of internal spiritual power. A crystal ring made of mind shielding alloy might not double the power of your arcane techniques, but it can speed up casting, expand the range of arcane techniques, enhance the ability to withstand backlash, and slightly improve the effects of the spells."
Having said this, he put down what he was holding, looked at Shard, and tapped the counter, showing a familiar rchant smile:
"If you choose to use this alloy for the ring, it'll cost you 19 pounds, but you can pick it up this evening, and I will take care of everything for you. What do you think? Which price will you choose?"
"Do I have a choice?"
Shard retorted as the old man smirked triumphantly, then Shard uttered one more word:
"Cane."
"That would be 17 pounds and 7 shillings,"
Old Man John imdiately nad this price, which made Shard a bit puzzled:
"You wouldn't be quoting high and waiting for
to haggle before ntioning the standard price, would you?"
"Why would I do such a thing?"
Old Man John said, puffing up his chest in denial, then he reached down to grab a tape asure:
"Which finger are you planning to wear it on? Let
asure it. I hope your fingers are thin so I can save so material, and maybe I can even make a small pendant with the leftovers and sell it to soone else."
"Soday you're going to make a fortune."
"No, no, I'm actually more concerned with the civilization represented by the items I acquire. Being able to afford food with the gold pounds is enough for ,"
Shard didn't believe Old Man John's statent at all.
After leaving the very money-savvy Old Man, Shard went to the University District on Feather Quill Street to find Dorothy. That evening, he planned to go with Dorothy to Yordle Palace for a banquet, as Miss Galina would surely be with other mbers of the Royal Family, and Luviya with the Prophet's Society.
Because there was an important banquet to attend in the evening, Miss Writer had no plans of going out during the day. The preparations the ladies had to make for a banquet were significantly more extensive than what Shard had to do.
Upon entering the building, under the landlady's guidance, Shard headed up to the third floor where Dorothy was humming a tune and choosing headpieces in front of the copper-frad floor mirror in the living room. Next to her, there were several wheeled tal clothes racks filled with dresses, shirts, and other garnts.
Hearing Shard's voice outside the door, she called out for him to co in directly.
Once Shard was inside, she asked,
"I am thinking of styling my hair up in a complex hairstyle. Shard, do you think this butterfly-style ribbon looks nice, or does this sky-blue headband decorated with red gem shards look better?"
She was comparing the two headbands against her hair.
Shard thought for a mont:
"Both look nice."
The blonde girl smiled:
"You would say that. Shard, did you co here for sothing?"
She placed the headbands on the mirror and then asked Shard to help bring over the shoe boxes from the doorway.
"Are we going together to Yordle Palace tonight?"
"Oh, I've invited Luviya to leave with . After we reach Silver Cross Avenue, she'll et up with the Prophet's Society. You can co with us too."
"Alright, where should I pick you up then? Luviya's apartnt or here?"
"Just co here."
Dorothy said, excitedly holding up a dress from the rack in front of the floor mirror:
"I must remind you that the big pearl you're giving should be placed in a gift box before giving it away."
She knew Shard had a habit of simply stuffing jewelry and gems into his pockets.
"I'll prepare it in a mont."
Shard had also thought of this already.
"Besides, Lecia asked
to tell you she would definitely make ti to see you tonight. If she really can't find the ti, she'll use my body."
Dorothy had no other purpose at the banquet, so she could stay with Shard throughout.
"No problem. Is there anything else I need to be reminded of? I've attended several banquets but this is the first one that is so grand."
"Queen Diana will likely seek you out for a chat, even if it's just to express her gratitude, but you should also think about how to respond. Last ti they ntioned giving you a Roder Card? She might give it to you this ti. Also, you and Galina..."
She was initially cheerful while choosing outfits in front of the mirror, but upon ntioning that na, her face changed imdiately; her attitude towards Miss Galina was fundantally aligned with Lecia's:
"...issues are now widely rumored. Although the Duchess has never been close to n, there are still a few prominent pursuers in Tobesk, you should be cautious of them causing trouble."
"No need to worry about that, I've accepted Marquis Grassley's invitation and will probably spend the whole evening playing Roder Card."
Shard had already planned his evening.
"That's good. However, you'll also need to spare so ti to et with a few writers and journalists from Tobesk. Thanks to detective stories, my career has taken a step forward. I want to bring the prototype characters of the detective stories and discuss their writing details with these writers and journalists."
It was basically mutual flattery among writers; successful writers not only need successful works but also recognition from their peers. Dorothy's father, a professor with many students, had an advantage in this peer recognition.
"No problem, I think I'll have the ti. Anything else I should know?"
Dorothy, looking at Shard from the mirror, asked:
"Is your outfit ready? Also, you need to fix up your hair."
"Don't worry, I'm prepared."
The Dorothy in the mirror smiled at Shard:
"Are you going to see Galina later?"
"Yeah... yes, I have sothing to discuss with her this afternoon about the 'Glimr' Spirit Rune; there's a Magician from the Twelve Rings who can help ."
"That's great."
She said quietly, the golden-haired girl still maintaining a smile in the mirror, although Shard was not entirely sure what she was trying to express.
Aftrer staying a bit longer with Dorothy and having lunch together, Shard finally returned to No. 6, Saint Delan Square.
On his way back, he also noticed so changes happening in the city today.
Queen Diana had a very high reputation in the Draleon Kingdom. Although her birthday was not celebrated on a large scale and there was no national holiday or a parade like the King's birthday, there were still small-scale celebrations in places like Saint Delan Square, Dawn Square, and Hymn Square, with bands and parade troops hired by the royal family.
Although it was quite deserted when he left in the morning, by the ti he returned ho in the afternoon, it had beco quite lively.
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