Iluna and Luviya had stayed in the Dark Dungeon for half an hour before they ca out. At that ti, Shard was on the second floor in the study, organizing his books, planning to practice the magic potions and alchemical craftsmanship of the second year during the Big City Player period.
Both girls were reluctant to tell Shard what they had talked about with the "self" in the darkness, but both believed that they had gained a lot.
Shard had initially thought of having Luviya stay over for the night, but before he could subtly reveal his thought, Iluna expressed her desire to leave with Luviya, wanting to ask so questions that were not convenient for Shard to hear.
"Then we'll be leaving first."
The girl with purple eyes smiled and waved at Shard. She obviously knew what Shard was thinking, but they still wanted to avoid Iluna:
"I need to rest well too, Shard. Good night."
In front of Iluna, she lightly kissed Shard's cheek.
"When did you two beco so close?"
Iluna asked suspiciously, and Shard shook his head:
"Speaking of which, I forgot to ask earlier. Iluna, is your eye okay now?"
Shard was referring to Iluna's eye that had been ford by divinity. If it were not for the divinity, the eye, once sacrificed to the Ancient God, would never have recovered. In the final battle in the Dark Realm, Iluna's eye had flad up, allowing her to see in the dark, but Shard was worried about other potential problems with her eye.
"This eye is very good, even better than a normal eye."
Iluna answered, tilting her head to glance at Luviya before she also went up to Shard and gently kissed him on the cheek:
"So, good night, Shard."
She said softly, her face blushing, then smiled and pulled Luviya's arm, leaving together.
Shard, along with Mia, walked the two girls downstairs, watching them as they walked towards the street corner of Saint Delan Square.
He then looked up at the moon in the sky:
"Do you think I can finally rest for a while now?"
[Probably so.]
"ow~"
Mia squird in Shard's arms, squinting and making a soft ow.
"I was asking the moon."
Moonlight fell on Shard's face, a sight of the moon rising high in the night sky, which could never be seen back in his hotown.
[Is that so?]
She was laughing softly, a sound that was very comforting.
(Mia running...)
Having dealt with Daknis's affairs, Shard believed his life had finally entered a peaceful phase for the mont.
The next day was Monday, the second day of the Month of Harvest, and it was only after waking up in the morning that Shard rembered to open this week's gift.
At breakfast, he moved the God's Gift Box to the dining table on the second floor, but just as he opened the box and was about to reach inside, Mia swiftly jumped in.
Shard and the cat "wrestled" in the box for at least ten seconds before he successfully fished it out.
But as he was lifting the cat by the scruff of its neck, he noticed that its tail was hooked on a string of things. He pulled the entire cat out only to find a string of dried sausages threaded together.
Since Shard didn't like cooking, he indeed had such food stored at his house, but he could assure that he had definitely not stuffed dried sausages into the gift box. Using divine creations for re food was indeed an act of desecration.
"So, is this the gift for this week?"
Shard thought as he held the string of little sausages, his fingers lightly moving, and a silver moonlight shimred, slicing off two thin slices from the end of the sausage.
He placed one slice in front of Mia on the table and swallowed the other himself, tasting quite good:
"But is this a gift for Mia or for ?"
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, the information about the week's required tasks imdiately appeared. Shard needed to take at least two walks with his pet, each lasting no less than half an hour.
"Is this a requirent for , or for Mia?"
Even without such mandates, Shard would still take the cat out for walks. But for Mia, stepping outside the ho was truly a dreadful affair.
While having breakfast, he read the newspaper for a while, which ntioned news about Sax Cavendish being sentenced for treason. Although this could count as major news, it only made it to the third page of the Tobesk Morning Post, and only the lower half at that. It seed the King wished to let the matter end there.
"Firing squad, already executed..."
Shard sighed at the result, not out of pity for the individual—after all, he did not even know what the person looked like. He rely sighed at the ruthlessness of the Royal Family; however, upon reflection, such a thod was indeed the rightful course to maintain stability in the Kingdom.
The daily life of an Outlander was actually quite dull. After breakfast, Shard tried to lure Mia to the washroom for a bath, but the clever cat seed to have guessed his intentions from Shard's early preparations in the washroom.
As Shard prepared the hot water and grabbed gloves to catch the cat, Mia had already darted into the bedroom and refused to co down from the top of the wardrobe.
So Shard had to postpone his plans, thinking that next ti he must catch Mia by surprise.
But the prepared hot water shouldn't go to waste, so he ended up washing clothes at ho all morning. Seeing the recent weather, sumr had ended, and it was ti to start preparing autumn outfits.
"Maybe I really should hire so servants to co and cook and clean. If I can't afford a full-ti servant, I could at least find soone who charges by the hour," he thought.
These thoughts crossed Shard's mind as he sat on a small stool and scrubbed clothes in a basin under the balcony sunlight. Although it was hard work, he still enjoyed this leisurely ti:
"One shouldn't undervalue their accomplishnts, nor should they be overly arrogant. Yet here I am, an Outlander who can face deities and slay demons, stuck doing my own laundry. Sothing is definitely off."
Thinking this, he glanced at Mia Cat squatting next to him. She had jumped down from the wardrobe only after confirming that Shard had used up the hot water in the washroom.
"This cat is so lazy and fussy, it would be nice if she could help with the laundry," he mused.
A chuckle escaped him as Shard shook his head, amused by his own thoughts.
"ow~"
In the early autumn sunlight, the cat's fur seed to glow. She licked her paws and then stared with wide eyes at the colorful bubbles forming in the water basin under the sunlight.
Shard really loved this kind of life.
After finishing the laundry, he left ho around eleven to head to the MI6 outpost in the Tobesk Western District, also known as the "City Waste Managent Center."
The gray building hidden between a snuff bottle shop and a shoemaker specializing in rain boots, nestled in the bustling Steam City, would hardly catch the interest of the general public who weren't aware of its significance.
Shard was there to collect his monthly salary from Mr. Giles Johnson, the equipnt manager, but upon knocking, he found other people inside.
It wasn't other agents, but his supervisor, Chief Dark Anros.
"Look who it is, Hamilton Knight."
The very ordinary-looking gentleman warmly shook hands with Shard, seeing he was holding an envelope with vouchers, he knew what he had co for.
After letting Mr. Johnson handle Shard's salary, reimbursent, and bullet allowance issues, Chief Anros gestured for Shard to follow him.
The two walked between the shelves inside the equipnt managent, and Mr. Anros said with a smile:
"I was actually planning to co by your place later, but what a coincidence to bump into you here."
His expression all but had "I have a mission for you" written all over his face.
"May I ask what it is about?"
Shard cautiously asked.
Although Miss Galina had told Shard when he joined that he wouldn't have to work, he wouldn't refuse a mission arranged by MI6 if really needed. Surely, Chief Anros wouldn't give him an excessively difficult task.
"Mr. Hamilton, I recall you are an expert at Roder Card, so have you signed up for the Big City Player opening on the sixth day of the Month of Blossoms this Friday?"
Mr. Anros asked, to which Shard nodded:
"Of course."
"That's great."
Chief Anros was actually asking sothing he already knew. The fact that the holder of Genesis Series cards would participate in this competition was already not news among the local Roder Card Players. Even if he wasn't the head of MI6, anyone could easily find out with a simple inquiry.
"Here's the thing, Shard Hamilton. MI6 has a small task, needing an agent capable of participating in this competition... Do you know about the Duchy of Seth?"
Shard thought for a mont, then hesitantly asked with guidance from "her" whispering in his ear:
"That small country located southeast of Draleon, between Draleon and Carsonrick? If I'm not mistaken, this nation split from Draleon three hundred years ago. Initially, the Grand Duke Seth Cavendish was allowed to establish the duchy, which had unified taxation and military connections with the kingdom. Its independence has grown over the past few centuries though it's still nominally governed by Draleon."
"That's correct. MI6 suspects that the Duchy of Seth has links with Carsonrick that we're unaware of. Due to its strategic location, we cannot allow it to completely lean towards Carsonrick or even maintain closer ties, as it poses a significant threat to border security. Knight, take a look at this photograph,"
Mr. Anros handed Shard a black and white photo, which featured a handso man in his thirties.
"Vigil Caron. On the surface, he holds no official title, but behind the scenes, he is the contemporary Grand Duke's lover and has considerable status in the court due to his good looks and flattery."
"The contemporary Grand Duke is a woman?"
Shard curiously asked.
"No, Grand Duke Alexis Cavendish is a male,"
Mr. Anros glanced at Shard and put the photograph away.
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