Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 373 Miss Gawder's Letter

"Yes, speaking of which, the last time I went to the Academy Library to see Miss Danester, the Red Moon Witch, I did not feel particularly cold in the Academy,"

Shard agreed.

However, thinking about it, he reminded himself that next week, when he met Lecia, he could ask her about the location of Zaras Literary Academy. Her Highness, the Princess, had been a formal student at the Academy during her lower grades. The location of Zaras Literary Academy, like the other Magic Academies, would probably be beyond Shard's expectations.

"Oh, speaking of which, Shard, there's another thing,"

The doctor slapped his head and then said very calmly,

"Today, you sold those books..." Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire

"Doctor, please don't bring that up again,"

Shard quickly shook his head:

"If I were to start explaining everything from the beginning, such as their origins, why I was wandering around with them, why I sold them, it would be very complicated. Please don't misunderstand; I don't have any odd hobbies."

"Alright then,"

The doctor nodded, but Shard was not sure if the doctor truly believed his explanation.

By the time he got home, it was almost four in the afternoon, and Iluna's three requests were all unrelated to Relics. Although it was still Friday, Shard did not feel like seeking out any new cases.

After all, he really was not The Chosen One, lucky enough to encounter Relics just by stepping outside.

He finished writing today's investigation report at home, then wrote a letter to Professor Manning. Taking the opportunity to go out for dinner with his well-behaved cat, he mailed the report to Iluna and the letter to the professor.

According to Luviya's Divination, the professor should be able to find someone from the Guiding Light Hermitage soon.

Although today was busy, it indeed was a very calm day.

So came Saturday. In the morning, when he went out to get newspapers and milk, Shard was surprised to see several letters addressed to him.

This was unusual, given that he did not know many people.

The first two were bills from the Steam Company and the Gas Company, followed by a tax receipt from Tobesk City Hall. Continuing through the letters, one surprisingly came from a small town by Tis Lake in the southeastern part of the Kingdom.

However, supporting an organization of ordinary people not only allowed them to spread their ideas and recruit more talent, but it also provided a suitable means to secure funding and cover the activities traces of Circle Sorcerers, which was indeed a good strategy.

As an academic group formed by intellectuals, members in big cities like Tobesk, the capital of Draleon, were naturally found. Professor Manning had already contacted one, asking Shard to meet him at his home at ten o'clock this morning.

He knew Shard was eagerly searching, so he arranged the meeting urgently.

"Ten o'clock..."

Shard thought about the time, feeling very pleased. His two main goals for the week, acquiring 15 credits and investigating the Guiding Light Hermitage, seemed likely to be accomplished, and he admired his own efficiency, yet he still hoped that life would not always be this stressful in the future.

Since they were visiting Professor Manning's home, Shard, of course, could not bring Mia along. Timing his arrival perfectly, he reached Cat Tail Alley at nine fifty in the morning.

After knocking, the familiar plump maid opened the door for him, and the guest Shard was to meet had already arrived.

Professor McCain Heink, who worked at the same university as Professor Manning. However, Professor Heink was from the philosophy department, and thus he had only had a nodding acquaintance with Professor Manning before.

As Shard was led by the maid into the study, the two professors were discussing the school's terms. Professor Manning was actually of retirement age and was working only because he was rehired, while Professor Heink, dressed in a brown checkered suit with a white beard, was two years away from retirement and quite unhappy about his pension.

Seeing Shard had arrived, the two elderly professors paused their discussion. Professor Manning made brief introductions, and Shard also exchanged business cards with Professor Heink.

Professor Heink had heard of "Rejed's Hamilton" and was previously informed that he was a detective from Saint Delan Square, so he was not surprised by the address on the business card. Conversely, Shard, through the act of exchanging business cards and shaking hands, confirmed that the other party was just an ordinary person.

After making the introductions, Professor Manning left, giving them private time to talk.

"Good morning, Professor."

After the pleasantries, Shard got straight to the point,

"I've encountered some problems while conducting a commission, so I need the help of an academic like you who studies Apocalyptic theories."

"No problem at all, so Mr. Hamilton, what would you like to know?" Professor Heink asked warmly.

Shard actually wanted to directly ask if the other party knew about the Circle Sorcerers, but he still didn't know the specific relationship between the "Guiding Light Club" and "Guiding Light Hermitage," so he couldn't just bring it up rashly. Thus, on his way here, he had already figured out exactly how to phrase his questions.

"No, it's not about Apocalyptic theories. My client is an antique dealer who prefers to remain anonymous. He recently acquired a collection of antiques, and to ascertain the value and exact era of the antiques, he investigated the symbols that frequently appeared on the surfaces of the antiques. But those symbols, almost impossible to trace, were only incidentally discovered to be related to Apocalyptic groups, which is why he commissioned me to conduct further investigations."

As Shard spoke, he took out his notebook and with a pen, drew the symbol: "The main body is an equilateral triangle, each corner of the triangle is connected to a small circle, and inside the triangle is a person with wings."

As he handed it to Professor Heink, Shard closely watched his expression. Although the old professor controlled it well, Shard still noticed his eyes naturally widen a bit upon seeing the symbol.