Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 288 Uses of Mercury

"Hmm..."

In the restaurant, Miss Luisa had already put down her knife and fork. Seeing Shard's hesitation, she knew he couldn't produce the leaf and said with a smile,

"Shard, you mustn't say that Mia ate the leaf."

"Meow~"

The cat, hearing its name, twitched its pointy little ears and looked around.

"Very well..."

Miss Luisa was concerned about him, and Shard understood this:

"I only have one leaf left."

The blonde girl asked in surprise,

"Is the Godfall incident really related to you? I heard rumors that the 'Masked Person under Silvermoon' is the Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer 'God Summoner'. I was thinking of checking on your situation to confirm whether the church had made a mistake again, but here you are, energetically holding a cat at my house. You don't look like someone who has experienced a Godfall."

She poised herself as if to listen to a tale, and so Shard, while eating, explained about his partner whose identity couldn't be revealed and their attack on the Silver-Eyed One. As for what happened after the descent of the Evil God, Shard's story was the same as the one he told Luviya and Iluna; Miss Luisa just listened intently without interrupting:

"As long as you know what you are doing."

Miss Luisa sighed only after Shard finished speaking.

Stirring the thick soup in front of her with a spoon, she then raised her green eyes, glancing over Shard's face:

"Shard, don't you dare die easily. Otherwise, I would be... very sad."

After lunch, the two of them went to Old John's Pawnshop. Miss Luisa wanted to commission Old Man John to make some alchemical items, while Shard wanted to have the mercury vial appraised.

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Old Man John was quick to act, carefully examining the item Shard brought before going to his living quarters on the second floor of the pawnshop to search some records, and then he found the corresponding name and level for the vial.

Of course, he collected two pounds as an appraisal fee from Shard before he was willing to reveal the information:

"Poet-Level (Level 5) Relic 'Infinite Mercury Bottle'."

"Poet-Level?"

Shard exclaimed, reaching out to grab the banknotes he had placed on the counter. However, Old John was quicker, sweeping them up into his hands. In the struggle over the two pound notes, even though Shard had advanced to the Second Ring and his body had been purified by Divinity, he could not outmatch the old man in front of him:

"Don't rush, don't rush, I knew you would think that, but Poet-Level isn't worthless."

The old man removed the brass mechanical magnifying glass worn over his left eye and carefully placed it in a box:

"Listen to its trait; this bottle can indefinitely produce mercury, yes, infinite."

He took a bottle filled with red liquid from below the counter and carefully poured it into the mercury vial, then shook the bottle slightly:

"To get the mercury out of this little bottle, you need to slowly inject a bit of blood and the spirit of a Circle Sorcerer, then give it a gentle shake."

Miss Luisa asked.

"I understand."

Shard nodded somewhat regretfully. Old Man John took the opportunity to say:

"You have no use keeping this thing. Why not sell it to me? I can offer a good price."

"No, I have no plans to sell it for now."

Shard shook his head.

"You're not short on money?"

"I've had substantial income recently. I met a wealthy and influential noblewoman. She has been very generous."

"A noblewoman?"

Old John gave a suggestive smile, first glancing at Miss Luisa, then lowered his head to clean up a pile of things used for identifying relics on the counter:

"Young man, this is indeed a shortcut, but be careful with your health. Even if you're not short of money, you can still inquire about the rumored Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer lately. You should be aware of this, right? Any information can be sold to me; I have a need."

"Is it Galina?"

After leaving Old John's Pawnshop, Miss Luisa couldn't help but ask. The two walked shoulder to shoulder along the street, surrounded by many pedestrians. Because curfew was to be implemented for the whole upcoming week, people had to hasten their daytime activities.

Ahead, rusted gas pipes piled up by the wall showed that the street was undergoing urban infrastructure renovation. Old John had just complained about rude people walking back and forth in front of his store every noon. Unfortunately, due to the martial law and curfew, the project would probably be delayed for a long time.

Even though there was still no sunshine today, Miss Luisa wore a wide-brimmed white lady's hat. The hat was adorned with a small pink flower, which matched her hair nicely.

In the aesthetics of this era, a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes is the epitome of beauty.

"Yes, I have a good relationship with that Duchess. She spent a large sum of money to buy some artifacts I recovered from the ruins,"

Shard said truthfully.

"Oh? I wanted to ask last time, are you familiar with Galina...is that right?"

The blonde girl squinted at Shard, her thoughts unknown.

Shard noticed that she never used any honorifics when referring to Duchess Galina Cavendish. Of course, it wasn't a sign of intimacy but rather seemed like a conflict between them.

Dorothy Luisa was just an ordinary citizen of Tobesk with no apparent connection to the Duchess who was seldom in Tobesk. Thus, Shard speculated that it was her friend, Princess Lecia, who had a conflict with Miss Galina.

The princess whom Shard had not yet met, although only five to six years younger than Galina Cavendish, actually belonged to three generations apart. If they really had a conflict, it was probably like those court romance novels, filled with secrets unfathomable to ordinary citizens.

"Why not a court politics novel?"

"Because I haven't read any court politics novels of this world. Mr. Sparrow left behind a copy of 'The Queen and Her Lovers,' and you've watched it with me, haven't you?"

Of course, they mainly read that book to find the so-called "Spy Codebook."

Following the crowded street, Shard continued discussing the colorful content of novels with the woman in his heart while walking side by side with Miss Luisa. With the 'Blood of Mercury' obliterated and the Evil God departed, until Luviya divined the second Chosen One, Shard could enjoy a brief period of leisure time.