Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Shard wanted to continue asking, but the doctor spoke again:

"In any case, Shard, your main concern lately should still be your studies as a Circle Sorcerer. The aftermath of the Lord of the Blood Feast and the Blood of Mercury has nothing to do with you, nor does the 'Masked Person under Silvermoon'. Let others worry about my injuries; you don't need to think about it so much."

Miss Annette, Miss Luisa, and Priest Augustus shared this sentiment. Shard thought for a moment and then summoned the Ring of Fate behind him.

White steam mist filled the bedroom but, surprisingly, did not spread far. The other four saw that the single-faced Ring of the First Ring Sorcerer shone with an intense glimmer of the Desecration Spirit Rune "Gluttony," which had already been inscribed upon it.

Even though Shard was not using any Arcane Techniques at the moment, the rune still sparkled as if it had been activated. He attributed this to the special origin of this Spirit Rune. It was not a tale of indirect contact with an Evil God but a direct swallowing of a portion of the Evil God's power.

"This appeared on that night at Lakeside Manor,"

he explained.

"Desecration? Indeed, it might appear after coming into contact with a deity, but..."

The doctor on the bed pondered and asked:

"Have you eaten since you woke up?"

"I did. Last night, Priest Augustus and I took some boiled potatoes from the church's kitchen, and this morning while feeding the cat, I drank two bottles of milk and ate some bread,"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Shard recalled.

"So, are you hungry now? Was there anything abnormal while eating, such as a desire to devour your cat?"

Miss Luisa asked in place of the doctor, and Shard shook his head in surprise:

"Mia is so cute, why would I? Oh, I see what you mean now, but I haven't noticed anything abnormal... though, the milk did taste a bit off. I suspect the milk delivery company used milk that wasn't fresh."

"That's not a problem, but having faced an Evil God directly, you're bound to be affected. Watch out for the risk of losing control,"

Priest Augustus advised, and as clergy members, even though he was not a Circle Sorcerer of the church, he had significant authority on this matter:

"If you feel unwell in the next few days, you must tell us. Strange dreams, inexplicable illusions, or losing memories for a period—these are all warning signs."

"And any physical abnormalities, like growing extra organs, or flesh sprouts on your skin,"

Miss Annette also added.

Shard nodded, taking note of these points, and then looked back at the Ring of Fate:

"Now that my first Spirit Rune has appeared, should I inform the Academy and change my study plan?"

"Of course, this should be reported to the Academy along with our submitted report,"

the doctor said, then signaled to Miss Luisa to distribute the documents from the bedside table to everyone.

This was the "Report of the Blood Feast Incident at Lakeside Manor on the 30th Day of Sunlight Moon, Year 1853 of the Sixth Era," drafted by the doctor during his time in bed:

"This incident must be reported to the Academy. We stopped an Evil God, and even though we didn't obtain any tangible benefits, the Academy will reward such actions. Any act of justice is sure to be compensated."

The Three Great Magics Academies also regarded Evil Gods as enemies, and even if, for unknown reasons, the Academy stayed away from the civilized world, the Three Great Magics Academies were undoubtedly forces of good.

"This matter will involve future rewards, as well as some secrets of our own..."

The doctor glanced at Shard:

"So, we must jointly modify this report. I've finished writing the part that I experienced. Do you have anything to add or change? Luisa, you will still be in charge of record-keeping."

"Dorothy's core Spirit Rune 'The Writer' possesses Arcane Technique—Mind Writing, making her well-suited for record-keeping."

He explained to Shard, who nodded while flipping through the report in his hand.

The doctor himself certainly had secrets; even though they were not mentioned in the report, Shard had not forgotten. When the doctor used the Sublimation Incantation at the entrance of the banquet hall, there was a strong smell of sulfur on the shadow behind him.

Even in this world, sulfur is related to a certain abnormally evil race in ancient tales. Combined with what Professor Sanchez had said about Dr. Schneider's "other self" being problematic, Shard could almost be certain that the doctor's secrets were related to devils or demons—though he did not rule out the possibility that the secret could be something as ludicrous as a Sulfur Slime.

"Demon Doctor, that title actually sounds quite interesting," Shard thought.

Of course, he would not report this to the Academy. Since the doctor had protected his secrets, he should also protect the doctor's secrets.

He would continue to monitor and ensure that if there were any issues with the doctor, they could be dealt with promptly.

To avoid suspicion, the part about Shard facing the Evil God, of course, could not be written. The events after the doctor fainted were fabricated as the detective and the diviner joining forces to decipher the nodes of the ritual, and during which, because of excessive inspiration, the detective was affected and obtained "Gluttony."

Miss Luisa, after consulting with both men, added an abundance of details to showcase their efforts.

As for the "Masked Person under Silvermoon", the consensus narrative was that he brushed past Shard and Miss Annette, and the two low-ranking Circle Sorcerers did not see his true face.

Miss Luisa, indeed a recipient of the Kingdom's literary award, even managed to capture Shard's perspective in the report. She portrayed his nervousness when facing the "powerful" Circle Sorcerers and his perception of their might.

In the report, both Shard and Miss Annette witnessed the scene where the "Masked Person under Silvermoon" kicked in front of the Silvermoon. The Blonde Writer focused on describing the shock of the scene with a string of adjectives, emphasizing the notion that "the suspected Thirteen Rings Circle Sorcerer is extremely powerful, so that person must be unrelated to the group."

"Miss Luisa, do you always take care of the group's report?"

As the Blonde Writer was "embellishing" the report, Shard quietly asked the priest beside him, who nodded:

"This is her role within the group."

Apart from the events on the third floor, before the five met up there, each person had also engaged in various activities. Those minor details also needed to be added to the report for the Academy to judge if they had any connection to the arrival of the "Lord of the Blood Feast."

In his part, Shard pondered for a long time and decided to include the Roder Card, the good fortune of The Twenty-Sided Die of Destiny, and the matter of the gun. Of course, the reason leading to the roll of 20 points definitely could not be explicitly stated.

"Actually, there was a significant reward for that 'Heart Collector,' which you won't be able to claim. But, come to think of it, if your luck wasn't so good last night, nobody would be foolish enough to directly use a Relic with unknown effects," the priest lamented.

"If my luck wasn't so good, I wouldn't have survived in front of the Evil God either," Shard also found an excuse for himself, but upon saying it, he suddenly realized that this might just be the reality. After all, the good luck caused by the script had not yet ended when facing the Evil God.

This report was finally revised... embellished after a morning's discussion. Signed by the five people who experienced the event, the doctor then had Miss Luisa take a page from the poet's manuscript from the drawer and sent the report up through the page.