Chapter 2294: Heart of the Oasis

Chapter 2294: Chapter 2294: Heart of the Oasis

Mr. Benhart nodded after a few moments of silence:

"I understand what you mean... I’ll find time to visit the orphanage she runs, or sneak in at night to see what she’s really doing to those children. I won’t just take her word for it; only after an investigation can there be Truth. If she’s lying, I’ll make the right choice."

He didn’t say what he would do if Mrs. Jude was telling the truth.

"You’ve got more things to do now."

Shard smiled as he spoke, but Mr. Benhart, unable to smile, merely sighed. After taking a few more steps, as they returned to the Cassandra Auction House entrance, Mr. Benhart couldn’t help but finally ask:

"Tell me, what is justice?"

"I don’t know, Mr. Benhart. Everyone’s justice differs; you must find your own answers."

"Then can you tell me what your justice is?"

He inquired, and Shard glanced at him:

"My justice... I’d love to share some abstract principles with you, like focusing on others’ well-being, but I think there’s no need—when encountering someone who needs help, if I’m available and it won’t harm me much, then I help."

The Outlander looked at the street view:

"Sounds a bit selfish, but that’s all I can manage."

"No, I think if this is truly your life principle, then you might be considered the best kind of person."

He praised, but Shard shook his head; he actually only did things that made him happy. And changing the bad endings of stories was conveniently one of those things that made him happy.

[Outlander, you’ve encountered "Enlightenment," you have an understanding of "justice."]

"Hmm... Don’t scare me."

"How is the child you mentioned, the one from the trash can doing?"

Mr. Benhart asked again.

"He’s working at a large hotel, with a pharmaceutical company sponsoring his education. I think this has changed his life."

"Of course... you’re right, Mr. Watson, justice is indeed complicated."

And so the morning matters were temporarily concluded, Shard briefly bade farewell to the brooding Mr. Benhart, arranging to meet at Margaret’s Manor in the evening. The invitation letter had already been given to Mr. Benhart, they still had to talk with the remaining three individuals tonight.

Next, Shard directly transported home using the Crystal Shoes, bringing Mia along before heading to Moon Bay.

Considering that he might return home late, and Dorothy and Luviya were both busy with exams, he thought of taking Mia to the estate, as both Tifa and Angelina, and Emilia were at Belindel Estate, where there were girls to care for her.

Returning to the Belindel Estate, it was already lunchtime. Although the Countess hadn’t returned for the meal, the girls remaining at the estate were still cheerful.

After lunch, while Shard initially thought of wandering the city or staying at the estate preparing for the evening banquet, Emilia found him alone and suspiciously called him into the hallway, under Angelina’s watchful gaze:

"My family informed me, ’Heart of the Oasis’ information is in this leaf."

The Elf Girl whispered, as if afraid others would hear, but this wasn’t something to be hidden:

"Hold the leaf before your eyes to receive the information within, it’s a one-time use, discarded after use."

She added, handing the leaf to Shard, hesitating before asking:

"Shard, you’ve mastered the Power of Time, so tell me, in our current era, can we extensively use time power to affect reality?"

Shard, who was watching the green leaf in his hand with the cat on his shoulder, looked up in confusion:

"That’s a strange question, but I don’t think we can.

Just as in the current Sixth Era, the instability of space has rendered most spatial movement methods unreliable. I think time should be similar, seemingly stable time also has unknown vulnerabilities, hence widespread time alteration would certainly lead to issues."

"Good that you understand."

The Elf Girl sighed in relief, no need for her to say it.

"Sorry, understand what?"

Shard asked in confusion, to which Emilia immediately shook her head and then said with a sweet smile:

"These days, Angelina and I will be staying at the estate, but we plan to go to the city for a walk by the weekend. This matter was mentioned to you in advance; maybe we’ll run into you in the city."

With that, she turned and left, as if afraid Shard would call out to her with more questions.

Shard could certainly sense that Emilia was hiding something, but everyone has their own secrets. Though the Outlander was full of curiosity, he also respected the various privacies of his friends around him.

The leaf Emilia gave to Shard is a special item made by the elves who believe in the ’Tree Father’. Its usage method is the same as acquiring knowledge, Arcane Technique, and Spirit Rune from the ’Ever-Youth Leaf’. Shard put it in front of his eyes and gained knowledge; afterward, the leaf withered, turning into a crisp yellow that seemed to crackle underfoot.

The leaf was left on the windowsill for Mia to play with, while Shard stood by the window looking at the city view and sorting through his gains.

The information within this leaf was significantly less than anything Shard had acquired with the ’Ever-Youth Leaf’ before, so he quickly understood what he had learned:

"The ’Heart of the Oasis’ is the tangible blessing of an Ancient God, from the Earth Mother Goddess, and is an enhanced version of Luviya’s ’Power of the Earth: Abundant Field.’

Its form is a piece of green crystal, which not only can be used to permanently alter the soil fertility and environment of an area, even affecting long-term climate, but once you master the effective means, you can also use its vast life force to perform powerful healing abilities."

The elves of the Moon Creek Clan provided the method of using the Heart of the Oasis for healing and briefly described other uses of the strange object, but did not say where to find it or how to sense its location.

However, Shard didn’t expect to get all the answers at once. Knowing the appearance and abilities of the ’Heart of the Oasis’ at least ensured that he wouldn’t miss it when he saw it.

This was already a great help to Shard. He even thought that if the Time Key journey ended and he had spare ’Ever-Youth Leaves,’ he would give one to Emilia as thanks.

The banquet at Margaret’s Manor was scheduled to start at seven in the evening, but because an early arrival was necessary, they had to leave Belindel Estate by six.

Therefore, that afternoon, even though Shard originally planned to look for the Raven’s Lair, he obediently gave up under the insistence of Miss Belindel, who returned in the afternoon, and let Miss Maid and others handle his makeup and dressing in the room.

He would still use the identity of the "cousin" to accompany the Countess to the banquet. The other two Grand Witches, considering this was Moon Bay, did not express any objections.

But Shard prepared two sets of clothing for himself since he would meet with Mr. Benhart and other Vampires midway. If recognized as the "cousin," it could cause trouble for many.

All three Grand Witches were, of course, attending the banquet. However, only Margaret and Miss Matilda among the Witch Apprentices would attend.

Tifa’s identity was sensitive, and Miss Swift did not arrive with much fanfare this time. Angelina had some interest in the banquet but refrained from attending due to her identity.

In summary, at six o’clock this evening, Shard entrusted Mia to Miss Maid for care, bade farewell to Tifa and Miss Swift, and set off with the elegantly dressed Miss Belindel in a carriage.

"I’m actually curious, why is this banquet, to welcome Princess Margaret, held at Margaret’s own manor?"

During the journey, Shard inquired:

"Traditionally, the venue for such a banquet should be provided by your Seven Great Families, right?"

The teardrop-shaped blue crystal, suspended by golden threads, perfectly concealed the crimson birthmark on the Countess’s forehead. In this era, headpieces were already widely popular, typically made up of jewelry, ornaments, and headdresses combined with hair accessories, bands, or nets, used to adorn the hairline or forehead, more importantly displaying a lady’s social status and wealth.

Being a witch, there was no issue of receding hairline; she simply liked the headpiece to cover the crimson birthmark... especially since Shard hinted at wanting to kiss it last time.

She laughed, covering her lipstick-stained lips:

"You’re right, initially this banquet was supposed to be held in the city council’s banquet hall. Her Highness Margaret herself suggested having it at her manor, saying it’s her way of expressing closeness to our Seven Great Families."

"And in reality?"

Shard asked again as the Countess took Shard’s hand, letting him play with the ring on her finger.

"The King of Velindale was worried about security issues. A decade ago, the grey-headed eagle struck hard in Moon Bay and eliminated several key figures among the Seven Great Families. Since then, the Anjou Royal Family almost never visits Moon Bay. They’re worried about retaliation, so she dared not hold a banquet outside right upon her arrival at Moon Bay."

Saying so, she didn’t mind that Miss Matilda was also in the carriage and directly hugged Shard’s arm:

"If I tell others that the grey-headed eagle is now in Moon Bay, their reactions would be quite amusing."

"My dear Countess, do you need me to kill someone for you?"

Shard asked with a smile, and the blonde Countess shook her head:

"Of course not; I’d rather dirty my own hands than yours."