Chapter 2311: The Eve of the Exam

Chapter 2311: Chapter 2311: The Eve of the Exam

Shard held the sword, once again attempting to infuse it with his spirit, and the angel’s shadow appeared behind him once more. This time, Shard clearly felt he could control the shadow more smoothly.

Though he did not intend to hold this sword for a long time, using it briefly was still fine.

Having asked the questions he came to ask the angel, Shard initially planned to take his leave. Hesitating for a moment, he still chose to ask another question:

"About [Desire]..."

"That is your desire."

The angel continued smiling:

"Your desire, you have to face it yourself, no one can help you with it."

She once again lightly touched the spot on Shard’s left chest with the tip of her long staff, and golden fragments splashed outward from the point of contact, making Shard feel considerably "cleaner" all over, but that’s all.

"I have applied purification to you, but it turns out, you weren’t cursed and weren’t inhabited by the power of that mermaid. Everything is just because of you."

"Yes, thank you for the reminder."

He petted the well-behaved cat, bowed, and bid farewell, but as he turned to leave, he heard the angel behind him softly say:

"In the Moon Bay Region, there indeed exists a piece of the Primeval Angel’s remains."

Since he needed to return the horse from White Valley Vineyard, Shard didn’t toss the Crystal Shoes back home but instead returned the way he came to the vineyard and then headed back home from the cellar.

The return trip took some time, and by the time Shard emerged from the basement holding Mia, the street lamps in Saint Delan Square outside his home were already lit.

The maids had prepared dinner at home; though Galina and Lecia didn’t actively say anything, as the two red-haired Cavendishes sat by the dining table and looked at Shard upon his entrance, Shard felt he had no reason not to sit down and have dinner at home.

"Meow~"

Besides, the cat would not easily allow Shard to leave like that.

At the dinner table, Lecia and Miss Galina, who had stayed home and not gone out all day, were curious about what Shard had done all day.

Shard then explained the matters concerning the [Angel’s Right Arm], the Light Chaser, and the Lake Goddess. Of course, he didn’t mention Priest Augustus at all.

"Another Angel-Level?"

The Balanced Great Witch was quite surprised:

"What is going on in Moon Bay? Isn’t there a bit too many Angel-Level relics?"

"When we were at Green Lake, we didn’t encounter this many Angel-Level relics."

Lecia agreed and then used a fork to deliver a piece of steak to Shard’s mouth.

After swallowing the beef, Shard said:

"Luviya mentioned before that the stories of The Chosen Ones become more dangerous each time, so it’s not unusual. At least the currently appearing Angel-Level relics only a few are hostile towards us."

He wiped his mouth:

"Miss Eles demonstrated her ability to extinguish light today, which was quite interesting. Seems I’ll have to chat with Luviya once exams are over."

"I have a question."

The beautiful Duke asked:

"You always tell others to set aside their tasks and focus on exams, have you prepared well yourself? Didn’t Miss Danester arrange for you to participate in the jump exams?"

Currently, Shard is still a fourth-year student at Saint Byrons, even one grade lower than Emilia, who obviously hasn’t noticed this.

During the summer exam week when he couldn’t originally take advanced exams, Miss Danester made an exception for Shard to take the exams for advancing from fourth to fifth grade and fifth to sixth grade. If all went well after these exams, Shard would be a sixth-grade correspondence student at Saint Byrons.

Though he is actually already a Seven-Ring Sorcerer.

"I’ve prepared quite adequately, at least I’ve memorized the knowledge in the books."

He said, raising his wine glass, as tonight’s dinner was exceptionally sumptuous.

Miss Galina and Lecia exchanged a glance:

"If the Saint Byrons exams only require the rote memorization of book knowledge, then despite two era’s transmissions, Saint Byrons wouldn’t amount to much.

Shard, we know that Moon Bay is currently in the last calm before the storm, with numerous tasks needing your attention. However, resting for a couple of days to review shouldn’t pose any harm, should it? Today is Thursday, you still have Friday and Saturday to review."

Their emphasis is on letting Shard rest a bit; he feels he’s done well with the reviewing.

But the suggestion is actually quite good. Shard thought for a moment, looking at the cat burying its head in the food:

"After dinner, I’ll head to Moon Bay again. If there’s truly nothing significant over there, I might consider resting for two days to review."

After dinner, heading to Moon Bay naturally meant there were things to do. Mia was left at home, and Shard himself, under the cover of night, arrived again at Belindel Manor.

This late, the girls at the manor had already finished dinner, and Miss Belindel, who was out, had returned.

Shard met her in the study, where she was discussing how to open the square metal box on the table with Miss Swift and Miss Eles.

"Indeed, the emblem of the Wood Family is on this. I’ve consulted the shared documents of the Wood Family, and of the circle sorcerers born in the Sixth Era, only three are clearly recorded. This box might be related to the second one. Perhaps he also found and entered that ruin and left this thing behind, waiting for a circle sorcerer descendant to seek it out."

The Countess said, noticing Shard walking in, she asked:

"Shard, do you remember Maryca Frost?"

"The female werewolf who’s helping in the kitchen now?"

Shard said casually, and the flaxen-haired girl greeted him, so Shard sat at her side:

"Her husband’s grandfather was rumored to be ’the Wood who wasn’t a Wood’, right? You also mentioned that the piece that originally should have belonged to your family, the Golden Dragon Scale, appearing in Whisper Hills might be because ’the Wood who wasn’t a Wood’ discovered some secrets."

The witch nodded gently, pointing to the intricate mechanism box on the table:

"It’s not easy to open this thing out of thin air. The Wood Family doesn’t have clues regarding this box, but the Marchioness of Ankara showed me the Frost House relics, which included a strange oil painting with patterns similar to this box. The three of us are discussing how to open it. Miss Swift has truly learned a lot from Granny Cassandra."

The latter smiled at Shard, who confusedly asked:

"Can’t you use sorcery to unlock it? You should know I have a sorcery spell that works well. Or, I actually have a [Master Key] with me that I got from a demon at Green Lake."

"No, no, Shard."

The blue-eyed Dragon Lady said:

"Your sorcery and that relic can indeed unlock it, but we’re not sure if there are countermeasures inside the box against such non-conventional unlocking methods. If the internal items are damaged, that would be disastrous."

The witch pointed to the Golden Dragon Scale, Black Dragon Scale, and the Compass crafted by Luviya on the table:

"Look, this box likely contains dragon scales too. Even if the probability is very small, we cannot risk the dragon scales getting damaged."

The three of them continued to discuss how to open the box. Miss Swift had learned from Granny Cassandra some formal puzzle-solving methods for unlocking similar boxes; Miss Eles preferred to use the clues gathered from the investigation to find a key; and the witch wished to divine the method through divination.

Finally, they decided to use all three methods together. Now with the box in hand, opening it was just a matter of time.

"You should be careful not to let the Light Chasers sense this box again."

Shard reminded, the Countess moved to his other side and affectionately held one of his hands:

"Are you underestimating me? Blocking divination and sensing is what I’m best at."

"Then how do you view the Light Chasers? Should we change the actions of the [Light Worshipper Training Association]?"

This would be the first major action by the [Witch Council] locally since the Moon Bay incident, and for Miss Belindel, organizing such a council event for the first time, it was also a chance for personal revenge, so she was highly concerned.

"The plan remains unchanged; we’ll act once Miss Eles returns from the New World with Sister Delphine and Hevy. Although the nun has to return directly to the [Spiritual Practice Order], and her close cooperation with the council cannot be easily exposed, with so many great witches and Miss Eles, it’s enough, just a pity that Audrey and Megan can only arrive next week."

She said, gesturing to the maids to pour tea:

"Miss Eles said she will leave tomorrow morning and can bring them back by Saturday evening; I plan to act on Sunday."

"I have an exam on Sunday."

Shard reminded:

"And it’s likely to last all day, so can we act on Sunday night?"

"No, no."

The blue-eyed girl sitting opposite on the sofa shook her head:

"You focus on your exam; you don’t need to be involved this time. Four witches with council seats will act together, and with me, in the Fifth Era, this would be enough to clear any continent."

However, that was the Fifth Era when the minimum requirement for seats was Thirteen Rings, and the witches sitting at that round table included demigods, and if unlucky, even demigods might not secure a council seat.

"Shard, Granny said as well, we can’t rely on you for everything."

Miss Swift also said, her flaxen hair tied up and coiled on the back of her head:

"We’re not relying on you to act, and the enemy this time is not exactly countered by Miss Elaine, right? Perhaps you should trust us; after all, we are worthy of your trust."

"Really, you don’t need me?"

"If you’re willing, you can lend us the [Night Watchman] and [Angel’s Right Arm]."

The Great Witch of Destiny said, and seeing their insistence, and not having a bad premonition, Shard could only nod:

"Both swords can be lent to you. But you must act on Sunday afternoon, not in the morning; after my exams in the afternoon, I’ll come over immediately."