Chapter 2335: Stroll by the Seaside

Chapter 2335: Chapter 2335: Stroll by the Seaside

When Shard arrived at Belindel Estate, the atmosphere was no longer as tense as it was when he left last night, but it had not returned to its usual calm.

Last night, after such events, the Countess with a beautiful vermilion birthmark on her forehead had gone to City Hall to oversee matters. The city council would be busy for some time with the appeasement and aftermath.

Miss Sylvia was on Margaret’s side, urgently preparing for the Princess’s afternoon speech. Margaret had to make a statement on behalf of the Royal Family regarding last night’s events. Miss Benanis, meanwhile, was with Ciris, rehearsing at the Opera House with the ladies of the Golden Dawn Opera Group.

Originally, they were to begin their official performances tomorrow, but now all cultural performances in the city were to be suspended. They would participate in upcoming charity performances to raise funds for rebuilding the affected neighborhoods, and thus some parts of the performances had to change.

Miss Swift went to the local Cassandra Auction House to arrange for upcoming charity auctions over the next few weeks, and naturally, Miss Matilda was with the Duchess.

Even Emilia and Angelina were not present. The Elf Girl had volunteered to help with the Golden Dawn Opera Group, and Angelina was temporarily taken by Miss Sylvia to help with the urgent affairs on Margaret’s side due to a lack of manpower.

The Little Princess was certainly capable, but as Shard had said to Miss Galina last week, in politics, the key is not ability but relationships. And Angelina and Margaret, due to Shard’s influence... well, they certainly had a connection.

Moreover, since Miss Aphrola’s apprentice, Miss Haley Aflora, was still on her way to Moon Bay, at this moment, only Tifa, Miss Eles, and Miss Aphrola remained at the estate.

Of course, the Little Unicorn was also present. When the Maid led Shard upstairs, it happily ran to greet Shard. When it noticed Mia hadn’t come along, Shard felt—perhaps it was his imagination—that the pure white little creature moved even more joyfully.

Bringing the Little Unicorn to the study, Tifa, Miss Eles, and Miss Aphrola were all there. The black-haired Maid of the Northern Country was leading the maidservants to recreate last night’s situation and record it on the sandbox created by Miss Benanis last night. The Blue Dragon Girl and the Light Witch were sitting on the sofa talking.

"Good morning, Shard."

The brown big wave-haired Witch said with a smile, then waved to the Little Unicorn. And Shard immediately noticed the open sealed box on the table—the one taken from Creekland at the foot of Vulture Mountain and the three Dragon Scales of black, gold, and green.

"The box was opened?"

He asked excitedly.

"Miss Swift opened it this morning. The apprentice of this era’s Dark Witch seems quite skilled in such intricate craftsmanship. Perhaps she also has the craft of a Mechanic."

Miss Eles said, and after Shard sat down beside her, she continued:

"I talked to Miss Hevy Aurora this morning. She now knows who I am."

"Yes, yes, the eldest daughter of the Petus Family on Efate Island, southeast of the Archipelago Kingdom - Karagly. Originally a girl Shard knew from the Fifth Era."

Miss Aphrola shook her head as she spoke, and Shard curiously asked:

"Is this island and this family real?"

"Of course."

Miss Eles nodded, her blue eyes carrying a smile:

"Although I have no intention of managing any of my own forces, collecting precious materials over the years does require money. I have connections with many forces on the Archipelago Kingdom, and the Petus Family was spared extinction thanks to my intervention, so they admire me. They don’t mind me using their name outside."

"Or they don’t dare mind."

Miss Aphrola also said with a smile, the blue-eyed girl blinked:

"Shouldn’t make a difference."

Shard laughed, reaching out to take the brand new Dragon Scale on the table:

"The Wood Family is Green Dragon Scales, right? Did Miss Belindel make them resonate? Did it create new Dragon Language Runes?"

"See for yourself."

The Blue Dragon Girl gestured, and the three Dragon Scales floated into the air. Streams of gold, green, and black light continuously exchanged communication between them until they formed an illusory light screen. And within that light screen, more runes than last time emerged.

With a rustling sound, Shard turned to see Tifa pulling the curtains by the window. The darker room made the runes clearer. He stood up to take a look, and neither Miss Eles nor Miss Aphrola interrupted him.

Shard only sat down again after a long while:

"There are more runes than last time. Last time, it was impossible to decipher, but this time it’s enough to deduce some fragmentary rune strings. But the grammar of the Ancient Dragon Language is quite complex, and with just these runes now, I can’t understand what it means."

"Still need more Dragon Scales, right?"

Miss Aphrola asked, Shard nodded:

"Miss Belindel’s investigation will speed up the process, the remaining four Dragon Scales are with the Hawthorn Family, the Blue Family, the Wright Family, the Edington Family... it’s uncertain if the remaining four scales have already been taken by someone else. Since the Light Chasers are studying that Elven Ruins, they might have long known the secret of the Dragon Scales."

"When is Luviya coming over?"

The Witch asked again.

"Within a day or two, we just finished our summer exams, she needs to handle some personal matters in Tobesk."

Shard frowned at the Dragon Language Runes floating in the air, raised his hand to gently wipe them, and as the Golden Dragon’s scales shifted positions, three scales lost their resonance and all fell from above the coffee table.

Because there were things to do in the afternoon, Shard could only move around Moon Bay in the morning. Miss Aphrola then invited Shard for a walk along the seaside, she wanted to chat with Shard about their matters in the New World.

Miss Eles naturally wouldn’t come along, after all, the Belindel Estate still needed someone who could take charge. Tifa could handle various affairs, but she was still only in the Inner Ring, and Miss Aphrola herself admitted, she likely couldn’t defeat Miss Eles.

"Are you sure Miss Eles is stronger than you?"

Standing on the pier not far from the front of "Princess Trading Partners", gazing out at the sea, Shard looked somewhat surprised at the Witch beside him. In his impression, besides the Grand Witch of Time, Miss Adel Isabella, this "Light" Grand Witch was the strongest Grand Witch of this generation.

The others of the Twelfth Rank couldn’t compare to her. "Witch of the Earth" Vanessa Aphrola and "Witch of Knowledge and Wisdom" Megan/Audrey Edwards only advanced to the Twelfth Rank this year and were still inexperienced. Miss Galina, though she advanced last year, was still not the same as Miss Aphrola who advanced on her own.

As for before Shard appeared, the Council’s other Twelfth Rank Witch, Shard heard that she seemed to be the Witch of "Creation". Though she was the second seat by order, that was just because her seniority was slightly higher than Miss Aphrola’s.

"Of course I’m sure, though ’Radiance’ is just a Circle Sorcerer by profession, you know what she really is better than I do."

Her pretty golden eyes glanced at Shard; it seemed Miss Eles and Miss Aphrola had communicated quite deeply, and it was Shard who knew Miss Eles’s true nature the best:

"She is a blessed spirit born in the ocean."

After last night’s turmoil, it was the Dock Area, as the main battleground, that actually did not suffer much damage. Most of the fighting took place on the sea, and the dock’s infrastructure wasn’t significantly affected. The greatest loss the port suffered was actually the few ships docked at sea.

Therefore, after one night, the dock’s order remained the same as usual. Ships continued unloading and loading, and travelers waiting to head to the New World or other cities queued up to board. Judging by the flag the cruise ship bore, it seemed to be heading to the Northern Country.

Beautiful ladies always draw attention, so the two did not stay on the pier long but walked towards the beach instead.

There were no clouds above the harbor, under the azure blue sky, the boundary between the beach and tide was not very clear. Shard and Miss Aphrola walked along the beach together, waves occasionally washing over their shoes, yet neither cared about it.

The Witch with her wavy brown hair walked slightly ahead of Shard, hands behind her back. Looking at her profile and figure, Shard felt that Miss Aphrola actually exuded a youthful vibe.

"My adventure with Delphine in the New World was quite interesting; fortunately, we finally found the Primal Fire Spark recorded in the Prophet’s material. Guess, Shard, in what form did that spark appear?"

She smiled, turning her head slightly to look at Shard, with the clear sky and the azure sea as her backdrop.

"Since you mention it this way, it must not be an ordinary storage method. We’ve come across two Lanterns storing the Flame, which is the safest storage method. Besides this, some complex rituals can also store it. The Fire of the Primordial is extremely dangerous for anyone besides the Nun and me... wait a moment."

Shard looked at her:

"Was the Flame on a living creature this time?"

Hevy Aurora smiled, looking at him:

"The Nun was right, sometimes your inspiration is too strong. A three-story high unknown beast had devoured the Flame, but just as you said, besides the nun safeguarding the fire and you, that Flame was a deadly threat to other creatures.

Infected by the Primal Fire, it transformed into a monster burning all over, which Delphine called ’Frenzy Fire Monster’. We spent a month tracking it deep in the New World, and after successfully hunting it, it took a long time to find the ruins where it devoured the Primal Fire."

Just listening to her description, Shard could imagine how dangerous that New World adventure was:

"Did you find any interesting information in the ruins?"

"Yes, that’s why the Nun was so eager to return to the ’Spiritual Practice Order’ without even meeting you first. But she asked me to tell you that the power of the Primal Fire has been further enhanced, and she will be coming to Moon Bay soon, bringing you new power as well."