Chapter 2365: Star Swordstone

“When the ‘Time Flute’ is waved, it only occasionally makes a sound, but when it triggers an effect that influences time, the flute will definitely emit a sound. In fact, some documents within the clan also refer to it as a ‘Time Controller,’ but I still think ‘Time Flute’ sounds better.”

For some reason, when mentioning “Time Controller,” Megan’s face turned slightly red, but Shard didn’t pay attention to that:

“What is the negative trait?”

“The negative trait is, if you use that sword to manipulate time excessively, you yourself will also fall under the Time Curse. I’m not sure what exactly this means; all the texts and documents are deliberately vague, but it must certainly be terrifying.”

She thought for a moment and then added:

“The containment method is to stab it into a tree, which speeds up the tree’s growth, but it’s not a big issue. However, sometimes those trees may suddenly be affected by the sword and either grow rapidly or revert to seedlings. When this happens, a new tree needs to be found, but our Holy Tree can permanently contain that sword. As for enhancing time-related incantations and rituals, this is certainly possible. This is part of the ‘Time Flute’s’ basic ability, similar to the ‘Angel’s Right Arm’ currently in the manor, which can enhance holy and blessing powers.”

Then, with her pretty green eyes, she looked at Shard:

“Shard, do you need that sword?”

Although a bit embarrassed, Shard still said:

“Not for now, but perhaps in the near future, I might need to use a very potent time ability. If possible, I hope to borrow that sword then.”

“No problem, I’ll write a letter before resting tonight.”

She said with a smile, seeing the worried expression on Shard’s face, she proactively added:

“Luviya has actually discussed the Chosen One with me, so you don’t need to worry. Besides, with so many people here to protect me, I’m the safest one.”

“What do you mean by safe?”

Just then, Angelina appeared at the door, using a small handkerchief to wipe her nose, prompting Megan to ask with concern:

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine, just… a bit weak.”

She said, puckering her lips a bit, and Megan lightly nudged Shard, prompting Shard to embrace Angelina, who blushed:

“Since Lecia isn’t here, I’ll give you a hug on her behalf. Everyone starts from the Low Ring; it’s perfectly normal. I heard you have already acquired two Spirit Runes of the First Ring? Isn’t that quite fast?”

After saying this, he released her, and under Megan’s blushing gaze, kissed Angelina’s forehead:

“This is my consolation to you, don’t worry about it, someday you will become strong too, just like Lecia.”

“Yes, someday I will.”

Angelina nodded immediately, and then Shard was called away by Luviya, who had returned from downstairs. With her hands behind her back, Angelina watched him leave the dining room, then turned back to find Megan looking at her curiously:

“Just now, Shard kissed your forehead… Oh, I get it, you said your sister, Princess Lecia, is Shard’s lover, so he treats you like a sister.”

“Of course not.”

Feeling suddenly cheerful, Angelina shook her head right away and boasted:

“Shard and I, we’re…”

She glanced around and then leaned in to whisper about the “Vase Appreciation” matter to her good friend.

The Elf Girl’s cheeks turned red again:

“You’re quite daring… does your sister know?”

“Of course she knows, but can my sister stop my romance? Megan, you must understand, only love and war require no reasoning. All the girls in the House of Cavendish know this; my sister has been saying this to me since I was little… Of course, I felt she mainly wanted me to understand what war was.”

Without Lecia around, Angelina spoke boldly. Megan nodded thoughtfully, looking in the direction Shard had left.

On the other side, after being called downstairs by Luviya, Shard stood in the hallway with her and Miss Eles, directly gazing out at the bright night outside the door.

It seemed that compared to the view from the dining room window earlier, it appeared even brighter outside now. Mia was also held by Shard, looking outside while meowing a few times, but was quickly tucked back into Shard’s clothes.

“It seems this won’t be resolved anytime soon.”

The blue-eyed girl said sadly to Shard:

“Before I fell asleep, although Miss Violet and Miss Teresa mentioned that the Sixth Era would be vastly different from the Fifth Era, I didn’t expect something like this to happen. Even in the Fifth Era, the demigods of the council probably wouldn’t be able to come up with a solution immediately to this issue… At most, they would join forces to summon clouds to change the weather, blocking the moon and stars.”

Luviya, standing beside her, nodded:

“My feelings are similar to Miss Eles’s. Currently, there is no way to fundamentally solve this problem, at most just obscure the light. I think within half an hour, the church will have clouds shrouding above Moon Bay, perhaps it will rain tomorrow… Thinking about it, the pollution black fog brought by the Steam Factory doesn’t seem to be a bad thing.”

This is truly a very darkly humorous joke.

The witches wouldn’t be back for a while, so Shard and the others went to the study first. On the way, Shard also told them about the Time Flute coming to Moon Bay. Luviya didn’t mind it, but the Blue Dragon Girl commented:

“I know of this relic, Miss Violet and Miss Teresa mentioned that sword. It was… during a winter one year when we were gathered around the fireplace having afternoon tea, I remember the chocolate cookies on the table were delicious.”

Miss Violet commented that the wooden sword was likely crafted from a fresh branch of the World Tree before it withered, preserved into the mid-Second Era to make the weapon.”

“A wooden sword?”

Luviya asked curiously, to which the Blue Dragon Girl nodded:

“Not a fragile wooden sword as you might imagine, but a very sturdy wooden sword. The sharpness of that sword might not compare to Shard’s Night Watchman, but certainly cannot be matched by an ordinary longsword.”

The black, green, gold, and silver dragon scales had already been sent to the study, and once the three were seated, Miss Eles reached out to let the dragon scales float, attempting to position them as Miss Belindel taught, to induce resonance.

She soon succeeded, and streams of light from the four dragon scales flowed towards the other three, sketching out an even denser light curtain. A vast array of Dragon Language Runes appeared once more before them, and since Shard was the only one who understood this language, he furrowed his brows to examine it carefully:

“Still unable to form complete sentences, but there are recognizable phrases now. Many phrases related to the sword, indicating that the information here is closely associated with, if not part of, the Chosen One Ceremony.”

After studying for a while, he sat back down, and a fluffy cat seized the moment to jump onto his lap:

“Many segments are too isolated, I’ll jot them down later for us to attempt interpretation together. But I did find a complete proper noun in it – ‘Star Swordstone’.”

He tried different pronunciations of the term, and Luviya and Miss Eles soon picked up on the nuance:

“Keeper of Secrets Level Relic ‘Star Swordstone,’ this relic is ancient and quite famous within certain communities. On a clear night, striking the stone with thunder causes a sword-shaped meteor to fall from the starry sky. The meteor itself is active and will attack the user of the relic, but once defeated and rendered inactive, the meteor is an extremely precious meteorite alloy material.”

“The alloy, called ‘Starlight Iron,’ is more precious than the Astral Meteorite brought about by the appearance of ‘Starlight Hues’ during the Green Lake Battle. During the era of cold weapons, weapons forged from this material were highly coveted due to their excellent metal traits and naturally embedded Whisper Element.”

“Though we don’t know how it relates to the Chosen One Ceremony, acquiring it first seems advisable. Where is this relic now?”

Shard inquired, and Luviya shook her head:

“Since the onset of the Sixth Era, there’s been no mention of this relic resurfacing, it seems lost during the transition between eras. If it weren’t for its fame, I wouldn’t even have thought of this thing.”

Miss Eles recalled:

“During the era I lived in the Fifth Era, the ‘Star Swordstone’ was in the possession of a renowned Twelfth Rank Witch on the Western Continent. She specialized in weapon making and even wrote to Miss Violet, attempting to borrow Night Watchman for research, but was refused by Miss Violet… Beyond that, not much is known.”

“A lost relic…”

“What was lost?”

A voice came from the doorway as the badge heated rapidly, and the ladies returning from the council entered the study one after another, quicker than Shard anticipated.

Hence Shard repeated the findings from the Dragon Language Runes about the relic Star Swordstone, and though Miss Belindel, Miss Aphrola, Vanessa, and Miss Sylvia didn’t know its whereabouts, they agreed it was necessary to acquire it first.

Megan pondered and then said:

“During casual conversation with His Excellency the Speaker, she mentioned this ‘Starlight Iron’… reminds me, she said the pocket watch she always carried contained ‘Starlight Iron,’ explaining its high quality. Initially, she worried about concealing the weak Whisper Element within, but later the council’s Grand Witch of Creation helped her convert the pocket watch completely into an ordinary item.”

All the girls showed interest in this tidbit, while Shard subtly shifted his position, as the toy transformed from the pocket watch was now with him.

“So where did the Speaker’s Starlight Iron come from?”

Luviya asked, and Megan shook her head:

“I didn’t ask about that. No worries, during the meeting earlier, we simply discussed tonight’s celestial phenomena briefly. Similar instances of overly bright stars and moon occurred in regions other council members are situated. His Excellency the Speaker mentioned another meeting tomorrow morning, Galina even complained about it… I’ll inquire then. If it truly relates to the Chosen One Ceremony, even if it was lost since the start of the First Era, it surely would resurface at Moon Bay.”