Chapter 2367: Gift from the Ocean

Chapter 2367: Chapter 2367: Gift from the Ocean

"But I just want to use this coin for divination. Including this one, I have six special coins in hand now, that’s really nice... Speaking of which, if I use this coin in the Moon Bay region, I wonder what will happen."

Since appearing from the black market, it was already past eleven o’clock. Thinking that there wouldn’t be any more gains at Coldwater Port, Shard didn’t bother to go to the beach to trouble those occasionally smelly mermen, so he finally went to the "Pink Rose Inn" in the deep alleys of the dock’s slum.

This is where Shard initially met the "Demonologist" Mr. Sean Asmon, and it was here that Shard listened to the beginning of that demon story and won the suit nine of [Demon: Soul Stealer Bishop] while playing cards.

The soggy weather made even the inn seem damp. Indoor lighting was poor, so the stingy owner lit a kerosene lamp on the table when there were guests.

The tavern on the first floor of the inn wasn’t crowded on Saturday morning, besides the guests, there were a few flashy dressed women sitting in the corners waiting for customers.

Shard sat at the table by the wall where he had played cards with the Demonologist, ordering a rum he didn’t actually plan to drink, intending to leave by eleven forty to return home for lunch. Unexpectedly, the inn indeed had a surprise waiting for him.

After sitting down, he opened the day’s "Draleon Daily," intending to continue looking if there was anything interesting in the ads on the back page. But before he could finish reading the second ad for "Laplace Tobacco Company Lemon-Flavored Cigarettes," someone actively sat across from him.

Shard peeked from behind the newspaper to see a stranger wearing a black hat, just an ordinary person. The latter seemed afraid of light, with the hat covering half the face, a cloth mask on the face, the whole body wrapped in thick black clothes, and the exposed hands wrapped in somewhat yellowed bandages.

"Who are you...?"

Shard raised his eyebrows while the stranger placed his dirty black suitcase onto the table, then took out a dirty gray cloth bag. The bag was tied with a string, which he loosened before pushing the bag to Shard:

"Merchant, lottery game merchant. Three pounds, choose one from the three prizes in the bag."

Shard twitched his nose, clearly smelling that unique ocean stench. If he encountered such a person elsewhere, he would immediately deem him a fraud, three pounds was no small sum, but now...

"Sure, I like lottery games."

He took out three 1-pound coins from his pocket, and the man across the table casually swept them into his coat pocket.

Shard again stared at the bag in front of him, pondering for a moment before reaching inside. The size of the space in the bag felt normal, and Shard touched three simple paper balls.

Because "she" could perceive the outside from any part of Shard’s body, theoretically Shard could use some methods to know the contents on the paper balls. But he didn’t do so, instead, he followed his heart and casually pulled out one of them from the bag:

"This one."

The stranger across the table motioned for him to open it himself, and the crumpled paper ball seemed to have been casually torn from a notebook. After unfolding it, there was only a red whirlpool symbol drawn on it, prompting the man across the table to casually slap his suitcase three times with his bandaged hand, and then forcefully pushed it to Shard:

"It’s yours."

Saying so, he stood up and left, not even thinking about taking the bag full of paper balls. Shard didn’t think to chase after him but instead looked inquisitively at the suitcase and then at the bag:

"What would be on the other two paper balls?"

Satisfying his curiosity with action, Shard opened the other two paper balls, which were a dark blue skull symbol and a brownish-yellow lightning symbol respectively.

"Did you understand?"

"She" suddenly asked in Shard’s ear, and Shard nodded:

"They represent those three. I think if I had picked a different paper ball, the item inside this suitcase would be different."

Speaking, he then stuffed the bag, which really was ordinary, into his pocket and then picked up the suitcase to leave, leaving behind the untouched glass calmly placed next to the flickering flame of the kerosene lamp.

Shard certainly wouldn’t open the suitcase in the tavern, he carried the suitcase with an umbrella to the secluded area of the slum, and returned home directly after tossing the crystal shoes.

With a loud bang, he closed the umbrella, the raindrops that were about to splash onto the maid miss’s bed were controlled by Shard to fly back.

Mia’s sound of running downstairs to greet him immediately appeared, Shard brushed the badge on his chest, knowing that Miss Galina, who went to a meeting this morning, had also returned.

"How did the meeting go?"

Holding Mia in one hand, when arriving at the second floor, the witch was sitting on the sofa talking with Dorothy. Dorothy slightly moved to let Shard sit between them, so the red-haired witch boldly leaned her head on his shoulder:

"Oh, what kind of result can such a breakfast meeting have? I prepared the meals, the Speaker prepared the tea, others prepared their respective snacks. Granny Cassandra’s snacks are always the best, she surely has a secret formula, I wonder how much Miss Rita Swift has learned."

"Just now Galina was telling me, they didn’t come to any conclusions all morning. They merely used the power of the council to know what kind of skincare products could resist harmful rays."

Dorothy covered her mouth and laughed as she spoke, and the beautiful Red-Haired Duchess nodded in agreement:

"Yes, yes, but His Excellency the Speaker asked again this time whether she wanted her to help in Moon Bay. Bella said it’s not necessary for now, and if needed, she would directly ask others for help. This time, His Excellency the Speaker was quite generous in opening the Council’s armory to let the girls involved in the Moon Bay incident—yes, witches and witch apprentices all included—even the Observer Sister Delphine, Miss Eles, Grace, and Helen were included."

She seemed to find this quite unfair:

"Megan and Audrey didn’t claim to be two people this time, but why don’t I get that?! Although the best weapon offered in the open armory is only Sage Level, I’ve long had my eye on a very beautiful set of jewelry from the armory."

"Because you’re in Tobesk."

Shard said with a smile, while Dorothy also smiled beside him.

"But the early meeting wasn’t just about distributing weapons. This time, two matters have actually reached a conclusion. One is the issue of the Keeper of Secrets Level Relic known as the ’Star Swordstone’ you mentioned."

She lazily leaned against Shard’s shoulder, watching her maids tidy up the teapot on the coffee table and replace it with a new teapot and fruits:

"His Excellency the Speaker said the material of her pocket watch is not a remnant from the Fifth Era but a product of the Sixth Era. The ’Star Swordstone’ is highly likely to be in the hands of a small Circle Sorcerer Organization known as the ’Volcano Alliance’. This is a group of Circle Sorcerers active in the Archipelago Kingdom in the Outer Sea west of the Old Continent, reportedly an order of believers in the Old God-Volcano God-the ’Lord of Lava’. But this organization is so small that we don’t know much about them."

She sat up straight, picked up the freshly poured teacup, but actually handed it to Shard:

"Since Bella says they still have control over the situation in Moon Bay, His Excellency the Speaker and the Moon’s Grand Witch are setting forth to search for that relic. They can both fly and know the approximate location of the ’Volcano Alliance’, so whether things go smoothly or not, there will be news within a day or two."

"That’s a good idea."

Shard said, feeling deeply the advantage of having enough manpower:

"What’s the second conclusion?"

"Tomorrow, which is Sunday afternoon until the night fully falls, the sunlight will also have problems. It’s still centered on Moon Bay, and since sunlight is far stronger than moonlight and starlight, this will cause some adverse effects in Moon Bay.

This result was accurately divined by the power of the Council itself, and Miss Isabella asked Bella to remind the Church... but I believe the Church can find out in advance as well, after all, they have a whole lot of Diviners from the Prophet’s Society."

Shard frowned slightly, while Dorothy then asked:

"Shard, what’s in this suitcase you brought? Why does it have such a strong fishy smell? Look at Mia, she’s hiding behind the back of the sofa."

"The cat actually hates the smell of fish~"

The witch covered her mouth and chuckled, but along with Dorothy, she moved the items on the coffee table a bit aside for Shard to place the suitcase on it.

"I just made a trip to Coldwater Port, and a few guys who were unwilling to help did sponsor me with some goodies, but I don’t know what they are either."

With two clicks, the locks of the box snapped open, and the good news was that Shard didn’t sense any divine power, so Galina and Dorothy could take a look inside; the bad news was that there wasn’t any divine power inside, which was exactly what Shard lacked in facing the Evil God about to descend on Moon Bay.

After all, even the most powerful ’Unclassified Level Relic (Level 0)’ can only slightly restrict a deity.

The box was opened, and embedded in the lining were three items: a "ruby", a square stone block with a cross pattern on its surface, and a blood-red copper whistle.

"Just these three? That’s more stingy than I thought, this is..."

Shard picked up the "ruby" about a quarter of the size of his fist and was amazed when he felt it in his palm:

"Philosopher’s Stone? So much of it?"

The rest of the Philosopher’s Stone that he got from Laplace Howard and the gifts from the Church added up to just about this much.

"But what do I need a Philosopher’s Stone for? I know the Philosopher’s Stone is valuable, but for the upcoming..."

He paused slightly; gods do everything for a reason, and although Shard thought the three were quite stingy, since they gave it, there must be a reason.

So his eyes narrowed again:

"Could it really be like this?"