Free Web NovelChapter 2006: Chapter 2006: The Undertaker
Shard squinted, watching that boat under the moonlight finally shrink into an indistinct black dot, but then the dot turned back, returning against the direction of the countless Spirits quietly gliding forward on the water’s surface.
On the returning little boat sat a soul whose figure was clearly that of an adult, and the boat itself seemed to be draped in a layer of moonlight. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Only when that little boat came closer did Shard see that the person sitting on it was the Fourth Generation’s youngest daughter, the one who had once hidden in that lavender field—Maria Edwards.
But it was not that the soul’s return had chosen the wrong person; the tiny figure held in the arms of that mature lady was the true target this time. Laster Edwards’ soul was in a deep sleep, lying silent in the arms of his younger brother’s granddaughter.
The little boat brushed against the shallows and, after a slight sway, ran aground again. Maria Edwards stood up from the boat, smiled, and shook her head at Shard, signaling him not to speak, then stepped off the boat and passed the girl in her arms to him.
"Meow~"
The cat on Shard’s shoulder immediately let out a protest, so Shard had to turn his head toward Sister Delphine. The Nun came over and took the girl from Maria Edwards’ arms.
Maria still said nothing. She nodded lightly to the two of them, then once again sat on that little boat which had, at some unknown moment, already turned around. The boat carried her away once more, heading toward the half-sunken Nether Moon at what seemed to be the end of the World.
The countless souls shone with a dim, pearl-like Glimmer, so that under the moonlight the black surface of the Lake did not appear dark at all. So tranquil, so still—this was the end of everything.
Shard and Sister Delphine did not immediately turn away. They watched the little boat sail into the distance until it finally disappeared.
[Outlander, you have completed a full cycle of life and Death; you have sent away a guilty soul and welcomed a pure white soul.]
"She" paused for a moment.
[Your soul intensity has increased slightly.]
"I remember my profession is a Detective, not some Undertaker. Why would doing something like this increase my soul intensity?"
Shard wondered suspiciously in his heart, and Sister Delphine said beside him:
"I’m very glad that you understand Balance between life and Death."
"Of course I understand. Joey Barton is the best example, isn’t he? I remember all the Errors that others have made."
The two of them turned and walked toward the tall Stone Gate standing behind the shallows. The Stone Gate was connected to the towering cliff behind it. Shard had no interest in what lay beyond the cliff; this place itself was a conceptual location, and discussing its terrain had not the slightest meaning.
"What kind of look is that?"
Only after the three of them exited the [Soul Graveyard] did Shard question Megan. The Grand Witch of Wisdom and Knowledge still had not recovered from the shock of that scene just now:
"I feel like I was watching some sort of Myth. Sending one person off from Death and welcoming another in... Even if we’re Circle Sorcerers, wasn’t what you two just did a bit too much?"
"It was all thanks to Sister Delphine. She is The Chosen One of Death and has this Power."
If Sister Delphine weren’t wearing an eyepatch, Shard was certain she would be giving him a look utterly at odds with her usual demeanor.
Mia remained at home. Shard and the other two passed through the Spatial Labyrinth in the basement and returned once more to Green Lake City, and from there reached Green Island.
The Nun did not continue to act together with them, so Shard and Megan returned to Edwards’ Old House. After knocking on the door of the third-floor bedroom that had originally belonged to Laster Edwards, the haggard man who came out of the room froze as though struck by Thunder when he saw the girl in Megan’s arms.
The girl, who had been asleep all the way, perhaps because she felt she had finally returned home, opened her eyes sleepily in her soul status, looked around suspiciously, and then suddenly saw Durut Giles:
"Giles! Giles! So you died too after all? Father really is amazing!"
Laughing, she drifted toward the man, and the two of them held each other tightly. Durut Giles was already sobbing so hard he could not speak:
"Thank you, thank you."
Shard knew those words were meant for him:
"I only helped you for Professor Manning’s sake. Remember to visit the Professor often in the future, so that I won’t have helped the wrong person. Next, I have two friends who also need to take the train back to Tobesk City. Pack your things and go back with them. From now on, do your job as a history lecturer properly, and try to become a Professor before you retire... When you leave this World, you must take her away with you. Do you understand?"
The latter nodded as he held the girl in his arms. Shard let out a breath, refrained from disturbing them further, and left together with Megan.
As they went downstairs, the Witch eyed Shard curiously:
"You really are a kind person. In order to see the best possible outcome, you even took care of something like this. That heart, which seemed to play such a vital role in all of this, was something you got from the Church by cashing in a favor from the God Summoner. You actually did all that for someone else..."
She brushed back her hair and smiled at Shard:
"Could it really be like Father said downstairs this morning—that all of this was for me?"
"Both reasons."
"If you just admitted it was all because of me, I’d be happier. But I also know what you’re like—interesting and yet boring at the same time... Tell me, Laster and Durut Giles, what exactly are they to each other?"
"We’re not discussing that kind of sensitive topic."
Shard answered very cautiously. Megan’s smile returned; she looked at him and asked her next question:
"Then what would you say you and I are to each other? Is our relationship a sensitive topic too?"
Shard stopped going down the stairs, and Megan stopped as well. Her manner was perfectly natural, those golden eyes looking straight at Shard, and Shard answered the expectation she was trying to hide:
"Everything I said this morning was true. I became a Circle Sorcerer last summer, and in under a year I’m already at the Seventh Ring. I think, if nothing unexpected happens, within a year or two—by the end of 1856, say—reaching Thirteen Rings shouldn’t be a problem for me... Saying it like that sounds a little arrogant. But by then, I’ll be able to take responsibility for all of you."
The Witch was satisfied with that. Smiling, she wrapped her arms around Shard’s:
"The Edwards Family is now a thing of the past. From here on, Green Island belongs to the Hamilton Family."
"I still don’t like calling it that, ’family’..."
The Outlander who had come here alone suddenly didn’t know what to say. Even though the God Summoner really didn’t have a power base of his own, without him realizing it, he already had so many people by his side.
Shard first went home to fetch the cat, who hadn’t wanted to come out earlier, and then had lunch with the Grand Witches at the Green Lake Hotel.
Granny Cassandra was scheduled to leave in the afternoon, so this meal also counted as a farewell for the Old Witch. Grace, Helen, and Miss Rita Swift would be leaving with her, but once they were back at Midshire Fort, for Shard to see them again would only be a journey of a bit over twenty minutes.
After lunch, the Witch apprentice with flaxen hair tugged on Shard’s sleeve and asked him to take a walk with her outside the hotel. No one knew what they talked about; people only saw that when Rita came back her face was bright red, and Shard had a hand-knitted scarf in his hand... Getting a gift like that in this season was quite a novelty, but considering it had snowed a few days ago, the scarf might actually come in handy.
Shard had originally planned to say a proper goodbye to the Red Butterfly Sisters, since their relationship had progressed another step. But Grace and Helen told Shard to go take care of his own business:
"Compared to the things we’ve been through, a separation of just a few days doesn’t even deserve to be called a farewell. Sir, we hate farewells, because a farewell means a 21-year wait. So, could you not say goodbye to us?"
Helen said softly, her tone making guilt well up in Shard’s heart. So Grace tugged on his sleeve; her blue eyes looked up at him from below:
"Sir, once we’re back in Milestone, we won’t be able to go out anymore. You have to come visit us often."
"Yes, come visit us often."
Helen tugged on Shard’s other sleeve as well, also lifting her head to look up at him from below:
"We can keep playing games, games for the three of us!"
Shard blinked. Grace smiled and fused with Helen again, and that eighteen-year-old girl kissed him:
"Don’t forget your Butterfly, sir."
Since he’d already obtained the key to the hidden area under the basement of Edwards’ Old House that morning, naturally he had to go see that afternoon what exactly that famous Diviner had left behind.
However, Shard still chose to first go to the Green Lake Train Station with the other Grand Witches to see Granny Cassandra and the others off, and only then went to examine what he had gained.
He did not go alone, but invited Megan, Miss Sylvia, Miss Benanis, and Ciris along.
Miss Aphrola didn’t come; she had to deal with a newly discovered hidden cave on the western side of the island. And Shard invited so many people, of course, because he was worried there might be traps inside.
"Aren’t you being a bit too cautious?"
After Durut Giles took Laster back to the Green Lake Hotel, Edwards’ Old House was now uninhabited. Megan and Audrey naturally wouldn’t be living here in the future, so the place would be completely sealed off, with only a few people like Shard allowed inside.
They went down into the basement together. Following the method Sloss Edwards had shown him that morning, Shard summoned the trapdoor in the floor, then slid the key Card he held into the thin slot in the center of the metal door.
Steam Mist suddenly sprayed out from that slot, followed by a series of very rhythmic sounds from underground—gears turning, pistons pushing and pulling, bearings grinding—and then, with a crisp click, the door swung open.
"The Steam Mist is an Illusion, and all those sounds beneath us are Illusion Techniques as well. In reality, this is just a Ritual Gate that opens with a specific secret key."
Miss Benanis said, shaking her head slightly:
"Megan, your ancestor was really something."
"This is the romance of steam technology. I can understand why he wanted to do it this way."
Megan replied, and Shard felt that he could understand it too.
