Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

The primary business of the Lucky Southern Cross Club is the collection and evaluation of alcohol, and it is only at night that the illegal Roder Card Casino operates. According to Miss Beyas's account, yesterday afternoon the True God Church and Riddlevitch Field conducted a joint search here but didn't turn up any clues.

Facing the club's connections with the Grand Nobility, a comprehensive search was the limit. And she, as a rookie in the police department, believed that she possessed some special investigative abilities that might yield clues.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Shard guessed that Miss Beyas might possess an Arcane Technique related to reconnaissance, which reminded him of his own sorcery, "Echo of Blood," which he had used in the club before.

Knowing Miss Beyas's true identity, he failed to understand why she would initiate such an investigation. The young lady didn't seem like someone who was greedy for achievements, so he could only temporarily assume that she had some other connection to the "Blood of Mercury."

As a rookie in the "Police Department," nobody here knew her identity, so the two could walk directly into the club. Their disguised identities were those of young businessmen who had come to buy fine wines to entertain distinguished guests. Therefore, after a warm reception, a maid from the club led them to the second floor's reception room to wait.

"Detective, you are responsible for detaining the club's people and discussing business with them. I will use the excuse of going to the restroom to perform reconnaissance, that's your entire mission, I don't think there should be any problems."

Before the duty manager could come over with the wine catalog, Miss Beyas explained to Shard, who had few objections to this simple plan:

"Detaining him isn't a problem, and since you are the employer, of course, everything is up to you. But I don't know about wines, so I may inadvertently reveal some flaws."

"Don't worry, you just need to find an excuse to detain him."

Miss Beyas swung her handbag:

"I'm paying you, so naturally, you need to prove your worth. The longer the time, the more I will pay. At least detain him for 20 minutes and don't make him suspicious of my leaving the room."

"I'm not even sure I can do that."

"It's okay, even if your identity is exposed, I won't let you go to jail."

Miss Beyas patted Shard's shoulder, appearing very confident.

The decor of the reception room was quite tasteful, all the furniture was made of dark brown solid wood, with half of the floor covered by a red carpet, which Shard suspected was made of wool.

Soon, someone pushed the door open. It was a man dressed in a black suit, looking stern with a red booklet in hand...

"Is it you?"

The man who entered immediately recognized Shard, and at the same time, Shard also instantly recognized him. It turns out he was none other than Mr. Nett, who had discovered the infiltrating detective the night he came here to see Little Franklin.

Such an unexpected encounter took Shard by surprise since the man knew his identity wasn't that of a wine-buying rich merchant.

Fortunately, Shard had prepared for such a situation when he agreed to Miss Beyas's request. He had not wanted to mix things up and had agreed to pretend to be a businessman, but now that he was exposed, he no longer cared about the details.

His mind became exceptionally active at this moment, and his expression shifted from relaxed to serious. Shard, lowering his voice, spoke first:

"Trying to see you wasn't easy."

"Hm?"

Both Mr. Nett and Miss Beyas exclaimed in surprise, and the latter realized that the two men knew each other.

"Detective, what are you here for?"

Mr. Nett asked, scanning the dress of the two people in the room:

"This can't be to pick someone up, right? The casino is not open during the day."

"Of course not, I'm here to see 'the lady.'"

He said, taking out his own notebook and pulling out three Roder Cards from it:

"I heard last time that the lady was also collecting Roder Cards, and I happen to have some fine ones. I've written a letter informing her that I would come this evening... Oh, it seems I'm a bit early, but never mind, if the lady isn't in, I can wait for a while."

"The lady" had instructed Shard in the letter not to reveal that it was she who wanted to meet him, so Shard made up an excuse on the spot. As for why he was visiting the lady disguised as a wine merchant, Shard didn't mention it, and Mr. Nett didn't care either, because as soon as he mentioned "the lady," Mr. Nett became visibly nervous:

"You wish to see the lady? No problem, I'll go upstairs right away and inquire whether the esteemed lady is willing to see you now."

"Hmm?"

This time it was Shard's turn to be surprised, as he didn't know that she was actually present. The meeting time they had agreed upon was two hours later.

"But it seems it's alright, she wanted to meet me anyway, I can use this as an excuse later."

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Feeling gradually reassured, he glanced sideways at a confused Miss Beyas, who had been puzzled by the previous conversation:

"This is my female companion, and I don't think 'the lady' would wish to meet a stranger. Please find a room for her to rest in and ensure that she is not disturbed."

He intentionally reached out and patted the brunette's shoulder, displaying their intimacy.

Mr. Nett was not suspicious:

"Of course, since she is your companion, she is naturally a distinguished guest of the club."

Then he found one of the maids in the hallway, arranged a separate parlor for the two, and instructed that, after the tea and pastries were served, no one should disturb the guests.

Mr. Nett went to the third floor during the preparation of the tea to inquire about the situation with the housemaids, as he didn't have the privilege to meet the lady or even the right to knock on her door.

Soon, Mr. Nett brought back the response that Shard could go upstairs, giving Miss Beyas and the Detective no chance for a private conversation.

Just before they parted, Shard pretended to stand up and straighten his clothes, covertly signaling the young Female Sorcerer from the True God Church to be very careful.

But Miss Beyas clearly misunderstood the gesture, as she stealthily gave Shard a thumbs-up, which in this world also meant a compliment.

"After this is over, I must demand a substantial payment."

With that thought in mind, he proceeded to the third floor under the guidance of the familiar plump housemaid.

It was still the same room with an entire wall of bookshelves, and still a conversation through the door with the lady inside. However, this time Shard was permitted to sit in the study, and the housemaid even prepared tea and refreshments for him.

The temperature in the room was normal, and there were no strange items on the tea table, so the meeting was likely to proceed normally.

"You did well at Lakeside Manor."

After the plump housemaid closed the door from the outside, "the lady" began with that sentence,

Since she had helped the group of five escape suspicion, she must be aware they were on the third floor at the time. However, Shard wasn't sure whether she knew that he was the "Masked Person under Silvermoon."

"Speaking of which, we agreed to meet in the evening, and here I am dealing with other matters. So, your early arrival, is that a coincidence?"

The woman asked, and judging from the room's temperature remaining normal, her mood seemed to be fairly good today.