Chapter 2067: Chapter 2067: Shipwreck Remains
Just the day before yesterday, I had told Miss Galina that I wouldn’t encounter a witch so soon, but by Friday night, those words came back like a boomerang, hitting Shard himself.
Although it was a bit embarrassing, early on Saturday morning, Shard still went to an estate outside the city to find Miss Galina and explained that he had already met that Miss Belindel.
The Duchess, who was eating breakfast and listening to Shard speak, squinted her eyes and smiled after Shard finished:
"I told you a long time ago, encountering witches is a fate you cannot avoid. Current witches, ancient witches, you can’t escape them."
In fact, there are also witches of the ’Bygone Era,’ and Shard has already met these three types of witches.
"Please don’t make fun of me."
Shard sat across the long table holding little Mia. They had already had breakfast at home before coming, but it seemed the cat still wanted to eat some more:
"This time, I’ve learned the lesson from Randall Valley. As long as she doesn’t discover I’m a man, what can happen even if I meet the Great Witch of Destiny? She wants me to see her on Sunday, probably to give me some tricky task. This is good, as it gives me a reasonable way to leverage the Belindel family’s influence."
"Remember what you say now, and I hope you won’t regret it."
The Red-Haired Duchess said, then looked compassionately at the cat in Shard’s arms:
"Look at it, it’s so pitiful, can’t you let it eat something?"
"Don’t be fooled by little Mia, you had plenty at breakfast."
Shard shook his head and continued the topic:
"Please let Miss Benanis know to be prepared for inquiries from Miss Belindel, and not to reveal my identity. Also, is there anything I should pay attention to when dealing with this witch?"
Miss Galina signaled to Tifa:
"Tell Shard."
So, the black-haired maid dutifully replied:
"As the mistress once said, Miss Belindel has great trust in divination. Therefore, if she suddenly flips a coin or draws divination cards while talking to you, please don’t mind. Besides that, Miss Belindel is quite an affable lady, as long as you don’t criticize her divination, she generally won’t lose her temper."
"So, is her divination always accurate?"
Shard asked again, to which the Duchess shook her head:
"Hasn’t Luviya told you? Sometimes, the accuracy of a divination isn’t the most important thing; what’s important is how you interpret the results. I admit Belindel is a very capable diviner, but compared to her, I trust Luviya more; she’s the one who truly fits the image of a genius diviner in our understanding."
She paused, then added:
"The Council has thirteen seats in total. Before Sylvie’s promotion, like Granny Cassandra, they were Tenth Rank, so they are the twelfth and thirteenth seats. Belindel is Eleventh Rank, but she’s only the tenth seat, which says enough about her lack of combat strength; she’s mainly an auxiliary role in many of the Council’s actions."
"But there is another Eleventh Rank witch who holds the eleventh seat, isn’t there?"
"That one has some physical issues, so don’t consider her combat ability. In short, among the normal Eleventh Rank witches of the Council, Belindel is the weakest in combat. Besides divination, Luviya has other marvelous means, but Belindel is really specialized in divination. Although she’s not completely incapable of combat, she’s generally very weak."
She remarked without holding back, then advised Shard:
"If you engage in a fair match, she’s Eleventh Rank when you’re at the Seventh Ring; you might not beat her in your normal state. But her divination is likely ineffective against you, so if you launch a surprise attack, you should manage to subdue her. I can’t say what Belindel’s attitude towards men is. She’s always secretive, not the type to reveal her personal life as a witch.
So if your identity is exposed by her, you can directly ambush her, then kidnap her to that hidden ancient dragon’s nest you mentioned; I think you have the means to make her submit."
"Do you really see me as that kind of person?"
Shard knew she was teasing him, and no matter how close their relationship was, she wouldn’t allow Shard to deal with Council colleagues in such a manner. The maids chuckled lightly, and the Duchess also showed a smile:
"I know you have ways to deal with witches, and I even believe that if your entire body were bound, leaving only your mouth free, you could still charm a witch. It’s only been three days since you arrived at Moon Bay on this Saturday, yet you’ve already encountered the Witch of Destiny. Let’s wait and see when you’ll tell me that Belindel can no longer escape your grasp."
At this, even Tifa showed a smile, and Shard, stroking the restless cat, was at a loss for words.
"But it’s just as well you’re here. I have something to discuss with you."
After breakfast, Miss Galina led Shard to the study and handed him a file folder:
"The documents on the ’Radiant Messenger’ cruise ship, I’ve already tracked them down. You’re quite lucky. Although most of the ships from the Fifth Era have disappeared with time, the Radiant Messenger, lying at the bottom of the sea, somehow still exists in our current era."
"Well, that’s really... what?"
Shard looked up at her in genuine surprise:
"Hold on, you’re saying the wreck of that ship still exists now?"
He frowned slightly:
"But how is that possible? That ship sank in the mysterious sea known as the ’Sea of Darkness,’ how could it possibly return to reality... Did I do something afterward? But even then, it doesn’t make sense. Even if that ship was built from the finest alloy steel of its time and its keel was treated by witches at great expense, after so many years in water, how could there still be a wreck? Miss Teresa and her team mentioned that this ship was not made by alchemical techniques, it was just an ordinary industrial product."
The ocean environment is different from the land environment. If some wreck buried deep underground might still exist after being sealed for a thousand years, the wreck of a ship in the ocean shouldn’t have much left after a few hundred years.
So Shard speculated:
"Did the Radiant Messenger become a relic?"
"Of course not. Otherwise, when you brought this up last time, I would have realized it. Relics from the late Fifth Era are relatively easy to trace, so I should remember them."
She motioned for Shard to open the file folder:
"Around 1380 in the Sixth Era, which is over 500 years ago, people unexpectedly discovered an ancient shipwreck off the coast of the West Coast. However, limited by technology at the time, investigating the shipwreck in the trench was difficult. Then some hundred years passed, and the wreck remained in that spot with little change. The church had similar doubts as you, thinking this was not normal, so in approximately 1500, they sent five batches of Circle Sorcerers to investigate, ultimately confirming that the ship came from the Fifth Era."
Shard listened while opening the file folder; the contents were not extensive.
"As you know, the council is quite interested in the relics of the Witch Emperors of the Fifth Era. So the Great Witch of Destiny of that time also investigated the matter and left the name ’Radiant Messenger’ in the council’s records. The council’s data shows, apart from the wreck not decaying in seawater, there were no other anomalies, so the church did not further handle the wreck. Around 1530, they used a semi-permanent illusion technique ritual to conceal the location of the wreck and took several wooden planks back for research."
At this point, Shard saw the black-and-white photos of those planks.
"Later, it was determined that the planks, once separated from the ship, gradually lost their exceptionally decay-resistant traits, and these characteristics were non-replicable. Thus, around 1800, two hundred years after bringing them back, two of the planks were verified as entirely safe, removed from monitoring and containment. Following several transformations of ownership, these ancient objects were donated to the City Boat Museum for display as ’ancient shipwreck relics.’
"Are those two planks still in the museum today?"
Shard asked, and the witch nodded softly, prompting him to ask further:
"Would the museum happen to be the Moon Bay City Ship Museum?"
The witch nodded again with a smile:
"Yes, you see, the events you encountered in the past are once again linked to the ’present.’
"Is the wreck of the Radiant Messenger located close to Moon Bay?"
Compared to two wooden planks, the entire wreck is certainly far more valuable.
"It would take four to five days by ship, depending on the weather. Plus, when considering the time needed to explore the sunken wreck, roundtrip still requires almost half a month. Additionally, the council doesn’t have the exact location of the wreck in its records, so even if you’re willing to spend the time at sea, you must first determine exactly where the ship is. By the way, you might try your luck to see if you can find an entrance to the Spatial Labyrinth near the ship."
Shard decided not to try the final suggestion. Although the distribution patterns of these hidden spaces are unclear, he instinctively felt that even with the use of relics to increase his luck, he still would not encounter a target entrance.
As for spending nearly half a month at sea, finding the target location first is essential, and one must also procure a reliable ship and a dependable crew. While finding the location might be achievable and arranging the ship and crew is something Miss Aphrola would likely help with, the issue is, all this requires time.
Seeing Shard deep in thought, the Red-Haired Witch smiled and said:
"You’d better thoroughly explore the Moon Bay Region. Go and see the planks in the museum yourself, the location of the shipwreck and the means to sail there, the other ladies and I will find a way to help you. If you’re worried about wasting time, have Sylvie finish her current tasks and come to Moon Bay to find you, she could fly you there, or Vanessa might have time as well."
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