"The Key of the Door... But what does this sorcery have to do with the story of God?"
The voice beside Shard didn't answer him; instead, a dense white fog had appeared behind him.
The singing of the three witches did not stop. They stood by the bonfire, watching the Outlander slowly getting engulfed by the white fog. Everyone's eyes seemed to be glowing, and they offered Shard their sincere blessings:
"Traveler from afar, may the winds that blow across the world always carry your presence."
"Man of the future, may you always see the sunrise whenever the sun ascends."
"Unexpected guest, may time always be with you, and may Silvermoon forever watch over you."
Amidst the music and singing, the white fog swallowed Shard. He had left, but the voices of the witches seemed to cross through the forest, through the river of time, as if their singing still echoed in his ears even though Shard had already arrived at Saint Delan Square.
The cat lying on the couch saw Shard's contemplative expression as he came through the door, rolled over to show its white belly, and called out, wanting to draw him closer.
Shard sighed and approached the cat sprawled on the couch:
"It's even better than an opera."
[Worried you won't hear it again?]
"Of course not, your voice is even sweeter than theirs. I was just thinking, we know Miss Feliana won't die in the Forest of Thousand Trees, but I wonder whether the other two witches will be able to make it out alive."
The founding of Saint Byrons was a matter from the last Era, and because of the loss of history, even after researching, Shard could not confirm who were the students around Miss Feliana when the Academy was first established.
Time had just passed midnight, and Shard sat on the couch holding the needy cat:
"Although this time travel isn't dealing with a deity, it somehow feels no less stressful than the first time."
[Are you confident about completing the mission?]
She asked softly in his ear.
"Of course I am confident, worst case, I'll just delay it by a month. Though it wastes time, Miss Feliana helped me, and I will help her."
He looked down to discover that the Transmutation Ring had somehow ended up on Mia's tail.
Shard smiled, removed the ring, and amidst Mia's discontented meows, placed the cat back on the couch. He then took the ring to a hidden wall in the basement and placed the ring beside the wall.
He didn't leave, but looked towards the Sage-Level Relic, "God's Gift Box," also placed here. Now, it was Monday and the children could receive one gift from the box each week.
Shard loved these kind of "lottery" activities, even though obtaining a gift required completing some tasks, but he was very confident in himself.
For the sake of what one might call a ritual, he specially brought the box to the coffee table on the second floor. After washing his hands, he gently pushed open the lid of the box and stretched his arm inside.
"What could it be? Do I have the luck to receive a Relic?"
In the curious eyes of Mia Cat, Shard slowly withdrew his hand. Both man and cat looked towards his hand, which was holding a plump red apple.
This was not an item disguised as an apple, it was indeed just an apple. Shard looked at it, took a bite, and found it quite delicious. Seeing Shard eating, Mia immediately stretched out a paw to swipe at him, so he shared a small piece with her.
"But why would it give me an apple?"
Shard fell into deep thought, while the task to receive the apple was to brush teeth diligently before bed for three consecutive days.
(Mia is sleeping. Zzz...)
The key to the Time Key of 3002 was that Shard, in the Sixth Era, had to complete the ritual—contacting the Old God "Blazar Gate." Currently, there were two approaches: finding new Blood Coin probably required heading to Coldwater Port since Luviya had already searched through Tobesk and its surrounding areas and had long put up a reward in the black market. Meanwhile, looking for the ancient organization "Guiding Light Hermitage" required seeking help from academically-related friends, as finding academic groups studying apocalyptic theories wasn't something one could simply do by placing an ad in the newspaper.
So, on Monday morning, Shard visited Professor Manning, who lived at 17 Cat Tail Alley. He and Professor Manning had originally met because of the "Dream Pen," but later met again at an academic report, hitting it off quite well, so it was fair to call him a friend now.
Since it was Monday and he worried the professor might have errands, Shard arrived early. Soon after he knocked, the familiar chubby maid opened the door. The professor had just finished breakfast and was sitting in the dining room in his home clothes and slippers, reading the newspaper, seeming to have no plans to go out that morning.
When Shard approached him, the professor was already pointing at the obituary of Anthony Worgrave, the police chief of Riddlevitch Field in the newspaper, complaining about the security issues in Tobesk:
"Detective, I've lived in this city for fifty years, but this is the first time I've seen cultists kill hundreds of people in one night, even killing the police chief. I even suspect I am back in my youth, having run off to a remote town on a dig and getting involved in the death of the town's sheriff, and the stupid local townspeople..."
He mumbled the latter half of the sentence unclearly, but Shard thought he heard the words "gunfight" and "corpses," which made it seem like the archaeologist's youth was not as peaceful as that of the typical scholar.
Professor Manning was quite talkative, so Shard did not immediately state his purpose for the visit but discussed the terrible events from the previous week with him. Professor Manning completely accepted the version of the events stated in the newspaper, cursing the cultists while also expressing dissatisfaction with the slow responses of Riddlevitch Field, MI6, and the Church.
In his view, since the citizens paid taxes, they should be protected. The events of a week and a half ago fully demonstrated that City Hall had definitely not allocated the tax money properly.
Thus, Shard realized that what the professor truly wanted to complain about was the Kingdom's tax policy. He believed that professores' salaries should enjoy special tax breaks, instead of paying full taxes like ordinary people.
To seek assistance from Professor Manning, Shard used the excuse that he was dealing with a problematic commission, hence needing some information from scholars who studied apocalyptic theories.
Professor Manning was a very optimistic person, somewhat averse to the so-called "apocalyptic theories," but since Shard was only asking for help due to his commission, he was of course willing to assist. Having made many friends worldwide during archaeological digs in his youth, Professor Manning could help Shard gather information.
"Of course, it's best not to publicize this matter too much. I also don't want to expose the information of my client."
Shard said sheepishly, and seeing the professor agree, he then pulled out a prepared envelope containing £10:
"Things are a bit urgent, so I hope you can get back to me within a week. Please accept this, no, don't rush to refuse; the client will reimburse this expense, so you are actually taking money from my client's hand, not mine."
Shard would not let the professor help him for nothing, even though they were friends, but asking for help unconditionally could weaken their relationship.