Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 167 Onboarding

after closing the door, miss beyas signaled for shard to find a place to sit, but he just glanced at the holy emblem of the "lantern bearer," which represented the sun god on the wall, then took out his notebook and flipped to a page with writing on it.

it was regarding the exchange of a "corpse finger bone" for a "witch's carbon paper."

"why so cautious? this place is safe, and no one will eavesdrop," miss beyas said casually.

shard immediately turned to the next page, where he had prepared his response in advance:

"worried about abilities that can eavesdrop through time."

like the arcane technique he grasped.nôv(el)b\\jnn

"oh, detective, this is our safehouse, you don't need to worry so much," miss beyas said with a wave of her hand, and then she saw the detective flip to another page, which read:

"still, it's best to be cautious."

"oh? did you anticipate what i was going to say?"

this time, shard didn't flip the page; he just nodded. so miss beyas snatched the detective's notebook with a slap, closed it forcefully, and stuffed it back at shard:

"just talk normally, it really is safe here."

"ahem, well, alright then."

feeling that the other party might get angry if he remained silent any longer, shard looked around and then asked:

"do you agree to this barter trade then?"

"with such a good deal, of course i agree, detective, you are indeed reliable... speaking of which, could you introduce me to the place where this trade is being made? i won't report it to the church, you can be completely assured of that," miss beyas asked, but although she was trustworthy, shard could not disclose old john's pawnshop to her. he thought for a moment and said:

"unfortunately, i just asked, but the owner said he doesn't do business with the true god church. however, if you need, i can tell you about a place where sensitive knowledge can be traded, which is the library."

the black raven library had no specific connection with the group shard was in, so there wasn't much concern about introducing miss beyas there.

"that's a great help, thank you. i've been transferred here for three or four months and haven't found any leads."

as shard wrote down the address on the paper, miss beyas glanced at the wall clock in the corner of the lounge and couldn't help but exclaim:

"the big city really is great, you can find all sorts of relics. detective, you've helped me again, and i haven't had a chance to repay you. you can come to me with any trouble, but don't come looking for me after the day after tomorrow, which is wednesday. on wednesday our squad will go to tobesk station to welcome a distinguished guest from afar."

"the thirteen-ring sorcerer, 'sunlight greatsword' mr. hog lendel?"

shard casually asked while writing, having heard the news on saturday afternoon.

"you know about this too? has our church been infiltrated so deeply?"

but miss beyas didn't inquire about the source of shard's information on the arrival of the thirteen-ring sorcerer in their district.

"let's get back to the point, detective. since it's 'witch's carbon paper', would you be interested in copying my 'sunlight gun'? this is an ability used by high rank ring sorcerers. even if it doesn't directly let you learn the 'sunlight gun', you'll definitely be able to get some other very powerful arcane technique," the brunette girl said with a hint of pride.

"i haven't decided yet how i want to use this relic."

shard tactfully declined, not because the "sunlight gun" wasn't powerful, but because he was on good terms with professor garcia. this saturday, the professor was going to bring the "sublimation codex," and shard was sure that if he asked the professor to demonstrate some high difficulty space-related arcane techniques, the professor definitely wouldn't refuse.

he even pondered trying to copy the power of a god if it wasn't for the fact that relics could not be taken through the mist gate opened by the time key.

a voice in his head was laughing.

"i know it's impossible, but a man's got to have dreams, right?"

her voice was monotone and dull, indicative of someone who had long lost enthusiasm for their job.

"i'm looking for mr. johnson."

shard replied.

"door number two, go straight through and enter the 'equipment maintenance department'."

after speaking, she went back to writing her report. shard nodded, noticing that the people around him were busy with their own tasks and indifferent to a stranger's presence, so he walked toward door number two.

behind the door was a narrow corridor filled with the aroma of toasted bread.

shard walked along with his umbrella, dodging hurrying passersby, and looked at the rooms on either side of the corridor. however, none of the doors were open; people would promptly close them behind as they entered and left.

the "equipment maintenance department" was almost at the end of the hallway. shard politely knocked and waited for permission to enter.

inside, there were rows of filing cabinets, and the middle-aged man sitting at the table opposite the door was originally reading a newspaper. when shard entered, he tilted his head for a glance, his brown eyes appraising shard's attire:

"mr. shard suren hamilton?"

"yes."

"mr. anros has told me about you. are you here to collect some documentation? please wait a moment."

the man stood up and walked deeper into the cabinets, not giving shard the chance to carefully examine the newspaper on the table, and returned with a small cardboard box.

he placed the box on the table:

"i'm giles johnson. from now on, i'll be the point of contact for all your matters. here are your credentials."

mr. johnson spoke rapidly, evidently an efficient man.

while talking, he handed shard a palm-sized, army green hardcover booklet. inside, the left side featured the logo and name of mi6, beneath which were the document number and the surname "hamilton". on the right side were regulations and duties—likely instructions for police officers to provide assistance upon viewing the document.

"quite official."

shard thought to himself.

"if you lose your credentials, you'll have to file a report to get a replacement. don't show it to anyone unless necessary. i'm not sure why you were recruited, but you should be aware of these basics."

shard wasn't aware of any such rules, since he wasn't actually required to do any work. it seemed the gentleman before him assumed he was secretly recruited to perform covert operations.

as mr. johnson continued, he took out a package wrapped in wax paper:

"your sidearm, a ruger revolver, six-round cylinder. this gun is not the best, but mr. anros specifically ordered that you be given this one."

he said, looking slightly puzzled, and handed the wrapped gun to shard. upon unwrapping and inspecting it, shard noted that the style of this handgun was very similar to his own "spear of kindness". he guessed it was miss galina's instruction to provide him with a revolver, to facilitate the concealment of his other weapon.

"and here i thought i'd be getting a grass pocket single-shot pistol."

shard remarked while examining his newly acquired weapon, which was new and cold to the touch from the black metal. it seemed recently maintained, given the strong smell of oil. checking the cylinder which was empty, he lowered the hammer and aimed at the wall, pulling the trigger to hear a satisfying click.

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although he had a gun already, he couldn't actually fire that one. now that he had a real firearm, his excitement was akin to acquiring a new arcane technique.

"the grass pocket single-shot pistol is standard issue for regular operations. if a secret agent also carried that gun, wouldn't it give away his identity right away?"

mr. johnson gave shard a look, and shard nodded in understanding.