Chapter 2194: Searching for the Cards

Chapter 2194: Chapter 2194: Searching for the Cards

At noon, the Countess invited Shard and the cat for a sumptuous meal and asked Shard what he planned to do in the afternoon.

"The investigation by my Vampire Kind friend hasn’t yielded results yet. There’s also no news on the pursuit of the Light Worshipper Training Association and the Dragon Feast Cult from your side, so I plan to wander around the city, hoping to encounter Miss Eles."

After all, his Time Key could be used again.

"Just wander around? Let me find some things for you to do."

The Countess said with a smile:

"Remember the three precious Roder cards that appeared in local rumors? The Black Hand Gang killed that foreign merchant, and now the whereabouts of the three cards are unknown. I’ve tracked down one of them; if you’re interested, you can go look for it."

This idea was indeed quite good.

"Also, do you still have the ’Empress’ divination card I gave you when we first met?"

"Yes, I do."

"After lunch, give it to me, and I’ll add some new functionality to it."

Bella Belindel, although not remarkable in combat, had strong skills in other areas. She could also be considered a Master of Alchemy — of course, she couldn’t compare to Laplace Howard, but she could handle most situations:

"After researching the golden Dragon Scales we found outside the city for over a week, I’ve discovered some interesting phenomena. I won’t explain the principles; in short, these Dragon Scales are resonating with the other six Dragon Scales. I originally intended to use this Dragon Scales as an anchor point to divine the locations of the other six Dragon Scales of the Seven Great Families, but after numerous experiments, it’s not working. At least I can achieve resonance with other Dragon Scales at close range using this Dragon Scales."

In the alchemical workshop underground at the estate, she carefully touched the red-hot Dragon Scales with the metal divination card. The tiny scale "melted" into the card, after which the Witch placed the card into the prepared ritual circle on the table, using an ancient language ritual to bestow new abilities:

"Alright, now the Dragon Scales are inside the card. When you move around the city with this card, if you approach another scale, the card will give you a prompt through vibration."

Mia stood on Shard’s shoulder, extending her tiny paw to reach for the metal card, now adorned with scale engravings compared to before.

Shard praised:

"This is really convenient. But what is its effective detection range? Does it get affected by walls or water flow?"

"That’s hard to say."

The Blonde Witch shook her head:

"I don’t have a second scale, but I have a feeling you’ll definitely encounter another scale. Don’t ask me why, I believe that’s fate. Even the non-human creature I predicted from the Dragon Nest doesn’t possess your unique abilities."

"Hmm..."

Shard, who was originally about to take his leave, pressed his lips together, recalling the kiss before lunch and deciding it was better to clarify any misunderstandings:

"Actually, the person you divined might just be me. The date you obtained that prophecy was the day I first came to the city."

The Countess didn’t seem very surprised and instead looked at him, reciting the information obtained from the Belindel Big Bell:

"The non-human entity that walks out from the ancient Dragon Nest and once conquered the Dragon of Space-Time will greatly impact my life in the not-so-distant future."

"Dragon Nest, well, I indeed encountered a Dragon Nest ruin that day, but the Dragon was long gone. As for conquering the Dragon of Space-Time... maybe, possibly... it could be related to the Dragonborn Girl who gave me those gloves."

Shard hesitated.

"And you have indeed completely influenced my life."

The Witch said lightly, pressing her right index and middle fingers to her lips:

"Mr. Liar, did you think I’d be very surprised? Did you really think I wouldn’t guess anything?"

"This..."

So her two fingers pressed against Shard’s lips again, and she was very satisfied with Shard’s awkward appearance:

"Take your cat and have a good walk around the city this afternoon. Watch out for the Glimmer; the strange phenomena at last night’s banquet still have no conclusion. Also, please remember, when you solve the Demon matter, I must see that Unicorn."

After lunch, it was supposed to be Mia’s nap time, but that afternoon, it didn’t hurry home and instead obediently perched on Shard’s shoulder as they left the Belindel Estate together.

The Countess provided information about one of those three rare cards, further supplementing the original news of the merchant who possessed the three cards.

The merchant came from another place, and his claimed name was obviously a pseudonym. He had initially contacted a local underground Roder Card casino to sell the three cards to them as a "store treasure." But on the night of the transaction, the Black Hand Gang found the merchant and killed him, but couldn’t find those three cards on him or in his home.

Thus, the underground Roder Card casino that was to purchase the cards became the primary suspect, but unfortunately, the casino was owned by the Black Family. The Black Family certified the cards were not in their hands. As of now, the whereabouts of the three cards remain completely unknown.

The Countess stumbled upon the clue quite by accident; that unlucky merchant’s temporary apartment remained unoccupied since no one dared to move in due to the murder case. His neighbor was the accountant for the pawnshop under the Belindel Family. The accountant only heard a couple of weeks after the murder that his deceased neighbor had three missing cards, and then he realized the clue he had acquired.

The accountant didn’t expect to find those Roder Cards with the clues, but instead wanted to sell this information. He succeeded, but his extravagant spending then raised suspicion at the pawnshop—

"Could this guy have embezzled public funds?"

In any case, after an investigation, the information in the accountant’s hand was submitted to the desk of Countess Belindel. As for the sold information, it was naturally reclaimed by the loyal Maid Miss Matilda.

"A week before the merchant’s death, the accountant discovered, returning home late due to overtime, that his neighbor’s house had a light on in the hallway at night. Curiously, he stopped at the neighbor’s door and heard voices talking from the hallway inside... The apartment door was obviously not soundproof."

In the carriage holding Mia, Shard recalled the clue:

"The merchant was discussing the payment method for a business deal with a man he addressed as ’Mr. Gilot.’ The accountant didn’t hear exactly what was being traded, only that Mr. Gilot was going to give the merchant 20 Krone, approximately 250 pounds. Ordinary Roder Cards don’t have such high prices, but if they were rare cards, and more than one... The deceased merchant intended to sell the cards to the underground casino, but his neighbor overheard other trading partners. So wouldn’t this mean the merchant might have sold the three cards to multiple buyers before his death, planning to run away once he got the money?"

Shard felt he had grasped the truth.

Who "Mr. Gilot" was needed Shard’s own investigation, and now he was taking the carriage to search for clues at the deceased merchant’s residence. The apartment remained untouched since the merchant’s death, and the police were aware the matter involved the Black Hand Gang and some nobles, thus no conclusion had been drawn yet.

Shard thought this was another chance to utilize his "breaking and entering" skills; maybe after sneaking into the house, he could find a way to contact "Mr. Gilot."

But unexpectedly, after alighting at Elmwood Street, the door of the house at Elmwood Street No. 7, which should have been sealed, was open. The seal on the door had obviously been deliberately torn off, and Shard could even see one end of the seal still stuck to the door frame, swaying in the wind:

"Don’t run around later."

Shard patted the little head of the cat on his shoulder, which obediently let out a meow. After paying the fare, he confirmed he still had the Witch’s eyeshadow applied, then touched the gun at his waist, holding his hat firmly, and walked forward.

Elm Street was not a wealthy district, and the street apartments were far from being like those houses on Saint Delan Square. Although the apartment was three stories, each floor’s area was small, standing at the door one could see almost everything inside.

When Shard arrived at the door, he found three men rummaging through the house. They were searching meticulously, so much so that Shard had to cough, causing them to turn their heads toward him.

One had a tattoo on his neck, another wore an eyepatch over a single eye, and the third had a noticeable scar on his face, making them appear anything but good people.

"Scram."

The tallest scar-faced man said to the stranger with a dog perched on his shoulder. Shard hesitated and pointed at himself, then took a step inside, casually pulling the door behind him:

"I’m sorry, I’m here to look for something too."

The three then stood up from where they were searching, flexing their fingers and wrists, walking unpleasantly towards Shard. Shard thought for a moment, and in the end chose not to reach for his gun but instead twitched his shoulders and wrists and walked towards them:

"Just to clarify, I don’t cover medical expenses."

Shard reached out to deflect the first punch thrown at him, then kicked out and knocked the scar-faced man to the ground. Subsequently, he grabbed the fists of the other two men simultaneously with both hands, cracking them as he broke their wrists, pulling them to collide with each other, leaving them screaming like unsteady puppets as they clutched their wrists, collapsing on the floor.

After this friendly exchange of fists and feet, the three claiming to be from the Black Hand Gang were knocked to the ground by him. Shard sighed and squatted down to talk to them:

"I’ll ask, you answer; otherwise, it’ll be more than just your wrists that are broken."