Chapter 2198: The Final Commission

Chapter 2198: Chapter 2198: The Final Commission

"Deal with him?"

Only a third of the Sun still clung to the horizon, and the Sunset made Shard and the blue-eyed girl’s Shadows sway together:

"I’m not a Judge, and I’m not a policeman; I don’t have the right to pass judgment on others. All along, I’ve only been doing the things that can make me happy."

He took out that piece of curtain he’d brought from the casino, twisted it into a rope, then used the Animated Rope Trick to loop it around the unconscious man’s neck. The rope dragged him toward the tree, and in the end hung him from the tree above the gravestone:

"After all, because of him, two people ended up dead."

Shard held his fingers in front of Mia’s eyes, ignoring the little cat’s paws batting at him, and lifted his own head to watch that body sway a few times, until a living man quickly became The Deceased.

"Then you’ve completed the fourth task as well."

Miss Eles also lifted her head to glance at the Corpse, then softly sighed again:

"Sunset, the big tree, the gravestone beneath the tree, the Corpse hanging in the branches—that really is quite a scene. I’m actually quite good at oil painting, though I mostly paint portraits."

She and Shard turned around and started down the Stone Tablet path between the graves, preparing to leave:

"I know you care a great deal about the Truth of the Radiant Messenger, so I can give you the last task right now."

Shard turned his head to look at the girl walking shoulder to shoulder with him:

"Please, go ahead."

She also turned her head to look at him; her blue eyes were misted with water, and Shard was certain he saw that Sea of Darkness in them. Her tone was very solemn:

"Please save a little girl who originally could never be born, who originally is already dead. No matter what, please save her."

Shard then asked:

"Where is that girl now? Is she right in front of me?"

"Meow~"

The cat complained when it saw Miss Eles’s hand, which very rudely pressed against Shard’s chest:

"She isn’t here; she’s in... a very distant place that only you can reach."

They both stopped walking. Shard lowered his head to look at the hand resting on his chest:

"But there are still things I don’t quite understand about helping her. For example... is that girl a ship, or a Dragon?"

The blue-eyed girl pressed her lips together and, under the Sunset, leaned even closer to study him.

Seeing that she didn’t speak, Shard asked again:

"If you can’t even give me that kind of help, then tell me—after I finish these five tasks, what exactly do I get? Just historical records of the Radiant Messenger? Or merely that anchor-shaped trinket?"

"What do you want?"

She asked, and the black long hair under her hat was still so beautiful against the Sunset. Lecia and Dorothy had once teased him about whether Shard preferred red hair or blonde, but to be honest, Shard actually liked both... though the black hair of women like Tifa, Grace, Helen, and Miss Eles—he was actually more partial to that.

[So, the girl you truly fancy most in your heart is actually a black-haired, purple-eyed girl with cat ears and a big tail?]

Shard did not answer "her" question.

"I want a ship."

Shard fixed his gaze on those deep blue eyes as he spoke, and only when he saw the girl before him suddenly show a shy expression did he realize he’d said the wrong thing:

"No, no, sorry, I mean, I want to someday have a ship that can carry me to distant places."

The girl, who had just turned her head away, looked back at him again:

"My Lord—the Giver of Dreams—fulfills children’s dreams. Shard Hamilton, your dream will also be granted after this trial. May you and I both find Serenity in every dream."

She spoke Shard’s name, reached out with her other hand to touch his face, but Shard caught her wrist. Thus Miss Eles’s right hand pressed against Shard’s chest, and Shard’s left hand held her left hand, and the two of them gazed into each other’s eyes under the Sunset.

The cat did not disturb their attempt to see each other’s soul in the other’s eyes, not until an old woman, tottering along the Stone Tablet path with her cane, muttered under her breath about "young people nowadays," "this is a cemetery," "licentious men and women," "to think they’d disturb The Deceased like this," and such. Only then did Shard voluntarily release the girl’s hand.

Miss Eles merely smiled again. She straightened the wide-brimmed hat she’d been wearing at a tilt, then walked shoulder to shoulder with Shard toward the cemetery gate once more:

"Have you helped a lot of people?"

She asked, and the somewhat absent-minded Shard replied:

"Maybe. I don’t keep special track of that sort of thing; as long as helping others satisfies me, that’s enough."

Her smile was still radiant, and Shard asked in turn:

"When will we meet next time? You said that every time you see me, you’ll tell me something about this city. I still need your help."

"Next time? Please look forward to another chance encounter. Oh, I’m going to tell you something very important this time, but I have a condition."

After making sure they had already stepped out of the cemetery gate and would no longer be thought of as disturbing the Serenity of The Deceased, she pointed to her own cheek:

"Can I kiss you?"

She actually wasn’t wearing any makeup, but even just like this, the skin on her face already looked better than any girl with makeup on. That milk‑white, delicate face—Shard couldn’t see a single pore even with his eyesight—but he wasn’t the kind of man who casually kissed people.

"Left cheek."

"Can I take that as blackmail?"

He scooped Mia up from his shoulder, holding her in front of himself in a mock‑serious way—though there was nothing serious about how he looked:

"At least not until I’ve finished the final task. Before that, I won’t do it."

Miss Eles didn’t look disappointed at all; she was still smiling at him:

"You’re still like this... Remember, you owe me two kisses on my left cheek."

She didn’t even give Shard the chance to ask why "two." Hands clasped behind her back, she took a step forward, then turned to face Shard with her back to the Sun:

"This time’s information has to do with that adorable little black cat.

The reason its soul is that strong isn’t just simple longing and obsession. There’s a certain Power in the sewer that you didn’t notice, something that made its soul extraordinarily powerful. Without your appearance, that soul would have been corroded by that Power sooner or later. That’s why I said you gave it a beam of Light."

The Sunset had only its last sliver left above the horizon. Because she was standing with her back to the Sun, her face seemed swallowed by Shadow; Shard couldn’t see her expression, only those glowing blue eyes.

"Shard, let’s meet again next time. You must complete the final task, you must save that Lost little girl... Goodbye."

Her figure seemed to melt into the Glimmer of the Sunset and then vanished completely. This wasn’t Illusion Technique—Shard could clearly feel Spatial Power.

(Mia is running...)

"Can you answer a question for me?"

A few hours later, at the table in a private room of the restaurant at No. 18, Tobesk - Silver Cross Avenue, Shard suddenly asked.

The Red-Haired Duchess sitting beside Shard naturally wouldn’t refuse:

"What question? Ever since I went to your place to invite you out for dinner, you’ve been lost in thought. Did you run into trouble?"

She looked at Shard, concern showing in those golden eyes.

Shard shook his head:

"No trouble. I’m just very curious whether there’s some constant Enchantment Spell on me. I met a girl at Moon Bay—though I more or less know who she is now, I still can’t understand that unusually strong fondness she has for me."

The Duchess pressed her lips together in a smile, cutting her veal steak as she answered:

"At least as far as I’m concerned, you do have an Enchantment Spell on you."

"Galina, I’m asking very seriously."

"All right then... Tifa, has Shard ever enchanted you?"

She turned to the black‑haired Miss Maid standing to the side serving her masters, and the well‑figured Maid replied:

"Mr. Hamilton has been enchanting me the whole time."

Though what she said was embarrassing, the words came out of her mouth without any other emotion at all. The Head Maid who never lied to Miss Galina gave a loyal answer once again. The other Maids in the private room all smiled, and so the Witch went on smiling as she said to Shard:

"You see? You really do have an Enchantment Spell on you."

"Fine, I know I don’t. I’m just curious about Miss Eles’s attitude. Forget it, let’s eat properly first. After dinner I’ll go back, look through some materials, and then use the Time Key. The adventure in the Sea of Darkness should be wrapping up."

As he spoke, Shard reached down to lightly rub the cat who’d lowered her head to eat.

The beautiful Red-Haired Witch then asked with another smile:

"Speaking of which, how’s your Resistance to Enchantment Spells? You drink that Essence like water, so I imagine Magic Potions with similar effects are useless on you. But what about Enchantment Spells themselves?"

"No idea. No one’s ever used that kind of Arcane Technique on me."

Miss Galina’s interest was piqued:

"What a coincidence; I happen to know that Arcane Technique. Come, look into my eyes—I’ll give it a try."

Shard lifted his head and looked at her, and his own face was immediately reflected in her golden eyes. He smiled as he gazed into them; for a moment, neither of them spoke. He wasn’t sure whether the Witch had already used her Arcane Technique, because he didn’t feel anything wrong with his mind or soul.

Before Shard showed any abnormal reaction, the Witch who was holding his gaze instead grew redder and redder in the face, until she was the one to look away first.

"What’s wrong, do you feel unwell?"

Shard asked, and the Red-Haired Witch gave him a light pat:

"The Spellcasting failed. I was backlashed by the Enchantment of Desire, and now I’m even more in Love with you. You have to take responsibility—I’m spending the night at your place tonight."

The Maids chuckled softly, and Mia kept on eating. Meeting those smiling golden eyes, Shard couldn’t help but smile too. It was yet another of the Witch’s little schemes—but Shard truly liked it.