Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 318 The Cursed Girl

"I'm interested in purchasing currency-type relics, any level of danger will do."

Viewing the sea from the towering cliff was entirely different from looking at it from the shore. Shard could even see the black smoke rising from ships the size of Mia's in the far distance. He thought that if he had the time to bring Mia here to see this scenery, the cat would undoubtedly be terrified by the ocean.

"I don't have anything like that on hand at the moment. However, I can keep an eye out for you."

Mr. Edmund said, although Shard had good luck at the tavern, getting another one would not be so simple.

"Alright then."

He shrugged his shoulders, not at all disappointed.

"Mr. Watson might come to you himself later, I referred him. I actually came today because there's something I need."

Miss Princess said, looking toward the distant sea level. When Shard had come here in the morning, the weather was overcast, but by the afternoon, it had cleared up completely.

"Mr. Edmund, you've heard about the Sage-Level Relic 'Mermaid's Dream,' haven't you? I want to buy something from you that can temporarily suppress this curse. I know you must have something like that; if there's any way to suppress a curse in Coldwater Port City, besides the True God Church, it has to be here."

"Have you been in contact with the mermaid statue?"

Before Mr. Edmund could respond, Shard asked in surprise.

"Yes, is that strange? Oh, I think I forgot to mention it to you."

The blonde girl didn't look at Shard, but continued to gaze at the distant sea, her voice trailing off into the booming sound of the waves:

"It happened a few weeks ago; at that time the curse hadn't erupted yet. Through a friend, I found out about three mermaid statues and managed to acquire one, then unfortunately contracted the curse."

Her tone wasn't overly despondent:

"I originally thought the curse wouldn't erupt for at least half a year, and by then the church also had found a disenchantment method. Unexpectedly, it was barely a week and a half before I started dreaming of the deep-sea palaces."

"That's already the later stage of the curse, how come it was so fast?"

The old lighthouse keeper also seemed surprised:

"You've already seen in the dreams..."

"No, I just dreamt of falling into the deep sea, my consciousness being drawn into the abyss, seeing the terrifying and twisted giant stone structures outside the sea temple. I didn't see the gigantic mermaid corpse within the palace."

Even though he had heard the warehouse dispatcher describe the dreamscape a few weeks earlier, hearing it again amidst the sounds of the waves, Shard still felt somewhat uneasy.

He looked worriedly at Miss Princess, never expecting the female sorcerer he had casually met today to have encountered such a dreadful situation.

Mr. Edmund frowned in thought, then spoke:

"You're in luck; indeed, there is a relic that combats curses here. It's only Scribe Level, but it's very expensive."

"How much?"

Miss Princess asked. Shard listened, thinking that if she didn't have enough money, he might offer to lend her some.

"One thousand three hundred pounds, non-negotiable. This anti-curse relic is worth far more than ordinary Scribe Level relics."

Shard sucked in a breath of cold air subconsciously, but Miss Princess merely chuckled, as if amused:

"I thought it might be in the five figures. It seems I over-prepared the money in advance. No problem, but can I pay with a bank draft? It's not possible to carry that much cash."

This lady's wealth was far beyond Shard's imagination.

"A bank draft will be fine."

The keeper of the clock tower, Mr. Edmund glanced at Shard, seeing that the female sorcerer did not suggest for him to stay away, began explaining the specifics of the relic:

"A Scribe Level relic, Saint Roland's ring. The origin of the relic is quite clear; it's from the Fifth Era, belonging to the God's Favored One of the Old God, 'Light Demon Wolf,' the Grand Witch Roland. In the Fifth Era, it was a famously powerful alchemic product and after turning into a relic, it grants the wearer extremely strong curse resistance. It is effective against any curse, and even if it can't make the wearer completely immune to curses, it can slow down the curse's effects."

"Is it stolen property?"

Miss Princess inquired.

"No, the ring came into my possession a year ago. Its original owner went to explore the New World and then unfortunately met with an accident. His companions brought the ring back to Coldwater Port and sold it due to an urgent need for money."

Mr. Edmund said, and the blonde girl considered for a moment before nodding:

"That's acceptable, but I need to inspect the goods. Also, do you have any other news about the Mermaid's Dream? The ring cannot completely remove the curse, and I cannot count on the church to find a solution soon."

"Did you know about the Deep Sea Merman summoned by the ritual who shot people?"

The old man asked, while Shard looked up at the seagulls overhead, unwilling to get involved in this type of conversation.

It seemed that everyone in the city knew about the "Merman shooting people" incident.

"Of course I know."

Miss Princess laughed:

"That was last week's news. I also know that the church is investigating on these lines, but it seems to have hit a dead end, as if the Deep Sea Mermaid summoned by the ritual had turned into a human and disappeared."

Shard, hands in his pockets, kicked a stone off the cliff, looking utterly bored.

"Do you know about 'Sea Return'? It is said to be a ritual related to those statues."

The old man said, then preempted Miss Princess:

"Even if you have heard of this news, you most likely just heard it and do not understand its full meaning. Only a folklorist who has lived many years in Coldwater Port, like me, can interpret the meaning of that nursery rhyme."

The self-proclaimed folklorist smiled and twiddled his fingers at Miss Princess, who said indifferently:

"Let's settle the bill later, just tell me what you know all at once?"

"Fine, every nursery rhyme has its origin, and 'Sea Return' actually originated from a ritual worshipping an Evil God by a local fishing village in Coldwater Port at the beginning of this era. Let me analyze it for you, the rhyme consists of four lines." Read the latest on My Virtual Library Empire

He held up four fingers:

"The mermaid's song wafts over the harbor—local sightings of mermaids symbolize the Evil God's totem;

Even the bleeding pirate ship lowers its sails—followers of the Evil God, appearing as pirates to participate in the ritual;

The red sea rises into waves—after completing the above two steps, a signal appears, symbolized by the sea turning red;

The beautiful girl walks into the deep sea—to sacrifice a young girl."

Having said this, he laughed and shook his head:

"Folklore is so interesting. Just by knowing how to interpret it, a mere four lines can reveal a lot. Scholars from the True God Church should also be able to reach a conclusion like mine based on local folklore and legends, but definitely not faster than me."

The old man was very proud of his knowledge.

"This ritual... sounds like it's summoning something..."

Having heard the full conversation, Shard suddenly said, and Miss Princess hesitated and nodded:

"Mr. Watson is right; if the mermaid statues were deliberately placed in the dock warehouse to scatter them, could it be that a cult sect is behind this, wanting to summon something?"

"I don't know about that part. Now that mermaids have indeed appeared in Coldwater Port, if unusual pirates appear within a few weeks, we will know the answer."

Mr. Edmund said, while Shard, who had experienced an Evil God's arrival just over a week ago, asked nervously:

"May I ask, which deity is related to this nursery rhyme?"

"The small fishing village in Coldwater Port has been gone for over a thousand years; the only data points to three deities. The God of the Deep Sea Drowned, who rules over the sea's deceased; the Lord of the Crimson Spiral, protector of the legendary Merman Race; and the God of the Fury Storm, recorded in certain secret texts and once defeated by the True God , the Father of Peace."

The old man responded, paused, and then added:

"All three are Evil Gods."

Shard was somewhat familiar with the first, while he had only read about the latter two in books. The referred Merman Race, an intelligent humanoid species, differed vastly from the singing, beautiful young girls in tales; these mermaids of this world enjoyed human flesh and excelled in various malevolent curses and rituals.

Standing facing the sea, hearing the names of three Evil Gods, even Shard felt an inexplicable chill in his body.

The current evidence was not enough to predict what would happen next. However, more and more clues indicated that the appearance of the mermaid statues in Coldwater Port City was absolutely no coincidence.