Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 657 - The Resurgence of the Grey Hawk
Chapter 657: Chapter 657 “The Resurgence of the Grey Hawk
Chapter 657: Chapter 657 “The Resurgence of the Grey Hawk
When he arrived at the station at nine-ten, he saw at least three trains depart before a steam train with a rare black paint job pulled into the platform from the south.
The locomotive of this steam train had a clearly different design from the others. Even those without much experience could tell that it was a special train.
Shard recalled the train timetable he saw earlier. This train was likely the special train that carried merchants from the southern foothills of the Rommel Mountains, running between the two countries. It was supported by both governments to save time and facilitate merchants traveling in groups, which was helpful for business.
“Could this be the one?”
He wondered to himself, standing motionless under the station’s canopy where wanted posters and advertisement billboards were plastered. The train slowed to a halt, and with the sound of gas gushing, streaks of scorching white Steam Mist sprayed from the bottom of the carriage onto the platform.
Those waiting to meet passengers surged forward, and within a matter of minutes, almost all passengers had disembarked from the carriages.
Shard still didn’t move, then he saw a middle-aged man wearing a black hat and dressed quite ordinarily step down from the fore car.
The man looked around and quickly noticed Shard leaning against the pillar, reading a newspaper. After approaching and carefully observing his attire, the man nodded to him and spoke in Carsonrick:
“Sir, do you fancy men?”
“Hmm?”
Shard was taken aback, then remembered the code phrase Professor Higgins had mentioned:
“No.”
He responded in Carsonrick as well.
“Then what age of pretty girls do you like?”
The man asked again.
“All ages.”
Shard said, fighting back embarrassment and wanting to punch the person who came up with this code.
“So, would you be interested in seeing some pretty girls with me?”
“Interested.”
He concluded the final part of the code, and clearly saw relief in the middle-aged man:
“Pleased to meet you.”
He said in Draleon, extending his hand to Shard, who also shook it:
“I hope the code will be more normal next time.”
“It’s the decision of our superiors, we have no say.”
After the handshake, Shard handed over the briefcase he was carrying, but the man shook his head:
“You should deliver this business secret in person.”
He pointed towards the open door of the first car.
The special train would stop here for about an hour. After changing the locomotive, loading the cargo, and boarding the passengers, it would return through the mountain entrance back to Carsonrick. Therefore, the person who came to pick up the briefcase this time might be an important figure from the other side of the mountain in Carsonrick.
“All right.”
Shard hesitated for a moment, then followed the man towards the direction of the first car.
The special train’s first car was reserved for special guests, the entire carriage was opened up, arranged as a reception room. And when the door behind him closed, it surprisingly blocked out all the noisy sounds from Midshire Fort Train Station.
The carriage was filled with the scent of spices, and girls dressed as maids seemed to be preparing breakfast for the owner here.
A translucent screen separated the sofa set from the desk, and Shard could only see a lady sitting next to the desk, but not her identity.
Noticing the silhouette, Shard suddenly felt a slight warmth in the badge on his chest. The warmth was very faint, which meant that the woman behind the screen must be a follower of the Grand Witch with extremely low Witch Power. Shard didn’t even need to worry about the other party discovering his uniqueness.
“Wait, could this be Miss Galina or Miss Aphrola playing a joke on me?”
Even if Miss Galina suddenly walked in from outside the carriage at this moment, Shard wouldn’t be surprised. But clearly, the other party was indeed there to receive the goods; the woman behind the screen was a follower of a Grand Witch whom Shard did not recognize.
“Why do I always encounter unfamiliar witches.”
He muttered to himself:
“Are there other Circle Sorcerers? Which Rings?”
[There might be a Four Rings or Five Rings behind the screen, and besides her, there’s a Low Ring Mage of either Ring 1 or 2 towards the rear of the carriage.]
“Understood.”
Shard did not sit on the sofa but raised his right hand holding the briefcase and supported the bottom of it with his left hand:
“This is it.”
He wasn’t sure about the current situation, so he kept his words to a minimum and used Carsonrick, a simple sentence that wasn’t a problem for him.
“Who are you? Where is Professor Higgins?”
The voice behind the screen asked, her voice sounding quite young and also in Carsonrick.
“Dead.”
Shard felt like explaining that “disputes over money with locals” were the actual cause of death, but his proficiency in foreign languages was limited. Speaking in Draleon in this context would seem too conspicuous, so he could only give a brief answer.
“Then who are you?”
The voice behind the screen asked the question again:
“Are you one of our people?”
“Our” presumably meant the Grey Glove.
“Of course.”
Professor Higgins would probably not share a secret that could lead to total annihilation even if he were dead, with a stranger.
“Then what’s your code name? Is there someone like you, ‘one of our people,’ in the Midshire Fort area?”
“I’m good at disguise.”
“Disguise” was one of the more complex general Carsonrick words that Shard knew:
“I am on a secret mission, and it’s not convenient to reveal my identity.”
There was a pause, not to appear cold but because he stumbled over the word “secret” since it was a bit of a tongue twister, and he had to think it through before speaking.
“Are you saying you’re one of our own on a secret mission? That you happened to encounter a dying Professor Higgins and gained his trust before taking over his task?”
The voice behind the partition said.
“Yes.”
Shard answered simply, placing the box at his feet. But the door remained firmly shut; the master of the railway carriage did not intend to let him leave.
“Sir, I highly doubt your identity. Tell me your codename. My security clearance is very high, and I know most of ‘our people’.”
“You certainly don’t know me.”
Shard said in a deep voice.
“Is that so? There are not more than ten people I don’t know. Are you saying you’re one of those ten?”
“Yes.”
“Humph~”
The voice behind the partition chuckled:
“Do you think I would trust you?”
“I have brought the item you wanted.”
Shard kicked the box lightly.
“But how do I know this box contains the item I need?”
the woman asked. Shard hesitated:
“I can give you my codename, but you must be prepared to face the consequences of learning my identity. It’s against the rules for me to interfere with this mission in the first place, and revealing the codename is even more taboo. Lady, if you are certain of your own credentials, then I will proceed.”
“Please do, I’m confident I can handle any information.”
“Well then, I am…”
Shard sighed inwardly and quietly apologized to Detective Sparrow Hamilton, who lay eternally in Tobesk Public Cemetery:
“I am Gray Hawk.”
For the sake of Lecia’s plans, he had no choice but to claim this identity. And the Gray Gloves likely did not yet know that the real “Gray Hawk” was dead; otherwise, they would not have trusted the information in the passed fountain pen.
An eerie silence filled the carriage for a moment until the woman behind the partition laughed again, an arrogant laugh:
“That joke is even more amusing than the last.”
“Lady, I’m not sure if you’re qualified to hear me prove my identity.”
Seeing his confidence, the woman hesitated:
“You all, leave.”
And so, the railway carriage was left with just the lady, Shard, and another Low Ring Sorcerer—a maid who seemed to possess a slight amount of Witch Power.
“I received the intelligence from the hands of Vigil Cameron in the Duchy of Seth.”
He was straightforward, and this sentence was a long one prepared in advance during the interval as everyone left. Since he had decided to impersonate the Ace Agent for Lecia’s sake, he would not expose any flaws.
“No, no, even if you are an MI6 agent, you could possibly know about this matter. In fact, nobody in the Gray Gloves truly knows who Gray Hawk is, his age, appearance, or even his gender. Those who know his identity only know a small part of the truth, and together, they can only piece together a rough profile of the gentleman.”
The woman paused:
“However, you’re in luck. I once talked to him through a wall during an audience with the current King…”
Shard tensed up inside; he knew nothing about this encounter:
“Damn it!”
“Mr. Gray Hawk is very cautious, normally giving nothing away, but he seems to have relaxed in the Royal Palace, which allowed me to discover one of his small indulgences. Tell me, sir, Mr. Gray Hawk is quite fond of pocket watches. Even if the pocket watch does not match the identity he is impersonating, he would definitely carry an expensive one and could justify its origin with other excuses. So, what does his pocket watch look like?”
Shard let out a sigh of relief inside. He knew the style of pocket watch Mr. Sparrow possessed, but just as he was about to respond, he suddenly realized something was amiss:
“Mr. Sparrow’s pocket watch isn’t expensive! Is this a trap?”
His eyes narrowed slightly:
“Since the conversation was through a wall, how could this woman know the real style of Sparrow’s pocket watch? No, she’s trying to deceive me… But she probably does know Sparrow Detective’s small indulgence, an inconspicuous one…”
“I don’t fancy pocket watches.”
Realizing the trap, Shard’s lips curved into a smile:
“What I love is black tea.”
He paused:
“Yorkshire black tea.”
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In memory of the detective, he had even gone into the city to find the same tea. Given the staggering price, Shard could never forget that tea. After all, even the fastidious Miss Galina and Lecia had praised the tea as being quite good:
“Do I need to specify the exact place of origin?”
After 3 minutes and 23 seconds of silence:
“I believe that won’t be necessary anymore.”
The voice of the woman behind the partition spoke softly:
“But… how did you come to be here?”
Her tone was full of disbelief, and Shard breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that his lie had passed the test.
Just as he was about to claim that he was in the area on a top-secret mission, the door connecting this carriage to Carriage No. 2 was knocked.
Following that, a maid hurried in and whispered a few words into the ear of the woman behind the partition.
