Chapter 2973: Chapter 2974: Unknown Apprehension
While Luigi was constantly trying to heal Uriel with music, on the other side, in the Heart Space...
Laplace finally opened her eyes after keeping them closed for half a minute.
"How is it, did Glaipnir find the Ancient Tooth Fairy?" Angel asked from the side.
After they returned from the Crystal Origin of Dreams to reality, Laplace closed her eyes and began Mind Sharing with Glaipnir.
In the past, it usually took only an instant for Laplace to share mental information with her own Temporal Bodies, but this time, she stayed connected with Glaipnir for a full half minute.
This made Angel feel a bit puzzledādid something happen on Glaipnirās side?
Laplace: "Iāve already contacted her. Glaipnir is bringing the Ancient Tooth Fairy over here."
Laplace paused when she got to this point, then said, "Just now, Glaipnir also talked to me about the ownership of the Heart Space."
Angel was stunned for a moment, seeming to understand something.
Laplace: "Iāve already made it clear to her that the ownership of the Heart Space, whether in the past, present, or future, has nothing to do with me. And my will represents my stance. If she wants to change my stance, thatās tantamount to destroying my will."
Laplaceās words were heavy, but they once again stated her attitudeāshe stood on Angelās side.
In fact, the moment Laplace and Glaipnir had been in contact for a full half minute, Angel had already formed some guesses.
Information sharing could be completed in an instant; yet Laplace stayed connected with Glaipnir for half a minute. This meant they werenāt just sharing information, they were also exchanging opinions.
Angel could more or less guess that after hearing the specific circumstances of the Heart Space, Glaipnir immediately sensed deeper benefits to be extracted; coupled with the fact that Angel found it difficult to enter the Mirror Domain directly, she was likely to suggest that Laplace seize this opportunity to occupy the Heart Space and reap the greatest benefit.
Previously, when the Crystal Origin of Dreams was born, Glaipnir had also tried to persuade Laplace to take it for herself.
It wasnāt that Glaipnir was unreasonable; rather, she felt that she needed to play the black face, to name an exorbitant price, in order to leave more room for maneuver.
To put it bluntly, Glaipnirās priority was to safeguard Laplaceās interests; itās just that her way of safeguarding them seemed very extreme.
"Actually, talking about the ownership of the Heart Space is no big deal; after all, I canāt survive in the Mirror Domain for long," Angel said calmly.
Laplace glanced at Angel and didnāt respond to that. Instead, she said, "Do you think Glaipnir is overly utilitarian?"
Angel gave a noncommittal smile.
He didnāt really think Glaipnir was overly utilitarian. In his view, among the three Temporal Bodies, Glaipnir was simply the one who had to play the black face. Playing the black face might make others dislike her, but for Laplace, it brought many advantages.
Figuring out how to maximize oneās personal interests is not utilitarian in a bad senseāitās just the way to survive in the mundane world.
Seeing that Angel didnāt answer, Laplace spoke to herself: "If I were you, I would think Glaipnir is very utilitarian."
"However, in my eyes, she isnāt being utilitarianāwhat she is, is too wary of you." Laplace said flatly, "This isnāt me making excuses for her. Itās that she cares too much about the results of Divination, and you are someone she canāt see through. Even in the Reflection of the Heart, youāre a mass of Mist."
Laplace fixed her gaze on Angel, then let her eyes drop, glancing at the Blood Night Shelter on his shoulder.
"Sheās never believed the explanation you gave last time."
"She thinks my trading with you is like bargaining with a tiger for its skin."
Angel: "..." Bargaining with a tiger for its skin? Whoās the tiger here! He had to tread carefully just to follow Laplace into the Sea of Void Mirrorāthis counts as a tiger? Besides, anyone with eyes could see the enormous gap between him and Laplace, especially in terms of strength.
In this situation, he was clearly the one bargaining with a tiger for its skin!
Laplace: "Itās pretty funny, isnāt it? But thatās the kind of person she isāher fear of the unknown outweighs the facts. I donāt know if sheās Divined anything else, but I can feel her wariness toward you."
"Precisely because of that wariness, she believes she must hold an absolutely dominant position in this deal."
After listening, Angel was speechless inside.
He couldnāt quite understand Glaipnirās logic. Because sheās wary, she has to occupy an absolutely dominant position? Whereās the logical connection?
Angel was full of complaints inwardly, but outwardly he remained calm: "Divination isnāt omnipotent, and Prophecies arenāt guaranteed to happen. There are too many unknown people and events in this world. If youāre wary of everything just because itās unknown, you might not even be able to take a step forward."
Laplace: "Youāre right. But I believe Glaipnir understands this as well, and yet she still acts wary. Why do you think that is?"
Angel: "...Why?"
Laplace: "Perhaps, in her inspiration, she saw that me facing you would be very dangerous."
Angel: "So, is this you testing me?"
"I didnāt..." Laplace broke off halfway through the sentence. She suddenly fell silent, her brows faintly furrowing, as if she had just figured something out.
After a moment, Laplace let out a soft sigh. "I miscalculated."
Angel: "???"
Laplace hesitated for a moment, then slowly said, "...It was Glaipnir who schemed against me, using me as a pretext to test you."
In that half-minute exchange between Glaipnir and Laplace, the idea of "testing" had never been explicitly mentioned; but with Glaipnirās intelligence, she understood that Laplace would definitely make a point of explaining things to Angel.
The moment you start explaining, many hidden issues naturally come to the surface.
This was probably the effect Glaipnir wanted.
She knew Laplace wouldnāt proactively ask about Angelās secrets, so she used this indirect method to scheme against Laplace, using her as a way to inquire into Angelās secrets.
Laplace hadnāt thought of these things at first; but she wasnāt stupid, and she knew Glaipnirās personality very well. The instant she subconsciously began to test Angel, she immediately snapped out of it.
Only, the words had already been spoken, and it was too late to take them back.
Many times, when something is left unsaid, everyone can agree tacitly not to bring it up. But once itās spoken, if you ignore it, it can easily turn into a knot in the heart, standing between the two of you.
After explaining the situation, Laplace fell silent for a while, then said, "I believe you. Thatās my intuition."
What Laplace meant was: even if Angel didnāt explain, she would still believe him.
But Angel didnāt see it that way.
Just like with Glaipnirās schemingāif the problem never surfaces, then fine; but once itās exposed, if you donāt resolve it, youāll suffer for it.
Angel: "If Glaipnir is truly wary, then I can probably guess what sheās wary of."
Laplace sighed inwardly. She knew that once Angel said this, it meant he intended to resolve some of the issues standing between them.
Glaipnirās goal had been achieved, but Laplace didnāt like this kind of scheming.
Perhaps Glaipnir was trying to resolve some hidden problems, but in doing so she was also undermining the foundation of mutual trust that Laplace and Angel had built.
In Glaipnirās view, it was better to resolve the issue first for the sake of the future; whereas Laplace felt that, rather than digging into the other sideās secrets, it was better to deepen mutual trust.
It was hard to say who was right and who was wrong, but Laplace herself was unwilling to use this method to resolve problems.
Though she was displeased inwardly, Laplace did not show it. These dissatisfactions would, in the future, be projected onto Glaipnir, not onto Angel who stood before her now.
"In my opinion, Glaipnir is not wary of me, but of the power standing behind me."
The soācalled power behind him could in fact be divided into two currents.
The first was Barbarian Cave. Ironclad Granny had remained in the Wilderness of Dreams all this time precisely to protect Angel, waiting for him to call for help at any time. From this, one could see Barbarian Caveās attitude.
So long as something happened to Angel, no matter where he was, Barbarian Cave would definitely come. Given Barbarian Caveās foundations, they would certainly be able to find him even in the Daylight Mirror Domain.
One had to know, Lady Mirror had not died, merely fallen into slumber; she still possessed an Everstanding King City within the Daylight Mirror Domain! Moreover, because of the Tea Party, it was highly likely she would Awaken in the near future.
If Lady Mirror were to enter the Mirror Domain to deal with Laplace, Laplace truly might not be able to withstand her.
The second was the power of the Nightmare Realm.
Back when he was still an Apprentice, Angel already possessed the ability to overturn the table, and had nearly destroyed Night Demon City.
Of course, at that time his ability to overturn the table was largely a coincidence of timing and circumstance. If Angel wanted to recreate the scene at Duskdeep Well now, he might not be able to succeed.
But Angel was, after all, now an Official Wizard; he did have ways to enter the Nightmare Realm.
Moreover, he could still contact Wang Wang.
If he truly encountered danger within the Mirror Domain, Angel believed he still had a chance to try overturning this table. Even if he could not overturn it, he could still escape.
Angel briefly explained the powers backing him. He went into detail on the first, while the second he did not elaborate on, only mentioning in passing that it was "related to the Nightmare Realm."
After listening, Laplace merely nodded silently and did not continue to ask.
She had long felt that Angelās Illusion Techniques, as well as the Crystal Origin of Dreams, carried a strange aura. It felt somewhat familiar to her, yet she could never quite recall where she had sensed it.
Laplace had planned to ponder it later, but now that Angel had directly spoken the words "Nightmare Realm," she immediately understood that the aura of the Crystal Origin of Dreams came from the Nightmare Realm.
Laplace had never gone to the Nightmare Realm, but she had personally sensed the aura of the Nightmare Realm... in the region of Naraku City.
In the past, Naraku City had once given birth to an entrance leading to the Nightmare Realm.
It seemed to have been only a few hundred years ago.
At the time, her Temporal Body had been in longāterm contact with the Wise Sovereign in Naraku City, and it was thus that she perceived that fleeting aura of the Nightmare Realm.
Back then, her Temporal Body did not know what the Nightmare Realm was. Only after the Wise Sovereign explained it did she later come to understand how terrifying the Nightmare Realm was.
She still remembered that her Temporal Body had said there were humans who had been dragged into the Nightmare Realm at that time.
And, the Temporal Body that had been outside back then was... Glaipnir.
At this moment, Laplace had already guessed that the "wariness" Glaipnir spoke of was perhaps not the Barbarian Cave that Angel had mentioned, but more likely the power of the Nightmare Realm.
Precisely because Glaipnir had personally experienced the power of the Nightmare Realm, when she discovered a similar aura in the Crystal Origin of Dreams, she naturally grew vigilant.
And this was likely the reason Glaipnir had tried every possible way to have Laplace probe Angelās trump cards.
Although in the end Angel had not laid this trump card entirely bare, Laplace felt that this was already enough.
She had never intended to pry into Angelās secrets in the first place.
As things stood, they still possessed the foundation for building further mutual trust. If they continued to dig deeper, that foundation would inevitably develop enormous cracks; wanting to go a step further would likely become very difficult.
Laplace no longer pursued the matter of the Nightmare Realm, but instead said softly, "Speaking of which, it seems we have yet to formally meet."
Angel cast Laplace a puzzled look.
Laplace said calmly, "I mean my true body."
At present, what Laplace manifested was only an Avatar of her true body, as well as a Temporal Body.
As for Laplaceās true body, Angel remembered that it seemed to be an enormous, nonāhuman Life... this could be seen from the scales shed from it.
Angel: "Your true body is coming here?"
Laplace shook her head. "No, my true body is currently unable to move, but this is the coordinate of my true body..."
Laplace extended her hand and transmitted a set of coordinate information to Angel.
"If you are willing, we can formally meet... and sign an alliance contract."
"If, by then, we can meet Lady Mirror as well, that would be even better."
At first, Angel had not understood what Laplace meant by giving him the coordinates of her true body. Now he somewhat understood: this was Laplaceās... compensation?
Moreover, from Laplaceās words it could be inferred that she did not mind bringing outsiders to meet her.
This was also to say that, if Angel were worried that meeting her alone would be unsafe, he could inform Barbarian Cave.
It had to be said, Laplace had thought things through quite thoroughly.
However, whether or not he went to meet Laplaceās true body was actually not important right now. At the very least, Angel did not take this matter to heart.
As for the alliance contract? That was not important either.
There was already a contract between them, and the moment Laplace bore the Authority, they had become natural allies.
The soācalled alliance contract was more in the sense of a strategic partnership. Angel did not consider himself alone capable of elevating to a "strategic cooperation" level with Laplaceās true body; this contract was clearly meant to be signed with Barbarian Cave... or with Illusion Demon Island.
These were matters for the future and did not need to be rushed now.
Compared to these intangible affairs, what Angel cared about more was the present.
Laplace said, "Glaipnir and the Ancient Tooth Fairy are almost here. Are you planning to meet the Ancient Tooth Fairy in the Heart Space?"
Angel shook his head. "For now, itās better not to expose the Heart Space yet."
Although Angel had considered using the Heart Space to win over the Ancient Tooth Fairies, he still had not completely grasped the limits of the Heart Space, nor had he carried out more inādepth tests on the external Half-length Mirrors.
To expose this Half-step Mystic Object to outsiders before he himself had fully understood all of its traits would clearly be unwise.