Chapter 2703: Chapter 2704: Letting Go
Is Angelâs arrival truly a coincidence?
Faced with the Wise Sovereignâs suspicion, as Angel was still pondering his words, the Black Earl calmly interjected: "The Wise Sovereign has always been questioning whether his arrival is a coincidence, which puzzles me. In recent years, has there been any major incident in the underground aqueducts? In recent years, have any outsiders invaded the underground aqueducts, especially the Hanging Jail Stairway?"
"No, right?" Black Earl: "Since there hasnât been, why do you think his arrival is a coincidence? Heâs been exposed to the Extraordinary World for less than ten years. During these years, he has needed to hone his skills and learn related techniques, leaving his time unevenly distributed. Why would the Wise Sovereign delve into whether his arrival is a coincidence?"
"Also, the so-called coincidence is that it only seems coincidental if itâs fitted perfectly. Perhaps Angelâs appearance can be called a coincidence, but what corresponds to the âfitâ here? I think only when the Wise Sovereign clearly explains this âfitâ can we determine if Angelâs arrival is truly a coincidence."
The Black Earlâs unexpected support left Angel momentarily stunned. After listening to his series of questions, Angel couldnât help but give a thumbs-up in his mind. As expected of the Black Earl, his expression was concise and directly hit the point.
Firstly, he mentioned that Angelâs age is hardly a factor coinciding with Naraku City. Secondly, he questioned the Wise Sovereignâs basis for determining itâs not a coincidence.
If it were Angel, he could only try to express his thoughts and feelings. If that didnât work, he would write it indirectly in the True Words Tome, detailing everything from when he took on the task from Esos, then allow the Wise Sovereign to determine for himself if it was a coincidence.
In truth, the Black Earlâs words were genuinely helpful to Angel.
However, although the Black Earl was standing up for Angel at this moment, in reality, he had the same confusion as the Wise Sovereign. Because along the way, Angel seemed rather familiar with the area and displayed many inexplicable actions, making it all appear quite strange.
Furthermore, Angelâs claim from the outset that he had no other requests also aroused the Black Earlâs suspicions.
But despite having doubts, his approach differed from the Wise Sovereignâs. He chose to be accommodating and disregard them.
Of course, this does not imply that the Black Earl has a broad mind; it is simply because Angel himself makes him willing to overlook those unusual behaviors.
Angelâs background: an important figure in the Barbarian Cave, a person whom his close friend Rhein values, and a disciple of his rival and friend Sanders. Just with these reasons, the Black Earl wouldnât do anything towards Angel.
Throughout, Angel proved with his abilities that he is rightfully a member of the Research and Development Institute. This again made the Black Earl see Angel in a higher light. After all, having a good relationship with a talent of such technical expertise is undoubtedly better than severing ties.
So, regardless of whether Angel indeed had ulterior motives this time, the Black Earl would still speak on his behalf. In this aspect, they belong to the same front.
On the other hand, at this moment, the Wise Sovereign was also somewhat hesitant.
The Black Earlâs words left Angel secretly admiring, and the Wise Sovereign could clearly grasp what the Black Earl was trying to convey.
Indeed, Angelâs age posed an issue. Regarding this, even the Wise Sovereign did not know how to explain.
However, when it comes to the "fit" of a coincidence, the Wise Sovereign actually had something to say. Just that, after Angelâs prior explanation, he too began harboring doubts about this "fit."
Perhaps he was indeed being overly suspicious?
After pondering for a moment, the Wise Sovereign eventually spoke. He addressed the Black Earl, saying: "The doubt you raised, I accept. But I also have reasons for determining that his arrival is not coincidental."
The Wise Sovereign paused, then turned to Angel: "If you agree, you simply need to do one thing, and this matter can be settled. I will apologize for my doubts. How about an Alchemistâs Manual from my collection?"
Angel: "What is it?"
The Wise Sovereign slowly said: "Write in the True Words Tome that you have never known the woman in the painting in the Hanging Jail Stairway and have never heard her name. Furthermore, you havenât, in any manner, obtained information about the relic from any unknown persons."
Hearing the Wise Sovereignâs words, Angel and the Black Earl exchanged a glance and nearly immediately understood that the Wise Sovereignâs suspicion about Angelâs potentially non-coincidental arrival was related to that woman.
Although the Black Earl picked up on the Wise Sovereignâs implication, he wasnât sure if Angel had any connection to that woman.
The Black Earlâs intuition was that Angel was unrelated to that woman. Yet, as time passed, Angel hadnât written anything in the True Words Tome but instead remained silent with a frown.
The Black Earlâs heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Angelâs odd behavior throughout was indeed related to that woman?
Was the profound information Angel possessed given by that woman or some so-called unknown people?
Under everyoneâs gaze, Angelâs hesitation seemed to subtly indicate a connection between him and that woman.
However, after about half a minute, Angel raised his head: "What do you mean by unknown persons?"
Wise Sovereign: "Anyone encouraging you to head to the relic, regardless of who it is."
Angel: "Does the Wise Sovereign suspect that my arrival was incited by someone? Could it be some unknown person or the woman in the painting?"
The Wise Sovereign did not reply, but his silence was an answer.
Angel: "I have been pondering the meaning of unknown persons because the scope is too broad. If youâre asking if anyone encouraged me to come here, I can clearly state that no one did."
Wise Sovereign: "Then you can write it in the True Words Tome."
Angel still didnât write but posed another question: "I can write, but if Iâve guessed that womanâs identity, how should it be judged?"
The Wise Sovereign was startled: "Guessed... guessed?"
Angel shrugged: "Along the way, we didnât come up empty-handed. We encountered many clues. Guessing that womanâs identity isnât a difficult task."
"If you donât believe me, you can ask anyone present."
The Wise Sovereign hesitated for a moment and then looked towards Dox... no, Kaier nearby.
Despite easily seeing through Dox, Doxâs responses were always unpredictable, so it was simpler to have the apprentice answer.
The apprenticeâs every move couldnât escape the Wise Sovereignâs notice.
Kaier glanced around and eventually pointed to himself, as if asking: Me?
The Wise Sovereign nodded: "Yes, tell me, do you know who the woman in the painting is?"
Kaier shook his head: "I donât know, but we encountered some clues before, and given that the painting is a mirror, I speculate she might be related to the Mirror Demon God, possibly being the Mirror Demon God herself."
Kaierâs answer caused the Wise Sovereign to frown deeply.
"Where did you learn the name Mirror Demon God?" the Wise Sovereign asked.
Black Earl: "The entrance we used was an underground church, built by the worshippers of the Mirror Demon God. So we have known the name Mirror Demon God since then."
After Black Earl finished, Angel added: "Later on, we found the symbol of the Mirror Demon God in the ruins, look, here it is."
Angel snapped his fingers, and an illusionary image appeared in mid-air.
The emblem featured a bisected design, one side with the profile of a long-haired woman, the other depicting the profile of a man wearing a hat.
"The profile of the woman on this emblem looks quite similar to the blonde woman in that oil painting, and since the painting surprisingly used a mirror, we thought of the reflective image recorded in the Underground Church and speculated that she might be related to the Mirror Demon God."
After saying this, Angel looked at the Wise Sovereign: "Until now, itâs still just a speculation whether she is related to the Mirror Demon God or not, I donât know. However, if our guess happens to be correct, and the Dominator has me write in the True Words Tome that I donât know her, have never seen her, wouldnât I be wrongly accused?"
After finishing, the question was almost overflowing from Angelâs expression: So, is she the Mirror Demon God?
The Wise Sovereign pondered for a moment and said, "When you record in the True Words Tome, you can write a premise, âBefore you arrived at Naraku Cityâ, you were unaware of this womanâs existence and had never heard of her name."
Although the Wise Sovereign did not explicitly say it, by having Angel add the premise âbefore arriving at Naraku Cityâ, it already hinted that their speculation was correct.
That woman is indeed related to the Mirror Demon God. Perhaps she is the long-haired woman in the emblem.
Angel smiled: "Alright."
Now, without any hesitation, Angel quickly wrote in the True Words Tome exactly as the Wise Sovereign instructed, not missing a word.
The True Words Tome had no reaction, the text was very smooth. It meant that everything Angel had previously said was true.
He was not incited by anyone to come.
Before this, he had never met that woman, nor did he know who she was.
Though the Wise Sovereign still felt this was not very rigorous, it was enough. As the Black Earl said, Angel is too young, even if there was a scheme, it wouldnât involve him.
Moreover, he was not bewitched by the Goddess, his arrival was voluntary, whether there were other intentions, the Wise Sovereign wouldnât bother.
Everyone who came here had some intentions. As long as Angel wasnât on the side of the Goddess, this matter could be considered over.
The Wise Sovereign: "My collection of the Alchemistâs Manual is in my grand hall, I will later give you the original, and also give you the manuals from my early years. Or, I can directly make a replica for you here."
Angel quickly waved his hands, preferring the original over a replica!
Even if the content recorded in the original and the replica is the same, every word in the original is imbued with the writerâs emotions, and as a master of emotional perception, Angel cannot forsake the original for a cold replica.
The Wise Sovereign didnât mind either, having already promised Angel, he naturally wouldnât break his word.
"Whether a coincidence or not, this misunderstanding has been resolved, can we talk about the main topic now?" The Black Earl looked at the Wise Sovereign.
"What are the necessary conditions and what are the bonus conditions? What do you need us to do?"
The Wise Sovereign did not answer immediately but said, "These words need to be said, but I still need to confirm some things, and my confrontation with her has already begun. It wonât be too late to talk after she backs off."
The confrontation with her has already begun? With whom?
Everyone looked at the Wise Sovereign with confusion, and he said lightly, "Youâll know soon enough, she wonât easily let you off."
Hearing this, everyone immediately recalled what the Wise Sovereign had said when they first met him.
He was entrusted by someone to stop them from progressing.
The Wise Sovereign appeared to be stopping them, but in fact, he wanted to use them to accomplish something, and they could see this, so had they become intermediaries in a game between two sides?
The Wise Sovereign did not elaborate on the content of the "confrontation," but looked at Angel.
"Just now it was I who asked the questions, and you answered. Now, do you have any questions for me?" The Wise Sovereign said, "Also, regarding the matter of the relic site, you donât need to ask, I will tell you everything later."
Angel: "I do have some questions, some of which I had asked Miss Cicia, but she said she was under oath and couldnât say. I wonder if the Wise Sovereign can speak?"
Angel didnât state what the questions were, but since Cicia couldnât say, it was undoubtedly about the historical issues of Naraku City.
The Wise Sovereign: "My oath restrictions are few, but there are still things I cannot say. It depends on what specific questions you ask."
Angel nodded in understanding, meaning the Wise Sovereign could answer more than Cicia, but sensitive issues could still be unspeakable.
"What do you want to ask? The rise and fall of Naraku City?" The Wise Sovereign looked at Angel.
Angel shook his head: "My first question is unrelated to Naraku City, itâs about the Wood Spirit."
Angel lowered his head to look at the staff: "The Wise Sovereign already knows my Mentor is Sanders, I wonder if the Sovereign is willing to let me take the Wood Spirit to meet him. After all, when I took the Wood Spirit out, I promised to bring it to see my Mentor."
The Wise Sovereign had actually considered this question before.
But now, he wasnât sure if he should agree, as his evaluation of Sanders was bipolar.
Simply put, the Wise Sovereign felt that Sanders was commendable at the technical and innovative level. However, his style was too ruthless.
The terms Black Wizard and White Wizard, which suddenly emerged in recent years, and the rivalry situation hold no difference to the ancient monster of millennia.
Regardless of whether a wizard does good or evil, he doesnât care.
But all of this is on the premise that it doesnât affect him.
And the Wood Spirit, taught by the Wise Sovereign bit by bit, despite having a flawed personality, is still, to the Wise Sovereign, the most important inheritor at the moment.
Since it is an inheritor, the Wise Sovereign needs to consider whether it will be influenced.
When they were on the Hanging Jail Stairway, there were no others, so the Wise Sovereign could be unconcerned. But once the Wood Spirit leaves the Underground Aqueduct, itâs very likely to be affected by external disturbances, especially since Sanders is a ruthless person. Under his influence, what would the Wood Spirit become?
The Wise Sovereign could only imagine the bleak results.
After all, having raised it himself, he was unwilling to let the Wood Spirit become wicked and fierce.
However, the Wise Sovereign completely forgot at that moment that the Wood Spiritâs personality flaws made it unlikely to develop in a fierce direction.
The Wise Sovereign still leaned towards not taking the Wood Spirit out, but with it already following Angel, it seemed inappropriate to block it now.
In the Wise Sovereignâs dilemma, Angel seemed to notice his predicament and proactively suggested:
"How about this, I wonât take the Wood Spirit away, Iâll find a way to get my Mentor to come here?"
The Wise Sovereign swiftly lifted his head, speaking with determined tone: "No need, just let the Wood Spirit follow you to meet Sanders. After all, he was once its master."
"Oh, and no need to trouble Sanders to come here... hmm, the Underground Aqueduct is not suited for hosting him."
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