This gathering was clearly not just for eating.
Probably only Maria was thoughtlessly enjoying the delicacies, but Manner and Noah were clearly only tasting them briefly.
Viviana felt that the atmosphere was a bit off.
Her adoptive mother's gaze remained on Noah, and her eyes were somewhat complex, containing both relief and worry.
Even Viviana, who didn't have Noah's sharp sixth sense, could almost perceive that the protagonist of this banquet was actually Noah.
Or rather… this banquet was held for Noah, and as for Maria and herself, it was probably just an invitation to see the current younger generation.
This meal was quite difficult to eat, but fortunately, Russell quickly got to the point.
"I received a detailed proposal from the Commercial Federation requesting a thorough investigation into the gas explosion accident at the Howling Guard company."
Russell gazed at Noah.
Although Manner hadn't mentioned Noah when explaining the whole matter to her, she instinctively sensed that this matter should be inextricably linked to Noah.
After all, Manner's fighting style could not have caused the kind of devastation within the Howling Guard.
She hadn't seen such a method of twisting souls and bodies for a long time.
"Of course, I withdrew this proposal.
On one hand, we do not intend to continue the thorough investigation.
Manner has made it very clear about the Witch King Remnants.
It's just that now is not the time for reckoning.
Regarding this decision, I think it's better to make it clear to you all first."
Russell was observing Noah's reaction, but Noah consistently showed nothing.
The other party's probing intent was not hidden, and Noah absolutely could not admit to being involved at this time.
Even if the elder in front of her shouldn't do anything to her, she still had to appear unrelated to the matter.
The matter itself—should be characterized as an accident caused by the Witch King Remnants' Arts going out of control.
And it must be characterized this way, otherwise, it might involve more troublesome matters.
"Howling Guard… wasn't that a gas explosion?"
At this moment, Maria asked with some confusion, a question that even Russell was stunned by.
"…Maria, you continue eating first."
Viviana quickly piled a heap of food onto Maria's plate to prevent the child's questions from further breaking the atmosphere.
Someone actually believed it was a gas explosion…
Noah was momentarily speechless, but at this point, Manner spoke first.
"Regarding that matter, I should have made it very clear.
When I entered the scene, the out-of-control Arts had already caused the internal devastation.
This was an accident."
"Of course, I also characterized it that way."
Russell nodded, "It's just that I'm very curious about the out-of-control Arts itself, which could cause such widespread damage…"
Noah subconsciously touched the music box she had specifically brought with her.
The core of the truly out-of-control Arts was right here.
It seemed Grandma Russell wanted her to voluntarily hand over this item, right?
However, considering the danger of Dustworld Sound, especially the one in Noah's hand, which had been completed, she could still control it, after all, she had almost learned how to handle Dustworld Sound that night.
But if she handed it over to Grandma Russell…
Noah subconsciously felt uneasy.
After all, strictly speaking, this item was a forbidden object of Letania.
If it were handed over to the Supervisory Council, Noah was somewhat worried that the Supervisory Council would engage in some overly aggressive exploratory methods.
But how to refuse… Noah was also in a difficult position.
You can't handle this thing?
Should I do it?
Even if Grandma Russell was willing, the Supervisory Council probably wouldn't be.
But this thing was indeed more stable in her hands…
"I didn't see the core of the out-of-control spell..." At this moment, Manner spoke, "When I arrived at the scene, everything was already over. It's very likely that the core of the spell was also damaged during that anomaly."
"...I see." Ms. Luo Su's gaze, sharp as a sword, fell upon Manner, but Manner's expression remained unchanged, his eyes revealing no flaws. "Are you sure?"
"I can guarantee it." Manner nodded, "I stake the honor of Manner. Nearl Family that the situation at the scene was very bad at the time, and it's estimated that the spell's core was already damaged."
Noah subconsciously twitched her lips. Indeed, the music box itself was damaged due to her intervention. What Manner said was not strictly a lie; he merely concealed some facts, such as Kuro being present at the time.
It could be said to be a rather ambiguous statement...
Russell didn't dwell on this for too long. She just gave Noah a meaningful look, then said, "Alright, I hope you can take responsibility for your words. That is a very dangerous thing."
The warning was pretty much sufficient.
"Mm." Manner understood. Out of trust for Noah, he didn't ask Noah to hand over the music box. However, that didn't mean he wasn't worried about the danger of Noah keeping the music box. In fact, the most important part of this meeting was this music box.
The Dustworld Sound, the Witch King's legacy—Letania would absolutely not allow other nations to possess this thing...
So, although the Howling Guard incident had come to an end, neither the Witch King Remnants nor the people of Letania would likely let go of this music box.
Should it be said that the entire country has PTSD regarding the Witch King's belongings... or that there are still people who want to pursue the Witch King's power?
The music box in Noah's hand might be far more precious than she imagined.
Of course, if the people of Letania knew that Noah had the ability to repair the Dustworld Sound, their interest in the music box would probably shift directly to Noah herself.
A spellcaster who can repair the Witch King's Dustworld Sound, even in Letania, a place famous for spellcasters... could be said to be unprecedented and without peer.
The Witch King's genius made his residual spells and musical scores like heavenly scriptures; normal spellcasters simply couldn't decipher them, let alone dive into the core of the score like Noah to repair it. Noah herself just didn't know how shocking her actions were, to the point of being... terrifying.
They might not be afraid that no one could decipher the Witch King's spells and musical scores, but what they feared was the birth of another Witch King.
Now, only a fragmented piece of the musical score has been repaired. What if she could continue to repair the Dustworld Sound? What if all these Dustworld Sounds could be restored to completeness? What if she could truly gain the Witch King's knowledge and power from them?
What would happen then...?
Let's rewind time to the night Noah repaired the Dustworld Sound—
The moment the Dustworld Sound was fully repaired, far away in Letania, atop the Twin Towers, two tall women, one dressed in black and the other in white, who were originally conversing, suddenly froze—
They heard music—not the ubiquitous music of the city, but a resonance, as if the entire city had instantly transformed into a giant instrument. Only a limited few could perceive this sound, a melody that once echoed in their nightmares.
That was... the Witch King's melody.
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