Angor watched Sunders leaving while feeling his heart getting heavier for some reason. He got a feeling that what they saw in Sleepless City was far from the end of it, especially when they just returned from Pocratee. Angor feared that the miserable sight of Pocratee would soon become the morrow of Sleepless City.
They never figured out what Yorkshire wanted to do, and how the monster’s plan would affect Sleepless City.
He shook his head and decided not to worry about someone else’s problems.
Using his Gondola, he entered the boundary of Phantom Island alone.
The sky around Phantom Island always enjoyed peaceful weather. While on his way, Angor’s Gondola attracted many people’s attention when most of the people were sitting on poorly-made broomsticks. When Angor stayed inside the small room hidden behind a starry door curtain, nobody saw who was using the showy boat.
Before going to the center of the island, Angor saw a lady slowly walking toward the entrance of the island on the invisible sky bridge.
“Nausica?” Angor was glad to see her.
Nausica was smoking her new pipe again, which released clusters of smoke that blended in with the drifting clouds nearby, giving her a lovely ambiance.
“I’ve been waiting for you near the Falling Cloud bus stop. What took you an entire week to come back?” Nausica suddenly replaced her relaxed look with a more serious one. “And… why do I feel that you grew much much stronger, again?”
“You’re just seeing things.” Angor quickly diverted her attention by asking, “What are you waiting here for?”
“Wasn’t it you who asked me to check the ‘bloodline problem’ of the Krakoks? If not for you, I’d already have picked somewhere safe to fuse my new bloodline.”
Even after spending a week outdoors, Nausica didn’t seem bothered at all. Instead, she appeared extremely excited about welcoming her newly-gained destiny.
“This is a critical moment in your life, make sure you’ve considered everything,” said Angor.
“Of course I will. Well, I didn’t remain at the bus stop all day. I took my time in Cloud Library and rented some books about the Nether Demon Bloodline. Combining these and what Spivet told me, I can tell you that the risk is really, really slim.”
“Nice.” Angor took Nausica into Phantom Island while they spoke. “I’ve heard about these Nether Demons but never saw them before. You’re not going to grow strange stuff like wings and tails, right?”
“They look pretty much like humans, just bigger. Strange stuff… yeah, they have horns and tails.” Nausica shrugged. “Well, I can’t control what happens to my appearance when using the bloodline. But it doesn’t matter. As long as it makes me strong, I’ll pay anything.”
Despite her words, Angor knew that this lady had her personal standards that disallowed her to breach certain boundaries. However, it seemed that her image was something she would willingly throw away.
Speaking of bloodlines, Angor thought about his other friend, Sailum.
“Dave told me that Sailum disappeared to somewhere before the Purification Garden was opened. He was going to…”
“Yup,” said Nausica, “to fuse his bloodline.”
“It’s been almost four months. Do you know where he went?”
Nausica shook her head as she also showed a worried look. “Azure Bloodline” was completely unknown in this world, which suggested great risk and danger. They couldn’t help getting concerned about Sailum’s condition since they had not heard anything from him for such a long time.
“I don’t know how to find him but… somebody can,” said Nausica. Then she revealed a name Angor would never think of. “It’s Elder of Books. Do you know Sailum’s treasure? That he always keeps it close at all times?”
Angor nodded. Anyone who knew about Sailum would easily notice this.
“The book. He has that really thick book.”
“Yes. I don’t know what it means to him, but somehow, his obsession with that book helped him speak with the Elder of Books, who told him to become a ‘Sage Morph’ if he wishes to ‘spiritualize’ his book. This is why Sailum wants to use that Azure Bloodline so much.” Nausica held her chin. “Since it was the Elder of Books who told him this, then the elder must know where Sailum is hiding. But… the Elder of Books has not shown up in front of people for a long time.”
Angor looked down. Among the three ancestor souls in Brute Cavern, Elder of Books was the strangest one as he always remained inside Cloud Library and did not allow anyone to meet him easily.
“We can’t do anything then,” Angor moaned. “He chose this path, and we will respect his decision. Let’s just pray.”
They remained silent for a while to get over their troubled mood.
Next, Angor explained the condition of Krakoks in detail, including Sunders’ opinion about them.
Nausica did not say anything about this. She had to see the Krakoks first before making decisions.
“So, Mister Sunders actually allowed you to place them inside his personal mansion?” Nausica was curious.
Angor, however, was not surprised by his professor’s “hospitality” about this matter. As someone who spent a lot of time with Sunders, he knew the gentleman was a bit different compared to how he appeared to be.
While listening to the sounds of beasts from the forest, they reached the center of the island.
This was the first time for Nausica to come to Sunders’ place. Even though Angor told her that Sunders was absent, Nausica seemed stressful nevertheless.
“Mister Padt,” Goode saw them coming and greeted them.
Angor nodded and told Goode to take Nausica to the Krakoks’ room, while he returned to his own bedroom to get a casual robe. His current gentleman suit was in fine condition even after going through the incident in Sleepless City AND the journey to Pocratee. However, he felt it weird to use the same suit for such a long time.
He left the bedroom feeling very refreshed. Before going to the Krakoks’ temporary residence, he suddenly sensed the smell of good food coming from the kitchen, which told him to satisfy his stomach once in a while.
He headed to the dining room and saw another figure who was attracted by food—Hobbiton.
Even though Hobbiton was wearing that full-cover Phantom Servant robe, his short body still gave him out. It seemed that he had arrived at the door to the kitchen earlier and was peeking through the gap eagerly.
But Angor didn’t get to talk to him because another Phantom Servant arrived, who scolded Hobbiton and dragged him away.
While walking past Angor’s position, the second Phantom Servant spoke Angor in a small voice, “Greetings to you, Mister Padt.”
“Oh. You’re… Number 233?”
“It’s me, sir.”
Number 233 was the Phantom Servant who fought Angor’s matches in Sky Tower together with Toby when Angor was knocked out by Parasite Queen.
“Who’s cooking in there?” Angor pointed to the door of the kitchen.
Hobbiton hopped in front of 233. “I know, I know! It’s Miss Greya!”
Number 233 knuckled Hobbiton’s head. “Silence. You’re not supposed to talk.”
Angor noticed that Number 233’s tone sounded considerate rather than harsh, which meant… Hobbiton had been enjoying this place so far.
After the two Phantom Servants went away, Angor approached the kitchen and heard Greya’s voice. It appeared she was swearing loudly for some reason.
Angor wondered who she was talking to and slowly opened the door to check, but Greya noticed him.
“Ah, you’re back!”
Angor chuckled helplessly and entered the kitchen.
He saw the receiving end of Greya’s lecture, which was a group of Phantom Servants. These people had white robes instead of black. Apparently, they were responsible for managing cuisine in the manor.
“Where’s your professor? He did not come back with you?” Greya asked while arranging some foodstuffs.
“Mister Wallace asked for his presence, so he went to Sleepless City again.”
Angor explained the general condition in Sleepless City.
Greya made a duck face and returned to her cooking stand while complaining about how Sunders did not know how to cherish good cooking material.
Angor looked around the room and noticed that the chefs had really costly provisions here. However, as Sunders once said, he did not have any Gourmet Wizard in the manor, so all the materials were only processed through basic means before they were served to the table.
Greya had been yelling that the chefs here were “too impotent and small-dicked to fully achieve the full potential of such divine aliment”. That how they had been cooking peasant meals out of royal-level supplies.
Angor would agree. He once joined dinner with Sunders here and decided that he’d never do it again if he had a choice. The meals were terrible both on the outside and when on his tongue. Many of them were served raw when they weren’t supposed to.
“Golly! I won’t do free cooking, but I REALLY can’t stand seeing this happening,” Greya spat. “I’ll prepare a share for you since you’re here. Don’t let it go cold!”
Angor’s eyes twinkled as he nodded rapidly, fearing that Greya would change her mind too soon.
