'Lyra Silver Cloth!'
Looking at the silver-glimmering Cloth, whose shape resembled an ancient Greek lyre, Moen felt emotional. This time, his luck was truly excellent—one pull straight to the mark, directly drawing a top-tier item among the Silver Cloths.
Lyra was one of the brightest constellations in the northern Milky Way. Although it did not cover a large area, it was extremely easy to observe.
Because Lyra's main star, Vega, was one of the vertices of the "Summer Triangle," even in bustling large cities, as long as one avoided strong light interference, the "Summer Triangle" could still be clearly seen.
'This Cloth… it's really given based on connections, isn't it?'
Moen complained inwardly. Lyra was connected to some of his existing abilities, and the degree of connection was not small.
Draco and Cygnus were right next to Lyra. One of the vertices of the "Summer Triangle" was Deneb of Cygnus, while another vertex was Altair of Aquila. Deneb was the Magpie Bridge.
'The next Silver Cloth or skill won't be Aquila, will it?'
Moen thought to himself. Vega and the Magpie Bridge were already here, Altair was probably not far off either.
Without hesitation, Moen directly put on the Lyra Silver Cloth to try it out. He had to say, Silver Cloths were indeed different from Bronze Cloths, the coverage of Lyra was quite impressive.
In fact, Moen's Equuleus Bronze Cloth and Orion Bronze Cloth were both considered to have relatively excellent coverage among Bronze Cloths.
Therefore, Moen's feelings in this regard were not yet that profound. If the first two had been those Bronze Cloths with extremely low coverage, then Moen would probably have sighed that only Silver Cloths were truly Cloths. What were Bronze Cloths? Just scraps pieced together from odds and ends.
As for what was most special about the Lyra Silver Cloth, it was naturally the ancient lyre that Moen was holding in his hands.
Overall silver-white, adorned with some golden patterns, the lyre looked very exquisite. In fact, the entire Lyra Silver Cloth followed this same style—silver-white as the main body, accented with light purple and golden yellow, emphasizing refinement, elegance, and nobility.
"Weng!"
Moen plucked the strings. A sound infused with magical power rang out, releasing waves of energy. The sound was extremely crisp and pleasant, there was probably no string instrument in the world better than this lyre.
"What a pity, I don't know how to play it…"
Looking at the lyre in his hands, Moen wore a somewhat troubled expression. This skill, he truly had not mastered. It seemed he would have to study properly, Lyra's abilities were all concentrated in this lyre.
Moen guessed that if he wanted to resonate with the Lyra Silver Cloth, it would be impossible without mastering the lyre.
"Learn it! Learn it immediately!"
Moen did not hesitate. In order to resonate with Lyra, learning the lyre was nothing at all. It could be considered picking up another skill, learning more skills to become stronger was a good thing.
Resonance with Lyra was very important. It might even help stimulate Cygnus and Draco, which did not have Cloths yet after all, they were neighbors.
Although the relationship was not as close as Pegasus and Equuleus, even if he could not bring along Draco, it should at least be possible to bring along Cygnus, which was also part of the "Summer Triangle" and was even the "Magpie Bridge," right?
While thinking randomly, Moen left the guild hall. He was going to find someone to learn the lyre. There were quite a few people in the Fairy Tail guild who liked music, but there really were none who played the lyre. Most of them favored lively and energetic instruments.
Moen walked out. He remembered that Magnolia had shops that sold musical instruments, but he had never paid attention to them before. As for where to find someone who taught instruments, he had paid even less attention to that.
"Let's go ask Mr. Ruchio."
Moen immediately thought of Mr. Ruchio, who had many friends. Among Magnolia's various shops, there was probably no one more familiar than him. Even Grandpa Makarov might not know more than he did.
Leaving the guild hall, Moen arrived at Chico's family café. This café was decorated very exquisitely, and the storefront was quite large. Mr. Ruchio truly was not short on money—after all, he was the landlord of the Fairy Tail girls' dormitory.
"Welcome~"
At the café entrance, a waitress greeted customers with a warm smile. There were quite a few people inside the café, and many of them were clearly couples. It seemed this café was a good dating spot.
"Moen! It's Moen!"
Moen had just entered the café when he immediately heard someone shouting.
If the words had not been filled with surprise, judging by the urgency alone, Moen would have thought that someone he owed money to had come to collect debts. It was honestly a bit frightening.
Moen looked at the young couple crowding toward him and silently complained inwardly that he really still had not adapted to the life of a celebrity.
"Could we trouble you for an autograph?! We're both your fans! The stories of Great Detective Folmos are amazing!"
The couple was extremely excited. At a glance, they were clearly outsiders who had come to Magnolia for sightseeing.
"Shh~ Don't be so loud. You'll disturb everyone."
Moen took the pen and two copies of Great Detective Folmos, signing as he spoke to remind them. The couple was clearly well prepared, they had even brought a pen and two books, likely planning from the start to try their luck at getting his autograph.
"Yes, sorry~"
After Moen's reminder, the couple lowered their voices. They looked around, and the longtime Magnolia residents nearby all looked at them with kind and understanding expressions. The atmosphere was fairly friendly, this could only be described as affection extending to Moen himself.
"Mr. Moen, may we ask a question?"
Looking at Moen after he finished signing, the male half of the couple asked cautiously.
"I'm writing it. Please look forward to it."
Moen did not even need to wait for him to ask, he already knew what the guy wanted to ask. It was also the question he had been asked most frequently recently.
After chatting briefly with the two enthusiastic fans, Moen came to the café bar counter and asked the busy manager: "Is Mr. Ruchio here?"
Under normal circumstances, Mr. Ruchio was basically always in the café. This was his beloved undertaking. Otherwise, there would have been no need for him to bother with this shop, relying on rent alone would already have been enough for him to live comfortably in retirement.
This café had already been open for many years, and it was entirely due to Mr. Ruchio's passion that it had been able to operate so well for so long.
"I'm here!"
Before the manager could answer, a voice came from the back kitchen. Ruchio walked out wearing an apron and a hat.
"Little Moen? What brings you here today?"
Ruchio looked at Moen with a face full of surprise as he asked curiously. He knew that Moen did not really like drinking coffee.
"I have something I wanted to ask you. Do you know anyone who can play the lyre?"
Moen gave Ruchio a respectful bow, then asked.
Ruchio was not young. He looked nothing like Chico's father, he could pass for her grandfather. In reality, it was just that Chico had been born late in his life, making her a child he had in his old age.
"A lyre? There really is someone like that, but he probably isn't in Magnolia right now. I even invited him to perform in the shop before. He was truly a master-level figure, just like a bard from the stories."
Ruchio answered immediately. His connections were indeed extensive. This was probably the foundation of old local wealth. When it came to things like this, even Makarov was not as useful as people like him.
"Why are you suddenly asking about this?"
Ruchio asked with some curiosity.
"Because I want to learn the lyre. Can you still get in touch with that master?"
Moen's eyes lit up. A master-level teacher was exactly what he wanted. The better the lyre was learned, the more useful it would be. If it were just casual playing, there would be no need to find a teacher, he could figure that out on his own.
"Let me think. The last time I heard news about him was two days ago. He was invited by the Heartfilia Consortium. You can go there and try your luck. If you're quick, you should still be able to catch him."
Ruchio quickly gave his answer. He had been keeping track of that master's whereabouts, hoping to invite him again someday.
"If you do run into him, please ask him to come to Magnolia once more. Just tell him that I really love his performances, his music has a power that can calm people's hearts."
After telling Moen where the master was, Ruchio added an extra reminder. If Moen could invite the man back, he was willing to cover Moen's tuition fees for learning.
"Mr Ruchio, do you think I'm short on money right now?"
Moen said helplessly. As soon as he said it, Ruchio reacted as well. Even though studying under a master would certainly not be cheap, it was clearly not a problem for Moen anymore. He had forgotten just how well Moen's books were selling.
"Little Moen is now a famous figure throughout the Kingdom of Fiore. Maybe Master Voltava will really give you face!"
After recalling Moen's current status and reputation, Ruchio's eyes lit up. He immediately felt that this matter had a lot of hope.
"Don't worry, don't worry. I'll definitely get him to come."
Even as Moen was leaving the café, Ruchio kept reminding him repeatedly. Moen could only give a helpless promise in response.
After that, Ruchio enthusiastically sponsored Moen with a carriage and his personal coachman, ensuring that Moen could reach his destination quickly.
The city where the Heartfilia Consortium was located was not far from Magnolia. It was roughly separated by a single mountain—one on this side, one on the other. It wouldn't take long to get there.
"I've heard that the home of Mr. Jude, the head of the Heartfilia Consortium, is also not far from Magnolia, but I don't know the exact location."
Sitting in the carriage, Moen listened as the coachman talked about various interesting stories. The Heartfilia Consortium was a newly risen financial group that had only emerged in recent years, taking no more than ten years in total. The founder, Jude, and his wife were said to have both been mages in the past.
"Interesting."
Moen had actually heard of this couple before. Of course, it was mainly the woman—Layla Heartfilia. She was an exceptionally outstanding Celestial Spirit Mage.
Since Moen had always claimed to use "Celestial Spirit Magic," he naturally had heard of this excellent Celestial Spirit Mage who had retired many years ago. However, he had never had any contact with her. After all, when Layla married and retired, Moen was only two years old, so there had been no opportunity to meet her.
"If I have time, I could pay a visit."
Moen said casually. It would not be bad to see her. Her strength should be greater than Karen's, right? After all, she was a senior.
"I heard that lady passed away from illness last year."
The coachman spoke, causing Moen to freeze.
'Passed away from illness? What kind of illness could take the life of a powerful mage?'
Moen narrowed his eyes. His instincts told him that there was definitely something wrong here. Great Detective Folmos was not written for nothing—when something is abnormal, there must be something hidden. Even dying in battle would sound more reasonable than dying from illness.
With these doubts in mind, the carriage continued forward, eventually entering the mountain road, where it began to shake. This mountain road was not easy to travel, and it was quite narrow. If there were oncoming carriages, it would be even more dangerous. It was said that many accidents happened here every year.
"Hey! Be careful! Hey! The carriage is going to overturn!"
While Moen was meditating inside the carriage, the coachman let out a startled cry. He was clearly frightened, but he kept the reins steady and did not lose control due to panic.
"Bang!"
Moen jumped directly out of the carriage and looked toward the front. Sure enough, not far ahead, another carriage was swaying and charging toward the cliff, looking as if the horse had been frightened.
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