At the same time—
Dewlight Pavilion.
Sunday frowned as he stared at the unserious Masked Fool in front of him.
"Fool, why should I agree to your request?"
There was no such thing as kindness without a reason. Even when the Family helped someone, they still made sure to praise the glory of Harmony. Now a Masked Fool had come running in with such sweet words, and no matter how Sunday looked at it, it reeked of bad intentions.
Besides, he knew his sister too well. She looked like a graceful young lady from a noble house, but once she set her mind on something, she'd never give up with ease.
"Heeheehee~ If this business deal goes through, that little bird won't have to keep hiding from place to place anymore. Isn't that good?"
"…"
"This is a rare chance to support your sister, you know. You'd better not let it slip away~"
After Sparkle said that, she stopped trying to tempt him. She only tossed the mask in her hand and looked around the room like she was bored.
Sunday, meanwhile, turned his gaze to the crow perched on a ceiling beam. The question in his eyes was clear.
Was that mask real?
It wasn't as if he couldn't sense the power inside it. But could it truly be called the power of an Emanator? That was where Sunday couldn't be sure.
"…"
The crow gave the smallest nod.
The Dreammaster had already come into contact with that mask when Sparkle started moving. Its power was strong and deep, and it bore no mark that belonged to any one person.
Add to that the brief instant a few days ago when Aha had glanced toward Penacony, and the Dreammaster had been stunned. That woman named Sylvia had held herself back even then.
At first, he'd thought Sylvia had already put the mask on and was using it as bait. But the result went far beyond what the Dreammaster had expected.
It made him see that white-haired woman in a new light.
A Masked Fool's mask was the source of their power. Even so, that didn't mean anyone who took the mask could steal that power. But the reverse was also true: as long as its owner allowed it, anyone could use the power within the mask.
In that sense, a Masked Fool's mask was a good fit for the Family.
"…"
Sunday hadn't expected the Dreammaster to nod.
So the mask was real?
This Masked Fool... no, Sylvia, and his own sister too.
Were they truly playing for stakes this high?
Sunday felt like he was about to stop recognizing his own sister. If he asked himself, honestly, whether he'd be able to use Emanator-level power so freely in a scheme like this, the answer was clear.
It'd be hard.
Without the Dreammaster's plan backing him, Sunday would've chosen to accept that power.
"Fool, I agree to your plan. But don't misunderstand me. I'm only doing this to confirm Robin's safety."
"Heeheehee~ The little bird will be so happy when she hears that!"
Sparkle giggled and turned to leave.
"Wait. Masked Fool, you're not going to discuss the details of the plan?"
"I'm leaving all that to the Family. I'm only in charge of providing the goods and holding the auction. How grand this event gets is up to you, Chicken Wing Boy~"
Sparkle skipped away.
She wasn't going to do such dull work. No one could force a Masked Fool to work a boring shift unless she felt like it.
Sparkle and Sampo had each dealt with the Alfalfa Family and the Oak Family. Once the two great Families that represented finance and administration agreed to the auction, the matter was more than halfway done.
And if they were willing to let the Nightingale Family take full charge of rebuilding the Grand Theater again, the Nightingales would cast their vote in favor at once.
As for the Iris Family...
They'd supported Sparkle's escape back then. Sparkle could guess where they stood.
"La la la~ The show's about to begin. I can't wait for them to start fighting~"
Sparkle loved nothing more than watching chaos grow. It'd be best if all those messy factions clashed in Penacony.
Sampo, for his part, helped out while planning to fish up a few benefits from the mixed crowd. His main target was the Alfalfa Family.
Either way, both joy seekers were having the time of their lives.
--+--
The Xianzhou Luofu.
After Sylvia sent everyone to the Alchemy Commission, she didn't leave right away. Instead, she found a quiet spot near the sea inside the Commission and called Topaz.
Topaz seemed busy and didn't pick up at once. Sylvia waited for quite a while before Topaz finally called back.
"Hello? Sylvia? Is something happening on Separius's end?"
"You look pretty busy."
Sylvia looked at Topaz with curiosity. She looked almost worn out, like work had run her ragged.
"Ahaha... Small matter. That's work for you. Something always comes up. It's fine. You tell me what's going on first."
Topaz treated Sylvia with great warmth, even though she'd just rushed to get permission to leave a Ten Stonehearts meeting early. After all, she still needed to keep relations with Sylvia warm for what came next in Penacony.
"All right. I wanted to ask when you plan to leave for Penacony."
"Hm? Isn't that a coincidence? We were just in a meeting about whether we should head to Penacony ahead of schedule."
"Hm?"
Sylvia froze. Why would the IPC go to Penacony early? In the game, hadn't Aventurine arrived right around the same time as the Astral Express, barely making the deadline?
Besides, Penacony didn't exactly welcome them.
"Here's the thing. The IPC just received a piece of intelligence from the Family. It seems the Family plans to hold an auction involving an Emanator. We were just discussing whether that intel was true."
Topaz revealed this secret as if she didn't care at all.
In truth, Topaz was sitting face-to-face with Jade at that moment. The other Ten Stonehearts were also listening to the call in silence.
They were all waiting to fish information out of Sylvia.
Sylvia didn't know that. Even if she had, she wouldn't have cared.
"Oh, then that really is a coincidence. I came to you for the same thing."
"Huh?? Really??"
Even Topaz hadn't expected Sylvia to know the inside story.
Was this information really that easy to collect?
"Yep~ And not only that, I can tell you it's not just related to an Emanator. It's an unworn Emanator-level Fool's Mask."
The moment those words came out, someone among the Ten Stonehearts almost lost composure. Others felt Sylvia was spouting nonsense.
Jade, however, stayed calm and gave Topaz a signal.
"You've seen the item?"
"More than seen it. Aha shoved that mask at me. I just didn't want to become an Emanator of Elation. What decent person becomes a joy seeker?"
The least reliable Aeon in the universe was Aha. When other Aeons gave power, they gave it. Only Aha had a real precedent of taking power back.
Permanence was much safer.
Sylvia could already turn into a dragon. Becoming a true Emanator of Permanence shouldn't be that far away. When the time came, she'd also have the Ambrosial Arbor and Phantylia as trump cards.
Wasn't that far steadier than the unreliable Path of Elation?
Sylvia tugged at the corner of her mouth, then asked all of a sudden, "Topaz, do I look like a joy seeker to you?"
"…"
Topaz fell silent. Before, Sylvia hadn't. Now, she did.
When Sylvia saw Topaz say nothing, she assumed Topaz agreed with her own view and nodded with satisfaction.
"Forget it. That's not the point. In short, I have my own Path, so I plan to borrow the Family's hand and sell the mask. That way, I can get a better price."
"Speaking of which... is a Fool's Mask something you can just let someone else wear?"
Topaz knew about the Masked Fools as a group, but could their masks be passed around this casually?
Sylvia gave a blunt answer. She spread her hands.
"I'm not making any promises. Who could guarantee something like that? I can only say the thing is real. Whether anyone can use it is another matter."
Topaz nodded.
In truth, if they could prove an outsider couldn't use it, that would serve the IPC's interests even better. But this was like Schrödinger's cat. Maybe it could be used, maybe it couldn't.
Sylvia only needed to prove the item was real. As for those who craved power, would they really give up a chance that sat right in front of them?
That was an Emanator.
A profit of one hundred percent could make a merchant risk their neck. The value of an Emanator could barely be measured in numbers.
When the benefit was that vast, most people lost their calm.
And Topaz realized why Sylvia had called to invite her in person.
The answer was the IPC's reputation.
A rumor from Penacony would only draw blind desperadoes. But if a major force like the IPC acted on it, then the intel would gain credibility.
Once she thought that through, Topaz had reason to believe Sylvia would also invite the General of Divine Foresight into the game.
"You've planned this well, Sylvia. Unless I've guessed wrong, you've invited the Xianzhou Luofu too, haven't you?"
Since Topaz had pointed it out, Sylvia knew the IPC had guessed her intent.
But so what? The mask was real. Sylvia only wanted to make the auction bigger.
No one lost anything.
"Of course. When there's something good, you think of people you know first."
Sylvia chuckled.
"I want money. The Family wants to use this to rebuild its prestige. Maybe you'll get an Emanator. Everyone wins."
"Heh."
Topaz laughed. Sylvia's mouth was full of nonsense.
If something like this was truly sold, it'd never be a simple credit transaction. It would turn into barter and all kinds of tangled exchanges of interest.
For example, shares in some organization, a certain number of standard fleets, resource planets, life-bearing worlds, and so on.
The IPC likely wouldn't pay a huge price to chase an uncertain Emanator. They didn't lack Emanators. Besides, why would an organization on the Path of Preservation need an Emanator of Elation?
The Xianzhou probably wouldn't want it either.
But Diamond's judgment was close to Jing Yuan's.
Not wanting it was one thing. Watching the show was another.
They still had to know whose hands this thing would land in, and whether it could be used in the end.
Besides, he might not want it, but he couldn't let it fall into his enemies' hands.
Yes, that meant those bastards from the IPC's other departments.
"I understand. Once the auction is confirmed, I'll depart early in the IPC's name and head for Penacony."
With Jade's permission, Topaz accepted the invitation with ease.
"Speaking of which, Sylvia, we've made several deals before and after all this, but we've never met in person. Once we get to Penacony, I'll have to treat you to a few drinks."
"Sure, sure. I've long admired Director Topaz too. See you in Penacony."
--+--
The call ended.
Sylvia felt a bit concerned. The IPC already had information?
Was Sparkle moving that fast, or was the IPC's intelligence network that deep?
It shouldn't be that bad. If they could dig up news like this, would it really be so hard for the IPC to take Penacony back?
It wasn't a big problem.
Sylvia put away her phone and went back to find Bailu.
But in the short time she'd been gone, two Vidyadhara with dragon horns had appeared beside Bailu. At one glance, they didn't look simple.
Sylvia had no idea what the two of them were here for. They weren't bothering Bailu. Instead, they'd gone over to speak with Huohuo and the others, and their attitude looked rather arrogant.
Guinaifen looked ready to blow up at the slightest spark.
These two Vidyadhara had only come earlier to confirm that Bailu wasn't there. Just now, they'd received intel from their clansmen who had gone to Fyxestroll Garden.
The Ten-Lords Commission had taken Fyxestroll Garden over for an investigation, so they couldn't get any information. But the person said he'd seen a foxian judge leaving from that direction with a group of people.
So he told the two to look around the Alchemy Commission.
The pair checked against the description and searched the area. As expected, they found Huohuo resting off to the side, along with Sushang and Guinaifen.
They went over to question them at once.
Sadly for them, the Ten-Lords Commission had already issued a warning. Never mind Huohuo—even Guinaifen, an outworlder, refused to loosen her tongue.
The two Vidyadhara were direct subordinates of the Vidyadhara Preceptors. They were used to standing above others in the clan. Huohuo was a judge, and Sushang was a proper Cloud Knight, so those two weren't easy to provoke.
But Guinaifen was only an outworlder. How dare she defy the Vidyadhara Preceptors?
And then...
Before Sylvia even got close, she saw the two Vidyadhara arguing as if they'd set their sights on Guinaifen. Then they said something.
Tail took control of Huohuo's body and, in just a few moves, beat the two Vidyadhara flat onto the ground.
They couldn't get back up.
By the time Sylvia came closer, she could only hear the two Vidyadhara wailing. Some people from the Alchemy Commission tried to ask what had happened, but once Huohuo brought up the Ten-Lords Commission, they scattered like startled birds.
"...What did these two do?"
It had been such a short walk, yet these two Vidyadhara had already been beaten down. Sylvia hadn't even had time to eavesdrop on the cause.
"Caw, caw—two fools who didn't know their place. They knew the Ten-Lords Commission was handling a case, and they still dared to press for answers. Of course I had to teach them a lesson!"
Tail had already slipped out from Huohuo's head and was laughing off to the side.
Huohuo felt somewhat unhappy with Tail's actions, but this time his reason was too proper. She puffed out her cheeks, yet she couldn't get a word out.
Sylvia looked at Sushang, who had her hand tight around her sword hilt, then at the tense Guinaifen.
"Don't tell me they came to ask about me?"
"Uh..."
Guinaifen glanced at the two Vidyadhara sprawled on the ground. They hadn't passed out yet.
She hadn't expected Sylvia to wave it off and pat her on the shoulder.
"There's nothing to hide. It's not some shameful secret. You should put your own safety first if something happens, all right? Trust my strength."
Huohuo went without saying, and Sushang was a proper Cloud Knight. Only Guinaifen was a freelance performer. If they truly ran into someone who threw their weight around, Guinaifen would be the one who suffered most.
After saying that, Sylvia kicked the two Vidyadhara lying on the ground.
"Get up and kneel. Now. You dared to clash with the Ten-Lords Commission? You really have been lawless for too long."
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL