The power of Time slowly activated. The ground destroyed by Celestial Court Radiance gradually rewound back to its original state, but the figure of the Fractsidus Grand Architect was no longer present.
Time stop ended. The people around continued eating meat and drinking loudly. Noah sat in his seat, but looking at the steak on the table, he no longer had any appetite.
"Fractsidus Grand Architect, a man of a thousand faces. If someone like him pretends to be an ordinary person to approach me..."
Troublesome. Extremely troublesome.
Noah fell into deep thought.
His grudge with the Fractsidus had been formed long ago, and being targeted by them was already within his expectations.
Open attacks were easy to dodge, hidden arrows... hidden arrows were also easy to dodge.
But if the Grand Architect repeatedly used clones to disguise himself as an ordinary person to approach him, it would still be quite troublesome.
Was there any way to counter the Fractsidus Grand Architect?
It seemed there really was!
A blue-haired tsundere figure instantly appeared in his mind.
...
Capitoline Hill.
"Your Excellency the Ephor, you are being too lenient with her."
Several elders complained to Augusta with dissatisfaction:
"Iuno is a Priestess, yet she acts without restraint and speaks arrogantly. She intrudes into the Ephor's Palace without summons or intelligence. This is a provocation against the dignity of the Ephor's Palace."
"Everyone, the threshold Iuno stepped over was merely a low one. It was not the dignity of the Ephor's Palace, nor anyone's fragile self-esteem."
Augusta swept her gaze across the group of shrewd or rigid elders, her eyes dignified yet indifferent:
"You wish to maintain the rules of the Elder Council, but rules have never been maintained by mere words..."
"Augusta, why bother saying so much to them."
Iuno pushed open the door and stepped into the Ephor's Palace. Facing the angry glares from the elders, she glared back:
"What are you looking at? Complaining to Augusta is nothing impressive. If you have the guts, come to the gladiatorial arena and fight me."
She raised her Moonbow and flicked her fingers:
"If you dare step into the arena with your left foot first, I'll shoot your left foot with my Moonbow. If you step with your right foot first, I'll shoot your right foot directly."
Hearing this, the elders shrank back and turned their gazes toward Augusta. However, the latter actually nodded with a light smile:
"I approve of this. It also serves as a reminder to the members of the Elder Council not to forget the prowess of Priestess Iuno just because of the mercy of Tetragon Temple."
Setting aside her identity as Priestess, Iuno herself was a gladiator with extraordinary talent.
"Ephor, Iuno, you two——"
The elders were about to leave some angry words, but after seeing the Moonbow pointed at them, they scattered in panic.
Inside the spacious Ephor's Palace, after watching the ragtag group from the Elder Council flee, both women couldn't help but chuckle softly.
"Iuno, what brings you to my place today?"
"...Augusta, my current prophecies can only predict events two or three days ahead. So I went back to Tetragon Temple and looked at Granny Lillibet's Book of Prophecies..."
Mentioning this topic, the smile on the blue-haired girl's face slowly disappeared. Her voice carried some heaviness:
"This time's Hunting Grounds patrol, as well as our plan... no matter which one, the outcome isn't good. The prophecy says: The gods of the high heavens are already furious beyond measure. Destruction is the fate of Septimont."
"Hahaha..."
"What are you laughing at?"
"I didn't expect that the bold and reckless Priestess Iuno spoken of by the Elder Council would also have a day where she gets scared."
Augusta smiled and spoke calmly:
"Alright, don't worry too much. For this patrol, Septimont has invited an unprecedented helper."
"You mean..." Iuno's eyes gradually widened.
If it was the person known as the savior... it might not work either. After all, Granny Lillibet had already made the prophecy.
No——he seemed capable of defying prophesied fates. Could it be that Septimont could truly rely on him to resolve this crisis of destruction?
Thinking of this, Iuno felt somewhat conflicted inside.
During their first meeting, she had not only slandered Noah as a pervert who entered the girls' bathhouse, but also asked Augusta to drive him out of Septimont.
She understood that cooperating with Noah was necessary, but after all, there had been such a past conflict between her and Noah.
Now being forced to rely on him—wouldn't she be mocked by him?
Never mind. If she was mocked, so be it. For Septimont, she would endure!
A notification sound rang. Augusta picked up her terminal, replied to a message, and looked up with a slight smile:
"Just as we mentioned Noah, he's coming."
"Ah..." Iuno was stunned and subconsciously wanted to avoid: "Since he's coming, I'll leave first."
"No. He specifically asked to see you."
"Huh?"
Iuno's heart tightened, feeling somewhat at a loss: "Why does he want to see me?"
...
[Currently owned: Radiant Tide20, Lustrous Tide10, Astrite12,240, Shell Credit9,210,000]
It had already been three days since Phrolova's main quest ended. During these three days, he searched all over for Exploration Quests and combined them with daily quests to finally gather a certain amount of Astrite.
"Radiant Tide plus Astrite totals 96 pulls..."
Noah calculated the number of pulls while praying frantically in his heart:
"Kuro, oh Kuro, don't kill me off. I just need the soft pity not to go off-rate!"
"If the soft pity doesn't go off-rate, I'll play until server shutdown, I swear!"
"Best if I also get the signature weapon."
[Limited Banner "Unfallen Halo" and "Authority of Crown Forging Thunder" has opened.]
[Limited Banner "Wandering in the Axis of Surplus and Deficit" and "Annotations of All Things' Permanence" has opened.]
Stepping into the Ephor's Palace, Augusta and Iuno had already been waiting for a while.
"Welcome to the Ephor's Palace. Is there something important this time?"
Augusta took the initiative to welcome him. Iuno stood to the side with her arms crossed over her chest, glancing at him before turning her head away, her sea-blue long hair swinging with the motion.
"Nothing much. Just came to visit you two."
"What? So it's just that."
Iuno's tense mood finally relaxed a little. She glanced at Noah again.
In the prophecy, Noah was sitting in an antique-style office, continuously writing his own name with a pen, and was caught red-handed by a red-haired woman with an impressive bust.
What a person, being so narcissistic writing his own name——never mind, it had nothing to do with her.
Iuno snorted lightly:
"If there's nothing else, I'll leave first."
"Don't go——"
The banner hadn't been pulled yet. How could Noah let Iuno leave.
"What?"
Iuno turned around and saw Noah staring straight at her.
This guy, what are you looking at? Are you provoking her?
Gladiators of Septimont often used sharp gazes and fierce postures to show their confidence before a match, just like how cats would arch their backs, puff up their fur, and hiss to make themselves appear larger and overwhelm the opponent in momentum.
Her thoughts reached this point, and Iuno refused to yield. She returned the gaze, puffing her cheeks slightly and staring intently into Noah's eyes.
However, even as the genius Priestess of Tetragon Temple, she would never have guessed that Noah wasn't looking at her at all. He was looking at the gacha panel.
He opened [Summon], selected the banner [Wandering in the Axis of Surplus and Deficit].
Ten-pull summon!
10 pulls, Gold!
[Successfully Summoned——Iuno!]
Beautiful! Noah's heart rejoiced. The remaining 86 pulls were enough to go for the signature weapon. He decisively switched to the weapon banner [Annotations of All Things' Permanence].
Another 10 pulls, Gold!
[Successfully Summoned——Annotations of All Things' Permanence!]
So lucky! Could this be the compensation after eating Phrolova's full hard pity?
Noah struck while the iron was hot and switched back to the character banner, dumping all the remaining 76 pulls in one go.
30 pulls, Gold, obtained Iuno 1-chain!
50 pulls, Gold, off-rate to Verina 2-chain!
70 pulls, double Gold, obtained Iuno 3-chain!
Satisfied, satisfied! Noah was truly satisfied with the pulls. 96 pulls for 3+1 Iuno, plus a bonus Verina.
"Hey——you've been staring for so long. What exactly do you want?"
Iuno, who had been in a staring contest, finally spoke. She opened her mouth in embarrassment and anger:
"Fine, I'll apologize to you seriously again. I shouldn't have driven you away the first time we met, and I shouldn't have secretly monitored you afterward. I'm sorry!"
As soon as the words fell, Noah, who had been in a great mood, was instantly stunned:
"Why are you apologizing?"
"What——" Iuno took an angry step forward, closing in on Noah: "You've been staring at me the whole time. Isn't it because you wanted me to apologize to you first?"
No, he had been pulling the gacha the whole time, and the gold animations were quite long.
As for the past unpleasantness with Iuno, that had been turned over long ago.
"I didn't mean that..."
Noah was about to explain, but realized that even if he did, the other party wouldn't understand. He simply made up a reason:
"I was staring at you just now because... you look quite beautiful."
As soon as the words fell, Iuno's fingers clenched tightly around her Moonbow. Her pale knuckles trembled slightly, and the tips of her ears visibly flushed red.
"You, you!"
She lowered her head as if burned, her pupils contracting like an earthquake. Her eyelashes trembled wildly as her mind exploded with thoughts.
He was complimenting her. Had he gone crazy? Why did he suddenly start complimenting her? Weren't they supposed to be on bad terms with each other?
He must be joking. He definitely wanted to see her embarrassed, and then... wait, what if he really thought she was beautiful? No no, she was beautiful to begin with.
No no! Her mind was a mess!
"Who wants your compliment? I-I don't care at all."
Iuno suddenly raised her head. The corners of her mouth pulled into a stiff arc, her eyebrows raised angrily. She flung her long hair and turned to leave quickly.
"Why did you suddenly compliment my close friend?"
Inside the Ephor's Palace, facing Augusta's puzzled question, Noah answered indifferently:
"Just something I said casually."
"Alright then."
Augusta didn't think much of it and shifted the topic in another direction:
"You came at the right time. Regarding this patrol, Iuno and I have drawn up a plan. We need to discuss it with you as well."
"Skip."
...