By seven o'clock, twenty-three people had arrived one after another in the banquet hall.
As soon as the clock struck seven, the people standing outside the hall slowly closed the doors leading from the corridor into the hall.
Kisho glanced at the main doors. For some reason, as the sound of the doors closing echoed, his heart skipped a beat, and the feeling of unease grew stronger.
...
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I am Arlens Wood, the owner of this manor. I am deeply grateful for your presence. I wonder if you are enjoying yourselves? If my hospitality has been lacking in any way, please forgive me."
When the hands of the antique clock in the hall pointed to nine o'clock, Arlens Wood—dressed in a snow-white suit, wearing a bow tie and a sapphire badge—slowly walked into the dining hall through another door that had previously been closed. He stood in the center of the hall. His voice was not loud, yet everyone present could hear his gentle, soft tone clearly.
He revealed a perfectly appropriate smile.
"Everyone, if you are interested, please follow me to view my collection."
The people in the hall responded one after another:
"Mr. Wood, you're too kind."
"Of course, we'd be delighted."
"Then please follow me." Arlens Wood gave a slight bow and walked out of the hall in the direction he had come from, his manners flawless. His butler remained where he was, slightly bent forward, his gaze following every person who passed by, his expression calm.
When Kisho walked past, he keenly sensed that it was as if something had just scanned him thoroughly, inside and out.
The group followed the corridor, slowly walking toward its far end.
"Everyone, please wait a moment." Arlens Wood smiled faintly and raised his hand in a gesture. A servant standing by the iron gate at the top of the long staircase stepped forward and entered something into the keypad beside the door. After about ten seconds, the heavy iron gate slowly opened, revealing a long staircase leading downward.
"All the servants here have Nen, right?"
Kisho heard someone behind him say in an extremely low voice.
He thought that if something went wrong and they tried to escape, these servants would probably stop them as well.
Descending the winding spiral staircase, led by Arlens Wood, the group passed through three iron doors, each thicker than the last. Finally, they arrived at a dimly lit hall. Inside were three long display cases, each containing dozens of exhibits.
In addition, directly in front of them were four separate display cases.
Arlens Wood said softly,
"Everyone is free to look around. Later, I will personally give you a grand introduction to the most precious collection in the manor."
...
Kisho casually wandered past those display cases.
"This is… this is—notes written by the piano master Bancroft from the century before last while composing 'Snow Wolf'! I never imagined they'd be collected here!"
"An ancient music score from a thousand years ago, a court score from the vanished Dragonline Dynasty. Such a precious antiquity, and it still can't be classified as a finale piece?"
"Master Miriam's feather pen. It's said that Mr. Miriam used his own blood as ink while imprisoned and composed 'Blood Wheel' with this pen. Didn't they say the prison back then was burned completely to the ground?—Is this really authentic? It even comes with a DNA authentication certificate…"
The people around him were flushed with excitement, stimulated by the collection. If not for the tempered glass blocking them, they would probably have picked the items up to examine them closely.
However, Kisho had never heard of any musicians or works from this world. If these collections had been connected to the great musical masters of his previous world, then he might have been excited.
"…This brat doesn't understand any of this at all, does he?!"
"Seriously, what did he even come here for?"
Kisho turned his head and saw that the people who had been talking about him earlier were now openly pointing and whispering at him.
Seeing that Kisho showed no reaction at all to their "pointing," the young man in the gray-blue suit among them walked over and said coldly,
"Kid, do you even understand any of this? If you don't, then get lost early. This isn't a place for brats to play house."
Low, mocking laughter spread around.
Kisho asked in confusion,
"I don't seem to be bothering you, do I?"
The man in the gray-blue suit spoke with disgust,
"You being here ruins our mood."
"Oh."
Kisho turned his head away. His indifference enraged the man in the gray-blue suit.
"Hey! Can't you understand what I'm saying? I told you to leave this place already!"
"Huh? Is this your territory?" Kisho turned back to look at him. "No way. I remember this is Mr. Wood's manor."
The man in the gray-blue suit: "..."
Kisho turned away again and walked toward another display case.
"If you don't like it, then endure it. Why does your bad mood have anything to do with me? The host hasn't said anything—who knows what you're jumping up about."
The man in the gray-blue suit took several steps forward and was about to grab Kisho. He was shouting,
"Do you even know what it means to respect your seniors!" as he swung his hand, but in the next second, his shoulder was seized.
"Sorry, this guest. Please don't argue with others here."
It was Rawn's voice. He held the suited man's arm easily. In his calm eyes surged undercurrents that were anything but calm beneath the surface.
"…Sorry… sorry…" The man in the gray-blue suit couldn't break free from Rawn's restraint. His face was ashen. He kept apologizing before being released.
On the other side, Kisho stared at the butler who had stopped the suited man. From this person, he felt a terrifying aura.
His gaze swept over the glass display cases, but was suddenly drawn to a flute.
He quickly walked over and looked at the drab, unremarkable flute. Beside it was a description:
The flute is named "Dragon Blood." In the excavation registry found together with it, six flutes are recorded; "Dragon Blood" ranks fifth. It was unearthed from the mausoleum of the last emperor of the Dragonline Dynasty. The main material is B-grade Azure-Veined Dragonblood Bamboo (now extinct). The production took five years. It was evaluated by the Hunter Association as a B-grade collectible. History: 900 years. Official price: 8 million Jenny.
However, what Kisho sensed was not as the description stated. He sensed text that appeared in The Fantasizing Musician:
"It was not the last emperor of Dragonline, but rather the first emperor who ordered craftsmen to make it and gifted it to an unknown musician. Its name is 'Jade-Dipped.' The material is not B-grade Azure-Veined Dragonblood Bamboo, but A-grade. The difference is that in A-grade bamboo, extremely fine golden threads can be seen in the veins; only Azure-Veined Dragonblood Bamboo over a thousand years old will slowly form such golden threads."
"The reason it was unearthed from the last emperor's mausoleum is because the last emperor used 'Jade-Dipped' as a sample to create imitations. The imitation was what came to be called 'Dragon Blood.'"
"It is called 'Jade-Dipped' because inside the bamboo flute there are seal-script characters engraved with the words 'Jade-Dipped.' Due to being buried for too long, the characters no longer appear clearly. If soaked in the blood of a magical beast of B-grade or higher, they will reappear."
Kisho stared at the flute. His desire to obtain this item's Nen was unusually intense.
"It can be put into the book."
For some reason, Kisho was absolutely certain of this. Perhaps it was precisely because it could be "put into the book" that he was able to sense this information.
What determined whether something could be "put into the book"?
Kisho's gaze remained fixed on the flute.
An item containing Nen? An item related to music? Or… both?
"So? Little friend, are you interested in this flute?"
Just as Kisho was lost in thought, a voice came from beside him. He turned, and the one speaking to him was Arlens Wood.
Kisho widened his eyes at him, then immediately withdrew his gaze and turned his head to answer,
"…Yes."
Arlens Wood smiled.
"What is it? Little friend, why does it feel like you're surprised to see me?"
"Ah, yes. I didn't expect you to be willing to come talk to me," Kisho said. "After all, as they said, I look like someone who's just here to make up the numbers."
No, that's not right—this person is definitely not Arlens Wood!
Arlens Wood recognizes me and knows my name, but when this person just spoke to me, there was not the slightest sign that he recognized me.
Did he suddenly lose his memory for some reason? Or… twins?
The man who called himself Arlens Wood laughed.
"Haha, what's that got to do with anything? Anyone who can come here has their own strengths—so, little friend, did you discover something?"
Seeing Arlens Wood speaking with a boy that all of them either looked down on or couldn't be bothered to deal with, the crowd gathered around. Then they heard Kisho speak:
"This flute is not called 'Dragon Blood.'"
"Kid, are you talking nonsense?!" someone demanded loudly. He pointed at the signature on the authentication certificate. "Are you questioning Master Nigret's appraisal?! Do you even know what you're saying?!"
Kisho shrugged. He really did know what he was saying.
"…Hmm…" Arlens Wood still wore a perfectly polite smile. "Then, little friend, do you have any evidence for saying that?" He paused, his gaze sinking. "But if you're just talking nonsense without knowing anything, I'll be very angry."
Kisho suddenly felt a wave of Nen pressure bearing down on him—not strong, merely a warning.
But he knew that if he couldn't produce any evidence, this Nen pressure would definitely no longer be just a warning.