Chapter 36: Roar
The sun rose from the horizon, casting warm yet gentle rays of light upon the earth.
On the streets of Alova, early-rising workers chatted among themselves about the bell they had just heard.
However, they neither saw the pure white light nor heard the chanting voice.
Those were things only the extraordinary could see and hear.
On the second floor of the Lancaster estate in the Eplington District, Sylvia stood before the window, her gaze solemnly fixed outside.
At the same time, the fat crow Lakdevo squatted on her shoulder, looking out with her.
"Just barely."
Her voice sounded faintly, drawing a confused glance from Isabella, who had just slowly opened her eyes.
"Your Highness, what’s wrong?"
"Nothing."
Sylvia smiled, brushing away the seriousness that had just clouded her face.
"Where’s the guest room? I need to take care of something."
"Hmm… Lakdevo, you stay here."
"Squawk!"
"Okay!"
…
Following Isabella’s directions, Sylvia passed through the corridor and entered a guest room on the side wing.
Seated in a high-backed chair within the room, Sylvia closed her eyes wearily.
The bell that had just swept across the city was a form of resonance—a resonance targeted specifically at divinity!
Fortunately, she had reacted with remarkable speed. The divinity of the God of Death had immediately, almost instantaneously, overridden her original divine aura, causing only the domain of death’s breath to leak out.
Simultaneously, she had used the link between herself and herself to mask the divinity within Isabella as well.
And in the very next moment, she had felt a palpable gaze cast in their direction!
At that instant, she unleashed the Authority of Sloth at full force, bolstered by rage, and with the amplifying effect of the Right Eye of the Gloomy Moon, she rendered both herself and Isabella completely invisible to the observer’s perception, leaving only Lakdevo’s figure behind.
"Good morning, Ferryman."
The owner of that gentle voice, after uttering this phrase, withdrew his gaze.
Though it lasted only a few seconds, the full-force release had nearly drained Sylvia’s spirituality.
Gently closing her eyes and feeling her spirituality slowly recover, Sylvia could only hope that nothing had been discovered inside St. Ruls Cathedral.
…
At three in the afternoon, a carriage bearing the Lancaster family crest entered the garden, and the young Clade Lancaster stepped out through its opened door.
Ten minutes later, Clade reemerged from the house and climbed back into the carriage, which then retraced its route out of the estate.
Standing at the second-floor window, watching the departing carriage, Sylvia nodded slightly.
Clade had merely returned to inform his sister that, due to a sudden matter, he could not accompany her back to Serborn Manor. She would need to return alone and offer their parents his apologies.
Seeing this, the corners of Sylvia’s mouth slowly curled upward once more.
He was leaving.
Sensing the blazing ball of light, as dazzling as the sun itself, depart from the city, the puppet girl felt as if a weight had been lifted from her chest.
The other party had not noticed anything unusual in the City of Alova and was now on their way to the next city.
"Squawk!"
"Master, I can feel that disgusting holy light moving away."
"Yes."
Sylvia nodded, then thought for a moment and added:
"But we won’t return to St. Ruls Cathedral tonight. We’ll wait until tomorrow morning."
"Squawk!"
"Praise your caution!"
Lakdevo flapped his wings and took flight.
At that moment, the slightly dejected Isabella watched the performance of the fat crow before her, and the corners of her eyes couldn't help but curve upward.
"Hmm."
The puppet girl turned around and gently stroked her chin with her fingers:
"Speaking of which, it seems the New Year is approaching."
The calendar system of this world was identical to that of her homeland.
And the New Year referred to January 1st of each year.
"Yes."
Isabella nodded:
"Seven days left."
She roughly counted and gave her answer.
Then, she looked curiously at Sylvia, who stood by the window:
"Your Highness, how do you plan to celebrate the New Year?"
"No plans for now."
She had only recently arrived in this world and had very few personal connections, so there weren’t many options available to her.
"What about you?"
The puppet girl turned her gaze onto the other.
"Hmm…"
"It should be the New Year’s banquet."
"Our family, being the largest landowning nobility in Alova, will host a grand banquet at Serborn Manor."
"Although I’ll attend, I usually only stay for a short while and leave. I won’t be staying with them to await the stroke of midnight."
Isabella spoke as she recalled.
Sylvia nodded in response.
The so-called banquets were something she had only ever imagined—she had never actually attended one.
Hmm… Since that’s the case, should she sneak in for a look?
Just then, Isabella shifted the topic:
"While riding the carriage through the streets earlier, I saw many shop windows displaying New Year goods."
"Sigh, I wish I could walk through a department store like a normal person."
Isabella rested her chin on her hand, speaking with a touch of melancholy.
Seeing this, Sylvia leisurely sat down on a nearby chair, and Lakdevo, still perched on her shoulder, opened his beak:
"Soon."
"At the current pace, probably within half a month."
"Hmm… maybe even sooner."
"You see, your spiritual power is already overflowing—your total level is approaching that of an extraordinary who has undergone their first metamorphosis."
"Moreover, that spirituality contains traces of the Puppeteer path’s characteristics."
"And body enhancement falls within the scope of their extraordinary abilities."
"Body… enhancement?"
"Puppeteer?"
Already somewhat familiar with the Thirty-Two Extraordinary Paths, Isabella asked in astonishment.
"Why would Puppeteers be associated with body enhancement?"
Good question. I’m curious too.
Sylvia grumbled inwardly and shot a glance at the fat crow perched on her shoulder.
Clearing his throat, Lakdevo answered loudly:
"Puppeteers can be divided into two schools—"
"Namely, the String School and the Doll School."
"The String School mainly controls puppets they’ve created, while the Doll School sees themselves as puppets and undergoes modifications."
"So for the Doll School, physical enhancement is essential—because it determines whether they can endure alterations to their own structure."
Upon hearing this explanation, Isabella’s eyes widened bit by bit:
"This… this Doll School is nothing like what I imagined a Puppeteer to be!"
Me neither.
Sylvia silently complained again but leaned back in her chair without commenting further, merely narrowing her eyes slightly.
However, at that very moment—
"Boom!"
A thunderous explosion sounded from outside the window, causing the glass to buzz violently.
"Hmm?"
Sylvia, who had been leisurely seated, instantly sprang to her feet, eyes sharply scanning the direction of the sound.
East!
It wasn’t St. Ruls Cathedral—it was even further east!
That was the eastern outskirts of the City of Alova!