Chapter 79: Evening Gown
Friday, January 13th, Year 838 of the Common Calendar.
Sylvia sat on a chair, idly toying with a black half-face mask in her hand while leisurely watching a fat crow clutching a slender silver strip in its wing. The crow engraved one mysterious symbol after another onto the strip with surging spirituality.
After observing for a while, Sylvia straightened her back, set the mask on the table, and took a sheet of white paper from the drawer. She began to write with a dip pen:
"Traversal Talisman. After activation, this talisman allows the user to briefly enter the River of the Dead and disengage five seconds later."
"Note: Before using this talisman, the user must have a certain understanding of the River of the Dead."
"Transmutation Talisman. After activation, this talisman allows the user to shift into a spiritual state for three minutes."
When the final letter was drawn, Sylvia inserted the pen back in place with satisfaction and leaned back again to appreciate Lakdevo’s efforts.
That fat crow had been making such talismans for four days in a row.
Although these talismans appeared rather simple in effect, their rank was genuinely at the Apostle level.
This also made their activation extremely difficult to interrupt by external forces.
Moreover, the reason for their seemingly modest functions was not due to any inability to craft stronger ones but rather the consideration of whether the user could withstand the effects once the talisman was triggered.
After all, if used carelessly, the power of an Apostle could cause an extraordinary of merely the first stage to explode on the spot.
Out of safety concerns, she had not allowed Lakdevo to create talismans with offensive capabilities.
This was because the spirituality of those knights was far too feeble to precisely guide the power sealed within the talismans.
And the places where they usually fought were cities, which would lead to catastrophes even more terrifying than a border demon incursion.
"Master, this should be enough, shouldn’t it?"
At that moment, Lakdevo’s somewhat weary voice sounded, causing the corners of Sylvia’s lips to slowly curl upward.
Tsk, watching others work so hard felt truly delightful.
Yet just as she thought this, the corner of her eye caught sight of the mask resting on the table and reminded her of the overtime she had been working the past two days.
"…"
At this moment, the smile she had just raised quietly fell again.
"Almost."
She looked to the side at the two suitcases neatly filled to the brim with silver talismans and nodded in satisfaction.
Then, while tapping her fingers on the tabletop, she let a deep purple radiance ripple outward.
A minute later, the door was knocked on precisely on time.
When Loruze pushed open the door and saw the nearly blinding spiritual glow, he froze where he stood.
After closing his spiritual vision, the two open suitcases came into view.
Seeing this, Sylvia slid over the sheet of white paper, on which two lines of text appeared as though typed by a typewriter.
"These are two different kinds of talismans. Their effects are written on this paper."
"From now on, each knight of the Tribunal shall carry one of each talisman when going out on a mission. Whether to escape or to draw a border demon away from a densely populated area, they will offer some assistance."
"Hmm… Lakdevo will continue developing talismans that even weaker extraordinaires can safely wield, correct?"
After speaking, Sylvia turned her gaze to the fat crow, who wore an aggrieved expression yet still nodded.
"Indeed, my master."
"Very good."
Sylvia nodded in satisfaction, then shifted the topic.
"How is the investigation of the sewers progressing?"
"There has been no discovery whatsoever."
"Perhaps we need to attempt an exploration at night."
"Let’s not do that."
Sylvia shook her head and instructed,
"You no longer need to concern yourselves with this matter, and from now on, if you intend to enter the sewers at night, you must obtain my permission."
"Yes, Your Grace."
Loruze nodded respectfully. After receiving her signal, he reached out both hands under Lakdevo’s extremely resentful stare, picked up the two suitcases, and left the room.
Once the door closed again, Sylvia shifted her gaze to Lakdevo.
"Tonight we will personally go down into the sewers to have a look."
"Understood!"
After giving this order, she pulled out another suitcase she had prepared beneath the table. She then rose to her feet and instructed the fat crow,
"Stay here and recover your strength. I am going out to take care of some matters and will return by evening."
"Yes!"
Seeing this, Sylvia picked up the suitcase containing the spiritual materials and left the room.
Two days earlier, after the final physical examination, she had confirmed that Isabella’s constitution had returned to the standard of an ordinary person and was ready to set foot on the extraordinary path.
And the time they had agreed upon was precisely today.
However, after leaving her office, she did not head straight for the underground entrance but instead turned toward Adela’s workshop.
She pushed the door open without ceremony and saw Adela lying on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Hearing the door, the young noblewoman, now fallen from grace, sprang up as though startled.
Seeing this, Sylvia looked at her with a half-smile.
"Is my brooch finished?"
"It’s almost done."
A sheepish smile surfaced on Adela’s face.
"You know, I need to design the spiritual circuits within it, to ensure it won’t explode due to a blockage when it’s used."
"Besides, inscribing the miniature symbolic sigils is both exhausting and meticulous work."
Hearing this, the curve of Sylvia’s lips grew more pronounced.
"I accept your explanation, but I do not wish to find you resting the next time I come to see you."
At that moment, she smiled like a wicked slave master.
Just then, her gaze fell upon a luxurious evening gown hanging on a coat rack in the corner.
It was primarily black, adorned with silver and purple accents.
She instinctively invoked the Authority of Lust to assess what body type the gown would suit and then froze in surprise.
First, she looked at Adela, then turned to Valentina, who stood in the opposite corner, and asked with a puzzled tone,
"What is that? Why does it have a spiritual radiance? Did you make it from spiritual materials? Is it a dress for your new puppet?"
At that moment, Adela responded with an awkward laugh,
"Y-yes, something like that."
Watching her forced smile, Sylvia maintained a skeptical expression as she turned to the unfinished puppet frame resting in the corner. She compared the body shape once again.
No, it wasn’t made to fit that.
Just then, a possibility suddenly occurred to her. She lowered her head and examined herself.
In that instant, her expression stiffened a little.
It seemed… perhaps… this evening gown might fit her proportions perfectly?
Hm? Why would she be making clothes for me?
Yet the style did look quite beautiful. But if she were to put it on herself…
Shameful!
Even though the dress she now wore beneath her cloak was also a long gown, it wrapped her body completely and conservatively.
This evening gown, however, was far less reserved in its design. Of course, it was not overly revealing either and belonged to the distinctly characteristic fashion of this era.
Seemingly realizing Sylvia had guessed the truth, Adela, who had overreached herself and harbored a few private intentions, pressed her lips together and declared in a tone of determination,
"You guessed correctly. That dress was indeed tailored to your measurements."
"No, not you exactly—but ‘Sylvia’."
"I drew the design for this gown when I was a child. Back then, ‘Sylvia’ was still my playmate."
"Making this dress was a dream I had since my childhood!"
Seeing this, the gray-haired puppet nodded and calmly replied,
"Very well. It is beautiful. You may continue refining it."
Sensing the increasingly fervent look in Adela’s eyes, she silently added in her heart,
But you can forget about making me wear it.
With that thought, she turned and left the room, carrying the suitcase as she headed to the surface, preparing to visit the Lancaster estate in the Eplington District.