Chapter 280: The Reward of Weaving |
Everyone looked towards Ashe, who was perched on a red leather armchair.
At the moment, Ashe was sporting his Dark Red Trench Coat with his legs crossed. He hadn’t gone so far as to wear a mask indoors, and beneath the trench coat, he wore pajamas with slippers hooked on his feet. Compared to everyone else, he stood out like a mudslide at the Funeral Firm.
Yet, the familiarity in his eyes and face, the corresponding outfit, and most importantly, the Gospel having named him explicitly, forced everyone to acknowledge that this man before them, Ashe Heath, was indeed the mysterious and commanding figure from the number one portrait in the Art Ranking!
“Fifty years and you’re still clinging to that trench coat and mask!?” Igor and Lise exclaimed in unison.
“Cough, cough!” Harvey, caught off-guard while smoking, looked bewildered at the pair—your points of focus are so odd that even a Necromancer would find it strange.
Ashe himself seemed puzzled, but his confusion quickly turned to delight, “Wait, does this mean both Miss and I can receive exclusive rewards from the Ranking List?”
“Rewards? Now is not the time to care about rewards!”
Annan chuckled bitterly, “Banjeet!”
The Butler Youth, understanding with Telepathy, immediately left. Lise, puzzled, asked, “Isn’t it a good thing that Annan and Ashe are listed?”
“Annan Dolan receives the rewards ‘Calamity Insight’ and ‘Tongue of Release’.”
“Calamity Insight: The bearer can now identify calamities, never bringing them home again.”
“Tongue of Release: The bearer can verbally end any Contract when both parties are willing.”
“Ashe Heath receives the rewards ‘Demonic Trench Coat’ and ‘Twisted Mask’.”
“Demonic Trench Coat: All intelligent beings who see the wearer for the first time undergo a mind check. The higher the Mind Faction level of the wearer, the more difficult the check becomes for those with a lower Mind Faction level, and vice versa. If the check fails, the observer will be subjected to a mental suggestion, rendering them incapable of harboring any malice towards the wearer.”
“Twisted Mask: Distorts all detection attempts directed at the wearer. All intelligent beings will notice the wearer’s presence at first sight. This effect remains active regardless of whether the mask is worn.”
Starting from the third place, the rewards from the Art Ranking typically come in pairs, and even when they are singular, they are extremely powerful.
However, no one expected the method of awarding to be so direct, with the rewards literally shooting out of the Gospel and onto the ranked individuals—essentially a direct sale from the manufacturer.
In the eyes of the onlookers, they could faintly see Ashe appearing to wear a mask, fitting so well that it seemed as if the mask was the real entity and Ashe was merely an ornament to the mask. Yet, when they shifted their gaze away, the mask disappeared;
Annan’s pupils were now covered with complex purple Pattern Lines, and at a quick glance, they appeared to be purple pupils. But upon closer inspection, the pupils were filled with densely packed, intricate lines that could drive those with a fear of tightly-packed patterns insane!
“Is this… the reward of the Weaving Festival?” Annan murmured softly.
She covered her right eye and looked around with her left, noticing that each person had a different colored aura around them. Since this eye was named Calamity Insight, she temporarily referred to this vision as Calamity Vision.
Harvey’s aura was an unpleasant dark green, but not highly dangerous; Igor’s aura was a clear dark red, pretty and enticing at first, yet with a murky darkness at its center that was chilling to behold; Lise’s aura was multicolored, shifting from black to deep red, to pure white, to sky blue, making it hard to understand.
But at this moment, what Annan cared about most was her future portrait model, Ashe Heath!
Among everyone, Ashe’s aura was the thickest, almost overshadowing the auras of others. However, his aura was also the most unique, flowing like surging rainbow waves. Annan could not determine his level of danger based on the color of his aura!
“Distorts all detection attempts directed at the wearer”… The effect of the ‘Twisted Mask’ actually supersedes that of ‘Calamity Insight’!?
Miss Annan’s expression darkened as she opened her right eye, and the world returned to normal, with the halos around everyone disappearing.
Normal vision returned with both eyes open, while using only her left eye activated Calamity Vision. The Gospel seemed quite considerate in this regard—if Calamity Vision were always active, it would greatly impact normal life.
At this moment, she noticed everyone was looking at her, and Igor asked, “What did you see with Calamity Insight?”
“Now is not the time to discuss that,” Miss Annan shook her head. “Everyone, pack your bags. I’m giving you 15 minutes. We leave in 15 minutes.”
“Why?” Ashe asked, surprised. “It can’t be because of me, can it? The Gospel didn’t say anything about me, and they surely don’t think I’m the source of the calamity…”
“Actually, the Gospel did mention it,” Lise raised her hand and said. “There’s a whole bunch of text in the artwork’s description praising dad’s great achievements. It’s just that dad’s power has overshadowed it, and the text has been smeared away. Dad, you’re so powerful!”
“And it’s not just the painting itself,” Igor added. “Look at Miss Annan’s exclusive reward, ‘Calamity Insight’ means to mock the lady for bringing this disaster home, and ‘Tongue of Release’ is urging the lady to hurry up and terminate the Contract with you and kick you out. Goodbye Ashe, I’ll visit your cardboard box under the Skybridge later.”
Harvey also spoke up, “I recommend living in the cemetery. In a developed Kingdom like the Gospel Kingdom, the cemeteries are sure to be clean and hygienic. I hear there’s even a tradition of offerings, so you won’t even need to worry about finding food.”
Ashe looked at them both, surprised. He could tell that, although the Con Artist and the Necromancer were mocking him in their remarks, they were actually inciting Miss Annan—now that she had gained the ability to dissolve Contracts, if she really disliked Ashe or had other plans, she might indeed terminate their Contract on the spot.
Freedom!
If Ashe could escape from Annan’s control during this opportunity, it would be an unexpected boon for him.
Despite Ashe’s laissez-faire attitude—often quipping “It’s great to be kept by a rich lady,” “No need to work for a living,” and “A life without work is incomplete”—if he had the chance to regain his freedom, he would seize it without hesitation, even if it meant facing numerous risks.
Recall that when Ashe escaped from Shattered Lake, he had to face pursuit by Sanctuary Sorcerers and societal rejection. There was nowhere in the world for him save for the Bewitcher’s home.
But now, he didn’t even have a single warrant out for his arrest, not to mention his rewards: the Twisted Mask shielded him from prophetic inquiries, and the Demonic Trench Coat deterred strangers. The social atmosphere in the Gospel Kingdom was so harmonious and united, incomparable to the troublesome citizens of the Blood Moon Kingdom.
With such adverse conditions during his escape from Shattered Lake, Ashe had resolutely broken his iron rice bowl; now, with such favorable conditions for starting a business, he was not afraid of being dismissed by Annan. At worst, he could become a freelancer and start anew in a strange city, something he was already accustomed to.
However, Annan did not seem to intend to let go of her outstanding employee: “It’s not about the painting. Don’t say this artwork implies that Ashe is the calamity destroying the Gospel world. Even if it praised Ashe for saving the Gospel Kingdom, marrying the Princess, and leading the people into a heavenly society, we would still need to escape!”
“Our danger is related only to Ashe’s prominence!”
Igor abruptly stood up: “Because Ashe is a foreigner?”
“Exactly!” Annan nodded emphatically. “Once others realize Ashe has no past, they will know he is a foreigner, and I, being the head of the Firm, am associated with him… The idea of exploiting a foreigner to find a loophole during the Weaving Festival has been around for a while, but few have succeeded. Only our Dolan family has the experience.”
“When they associate me with Ashe, they won’t think that he will truly bring disaster to the Gospel Kingdom. They will think it’s a miracle I created, that I successfully disguised Ashe as a sweet and splendid cake, hence the Gospel gives a five-star rating!”
“Our plan has been exposed.” Annan’s expression was extremely grim: “Our enemies are not the Gospel, but—”
“Annan!” the Butler Youth screamed, rushing out with a suitcase in hand. “The Hovercar has lost connection!”
Annan was startled. She saw Ashe suddenly pull a longsword from his mouth and slash down at her heavily—
Miracle Sword Barrier!
Boom!
The balcony’s French windows shattered explosively as dozens of Drones burst into the room, not delivering parcels this time, but armed with light machine guns!
“Remote defense!” At Annan’s command, Banjeet, Harvey, and Igor automatically reacted—
Ice Miracle Ricochet Ice Screen!
Necromancy Miracle Life Link!
Mind Miracle Cold Blood Mode!
These days weren’t all about leisure for them, as Annan held a commanding Contract over them, allowing her to orchestrate everyone’s actions in battle as if playing chess!
The Ricochet Ice Screen could effectively defend against a storm of Shot Bullets, Life Link could lock the health of the severely wounded, and Cold Blood Mode could make the recipients forget fear and pain. Combined with Ashe’s Sword Barrier, these four miracles ensured that the Funeral Firm had the means to protect itself from long-range attacks!
Dada dada dada dada—
The terrifying sound of Shot Bullets echoed inside, causing one’s scalp to tingle and brain to boil. Ashe, holding Annan with one hand and Lise with the other, quickly retreated behind the group.
Before he could catch his breath, suddenly, a spider-like object leaped out and clamped onto his face—
“Watch out!”
These usually inconspicuous Mechanical Spiders, responsible only for housework, suddenly attacked like mad, exploding upon getting close!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The Mechanical Spiders approaching Igor and the others were preemptively blown up, the only one that slipped through was the one that jumped at Ashe’s face!
Bang!
With a muffled explosion close at hand, the Mechanical Spider clinging to Ashe’s face fell off.
A shaken Ashe saw Annan next to him, dressed in pajamas, single-handedly holding a submachine gun, the barrel still trailing smoke. Clearly, Annan had just saved her employee’s life.
However, Ashe keenly noticed that dangling from the barrel of the submachine gun was a sparkling Amethyst Earring, while the Amethyst Earring Annan was always fidgeting with was missing.
He suddenly remembered what Annan had said: “As a Swordcerer, the fact that you are never seen carrying a sword at any time is telling. Any practitioner of the craft always carries their weapon.”
Annan noticed his gaze, patted the stock of the gun and said, “This is Miss Donna. Her mother works for the Absolute Blade Mechanics Corporation. She’s usually shy, excels at firing 9mm Shot Bullets. Won’t you thank her?”
“Thank you, Miss Donna!”
At that moment, the Drone’s barrage ended, and the ice screen was shattered. Miss Annan, looking towards the two figures descending from the Hovercar at the edge of the balcony, slowly exhaled, “Azura is skilled at controlling Drones and spiders, these smart devices. It must be you guys.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Purple Moth of the Funeral Firm,” the young man smiled. “I am Menard Keenest, the Combat Officer of the Moonlit Harmony Home Firm.”
“Logistics Officer, Leman Searle,” the long-haired lady said coolly.
“Forgive our intrusion. It seems you were planning a trip, but we hope you can stay for a while. Our firm’s leader is on her way here.”
“She is very keen to discuss a deep collaboration with the Funeral Firm.”
“What kind of collaboration?” Annan asked coldly.
“Well, that would be…”
Menard summoned his Gospel, turned it towards Annan, and there were four photos inside—it was Ashe, Igor, Harvey, and Lise!
“To jointly develop scarce resources.”
