Chapter 38
Fully Automatic Box-Opening Machine
Eivass had to admit he had underestimated “Lulu” a little.
His temporary teammate didn’t seem as incompetent as he thought.
After taking a slight breath, “Annie Alexander” by the window let out a voice as ethereal as crystal.
Even though it was morning and the sun had only recently risen, her singing immediately brought to Eivass’s mind the feeling of a summer evening breeze passing by the window, gently caressing wind chimes. A carefree joy filled his heart, and his unspoken anxiety was powerfully soothed.
It was like sprinkling clear water to extinguish a bonfire.
Eivass slowly closed his eyes, gradually relaxing his mind…
“—Alright, Mr. Fox.”
Lulu’s voice sounded, causing Eivass, who had maintained slight vigilance, leaning against the door and listening to the sounds outside, to instantly open his eyes.
“Mm. Good work.”
“It’s nothing, it was easy. Even if I carried him and ran, he definitely won’t wake up for the next two hours.”
The beautiful woman with golden-white hair’s eyes shone with confidence as she said seriously, “As long as he’s not shot directly, he won’t wake up even if he falls to the ground.”
…Do you want me to praise you?
What a child.
Miss Lulu must be quite young.
Eivass thought to himself.
He nodded slightly and praised, “Well done, Lulu. Thanks to you—it was very inconvenient to always be carrying a child in a conscious state of mind. Little Eivass didn’t hear our conversation while he was asleep. After he woke up, we were whispering… But outside, we can’t always communicate like this.
Even if it’s a child, with their doubts accumulating over time, they might eventually identify the loopholes in our act—and once recognized, we’ll likely be directly disqualified.”
Eivass said calmly.
His expression remained unchanged, maintaining that composed air of utmost certainty.
But inwardly, Eivass couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat.
—Just by a little, Eivass almost fell asleep too.
Even though he had actively relaxed his mind… Lulu’s song was surprisingly effective.
Her singing was incredibly clear and transparent, with an ethereal quality like crystal. Even when sung through “Annie’s” body, it didn’t lose much of its power.
…Such good fundamentals?
Are you really from Avalon?
Thinking this, Eivass’s heart stirred.
In Avalon, a young girl who mastered the Path of Beauty…
—Could “Lulu” be Princess Isabel?
He remembered Isabel possessed the Path of Beauty, and it wasn’t weak. After the “Cruel Autumn” event in the game, she and Eivass accompanied the player character in their escape to the Eternal Holy Kingdom, making her a part of the protagonist group.
However, whether she was that Princess or not didn’t affect Eivass’s plan.
On the contrary, if she really was… Eivass might be even more energized by teasing her.
—This is simple too.
Let me test it a bit.
“…What an admirable singing voice,” Eivass said with a smile of genuine admiration, “Even if you hadn’t become an Extraordinary, you would surely have become a renowned opera singer on the continent.”
“Right!”
Lulu’s eyes suddenly lit up, revealing a pure and joyful smile that comes from being praised by someone she respects. “Compared to painting and sculpting, I actually like singing and dancing more…”
“Speaking of which,” Eivass said, as if remembering something, “The name ‘Lulu’… is it taken from the opera ‘Lulu’s Magic Flute’?”
“Mr. Fox, have you heard of it too?”
Lulu said happily.
“It’s an admirable opera,” Eivass affirmed, praising her wholeheartedly.
It truly was admirable—that opera contained four spells from the Path of Beauty, which only Extraordinary individuals with a certain level of artistic attainment could perceive and comprehend.
—In fact, two of them were essential skills for the Tier 30 advanced profession “Piper” and the Tier 50 advanced profession “Queen of the Night.”
“Right, right!”
Lulu said happily, her eyes shining and her spirit soaring. “When I was very young… my grandmother took me to hear this play, and I remembered it after listening just once. It was that part, ‘Pa, pa, pa, Papagena!'”
“Oh, I know,” Eivass nodded. “You mean the part where Papageno and Papagena dance.”
—Don’t let Eivass answer so fluently fool you; he hadn’t actually seen it.
But his screenwriter friend had told him that “Lulu’s Magic Flute” in this World was based on Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute” from Earth, and its content and melody were largely the same.
In this World, its creator wasn’t Mozart, but a Fey named “Lulu.”
Fey were rather childlike, weak Phantom Demons with wings. Just as Demons were usually of the Dark attribute, Fey were typically of the Wind attribute.
Eivass had seen “The Magic Flute.” Of course, he was familiar with some of its scenes… although he certainly couldn’t sing it, he could bluff a little.
“Mr. Fox, you’re amazing! I thought this opera was quite obscure in Avalon!”
Lulu temporarily forgot about the Ascension Ritual, her excitement stemming from finding a kindred spirit and someone who understood her.
She spontaneously sang a few lines: “[Will you be mine forever? I will be yours forever! Now you are my wife, now you are my true lover…]”
Eivass immediately felt a sense of joy surge into his heart. A light power flowed with the music into his heart, he even felt his steps become lighter, and his body more balanced—he even felt confident he could jump from the third floor without getting hurt.
This was the “Melodious Tune” ability from the Path of Beauty. It could grant allies within range buffs equivalent to 1% to 300% of the “Haste” and “Balanced Stance” spells.
The buffs provided in this manner would start with one-third effect and grow stronger as she sang.
Lulu’s strength was about 10% to 15%, meaning her singing could provide everyone with a continuous buff of nearly 50% for both spells. Most importantly, this was an ability—meaning it didn’t consume Mana.
—Alright, this level of strength is quite acceptable.
Eivass was completely certain that this was most likely Princess Isabel. Ordinary “All-Rounders” couldn’t accumulate such strong fundamental skills. Being all-capable usually meant mediocrity—
But she was truly all-capable.
With her talent and foundation, she might be able to keep up with Eivass’s advancement speed.
The only problem was that the young girl’s guard was not high enough.
He hadn’t even set any traps or actively lowered her guard; she had blabbed everything out just by him asking casually.
She was practically a walking, fully automatic box-opening machine.
…I hope her tutor can properly train her acting skills before I meet the Princess in the Dream Realm again.
If you continue like this, I’ll feel bad about tricking you.
Eivass never bullied children.
He raised his hand and gently pressed it down. Like a band conductor, he signaled Lulu to quiet down.
She immediately stopped singing and quieted down.
“Are you still nervous now?”
Eivass asked with a kindly smile. “Are you feeling much better?”
“…Yes, thank you!” Lulu exclaimed, as if realizing something.
So Mr. Fox thought I was too nervous, and deliberately chatted to ease my psychological pressure!
“—Don’t call me ‘you’.”
Eivass emphasized. “Giulio Alexander, you are Annie. In front of others, you can call me Giulio… or you can call me darling.”
“…I’ll still call you Giulio.”
Lulu said softly.
At this point, she suddenly realized something. “Wait, aren’t we going to find Bishop Mathers?”
“Mm, we’re not.”
“Eh… Wh-why? I know him; he’s very strong… He’s the Royal Family’s tomb keeper; he can definitely protect us.”
“I believe what you say—since you say so, he must be very strong, strong enough to protect us.”
Eivass first affirmed Lulu’s words, then changed the subject. “Then, did you bring the letter?”
“…What letter?” Lulu said somewhat unconvincingly.
At that moment, she felt as if she had done something wrong, said something foolish, or lost something important…
“I mean the original copy of that threatening letter.”
“No…”
“Yes, neither did I. So, we don’t know what that person wrote in the letter. At the same time, I don’t know Bishop Mathers, so it’s difficult to play his student well.”
But I actually have a way to make him protect us…
Lulu thought, but swallowed the words back.
She still had some degree of caution—saying that would expose her real-life identity!
Eivass narrowed his eyes like a fox and said slowly, “You should also have the mission to ‘leave the great cathedral,’ right?”
“Yes. To actively leave the great cathedral and go to the Law Enforcement Plaza,” Lulu immediately replied.
“How many points?”
“100 points.”
“Very low. Mine too.”
Eivass commented. “The more difficult and challenging the mission, the higher the score. Since Bishop Mathers is so powerful, why would the points for actively leaving his protected great cathedral and going to a dangerous place be so low?”
“…Because he can’t provide us with sanctuary?”
Lulu, holding the child, widened her eyes, as if feeling the betrayal of an acquaintance, “How could this be…”
“It’s not necessarily that he refuses to offer sanctuary, it’s also possible that he’s simply not there. Or there’s some unforeseen circumstance that forces us to leave early.”
Eivass said leisurely. “In that situation, if we’re kicked out onto the streets with nothing… the situation will likely get worse.
See, none of these missions are designed to kill us on purpose, are they? That means these missions are beneficial to achieving our ultimate goal.”
“…’Once and for all’? Or ‘live longer’?”
Lulu hesitated. “But you… you follow the Path of Devotion, and I follow the Path of Beauty. Neither of us has much combat ability.”
Eivass’s heart stirred.
Doesn’t she have the “The Beginning of Everything” mission?
“So, we need to leave the great cathedral in advance.”
Eivass leaned against the door and explained his plan. “To prepare weapons.”
In his plan, he didn’t need to hide it from her—”Lulu” wouldn’t be his weapon or a consumable, so clarifying it beforehand wouldn’t make her wary; she wouldn’t talk to anyone else alone, so there was no need to worry about leaks.
Under these circumstances, Eivass needed to speak clearly and plainly. He needed her to trust him, believe in his plan, and understand his purpose.
Only then could she execute Eivass’s plan with complete certainty, without suddenly adding “her own ideas.”
Eivass knew how to guide newcomers.
“Weapons… guns?”
Lulu asked with some worry. “Do you know where to find guns?”
If all else fails… I might have a way to find a very powerful weapon. But it’s currently fourteen years ago, so I’m not sure if it’s still here…”
“I know, of course.”
Eivass replied calmly. “The Pelican Bar is near the Law Enforcement Plaza.”
“…Ah, I know!”
Lulu blurted out. “It’s about Mr. Eivass’s news report! He… huh? Eivass?”
She froze for a moment, then picked up the boy in her arms and examined him closely.
“You guessed correctly, he is that ‘Eivass.’ ‘My wife and I’ clearly died in the original history, which is why he now has the surname Moriarty.”
Eivass replied lazily. “Rather, you’ve finally realized this.
But you haven’t understood my plan. When I said we were going to the Pelican Bar to prepare weapons—I didn’t say I was going to buy guns.”
“…Extraordinary items?”
Lulu asked cautiously. “Do you… have connections at the Pelican Bar too?”
“No.”
Eivass closed his eyes and replied softly. “The weapon I’m preparing is called [Sherlock Hermes]. You’re right, both our paths are supportive, so even if we get weapons, it won’t amount to much. What we truly need is to find partners with combat capabilities.
I believe that even if we didn’t communicate or make any arrangements before… Mr. Sherlock will definitely come to the Pelican Bar to meet us.
—To be precise, to meet me and the Knight.”
Another update of over 6,000 words, please support with your reads~
If you find any typos, leave a comment, and I’ll correct them when I wake up! By the way, on the day of the ban, I wrote “Father Snake” as the second “Hengwo” in the ritual. When I woke up at 3 PM that afternoon, I saw over 200 correction messages for that section. It took me five minutes to scroll to the bottom in the backend. Nearly scared me to death…
