The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 607

Chapter 606
Song Dedicated to Anastasia

“Isn’t this a gift from Anastasia to you?” Eivass raised an eyebrow, looking at Yunus.

Beside him, Maxim silenced his gaze of doubt towards Yunus.

“Because of that reason you know about… I probably won’t be traveling for a while,” Yunus replied honestly. “I absolutely don’t want to miss Isabel’s wedding. Although there are still a few months, I plan to return to Avalon and Glass Island in advance. Just in case something happens again and I can’t get back in time. Also, with my forgetful habit, I’m worried I’ll lose or damage Anastasia’s precious gift. Of course, if possible—I hope you can give it to Isabel.”

“Then, instead of telling me, why don’t you ask Anastasia herself?” Eivass said, looking at Anastasia. “She’s not dead this time.”

“—What? What?” Moon Spirit Anastasia instantly moved to Eivass’s side. “Did you call me for something?”

It wasn’t teleportation—but the dissolution and reconstruction of an illusion. The reconstructed Anastasia showed no signs of crying, looking perfectly clean, with a light and lovely smile. At least the area within the range of her “healing bell” was within her casting reach.

Eivass pointed at Yunus. “Mr. Yunus wants to give the harp you gave him to his daughter… who is also my fiancée. He wants to ask if that’s okay with you?”

“Of course, it is,” Anastasia said with a smile, without hesitation. “Once I give it to you, it becomes Mr. Yunus’s property. You can do with it as you please—By the way, is that actually your relationship?”

Hearing this, Yunus stammered, unable to speak.

Eivass added, “It’s mainly because of what you said at the end. You said you wanted to see this world.”

“…Oh, that was just a romantic saying. I can’t ‘see the world’ from it—but now I can truly see the world through Mr. Eivass!” Anastasia’s smile bloomed like a flower. She looked at Eivass with some curiosity. “Mr. Eivass! Should I call you… Master?”

Your parents are watching me, dare I say yes? Eivass thought. After a moment of thought, he had an idea. “You can call me—Teacher.”

“…Teacher? Will Teacher take me as a student?”

“Because I will take you to see the whole world, I think this can be considered a course—a life course called ‘Traveling the World.’ Just like The Fool in the Tarot cards…” Eivass said slowly, his fingers moving slightly. Anastasia’s Fool card reappeared at his fingertips. “Are you willing to call me Teacher, Aya?”

Anastasia unhesitatingly reached out and took her own card from the other side. She smiled playfully, “Please guide me, Teacher!” Then, she dissolved again and was retracted back into the “Fool” card.

The Golden Tree, which had no summoning limit—Anastasia’s physical body—still remained quietly in the courtyard of Mr. and Mrs. Grace. It would only be transferred to a new area when Eivass summoned her again. Unless Eivass actively recalled it, it would remain in this state, providing healing and solace to her parents. Undoubtedly, this was Eivass’s first permanent summon. Although he didn’t know how thick Moon Spirit Anastasia’s shield was… taking on a student wasn’t a loss.

Eivass’s lips curved slightly upwards as he took Anastasia’s harp. “Then this thing… I’ll give it to Isabel.”

As Eivass picked up the harp, its attributes immediately appeared:

[Song Dedicated to Anastasia]
[Extraordinary Weapon (Deep Purple)]
[Musical Instrument, Harp, Two-handed]
[Trait: Infuse music with “Devotion” Path attribute]
[Elven Style: Durability greatly increased, maintenance cost increased]
[Module – Focused Performance: When performance is interrupted, the decay rate of already effective song effects is reduced by 50%]
[Extraordinary Module – Gentle Sacred Tone: When playing solely to provide buffs, those being buffed also receive continuous healing]
[Extraordinary Module – Nature’s Wrath: When playing a song that damages others, the target gains “Nature’s Wrath”]
[Nature’s Wrath: This unit’s resistance to “Nature” (Beasts, Plants, Natural Disasters) damage is reduced]
[Extraordinary Module – Anastasia’s Eye: This instrument can play independently, replicating the last complete performance and its effects]

This harp did not have extraordinary traits.

—But it had as many as three extraordinary modules!

For the original Queen of Flowers, Isabel, this harp could accompany her for a long time—and the current Isabel had not yet mastered the control of plants, so the “Nature’s Wrath” attribute was not temporarily usable.

This was a very precious “healing harp”! For Extraordinary beings on the Path of Beauty, playing music essentially had four purposes: buffs, debuffs, damage, and illusions. Under normal circumstances, healing through music was not possible; most performance effects were buffs or debuffs. This harp essentially granted a Bard the ability to perform area-of-effect healing for free. In real life, even if one was not injured, being healed would at least make one feel refreshed. It was the refreshing sensation of minor physical damage being healed, stress being relieved, and energy being replenished after consumption.

For Isabel, she could now relax her mind by simply playing the harp for herself, and Eivass wouldn’t have to worry about her falling ill from overwork. Although a Queen certainly wouldn’t lack healers… Eivass, after leaving Isabel for over a week, felt a strange possessiveness: he didn’t quite want other Bishops to use the Illuminate Spell to help Isabel maintain her health. It wasn’t a matter of gender—considering the male-to-female ratio of 3:7 or higher in seminaries, the proportion of female Bishops was actually higher than male Bishops. It was because “Illuminate Spell” essentially sacrificed one’s own life to heal others, and only because Priests could replenish their life force through Fire Worship Magic did it seem like a lossless form of healing.

Eivass’s possessiveness lay in… he began to wish that Isabel would only accept his “Devotion.” And not just Isabel. This feeling was even spreading—to Eivass’s friends as well. For example, Eivass would pay a huge price to buy Sherlock a Grimoire, but if Sherlock wanted to repay Eivass with money, or get another Grimoire from someone else to give to Eivass, Eivass would likely be unhappy. It was a sense of “If you’re out of money, just tell me, why borrow from someone else? I’ll give it to you directly and you don’t have to repay it.”

Once someone accepted Eivass’s devotion, if they intended to terminate accepting it or accept someone else’s devotion due to not wanting to owe too many favors, or for other reasons, Eivass would feel anxious. When Eivass was aware of this consciousness, he performed a psychological analysis on himself. He believed it was an anxiety stemming from “the fear of not being needed.”

…This was likely a sign of Path deviation. Eivass keenly realized that his mindset had become unbalanced again. When returning to Glass Island from Eagle Cape Village, Eivass’s Transcendent Path was clearly higher than his Path of Devotion. At that time, he had experienced a sense of wild, fearless arrogance. Now, as Eivass’s Path of Devotion reached the Fourth Tier, completely surpassing his Transcendent Path… in a short period, he developed the anxiety of “What if no one needs me?”

This was akin to Amber, which was difficult to prevent… Psychological illnesses arising from Path Power could not be controlled even if one clearly knew the cause. For ordinary people, their mindset could be self-regulated; it was water without a source. But for Extraordinary beings, every time they resonated with their Path and used Extraordinary Power, the corresponding thoughts would deepen. It was like the swimming pool problem in elementary school math—water was entering and exiting.

This harp’s greatest significance was its ability to alleviate Eivass’s anxiety. It could heal Isabel’s injuries, allowing Isabel to take care of herself. As for its ability to play independently, becoming a “Bard teammate without a health bar”—its most useful attribute—was not currently applicable. He would sacrifice the harp to Isabel when he returned, Eivass thought. And then he would see Isabel again tonight, and then he would need to focus on preparing for the Ascension Ritual. This Ascension Ritual aimed to capture the Bear Heavenly Envoy… therefore, Eivass would not ascend with any familiar teammates, but would use the Lord of Scales and Feathers’ assessment for a solo ascension.

—Eivass’s first Eclipse Ritual!