Meina Varro continued to explain the progress at the Cross Tenure, also mentioning some major and minor events that occurred during the construction process.
Among them, they specifically talked about the Dalmatian.
When Meina Varro spoke of the Dalmatian, there was an awkward look in its eyes. This was probably the most absurd event since it had been guarding the Cross Tenure.
— A stowaway from the Nightmare Realm.
And that stowaway was actually the Dalmatian!
To Meina Varro, this seemed somewhat unbelievable.
Because creatures from the Nightmare Realm generally dislike descending into the Wizards’ Realm. There are no Nightmare Realm auras here, and even in demiplanes, their power decreases significantly. Even Meina Varro itself wouldn’t have thought to come here if it weren’t for following in the footsteps of Lord Nuka.
Therefore, the Dalmatian’s ’stowaway’ is truly puzzling.
Most importantly, the Dalmatian is the most cherished pet of Minister Dim. Why would it stowaway to the Wizards’ Realm?
While talking about the Dalmatian, Meina Varro voiced its doubts aloud.
Nuka, hearing Meina Varro’s doubts, stroked his beard while glancing at the Dalmatian in Angel’s arms, with a faint, mysterious emotion hidden in his small eyes: "Before my descent, I met Minister Dim, and he mentioned that the Dalmatian was too uninhibited and roamed around everywhere in the inner district. As for why it sneaked here, I don’t know, this should be asked of it itself. Or perhaps..."
Nuka looked at Angel: "Perhaps Lord Shava knows the answer."
Meina Varro also looked at Angel, though without verbal inquiry, curiosity was evident in its eyes.
After slipping out of the Nightmare Realm Portal, the Dalmatian shot out like an arrow towards the outside of the Cross Tenure. Meina Varro simply couldn’t keep up, and after searching in Xinnai Land for half a day without finding the Dalmatian’s traces, it came here to find it comfortably nestled in Lord Shava’s arms.
Judging by the timing, after it slipped out of the Cross Tenure, it went directly to Duling Garden, almost as if it had come specifically for Lord Shava.
Watching the Dalmatian being petted by Lord Shava, lazily turning into a little piglet, Meina Varro thought to itself: Not almost, this guy is clearly here for Lord Shava.
So, perhaps Lord Shava truly knows the reason.
Angel, who was initially eavesdropping on the Cross Tenure’s news, did not expect to suddenly become the focal point, with everyone’s eyes fixed on him.
Although they had previously seen the Dalmatian by Angel’s side and didn’t say much; it was merely because of Lord Shava’s status. They all harbored questions in their minds, and now with Lord Nuka leading the inquiry, they naturally hoped for an answer. After all, the Dalmatian is the first weapon in Minister of Arms’ arsenal.
Feeling the gaze of everyone scrutinizing him, Angel suppressed his slightly flustered feelings and spoke calmly: "Its appearance is also beyond my expectations."
Angel’s answer was naturally unsatisfactory to the other guests, but given Shava’s status, it was already commendable that he was willing to answer; they couldn’t continue pressing for more. They just thought that there might be an inside story that Lord Shava didn’t want to disclose.
Meina Varro: "Sir, that is the current situation at the Cross Tenure."
Nuka nodded. Although the Dalmatian incident had occurred, overall, the Cross Tenure was satisfactory to Nuka. After all, the Cross Tenure is the most critical area, responsible for the core tasks of Xinai’s descent.
When everyone had finished speaking, Nuka looked at Angel: "Lord Shava, do you have any suggestions regarding the construction progress of Xinnai Land?"
"The construction of Xinnai Land is currently proceeding systematically; blind suggestions are not a good idea." Angel paused, then added, "Moreover, from what I’ve heard, everyone is guarding their duties well, and I didn’t find anything worth suggesting."
Angel actually wanted to pick some flaws, ideally to stop the Xinnai descent altogether. But he also knew that was impossible. Previously Nuka had mentioned that the Xinnai descent had the Queen’s approval. Although Angel had confidence in "Shava’s" identity, he knew its status couldn’t compare to the Queen’s. Since the Queen had agreed, if Shava were to oppose it, he would probably become a joke.
Unable to stop the Xinnai descent, Angel naturally couldn’t help by providing suggestions. Even if he did notice any issues, he would silently cheer inside rather than voice them out, giving them a chance to correct.
Moreover, he truly hadn’t noticed any flaws.
"Looks like Lord Shava is quite satisfied with Xinnai Land’s descent, which makes me more at ease. After all, Lord Shava is more familiar with descents." Nuka spread a broad smile, revealing a strangely eerie appearance and emotion.
Shava was familiar with "descents"? Angel didn’t know whether Nuka was testing or if Shava was genuinely familiar with descents.
His only response was to simply smile and remain silent. Neither denying nor confirming.
"The construction of Xinnai Land receiving Lord Shava’s affirmation makes me very happy. However, right now, the descent of Xinnai Land is somewhat lacking. If we could gain Lord Shava’s assistance..."
Angel watched the flames flickering on the candelabra, seemingly calm in expression, but inwardly he was pondering:
Here it comes.
His participation in this banquet was completely passive. Up to this point, he still didn’t know why he was here.
But without a doubt, Nuka surely knows everything.
Nuka inviting him here, there must be a reason; is it due to suspicion about his identity, or is there another purpose?
From the current standpoint, Nuka hadn’t probed his identity too much. It seemed he had accepted that he was Shava. Excluding doubts on identity, perhaps Nuka’s reason for hosting this banquet was to extract certain benefits from "Shava" to accomplish its own objectives?
Thus, when Nuka proposed needing Shava’s help, Angel’s mind immediately reacted.
Why did Nuka invite him to this banquet? It seems the moment of revelation is approaching.
Angel’s brow lightly arched, his right eye drifting with a faint green light: "You need my help? Why not tell me about it."
Nuka: "It’s like this; Lord Shava may have heard about Meina Varro’s earlier mention of the Arcana Mysterious Palace descent..."
Nuka did not conceal anything; accompanied by the flickering candlelight, he slowly revealed his request.
Before Nuka unveiled the answer, various speculations flashed through Angel’s mind: "Shava" is very close to humans, Nightmare Realm creatures should already know, whether it was the former fox harpist or today’s Misty Goldlady, Boiling Gentleman and so on, they should have seen Shava coexisting with humans; so, Angel even wondered if Nuka wanted him to be a traitor to the humans.
But after hearing Nuka’s words, Angel was momentarily stunned.
What Nuka wanted was truly baffling—
"Arcana’s Mysterious Palace is about to descend. But Lord Shava should also know, I don’t have enough manpower here to take care of the Mysterious Palace area, so..." Nuka’s gaze slowly fell upon Angel.
"So you want me to guard Arcana’s Mysterious Palace?" Angel showed a somewhat mocking expression, even a hint of sarcasm in his eyes.
Even if Angel were stupid, he knew that Shava’s identity is definitely much higher than the so-called Minister of Agriculture. Now, with Nuka wanting him to guard Arcana’s Mysterious Palace, from a perspective of hierarchy, this is absolutely inappropriate. In fact, it is an insult to Shava.
Since Angel needed to play Shava’s role well, even if there were ulterior thoughts in his mind, his expression at least had to show anger.