After Angel’s figure disappeared from sight, Neya looked up at the clear, cloudless night sky and murmured softly, "With weather like this, how could it possibly rain..."
Neya shook her head and turned to walk towards the high walls. However, after taking only a few steps, she noticed the sky seemed darker, and the shadows illuminated by moonlight began to fade.
She looked up in confusion and, at some point, the clear night sky was gone, replaced by layers of clouds shrouding the stars and moon. The clouds swirled continuously, as if propelled by a massive fan within.
Seconds later, amidst the exclamations of joy from the surrounding guards, Neya felt a slight weight on her head, and her hair tips became a bit damper.
A long-awaited downpour quietly fell.
...
Minutes later, Angel landed outside Star Lake Castle.
The pouring rain kept battering the surface of Star Lake, creating large ripples.
Walking along the lakeside, Angel made his way towards the castle. As soon as he entered through the large doors, the protective purifying field around him vanished.
Upon entering, the first thing Angel saw was Frode approaching to greet him.
"Weren’t you supposed to stay over at the Earth Cavern?" Angel casually asked.
Frode, with a cheerful smile, said, "No need to go to the Earth Cavern for now."
Angel paused, looking at Frode with curiosity, his gaze slowly scanning the room until it settled on a corner of the hall.
A little girl in a blood-red dress was floating above the dining table, her black-brown cascading hair continuously growing longer and longer... until it surpassed her height. The hair, seemingly alive, twisted and transformed into a nimble hand, which then smacked a dessert in front of a maid below off the table.
The maid let out a wail, glaring at the little girl above her, "If you keep this up, I’m going to get angry!"
"Then go ahead and get angry," the little girl indifferently taunted, even provocatively encouraging her.
"Y-You brute!" the maid stood up, "I celebrated for you, specifically had the chef make this cake, and you still don’t appreciate it!"
"Celebrating for me?" The little girl rolled her eyes, "You’re the one eating and eating while I watch by the side. That’s called celebrating for me?"
The maid’s expression flashed with a hint of embarrassment, pausing slightly before saying, "You can’t eat, so I-I was eating on your behalf."
"This is the first time I’ve heard of celebrating on someone’s behalf."
Maid: "..., Regardless, you shouldn’t have knocked over the cake. The chef worked really hard on it."
The little girl snorted coldly, ignoring the maid’s protest, continuing to manipulate the hand formed from her hair to knock over various foods on the table, leaving the maid’s eyes red with tears forming.
Angel watched this scene, finally understanding Frode’s meaning: "Shanni succeeded as well?"
The little girl floating above the dining table was indeed Shanni.
Angel remembered that when he left the Earth Cavern for Saint Sem City, Shanni hadn’t even awoken yet. He hadn’t expected that in just a few hours, Shanni had emerged.
Frode nodded, "Just recently, Shanni reached the final step. I was so nervous at the time, fearing she’d fall, but fortunately, she pulled through."
Since Shanni had successfully comprehended the Soul Trick, Frode naturally had no reason to stay at the Earth Cavern any longer.
Angel: "That’s indeed good news, and Shanni’s control over her Soul Force is not bad."
As they chatted, they walked deeper into the hall. However, even as they entered, the little girl’s dispute with the maid at the table did not cease.
Frode walked over to the maid, tapping her forehead with a hint of exasperation, "Stop dawdling and come out."
The maid pouted, huffed twice, then rolled her eyes back and fainted. As she collapsed, a cute little boy’s spirit emerged from the top of her head, it was Adar.
After instructing a Knight nearby to take the maid back to her room, Frode had the two little ones sit properly on a side sofa.
Adar was still a bit dissatisfied, "It was clearly Shanni’s fault. You didn’t blame her but instead called me out. It was so hard to find someone willing to let me possess them... You are biased, Sir Tyson."
Frode pretended not to hear, while Shanni giggled to the side, "It’s because you’re the only one who can eat now~"
Frode mentally gave Shanni a thumbs up, but outwardly maintained a facade of impartiality, "You all wait here for now, especially you, Shanni. You’ve just learned the Soul Trick and need some settling down. Also, stop bullying Adar, or I’ll make you perform with Flafiel at the square for weeks!"
With the two little ones settled, Frode headed to the window where Angel was standing, gazing out at the drizzling rain.
"Sir, where’s Dangross?"
Angel looked out the window, softly replying, "It’ll arrive soon."
Just as he finished speaking, there was a bang as the door swung open.
A drenched figure appeared at the entrance, palms filled with pale severed hands. Shivering as it stepped inside.
"Dangross?" Frode looked over in surprise, "Why were you outside?"
Dangross swayed as it walked in, occasionally trembling to disperse the moisture from its body.
"I-I don’t know either, how I ended up on the flowerbed outside. Wasn’t I in the Ruby Garden..." Dangross’s voice carried confusion.
"Who knows," Angel remarked, "Weren’t you the one who walked back here?"
Frode looked at Dangross, then back at Angel, unsure of the current situation.
Dangross murmured, "Did I walk back on my own?"
Angel nodded, "Probably, otherwise why appear here. Can’t you remember?"
Dangross mumbled to itself, "Is that so? I remember being in the Ruby Garden, enjoying the quenching liquid. Then something happened... I seem to have forgotten."
"Maybe you got tired of Saint Sem City and came back," Angel offered Dangross an excuse.
Dangross hesitated, then nodded instinctively, "I indeed got a bit tired, I kind of want..."
"Want what?" Frode inquired.
Dangross quickly cut itself off, "Nothing at all, Mr. Pat is right. Other than the quenching liquid, there’s nothing fun in Saint Sem City, so I just came back. Just didn’t expect it to rain, I despise rain."
As Dangross spoke, it subconsciously moved towards Angel.
But before it could get closer, a Hand of Magic intercepted it.
"I heard from Drue you caused some trouble in Saint Sem City..."
Dangross froze instantly, looking up to see Angel’s serious expression.
"I-I actually... it’s not all my fault..."
Ignoring Dangross’s mumbles, Angel used the Hand of Magic to lift it up, tossing it into the fireplace beside them, "Do you think you were completely blameless? Reflect on your actions here for now."
With that said, Angel turned around and sat elsewhere.
Frode: "Sir, Dangross..."
Angel: "Let it be, it needs some time to clear its head."
Whether it was throwing Dangross into the flowerbed to have it rained on for a bit or placing it in the fireplace, it was Angel’s way of allowing Dangross to clear its thoughts. Although the incident in Saint Sem City was more Fritz’s responsibility, Dangross wasn’t completely innocent. With a mind toward educating Dangross, Angel made this choice.
The Sage Magu should understand his efforts, right?