Chapter 786 The Meeting with Jiebo <TOC> Chapter 788 A Cascade of Calamities
Translator: SumTLMan
On the other side, Jiebo was deep in thought.
Previously, Sirius had given him a broad overview of the results from the mysterious Vision Space. He didn’t go into much detail but specifically instructed him to keep a close eye on Angel.
It was possible that Angel was the one who had stolen the Mysterious Object from that island.
When Sirius was conveying this to him, Jiebo noticed something odd in his tone. It seemed like even Sirius didn’t believe that Angel was capable of such an act.
But why would Sirius still insist on this point?
With a flicker of understanding, Jiebo grasped Sirius’s intentions, particularly his emphasis that it was a command from the Sea God Florence. Clearly, this was Mentor, using this mission to shield him from the internal turbulence of the Song of the Deep Sea during this period.
Jiebo didn’t want to reject Mentor’s good intentions. Naturally, he would undertake the task after accepting it, hence, he promptly sent Bai to invite Angel.
Based on his initial probe, Jiebo didn’t notice anything amiss with Angel. Of course, this could be due to his preconceived notions, not believing Angel to be the peach picker, therefore not detecting any trickery.
As he had already accepted this fact in his heart, along with Sirius’s similar belief, Jiebo didn’t pursue his initial probe during their first meeting. Instead, he brought Angel into the inner hall.
When Jiebo invited Angel this time, the probing was merely a formality. His real objective was…
“Build a good relationship…with me?” Angel looked at Jiebo, who sat calmly sipping red wine, with surprise and suspicion.
“Yes, this is the task Mentor gave me. After analysis, I estimate that you will probably leave here soon. Therefore, I think there is no time to curry favor with you using various methods. It’s better to tell you honestly.” Jiebo took out a light blue disposable capsule and handed it to Angel.
“This contains the magic crystals and materials that I, after analysis, believe would be necessary if I were to curry favor with you over a long period of time. Since there’s no time to do that, I thought it would be best to give all these to you instead.”
Angel: “……”
So, was he saying that he came here this time specifically to give him a gift?
However, shouldn’t any kind of affection be cultivated over time? How could it be quantified and then confidently considered a convenient method? What kind of unfathomable self-confidence was this?
Could it be that this was the trend in the Wizarding World?
While Angel was mentally commenting, Jiebo added, “I’ve also calculated the cost of time, but it’s hard to define, so I took a median value.”
Jiebo spoke confidently, and after finishing, pointed to the spacial capsule indicating to Angel, “Aren’t you going to take a look?”
Angel gently brushed off, “I appreciate your forthrightness. However, I don’t believe I’m worth your effort to cultivate a good relationship with. Moreover, if you think that forming a good relationship is just about giving gifts, then you might have underestimated the value of friendship…”
“Song of the Deep Sea Gold,” Jiebo interjected before Angel could finish.
“Pardon?”
“I said, there are fifteen pieces of Song of the Deep Sea Gold in there,” Jiebo stated nonchalantly.
Angel’s hand paused mid-air, and he swallowed hard.
Song of the Deep Sea Gold, an incredibly precious alchemy material of the middle rank water attribute that’s practically non-existent on the market, is not only used in alchemical reactions but is also a type of magical material. It is only produced by the Song of the Deep Sea. Usually, if an alchemist wants to get their hands on this gold, they need to enter into a deep trade with the Song of the Deep Sea.
“There are also thirteen types of shell materials unique to the Song of the Deep Sea, along with a variety of other common magical materials used by the marine wizards…”
Angel, who had been pushing the spatial capsule towards Jiebo, slowly retracted his hand upon hearing Jiebo’s words.
“Such materials are as precious as friendship itself, radiating a golden glow of priceless value,” Angel sang out, a sincere expression on his face.
If Jiebo had merely gifted magic crystals, Angel would not have been so interested. But he happened to have gifted alchemical magical materials, which were impossible to find elsewhere. This stirred a certain itch in Angel’s heart.
On second thought, it was just making a friend, it didn’t mean he owed anyone anything.
That charlatan—White Bear, had called out to Angel in front of Sky Tower, and he had accepted him as a friend.
Both highbrow and lowbrow conversations can add significant links to interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, Jiebo is quite a talent in the Wizarding World, so being friends with him wouldn’t be a bad thing. Perhaps… Cherie might get angry, but each friendship is its own entity and doesn’t overlap with others.
Angel justified the internal drama in his heart, happily accepted the capsule filled with Song of the Deep Sea Gold, and turned to Jiebo with a beam.
“I’ll take these, and you can come to me in the future if you have any alchemy-related issues or matters. I’ll help as much as I can,” Angel knew that Jiebo’s so-called ‘building a good relationship’ was all for these words.
Indeed, upon hearing these words, Jiebo nodded in satisfaction. He seemed to have perfectly accomplished what Mentor had asked of him!
With the matter settled, Angel planned to leave. Although he could guess from his conversation with Jiebo that his visit to the island probably wasn’t known to the people of the Song of the Deep Sea, he was still anxious about staying here. He was always worried that Jiebo might suddenly ask about his “seclusion” a few days ago. Once or twice he could brush it off, but if Jiebo were to persistently seek an answer, it would arouse suspicion to directly refuse or fabricate a reason on the spot. It was better to make himself scarce.
However, just as Angel was about to bid farewell, Jiebo initiated a conversation, “Given our closer relationship than before, may I ask a question?”
“What’s the question?”
“How has Hilary been doing recently?”
Angel scrutinized Jiebo, “Why? Are you planning to seek vengeance against Hilary?”
Lowering his gaze, Jiebo softly replied, “No, I simply wish to know her current state.”
Upon confirming that there was no unusual expression on Jiebo’s face, Angel lightly responded, “When I left the Savage Grottoes, I did not pay attention to her situation. However, I presume she should be fine.”
Jiebo nodded, “That’s good to hear.”
Seeing Jiebo seemingly sigh in relief, Angel grew suspicious. Could it be that Jiebo has a masochistic tendency, and he has taken a liking to Hilary?
If that’s the case, then he’s probably doomed to be a secret admirer for life. Every time Hilary sees Jiebo, her personality dramatically shifts, becoming twisted and insane, obsessively wanting to destroy Jiebo, who represents the “ocean” attribute. Under such circumstances, there’s no chance for any outcome between them.
Since Jiebo didn’t seem to have any more questions, Angel was ready to bid him farewell.
However, before leaving, he suddenly thought of a question, “Am I worth the great price you’ve paid to build this relationship?”
Caught off guard, Jiebo burst into laughter, “Seems like you are not aware of your reputation in the Wizarding World of the Southern Region.”
“Reputation?” Angel was surprised. He had only made one public appearance at the Purification Garden, and had then kept a low profile for most of the year. What reputation could he have? Could it be about Gloria’s creation of magic? But, that incident shouldn’t have spread so fast, right? Moreover, Gloria’s creation of magic was more reliant on her own accumulation.
Jiebo poured another glass of red wine, “The story begins with the Ancient Auction three months ago…”
……
Angel arrived at the Ocean Mansion around three in the afternoon, and by the time he left, the evening was just beginning to fall.
The snow outside had stopped, and the entire City of Lost Melodies was wrapped in a layer of silver attire. The omnipresent glow of the firefly street lamps added a serene beauty to the cityscape.
Nite was still waiting outside with his reindeer sleigh, but this time, the reindeer was wearing a soft fur coat.
On the way back, Angel was silent, his face showing a hint of worry.
Reflecting on his previous conversation with Jiebo, it began with Jiebo recounting the anecdotes about his music box at the Ancient Auction. As the conversation deepened and became more engaging, he started to talk about some events that had happened in the Southern Region, which is why they were delayed until now.
The matter of the music box, Angel hadn’t anticipated it fetching such a high price, nor did he expect it to be purchased by Jailall, the “Mithril Shaper”, a turn of events that took him by surprise.
Ironically, the affair of the music box catapulted Angel’s reputation in the Southern Region to new heights.
Even Jiebo teased him, “The accolades they bestow upon you are diverse, ‘Next Stop Mysterious’, ‘Music Box Magician’, ‘Master of Illusions’, ‘Lion Hearted Thorn’… When will you go out and settle on a moniker?”
Concerning the moniker, Angel wasn’t in a rush. As long as they didn’t call him the Milk Baron, they could call him whatever they pleased. No matter how absurd the title, its longevity depended on the wizard’s own abilities.
A moniker earned through merit was far more respectable than one bestowed at Sky Tower.
Angel took the music box affair in stride, brushing it off with a laugh. However, several other pieces of news truly captured his attention and kindled a sense of worry within him.
Firstly, there was the matter of the Eternal Night Kingdom’s Dark Domain.
According to Jiebo, nearly a sixth of the cities in Eternal Night Kingdom had fallen, with a massive influx of refugees spilling into neighboring countries. Even the wizard organizations and families of Eternal Night Kingdom were beginning to evacuate en masse, for no effective means of curtailing the spread of darkness had been found to date.
Although Angel had this matter on his mind, as someone who had faced the core figures within the Dark Domain, he wasn’t as concerned as one might expect. At least he was currently able to purge the parasites, and even had a few of them alive within his Nightmare Domain.
Secondly, Fairytale Town had undergone an anomaly!
To be precise, it was the Fairytale World that had experienced misfortune. From the outer world to the middle and inner worlds, a multitude of monstrous creatures had emerged, accompanied by parasites akin to those in Eternal Night Kingdom.
The Fairytale World was the second region to fall after Eternal Night Kingdom.
The reason why Angel was interested in this event was solely because upon hearing Jiebo’s account, a word immediately sprang to his mind: Hippocrates!
The emergence of parasites in the Fairytale World, could it be that something had happened in the subterranean wilderness village of Hippocrates?
Could it be that someone had provoked the nest in Hippocrates?
Chapter 786 The Meeting with Jiebo <TOC> Chapter 788 A Cascade of Calamities