Weaving Rewards

Everyone turned their eyes toward Yaxiu, who sat in the red leather armchair. At that moment, Yaxiu was lounging with his legs crossed in the dark red trench coat. However, he wasn't foolish enough to wear a mask indoors, and under the coat he had on pajamas, with slippers dangling loosely from his feet. Compared to everyone else, he was practically a total eyesore in the Funeral Agency. Yet the uncanny resemblance in his features, the matching outfit and gear, and, above all, the fact that the Book of Gospel had blatantly called him out by name forced everyone to admit that the mysterious, domineering man in the first-place portrait on the Art Board was indeed the Yaxiu Heath right before their eyes! "Fifty years have passed and you're still keeping that trench coat / mask?!" Igola and Lisi shouted in unison. "*Cough, cough!*" Harvey choked on his cigarette smoke, looking at the bewitching charmer and the little girl with sheer bewilderment. Their priorities were bizarre enough to perplex even a necromancer. Yaxiu was a bit bewildered as well, but delight soon spread across his brow. "Wait, does that mean both the Eldest Miss and I will receive the board's exclusive rewards?" "Rewards? Now is hardly the time to care about rewards!" Annan gave a bitter smile. "Banjie!" The young butler caught her drift immediately and hurried out. Lisi asked in confusion, "Isn't it a good thing that Big Sister and Daddy made it onto the board?" Annan sighed and was about to speak when two beams of light suddenly burst from her and Yaxiu's Books of Gospel. One landed on the Purple Moth, inscribing patterns across her left eye and tongue; the other sank into the cult leader, causing his dark red trench coat to surge and ripple as if it were a living thing. "[Annan Doran has received the rewards 'Discerning Eye of Calamity' and 'Tongue of Liberation'.]" "[Discerning Eye of Calamity: From now on, the bearer can identify calamity and will no longer bring calamity home.]" "[Tongue of Liberation: The bearer may orally terminate any contract between both parties, provided both parties are willing.]" "[Yaxiu Heath has received the rewards 'Fiend Trench Coat' and 'Distortion Mask'.]" "[Fiend Trench Coat: All sapient beings who lay eyes on the bearer for the first time will undergo a mind check. The higher the bearer's mind faction and the lower the viewer's mind faction, the higher the check's difficulty, and vice versa. Once the check fails, the viewer will be subject to a mental suggestion, unable to harbor any malice toward the bearer.]" "[Distortion Mask: Distorts all detection results regarding the bearer. All sapient beings will notice the bearer's presence at first glance. This effect does not disappear whether the mask is equipped or not, and remains active at all times.]" Starting from third place, the rewards given by the Art Board were generally doubled, and even a single reward would be exceptionally formidable. Still, no one had expected the delivery method to be so crude, shooting directly from the Book of Gospel onto the recipients—practically straight from the manufacturer. To the onlookers, they could faintly see Yaxiu seemingly wearing a mask, fitting so seamlessly that it felt as though the mask were the true body and Yaxiu merely its adornment; yet the moment they looked away, the mask vanished once more. Meanwhile, Annan's pupil was now overlaid with intricate, faint purple patterns. At a casual glance, one might assume she simply had purple pupils, but a closer look revealed dense, bizarre markings sufficient to drive anyone with trypophobia mad! "So these are... the rewards of the Weaving Ceremony?" Annan murmured softly. Covering her right eye, she scanned the room with her left. She discovered that a halo of light of a distinct color enveloped everyone's body. Since this eye was called the Discerning Eye of Calamity, she tentatively dubbed this perception "calamity vision." Harvey's halo was dark green, repulsive to behold, but not particularly dangerous. Igola's halo was a clear, dark red—at first glance, it looked quite alluring, tempting one to draw closer, but at its center lay a murky darkness that sent a chill down the spine. Lisi's halo was multicolored, shifting between darkness, deep red, pure white, and sky blue, leaving one utterly baffled. Yet what Annan cared about most right now was naturally her future portrait model, Yaxiu Heath! Among them all, Yaxiu's halo was the thickest, dense enough to nearly blot out the others. His halo's color was also the most extraordinary, surging like flowing rainbow waves. Annan was entirely unable to gauge his danger level based on the color! "Distorts all detection results regarding the bearer"... The effect of the Distortion Mask actually overrode the Discerning Eye of Calamity?! Annan's expression fluctuated somberly. When she opened her right eye, the world before her returned to normal, and the halos around everyone disappeared. Opening both eyes yielded normal sight, while looking with only the left activated calamity vision. The Book of Gospel was quite thoughtful in this regard—if calamity vision remained active constantly, it would disrupt daily life far too much. Just then, she noticed everyone staring at her. Igola asked, "What did you see with the Discerning Eye of Calamity?" "Now is not the time to talk about that." Annan shook her head. "Everyone, pack your bags right now. I'm giving you fifteen minutes. In fifteen minutes, we leave this place." "Why?" Yaxiu said, stunned. "It can't be because of me, right? The Book of Gospel didn't say anything bad about me. They wouldn't really think I'm the source of the calamity..." "Actually, the Book of Gospel did say it. Look, the artwork description had a long string of text praising Daddy's great accomplishments," Lisi chimed in, raising her hand. "It was just obscured by Daddy's power, and all the introductory words were blacked out. Daddy, you're so powerful!" "And it's not just the painting itself," Igola said. "Look at the Eldest Miss's exclusive rewards. 'Discerning Eye of Calamity' is mocking her for bringing a disaster like you home, while 'Tongue of Liberation' is urging her to quickly terminate your contract and kick you out. Farewell, Yaxiu. I'll be sure to visit your cardboard box under the overpass in the future." Harvey added, "I recommend staying in a graveyard. In a land as advanced as Gospel Country, the graveyards are bound to be clean and sanitary. I hear they have an offering tradition here, too, so you won't even need to forage for food." Yaxiu cast a surprised glance at the two of them. He could tell that beneath the swindler's and the necromancer's taunts, they were subtly egging Annan on. Now that Annan possessed the ability to release contracts, if she truly despised Yaxiu or harbored other plans, she might actually dissolve his contract right on the spot. Freedom! If he could seize this opportunity to break free from Annan's clutches, it would be an absolute godsend. Even though Yaxiu had maintained a casual attitude of "being kept by a rich woman is great," "anything to earn a bite to eat," and "life without a job isn't complete," he would never hesitate if given a genuine chance to regain his freedom, even if it meant facing numerous risks! After all, during his prison break from Shattered Lake, he had been hunted by Sanctuary Sorcerers and shunned by the entire society; there hadn't been a single place in the world for him to shelter except the Veela's home. Yet now, he didn't even have a wanted poster. Not to mention, his reward 'Distortion Mask' could shield him from prophecies and detection, while 'Fiend Trench Coat' could deter strangers. Moreover, the social climate of Gospel Country was harmonious and united, nothing like the unruly rabble back in the Blood Moon Country. If Yaxiu had resolutely broken his iron rice bowl even under the brutal circumstances of the Shattered Lake jailbreak, there was no way he would fear being fired by Annan under such superior conditions for starting anew. Worst case, he could become self-employed. He was already well-accustomed to starting from scratch in an unfamiliar city. However, Annan showed no intention of letting go of her exceptional employee. "This has nothing to do with the painting. Never mind that the piece hints at Yaxiu being the calamity that destroys the world of Gospel—even if it praised him for saving Gospel Country, marrying a princess, and leading the entire populace into a utopian society, we would still have to run!" "Our danger stems solely from Yaxiu being on the board!" Igola shot to his feet. "Because Yaxiu is an outsider?" "Exactly!" Annan nodded heavily. "Once others discover that Yaxiu has no past, they will realize he is an outsider, and that I, who am keeping him company, am the director of an agency... The idea of using an outsider to exploit loopholes in the Weaving Ceremony has existed for a long time, but very few have succeeded. Only our Doran clan has experience with it." "When they associate me with Yaxiu, they won't think he will truly bring disaster to Gospel Country. They will only assume this is a miracle I orchestrated, that I successfully disguised Yaxiu into a sweet, magnificent cake, earning a five-star review from the Book of Gospel!" "The plan has been exposed." Annan's expression darkened drastically. "Our enemy isn't the Book of Gospel, but—" "Miss!" the young butler shrieked in panic, bursting into the room with a briefcase. "The air car has lost connection!" Annan froze. She saw Yaxiu suddenly draw a longsword from his mouth and slash downward forcefully in front of her— Miracle: Sword Body Barrier! *Boom!* The floor-to-ceiling balcony windows shattered violently as dozens of drones stormed into the room. Only this time, they weren't delivering packages—they carried light machine guns! "Ranged defense!" At Annan's command, Banjie's, Harvey's, and Igola's bodies reacted automatically— Ice Miracle: Ricochet Ice Curtain! Necromancy Miracle: Life Link! Mind Miracle: Cold-Blooded Form! They hadn't merely been idling away their days indulging in pleasures. Because Annan held a compulsory contractual bond over them that superseded conscious thought, she could issue commands that made everyone execute tactical maneuvers simultaneously, coordinating seamlessly like pieces on a chessboard! The Ricochet Ice Curtain could effectively deflect storms of gunfire, Life Link could preserve the life of the critically wounded, and Cold-Blooded Form made the recipient forget fear and pain. Combined with Yaxiu's Sword Body Barrier, these four miracles were more than enough to grant the Funeral Agency the ability to withstand a ranged assault! *Da-da-da-da-da—* A deafening roar of gunfire that set their scalps tingling and brains boiling echoed through the room. Yaxiu pulled Annan with one hand and scooped up Lisi with the other, swiftly retreating behind the others. Before he could catch his breath, his vision went black as a spider-like object lunged out and latched onto his face— "Look out!" Those mechanical spiders, which normally kept a low profile and only performed housework, suddenly pounced at everyone like rabid beasts, ready to detonate as soon as they drew near! *Boom!* *Boom!* *Boom!* The mechanical spiders approaching Igola and the others were shot down ahead of time; the only one that slipped through was the spider that had jumped onto Yaxiu's face! *Bang!* With a muffled crack right beside his ear, the mechanical spider clinging to Yaxiu's face fell away. Still shaken, Yaxiu looked over to see Annan, dressed in her pajamas, holding a submachine gun in one hand. Smoke curled from the muzzle—the Eldest Miss had clearly saved her subordinate's life. Yet Yaxiu sharply noticed that beneath the muzzle of the submachine gun dangled a glittering purple crystal earring. Meanwhile, the purple crystal earring that Annan was constantly fondling on her ear had vanished. He suddenly recalled Annan's words: *"As a sword sorcerer, the fact that you carry no sword at any time is telling enough. Any weapon sorcerer always carries their weapon with them."* Noticing his gaze, Annan patted the gunstock and said, "This is Second Miss Donna. Her mother is Absolute Blade Mechanical Works. She's usually rather shy, has a sister complex, and is skilled at spitting out nine-millimeter rounds. Aren't you going to say thank you to her?" "Thank you, Second Miss!" By now, the drones' barrage had ceased, leaving the ice curtain shattered to pieces. Looking at the two figures stepping out of an air car at the edge of the balcony, the Eldest Miss exhaled slowly. "In Azula, the only ones capable of controlling smart devices like drones and spiders are you lot." "Pleasure to meet you, Lady Purple Moth of the Funeral Agency," a young man said with a smile. "I am Maynard Keynes, combat specialist of the Family Harmony Agency." "Logistics specialist, Liman Seur," the long-haired woman added coldly. "Forgive us for interrupting. You appear to have travel plans, but we hope you can remain for a moment, as the head of our agency is currently on her way." "She is eager to pursue in-depth cooperation with the Funeral Agency." "What kind of cooperation?" Annan asked coldly. "Why, naturally..." Maynard summoned his Book of Gospel and turned it toward Annan. Displayed within were four photographs—the very portraits of Yaxiu, Igola, Harvey, and Lisi! "To jointly develop scarce resources."