Chapter 254 - 253: The Seminar Missing One Person

Chapter 254: Chapter 253: The Seminar Missing One Person

The romantic atmosphere instantly cooled due to Lloyd’s less-than-ideal response.

Just then, Weiya’s faint Veto Declaration faded away. Lloyd finally reclaimed the initiative, pulling her into a tight embrace and kissing her passionately, reigniting their briefly cooled passion.

Lost in the moment, Lloyd let his instincts take over and tried to take things a step further.

But at the critical moment, Weiya stopped his hand. She shook her head with a resigned look and whispered,

"I’m sorry, Lloyd. I can’t... not without my father’s permission."

"Uh... Sorry. I was getting ahead of myself."

Lloyd immediately cooled down. Noticing it was already dark out, he suggested they go to the nearby town for dinner.

Weiya held his hand tightly, her head bowed. In a small, aggrieved voice, she asked,

"Lloyd, do you think I’m weak? For not daring to defy my father..."

"No, of course not! Weiya, why would you think that? I’m not some kind of creature that only thinks with its lower half," Lloyd said hastily.

Only then did Weiya raise her head. She replied,

"Then... kiss me again, and I’ll believe you."

She was an incredible flirt. Lloyd was completely defenseless against her and could only grant her wish.

And so, after a simple dinner, their more-or-less successful date came to an end. They snuck back to the Eighteenth District and took the ’advanced subway’ to their respective homes.

Just before they parted, Lloyd took out a Gold invitation and handed it to Weiya.

He had specially redeemed it for Weiya last time, along with the one for Elolo.

’Ugh... wait, why am I thinking about Elolo right now? It makes me feel like some unprincipled scumbag...’

’I need to be more faithful. At the very least, I can’t be thinking about other girls when Weiya is right here with me!’

While inwardly scolding himself, Lloyd said aloud,

"This is the invitation to the Dream Theater I mentioned before. I redeemed it especially for you, and only for you... Oh, right, and this! Didn’t you say the last one stopped working? I made you a new one. I even picked out a prettier model. I hope you like it."

Lloyd took out a music box he had prepared long ago and pressed it into Weiya’s hand along with the invitation.

"Hehe, I can’t believe you remembered something so small. Thank you, Lloyd. I love it."

Weiya’s eyes crinkled into a blissful, sweet smile as she added,

"I love gifts like this, and I love you, too."

"Hehe, I’m glad you like it."

Lloyd laughed sheepishly, scratching his head.

Weiya put the music box away safely before looking down at the invitation.

Lloyd quickly explained,

"When we get the chance, we should go check it out together, okay? Some of the attractions there are pretty fun. More fun than an amusement park..."

Weiya nodded, then asked, seemingly out of nowhere,

"Lloyd, have you ever been to the amusement park in the city?"

"I have, uh... with my sister," Lloyd clarified hastily.

Weiya didn’t say anything more. She gave him a hug, and they each climbed into their respective pod-like ’subway cars’.

Beaming, Lloyd tapped out his home address with his finger and departed.

Weiya, however, remained where she was. She clutched the invitation to her chest as the smile on her face slowly faded. Her beautiful gray eyes drooped, her expression becoming a complex mix of worry, resentment, and inner turmoil.

She had actually realized it long ago...

Her lover was completely incapable of lying...

......

When Lloyd returned home, he found his sister had already prepared a meal and was waiting for him. He had no choice but to brace himself, sit down at the table, and continue eating while bringing up the matter of the Bizarre Derivative.

"Huh? You need to find a Vengeful Spirit to complete your ritual? Isn’t that dangerous?" Evelor asked, full of concern.

"It’s not dangerous, really! I’m pretty strong now. You have to trust me, Sis!"

Lloyd said quickly, rolling up his sleeve to flex the muscles he’d recently developed. This seemed to put Evelor slightly more at ease.

"Well, since it’s an important ritual, I’ll help you ask around. But most of the tips our magazine gets are just made-up stories and rumors, so you shouldn’t get your hopes up too high, Yi..."

"Yeah, I know. I’ll try to find a way on my own, too. But thanks, Sis."

"Hehe, why are you being so polite all of a sudden, Yi?"

After dinner, Lloyd spent a little more time with his sister before returning to his room a bit earlier than usual. He then entered the Thought Realm and released the Tentacle Grass.

Usually, whenever he let the creature out, it would frolic about, dancing and wiggling with glee. Today, however, it was much more reserved. It seemed timid, constantly trying to hide, and wasn’t its usual lively self at all.

Lloyd couldn’t help but follow its fearful gaze and glanced behind him.

It was the giant flower bud.

Since they were both plants, and the giant flower bud was several hundred times the size of the Tentacle Grass, its fear wasn’t surprising.

"Alright, don’t be scared. As long as you behave yourself from now on and don’t cause any trouble, it probably won’t hurt you... Yeah, probably."

After briefly reassuring it, Lloyd had the Tentacle Grass bring out the screen and poked the ’Start Broadcast’ button.

Soon, a black chessboard appeared on the screen, along with four chess pieces.

There was one less piece than before: the White Bishop representing Elolo.

’So she really did withdraw from the conference.’

Lloyd wasn’t particularly surprised.

’According to the antique shop clerk, Elolo could be considered a Saint now. So it only makes sense that she would leave the Human Future Conference, whose entire purpose is to "escape the shackles of the Saints," doesn’t it?’

As for the four people present, other than the half-dead White Soldier Advisor, the other three seemed to have already guessed this outcome.

The Black Soldier, Jenkins, began with his usual opening remarks before saying regretfully,

"Sigh... Just as the White Knight predicted, the White Bishop has ultimately left us...

"I didn’t convene the conference myself because I wasn’t sure how it might affect her. But since the Venerable Master is the one who gathered us today, I assume he has accepted her unannounced departure?"

As the holder of the Chessboard, he had previously participated in the operation to rescue Elolo. Afterward, he’d had some follow-up communications with Balderes, which he then relayed to Goldrinn. So, everyone already knew what had happened; there was no need for a recap.

The White Knight, Balderes, spoke up.

"Fortunately, she was ultimately rescued by that mysterious Black Knight. I received a telegram from him afterward, but it only contained the three words ’All is well.’ Not even any punctuation..."

"Telegrams are supposed to be brief, after all..." the Black War Chariot, Goldrinn, offered by way of explanation, then added,

"I also learned about the Black Knight through the Black Soldier’s letter, but I don’t know much about him..."

As he spoke, he snuck a glance at the mysterious spectator by the side of the chessboard. Seeing no reaction, he finished his thought:

"If you could, would you mind telling me more about him?"

Balderes, having met him ’offline’ in person, was the natural one to answer:

"To be honest, I don’t know him that well either. I only know he is a Beloved of a Venerable. And over in Radiant City, I believe he’s from the Veto school, correct?

"In terms of power, he might not be as terrifying as the White Soldier here, but he’s still unfathomably profound. I feel the three of us combined wouldn’t be a match for him. He did appear on the second floor of the Dream Theater, which means his Tier should still be Four, but the impression I got was that he’s absolutely no ordinary Tier Four!

"You’ve all been to the Dream Theater, haven’t you? You know how arrogant those Attendants are. But in front of him, they were as meek as servants...

"And I still can’t figure out how he managed to cross such a vast distance to reach the White Bishop’s side.

"In short, he’s an incredibly formidable individual.

"As for his erudition, his mastery of Orbital Mechanics is no less than my own. His ideas on miniaturization and portability, in particular, left me completely stunned on the spot. It’s a good thing I’ve always been good at managing my expressions, or I would have made a complete fool of myself in front of him...

"But what I admire most about him is his humility and easygoing nature. He completely lacks the arrogance you see in other scholars. Discussing academia with him was an absolute pleasure!"

Balderes went on at length. If it were possible to leave a review, he would have undoubtedly given five stars. It was enough to make Lloyd, who was listening in, blush with embarrassment.

Goldrinn’s chess piece bobbed up and down, as if nodding, before he made a suggestion:

"For you to give such high praise, he must truly be a remarkable individual. And he’s from Radiant City, on top of having inherited the Black Knight’s piece... in that case, perhaps we could..."

Jenkins, guessing what he was about to say, quickly cut him off.

"I’ve given that serious thought. However, I believe we must respect the Venerable’s wishes in this matter. He is a Beloved, after all."

"Er... You’re right. My apologies, I was being presumptuous."

’Lloyd found this amusing as he listened in. He was actually interested in joining them, as it would make future contact more convenient.’

’The problem was, how exactly was he supposed to join this Chessboard?’

’And if he did, would he end up giving himself away?’

As he was pondering this, Lloyd heard Goldrinn continue speaking from the chessboard.

"Since recruiting the Black Knight is not an option, perhaps we should consider bringing in another true genius to fill the White Bishop’s vacant spot—

"Gentlemen, have any of you ever heard of a man from Radiant City named Lloyd?"