bookandnovel Chapter 34 Preparation
Chapter 34 Preparation
"Professor," Lucius explained helplessly, swallowing the pastry in his mouth.
"I used to focus entirely on learning trace languages. Just completing Marcus's translation assignments took up all my free time. Etiquette and dance are definitely not my forte."
"You need to find a teacher; etiquette dance is the most basic ticket for a gentleman to enter high society."
Anthony casually mentioned it, then steered the conversation to the real purpose of the trip:
"This Wednesday, Viscount Rhodes will be hosting an auction dinner at his private residence."
Among the items up for auction was a book of cryptic language passed down from his ancestors, which, according to a brief description in the catalog, should date back to the early Tertiary period.
Several other scholars and I are interested in this book. If you have time, we can discuss our views on it after the auction.
After he finished speaking, he took out an invitation with gold lettering and the family crest from his inside pocket and handed it to Lucius.
Lucius was slightly taken aback.
This Wednesday, Viscount Rhodes' auction dinner...
Charles used the exact same reason yesterday afternoon, and within half a day, Anthony also sent an invitation to the same dinner party.
He took the invitation, tucked it into the inside pocket of his coat, and said earnestly:
"Professor, thank you for your kindness. I will not give up my love for linguistics; this language has become a part of my career."
Anthony nodded, patted Lucius on the shoulder twice, and offered a few words of encouragement about maintaining a good reading habit and actively participating in academic salons.
Then, holding the glass with only a small sip of red wine left, he turned and left the banquet hall.
The banquet lasted until noon.
When Daisy broke away from the group of girls, her cheeks were slightly flushed from drinking half a glass of champagne.
The two walked along the cobblestone path along the Hull River for a while before parting ways at the intersection where the college building led to the school gate.
Daisy stood there, waving vigorously, holding the square hat in her hand.
Just as Lucius was about to disappear from sight, she suddenly cupped one hand to her mouth and shouted:
"Lucius, you absolutely must reply to my letters from now on! It doesn't matter how short they are; I'll just keep writing even if you don't reply!"
Lucius didn't turn back. He waved goodbye in the blood-red sunset, and whispered to himself:
"I will definitely write it."
Lucius flagged down a public carriage and returned to Bank Street.
He changed into a clean and sharp dark suit, put away the invitation Anthony had given him, and then headed to the Splin Detective Agency.
If Felix was right, he needs to access a secret manual on cup symbolism today. Once the manual is modified, he can drink the potion and advance to the rank of Feast Attendant Apostle.
Pushing open the door to the Splin Detective Agency, the reception room was filled with the rich aroma of coffee.
Oliver stood in front of the coffee table, holding a coffee pot, pouring a dark brown liquid into two white porcelain cups.
He heard the door open, looked up, and smiled:
"Good afternoon, Lucius. Would you like a cup? It's my new Akara coffee, brought back from the Southern Continent. It has a naturally rich, creamy aroma."
Lucius took the white porcelain cup and took a sip. The coffee did indeed have a peculiar milky aroma. He put the cup back on the table, looked around, and asked:
"Where's Captain Felix? He said he'd arrange a secret cup pass for me today."
Oliver picked up his cup of Akala coffee, took a small sip, and then replied:
"The captain is in the materials and alchemy room. You can go find him now and prepare the first-tier advancement potion for the Banquet Apostle."
Lucius exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't it supposed to take five days to modify the Perception Mask? Are you going to concoct a potion now?"
"That's how it should be," Oliver said, placing his coffee cup on the coffee table and entering his lecture mode.
"However, you are a bisexual person."
Given that there are already extraordinary organs in the body, the body instinctively reduces the rejection reaction, so there is no need to slowly modify new extraordinary organs.
According to data records from several other sequence participants who chose to become Feast Apostles in the Anti-Suppression Bureau's archives, the transformation time for the Perception Face will be shortened to approximately 6 hours.
Lucius felt relieved and looked up at the clock on the wall. It was not yet 1 a.m., and it would be exactly 7 p.m. in 6 hours.
So it seems I might be promoted to a Feasting Apostle today?
He thought for a moment, suppressing the initial excitement in his heart, and asked with a puzzled expression:
"Even if we can make it in time, we still need a moonlit night and a room covered with dark-colored fabric, which are necessary for setting the atmosphere."
"There's no need to worry about that," Oliver put down his coffee cup and gestured for Lucius to follow him through the side door to the second floor.
Upon reaching the second floor, Lucius suddenly noticed an extra room in the hallway, directly opposite Felix's office.
Oliver grasped the handle, pushed open the door, and stood in the doorway, turning sideways to let Lucius look inside, while introducing:
"The room renovation involved some mystical methods, but since we couldn't just let the renovation workers into the second floor, we had to do the renovation ourselves."
Lucius looked inside.
The room was larger inside than it appeared from the outside, with all four walls and the ceiling covered in dark-colored fabric.
The furniture that was originally placed in the hallway—desks, chairs, and a row of empty bookshelves—was neatly arranged near the window in the room.
"This dark-colored fabric is also one of the materials approved by the department," Oliver explained as he entered the room, touching the edge of the fabric.
"After being specially treated by the Fiery Ones, it can completely isolate the room from outside noise and fumes."
As Lucius stepped inside, he immediately sensed a profound tranquility, completely isolating him from the outside world. Even the aroma of coffee vanished.
"And what about the moonlight? Did you rely on divination to conclude that the moon would definitely appear tonight?" Lucius asked again.
“You’ve hit a dead end,” Oliver pointed out Lucius’s lack of knowledge in mysticism, then tempted him, “You can think carefully about the gods that our Invincible Sun Church worships.”
Lucius quickly retrieved the history of the Church of the Invincible Sun.
In the Third Age, they worshipped a deity called "The Sun," but after the Sun was split, it was replaced by five sun deities:
The setting sun, the crescent moon, the dawn, the night watchman, and the splitting wolf.
Thinking about this, Lucius suddenly realized.
The Crescent Moon, this radiant, revealing, and exquisitely beautiful deity, also governs the Moon's dwelling place.
He looked at Oliver and received an affirmative answer:
"Although I believe in the Night's Watch, I can also invoke the power of the crescent moon and pray that it will cast a ray of moonlight from its dwelling place."
Lucius, now without further doubt, thanked Oliver and walked to the seventh Scarred Door, silently reciting:
"Materials and Alchemy Room".