The festivities proceeded immediately after Stella’s opening speech.
Almost an hour ago, when Kyran arrived at the outdoor pavilion with Noir and Sigma, he was surprised at how the Tower of Conclave’s staff managed to make the pavilion look so extravagant given the short notice. Now, he was even more surprised to know that they also prepared entertainment.
The entertainment consisted of performances from each department inside the Tower. The Security Unit managed to prepare a talent showdown even with a few of their members still recovering. Then the Maintenance Personnel had a dance performance while the Infirmary Officers did a song number.
The last performance was a comedy skit performed by the Kitchen Staff which was well-received by many.
The skit was about a reckless young man trying to gain the favor of a lovely yet elusive young woman. The man had done a lot of things to get her attention but always failed miserably. However, because of the young man’s perseverance, the young woman in the end finally noticed him and gave him a chance.
Somehow the story seemed familiar, and at the same time, it was not. Maybe it seemed familiar because the young man looked very similar to Kyran’s appearance when he attacked the Tower. And the young woman’s temperament had similarities to Stella.
Goosebumps run up Kyran’s skin as a thought crossed his mind.
Although Callan manipulated the memories of those involved directly in the attack, he could only manipulate what Kyran had said or what he looked like from their memories. Even if Callan could erase their memories of what had happened, he had to erase all these people’s memory which was hard to maintain.
Because of this reason, stories about the attack still circulated around the Tower.
The comedy skit right now vaguely depicted the attack and what probably most of the people of the Tower thought about it.
What Kyran failed to understand however, was how the reason behind the attack became a romantic endeavor of a young man?
With a shake of his head, Kyran decided not to dwell on it. Besides, this was a comedy skit. How Stella’s people interpreted the attack had nothing to do with him. This was actually a good thing. At least they were able to make light of what happened.
Still, Kyran felt a little uneasy that these people still vaguely remembered how he looked like. It was a good thing Noir’s disciple looked nothing like him. With how wild the imagination of Stella’s people were, he was worried they would try to link Noir’s disciple to the ‘intruder’.
Speaking of Noir’s disciple, Kyran remembered the first time he saw ‘his’ image.
It was after he and Stella left the conference hall to look for Malia and found them in the Alchemy Chamber. To their surprise, Noir and Sigma were also there. And all four were discussing about Kyran’s idea.
In the short time they left the conference hall, they actually made great progress. Of course, the four of them were experts in their fields, not to mention they were the leaders of their own businesses. If the four of them joined heads, they would definitely be able to come up with solutions.
After that, Noir showed Kyran the information about his fictional disciple. This was also to give Kyran an idea on how he should act when he appeared as Noir’s disciple.
The moment Kyran saw the image of his disciple, he tried his best not to cringe.
Because ‘he’ looked very… eye-catching.
Stella explained if they were going to create a fictional disciple to the most talented Array Master of their time, then they had to make sure the disciple could match up.
What was the connection of matching up the disciple’s looks to Noir’s prestige?
Was the question that immediately surfaced Kyran’s mind.
However, Kyran did not say this. He thought it would be a losing case if he said this and argued with her. Besides, it was already done and he could not do anything to change it. He was only concerned that because of how attractive Noir’s disciple looked, it would be hard for him to move around when he was pretending to be him.
And his worry was immediately realized as soon as he arrived at the pavilion.
Kyran noticed how most of the congregation had been stealing glances his way since he arrived. Of course, they might only be looking because he was new. Yes. He tried to convince himself it was the reason why they kept staring at him, even though most of the stares he received came from women.
After the performances, the central floor was opened to let everyone dance.
At this point, Kyran stood up and excused himself. It was not that he could no longer bear the looks he was receiving, but because he was reminded of what happened to his clan.
They were all just happily celebrating that night. Just like these people. Until the army arrived.
Kyran suddenly felt the atmosphere inside the pavilion was too lively for his liking and so he decided to take his leave.
The scenery around the pavilion was normally beautiful, however, he could not appreciate it right now.
While walking, Kyran found a small gazebo overlooking a pond.
He made his way to the gazebo and sat on the edge and stared at the pond where the moon was reflected on its surface.
The liveliness at the pavilion could still be heard from where he sat. But he soon forgotten the noise as he fell into deep thought.
‘It’s not even a week since the incident. I wonder how everyone is doing?’ He wondered.
During the time he was inside Stella’s study, he tried to push all unnecessary thoughts about his clan at the back of his mind. However, he still worried about them. So he did his best to focus on planning his course of action while also coming up with possible ideas his clan might do.
Although the Conclave had not gotten any news about the status of his clan, from the documents Stella gave during the meeting, Kyran deduced what might have happened after he left.
Since there were new army officers being dispatched and delegated under Jax’s, who was the main officer dealing his case, it meant they had not succeeded in apprehending his clan.
Kyran still wondered why there were only low-ranked officers being assigned to deal with his case. Was he not supposed to be a great threat to the whole empire given his Void magic? Although the army, issuing a bounty on his head meant they wanted to use the mercenaries as additional ‘help’, something still seemed off to Kyran.
Then there was the sudden influx of materials the army had requested from the Chamber of Commerce. Though the army used a pseudo name to buy those materials, the Conclave knew it was them.
Upon checking the materials the army had ordered, they found that some of the materials could only be used as an ingredient in writing array calculations. So it was easy for the Conclave to know that the army’s purpose in purchasing these materials were to create an array.
With the help of Noir, they narrowed down the possible array formation the army planned to create.
One of the array formation Noir wrote in his report got Kyran’s attention.
Heaven’s Rupture Array.
He read about this array in one of the books from Stella’s study. Its ability to destroy a defensive array two levels above the initial level of the Heaven’s Rupture Array made an impression to him. And now he came across it once again.
He remembered when his mother helped him escaped, his father had activated the Regis Estate’s barrier. And with Nolan’s assurance that his family were better of than him, he was now convinced that at this moment, his clan was still inside the estate and was being protected by a powerful defensive array. A very powerful one that the army was willing to create a complex array such as the Heaven’s Rupture just to break it.
Kyran wanted nothing more than go back to the estate and help them. But he knew it would not be a wise move.
From how his clan prepared his escaped route, and even the items inside the pouch his uncle gave him, he knew they had anticipated everything and already made preparations. If he returned, there was a good chance he would hinder the plans of his family.
So Kyran could only endure.
“Ahem.”
A gruff voice suddenly sounded from behind him.
Kyran did not turn because he already knew who the voice belonged to. Just the awkward clearing of throat was enough for him to guess who it was.
“What can I do for you, senior Sigma?” He asked in a deadpan voice.
Sigma’s brow twitched at Kyran’s attitude.
Before they went to the banquet, Noir had set some rules between them. As the President of the Blacksmith Order, Kyran must address Sigma properly.
Of course, Noir did not know what really happened between them. If he did, he might have suggested a different arrangement.
“Cheeky brat,” Sigma snarled.
Kyran ignored the sarcasm in his voice and simply smiled.
“The Lord of the Tower is looking for you,” Sigma replied after a short pause.
Kyran frowned slightly but did not reply.
“I only told her you already excused yourself.”
“I don’t believe you went to find me just to tell me that,” Kyran said his gaze not leaving the pond.
Sigma approached him. When he was about four feet behind Kyran he stopped and said, “You said you are going to hunt with someone. Is that someone trustworthy?”
Kyran tilted his head to the side.
There was a moment’s pause before he finally replied, “I don’t know. But I trust his strength.”
“Humph. What kind of answer is that?”
“Senior Sigma, can’t you see I’m trying to be alone? Your presence is unwelcomed right now.”
“You-!” Sigma did his best to reign in his annoyance.
“Just tell me what you want to say,” Kyran told him.
Sigma scowled and glared at Kyran’s back. He could not read this rascal’s mind.
Although they started off in the wrong page, he noticed how this kid acted as if nothing happened.
Okay, so maybe this kid acted this way around him because of what happened. But his attitude was to him was better compared with Malek.
Taking a deep breath, Sigma said, “I want to help.”
Kyran raised his brows and finally turned to look at him. He did not reply and waited for Sigma to continue.