The food was served, but Cartethyia and Iuno had already lost their appetite. They each left on their own, leaving only Lupa to happily enjoy the meal.
Walking along the street, Cartethyia took out her terminal. She was about to send a message to Noah when another message arrived first.
[Phoebe: Miss Cartethyia, after you gave your permission yesterday, the new doctrine was released today. Would you like to come back and take a look?]
[Cartethyia: No need. I checked it carefully yesterday. There's no need to confirm again.]
[Phoebe: Understood. May the Sentinel protect you.]
"May the Sentinel protect?"
Cartethyia shook her head to herself when she saw those words.
"Rinascita already has both Ovathrax and Leviathan appearing at the same time. The Sentinel is searching all over Septimont for the Threnodian right now. They're probably having a huge headache themselves."
Thinking of this, she looked at Noah's name on the terminal again. Just then, a new message from him came in.
[Noah: Little Cart, you guys eat first. I'm going to Montelli to deal with the Quick Tone matter.]
"You bad guy. Getting more famous is one thing, but now you've attracted another Priestess's affection too. Why are you so popular?"
She stamped her foot in frustration and punched the air, as if every fist was landing on Noah.
"Just wait until I can beat you. I'll catch you, lock you in the Inverted High Tower, and make sure no one else can touch you."
The thought made her giggle. A bright smile bloomed on her delicate face.
"Haha… even if I could beat you, I still wouldn't have the heart to hit you."
She picked up the terminal again and hesitated for a moment before finally replying with a simple "Okay." Then she put it down.
"Finding the Threnodian can be left to me and the Sentinel. Let the Laureate rest for a while."
"It's just…"
"For some reason, I keep getting a bad feeling…"
...
Ragunna.
The final version of the new doctrine was publicly announced in Freedom Square. Countless monks handed out booklets of the new rules to the crowd.
A finely dressed butler named Sebas hurried into a simple yet elegant café. He handed a freshly printed booklet from the Order to the graceful woman sitting at a table.
She had dreamlike light-purple hair, long white-stockinged legs, and snow-white skin that made her look even more alluring. It was none other than the head of the Fisalia Family—Cantarella.
Cantarella took the booklet but did not open it right away. Instead, she turned and raised it toward the white-haired girl sitting diagonally across from her, wearing a victorious smile.
"Second Miss of Montelli, it seems my people move a little faster than yours."
The moment she finished speaking, another figure in a tailored women's suit strode in. She held a hardcover version of the doctrine booklet and handed it to Carlotta.
"Boss, this is the Order's special imprint edition. It also includes explanations from the bishops. It's higher quality than the regular printed ones."
A satisfied smile appeared on Carlotta's face. She looked at Cantarella with a challenging gaze.
"Perhaps quality matters more to Montelli than speed. What do you think, Head of Fisalia?"
The pressure instantly fell on the Fisalia butler, Sebas.
Carlotta did not hold back her praise.
"Well done, Zani. Your pay today is five times higher."
"Thank you, boss."
"Relying on money to win people over… money will eventually run out."
Cantarella shook her head and did not continue that topic. She switched to another one instead.
"The Quick Tone produced by the Montelli Family has been gaining a lot of attention lately."
"But I heard your cooperation with Mengzhou and Chongzhou in Huanglong has not been going smoothly."
"It seems Montelli doesn't have many connections over there."
Carlotta pressed her lips together and replied coldly.
"That's not something the Fisalia Family needs to worry about. Zani, we're leaving."
She placed the Shell Credits for the bill on the table, stood up gracefully, and walked toward the door. Zani followed right behind her.
"Wait."
Cantarella's voice suddenly called out from inside the café.
"Second Miss, you seem to enjoy pouring a lot of resources into Noah. You want to make him the number-one Quick Tone creator, don't you?"
"And if I do?"
Just as Cantarella said, Carlotta liked pushing Noah higher and higher, the same way someone would show off a precious gem to the whole world so everyone could see how brightly it shone.
"Second Miss, too much of anything is bad. If his fame grows too high, it will eventually backfire. I advise you not to do this."
"What if I don't listen?"
"Then it only shows you're being arrogant and can't hear honest advice."
As Carlotta turned to leave, Cantarella's lips curved into a smile. She took out her terminal, found Noah's name, and muttered to herself.
"She may manage the Montelli Family, but she's still just an immature little girl. She can't reach my level."
The fact that Carlotta refused to listen was perfect. That way, Cantarella would have a chance to invite Noah out and discuss how to handle the situation together.
No… not yet. The timing wasn't right.
She would wait until night, then invite Noah to Porto-Veno Castle. They could have a meal-meal, chat-chat, drink some tea-tea with a bit of calming purple albizia in it, and finally lie down on the board-board together.
Perfect!
The more she thought about it, the more possible it seemed. Then she suddenly heard Carlotta's voice from outside the café.
"Tall Chestnut, you have no idea. Cantarella said I'm arrogant and that I have no height."
"Alright, alright. So you're bullying Little Potato now?"
Cantarella's mind went blank when she saw the two tall figures and one short one walk in.
Wait… was this real?
Noah greeted Cantarella, sat down across from her, and then looked at Carlotta.
"Little Potato, what did she do to you?"
Seeing that Noah was actually ready to stand up for her, Carlotta felt a surge of joy. She was about to speak when Cantarella smiled behind her hand and spoke first.
"I just advised Carlotta not to pour too many resources into you. I explained that too much fame would be bad for you, but she wouldn't listen."
"Little Potato, I have to say something about this. Cantarella is right."
"Huh?"
Carlotta's eyes widened.
"Actually, I came to find you for this exact reason."
Noah crossed his arms and calmly told them everything that had just happened in Septimont.
"So my fame has already started affecting my daily life. Little Potato, do you have any way to help reduce it a little?"
"Ah… so that's what happened… I'm sorry, Tall Chestnut. I never expected it would cause you this much trouble."
After understanding the situation, Carlotta placed one hand over her chest, looking full of guilt. With her other hand she took Noah's wrist and pulled him up from the seat.
"How about this? Come back to Montelli with me. We can slowly discuss how to handle it."
Cantarella: "Eh? Eh! Wait… this isn't right…"
...
At the edge of Septimont, inside a Fractsidus base.
A thin, bony hand inside a black robe set a document down. The Grand Architect closed his eyes and lightly tapped his fingers on the table.
"Noah… Noah… From the Tacet Discord tide in Jinzhou, to the Threnodian's reshaping in Ragunna, then solving the problems of the Black Shores and even Septimont… it has been a hard road, hasn't it?"
"With only your own strength, you try to hold back a wave that is swallowing entire civilizations. Even if you are full of blind passion, how long can it last? How far can you really go?"
"When vanity covers your eyes and you feel happy, do you ever fear the moment you might lose everything?"
He opened his eyes, picked up the photo of Noah on the table, and looked at it with a long sigh.
"Perhaps only after you experience a complete and total defeat will you finally understand the tragic core of this world… and then understand the true spirit of the Fractsidus."
"I will—"
"Personally give you that great defeat."
The photo slowly turned to ash in his thin fingers. The Grand Architect stood up and walked out of the camp. Craftsmen on both sides bowed their heads.
"Let's go."
He did not even glance at them. His voice was cold.
"Rinascita no longer has anything we need. Move out. We head to Lahai-Roi."
"Yes!"
"Wait—"
The Grand Architect suddenly spoke again, stopping everyone.
He turned his head. His gaze seemed to cross a great distance and locked onto something far out on the sea. His voice carried surprise and doubt.
"Threno…dian?"
The Threnodian of Rinascita… shouldn't it still be inside that gem?
...