The atmosphere of the celebration was far more enthusiastic than imagined.
Glowing blue-and-white shells paved the small paths, massive artificial coral trees hung with crystal-clear jellyfish lanterns, and the air was filled with the aroma of roasted seaweed, fried fish cakes, and sweet wine.
The residents of the Black Shores wore festive attire, their faces brimming with relaxed smiles.
Camellya was indeed obedient. Not long after entering the venue, she found Aalto—who had failed at pretending to be invisible—and used his wallet to buy Encore a rainbow cotton candy bigger than her face, along with a glowing starfish hairpin.
The pink-haired little loli was easily bought off. Wearing the hairpin and gleefully holding the cotton candy high, her attention was quickly drawn to a nearby stall selling flashing balloons and exquisite dolls.
In the blink of an eye, she dragged a helpless Aalto into the crowd, happily playing on her own and completely forgetting about her "Big Brother."
Having dismissed the little third wheel, Camellya immediately locked onto her target again. Turning to look at the man and two women walking in from outside the celebration, she narrowed her eyes and quietly walked toward the man.
The perspective shifts to the other side.
Rover and his group walked down the towering steps of the headquarters building, heading together on foot toward the celebration venue.
The noisy cheers and laughter of the crowd rushed toward them, forming a stark contrast with the tranquil atmosphere of the Black Shores office area.
Radiant lanterns illuminated the path along the way like a dream. It wasn't until they were a short distance from the main entrance of the celebration venue that Rover stopped in his tracks.
Before fully blending into the liveliness, he first took an item out of his travel bag—the Laguna-style half-mask gifted to him by the second young miss of the Motari family during the Rinascita carnival.
"Looks like this can still come in handy."
Rover gave a light chuckle and put on the mask, covering his face from the bridge of his nose upward, leaving only those golden eyes that still shone brilliantly behind the mask and the smiling corners of his lips.
Camellya approached at some point, joining the group of three.
She curiously leaned close to Rover, reaching out a fingertip to trace the exquisite patterns on his mask. "Yo, where did you get this treasure? It actually suits your current vibe—all mysterious and secretive."
"A little souvenir from Laguna," Rover answered vaguely, his gaze subconsciously glancing at The Shorekeeper beside him. She understood his intention for wearing the mask better than anyone.
The Shorekeeper merely gave a slight nod, a trace of understanding flashing in her pale eyes.
Rover's true identity was still inconvenient to expose. If he were to appear completely unmasked at such a public celebration with her, the resulting commotion could easily be imagined.
This way was best.
Cartethyia had also come to participate in the celebration with Rover. Looking at the masked Rover in front of her, she only felt that her Righteous One had gained a somewhat unfamiliar but heart-racing mysterious charm, and couldn't help but look twice.
Just like that, a mysterious man wearing a black-and-white mask, accompanied by The Shorekeeper—the highest administrator of the Black Shores—and two young women of outstanding beauty and vastly different styles, formed an eye-catching group as they walked into the already boiling main venue of the Harvest Feast.
The scale of the celebration was even grander than what was seen from the terrace above.
A flock of tiny Kurolo robots carrying glowing shells silently hovered above the crowd, slowly moving about the venue like a string of flowing stars.
At the center of the celebration venue was a massive artificial coral tree. Not only were jellyfish-shaped lanterns hanging from it, but there were also specks of fluorescent light flowing between the branches like flying fish.
The air was woven with the crispy aroma of roasted seaweed and fried fish, as well as a joyous atmosphere unique to festive celebrations.
The appearance of Rover's group in the venue—especially The Shorekeeper's presence—naturally attracted countless gazes immediately.
Ever since the crisis of Tethys attempting to devour its master was resolved by Rover, The Shorekeeper's true body, which had slumbered at the bottom of Tethys, was liberated. Since then, The Shorekeeper, who had been a legend for a very long time, frequently walked among the people.
As a newly promoted Senior Floramancer deeply trusted by The Shorekeeper, Rover's name only circulated among a portion of the Floramancers, guest ministers, and scientific research personnel of the Black Shores.
In the eyes of the vast majority of ordinary Black Shores residents, he was still a mysterious masked man appearing at the celebration.
The Black Shores residents participating in the celebration respectfully bowed and greeted The Shorekeeper one after another, but their gazes were inevitably drawn to the masked man with an extraordinary aura beside her.
"Look, it's Lady Shorekeeper!"
"Who is that beside her...?"
"And wearing a mask too, is he afraid of being recognized by us? Which important figure has arrived?"
"To be able to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with Lady Shorekeeper, and have Miss Camellya and that blonde lady accompanying him..."
Whispers spread through the crowd. Curiosity and speculation became another invisible scenery line.
Camellya turned a blind eye to all this. Her entire attention had long been captured by the dazzling array of stalls at the celebration.
"That looks fun!" She immediately locked onto an amusement attraction called "Resonance Fishing."
In this game, people needed to use a specially made fishing rod that emitted subtle sound waves to "catch" glowing fish made of holographic light swimming in the air.
Rover expressed admiration for the stall owner who came up with this creative gameplay. It had to be said, anglers who frequently caught nothing should really like this thing.
After all, with real-life fishing, one starts by throwing in ten pounds of bait to create a nest, and by the end of the day, they might not even catch a single pound of fish.
In contrast, this kind of fishing—which didn't require baiting a nest and relied entirely on accuracy—could absolutely satisfy the fantasies of many anglers.
"Go, go, go! Let's try this!" Camellya pulled Rover's arm and squeezed toward the stall without any room for argument. The Shorekeeper and Cartethyia followed along.
Camellya was clearly a veteran. She skillfully picked up a fishing rod and quickly caught a brilliant rainbow fish, proudly showing it off to Rover. Rover smiled and shook his head, also picking up a fishing rod. His movements seemed casual but were incredibly steady and accurate. He quickly reaped a bountiful harvest, drawing clicks of amazement from the stall owner.
At this moment, the two of them looked exactly like what many frequently empty-handed anglers imagined themselves to be.
Cartethyia, meanwhile, was attracted by a nearby handicraft stall. An old man was using some sort of faintly glowing flexible material to skillfully weave the shapes of various marine creatures.
She watched, entranced, her eyes filled with amazement.
Noticing her gaze, Rover walked over and asked softly, "Do you like it?"
Cartethyia snapped back to reality and nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Rover then said to the old man, "Please make a starfish-shaped one for us."
Soon, a starfish hairpin emitting a soft blue light was finished. Rover took it from the stall owner and personally placed it in Cartethyia's hair.
"It suits you very well," he smiled.
Cartethyia's face was instantly dyed with a faint blush. Her fingers lightly touched the hairpin, and ripples of joy rippled in her icy blue eyes as she mumbled softly, "Th... thank you, Righteous One."
The Shorekeeper stood to the side, quietly watching this scene. No fluctuation could be seen in her expression.
The group continued to weave through the stalls. Along the way, the topic of the mysterious masked man accompanying The Shorekeeper quickly spread through the celebration, and people's curiosity was suspended higher and higher.
At another throwing game, Camellya clamored for a competition with Rover. Unexpectedly, the latter showed no intention of showing tender affection for a woman and didn't hold back at all. As a result, she lost more than she won. Camellya pouted, pretending to be angry but actually full of excitement.
Finally, their footsteps stopped in front of a row of mouth-watering food stalls. The wide variety of delicacies was dazzling.
_____
+50 advanced chapters monthly on my patreon, join now and read...
Patreon.com/IndifferentVillain
Ur support keeps me motivated thanks in advance.
Chapter 55 is out on my patreon!!!!!
________