Chapter 1513: Chapter 1507: Precious Bait
The sky in the world of Singing Forest darkened, and more people appeared on the streets.
Most of the city’s inhabitants had more time to join the festival at night.
So when Ronald and Costate returned to the square with their captive, it was already bustling with more singing competition participants, along with a larger audience than during the day.
At the judges’ table encircled by lit torches, Ronald once again saw Orel and Martha.
After a whole day of communication, the King of Giant Beasts and the Sacred Priest finally felt exhausted.
Thus, they ceased their communication and began watching the singers’ performances at the judges’ table, starting to perform tasks matching their own positions.
Noticing Ronald’s return, Orel was the first to speak:
"Mr. Ronald, it seems you’ve reaped quite a harvest?"
"Indeed, a considerable harvest." Ronald nodded, though his tone was quite serious, hinting that his intentions were not simple, "But Orel, I’ve returned with questions now."
"..."
The King of Giant Beasts’ face turned solemn upon hearing this.
"With questions?"
"Are they related to me, or do these people have other arrangements that need coordination here?"
Ronald shook his head in denial, then answered straightforwardly:
"I want to know more about the Sacred City, especially about the divine essence that was sealed along with the Sacred City until now."
Orel had obviously not expected to hear these words from Ronald.
The King of Giant Beasts was momentarily at a loss for words, unable to speak.
In contrast, Martha, who had entered this domain, was calmer and immediately joined the conversation upon hearing Ronald’s question:
"Mr. Ronald, what do you mean by that?"
"As far as I know, the deity we worship should have already departed, and His divine essence should have disappeared along with Him. I wonder if there’s some misunderstanding..."
It seemed like Martha wanted to defend Orel.
After all, in the eyes of this Sacred Priest, the departure of the deity and His divine essence was accurate information written in the mystical scrolls, supported by the testimony of Orel and Singing Forest.
She couldn’t readily accept Ronald’s statement.
Facing the questioning, Ronald candidly revealed the truth:
"I am not referring to that deity’s divine essence."
"Rather, it’s about a time long ago, before the Sacred City was sealed, when the church’s two factions just began to split..."
"Enough!" Suddenly, Orel interrupted Ronald, "Mr. Ronald, discussing this matter here is inappropriate, let’s change the venue."
Orel’s abrupt loss of composure not only interrupted the dialogue but also left Martha, who was speaking on his behalf, embarrassed.
However, for the King of Giant Beasts, Ronald’s question was too crucial.
He disregarded everything else and directly used his ability to split into two complete entities as if from a single body.
Facing this spectacle, Ronald’s gaze intensified.
He tried his best to discern, realizing that both images of Orel were identical in both appearance and essence. Even special details like Magic Fluctuation showed no difference.
This was evidently one of Orel’s trump cards.
His willingness to expose such a powerful ability for this matter indicated he understood the gravity of the situation.
"Follow me."
One of the Orels stood up from his seat, leading the way from the square. The other duplicate remained in the judges’ seat, responsible for maintaining and advancing the ceremony’s process.
Ronald and the others exchanged a glance, then promptly followed to leave.
...
Orel’s strides were steady as he departed the square, heading towards a specific destination.
The group followed him through the streets, pushing past the festival-going residents, and arrived at their destination a quarter hour later.
Leaving the congested streets behind.
In front of them appeared a wooden house.
However, unlike the surrounding citizens’ homes, this simple two-story wooden lodge emitted a subtle sound.
Ronald listened carefully, his pupils instantly losing focus, and he forgot why he came here in the first place.
When he came to his senses a second later, he realized—the house had been enchanted with a spell of subconscious interference, causing people to overlook its presence.
Moreover, leveraging the unique worldview of Singing Forest.
This power was entirely derived from singing, devoid of any Magic Power.
Therefore, even the most outstanding Casters might be unknowingly affected by it. Ronald only became aware of this due to the influence of the target and surrounding peers.
"Mr. Ronald, you’re truly remarkable." Orel’s praise sounded.
The King of Giant Beasts took out a key to unlock the house and simultaneously awakened the others affected by the singing.
In fact, aside from Ronald, only Costate remained conscious. Martha and the other two church members only recognized the existence of the wooden lodge after being awakened from their stupor by Orel.
—Even if they came intentionally.
—Most would still ignore the lodge.
The group followed Orel inside to find, beyond the basic furnishings, most places occupied by books and scrolls.
This was a library, or in terms of scale, it should be called a study.
A storeroom of historical records.
At first glance, this was the impression the house gave.
But beneath the ordinary exterior lay a more astonishing truth.
Although suppressed to a quite peaceful level, Ronald’s perception could still detect several spots inside emitting a steady and strong magic fluctuation—this was the Magic Power trait of the original script!
In this house, at least three original scripts were preserved!
Any mysterious Caster entering the house would find it hard to ignore such attractive and valuable items!
"The original scripts here are merely bait."
At this moment, Orel suddenly spoke, interrupting everyone’s shocked thoughts.
The King of Giant Beasts led them up the stairs to the second floor, explaining as he ascended:
"If the singing’s concealment is accidentally broken."
"Then any intruder discovering these original scripts would surely think they are the greatest treasure and, in temptation, take them away swiftly, averting detection."
Martha promptly asked: "Are these original scripts fake?"
Orel shook his head in denial: "No, they are real. Only with significant value can the misleading effect be truly reliable."
Ronald, following behind, joined in: "Objects used for concealment cannot be more precious than the real treasure."
At this moment, Orel had reached the second floor.
He proceeded directly to the bookshelf near the window, his fingers gently brushing over the neatly aligned book spines:
"Of course, but understanding the value here requires a certain threshold."
"At least in our era, most people facing ordinary original scripts and books would not believe the former holds greater worth."
