Angor left Lady Mirror’s place on uncertain steps.
Her request was a bit… distasteful.
Just a while ago, he told Lady Mirror in all seriousness that a solid gift was always better than empty promises.
And Lady Mirror declared that she wanted both.
An hour ago…
“Now, let’s talk about the surprise you’re going to present me.”
Angor put on a serious attitude and nodded.
Despite being inside her private chamber, she still asked Angor to move closer so she could whisper into the boy’s ears.
“Do you know about the ‘Phantom of Festivity’?”
“Phantom of Festivity?” Angor tilted his head. “Is it someone’s title?”
“No.” Lady Mirror shook her head and glanced at Angor as if looking at someone very pathetic. “You’re about the age to think about women. How could you not know this opera?”
Women?? Angor suddenly got a really bad feeling about this.
“You… never went to Midnight Sovereign, did you?” Lady Mirror raised an eyebrow.
Midnight Sovereign was the capital of Darkivil Empire as well as the home of Twilight Well.
“I didn’t. But I’ll head there this afternoon,” Angor said.
“This afternoon? Oh, it’s about time for the midyear grand auction? Good. You can go to the Enchanting Theater to watch the show.”
“Enchanting Theater? So I can go watch an opera called ‘Phantom of Festivity’ from there?”
Lady Mirror nodded. “That’s right. It’s a famous musical. I have some picture collection here from when the opera was in its best years, take a look.”
She found a transparent, square-shaped crystal from a corner of the room.
“A transmitter produced by Floating Mech City. This one’s a lot easier to use compared to the balls. You know alchemy, right? Next time you see that Rein kid, tell him that I want all crystal balls replaced. I’ve been looking at them for thousands of years and I’m so fed up,” Lady Mirror complained while putting mana into the transmitter.
Someone that governs the transmitters in the entire Brute Cavern? Angor already realized who Lady Mirror was referring to by “Rein Kid”. It had to be ‘Silencer’ Rein Mute, one of the most powerful figures in the south.
Angor could only stay quiet at Lady Mirror’s complaint. It was totally fine for her to address Mister Rein like that. But it did not mean that Angor himself could play along. He still remembered how a simple silencing aura produced by Rein easily muted the entire Phantom Island.
Lady Mirror found several pictures in the transmitter and showed them to Angor.
Angor found the pictures somewhat clearer to observe in the square transmitter. His hologram tablet also had a square screen.
But his ease was instantly replaced by disgust when looking at the images. He could not fix his eyes on the content of the pictures at all because they were so… ridiculous!
The first picture showed a brown-haired lady with elegantly-designed bubble skirt dancing around a feast, while all the other guests were nobles in their formal attire.
There was nothing special about this one. In Angor’s own view, the lady had to be someone’s wife or a noble guest herself, judging from the conservative and constrained styles she was wearing.
But Angor’s face quickly turned red when looking at the second picture.
“This-this is-”
Lady Mirror chuckled. “How does it look?”
Angor stuttered and could not make out a complete sentence.
The “noble lady” suddenly displayed a different manner in the second picture by flirting around all the gentlemen in a very explicit way, and it only looked like things would become worse from here.
Angor looked away from the transmitter. “I forgot to ask, why did you tell me about the Phantom of Festivity?”
Lady Mirror smiled. “Come on, check out the last picture. That one’s the biggest blast.”
Angor turned his stiff neck back and complied.
As he expected, the last picture was downright unacceptable to look at.
A theater put on such an adult show in public? Performed by nobility?
Angor knew that there were a good number of noblemen who tended to lead an extravagant life. But a noble should always maintain two things in front of everyone: honor and baseline.
A noble’s baseline determined his or her identity, while “honor” was something that they mostly regarded as important in public. Angor remembered how he heard a story about a viscount family in Waterford, where their horsekeeper and gardener fell in love with each other and had their love story exposed by accident. Usually, the love between two lowly servants was not anything serious. However, fearing that something could go wrong and “dishonor” the family, the viscount still expelled them, along with their families.
Such an overreaction proved that nobles valued their honor really badly.
This opera though… showed noblemen doing filthy promiscuous action in broad daylight. How was something like this even allowed in a theater?
Lady Mirror spoke against Angor’s embarrassed silence. “I mentioned the show because I find the opera quite creative.”
Creative?? Angor would really like to lecture whoever it was about the standard of nobility if it was not Lady Mirror in front of him.
“I want my surprise to be something similar like Journey in Heaven, which combined an illusion like the opera with a music piece. Can you do it?”
Her tone did not sound like a question.
Angor hesitated. His bad feeling had become a reality.
Of course, he could make something like that, but…
Angor took a deep breath and attempted to refuse in an indirect way. “Making the item is no problem, lady. But I’ve never seen—”
“I told you to go watch the show, didn’t I? You’re going to Midnight Sovereign anyway, might as well broaden your view a little. I mean, come on, at least get some knowledge about how to do business with a girl, if you ever get your hands on one.”
But that’s not the point here! Angor blushed. “I’ve no, um, experience, so my illusion might seem off in a lot of ways.”
Lady Mirror stroked Angor’s cheek and silently exclaimed on the perfect quality of the boy’s skin.
“I didn’t say anything about making those dirty scenes. I’m only asking for an alchemy item similar to Journey in Heaven, which tells a meaningful story.”
Angor was still stumped. How the heck did someone tell a “meaningful story” by using horny men and uncontrolled women?
Lady Mirror shook her head. “The Phantom of Festivity might not have a good story in it, but you can learn something from it and make something else. I’m not asking for the opera, but a similar story. Think this way: you can put some handsomes on your floating island, or create a scene where a queen is getting crowned. Of course, there are always handsome men around queens, right? Or, you can use a piece of sad music in the illusion to tell people that the gentlemen are gonna be disappointed…”
Angor kind of registered Lady Mirror’s idea. She simply wanted something both distasteful and meaningful.
“Distasteful” meant having gentlemen with obvious intentions, and “meaningful” meant they should not be TOO obvious.
How’s that even possible?!
“Can I just, add someone on the island while playing City of Sky?”
“Let me see… no. The music doesn’t go well with my ideal.”
Angor asked “Then what do you want me to do??” in his mind.
Lady Mirror waved an arm nonchalantly. “Just get your own ideas and bring the final product to me. And keep making new ones until I say yes. I can wait. Consider my favor repaid once you have me satisfied.”
Lady Mirror realized that she was being too harsh to a promising young man, so she decided to add something. “If you can do it, I’ll gift you a special destiny as a reward.”
Angor had nothing to reject the request by now. He only nodded helplessly.
While trying to think about possible ways to fulfill Lady Mirror’s strange conditions, Angor asked a question, about which he would regret for the next half month.
“Can I use someone that exists in reality in the illusion?”
Lady Mirror almost danced when hearing the question.
“Now that’s what I’m expecting from you! Such innovation!”
Innovation?! Where?
Lady Mirror moved closer to Angor again and spoke in a small voice, “Have you ever witnessed your professor without his clothes on?”
Angor’s eyes widened in horror. He realized he just dug his own grave.
“No no no, never!” Angor quickly shook his head as madly as possible.
“Tsk. Pity. Give him clothes then. And I do trust that you’ll create something real. You’re his personal student, after all.”
“Can-can I use someone else?” Angor tried desperately.
“You can. Put yourself in there then. I’d enjoy it. Aw, look at your hair, so adorable!” Lady Mirror covered her mouth and chuckled. “Since you know full well of your own body, don’t you dare cover yourself up.”
“Um, I think we should talk about how to make Professor Sunders more real.” Angor cleared his throat. “I believe he is not going to mind this matter.”
Lady Mirror grinned and carried a wooden basket to Angor with her mana.
Angor saw several paper rolls inside the basket.
“These are portraits I received from Bolisa. You can have a look.”