Chapter 3465: A Special Ball

"What are you talking about?"

Claire smiled and hugged Xia De, feeling quite happy inside. However, Elder Harald was very unhappy right now; he wished he could immediately pull his granddaughter away, grab Xia De by the collar, and interrogate him:

"Using this kind of weather-altering relic in the Snow Mountain Hall—are you afraid the churches in the city won't come to cause us trouble?"

Even if the Orthodox Churches allowed the Fatu people to engage in actions that would be considered violations elsewhere, using a relic to alter the weather on a large scale was forbidden everywhere—especially since Xia De had no legitimate reason; he just wanted to dance with the young ladies.

Emilia appeared in the town, bouncing and hopping, not long after. Xi Wei, who had missed the dancing yesterday, also arrived shortly after. Sylvia, who should have come, did not show up tonight, though she left a note in the Council for Xi Wei and Claire, explaining that she had to handle some tricky matters with Margaret in Willendale tonight and had even asked for leave from the Council meeting later.

The Council meeting that night started at seven, so the Great Witches still had time to do their own things before then. Claire had to attend the Fatu banquet in the Snow Mountain Hall, which she considered a rather boring social obligation with relatives.

Xia De had also received an invitation, so he appeared in the banquet hall of the Snow Mountain Hall with Xi Wei at 6:30.

This banquet hall, usually empty, was finally fulfilling its original purpose today. The hundred-meter-long table, pieced together, was surrounded by Fatu people, and there were five such long tables in the hall.

The banquet hall was brightly lit, with gas lamps illuminating the various delicacies and drinks spread across the tables. The Fatu people, dressed in their traditional attire, were either sitting together eating, drinking, and having fun, or standing by the tables catching up and discussing the grandeur of this year's All Souls' Day.

However, by 6:50, Claire left the table with Xi Wei, who was sitting with Xia De, and took their respective apprentices to the 【Witch Council】.

Considering that Claire might come back to take Ali away in a while, Xia De also stood up and quietly left the banquet hall, then found Emilia in the unicorn den, who was reading a storybook to Ali and little Liana:

"... Snow White took a bite of the poisoned apple and immediately fell at the door of the dwarf's cottage, breathless. The Queen, disguised as an old witch, left satisfied, and by the time the dwarves returned from work in the evening, Snow White had already lost her life."

Then Emilia did not continue; instead, she closed the storybook and said to Ali quite seriously:

"From this story, we can learn: although apples are delicious, you shouldn't just eat apples given by strangers. If you're not careful, you'll end up like the kind princess in the story and be killed. Ali, do you understand?"

"Ang~"

This sound came from little Liana. Emilia hurriedly whispered:

"I know there's a sequel to this story, but that's not the point; you don't need to point it out."

"Ang~"

This time it was Ali who made the sound, and Emilia frowned in distress:

"What? You heard this story from your previous owner, and the maid told it to you? Oh, the story of Snow White originated from an era earlier than the early Fifth Era, right? It doesn't matter; the moral is the same. Ali, you must not eat apples handed to you by others."

"Ang~"

Xia De entered the room after Emilia finished her "unicorn safety education," and Emilia stood up with the fairy tale book, smiling:

"Isn't there a banquet? Why did you come to find me again? It's okay, don't worry about me; I'm very happy staying here with them."

Emilia had also received an invitation to the banquet, but she didn't want to attend a banquet where she didn't know anyone, so she was hiding here for some peace and quiet.

"Claire and Xi Wei will probably need some time before they return. The topic of Ali becoming a registered unicorn of the Council will only be brought up at the end of the meeting. Let's go play on the *Radiant Messenger* now, and bring Ali and little Liana along."

So Xia De and Emilia each rode a unicorn, flying from the Snow Mountain Hall toward the snow mountain, and then circled back along the coastline to the town pier.

After the unicorns landed on the deck, Miss Ilithyia came to greet them. And on the *Radiant Messenger*, Xia De saw an unexpected guest:

"Miss Winnie, why are you here?"

The ice maid, who should have been in the Ice Castle, was now in the banquet hall of the *Radiant Messenger*, but not as a maid; she was there as a guest. This was the first time Xia De had seen her outside the castle.

The ship girl explained:

"I invited Winnie here as a guest through Miss Swift. We were talking about things from the Fifth Era. Xia De, do you need dinner prepared? Is the Fatu people's dinner palatable?"

They were definitely talking about more than just the past of the Fifth Era, but since the young ladies didn't want to say, Xia De didn't ask:

"No need. Emilia and I will just wander around and leave in a while. Let's dance together tonight, Miss Winnie; will you come too?"

"No, I have to return to the castle in a while. The fluctuations of elements at night will affect the portal, and I have to go back to manage it."

The ice maid shook her head with a smile, and Xia De took Emilia to the deck. The *Radiant Messenger* was now docked at the town pier. Looking at the sea from the stern of the ship, because there were sea cliffs on both sides, it felt like looking out from a canyon.

They stayed on the ship for about an hour, and after calculating the time, they returned to the Snow Mountain Hall. At this time, Claire had just gone to the unicorn den to find Ali; her proposal had already passed the Council's vote, and all the Great Witches welcomed Ali's addition.

However, becoming a "registered unicorn" didn't entail too many responsibilities for Ali. Claire had already declared in the Council that Ali had her own freedom, and the witches understood this.

Claire took Ali back to the Council, but Xi Wei did not go back. She brought good news to Xia De, who was standing outside the unicorn den:

"The Speaker has consulted ancient books and learned information about the Unknown-level fate relic."

She told Xia De that 【Ouroboros's Eye】, 【If】, and 【Chronicle of Ages】 were the superior substitutes for the other three Angel-level relics, and that using the power of the three relics could maximize protection against the effects of Angel-level relics.

"Is it enough just to have used them? I should have used the *Chronicle of Ages* in the library, so does that mean I am now unaffected by 【Puppeteer's Script】?"

Xi Wei shook her head:

"I don't know about that; that's what the Speaker said. However, she didn't mention the source of this information. Megan and Audrey have read almost all the books in the Council and have never seen such information, and I don't know where she learned it... But after all, she is our leader, so it's normal for her to know more than we do.

But it seems the Speaker is not in a particularly good mood today. Although she didn't lose her temper, she seemed angry when she spoke, and I don't know what happened. Come, Xia De, let's go back to the banquet hall and have a couple more drinks with me. This is a banquet, after all; let's not discuss anything else."

The Fatu people's banquet on the second day of All Souls' Day would last until dawn. It would only end after they sent off the warriors who were climbing the mountain with torches.

However, Claire didn't want to stay here all night, so at 9:30 that night, Claire, who had brought Ali back, quietly slipped out of the Snow Mountain Hall with Xia De and Xi Wei. They didn't forget to call Emilia, who was still telling stories to the unicorns, and they all went to the town pier.

Because the weather tonight was significantly better than yesterday, the number of tourists gathered at the pier for the bonfire party was still about two-thirds of yesterday's.

Xia De held the young ladies' hands and originally intended to go over to dance, but Xi Wei pulled Xia De back:

"Not that way, this way."

She pointed to the *Radiant Messenger* with a smile. Xia De, Claire, Miss Aurora, Stella, and Emilia also followed onto the ship. Miss Swift, who was helping to maintain the portal, was also here tonight. The *Radiant Messenger*, disguised as a small boat, slowly sailed out of the town pier and didn't stop until the bonfire at the pier was left with only traces like starlight.

At this time, the young ladies had already gone to their rooms to change into clothes for the "ball." Claire, wearing an eye-catching orange-red evening gown, looked down at the deck:

"Xi Wei, do you want to dance with Xia De on the sea?"

She was not satisfied with this venue:

"It's pitch black here; I think it's not as good as the pier in Kyle-Todd Town. If you don't want to stay with so many people, we could actually go dance on the roof of the Snow Mountain Hall."

The Great Witch of Light tossed her long brown wavy hair:

"Claire, you need to have some imagination."

Saying this, she stood by the deck railing and called out to the sea in a non-human language; it was the language of mermaids.

Then, hundreds of mermaid girls emerged from under the water. They waved to the group on the deck and then dispersed on the sea in front of the bow.

I don't know what means these mermaid girls used, but dots of light gradually spread from under the sea to the surface. Then, those blue and silver lights bloomed in the seawater and finally formed a circular glowing area with a diameter of about 400 feet at the bow of the *Radiant Messenger*.

The outermost edge of the circular area was silver, the inside was filled with blue, and the very center was a silver pentagram. Because of the mermaid girls' spellcasting, various colored light spots kept surging within the blue area; in short, it looked quite impressive. ===== CHAPTER 3466 =====