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"North of Dadaupa Gorge, along the cliffs near Falcon Coast—the map marks this general area…"
"But there's no lantern here. Come to think of it, the prophecy never actually described what the 'lantern of utmost joy' looks like either… Are we being too hasty?"
"Everyone's already been troubled to help for this long. It's too late to back out now—let's trust our divination skills!"
"It's fine. If it really doesn't work, I can divinate it myself."
"No no, really, no need! Lumine, hurry and check—does the divination result say anything else?"
"'Look up and ask the sky for answers.' That's what the divination says."
"Why is your divination result written on a little slip of paper?"
"Don't worry about that! But there's nothing in the sky… Lumine, is there more?"
"'Now it's time to recite the incantation…?' That's what it says."
"What incantation?"
"'Place the squirrel on the back of the round-eared cat, and the devout little dog will pull open the door ring for you.' That's all."
At first glance, this incantation sounded no different from the invalid one. But upon closer inspection, Victor Wang realized that Alice had changed "place the squirrel on the back of the pointy-eared cat" into "place the squirrel on the back of the round-eared cat." No wonder she had smugly said it was something that would be "absolutely impossible to guess."
"It doesn't seem like anything's happening?"
The moment Paimon voiced her doubt, whoosh—a fierce gale suddenly rose. Beyond the cliff, a powerful wind current appeared, stretching straight up into the sky. Slightly below it, an equally abrupt small island materialized.
"There it is, there it is! Looks like that's the final destination—let's go!"
Without even using the wind current, Paimon charged ahead and flew up first. Before everyone else arrived, she was already reporting from the island: "There's a table that looks like it's for hosting a tea party! A gramophone, seven chairs, a huge sun umbrella, a full tea set—wow, it looks so relaxing! And there's a lantern… a lantern! Hurry up and come over, this has to be the lantern of utmost joy, right?!"
"This lantern is really beautiful."
"But the way it's positioned—doesn't it look like it's deliberately aimed at four of the seven chairs?"
"Let me see… There's writing on the chair backs… 'Take a seat, answer, dispel doubts.' The hint is concise—seems like it wants us to sit on these chairs and answer questions."
"To be safe, let's check it first."
Amid everyone's discussion, despite already having a guess in mind, Albedo still pulled at the chairs and tapped the table, conducting a thorough inspection.
Seeing this, Mona finally couldn't resist probing the place with astrology. But just as she spread out her hydromancy chart and spun it a couple of times, she let out a small gasp.
"What's wrong?" Paimon asked with concern.
"There's a mysterious atmosphere here… The moment I use astrology; I feel like someone's staring at me. It's like… it's like…"
"Like what?"
"Like I'm facing the old hag…"
"Your master?"
"Sigh… Forget it. I don't have any proof, but my divination won't work here."
"It's fine." Albedo had just finished checking things over. He said, "Aside from anomalies affecting astrology, everything here is normal. No traps, no mechanisms, and no obvious destructive devices… This suggests that the prophecy may allow for trial and error."
"Then let's try answering the four riddles now!"
Under everyone's expectant gazes, the four final candidates took their seats on the four chairs corresponding to the lantern of utmost joy.
Albedo: "The flower that does not exist—Abiogenesis: Solar Isotoma."
Mona: "Astrologers like us absolutely qualify as guides who never lose their way."
Noelle: "I am a person who does not lie."
Victor Wang: "Stories passed down continuously by humanity are legends that never end."
"It lit up! All four sides of the lantern are glowing!!"
"And then… the supreme blessing?"
"Could it be that we're supposed to make a wish directly to the lantern, like Aladdin's lantern?"
"Then should we wipe it first?"
"Hold on." Albedo stood up and said to Mona, who was closest to him, "I have an idea. Could we switch seats?"
…
"W-What's going on? Just sitting on the chairs—without answering anything—makes the lantern light up?"
As the only person present who had seen through the trick behind the prophecy, Albedo bore the responsibility of shattering everyone's illusion. He explained patiently, "Although what we obtained truly is an ancient and mysterious prophecy, this lantern is not the 'lantern of utmost joy' that grants supreme blessings. It's merely a small signal."
"How could that be… So that means…?"
As the initiator of the entire operation, Sucrose took the hardest blow. Even Collei, who had been looking forward to the supreme blessing, immediately turned to look at her with concern.
Lumine frowned as well. It was Venti who had told her this prophecy was meaningful, and only then did Sucrose and Collei… and everyone else, begin to hold expectations…
Paimon said blankly, "Our efforts… all our efforts were for nothing?"
"Not at all. How could you say they were wasted? Honestly, I didn't expect you to actually find this place."
"Who's there?!"
A stranger's voice rang out. Cyno instantly went on alert, and everyone turned toward the source of the sound—only to see a woman dressed in a Snezhnayan style landing right at the edge of the tea party island.
Paimon said in confusion, "Scarlett? What are you doing here?"
Scarlett smiled and waved at the familiar faces. "We meet again, everyone. Luckily, you were all focused on the prophecy, so you had no time to mind a little follower like me."
"Is that so? Then why does this 'little follower' have someone following her as well?" Albedo said calmly.
"Correction—that one is a follower following the follower." After judging the newcomer's strength, Cyno relaxed as well.
"There's someone behind me? Oh my, really?"
Scarlett kept smiling, but the follower was indeed already standing behind her. She had no choice but to turn around and, for the first time, greet the other party proactively.
Rosaria showed no courtesy. "Save the pleasantries. You know I'm here for you."
"Just because I'm a guest from a foreign land?"
"I saw you sneak into the 'With Wind Comes Glory.'"
"So, you started following me that early? You know, that was two weeks ago."
"I work every day. It's hard not to notice you."
"Alright then, I'll admit it. I'm the one who slipped that prophecy into the fairy tale book."
"Why would you do that?" Collei asked, clenching her fists with indignation at being deceived. "Th-That wasn't a real prophecy?"
"Don't worry. Even though someone like me, with an unclear background, is indeed suspicious, the prophecy written on that slip of paper is absolutely genuine. As for the one who entrusted me with the prophecy… someone present may have heard her name. She comes from an ancient female assembly, where each member uses a letter as a codename. Her codename is 'J.'"
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