Super Righteous Player
Chapter 356 - 353: The Ever-Changing One_1

Chapter 356: Chapter 353: The Ever-Changing One_1

"..."

The delicious wind goose stared at the elder who had died days before.

His body was skinny as firewood, yet his belly was slightly bulging.

It was cold here, and underground, so there was no buzzing of flies, yet one could still see the grey-white moths covering the old man’s face.

The delicious wind goose felt as if something was stuck in his throat.

Was it sorrow? Or was it fear?

He didn’t ponder over it much and turned his head back as if nothing had happened.

"... Yes, I’ve made up my mind. There’s no need for me to waste time here."

He turned back, answering Claus respectfully and humbly, "Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you everything."

"Very well."

Claus nodded slightly, satisfied.

There was still caution in his gaze.

Standing outside the cell, he began to inquire, "What do you know?"

"That ’Tan Juan Geraint’ from Frostwater Harbor, our lord, is not the true Tan Juan Geraint."

The delicious wind goose answered rapidly, "This is what the Lord Viscount from Roth Fort said in person."

"Alvin Barber?"

Claus frowned slightly, calling the deceased by his name, "What did he say?"

"He called ’Tan Juan’ ’His Highness Annan’."

The delicious wind goose lowered his voice and answered earnestly, "And I’ve investigated... there is only one His Highness Annan—

"And I’ve seen Tan Juan Geraint use the Frost Sword Technique. As a swordsmanship instructor, I can recognize it’s definitely the Frost Sword Technique. Although there’s no more evidence, I think this is enough to prove that ’Tan Juan’ is actually ’Annan Winter’."

"... An Annan Winter, ah."

Claus frowned slightly and muttered quietly, "No wonder... Hmm, this would also explain that..."

He fell silent for a moment, then raised his head to say earnestly, "Can you be held accountable for your words?"

"Get a Decree Wizard here. I can swear on anything I’ve just said."

The delicious wind goose answered with certainty, "Because I have no reason to lie."

Although he had never seen it, he indeed knew that Viscount Alvin definitely called Annan "His Highness" and was absolutely aware of Annan’s true identity; he had also witnessed with his own eyes Annan using the Frost Sword Technique. Even if a Decree Wizard were called, he would answer the same.

Claus frowned slightly.

Feeling the ample confidence of the delicious wind goose, he began to hesitate as well.

"... You are quite straightforward. Why didn’t you say so earlier?"

"It’s not that I didn’t want to say."

The delicious wind goose replied calmly, "To be honest, I wanted to sell this information at a higher price... You were hanging me out to dry, and wasn’t I doing the same to you? After all, this information has no value for me. Still, it might influence Prince Philip’s decisions.

"His Highness Annan is not the genuine ’Tan Juan Geraint’ after all; he is from Winter... and I am a Transcendent of Noah. His fondness for me, my loyalty to him, they are worthless. Unless absolutely necessary, I couldn’t possibly serve him."

Yes.

Claus nodded unconsciously.

——He was right.

If Annan’s identity was exposed, the delicious wind goose wouldn’t be able to leave Noah on his own.

Transcendents wishing to cross the border can only do so via The Holy Nation’s steam airships or the underground railway.

This meant that even if he served Annan and offered all his loyalty... If Annan completed his secret mission and withdrew, it would obviously be more convenient to leave without him; and if Annan’s identity was exposed, he would inevitably be sought after as well.

A wanted Transcendent could not leave Noah by any means. Even if the officials did not pursue him, he would have to dodge Hunters while trying to survive in secrecy within the country.

On the other hand...

Prince Philip is indeed one of the few royal heirs currently, and he possesses a not-so-small advantage. If he becomes the new King, he could immediately soar to great heights; even if Prince Philip fails, as long as he could advance to silver and even gold, he would still be recruited by the new King.

The moment he pledged loyalty, he already got a better deal than before.

Claus couldn’t help but take another look at the delicious wind goose.

He already knew the man was clever... And now, it seemed he was indeed very clever. Perhaps all of this was considered by him when he was captured, or even before then.

Smart people are more likely to advance because they can navigate nightmares more swiftly and perfectly.

But ordinary smart people like to show off small acts of intelligence, making themselves appear smarter than they actually are.

But the delicious wind goose didn’t conceal his plans at all—he even directly told Claus about his plan.

He could see the value of the information he held, and he knew his worth to Prince Philip as a calm and composed young Transcendent. So even though he was hung out for two days, he wasn’t the least bit frightened; he directly told Claus about the vital information, not worried that Claus would kill him to silence him...

Because the delicious wind goose knew, he couldn’t possibly die here.

He could guess that Claus must have already reported this information to Prince Philip—In this way, no matter what he said, Claus could not kill him, he couldn’t even resort to violence against him.

Otherwise, Claus himself would be the one under suspicion.

This was precisely why Claus stood at the doorway from the start, never approaching the Delicious Wind Goose up close.

He was worried that the Delicious Wind Goose might suddenly attack him, and he would be forced to subdue him—setting aside the resentment that would leave behind, the injury alone might cause Prince Philip to doubt him.

Of course.

All these analyses were based on one precondition...

—if the Delicious Wind Goose was truly a person from Noah.

"I believe you."

Claus’s tone had softened a great deal, "You’re truly very clever... this is excellent. Once you join us, it will surely lessen many of Prince Philip’s troubles."

"Doesn’t Prince Philip have any staff?"

"Of course he does, but there are certain things one simply cannot say to staff. The brains of ordinary people have no defenses; they don’t even have the right to know deeper secrets."

Claus approached the Delicious Wind Goose’s cell, opened the cell door, pulled the Delicious Wind Goose up from the ground, and dusted him off personally.

He spoke very earnestly, "You might become one of our colleagues in the future. But just to be safe—truly just to be safe, I cannot return your vessel to you for the moment. After all, Prince Philip has to personally verify your information and abilities... But I believe that you definitely won’t have any problems."

"Thank you for your kind words, senior."

The Delicious Wind Goose responded politely.

He stepped out of the cell, glanced nonchalantly at the adjacent cell, and casually asked, "By the way, who is this old gentleman? I suppose this isn’t just any ordinary prison, is it?"

"Of course not, don’t be misled by the appearance of only two cells here; this place is fortified with a barrier—if someone tries to break through the wall to escape, they would be electrocuted. Those detained here are all Transcendents... oh, that old man isn’t."

This was hardly a secret, so Claus responded readily, "He’s a Ritualist."

"A Ritualist? What crime did he commit?"

The Delicious Wind Goose inquired, "Can you tell me? I’m a little curious."

After all, he had seen the man’s corpse for several days; it was normal to have some doubts.

Claus nodded and explained, "Actually, it seems like he hasn’t committed any crime."

"Hasn’t committed a crime?"

"Right, he was brought here by the patrol. According to the law, Ritualists can be arrested without committing a crime—because they possess dangerous knowledge. Weapons can be Disarmed, but what about knowledge?"

Claus shrugged, "If they are unwilling to have their knowledge erased, then they have to be imprisoned. Of course, hiring Soul Reaping Wizards costs money, so normally they are just locked up. They’re provided with good food and drink.

"Maybe someday, one of the Ritualists in the prison will be needed."

"But his corpse hasn’t been collected..."

The Delicious Wind Goose wore a thoughtful expression, "Is it meant to psych me out?"

"Ah, that’s not it."

Claus couldn’t help but laugh a little, answering offhandedly, "I only noticed he was dead when I was questioning you that day. I thought to deal with his body when I left, but with so many things to remember, I forgot after I walked out the door. It really wasn’t intentional."

"Hmm, I think so too."

The Delicious Wind Goose smiled, "Who would that scare?"

"Exactly, we are all Transcendents, not ordinary people. Who hasn’t killed a few people? Placing a corpse here, apart from being disgusting, serves no purpose."

Claus casually agreed.

The Delicious Wind Goose glanced at the old man’s corpse.

...Something didn’t seem right.

Forget it?

A silver-tiered Transcendent... his personal abilities had already undergone transformation. Whether it was memory or logical thinking ability, both were radically different from that of ordinary humans.

Would he forget something this easily?

Rather, it was his train of thought that had been twisted, wasn’t it?

Moreover, with the Ritualist knowing so many rituals, even if he were imprisoned, he shouldn’t be here? Why were there no signs of interrogation on his body?

Having been hinted at, why hadn’t Claus realized that something was amiss here?

Hadn’t he seen those five apples? What about that bowl? Why had the one delivering meals not seen the old man, yet not taken away the corpse either?

Any way you looked at it, this was highly unnatural...

Yet the Delicious Wind Goose merely gazed deeply at the old man’s remains, then turned and walked away.

Shortly after he left,

The already long-dead old man, his body beginning to decompose, stirred ever so slightly and calmly opened his eyes.

"...Hmm."

He reached for the freshest apple on top, took a bite, and slowly chewed on it.

After finishing the apple, the old man finally got up.

The long-dead marks on his body had vanished without a trace. His face was silently and continuously changing, becoming another person in the blink of an eye, and then changing again; his thin and withered body also regained its fullness.

His face was still constantly shifting as he muttered to himself, "Annan? When did he come to Noah?

"...How come he didn’t write to inform me?"

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