Super Righteous Player
Chapter 479 - 20 "The Charlatan and the Missionary"_1

Chapter 479: Chapter 20 "The Charlatan and the Missionary"_1

"Speak, child."

Despite being attacked, Giralda’s face showed not a hint of anger.

"What is your name? Why did you attack me, a passerby?"

He was merely toying with the spoils of war in his hand, kindly asking, "Who sent you here?"

His face still bore a gentle and calm smile, but rather than warming the heart, it only served to chill one to the bone.

The werewolf girl with her hands tied behind her back, cowering and kneeling before Annan, couldn’t help but show a look of fear at just a glance from Annan.

She surely knew of the existence of Transcendents.

Or more accurately... when she decided to embark on this path, she had already prepared herself for the possibility of dying at the hands of a Transcendent someday.

But having this expectation didn’t mean she would directly challenge the dignity of a Transcendent.

"Why, why..."

Although Annan had asked her, the werewolf girl had already lost the rationality to answer this question.

She hadn’t seen the so-called "carrier".

Not even a bronze accessory.

Yet the cursed item she had, which could make people obey her every word... was simply flicked away by him.

And why... did the Frost Beast obey his orders?

It’s all over, everything is over...

She was just shivering, murmuring softly.

In her dark, lusterless pupils, the almost fully manifest fear was reflected.

And before her, at Giralda’s feet, crouched a half-transparent white Specter wolf.

——But it was in fact not a wolf nor a dog, but a Frost Beast.

It was full and content, happily wagging its tail, rubbing vigorously against Giralda’s legs with its body, weaving between the man’s legs like a pet dog.

The affection that sated the Frost Beast naturally came from the werewolf girl.

After being drained by the Frost Beast, she completely lost her will to resist; she didn’t dare to flee or to fight back. Her spirit instantly became listless, her thoughts pale and weak.

And Annan was amusing himself with the two crystal bells.

They were the cursed items he had taken from the werewolf girl:

["The Charlatan and the Missionary"]

[Type: Jewelry/Artefact (Purple)]

[Description: Two crystal bells tied together, one white and the other purple. Shaking either bell alone produces no sound, but unexpected things happen if both are shaken at the same time.]

[Effect: When both bells are shaken together, they simultaneously cast "Friendship Spell" (with an effect identical to the spell of the same name from the School of Prophets) and "Heart Control" (with an effect identical to the spell of the same name from the Soul Snatching School) on a designated target; this effect can only be activated once per day and resets at sunrise (already activated today).]

[Cost: Shaking the bells draws the attention of everyone around.]

——This was undoubtedly a very precious cursed item.

It was completely ineffective on Annan because Giralda’s body was not only immune to mind control but also skewed away spells from the School of Prophets and idol schools below the gold tier.

Using spells from the Soul Snatching School and idol schools to attack Annan ended with no result whatsoever.

But being ineffective on Annan didn’t mean it was not useful.

Its cost could not counter its powerful and extremely practical effects, which operated discreetly. Even the cost itself could serve as a group taunt.

Purple artefacts...

Purple items were not gold items; they were valuable but not that precious. They could indeed be fabricated from cursed materials and high-level influences.

But that being said.

Could a werewolf, not even a Transcendent—indeed, someone lowly and discriminated against in the Winter—truly possess such a powerful item?

Annan was just an exception among exceptions.

These two spells, if used together, were almost guaranteed to hit their mark without any defense— even against a silver-tier Transcendent.

The Friendship Spell, which generated goodwill and lowered the guard of others, with the right words, could also make people feel a sense of kinship with the caster. Using Heart Control at this time not only increased the success rate but also made the recipient unaware that they were being controlled— the experience from the Friendship Spell would override any irrational behavior during the manipulation.

Whether it was to ingratiate oneself with some merchant or noble, or to form a bond with a Transcendent... it could even be used to commit murder.

As long as one’s social skills were sufficient and didn’t arouse suspicion, it was almost akin to the mysterious hypnosis found in odd stories.

To possess such a powerful tool and use it only as a mind thief...

...well.

To Annan, it felt like using a time-stop spell every day just to steal pancakes from the vendor downstairs.

"My name is... Dorin, sir,"

Dorin’s emotions had somewhat stabilized; at least, she could speak in broken sentences now.

The fear in her eyes had not dissipated—without any positive emotions, the world itself seemed like hell. Any negative emotion would inflate without end if left unchecked.

"No one sent me... It’s true!"

She nearly wailed in her defense, "But, but, sir—

"Someone did tell me... It was yesterday, they said that some wealthy Noah merchants would arrive here today. He didn’t say what you looked like; I just heard you had a Noah accent... I didn’t intend to steal your emotions, to sell them to others, but to sell them back to you..."

The werewolf Dorin’s words were a bit jumbled, but Annan could grasp the gist.

It seemed someone had informed Dorin of Annan’s party’s itinerary, prompting her to intercept them here.

But... yesterday?

His brows furrowed slightly.

That indeed was the time they had left Noah. However, the news of their departure hadn’t been shared with many, and according to their original plan, they should still have been in Noah at this moment.

It was because Nicolas was released by the Stone Father, and because Kafney was about to ascend to the throne.

And the final decision had been made by Annan himself.

...Who leaked the information to Dorin?

What was their purpose?

Was it to use this cursed object on Annan—or someone close to Annan? Or was it to draw Annan’s attention to her?

Because Dorin resembled Bella?

That would be unfortunate, for Annan had no memory of it.

But judging by age... Bella would have been seventeen or eighteen when Annan was around eight or nine. Dorin, right now, appeared to be only about thirteen or fourteen, which made the possibility of her being a direct daughter or a sister somewhat off.

Annan pondered for a moment, then asked gently, "What exactly did he tell you, little girl?

"Don’t be nervous, take your time... Did he mention how many people? What did they look like, any distinctive features? Can you tell me who he is?"

"...No, he didn’t,"

Dorin shook her head, hesitantly continuing, "He mentioned there would be two men and two women... That’s all he said. So I wasn’t very sure if it was correct...

"He’s my ’teacher’. This cursed object was a gift from him."

"Do you know his name?"

Annan asked without much hope, as if it were a formality, "Or maybe a nickname would do."

"I do."

Unexpectedly, Dorin answered readily, "He said his name was Nicolas Flamel."

Dorin pronounced the name, slightly distorted by her Winter accent.

But Annan immediately recognized what it was.

So-called Nicolas Flamel...

—was merely another way of pronouncing Nicholas Flamell’s name.