A bowl of pasta was served. Zani hurriedly finished eating and hurriedly left.
"Hey."
Noah called Zani back, pointing at the cup on the table:
"Your coffee."
"Oh, thanks."
Zani glanced at her watch, hurried back, downed it in one gulp, and hurried off again.
"Don't go to work—you'll only become unhappy."
But from now on, at this exact time every day, this spot would probably become Zani's fixed daily location.
Noah shook his head, paid the bill, opened his umbrella, and left Trattoria Margherita.
The heavy rain came quickly and left just as fast. The downpour gradually subsided. He saw the rain-soaked puppet Echoes in Ragunna City lining up to bathe in the bathtub dog Echoes.
Honestly, watching each little puppet diligently scrubbing itself was unexpectedly adorable.
Putting away the umbrella, Noah quietly pondered.
No wonder the Echoes in Ragunna were generally cleaner, while those in Septimont were mostly filthy.
It turned out Ragunna had bathtub dogs, and Septimont did not.
At Ragunna's waterfront, Noah boarded a gondola to leave the city, then switched to a high-altitude messenger, occasionally shifting to soaring flight.
After rushing as fast as he could, spending quite a bit of time, he finally arrived at the Fisalia family estate—Porto-Veno Castle.
"Hello, I am a Resonator. Please pass on a message to your family head: I am very willing to help her resolve the troubles plaguing the Fisalia family."
"Understood. Please wait a moment."
Watching the maid bow and depart from the gate, Noah rubbed his hands together, already mentally prepared to beat Leviathan once more.
He knew Leviathan's consciousness carried mental pollution, but so what?
Once he drew the Threefold Authority Sword and obtained Imperator's stored separation authority, Leviathan would have no way to pollute him—it could only fight him in close combat.
And the result of close combat had already been proven in the previous two scripts.
At this moment, Noah's fighting spirit was at an all-time high.
Everything was ready—except for Cantarella (and her Tyrvine sword).
Soon, a stern-looking butler emerged from the estate:
"Greetings, esteemed sir. My name is Sebastian, butler of the Fisalia family."
"Hello, my name is Noah."
Noah smiled and nodded, thinking to himself: Next, he should be inviting me into Porto-Veno Castle.
"You are here to draw Tyrvine, correct?"
"Huh?!"
Noah's eyes widened in shock. He stared at Sebastian in disbelief:
"How did you know?"
The Tyrvine sword concerned Imperator—it should be one of the deepest secrets of the Fisalia family, right?
They were just… so casually announcing it in front of everyone?
"The guest must be joking. The family head has announced a sword-drawing marriage recruitment, attracting countless heroes from Rinascita to visit. As the butler, of course I am aware."
"Wait—hold on. What did you just say? Sword-drawing marriage recruitment?"
In an instant, Noah was shocked again. Sebastian across from him merely shook his head:
"I regret to inform you that, not long ago, no one in Rinascita was able to draw Tyrvine. The family head has already taken Tyrvine and its sword base, crossed the sea, and departed for Huanglong."
"Ah!"
For the third time, Noah was stunned.
Without Tyrvine, how was he supposed to enter the inverted tower? How was he supposed to obtain the separation authority? How was he supposed to save the Black Shores?
Cantarella going to Huanglong was one thing—but she even took the sword with her. Now he couldn't even solo the inverted tower.
"Forget Tyrvine for now—could you please explain in detail what this sword-drawing marriage recruitment is about?"
After a thorough explanation from butler Sebastian, Noah finally understood the whole sequence of events.
The divine authority sword Tyrvine—a sacred blade that sealed part of Sentinel Imperator's power, an instrument for selecting the Sentinel Resonator.
Only the Sentinel Resonator or Rover could draw this sword.
Cantarella—the true Sentinel Resonator—had chosen to return all her power to the Sentinel after resonating with It, causing her to forget that she had once resonated with Tyrvine.
Not long ago, Cantarella suddenly made Tyrvine public, offering a huge reward to anyone who could draw it—but forbade Overclocking during the attempt.
At first, the reward was simply a generous sum of money.
Later, she promised half of the Fisalia family as incentive.
Eventually, she added everything—including herself.
Rinascita responded in droves, but no one succeeded in drawing Tyrvine.
This "scam" further tarnished the already poor reputation of the Fisalia family.
Now, Cantarella had taken the divine authority sword Tyrvine—along with its entire sword base—onto a ship and departed for Huanglong, hoping to find Imperator's Sentinel Resonator in the outside world.
But this… was destined to be a journey of futile disappointment.
"…Thank you for the explanation. I understand now. Can you contact the Fisalia family head?"
"I'm sorry, I cannot."
"When she returns, please be sure to contact me. I will offer you sufficient compensation."
Exhaling heavily, Noah clenched his fist and turned to leave the Fisalia family estate.
According to the original plot, family head Cantarella would visit every Sentinel in Huanglong one by one, begging for their help.
This would require countless pleas to others—sometimes meeting a Sentinel, sometimes not. Regardless of whether she met them, the final outcome was always rejection.
In the original plot, the woman had lightly brushed over this experience in just a few words, but the bitterness and oppression she endured were probably known only to herself.
"Damn it!"
Noah felt a surge of pent-up frustration in his chest. Irritated, he kicked a stone away.
He was late again—by one step.
With a powerful leap, Noah soared into the air and extended his perception.
So annoying. Time to find a Fractsidus Overseer to vent on.
…
"I'm back."
The same familiar spot, the same familiar table, and a pot of tea with wisps of white steam rising.
Cristoforo turned with a smile, looking at the cold-faced Phrolova:
"I've been waiting for you for a long time, Phrolova. How did the investigation into the inverted tower go?"
"Not great. That place actually exists within another Sonoro Sphere. Though visible, it is completely unreachable."
Phrolova shook her head slightly:
"I don't even know where to find the entrance to that Sonoro Sphere."
"I see. That's fine."
Cristoforo gave an elegant smile, regaining the grace he had before meeting Noah, causing Phrolova to glance at him a few extra times.
"What's wrong with you? Did you run into Noah again and get beaten until you lost your memory?"
"Are you curious why I'm in such a good mood? Hehe, perfect timing—I'd like to invite you to join me in speaking with the great Lord of Tides and Riddles."
Phrolova frowned inwardly.
Had this guy gone mad?
With the Decree-defiling Mirror of Nightmare gone, how could they possibly speak with Leviathan?
Moreover, just yesterday he was cursing Leviathan as trash—now today he was suddenly flattering it? Who taught him to change faces so fast?
Setting her doubts aside for the moment, she followed Cristoforo's steps.
A pungent smell of blood entered her nose—faint at first, then growing stronger—until they entered a dim, deep room.
Their footsteps finally stopped. Phrolova's brows tightened. She averted her gaze, refusing to look at the two figures that had been tortured beyond recognition.
"Since when did you start becoming as disgusting as that dead lunatic?"
With those words, Phrolova turned to leave—only to be stopped by Cristoforo.
"You cannot leave."