Alfonso could see that Saul genuinely didn’t want to come here and join the commotion, but today’s meeting was specifically ordered by Chief Frim himself, requiring Saul’s attendance.

“Today’s meeting concerns the coming black tide. The Chief specifically named you to attend.”

Saul remained unmoved.

Having him attend didn’t mean they’d give him important tasks—at most he’d be there as backup.

As for whether he’d be used as cannon fodder, that depended on whether his own strength could impress the Tribunal’s people.

Though reluctant, Saul could only put down his experiment and follow Alfonso through Evernight Palace.

Finally, their figures appeared outside the royal palace.

“Hm? The meeting isn’t being held in Evernight Palace?” Saul saw soldiers and wizards outside and realized this meeting’s scale was probably much larger than he’d imagined.

Outside Evernight Palace, a huge sunken-style conference hall had appeared at some unknown time.

Like a lecture theater, the center of the conference hall was lowest, with rows of seats rising around it.

Since it was already dark, burning torches illuminated each row of passages.

As for why they used torches instead of more energy-efficient and convenient glowstones, Saul didn’t know.

He noticed that people on Nephret Continent were very accustomed to using flame lighting. Even high-rank wizards used fire-resistant lamps rather than magical illumination.

Following Alfonso, he sat in the first row. Saul waited quietly.

Before long, Saul saw a man in simple black formal wear with a golden thorn crown striding into the conference hall.

This man with a powerful aura was followed by a short man who hunched his shoulders and looked very inconspicuous.

But this person, when Saul looked over, seemingly casually glanced at Saul as well.

While Saul was thinking about the data he’d obtained earlier in the laboratory, he looked up to watch the excitement and happened to make eye contact with the other party.

With this eye contact, he suddenly saw the scene before him seemed to have a special filter applied—the sky actually began raining flower petals.

Before his surprise could fully manifest, the petals that had originally covered the ground suddenly disappeared, as if it had been a dream.

Saul looked left and right. Besides him, no one else seemed to have seen the petal rain.

Even Alfonso sitting beside him looked completely calm.

Saul turned to ask Alfonso, “Alfonso, did you just see…”

“What?”

“Petals?”

Alfonso paused, then seemed to think of something. “You just made eye contact with Black Flame’s Stuart?”

Saul nodded. “If the Stuart you’re referring to is that short man just now, yes, he happened to look over.”

Alfonso looked at Saul again, as if returning to how he’d sized him up on Saul’s first day in Evernight.

“Stuart is a third-rank wizard specializing in poison attribute magic. But the poisons he creates are all very special—generally not used in direct combat. It’s said one type can test others’ soul bodies through illusions and apply marks. Anyone marked by him will be discovered once they appear near him.”

“Marking so forcibly, isn’t he afraid of angering people?” Saul said with some dissatisfaction.

He was already using mental power to scan his entire body, trying to see where the other party had applied a mark.

Alfonso slowly shook his head. “It’s useless. Stuart won’t attack fourth-rank wizards. But none of the other marked people have found where they were marked. The marking process is very brief. People say that when being marked, if one’s soul body is stronger than Stuart’s, they might see the marking process—like a rain of flower petals.”

“And those whose soul bodies aren’t strong enough won’t even notice they’ve been under an illusion for an instant. But whether they can see it or not, marked people can’t find the marks on their bodies.”

Saul raised an eyebrow, scanning Alfonso. “You’ve been marked too?”

“…Yes.”

“And no one goes to settle accounts with him for doing this?”

“Stuart is the Black Flame Emperor’s confidant. It’s said he’s been his guard since the Black Flame Emperor was an infant. If someone troubles him, the Black Flame Emperor will unconditionally protect him. Moreover, his marks have no harmful capabilities—they just let Stuart detect when marked people approach, supposedly to protect the Black Flame Emperor.”

“Do fourth-rank wizards really need protection from third-rank wizards?” Saul snorted, propping his chin, no longer asking.

He could see that the Tribunal probably had no way to deal with Stuart either.

Soon the conference hall was over two-thirds full. A wizard Saul didn’t recognize walked to the podium at the bottom and began hosting the meeting.

Although it was a wizard conference, since it represented two empires, there were inevitably some ceremonial platitudes to be said.

Though Saul sat in the first row, he neither needed to speak nor be introduced. He directly leaned back in the comfortable chair stuffed with cotton, closed his eyes, and began dozing.

It looked like dozing, but in fact he entered his consciousness platform.

In the deep starry sky, the gray-white circular platform was even more ancient and solid. The patterns on the ground were increasingly complex and clear.

The Dead Wizard’s Diary floated quietly in the air overhead.

Saul walked along the circular platform’s edge, then directly stepped beneath it.

He was looking for the mark Wizard Stuart had placed on him.

Since it was a mark applied through illusion, it might also be applied to his soul body.

Saul’s soul body had completely merged with his consciousness space. Nothing could escape the fate of being watched by the stars.

Unless its level already exceeded sixth-rank wizards.

Last time the storm eye had hidden on the platform’s back, so Saul also came to the back to check this time.

But he didn’t find anything abnormal.

After circling once and returning to the front, Saul looked up at the diary.

“Not on the platform, impossible in the starry sky, could it be in the diary?”

Saul raised his hand, and the huge diary overhead automatically shrank and fell into his palm.

The diary’s pages turned automatically according to Saul’s consciousness.

But when the last page’s back cover closed, Saul still hadn’t found anything abnormal.

“This Stuart has some skill. No wonder no one has ever found his marks.”

Though he’d tried twice without finding the mark, Saul wasn’t anxious.

So far, he had at least three more methods to try.

The most crude would be transforming into fate lines.

Having the eyes help him find the mark.

But doing so would rely too much on the Prismatic World.

And the more contact Saul had with those fellows who called themselves Death Demons, the more wary he became of them.

“Compared to Death Demons, the diary is more handy.”

Saul’s mental power trembled slightly. The diary reopened, and black lines constructed on the white pages.

These lines extended in all directions, quickly outlining the entire consciousness space into a world composed purely of black lines.

As if it had become a three-dimensional sketch.

Saul’s mental fluctuations carefully swept over every inch of the world’s lines.

Initially there was no feedback.

“Huh? Even the diary can’t detect it? That shouldn’t be right.”

Saul scanned the entire consciousness space again.

Suddenly, he discovered something and couldn’t help but smile.

“Indeed, the most familiar stranger is oneself.”

(End of Chapter)

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