A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 177 The Pizza Girl's Arcane Festival Night (Part 1)

After the excitement subsided, the crowd quickly dispersed, and the museum returned to its usual tranquility.

Only the woman, who was quite attractive, stayed at Sissa's insistence. The official figured the photos were already deleted, and he didn't want to get entangled with this lunatic any longer. After all, she was a prostitute he'd recently slept with, and she knew what she should and shouldn't say. He whispered a few words of advice and then hurriedly left, like a weasel fleeing a crime scene.

After thanking Quinn, the two enforcers quickly left, ignoring the woman who had been secretly detained by Sissa. They had no intention of getting involved in the aftermath; the people from the Academy and the Church didn't seem like they could get along well.

After the two had walked away, Sissa nodded to Quinn in greeting.

"Thanks. Next time you go to a brothel, just mention my name and you'll get a 20% discount on the room."

The film reel was naturally unedited. Quinn had no knowledge of arcane magic, and he was speechless upon hearing this kind of thank-you gift. Unfortunately, Celia happened to walk over, and the girl who had heard the word 'brothel' was looking at her suspiciously.

“There’s absolutely no need for that,” Quinn refused righteously. “I went last time because of official business.”

He introduced her to Celia: "Father Sissa, from the Church of the Holy Tree. I met him once during a mission; he helped me capture an Abyss Transcendent."

"Hello, Mr. Sysa." Celia greeted him politely, thinking to herself that it was no wonder Quinn and a priest got along so well.

She is a member of the Eternalist Church and addresses clergy members of different faiths only as "Sir".

“Oh, hello, beautiful lady,” said Sissa gently. “Mr. Quinn is so lucky to have such a young and beautiful wife.”

Celia blushed slightly: "You've misunderstood, I'm his student."

"Oh? Really?" Sissa was somewhat surprised. "I'm so sorry, I rarely misjudge people."

He had said something similar before the time rewind, mistaking the two for a couple.

Quinn's suspicions lessened slightly at the repetitive, unintentional act, but he still needed to test him.

“Father Sissa, who were you just now?”

Sissa shook his head and tapped the camera.

"I made a shutter sound while taking the picture, and that guy heard it. Ha, thank goodness you were there to help."

The woman who had been forcibly detained stared at him in disbelief. "You just admit to taking photos without my consent? What happened to the sacred object of the cult?"

"After all, it's an old object from over 700 years ago. No matter how well it's maintained, it's bound to have some flaws. Maybe the sound insulation is loose," Xisa said, fiddling with her camera, seemingly unconcerned.

Is the camera broken?

The official said he heard a "shutter click." But why wasn't the camera from before the time rewind broken? Quinn didn't hear any arguing after Sissa went to take the photos. He and Celia stayed at the museum until dusk; the noise from their argument couldn't have escaped the ears of a superhuman.

Could it be that the time and circumstances changed, so the officials didn't notice?
Quinn didn't intend to ask any more questions about the camera. It was reasonable for a seven-hundred-year-old object to break. If Sissa was a hero, asking any more questions would seem deliberate.

"Why are you keeping her here?" Quinn pointed to the woman beside him, though he probably knew what Quinn was planning to do, he still pretended to be clueless and asked.

Sure enough, Sissa honestly said, "I want to persuade prostitutes to reform themselves."

"Um, what good would it do you to do this?"

Sissa repeated the conversation that had taken place between the two before the time rewind, although the wording was quite different, the gist of which was still "This is not a divine duty bestowed upon me by the sacred tree, but merely my hobby."

Celia, standing to the side, listened with utmost respect. Could there really be such a friend to women in the city?!

"Does it have to be today?" Quinn pretended to consider it and said, "You got rid of that corrupt official's mistress, won't he hold a grudge against you? Can't we wait a couple of days?"

“This is a great opportunity.” Sissa said calmly, completely unconcerned about the deputy minister’s demeanor. “Moreover, we must preach to her today and influence her.”

"must?"

Quinn keenly noticed the word; this guy's behavior of persuading prostitutes to reform seemed like he was doing a system task.

Before time rewinds, Sissa wasn't in such a hurry.

He didn't explain much, and waved goodbye to Quincylia.

"Goodbye, I'll remember this favor. Next time you donate to the Holy Tree Church, I'll give you a 20% discount."

"This 20% discount isn't necessary."

Xisa said to the woman waiting nearby, "Come on, I'll take you to a good place."

The woman looked at him warily. In Eswell, how could a prostitute not know Sissa?

".Not going."

Sissa picked up the film. "Miss, you wouldn't want photos of the deputy minister having an affair to appear in the newspaper, would you?"

She was shocked to hear that the photos hadn't been deleted?

Then he looked indignantly at Quinn, who was watching from the sidelines. Where was Quinn?

He was like a blind best friend in the kitchen, a deaf colleague in the break room, an indifferent passenger on the tram, and a husband who brought his boss home, unmoved by everything that was about to happen.

"What do you want to do?" the woman asked, her voice trembling.

It's hard to say what will happen to the deputy minister after the photo is released, but I'm definitely doomed. The wife of an official is not someone to be trifled with.

“I do.” Sissa’s smile grew increasingly sinister. “Trust me, tonight will be a wonderful night.”

After sizing up the face of the heavily muscular official who was now many times more handsome, the woman said no, but her body still obediently followed him.

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Celia innocently asked, "Mr. Sissa, what do you plan to do?"

“Uh.” Thinking back to the scene in the room that day, Quinn didn’t know how to answer. “Well, it was taking pictures, like a photographer.”

The photographer, but Edison Chen.

Celia nodded, seemingly understanding, thinking she should mind her own business as a photographer. "Becoming a photographer after graduation doesn't seem so bad," she thought.

"Then you'd have to be the vice president of the student council."

"Hey, is there any necessary connection between these two?"

The two chatted and laughed as they resumed their tour, as if the incident were just a minor episode in their date.

Because they were delayed by the matter of Sissa, when the two arrived at the piano room on the second floor, they did not hear the piano music of "Farewell" as they had before the time rewind, and Ankuya and Pepe were also there.

They may have left, or they may not have come yet. After all, Ankua was informed about the time reversal, and the actions could no longer be the same as before the reversal.

Just to be on the safe side, Quinn went out onto the terrace alone during Celia's piano practice and summoned Ankua's familiar, a phantom formed from wind.

He asked Ankuya to check the contents of Elon's government morning meeting and also informed him that "Grindelwald's Eye was found to be safe and sound after inspection."

After his mental strength increased, Quinn was able to use "secret language" to communicate with phantoms. Its principle is similar to that of spells. He communicates with phantoms using a unique language generated by his mental strength, without having to worry about being overheard, and also without the trouble of writing letters.

This time, Quinn didn't spend the whole afternoon playing the piano with Celia. After playing two pop songs, he went downstairs during the museum's lunch break.

“Mr. Quinn is truly talented,” Celia said sincerely, flipping through the sheet music. “One night? He composed so many? Every single one sounds wonderful. I haven’t played enough!”

"If you learn quickly, you should be able to finish training before you graduate."

Celia sighed softly, "I hope so."

"Shall I take you back?"

Do you have anything else planned for this afternoon?

"I want to go back to the academy."

"Okay, then. Would you like to come to my house for lunch, teacher? I'm actually a pretty good cook!"

"Definitely next time."

Celia was momentarily disappointed, but her eyes quickly brightened again as she heard Quinn continue, "I'm planning to go to the market to buy some groceries later. Want to come along if you're free?"

"Mmm!!!" She nodded vigorously, "Don't underestimate me just because I'm young, I know how to pick out vegetables and fruits."

"Heh, then the person who marries you in the future will definitely be very happy."

Celia gazed intently at Quinn's retreating figure.

In that "dream".

She once asked Quinn, "Will we get married?"

The reply was, "You will be the happiest bride."

That was the appearance of a young boy. Although Quinn looks much more mature and rugged now, for some reason he doesn't seem much different from the appearance in my dream.

She actually lied to Quinn a little.

In my dream, I accepted his confession.

That dream, as time goes by, moves forward little by little, as if it were a story about myself and him happening in another world.

Can I dream about my wedding day?

Or is it also true in reality?
The girl's earlobes flushed slightly, but a loud shout brought her back to reality; it was a vendor selling drinks and snacks inside the museum—

"Ice cream cone! Arcane Festival special ice cream cone! Exclusive recipe from the academy! Only available for this one day a year! The last ice cream cone! Don't miss it!"

The museum had already closed at noon, and almost all the tourists had left. The hawking was clearly aimed at the two people coming down the stairs. No matter what world they were in, couples were always a great customer base—what else could this pretty girl be but his girlfriend, the way she was stealing glances at him?
"Hey Mr. Quinn, how about I treat you to an ice cream cone?"

She grabbed Quinn and ran over without a word. Quinn chuckled, "Didn't I tell you to treat me?"

"You bought me orange juice."

Quinn was also a little surprised. Didn't Ankuya come to the museum? He was the one who bought the last two ice cream cones yesterday.

Upon seeing Quinn's robes and overcoat, the shopkeeper immediately asked respectfully, "Are you a master from the academy?"

"Don't bother sending it, just tell me how much it costs, I'll pay for it." Quinn said helplessly, "The Celestial Dragons have arrived."

"no!"

Celia took out her wallet first, "My treat."

"There's only one left, you can have it yourself." Quinn said this, but in his mind, he recalled the image of Celia handing him an ice cream cone before time rewound.

The girl's lips were still stained with snow-white ice cream, slightly pursed together, and her trembling eyelids, caused by shyness, reminded one of peach blossoms being blown by the wind, bright and charming.

Celia was also a little at a loss. "Could you divide it into two portions?"

"Oh, no need for that." The shopkeeper took an ice cream cone out of a box full of ice. "You can share one, it'll cost one silver coin."

"Shall we eat together?"

"One of your previous clients was also from the academy, that blonde girl, tsk tsk, she said Grindelwald College has a tradition that sharing an ice cream cone is proof of friendship!"

Quinn looked up sharply as if he had seen a ghost—

"What did you say?!"

The shop owner chuckled, "I've been selling ice cream for so many years and this is the first time I've ever heard of something like this. Those two only bought one, and the guy was incredibly shy."

(End of this chapter)