Echoes of the Past

Chapter 115 Searching for the "Messenger"

"Access permission to view information about the undercurrent of extinction a hundred years ago."

"No problem." Slatur snapped his fingers at the scribe behind him, the gesture as casual as greeting a waiter in a tavern. "Inform the Archives of Literature and History to grant Nan'an access to the archives."

Having witnessed Slatur's decisive and efficient work firsthand, Nan'an deeply realized that the days he had previously endured were indeed difficult.

"In the future, I want to continue to cultivate Keren. The Black Mist of the Scythe River is far more mysterious than I imagined, so I hope that the governor who manages this place will not be a burden."

Halfway through the conversation, Slatu already understood Nan'an's idea.

"Name your choice."

"Former Consul, Pirion Sass."

The clerk seemed worried that Slatur might not remember the person, so he moved closer to him to remind him.

"After ten years of dedicated cultivation in Keren, another border city-state has transformed into a prosperous region comparable to the central government. Such a person wouldn't warrant your reminder." Slatur had clearly done his homework. "He's no longer the regent. Why?"

Nan'an speculated: "Is it highly likely that someone in the Senate wants to suppress us?"

"Foolish!" Slatur raised his voice in an instant. "That's why I hate the Senate system. Fools who hold their own opinions only drag down the real doers who are actually working on the front lines."

He immediately ordered, "Summon Pirion; I need to see him now."

Before the main character arrived, and since Nan'an couldn't think of any new "wishes" for the time being, Slatur's topic unsurprisingly veered towards the undercurrent of extinction 100 years ago.

"Your Excellency Nan'an, do you truly have no related memories?"

"No." Nan An shook his head. "The memories I have after I woke up are perfectly connected to the memories of Gray Star Calendar when he died. There are no interludes."

He told a little lie.

The subtle naval battle loading screen in the recall chair bears a striking resemblance to the scene described by Rango.

But he decided not to complicate matters until he could confirm the facts.

"The Anze Archives contains numerous school archives from the Gray Star era. There aren't many books on Heroic Spirit Summoning, but among the scattered contents is a record of one thing—"

Slatur stopped in front of a crystal-clear fishpond, casually took the bait handed to him by a servant, and scattered a handful.

"The memories of summoned Heroic Spirits seem to be reset upon summoning—but not always. Some Heroic Spirits can retain the memories of their collaboration with different summoners."

"What a flawed style of play," Nan An shrugged and complained.

"In the summoners' own words," Slatur stifled a laugh, "this is called faction characteristics, precisely because they are incomprehensible..."

The various inexplicable "misunderstandings" and loopholes are what make this school of thought unique and its members few in number.

"Because of courting death?"

Nanan felt that the Nora language could not perfectly express the essence of "courting death," and could only translate it as "seeking one's own death."

When Slatur talks about summoning builds, he always has a subtle expression that he tries to keep a straight face but can't quite control, with the corners of his mouth always turning up.

"As you know, the three factions with the highest rates of magical accidents are potions, alchemy, and dolls, but summoning always offers some refreshing and unique stories."

Nan'an understands.

Back in the adventurer's days, the nerd had already complained about the summoners.

If we judge the top players of each style by the percentage of "god-like" players, then the top players in Summoner's Rift are like Schrödinger's gods, impossible to observe.

When you think he's not a god, he might just transform into one and take you on a thrilling rollercoaster ride through hell the next time he's summoned.

Just when you think he's a god, he and his summoned creatures can turn the tide and save you from dire straits.

"Don't have too high expectations of Summoners unless you are a Summoner yourself."

The fact that this became a well-known slang term in the late Gray Star period shows just how cheerful and carefree this school of thought was.

With summons disappearing from the Black Mist Era, all factions breathed a sigh of relief.

Slatur paused for a moment, then continued.

"Have you ever considered that you also lost your memory because of a summoning ritual?"

"Are you saying that 100 years ago, I was actually on the front lines fighting against gods and demons?" Nan'an joked. "Is His Majesty planning to reward me?"

The brightly colored ornamental fish in the pond thrashed about wildly, splashing water everywhere, as Slatu violently poured out a whole bowl of bait.

He slowly turned around, but his gaze was fixed on Suiyue.

Gunn seemed to have guessed something and looked at Slatur with concern.

"Assuming everything Rango witnessed is true, it means that your power is far greater than you imagined. The Sage potential of Solissa allows you to fully utilize it, instead of having to rely on external aids to barely reach a higher level as you do now."

The carefree Suiyue, who was secretly eating dried fruit, belatedly realized that the conversation was going in the wrong direction and cautiously glanced at Nan'an's expression.

"I don't plan to try changing my summoner."

"I don't intend to risk challenging whether Lady Nan'an can be resurrected and summoned." Slatur's gaze shifted from Suiyue, his tone gentle. "However, Lady Suiyue's strength is still a concern; perhaps she needs to improve it rapidly in the future?"

There is no way to quickly increase magic power without paying a price; it's just a matter of degree.

Rapid advancement through unorthodox methods might allow Suiyue to quickly reach a high level, but she would merely be a humanoid vessel with magical power, her potential and path locked away.

Nan'an's training in dreams leans more towards accumulating practical experience, emphasizing that everything should proceed naturally.

This was also the training method the bookworm taught him, emphasizing the accumulation of knowledge and experience before unleashing its full potential.

The seemingly slow progress in Suiyue's magical abilities is simply a necessary adaptation period for the process of settling down.

"I hope Your Excellency Nan'an will not misunderstand my topic," Slatu explained. "I am merely describing a plan to maximize combat power; everything is up to your wishes."

Nan'an also believes this.

Slatur was quite straightforward, unlike most high-ranking riddle masters, and rarely spoke with wit or evasion.

He seems to disdain wasting energy and time on frivolous pursuits, and his processing mode is characterized by simplicity and efficiency.

"Your Majesty, Consul Pirion has arrived."

Pierre, who arrived at the scene breathless, received a glass of ice water to calm his breathing.

He was waiting at home and thought the summons would be at the latest tomorrow morning or evening.

In short, it was time to rest briefly in Slatu, and after Erlu and the others showed us around the local scenery of Keren, we could relax.

The dragon had only just arrived when the summons arrived with the owl's rude intrusion into his manor?

"Nan'an must have secured an opportunity for me, something like a performance review or self-recommendation."

Having confirmed that Slatur's behavior was consistent with the rumors, he kept adjusting the words he had prepared in his mind as he walked through the corridor with the maid.

"Prioritizing governance and management capabilities, focusing on people's livelihood—oh no, focusing on dealing with the living eclipse and the gods and demons, these are the key points that an emperor like him cares about most."

Dusk had fallen in the courtyard.

Slatur sat down on a stone chair, smiling and exchanging words with Gunn beside him. A floor lamp stood beside the chair, its warm yellow light outlining his features in a soft and gentle way.

Before Pirion could even introduce himself—

"Pirion Sass," Slatu put down his teacup, "From now on, you are reinstated as the governor of the Keren region."

His prepared rhetoric—those exquisite phrases about improving people's livelihoods, optimizing taxation, and dealing with gods and demons—flew away from his mind like a flock of startled birds.

"Furthermore," Slatur's voice continued, "because Kren will be a pilot town for the Living Erosion program, it will be exempt from paying any taxes to Anze for the next five years."

"I heard from Nan'an that you really want to become a senior member?"

"Solitz will probably only have a Chief Elder in the future. If this is your goal for honor, I don't mind giving it to you as an honorary title now."

"Your ability to govern a remote region and bring peace and prosperity to its people is beyond the comprehension of the foolish elders of Solitz, but I can."

What they didn't give, I will give you.

"You've built Kren very well," Slatur praised. "Now, I'm giving you the power to make it even better."

Pirion's lips parted slightly, then closed again.

He had witnessed too many government orders being shirked, too many promises being broken, and too many beautiful words shattering into dust upon landing.

He thought he had gotten used to waiting, and used to inching forward inch by inch in the gaps of the Senate system.

At this moment, a foreign emperor accomplished in three sentences what he hadn't been able to achieve in ten years, prompting Pirion to ask the same question as Nan'an.

"What was Gunn waiting for all this time?"

He looked up, and his gaze inadvertently met Nan'an's.

I am filled with gratitude!

Pirion wanted to know what Nanan had said to Slatu that made the Emperor of Angze shower him with so many benefits without giving him a chance to say a word.

The mere fact that he doesn't pay taxes makes him seem like a lord from the Gray Star era.

"Your Majesty, I haven't even been able to say a single word yet."

Slatur asked with great interest, "Is this a request, or a gesture of gratitude?"

Pirion bent down deeply.

"Thank you for Your Majesty's boundless grace. I will serve Angze with utmost loyalty!"

Slatur picked up his teacup with satisfaction and took a sip.

"Alright," he said, "you may leave now. I have some things to discuss with His Excellency Nan'an."

Pirion bowed again, turned and left. His footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor. Nan An suspected that the last few steps he could no longer hear were—bouncing.

Aside from a few key inside defenders, Slaturu once again distanced most people from the small table where they were talking.

The way he looked at Nan'an Suiyue was completely different from how he looked at Pierion earlier; it was deep and solemn.

"Your Excellency Nan'an," he began, his voice no longer as casual as before, "I have given you many conveniences, and I have also given the governor what he deserves."

He paused, then adjusted his speaking speed.

"Now it's your turn to do me a favor."

Nanan did not respond immediately; he simply looked at Slatu, waiting for him to continue.

"You visited the Twin Crowns' underground containment facility and saw that special letter from the alien continent of Riserace, right?"

"Your Majesty wants to decipher all the information in the letter?" Nan An's head throbbed with pain. "With my current strength, I'm afraid I can't do it."

The divine and demonic suppressive power of Nan'an cannot fully affect the letter.

It is the most powerful mental interference-type deity that Nan'an has ever encountered.

To a normal person, the words on the letter paper change every second, making it impossible to piece together the complete content.

Nan'an's ability to decipher a small portion of the translation shocked not only the Chief but also the Anze scholars who took over the underground containment facility.

After attempting the challenge, all the Anze scholars were astonished by Nan'an's records.

One of the skeptics remains unconscious, seemingly suffering from information overload and a mental disorder.

"The contents of the letter are not important," Slatur said. "What matters is the person who delivered it."

His gaze deepened.

"Since the black fog spread, the sea routes have been effectively blocked. No ships can sail smoothly across the ocean. All attempts so far have ended in failure—but that person, that messenger, he did it."

Slatur shook his head as he spoke, showing that the shock of learning about this matter still lingered in his mind.

"Unbelievable! How did he manage to cross the thick black fog of the outer sea and reach Nora? And why did he send us this letter? Aren't you curious?"

Nan'an pondered for a moment, then looked at Gu En.

"Your Majesty must have heard that Elu tried to find this messenger before, but to no avail, right?"

"I heard that on the way to Gunn, he told me about the messenger," all of which seemed like a fabricated backstory created to justify the letter's existence.

"The so-called entrustment by someone who seems to be from another continent, and then handed over to the governor through the locals of Nora, is like using existing information to fix its own 'anchor point'."

"Because we all accept this conjecture, we are so preoccupied with the letter itself—perhaps even Riceles himself is a projection of someone's inner thoughts."

Suiyue had completely lost her train of thought by this point, so she decided to give up and eat a few more fresh fruits.

Nan'an asked, "Since Your Majesty understands, why do you still intend to start the search through messengers?"

"Do you believe in intuition?" Slatur closed his eyes. "Intuition is a wonderful thing, especially in this nightmare era filled with black mist and rampant strangeness. It forces our frail bodies to squeeze out 100% of their potential in order to survive—I believe that a flash of inspiration from intuition is the source of miracles, and if we can grasp it—perhaps, it can change Nora's fate!"

After a long silence, and seeing Gu En's slight nod, Nan An chose to accept the request.

Their job involves dealing with gods and demons, and the letter was found near Kren, so it can be treated as a side quest.

Slatur nodded with satisfaction.

This reaction suggests that she had already prepared herself for rejection on the way.

After all, even Gunn couldn't force Nan'an to decipher the letter and find the messenger.

"Wait a minute—" Nan'an realized the most important point and stood up in shock, "Could it be—that letter was brought here by His Majesty?"

Slatu nodded: "They're on their way. The Radiant Owl will be in charge of the transport, and they'll soon be handed over to the Deer for safekeeping. I trust you can handle it better."