Above The Sky
Chapter 1077: 144: Sio with a Smooth Brain (1/2)

Chapter 1077: Chapter 144: Sio with a Smooth Brain (1/2)

The diplomatic ship Siren from Canaan Moore is a Full Moon-class super large vessel, boasting a displacement of over sixty thousand tons, which is the flagship standard of the Canaan Moore Navy Fleet of that era.

Indeed, it is equipped with a considerable array of armaments, enough to handle all non-Titan Beasts within the surrounding seas of Terra Continent.

Its mission is also quite significant—often, the Siren would head to key strategic locations like Whale Song Cliff or Far Sword Port, assisting these permanently neutral zones in resisting the onslaught of Magical Beast swarms, and in emergencies, evacuating crucial personnel from Canaan Moore.

Just like this time, as Alchemy Master Glarvie Fieye returns to his homeland, the Canaan Moore government deployed this giant ship, conveniently transporting several officials and merchants from both sides.

Ian is one of those people being ‘conveniently’ transported. However, it’s not so casual; at least the Siren will dock at Nauman City solely for Ian.

The banquet hall in the mid-tier cabin of the Siren is brightly illuminated, and its spacious dome looks nothing like it’s on a ship, but rather situated within some palace in Canaan Moore. The golden lights and intersecting shadows of people raising their glasses cast patterns on the red carpet. Melodious music fills the hall, and the elegant elven string music is always the most popular choice in such occasions.

Without a doubt, this is a wonderful place for leisurely enjoyment during the not-too-long and not-too-short voyage, where people spend most of their time.

“This place is too dangerous.”

Yet Ian carries a mindset completely different from most present as he walks slowly into the hall.

He smiles and politely declines the attendant’s guidance, then makes his way to the refreshment area at the far left side of the hall on his own.

At this moment, the youth is pondering over the background of the hidden assassins and their combat abilities: “The assassin disguised as the deputy captain of fleet knights should have support from one of the factions within the Elf Council. Being able to place their assassin in such a position obviously shows that some high-level personnel don’t want Master Gravie to return.”

“The second assassin, the guard from the Purple Tile Trading Company, should be from the Azure Sky Royal Court. Although he’s of the Iron Folk, his disguise is perfect, yet the Origin Structure of his Bloodline True Form clearly stems from the beasts of the Azure Sky Royal Court—it’s fortunate that Adalbert informed me that the details of magical beasts’ Origin Structures vary across Terra, and I specifically used the silver chip to record these differences, or I wouldn’t have been able to distinguish them.”

“As for the assassin disguised as the attendant, he’s a Spirit Energy User. This is the handiwork of the Spirit Wisdom Institute; he’s likely a successful case from their Artificial Spirit User program, trained as an assassin. He must have silently replaced the original attendant, truly impressive. If it weren’t for me, even at the Third Energy Level, it would be difficult to detect him.”

“Moreover, in this very hall, there are no fewer than a dozen spies… some are even targeting me, possibly knowing of my talents and aware of my relations with Anfa—Canaan Moore and Azure Sky Royal Court spies, the former probably seeks to understand my communications with Anfa and our plans, while the latter harbors murderous intent towards me.”

Ian effortlessly saw through the complex situations aboard the Siren and clearly identified the forces behind those with hidden agendas.

For the Prophet, all of this is not difficult.

Indeed, ‘On a heavily guarded diplomatic ship, dancing with spies and assassins from various factions, guessing each other’s true identities, obstructing each other’s plans, and amidst the backdrop of a Magical Beast attack, fighting both openly and secretly, ultimately obtaining the research data from the aged Alchemy Master and shifting the blame to the Spirit Wisdom Institute or the Azure Sky Royal Court’…

Such a script plot is indeed quite compelling.

But for the young yet mature-souled white-haired Alchemy Genius who can see through the truth at a glance, the detective game is a bit too simple.

He has a more potent plan.

He just needs… a little help from his companion.

“Sio, what do you think of the taste of Elf pastries?”

Coming to the side of the red-haired Dragon Maiden, Ian doesn’t sit down but pats her shoulder.

Already aware of Ian’s arrival but wholly focused on savoring the delicacies before her, Sio is not at all surprised.

The Dragon Maiden, who shares a sibling-like resemblance with Ian, elegantly raises her hand to wipe her mouth with a silk napkin, then looks at Ian with bright eyes, softly exclaiming, “It’s super delicious!”

The refreshment area is composed of small tables for two or three, four at most, located near the passage to the ship’s theater, making it an excellent place for private interactions following formal ones. Here, the finest pastry chefs from Canaan Moore offer various exquisite snacks, sufficient to satisfy anyone’s desire for relaxation. Many ladies are casually chatting about here.

Though, as is the case with other important and lavish places in Terra, at venues boasting the best chefs, people are not necessarily there to savor the food but are more focused on interacting with others.

This is somewhat regrettable.

And today Sio was obviously determined to make up for the regret of ‘food not being valued’!

The table in front of the Dragon Maiden Miss was covered with a light tea-colored silk cloth, on which various plates were stacked, holding cakes, mousses, crispy chocolate cookies, fried pastries, fruit core cakes, sweet fish sashimi, and other famous Canaan Moore pastries or sweets, abundantly enough that no lady could possibly finish it all.

But in reality, Sio had already finished most of it.

While she was speaking with Ian and instinctively wiping her mouth with a silk napkin in her left hand, the Dragon Maiden Miss’s right hand was still delicately pinching a chocolate crispy ball with her fingertips, smoothly sending it into her mouth. Inside the crispy ball was a rich creamy core, the blend of two different aromas merging in her mouth, the warmth from just being made not yet fully cooled, practically activating the taste buds and offering the ultimate sweet enjoyment.

“Mm~” Sio closed her eyes slightly, nodding with emotion, “Anfa really didn’t lie to me! The ‘Multiscale Chocolate Milk Ball’ is truly extraordinary! Oh my, that crispy shell, like thin scales with nut slices embedded in the inner wall, and the rich secret condensed milk inside… such perfect texture and sweetness!”

She even picked another ‘Multiscale Chocolate Milk Ball’ and sent it to her mouth, her satisfied expression made Ian somewhat helpless, only able to shake his head with a wry smile, “Honestly, I forgot you have quite a discerning taste and interest in gourmet food.”

This elegant yet straightforward behavior was really quite unique, eliciting some good-natured laughter from the surrounding noblewomen—since earlier, they had been noticing the cute little Dragon Maiden Miss Sio enjoying her pastries, although Sio was eating both quickly and a lot, her manner was elegant, obviously well-raised, and despite eating so much, her figure remained unchanged, proof she was a Sublimator.

Sublimators don’t need to adhere to common etiquette; they set their own etiquette, as long as it’s not excessive, anything can be considered ‘appropriate’.

Moreover, such a cute little girl, everything she does is inherently adorable.

Ian had a hard time judging. Because Sio used his face mold, saying something cute seemed too strange… Hmm, on second thought, it wasn’t odd; he was indeed quite cute when he was little.

As expected of him!

Besides, there’s no big issue; the deeper the impression red-haired Sio leaves now, the more convenient it will be for Ian to have Sio turn into white hair later, disguised as himself as a Substitute.

For this reason, before setting off, Sio deliberately imitated Ian’s usual behavioral details. Of course, there was no need to learn his speech and mannerisms; with Sio’s intelligence and the fact that Sio wasn’t a Prophet, it was impossible to perfectly mimic Ian’s speaking habits, so Sio would inevitably be discovered if required to speak extensively. Thus, Ian wouldn’t have Sio imitate him in situations where he himself needed to speak.

Sio and the King of the Mountain would both participate in the exploration of the Exotic Species Research Institute. Sio’s main body would set off together with the King of the Mountain under the name of Dragon Island, while this avatar of Dragon Maiden Sio would act with Ian, going to Canaan Moore as part of the Dragon Worship Cult.

For Sio, this was a great chance to taste delicacies, while for Ian, he needed to start laying the groundwork for many impressions and actions from this moment.

“Do you need me to do anything?”

After finishing the third chocolate ball, Sio somewhat belatedly looked at Ian.

The white-haired Alchemist had also been attending the banquet, but after chatting with a few Elf Alchemists for a while, he had excused himself to go ‘take a walk in the wind’ and left the hall—Sio knew Ian must have gone to observe the situation, but she didn’t care about the outcome.

After all, whatever actions were needed later, Ian would tell her, so there was no need for her to think!

Smooth brain intensifies.jpg

[There’s now a large group of Magical Beasts approaching, probably lured over from the Spirit Wisdom Institute side, but something seems off. There are too many Magical Beasts coming, and they’ll reach the alert perimeter in about ten minutes.]

Sure enough, Ian was now assigning tasks through Spirit Energy: [I need you to help intimidate those Magical Beasts a bit later, so they don’t approach for a short time… when I say it’s okay, let them attack. If you’re able, try to find out why there are so many.]

[No problem, but are there really Magical Beasts attacking the Siren? Without a Third Energy Level Beast King, no matter how many of them there are, this big ship would handle them all.]

Sio blinked, indicating she understood Ian’s instructions; she didn’t even bother to ask why Ian wanted to do so: [No matter, is there anything else you need me to cooperate with?]

[Keep an eye on that Spirit Wisdom Institute assassin and the spy team behind him, don’t let them destroy the master’s data, as I’m very interested in his research.]

To outsiders, Ian seemed to be enjoying tea and chatting with Sio, who would probably think it was a normal sibling interaction, but these siblings’ appearances were just too eye-catching: [And, Sio, pay attention to the movements near the Seventeenth Storage Warehouse… there are quite unusual things inside, if any suspicious persons get close, be sure to tell me directly.]

[Piece of cake]

Sio replied confidently: [All my main Dragon Souls are on this body, handling such trivial matters is doable!]