Echoes of the Past

Chapter 22 Hardcore Enrollment

Arele had done her homework beforehand. She knew Pirion very well: he hated trouble, avoided risks, acted with "stability" as his top priority, and adhered to almost rigid rules and beliefs.

This is why he is highly regarded by several local elders in Karen, and there are rumors that his path to advancement is already open, and a seat in the Senate is "just around the corner" for him.

She deliberately pulled Pirion off the field, precisely because she knew this.

What she needs is for this governor, known for his "rule-abiding" nature, to personally testify that the Ravens pressured him during this incident, forcing him to engage in illegal operations.

The Raven could argue that he has his own standards, but if he imposes his personal standards on a colleague who is still strictly adhering to the Nightmare Handling Rules, then the nature of the matter is completely different.

For a seasoned consul like Pirion, a wonderful opportunity to shirk all responsibility was something she couldn't believe wouldn't be tempted.

Afterwards, you might even be able to build a good relationship with this future elder.

But what's the current situation?

What is he taking on so much responsibility for?

The unexpected turn of events caused Arele's eyebrows to tremble slightly. She suppressed her anxiety and spoke in a persuasive tone.

"Governor Pirion, please allow me to remind you that there were obvious irregularities in the procedures followed by the Raven and the Deer team in this incident. We have reason to believe that all your 'unconventional actions' during this period were taken under pressure and were not undertaken out of necessity."

Pirion seemed to have been prepared, his voice unusually clear: "Sir Ariel, aside from the early release of Suiyue who was under observation, I do not believe that I have violated any rules."

A surge of anger rose within Ariel; this was utterly shameful collusion!

This is irrefutable evidence that Ellu was directly colluding with local officials; otherwise, the dramatic change in Pirion's style of doing things would be inexplicable.

Her voice suddenly rose, filled with anger at being fooled.

"Your Excellency the Governor has been contacting Suiyue privately far more frequently than expected. Is all of this due to your so-called 'goodwill compensation'? Furthermore, you secretly assisted her in registering her 'Mistbreaker' identity and even participated in selling her antlers. The antlers she is now missing from her head are proof of this!"

This brings us to Pirion's area of ​​expertise.

"I request," he smiled and straightened his back, his voice becoming unusually strong, "to submit three official records of my meeting with Ms. Suiyue, two photo crystal copies, and to summon eleven witnesses who were present at the time."

"Furthermore, regarding the antler auction, I request that the three nobles who ultimately participated in the bidding be summoned to the scene. Finally, I must submit a document detailing the proceeds from the auction for the purchase of ground maintenance materials for the Kerensi district, as well as a list of all personnel involved in the construction."

The elders on the stage blinked, and one of them stood up and looked down.

"Pirion, what are you talking about?"

"Keep your work records on file," Pirion replied with a smile. "I've always liked to leave a record of what I do."

Aryl initially thought it was just a bluff, an attempt to mislead people with tedious paperwork.

However, when the elders' personal guards quickly carried out several thick stacks of neatly arranged files, some even with classification labels attached to the edges, from Pirion's mansion, her face gradually turned pale.

The crow gently smoothed the upturned corners of its mouth.

Nan'an laughed heartily within Suiyue's consciousness.

As they expected, Ariel ran into the hardest steel plate of the day.

From the first time he met Pirion, Nanan felt that he was a master of defensive warriors, stacking armor and armor and more armor, like a turtle.

With work-related marks on his left hand and a disclaimer on his right, he wears a non-stick pan on his face and has "Don't bother me, I just want to improve myself" tattooed on his body.

Being favored by several elders simultaneously suggests that, aside from his exceptional governing abilities, he must be quite intelligent. The non-stick pan was merely a truce card to avoid getting involved in the chaotic situation.

Arelle was quietly called back to the stage by one of her fellow jurors. Ostensibly, she was participating in the questioning of Pirion's documents and witnesses, but everyone could see that she needed time to process.

One was an unreasonable raven, while the other, Pirion, was "too reasonable." In comparison, her previous righteous accusations now sounded somewhat absurd.

Verifying the evidence became the pretext for both parties to temporarily adjourn the court.

Suiyue, that chatterbox, started babbling again.

"Why aren't you shifting the blame... Oh, that's a new term I learned from summoning creatures, it basically means passing the responsibility to someone else."

Pirion rubbed his furrowed brows, his tired face radiating an aura of "I don't want to talk to you," and he didn't even bother to lift his eyelids.

The crow explained, "Reading between the lines is a skill in itself. Consul Pirion doesn't want anyone to bring up today's trial in the future and accuse him of discouraging passionate people. Am I right?"

Just like Nan'an thought.

Since he exposed the affairs of the Confederation of Honor, the elders' anxious reaction must have caught Pirion's eye.

The fact that the rightful reward was confiscated due to external resistance is an unethical act, and there are likely disagreements within the Veterans Affairs Institute as well.

What might have been a trivial matter that couldn't be discussed openly was turned into a public trial by Ariel and her group, who attracted a large number of onlookers, making it much more entertaining and changing the nature of the situation.

Pirion stepped forward to express his appreciation for the "heroic act," emphasizing that it was merely out of his personal "simple sense of justice," and that his reasoning was impeccable.

Morality is like toilet paper to many people, but nobody wants to find it empty when they need to use the toilet. Those who advocate confiscating honors and try to escalate the matter have far more dirty mouths than clean backsides.

If Suiyue isn't completely crushed today, the fact that Nan'an made her say "respect the fate of others" will be enough for Ariel's competitors to dig her up at some point in the future and vie to nail her to the pillar of shame for "opposing righteous acts and being morally corrupt."

Nan'an firmly believes that this non-stick pan will make the right choice.

Since the raven had spoken, Pirion still needed to respond.

However, his response was...

"I don't want Ms. Suiyue's passionate actions to become weapons used by others to attack each other."

"Hey, hey, hey, when you're speaking so righteously, can you at least look me in the eye when you're praising me?"

"Miss Suiyue," Pirion said in a low voice during a brief moment when the lights were not fully turned on and the surrounding noise was rising, "your current situation doesn't really support such optimism. My defense out of a sense of justice doesn't mean the trouble is over."

"Since Lord Bewitching and I cannot defeat you, in order to salvage our damaged reputation, they will resort to any means necessary to ruin your name. After all, your 'operations' in the black mist that were not witnessed by anyone, and the connection you established with that inexplicable summon... are not easy to explain. Walking out of the deliberation court unscathed may not mean the end."

The gavel struck, and the entire hall fell silent.

Because the materials were too "abundant," all of Pirion's submissions were moved to a separate room for further review.

This also means that the second round is about to begin.

Reminded, Arele realized that she had gone off-topic in her efforts to target the Bewitching Raven.

She went straight up to Suiyue, her gaze sharp as a knife: "Please perform the summoning."

"what?"

"Summon the creature you described, the one that can defeat Almahern, the fourth-level Living Eclipse and the possessor of the Eye of Aging." Arele repeated the request clearly, word by word.

The crow stopped Suiyue, who had instinctively stood up: "Can you summon her?"

Nan'an sensed the goodwill the old man was showing and had an idea.

"call."

Suiyue obediently listened, gathering magic power above her head. The faint light that formed as the summoning ritual took shape attracted attention, and all the elders on the stage raised their heads.

The elders' guards carefully circled around from both sides of the stage, ready to respond.

They were not the ones who were summoned, and could not see the enormous, silent, rotating void that the summoning took shape, but they could feel the surging, leaking magical energy.

For a full minute there was no response, and all the burning gazes fell on Suiyue, whose face was flushed red.

"What are you dragging your feet on for?" Arele frowned, her voice clearly showing impatience. "Where's the summoned creature?"

"He..." Suiyue's voice was a little dry, perfectly conveying her embarrassment and helplessness, "He doesn't want to come out."

"Lies!" Arell retorted sharply. "You summoned him twice before and he obeyed, even fighting against the Eye of Aging for you, who was weak, according to your description. Why is he refusing to obey the summoner's will now?"

The raven stroked its chin thoughtfully, then suddenly asked, "Can you sense his 'voice' or 'emotions' through the connection of the summoning ritual?"

Suiyue's eyes lit up. Nan'an had her put on this act just to get the old man to talk to her!

"Yes..." She tilted her head slightly, as if listening to something, a troubled look on her face. "He... is a little angry, thinking that I treat him like a clown on a stage for people to watch and amuse."

"Interrupt the summoning ritual," the Raven commanded without hesitation. "Soothe him."

Arele, standing to the side, was not willing to let this opportunity slip by.

"Continue the summoning!" she shouted almost simultaneously, her voice resolute. "Words are meaningless! Elders, she's simply putting on an act. We have every reason to believe that once the summoning is complete, all her lies will be utterly exposed!"

The elders looked at each other in bewilderment. Due to the Lundland massacre, knowledge about summoned creatures had been shelved from the general public to the academic world, and few people knew about it.

For a moment, they didn't know how to determine whether what Suiyue said was true or false.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened.

From the depths of that invisible summoning vortex, a figure shimmering with a ghostly blue light darted out like a phantom.

It had almost no solid form, its outline blurred and indistinct in the light, like condensed mist. Before its figure had even fully landed, it had already begun frantically absorbing Suiyue's magic power—the girl's face instantly turned pale, and she staggered.

"Sizzle!!"

A deafening crackling sound of electric arcs exploded!

Blinding bluish-white lightning crackled around the dark blue figure, and the air was filled with the scorching smell of burning.

Its movements were faster than most people could perceive. A phantom enveloped in lightning tore through the air in an instant and appeared in front of Arele!

Before Ariel could react, all she saw in her pupils was a burst of violent lightning and the rapidly enlarging outline of a fist made of elemental energy.

The next second, her body was struck head-on by a battering ram, her feet left the ground, and she flew backward, tracing an arc in the air before crashing heavily into the thick stone wall behind her with an even deeper, more muffled thud.

The bas-reliefs on the wall seemed startled, swaying in the flickering light and shadow.

Dust fell in rustling sounds.

Arele slid down the wall and collapsed to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with broken teeth, which splattered onto the clean floor.

She tried to sit up, but only twitched weakly, her head tilted to one side, and she fell into a coma.

Chaos erupted at the scene, and onlookers screamed.

"Attack! Attack!"

"Where are the guards? Guards!"

The crow's gaze instinctively followed the direction in which the dark blue figure disappeared.

After sending Ariel flying with a single punch, he appeared as abruptly as he had appeared, his figure rapidly dimming in mid-air, turning into specks of firefly light and disappearing completely.

The whole process took no more than two or three breaths, so fast it was like an illusion. The lingering scorching heat and the aftershocks of elemental drive in the air proved that what had just happened was no illusion.

Arele's wish was fulfilled.

Suiyue's forced summoning did indeed cause the "summoned creature" to descend in a fit of rage, and it precisely located the person on the field who was most aggressive towards Suiyue.

Those in Ariel's faction couldn't sit still any longer and slammed their fists on the table.

"Extremely arrogant and wantonly injuring people, the elders will surely punish them severely!"

"Guards, seize her!"

Seeing that Huoya was protecting Suiyue behind him, the elder's guards all stopped and turned back with troubled expressions.

"Elders, the facts have proven that Suiyue and her summoned creatures have indeed established a certain... 'harmonious and harmonious' dialogue relationship."

His gaze swept over Arele, who was unconscious and being treated at the foot of the wall, and then slowly moved towards the high platform.

"Compulsive summoning and display only irritate individuals with a high degree of self-awareness and obvious power. Sir Arell... has just vividly demonstrated to us all the consequences of reckless actions."

Arele's side has no intention of letting Suiyue go.

"Bewildering Raven, are you ignoring the danger just now and trying to mislead us? That was clearly a highly dangerous 'anomaly.' Regardless of the circumstances, Suiyue, as the summoner, should be held responsible for this attack!"

"If you really want an explanation, then..." Raven laughed, "go ask Gunn Palka for it after the deliberation."

"What do you mean by that?"

Bewitching Raven patted Suiyue's shoulder. The girl, who had just been drained dry by Nan'an in an instant, was still in a daze when she heard something that surprised her.

"Himeki is about to become a member of the Evil Deer."