booktalesy Chapter 459 : A Belated Reward
Chapter 459 : A Belated Reward
“Zzz—”As Janna’s consciousness withdrew from the Sea of Soul, she heard the crackling sound of sparks burning in the fireplace.
“Hm? A Spark Sprite… could it be that someone sent me a delivery?”
Seeing a Spark Sprite suddenly flare up inside the fireplace, Janna stood up and walked toward it.
“As expected, it’s a package.”
When she saw a square wooden box, about a meter long, appear in the fireplace, anticipation flickered in Janna’s eyes.
“Could it be from her—”
After casting 【Wizard’s Hand】 to lift the box from the fireplace, Janna’s gaze immediately fell on the lower-right corner of the lid, where an emblem of a mask was engraved.
“A mask—so it shouldn’t be from her.”
Janna remembered the Rose Family’s crest very clearly. When she saw that the symbol on the box was not the Rose Family’s, a trace of disappointment welled up in her heart.
In fact, the moment she saw the Spark Sprite ignite, her first thought had been that the package was from Vivian.
After all, based on the return schedule of the Magical Steam Airship, Vivian should have already arrived in Turin by now.
Moreover, knowing Vivian as she did, Janna was certain that the very first thing Vivian would do upon reaching home was to send her a letter to assure her of her safe return.
“Since White Coral Academy is on winter break right now, she’s probably still asleep at this hour—”
Glancing at the owl-shaped Mechanical Clock, which still showed it was early, Janna turned her eyes back to the wooden box on the coffee table.
“If it isn’t from Vivian, then it can only be from him.”
From the mask insignia in the corner of the box and the fact that only two people knew her current address, Janna quickly guessed that the sender must be none other than the White Tower wizard Clororo-Kim, known as the 【Puppet Master】, who had promised to craft a witch tool reward specially for her.
With this thought in mind, Janna once again controlled the emerald glow of 【Wizard’s Hand】 to open the wooden box before her.
“Ding-dong—”
The moment she lifted the lid, a sound like snowmelt streams flowing in early spring drifted from within.
Hearing it, Janna felt as if her very soul had been washed by the coolness of that water.
“This is… the power of the 【Law of Beauty】?”
At the very instant the sound rang, she sensed that the voice carried not only the qualities of sound-based magic, but also the resonance of the 【Law of Beauty】.
“A harp?”
When she lifted away the white velvet cloth covering it, Janna finally saw the true “appearance” of the object inside.
It was a moon-white harp, crystal-clear as if carved from translucent glass. The instrument was shaped like a right-angled triangle, about eighty centimeters long, a little over fifty wide, and twenty-five high.
The harp had twenty-three strings in total. Each string gleamed with flowing light like a mountain brook in spring, rippling with delicate glimmers and occasionally ringing with crisp, bell-like notes.
“Although this harp looks like it’s made of crystal, judging by the aura it carries, it must be crafted from some magical plant.”
Even though the harp’s body gleamed like pure crystal, when Janna’s fingers brushed its frame, her 【Plant Affinity】 talent allowed her to sense the plant essence hidden within.
As far as Janna knew, the only magical plant that appeared so crystalline was the “Crystal Coral,” which grew only in the Aegean Sea of 【Atlantis】.
It was said that the “Aegean Sea” itself had once been the heart of 【Flotenath-Moonlight】, the Shell Goddess, wife of 【Themis-Russell】, the current 【Lord of the Ocean】 and guardian of 【Atlantis】. She had also been the God of Love and Beauty, wielder of the 【Law of Love】.
After 【Flotenath-Moonlight】’s death, the “Crystal Coral” was said to have been born from 【Themis-Russell】’s “Tears of Longing.” A romantic tale indeed.
For this reason, Crystal Coral had become one of the most iconic magical plants of 【Atlantis】.
Not only was it of extraordinary ornamental value, but any witch tool crafted from Crystal Coral carried the properties of both the 【Law of Love】 and the 【Law of Beauty】.
“Crystal Coral is extremely rare and expensive. It hardly circulates outside 【Atlantis】. Wizard Clororo truly is a generous man.”
With a soft sigh, Janna’s fingers drifted from the harp’s body to its strings.
“As expected, the strings that match Crystal Coral are no ordinary material either—these strings must come from the 【Dream Realm】.”
Though Janna did not know much about alchemical materials, she could clearly sense the aura of the 【Dream Realm】 on the strings. This was thanks to her contract with the Radiant Dream Butterfly, a creature native to the 【Dream Realm】.
“I command you by my will—Summon! Radiant Dream Butterfly.”
Swoosh—
With a flash of dazzling light, the Radiant Dream Butterfly appeared, summoned from the 【Dream Realm】.
“Master, long time no see.”
The moment it emerged from the Contract Array, the butterfly fluttered its wings and landed gently on Janna’s shoulder.
“Yes, it has been a long time.”
Having been busy with graduation preparations and the White Tower trials, Janna had not contacted her contracted creatures in quite a while.
“Artemis, help me check the harp’s strings. Are they truly from the 【Dream Realm】?”
“Of course.”
Hearing Janna’s request, the butterfly flew from her shoulder to the harp.
“Master, I can indeed sense the aura of the 【Dream Realm】 in these strings—but they are not actually from the 【Dream Realm】.”
“They aren’t?”
At its words, Janna’s eyes filled with doubt.
“Yes. They must come from the 【Material Plane】, only imbued with the aura of the 【Dream Realm】.”
“I see…”
Receiving this certain answer from the Radiant Dream Butterfly, Janna nodded and cast a thoughtful gaze toward the harp.
“When I meet Wizard Clororo next time, I should ask him about it.”
As her fingers plucked the strings again, a melody rang forth, echoing straight from the depths of her soul. Suddenly, a bold idea formed in her mind.
“Could it be… that these strings contain a special essence infused with the soul of some creature from the 【Dream Realm】—”