Literary Salon

August 22nd, Wednesday, 3:00 PM, Overcast.

Sno arrived at the luxurious villa in Queen's District, holding the invitation that Madam Nora's people had delivered to his home yesterday.

As a territorial noble who inherited his title at a young age due to his father's early death, Viscount Grellint could practically be considered the social core of the younger generation of nobles.

It wasn't that everyone liked him, but rather that only he had the privilege to host various salons and parties as he pleased.

The parties hosted by ordinary noble youths were either for their parents' political considerations or formal gatherings based on social needs. As for the wine parties of middle-aged nobles, they were filled with all sorts of constraints.

As a result, Viscount Grellint's mansion had almost become a gathering mecca for Backlund's second-generation elites. This led many talented but inexperienced young professionals in fields reliant on high society, such as writers, painters, and designers, to view Viscount Grellint's salons as a stepping stone. As long as they were noticed by a noble, they would immediately soar to prominence.

These talented and distinguished young people, in turn, attracted many nobles interested in these industries, and even led to numerous investments and business collaborations. This caused Viscount Grellint's seemingly extravagant salons to actually become profitable ventures.

The feeling was somewhat akin to high-end clubs attracting high-end consumers, thereby attracting high-quality tea ceremony masters who wanted to climb the social ladder and had sufficient capital, and then attracting more wealthy tea connoisseurs, creating a virtuous cycle.

And today, there were especially many guests here.

Relying on an incredibly handsome face, the reception staff at the entrance didn't even check his invitation before letting him pass. This gave Sno a sudden sense of déjà vu, like "pretty girls get free entry to high-end bars."

Of course, he didn't care about this convenience. Although it seemed like he was accepting a favor for free on the surface, sometimes owing a favor was more conducive to social interaction.

"Little Sno, you're here?" Madam Mano, who had arrived earlier for well-known reasons and hadn't come with Sno, walked over quickly upon seeing him and then smiled as she introduced him to noble ladies she knew.

Sno's predecessor had considerable experience in such social settings. Before long, he shed the awkwardness of being an "outsider"—

Of course, this was also partly due to the many acquaintances present.

Wandering through the spacious banquet hall, he occasionally picked up a glass of low-alcohol wine and chatted with the ladies who approached him. Although jojo had just begun serialization, his reputation as a "writer" was far from drawing attention. But who could deny his good looks?

He walked up to a long table and took a piece of exquisite-looking pastry. As Sno ate, he surveyed the banquet hall. He had to admit, his predecessor's network was truly terrifying. Of the women in the banquet hall at that moment, even counting the fashion designers, jewelry designers, painters, and novelists, Sno recognized a staggering thirty percent of them.

This recognition rate was basically equivalent to Sno's customer list.

He secretly preemptively used his Sequence Seven Extraordinary ability, placing himself in a state of "unreadable." On one hand, this would avoid the attention of any "Spectators" or other Extraordinarys present in the banquet hall. On the other hand, it would better conceal the fluctuations caused by his use of Extraordinary abilities.

After doing all this, Sno then took a step forward and walked towards a few ladies who looked familiar but whom he didn't know.

This lady was currently leaning in a corner, lazily sipping a cocktail. There were traces of smoke on her fingertips, her hair was fluffy and slightly curled, and her pale blue eyes lacked focus, giving her an air of being detached from the world, yet also as if she were waiting for someone.

"Ugh, this 'unreadable Snorlax' also comes with 'readable Whiscash'?" Sno muttered to himself about the ability he preemptively used. He had to admit, for a pathway that could advance through the Psychologist Potion, even if he was only borrowing a passive skill, it still came with excellent observation abilities.

He handed the plate in his hand to a passing waiter and walked unhurriedly towards the lady, revealing an approachable smile.

"Beautiful lady, my name is Sno, Sno von Pandax. Would you be amenable to getting acquainted?"

Fors frowned slightly at this man who suddenly appeared before her. Although he was indeed visually appealing and behaved very politely, for some reason, at first glance, she felt a sense of "lack of concrete impression." Simply put, as long as she didn't look at him, she would forget what he looked like in a short while.

Although she didn't really want to speak, Fors understood that she couldn't appear too aloof at a literary salon, especially when she couldn't recall every guest's name by heart.

Viscount Grellint could help her get Hugh out of trouble; the person in front of her might not be able to get her into trouble.

"Honestly, why does Miss Audrey insist on communicating in this kind of setting! Wouldn't it be better to have that dog... hmm, that dog-like Extraordinary creature convey the message?"

Fors complained inwardly, but still forced a smile.

"Hello, Mr. Sno, I am Fors, Fors Wall."

"So it's Senior Fors. Your Storm of the Century left a deep impression on me. I happen to have a novel serialized in the Tassock Newspaper as well. Would you be open to exchanging ideas?"

Actually, Sno had a bit of social anxiety in his past life, but who could help it when his predecessor was a social butterfly [censored]?

"Tassock Newspaper? I remember there was an author named Sno. Hugh seemed to like it quite a bit... wasn't it called Phantom Blood?"

Fors thought with a slight headache. Although she had confirmed that the other party was not a noble, it was not appropriate to put on a cold face at this time. She could only force herself to summon some energy and put on a social expression, starting to make small talk with Sno based on the snippets she had heard from Hugh.

However, Sno also knew the principle of not overdoing it. After leaving a slight impression, he smiled and took his leave. Watching the handsome man turn and walk away, Fors breathed a sigh of relief. But before she could return to her lazy and leisurely demeanor, a figure entered the banquet hall.

At that moment, the voices in the banquet hall instantly paused for a beat. As Backlund's most dazzling gem, this lady was undoubtedly the most noble guest at today's salon.

However, Miss Audrey, who had attended various social events since childhood, clearly knew how to blend into the social environment. Before long, the "commotion" caused by her arrival had been pacified. It just seemed that no one noticed that after brushing past a handsome man, her expression had become even "more sincere."

From this moment on, any spectator could only read the information they wished to see from Miss Justice.

[Snorlax.jpg, who everyone thinks they can see through]

ps1: Guess what Sequence Seven is called?

ps2: Regarding the Loss of Control issue with Faceless, the key for Faceless is not forgetting who they are, but not being able to change their appearance at will. When you're cosplaying, do you forget you're cosplaying? In a sense, cosplaying on Guangmu is less likely to lead to Loss of Control than pretending to be someone else in real life, because no matter how many settings you add or how grand a background story you build, you at least won't forget that you are yourself