A Song Dedicated to Anastasia

"... Isn't this a gift from Anastasia to you?"

Iver raised an eyebrow and looked at Yunus.

Maxim, standing to the side, also remained silent, casting a questioning glance at Yunus.

"For the reason you also know... I probably won't be traveling anymore."

Yunus replied, "I don't want to miss Isabel's wedding no matter what."

"Although there are still a few months left, I plan to return to Avalon and then to Glass Island in advance, just in case something goes wrong and I can't get back in time."

"... Moreover, given my forgetful nature, I'm also worried that I might lose or damage Anastasia's precious sentiments."

"Of course, if possible—I would like you to give it to Isabel."

"Instead of telling me, you should ask Anastasia herself directly."

Iver said, looking at Anastasia, "She's not dead this time."

"—What?!"

Moon Spirit Anastasia teleported to Iver's side. "Did you need me?"

That wasn't teleportation—it was the dismantling and reconstruction of the illusion. Anastasia's reconstructed face showed no trace of tears; it was perfectly clean. And there was that light and lovely smile.

At least the area affected by her "Healing Bell" should be within the range of her spell's reach.

Iver pointed at Yunus: "Mr. Yunus wants to give the harp you gave him to his daughter... who is also my fiancée. He wants to ask if that's alright?"

"Of course you can."

Anastasia smiled without hesitation and said, "I'm giving it to you. It belongs to you, Mr. Yunus. You can do with it as you please—by the way, is this what you two are like?"

Upon hearing this, Yunus stammered and couldn't utter a word.

Iver added, "It's mainly because of what you said at the end. You said you wanted to see the world."

"... Oh dear, that's just a romantic way of putting it. I can't 'see the world' from its perspective—but I can really see the world from Mr. Iver's perspective now!"

Anastasia smiled broadly, looking at Iver with some curiosity. "Mr. Iver! Should I call you... Master?"

"Your parents are watching me, do you think I can say yes?" Iver thought to himself.

He thought for a moment and had an idea, "You can call me—teacher."

"... Teacher? Will the teacher accept me as a student?"

"Because I'm going to take you to see the whole world, I think this is also a kind of lesson—a life lesson called ' Travel the World.' Just like the Fool in the Tarot Card..."

Iver spoke slowly and deliberately, his fingers twitching slightly, and Anastasia's the Fool's Card reappeared at his fingertips. "Would you like to call me teacher, Aya?"

Anastasia reached out without hesitation and grasped her own card from the other side.

She smiled playfully and said, "Please guide me, teacher!"

She then disintegrated again and was returned to the "The Fool" card.

The Golden Tree— Anastasia's body, which has no summoning time limit, remains quietly in the Grace couple's courtyard.

She will only be transferred to a new area when Iver summons her again. Unless Iver actively takes her back, she will remain in this position, providing healing and comfort to her parents.

Without a doubt, this was the first permanent summon that Iver obtained.

Although we don't yet know how thick Anastasia's shield is in her "Moon Spirit" form... it's not a bad deal to have taken on a student.

Iver's lips curled up slightly as he reached out and took Anastasia's harp. "Then... I'll give this to Isabel."

When Iver picked up the lyre, its attributes immediately became apparent: [Song Dedicated to Anastasia]

[Extraordinary Weapon (Deep Purple)]

[Musical instrument, harp, hands]

[Special Feature: Adds a "Dedication" path rating to the music]

[Elven Style: Durability greatly increased, maintenance costs higher]

[Module - Focused Performance: When playing is interrupted, the decay rate of existing musical effects is reduced by 50%]

[Extraordinary Module - Gentle Holy Melody: When played solely to provide a buff, it also grants continuous healing to the recipient.]

[Extraordinary Module - Wrath of Nature; When a piece of music damages another person, the target gains ' Wrath of Nature '.]

[Wrath of Nature: This unit's resistance to damage from 'Nature' (beasts, plants, scourge) is reduced.]

[Extraordinary Module - Eye of Anastasia: This instrument can be played independently, replicating the playing and effects of the last complete performance]

This instrument does not possess any extraordinary characteristics.

—But there are three Extraordinary Module in total!

For the original Queen of Flowers Isabel, this harp could accompany her for a long time—but now Isabel has not mastered the ability to control plants, so the term "Wrath of Nature" is not applicable for the time being.

This is an extremely precious "healing harp"! For those on the Path of Beauty who are considered extraordinary, playing it serves essentially only four purposes: buffs, debuffs, damage, and illusions. Under normal circumstances, it is impossible to heal through music; most of the effects of playing it are either buffs or debuffs.

This harp essentially grants the bard a free area-of-effect healing ability.

In real life, even if you don't get hurt, you'll at least feel refreshed when you're being treated.

It's the exhilarating feeling of minor bodily injuries being healed, stress being relieved, and energy being replenished after being depleted.

For Isabel, simply playing the piano now is enough to relax her mind. And Iver doesn't have to worry about her falling ill from overwork.

Although the Queen certainly had no shortage of healers... a little over a week after leaving Isabel, Iver developed a strange possessiveness: he didn't really want other bishops to use Illumination Spell to help Isabel maintain her health.

It's not because of gender—after all, considering the male-to-female ratio of over 3:7 in seminaries, the proportion of female bishops is actually much higher than that of male bishops. Rather, it's because "Illumination Spell" is essentially a sacrifice of one's own life to heal others; it's just that priests can replenish their life force through Sacrificial Fire Method, which makes it seem like a harmless form of healing.

Iver's possessiveness lies in... his desire for Isabel to accept only his "dedication".

It's not just Isabel.

This feeling is even spreading—to Iver's friends as well.

For example, Iver might pay a huge price to buy Sherlock a Grimoire, but whether Sherlock wants to return the money to Iver or get a Grimoire from someone else to return to Iver, Iver would probably be unhappy.

It's the kind of feeling that says, "If you're short of money, just tell me. Why did you borrow money from so-and-so? I'll give it to you directly, and you don't have to pay it back."

Iver will feel anxious if someone who has received Iver's offerings decides to stop receiving offerings or accept offerings from others for reasons such as not wanting to owe too many favors.

When Iver became aware of this consciousness, he had already undergone psychoanalysis.

He believes this is an anxiety stemming from the fear that no one needs him.

... This is probably a sign that the path has gone astray.

Iver keenly realized that his mindset had become unbalanced again.

On his return to Glass Island from Eagle Cape Village, Iver's Path of Transcendence clearly surpassed his Path of Dedication. This instilled in him a wild, fearless arrogance.

Now, as Iver's Dedication Path has reached the Fourth Level, completely surpassing the Path of Transcendence... it has only been a short time since then, and he has developed the anxiety of "what if no one needs me".

Just as imperishable crystals are difficult to prevent... psychological illnesses arising from the Path Power are uncontrollable even if one clearly understands the cause. This is because for ordinary people, mindset can be adjusted on its own; it's like water without a source.

However, for those who possess extraordinary abilities, each time they resonate with the Dao and use their extraordinary power, their corresponding thoughts will continue to deepen.

It's like a swimming pool problem in elementary school math—water flows out while water flows in.

The greatest significance of this harp is that it can alleviate Iver's anxiety.

It can heal Isabel's injuries, allowing Isabel to heal herself. As for its most useful attribute—the ability to play music and become a "bard teammate without Health Bar"—that's actually not really needed.

"I'll offer the harp as a sacrifice to Isabel when I get back, "Iver thought.

Then I'll see Isabel again tonight, and then I should focus on preparing for the Promotion Ritual.

This Promotion Ritual aims to capture Bear Angel... Therefore, Iver will not be promoted with any teammates he is familiar with, but will instead undergo a solo promotion by taking advantage of the Lord of Scales and Feathers ' assessment.

—The First Lunar Eclipse Ritual of Iver!