Invisible ripples spread from the Lapis Lazuli Ring.
Most people could not sense those ripples.
Only Gifted who possessed [Spirituality] could detect them.
Soon, however, everyone sensed that something had changed-
Whoosh! Whoosh!
With a low rush of air, two figures, each a full four meters tall, flew out from different parts of the Manor. They had grayish-white bodies, hideous faces, and bat wings tipped with hooked claws.
"G-gargoyles?!"
Brewer and the merchants behind him stared wide-eyed, unable to suppress their cries of alarm.
Their sharp, piercing voices immediately made Young Lissop and Fontel frown slightly.
Both men knew that gargoyles protected Kemail Manor.
It was a semi-public secret in aristocratic circles.
Otherwise, the place would have been looted long ago.
Human greed was never to be underestimated.
But that knowledge was limited to aristocratic circles.
Among merchants?
Even Brewer broke out in a sweat.
As the wealthy merchant's fortune accumulated and his status rose, he had naturally learned that beneath the everyday world he saw lay another, hidden world.
Bernice's family had once possessed such power.
But Brewer had only heard about it. He had never actually seen it.
So when the two gargoyles appeared before him, the wealthy merchant could not remain calm.
If even Brewer could not keep his composure, the less accomplished merchants behind him certainly could not.
Beyond crying out, many of them backed away repeatedly.
Two even fell straight to the ground.
At that moment, however, no one around them had the time to laugh at those two. All eyes were fixed on Malinda, who stood before the two gargoyles.
She gently turned the Lapis Lazuli Ring.
"Go!"
A quiet command.
The two gargoyles took flight again and returned to their original positions.
One went to the roof of the main building.
The other