Extraordinary Voyage

The opening dance is a new piece by the great musician Mr. John Strauss, "Spring Melody," which, although newly composed, has already swept across the Tulip Alliance countries.

If any household's ball does not feature this piece, they would certainly be laughed at.

In the melodious music, handsome gentlemen and beautiful ladies dance gracefully.

Aiven noticed the Governor gently holding his wife and swaying in the dance floor with practiced elegance, displaying no hint of nervousness as bait.

Undoubtedly, the dozen or so Level 1 and Level 2 extraordinary individuals guarding the periphery gave him immense confidence.

Aiven held Daphne's hand with one hand and supported her slender waist with the other. Though he was occasionally distracted, under the increasingly non-human agility attribute, he perfectly matched his aunt's swirling dance moves.

"What's wrong, Aunt?"

When Aiven regained his focus, he found his aunt had been looking at him, and asked curiously.

"No, nothing."

Daphne originally wanted to ask about Krell; although the general's family isn't considered high-end nobility in "New Inn Port," it's already worth Aiven's significant effort to establish connections with them.

Attending the banquet today was intended to give Aiven, her nephew, an opportunity to meet some important figures, hoping to offer him some advice.

However, because Aiven has always been very assertive, Daphne did not want him to become overly deliberate and calculating, deciding to discuss with him discreetly after the banquet.

The dance soon ended.

Some people left the dance floor, others joined in, and many changed partners to start anew.

The seemingly normal ball was quietly experiencing unseen, subtle changes in the shadows.

Aiven led Daphne to rest on one side and himself slipped into a nearby corner to watch everything coldly. With the potential danger on his mind, he had no interest in dancing with girls.

His primary goal tonight was to ensure his aunt's safety, and his secondary goal was to cooperate with the City Guard to eliminate the source of danger in case of any possible attack.

Shortly afterward.

Anthony and Delis, having also completed the opening dance, walked over together and sat with Aiven.

"Any girl you fancy? In 'New Inn Port,' there isn't a famous lady I don't know. Tell me who you like, and I'll introduce you. A guy as outstanding as Aiven will have lots of girls show interest!" Delis assured earnestly, seeing Aiven's constant gaze on the dance floor.

"Ahem, now is not the time for jokes. Let's share our respective intel." Aiven changed the subject with an expressionless face.

"There's no intel; we just happened to come to the ball." Anthony responded irritably, as he had been having a tough time lately.

The killing spree of "Highly Poisonous Bluebells" at the hotel caused massive trouble for their Kramer Clan. Although no one has directly demanded an explanation yet, the influence and reputation of the nobility evidently suffered a blow.

Even as an ancient noble family rooted in "New Inn Port" since it was a noble estate, quietly holding the leader position in the Noble Congress, the Kramer Clan must still give everyone an account.

As for Anthony saying he'd personally take action against the rampaging "Killing Ghosts," the elders of the Kramer Clan dismissed it as merely a joke. They just arranged for him to attend the ball to ease relationships among the families; dealing with "Killing Ghosts" had other plans.

Understandably, Anthony, who was preparing for a big showdown, felt some anger.

"Okay, you seem unaware, so let me tell you." Without bothering about them, Aiven continued speaking.

"On the first night, by coincidence, I took down the 'Hammer Following Mad Demon,' and the next night, the Iron Wall Knight Order cooperated with the Crowman Team to take down 'Top Student Murder Prince' and 'Fat Killer Clown.'

Among the seven Killing Ghosts, aside from the "Random Host," which has yet to show itself, three remain: 'Highly Poisonous Bluebells,' 'Demon Disciple,' and 'White-Faced Dancer.'

At this point, Aiven glanced at the Governor, still dancing gracefully with a different partner, and continued:

"You probably have already noticed; our Governor's attempt to use a grand banquet to draw out one of them.

Intel indicates "White-Faced Dancer" and "Highly Poisonous Bluebells" favor such occasions more; based on eight years of "Killing Ghosts" never having co-offended, my guess is one of them is most likely to show.

Currently, our strength includes about five official Transcendents from the City Guard plus ten apprentice Knights. Add you two, along with myself and my teammate Krell, the other pampered bigwigs probably can't be counted on.

That's all."

"Our strength is sufficient; even if a Peak Knight arrives, we wouldn't be afraid, right? Plus, ten apprentice Knights assisting.

And today is just the fifth day; the Killing Ghost's power should only be restored to a Senior Knight Level. If it dares to show itself, perhaps even without us taking action, the City Guard alone should be able to handle it."

After hearing Aiven's analysis, Delis, with her snow-white chin resting on her hand, contemplated for a while and drew an optimistic conclusion.

"Let's hope so." Although saying so, Aiven did not relax at all; rather than conventional wisdom, he preferred trusting his Spiritual Sense. The slight prickling sensation deep in his Spirituality indicated the situation might not be so simple...

Elsewhere.

Daphne was sitting with several friends, and their topic was still centered around Aiven.

"Really? Aiven has joined the Navy less than a year? Such fast promotion is rare in the entire Kingdom Navy. Don't just eat, Dim; you must seize the opportunity to learn from Aiven, okay?" Jenny, the oldest among the wives, lectured her son Dim, who was still stuffing himself.

"Aiven Galliot, this name seemed familiar to me before; do any of you have any impression? I'm sure I've seen or heard...

Oh! I remember; it was in a recent edition of the "Beckler Post." A Navy Major's great discovery made completely overcoming the dreaded 'Scurvy' possible. The long-decorated Major Aiven happens to be Daphne's nephew?!"

The most socially connected and gossipy Teresa finally remembered where she had encountered Aiven's name.

"Wow! Such an honor ought to be inscribed in the Kingdom's maritime history, right?" Shanna exclaimed involuntarily upon hearing this.

"..."

"Aiven is our pride!" In this world where humility is not popular, Daphne proudly accepted their compliments for Aiven without reservation.

However, their words clearly displeased someone.

Teresa's dance partner, a handsome young man with blond hair and blue eyes, said sarcastically: "If I had an uncle who was a captain, I too could quickly accumulate merits and become a Major. As for being the inventor of a medical method, that just comes from spending a long time at sea, getting lucky.

Boasting is only because a country boy has not seen what true nobility is!"

No matter his thoughts, saying this only offended people. And is he really nobility? He himself is just a piano teacher with good looks!

As his dance partner, Teresa was inwardly complaining and already somewhat regretting bringing this ignorant fellow here, trying to smooth over the awkwardness:

"Sorry, Daphne, Lemon isn't usually like this; he's had too much to drink today."

"I didn't..."

The young man, not yet resigned, tried to speak but inadvertently glanced over at where Aiven and his companions sat, his body instantly freezing.

While he had seen Aiven before, the pair of young men and women joking around with him suddenly gave him a jolt, making any further words difficult to say.

Humans are peculiar creatures; a person's achievements and honors can be denigrated, but the circle they belong to cannot be. Ideals often yield to reality; stubbornness often compromises to power; only after society has given a harsh lesson do people understand their past naivety and innocence...

Noticing his unusual behavior, the wives turned around, experiencing a subtle atmosphere filling the air.

For a long time, Teresa broke the silence:

"Kramer Clan's eldest son from the Noble Congress, Alchemy Light Commerce Association's eldest lady. Daphne, are you sure your nephew really needs us to care for him?"