Chapter 3038 May I Ask Your Age, Excellency?

'So he really is another giant of the Night Watchers. Pardon my lack of manners.'

When the newcomer announced his identity, Fu Qian wasn't actually all that surprised.

After all, everyone knew cats and snakes rarely got along.

He had instantly found the reason Old Man Henry disliked Excellency Corvos.

Of course, this only made the entire Night Watchers organization feel even more bizarre.

Having a somewhat evil and abstract form of power was fine, as one still had to judge them by how they actually used it.

But when it reached this level of abstraction, one had to start doubting the organization's purity.

Sharing the exact same face with the ancient Serpent of Destiny? Considering the rather troublesome nature of that entity's power inside the Nightmare Corridor, it was truly hard to dismiss as a coincidence.

Not to mention that Excellency Serpent of Destiny had specifically told him to come here.

And if it wasn't a coincidence, shouldn't there be a reason?

"A pleasure. Just call me Fu Qian."

Amid his thoughts, Fu Qian solemnly stated his own name in response to Excellency Corvos's self-introduction.

"That name does indeed suit you better," Corvos replied, keeping up the demeanor of a first meeting and remaining excessively polite. "Actually, if you hadn't come here, I was planning to pay a visit to the Academy in a couple of days."

A magnificent Tier 1 expert, one of the giants of the Night Watchers, was planning to run off to the Academy specifically to visit Professor Fu?

Such a distinct honor had to be a glory the Academy hadn't seen in years.

Furthermore, thinking carefully about that initial comment, it sounded entirely like the cryptic drivel of a charlatan.

How did he know the name "Fu Qian" was more suitable? Usually, with someone who loved using alternate personas, people would easily assume that every identity was just a disguise, right?

If someone else had said that, Fu Qian would have leaned toward thinking they were acknowledging his aura as an academic.

But coming from someone like Excellency Corvos, he had to suspect some hidden meaning.

For instance, did he have a way to determine that "Fu Qian" was his real name?

Speaking of which, he still remembered their first meeting, when Excellency Serpent of Destiny had directly seen through his identity as the King of the Abandoned Prison—or rather, his identity as a fake King of the Abandoned Prison.

On that point alone, his suspicion spiked once again.

"Actually, I've admired your reputation for a long time as well. Having just wrapped up a project these past two days, I recalled Excellency Stoss's invitation," Fu Qian said.

Regardless of the situation, mutual flattery was basic etiquette, so he immediately expressed his yearning for this premier violent syndicate.

Looking up at the sound of footsteps, he noticed four more people walking down from above.

Besides Yuan Shan, who had gone to report, walking at the very front was Old Man Stoss, who had only just found a moment to rest.

His solemn expression could not be hidden even by his thick beard.

Alongside him, besides Logan who had just been chatting in the store, there was even Excellency Chaumont's Puppet Demigod following behind.

In short, it was obvious at a glance where Chief Yuan had gone to find people.

Most likely, the elderly gentlemen hadn't even had time for a sip of tea before being hurriedly forced back to work.

Even Excellency Chaumont, who was watching the store, had specifically dispatched his puppet over. He clearly didn't want to miss anything at the scene and was ready to step in at any moment if needed.

...

"I heard about what happened here, so I rushed over first," Corvos explained, obviously noticing the lineup behind him as well and seeming to only just remember the matter at hand.

It sounded like Stoss and the others had managed to contact a few of the giants. Then, the highly secretive Excellency Corvos had actually appeared even more proactive than Excellency Half-Art, taking the initiative to come and stabilize the situation.

"We have good luck. It seems Henry discovered the problem at the very first moment."

Gazing into The Abyss within the pool, Corvos completed his preliminary inspection, sounding rather optimistic.

"I lean toward that conclusion as well. So this level of incident won't have much impact on the Birthday Party?" Fu Qian asked.

Regarding his statement, Fu Qian felt there was indeed nothing wrong with it.

Based on his earlier deduction, there was a high probability that Old Man Henry was the very source of this accident. Wasn't that the absolute "first moment"?

"Rest assured, everything is under control."

In response to Fu Qian's casual concern, Corvos appeared remarkably confident.

He didn't even need to test anything before directly indicating there was no need to worry.

It was just that his expression as he spoke held a somewhat profound meaning, once again giving off that charlatan-like vibe of the Serpent of Destiny.

"That's good to hear... May I ask your esteemed age this year, Excellency Corvos?"

With such a tense incident being handled so effortlessly, Fu Qian didn't find it out of place at all. He nodded in satisfaction and even changed the subject, as if just making small talk.

Oh? His words truly shocked everyone present. Not only were the gazes from Stoss and the others complicated, but even Corvos himself looked somewhat surprised.

"Memories of oneself are part of one's personal secrets. Regrettably, I cannot give you an exact number," he answered.

Clearly possessing a strong sense of personal information security, he patiently explained as the host, offering a slightly vague answer.

"In short, I am somewhat older than Half-Art, yet younger than Excellency Soral."

...

'So they really are the three giants of the Night Watchers? In that case, I've already met two of them.'

The individuals Corvos used for comparison were undoubtedly extraordinary figures, giving a visceral sense of the Night Watchers' internal power structure.

Although they possessed an organizational format like the Supreme Council, the influence of personal might in the transcendent world still shone through.

It was obvious that, led by Chairman Soral, these three were the true pinnacle of power in the entire Bookstore World.

Of course, this was all information he could have pretty much guessed anyway. The key point was that the question Fu Qian truly wanted to ask had already been answered—

He didn't need to know Corvos's exact age; knowing that he was relatively young was enough.

The ancient Excellency Serpent of Destiny must have been locked inside for a very long time; it wouldn't even be surprising if it had happened during the Long Night. Furthermore, it was known that the Nightmare Corridor possessed a one-way valve nature akin to a law of the world, meaning nothing related to the Serpent of Destiny could seep out.

Combining these two facts, the previous question seemed to yield a counterintuitive answer—it wasn't that Corvos had the Serpent of Destiny's face, but rather that the Serpent of Destiny had Corvos's face.

When the Serpent of Destiny was locked in, Corvos had likely not even been born yet.

Therefore, the consistency between the two could only be a one-way infiltration from the Bookstore World into the Nightmare Corridor.

Moreover, there was no technical issue with this; Taylor and his group had already demonstrated it.

Naturally, this led to the next question: why would Excellency Serpent of Destiny anchor to such an image?

"Is there... nothing we need to do for Teacher here?"

Amid these thoughts, faced with this overly relaxed atmosphere, Yuan Shan—who had been so frantically calling for people earlier—finally couldn't hold it in.

"Don't worry. Soral will arrive before he can't hold on anymore."

Corvos merely glanced at her. Though his words of comfort were spoken casually, they carried a certainty that left no room for doubt.

"How much do you have left?"

Then, in the very next moment, he turned his head back to scrutinize Fu Qian and suddenly asked this question.