Chapter 460: The Delayed Reward
"Sizzle—"
Jia Na, whose consciousness had just retreated from her Sea of Spirit, heard the crackling of the fire in the fireplace.
"Hmm? Is that a Spark Sprite? Did someone send me a package?"
Seeing the Spark Sprite suddenly ignite in the fireplace, Jia Na stood up and walked towards it.
"As expected, it's a package."
Looking at the rectangular wooden box, about a meter long, in the fireplace, a hint of anticipation flashed in Jia Na's eyes.
"Could it be her—"
After using Wizard's Hand to retrieve the wooden box from the fireplace, Jia Na's gaze fell on the signature area at the bottom right corner of the box lid, where a mask was carved.
"A mask—then it shouldn't be her."
Jia Na, who remembered the Rose Family's crest very clearly, felt a hint of disappointment when she saw that the symbol on the wooden box was not the Rose Family's.
In fact, the moment she saw the Spark Sprite ignite, Jia Na's first thought was that the box must have been sent by Vivian.
After all, based on the return time of the magic steam airship, Vivian should have already arrived in Duling by now.
Moreover, knowing Vivian as she did, Jia Na was well aware that Vivian would write to her to report her safe arrival as soon as she got home.
"White Coral Academy is on winter break right now, so perhaps she hasn't even woken up yet—"
Glancing at the still early time on the owl clock, Jia Na redirected her attention to the wooden box on the tea table.
"If it's not Vivian, then it can only be him."
From the mask symbol at the bottom right of the wooden box and the fact that the sender knew Jia Na's current address, Jia Na quickly guessed that the sender of the wooden box was likely Kuroro-kin, the White Tower Wizard known as the "Puppet Master," who had promised to customize a wizard tool as a reward specifically for her.
Thinking of this, Jia Na continued to manipulate the emerald green Wizard's Hand to open the wooden box in front of her.
"Ding-dong—"
The moment Jia Na opened the wooden box, a sound like a stream flowing after the spring snow melted came from inside the box.
And hearing this sound, Jia Na felt a refreshing coolness, as if her soul had been cleansed by the stream.
"This is the power of the Law of Beauty?"
The moment she heard the sound, Jia Na recognized that the sound from within the wooden box, in addition to the usual power of Sound-type magic, also contained the power of the Law of Beauty.
"A harp?"
After lifting the white velvet cloth on top of the box, Jia Na finally saw the true "appearance" of the item inside.
It was a moon-white harp, shaped like a slanted triangle, about eighty centimeters long, over fifty centimeters wide, and about twenty-five centimeters high.
The entire body of the harp was as crystal clear as crystal.
In addition, this harp consisted of twenty-three strings, each string flowing with a shimmering, water-like luster, like a stream in spring, and occasionally emitting clear ding-dong sounds.
"Although the appearance of this harp is very similar to crystal, judging from the aura emanating from it, it should be refined from some kind of magic plant."
Even though the body of this twenty-three-string harp was as crystal clear as crystal, when Jia Na's fingertips touched the body of the instrument, she was still able to perceive the plant aura contained within the harp's body through her Natural Affinity talent.
And as far as Jia Na knew, the only magic plant that could be as crystal clear as crystal was "Crystal Coral," which grew in the Aegean Sea of Atlantis.
It is said that the "Aegean Sea" of Atlantis was actually formed from the heart of the former goddess of Love and Beauty, who governed the law of love, and also the deceased wife of Temiselu Russell, the current Lord of the Ocean and guardian of Atlantis, the clam goddess Flortenas-Moonlight.
And the Crystal Coral that grew in the "Aegean Sea" was transformed from the "Tears of Longing" of the Lord of the Ocean, Temiselu Russell, after Flortenas-Moonlight's death, which can be said to be quite romantic.
Because of this, the Crystal Coral in the Aegean Sea became one of the most representative magic plants in Atlantis.
Not only does it have extremely high ornamental value, but any wizard tool crafted from Crystal Coral will also possess the characteristics of the law of love and the Law of Beauty.
"Crystal Coral is extremely high in both price and rarity, and it hardly circulates outside of Atlantis. Wizard Kuroro is indeed a generous person."
After a soft sigh, Jia Na's fingers moved from the body of the harp to its strings.
"Indeed, strings that can be paired with Crystal Coral would not be ordinary items—these strings should originate from the Dream Realm."
Jia Na, who didn't know much about Alchemy, didn't know the exact material of the harp strings. However, because she had signed a contract with Qimeng Butterfly, who originated from the Dream Realm, Jia Na was quite sensitive to the aura of the Dream Realm.
"By my will, I command you, summon—Qimeng Butterfly."
Whoosh—
Accompanied by a brilliant flash of light, Qimeng Butterfly was summoned by Jia Na from the Dream Realm.
"Master, long time no see."
The moment Qimeng Butterfly appeared from the contract array, it flapped its wings and landed on Jia Na's shoulder.
"Indeed, it's been a long time."
Because she had been busy preparing for graduation and matters related to the White Tower Trial recently, Jia Na hadn't contacted her contracted creatures for a long time.
"Artemis, can you help me check if these harp strings are from the Dream Realm?"
"Okay."
Hearing Jia Na's words, Qimeng Butterfly flew from Jia Na's shoulder to the harp.
"Master, I can feel the aura of the Dream Realm from these strings—but they don't originate from the Dream Realm."
"Not from the Dream Realm?"
Hearing Qimeng Butterfly's words, a hint of confusion flashed in Jia Na's eyes.
"Yes, this item should originate from the Primary Material World; it just has the aura of the Dream Realm on it."
"So that's it." Jia Na, having received Qimeng Butterfly's conclusive answer, nodded thoughtfully and looked at the harp in the wooden box.
"If I see Wizard Kuroro later, I can ask him about it."
Ding-dong—Her finger once again plucked the harp strings, listening to the melodious sound that seemed to come from the depths of her soul. Suddenly, a guess formed in Jia Na's mind.
"Could it be that these strings are actually special materials infused with the soul of some Dream Realm creature—"
