20demayo Chapter 296 Unveiling the Secrets
Chapter 296 Unveiling the Secrets
Chapter 296 Unveiling the Secrets
Lola looked at herself in the mirror from left to right, and picked out several dresses and put on earrings.
She even wore the high heels that Anne had given her.
It did make Lola look much taller, but it also caused her to experience the pain of a sprained ankle.
These shoes were so uncomfortable to wear; with every step Lola took, she felt like she was about to fall over.
Laura guessed that this might be the price of becoming taller.
But after she had seen enough, Lola took off all her jewelry, put on the most ordinary clothes, and walked out of the room.
Lolotti was already waiting for her, but he was already dozing off in his chair.
Lola went to his side and woke him up.
Lately, Lolotti has been very sleepy; he falls asleep from time to time no matter where he is.
Lolotti shuddered suddenly, looking at Lola with a blank expression:
"Oh! Little Lola, where is this?"
"Home."
"Home--"
Loloti repeated it, then stared ahead with a look of confusion and shame.
After a long while, he twitched his nose and turned to Lola with a smile:
"Yes, we just woke up—Little Lola, breakfast is pumpkin porridge, eat it while it's hot."
Lola glanced at the empty bowl in front of Lolotti, nodded, sat down immediately, and quickly finished her breakfast.
Lolotti had obviously been waiting for her for a while, so she had to speed things up.
Soon, Lola was ready to go out.
She woke Lolotti, who had fallen asleep again, and asked:
"I'm all ready. What are we going to do today?"
Lolotti was in a daze for a while, then suddenly asked:
"How are you doing with the witchcraft I taught you?"
"I am reading," Laura replied.
This isn't a lie; Lola was indeed watching, but she spent very little time on it.
"That's good," Lolo smiled. "Keep working hard in the future. So today—oh, what was I supposed to do again? Right, that thing..."
At this point, Loloti stood up, leaning on his staff, and walked outside.
Lola followed.
Early summer is approaching, or perhaps it has already arrived.
Only a few patches of snow remained in the Ghost Forest, but the scenery was still pleasant.
Loloti's steps weren't fast. He glanced at Lola warily, and Lola, understanding his intention, walked to his side.
Lolo smiled. "Little Lola, did I tell you? My work with the Phantom Society is finished."
Lola nodded.
"Since that's the case, there's no need for me to stay here any longer. However, I haven't found another place to live yet, so I haven't moved out."
Lola asked curiously, "Don't you have your own home?"
For some reason, Lolotti fell silent, his eyes becoming cloudy, and Lola couldn't tell what he was thinking.
After a while, Lolotti spoke again:
"When I was young, I did think about settling down somewhere, but I eventually put that idea out of my mind."
"Why?" Lola asked.
"What I pursue is knowledge. Staying in one place makes it difficult to access enough knowledge, which is detrimental to my research, isn't it?"
When Loloti smiles, he always reveals his mouth, which has very few teeth left.
Lola counted, and it seemed that Lolotti was missing another tooth.
Lola did not comment on Lolotti's answer.
In her eyes, Lolotti seemed to be someone who was passionate about academics.
Lola didn't say anything more, but Lolotti immediately said:
"My biggest wish has been fulfilled, and I estimate that I don't have much time left. It's hard to imagine that such a short time is enough for me to complete any new research."
"However, since I am not yet dead, scholars cannot cease exploring the unknown. And I have recently discovered a good topic. Little Lola,"
How much do you know about the Central Community?
Lola shook her head: "I've only heard a little bit from you."
"The Central Community has been able to rise so quickly and expand its territory to the point where it can be called a real community. I heard that they recently took control of their first port."
"In this way, their shortage of supplies will be alleviated, and it will become more difficult for the Southern and Eastern communities to curb the development of the Central community."
"Little Lola, do you know why they've been so unstoppable, advancing triumphantly and continuously expanding the community's territory?"
Lola shook her head.
"It's all thanks to an army of wizards," Loloti said. "It's incredible, an army composed entirely of wizards. I doubt there's any other army in the world that can rival it alone."
"But the problem is, where did they find so many wizards? And we've never heard of a large number of wizards leaving from other places."
"A wizard who appeared out of thin air, and an army of wizards—Little Lola, what comes to mind when you hear that?"
Upon hearing this, Lola immediately lowered her head and fell into deep thought.
During her time as a wizarding apprentice at the Phantom Order, she studied wizarding history, including a section that mentioned a period of explosive growth in the number of wizards during the legendary era.
It could even be said that wizards were rampant.
That incident was related to a famous woman:
"The Curse Witch, Grellara."
"That's right!" Lolot grinned. "The Curse Witch, combining all her talents, created a special medicine."
It's called "Potion".
This drug can forcibly activate a person's extraordinary talent, thereby mass-producing extraordinary individuals.
"But if the proportion of superhumans becomes too high, the world's格局 will be changed, and disaster may befall us."
"And indeed, that's true. Centuries later, the legendary era rapidly transitioned into the prehistoric era. Historians say the root cause of this shift lies with Grellara."
"So she's a bad person?" Lola asked.
"The disasters she brought also earned her the name 'calamity,' and in that respect, she was indeed a bad person."
"However, Gretella herself did not think she had done anything wrong, and even believed that everything she did was out of kindness."
"If it benefits the world, I am willing to be the only calamity in the hearts of all beings," these are Greta's original words.
"It sounds righteous and awe-inspiring, doesn't it? But even after her death, it was not found that her actions brought any help to the world, but only led to the birth of countless disasters."
"So, little Lola, as for whether she's a bad person, that's a difficult question to answer. I'm more wondering whether good and evil are determined by individual will?"
Laura didn't know.
If Gretna's words and actions are consistent, then she undoubtedly meant well but did something wrong.
So, is she a bad person?
Lola couldn't understand it, so she could only shake her head at Lolotti.
Lolo smiled slightly: "You can think about this question slowly. In short, as for whether someone is a bad person or not, little Lola, you must learn to judge with your own eyes."
Upon hearing this, Lola nodded slightly; she didn't really care who Gretella was.
Loloti continued, "Since the current situation in the Central Community is the same as that of Grelala back then, one can't help but wonder if the two things are really unrelated."
"Recently, a spy from the Eastern Community infiltrated the Central Community and successfully smuggled out intelligence, confirming that this suspicion was not unfounded."
"The spy said that the Central Community is using a potion to turn ordinary people into superhumans, which is undoubtedly Grellara's magic potion."
"Maybe it's just a coincidence," Laura retorted.
"Remember, Lola? A few months ago, there were rumors about the discovery of Grellara's relics, right? And not long after, something resembling Grellara's potion appeared in the world, which means..."
"...That relic is the potion recipe!" Lola chimed in.
Lolo nodded: "That's right. Besides that, the spy also brought out something even more important: a whole bottle of potion that can create superhumans!"
"And this is the goal of our trip today."
Lola asked, "Can you get your hands on that potion?"
“No one could get it,” Loloti said. “After the spy handed the potion to the Eastern Community, they immediately divided it into three parts and sent them to the three major wizarding schools on the frozen continent.”
"You're going to take me to see just one-third of it?"
"Yes, the Phantom Society invited all the renowned scholars in the Southern Community to conduct research together, including not only wizards but also alchemists."
"The goal of everyone is simply to research the formula for the potion and a way to counter it. Thousands of years ago, the potion brought disaster to the world. That is a lesson from the past. If we don't want to repeat the same mistake, we must be fully prepared from the very beginning."
"So, Lola, you're in luck. You'll have the opportunity to participate in a discussion among the world's top scholars."
Laura didn't take the word "fortunate" seriously.
Lola wasn't honored to meet these people, especially since she wasn't interested in the topics they were discussing.
However, Lola didn't say these words aloud; she was just an assistant, and her job was simply to follow along.
The two quickly traversed the Ghostly Forest and headed directly to the Hall of Unveiling Secrets.
Soon, the two arrived at their destination.
The Hall of Revelation of the Phantom Society is a hexagonal building with a pointed roof, which on the surface looks like nothing more than a small temple.
If more than ten people go inside, it will probably be difficult to move around freely.
However, if it were ten Lolas, it wouldn't be that bad.
Loloti led Lola toward the Hall of Secrets, and Lola quickly realized something was wrong.
Even though the Hall of Secrets looked so close, why did she walk for so long without the distance shortening?
Noticing Lola's puzzled expression, Lolot explained:
"This place has been enchanted, affecting the view of this area. In reality, we are still some distance from the Hall of Secrets, and it is much larger than it appears."
As it turns out, Lolotti's description was quite accurate.
Lola walked for quite a while before finally stepping into the Hall of Secrets, and the interior space of the Hall of Secrets was even larger than the Library of Abraham.
Lolo reminded Lola not to lose her, and Lola quickened her pace.
Soon, the two went deep into the hall.
Just then, two people walked towards us: one was a hooded man wearing a colorful robe, and the other was a woman whose cloak trailed with long tassels.
Both men looked to be over sixty years old, and the male wizard shouted from a distance:
"Knowing Heart, it's been a long time."
Lola didn't realize it was Lolotti's nickname until Lolotti responded.
"Yes, Zain, when was the last time you went?"
"I don't remember either, but it was either another meeting or a wizarding event on time."
The woman interjected, "Wizards always walk alone and don't associate with others unless necessary. Only the weak-willed choose to band together."
Lolotti smiled and said, "Daphne, you're still as aloof as ever."
"If you spend your days surrounded by thorns and poison, it's hard not to be aloof, isn't it, Violet?" Zain said with a laugh.
"Violet" Daphne glared at Zain, then asked Lolotti seriously:
What do you think?
Lolo replied, "If this really is the Curse Witch's potion, then its danger level is undoubtedly world-class. Did you see the portion that the Phantom Society received?"
Both of them shook their heads at the same time. Zain said:
"The meeting won't officially start for another ten minutes or so. Before that, we invitees won't have access to the sample."
"After all, it was hard-won, so it's understandable to be cautious," Daphne said. "According to reliable intelligence, the spy is dead."
Loloti nodded slightly and said nothing more.
Just then, Zain and Daphne suddenly turned their heads toward Lola at the same time and frowned.
Zain waved to Lola:
"Whose little girl has wandered in here? Go away! This isn't a place for children to play!"
Lola was inexplicably furious: "I'm not a child, I'm a grown woman!"
"What adult woman is this short!" Zain scoffed.
Lola glared at Zain fiercely, feeling hurt at the same time. She had clearly grown taller, so why was she still being treated like a child?
Moreover, it seems she will not be able to grow any taller in the future.
Anne said that pain helps girls grow into real women.
Laura had also experienced that feeling.
Daphne said to Lola, "Ignore him, little girl. He's notoriously foul-mouthed. If it weren't for his good looks, he'd probably still be a virgin."
If you really want to comfort me—Lola thought to herself—then don't emphasize "small."
Daphne, clearly oblivious to Lola's emotions, turned to Lolotti and asked:
"Who is this girl to you?"
Lolotti laughed and said, "She's my assistant, a genius."
Zain and Daphne's eyes widened slightly upon hearing Lolotti's assessment, and they looked at Lola with surprise.
However, they didn't offer any comments and just chatted casually afterwards.
After a while, a man walked to the very center of the unveiling hall.
Laura had seen this man before; he was Keller Williams, the president of the Phantom Order.
Keller placed a box on a stone table in the center of the Hall of Unveiling, and covered the box with a red silk cloth.
As he clapped his hands, the room fell silent instantly, and everyone gathered around Keller.
Loloti, with Lola by his side, stood in the front row.
Keller said, "Here's the potion we got from the Central Community. The Phantom Society invited everyone here to study its formula, find ways to neutralize or counteract it, and explore its connection to the Cursed Witch Grellara—"
As he spoke, Keller untied the silk scarf.
The lower box is made of glass, making the silver potion inside clearly visible.
Keller scanned the crowd and continued:
"The outcome of everyone's discussion will determine the Phantom Society's attitude towards the Central Community—."