Chapter 424: Sixty, I’m only giving you ten seconds.
“Good afternoon, Miss Hevnia,” Phinis said with a smile to Hevnia, “so much has happened, and I’ve been somewhat concerned that you might be affected, but fortunately, your complexion looks quite good.”
“Is that so?” Hevnia touched her face in slight surprise, then said with a smile, “It’s because Mr. Delin took such good care of me that I was able to rest easy on the boat all day.”
Delin reverently placed his hand over his chest nearby: “Being able to provide you peace of mind is my honor.”
“It is the honor of the entire Lawrence Family,” Phinis continued, then slightly turned his body, “Well now, Miss Hevnia, let’s go up the mountain together.”
Hevnia nodded slightly, then followed Phinis onto the carriage, and the group that had escorted her here, including Delin, bowed and took their leave.
Thus, the carriage drawn by unicorns slowly trod through the snow, entering through an ancient bronze gate which then closed slowly with a deep sound, resonant like the string of a musical instrument.
Watching this scene, Hevnia asked Phinis, “Has the First Academy always been closed off?”
“To be precise, it should be considered semi-closed,” Phinis explained with a smile, “The First Academy is unlike the Second and Third Colleges. This place is not only an academy, but also Holy Mountain, the closest place to the Lord. Naturally, we wouldn’t allow people to enter lightly, lest they offend the great Lord.”
“Is that so?” Hevnia said, “I thought it was to guard against that fellow.”
Hearing “that fellow,” Phinis’s smile faded slightly as he spoke calmly, “While I admit that fellow has caused quite a stir, if he thinks such antics are enough to offend the Lord or challenge the First Academy, then he’s certainly delusional.”
Phinis paused, then continued.
“Rest assured, Miss Hevnia. This is not the Three Colleges. That fellow can’t reach this place, and even if he really could, we have plenty of means and candidates to deal with him. Besides, setting aside our alliance with the Taichu Two Families, the greatest Player of the entire Holy Sound is also here, isn’t he?”
Hevnia blinked, “The Principal?”
“Yes,” Phinis said with a smile, “Principal Ulysses.”
The Principal of the Holy Sound Three Great Colleges, the greatest contemporary Player who only missed one note twenty years ago to complete a millennium feat—Ulysses.
Naturally, Hevnia had done enough research on this individual, who was in every way the most outstanding figure of the current Holy Sound.
Of course, she couldn’t let Phinis see that, so she had to feign ignorance and asked, “Is the Principal still handling affairs? I always thought he had already…”
“Stepped back from frontline duties, you mean.” Phinis laughed and said, “Indeed, in the eyes of the Second and Third College, the Principal seems more like a legendary figure now, as he doesn’t have the same presence he did twenty years ago, not to mention… his age is catching up with him.”
“His age is catching up with him?” Hevnia suddenly hesitated, “There’s something I wonder if I should ask or not, Mr. Phinis.”
“When one starts with that phrase, usually they already have their answer,” Phinis remarked, “Just ask.”
“…Okay.” Hevnia unconsciously leaned a bit closer to Phinis, adopting the look of a “schoolgirl eagerly seeking to verify gossip,” “How old, exactly, is the Principal? How come some say he’s very young, while others say he’s quite old?”
As she spoke, Hevnia clutched the corner of her clothing nervously, but her bright eyes shone with insatiable curiosity and eagerness to know.
This level of familiarity even caught Hevnia herself by surprise.
After seeing Bai Wei give her a thumbs up, her body and spirit were instantly elevated to an excellent state, making her already adept acting skills even more effortless.
Phinis did not suspect anything and said with a laugh, “I guessed you’d ask that. However, ‘Holy Sound History’ should have recorded Principal Ulysses’s date of birth, shouldn’t it, Miss Hevnia? It seems you weren’t listening well in that class.”
“Of course, I know! I even got…” a passing grade in that subject,” Hevnia said somewhat indignant, “But according to the historical records, Principal Ulysses should be over seventy by now, how could that be possible? If that were the case, during the grand celebration twenty years ago, the Principal would have been in his fifties, which is already…”
“The time when the note fades, right?” Phinis went straight to the heart of the issue and continued with a smile, “That’s what you wanted to say, isn’t it?”
“Indeed, by common sense, the prime ‘bloom’ of notes occurs within the first ten years after they fully form. Thus, for Players, this prime ‘bloom’ is between the ages of thirteen and twenty-three,” Phinis explained, “This is also why the grand celebrations are mostly participated in by students of the Three Great Colleges, because once they reach a certain age, they will face the inevitable problem of their notes fading.”
“That’s actually why the Three Colleges were established.”
“However, Miss Hevnia, you must also know that not every celebrant at the grand celebrations is of the appropriate student age. There are also many who have graduated, and not-so-young Players who also participate, including those of the Golden Note.”