Who hid My Corpse!

Indeed, the door was not locked, and she walked straight into the house.

The house was not large, comprising only two rooms, a living room and a bedroom.

The principal was indeed living here.

There was no one in the living room, only a desk and some personal items.

The bedroom door was ajar.

Miss Hevnia softly said, "Principal, it's Miss Hevnia," as she walked towards the bedroom.

Through the slightly open crack, Miss Hevnia saw an old man lying on a lounge chair with his back facing her.

That must be the principal.

Was he really asleep?

Remembering Anita's instructions, Miss Hevnia chose not to wake him but instead slowly retreated, casually examining the items in the living room while waiting.

The living room was filled mostly with books and music scores.

They were stacked in rows and scattered on the desk, carelessly left mid-creation, revealing what the greatest living composer of Holy Sound was composing.

But Miss Hevnia's gaze did not linger there long. Soon, her attention was captured by a walking stick next to the office chair.

It was an unremarkable wooden walking stick.

The wood looked as decayed as the handrails from a cliff-side path she had traversed.

The only thing slightly noteworthy was a dark gem at the top of the walking stick.

The gem was about the size of half a hand and was of poor color. It would be considered worthless debris, even bothersome, in the Hailuo Family.

But for some reason, as soon as she saw the gem, Miss Hevnia could not take her eyes off it.

She stared blankly, feeling as if time had stopped, and in the whole world, only she and the gem seemed alive.

Yes, she felt it was alive.

No, not felt—it clearly was alive.

It was breathing, listening, speaking, attracting.

Attracting Miss Hevnia, she unconsciously leaned towards it, and then cautiously reached out to touch the gem.

The moment her fingertips touched the gem...

The still world began to flow again.

And it flowed swiftly.

The previous silence was gone, replaced by noise.

All sorts of sounds flooded into her ears at the same time.

The sound of bells outside.

The sound of the wind blowing the bells.

In the academy below the cliffs, all the Players resonating for the festival.

All melodies merged together, weaving into a symphony for the festival!

It was a symphony dedicated to a deity!

Miss Hevnia was overwhelmed.

This should be a symphony dedicated to a deity!

But...

She felt puzzled.

It seemed as though the symphony was not perfect, as if something was missing.

What was missing?

Miss Hevnia lowered her head, deep in thought.

Then she found the answer.

The answer was... herself, whom she saw when she lowered her head.

At that moment, Miss Hevnia had an epiphany.

So, I am truly the one who should be dedicated to the deity.

Thinking this, she reached out, as if in sudden realization, towards her own neck.

Then, she heard a soft "tsk".

Instantly, everything began to change again, the turmoil and noise rapidly faded, returning to the pure sound of wind. The wind blew through tree branches, not bells.

The breeze plucked the withered leaves, and new buds were reborn under the ancient tree.

Beneath the ancient tree was a man intertwined with both youth and age.

Miss Hevnia did not recognize him, but she felt an inexplicable familiarity, especially his eyes.

He said to Miss Hevnia,

"It was my oversight, but fortunately, there's still a chance to remedy it."

Then he snapped his fingers.

"Wake up, do not let anyone take away your mind."

"Even if that someone is a deity."

As his voice faded and the snap ended,

Miss Hevnia blinked.

When she opened her eyes again, she was standing in front of the walking stick, the gem she had touched unresponsive, as if dead.

"You kept me waiting, Miss Hevnia."

Before Miss Hevnia could comprehend, an aged voice sounded behind her.

She immediately turned around and saw a kindly old man standing behind her.

She quickly greeted him: "Good morning, Principal Ulysses."

"Hehe, no need to be so formal," Principal Ulysses said as he slowly moved behind Miss Hevnia, glanced at the walking stick, and then, smiling, said, "It seems, you're quite interested in my assistive walking stick."

"Assistive walking stick?"

"Yes," Principal Ulysses said as he leaned on the walking stick and sat down in front of his desk, chuckling, "As you see, I'm quite old, and my body's functions are declining, including my ability to listen to Holy Sound. So I had to think of a workaround...after all, I probably still have some time left, and if I couldn't hear anything in the last few years of my life, I think I'd go mad."

"Is that so?" Miss Hevnia looked at Principal Ulysses's walking stick, "So this stick can help you recover your hearing?"

"No," Principal Ulysses laughed and shook his head, "it doesn't directly restore my hearing but uses a different medium to listen to the truest sounds of this world."

"...The truest sounds?"

"Yes, Miss Hevnia," Principal Ulysses said with a smile, "You just touched it, didn't you hear anything?"