Argo had set up a huge stage for his performance in the city of White Raven.
He had also coordinated with the city's administration and got it to sell his concert tickets. He made deals with a few array operators broadcasters and sponsors, allowing him to show his concert live to almost all parts of the city.
The event also had a large base of audience that was not in the city of White Raven. These viewers would be able to watch the event and Argo's concert from other parts of the kingdom across all four duchies. Various types of communication arrays had been created for this purpose. It was designed to generate another stream of revenue for the city of White Raven.
Argo's hunt for the necessary hardware to set up his gig was over. And he was now hunting for talented performers like him throughout the city. A bunch of artistic rankers who could master the various elements of the concert needed to make it as entertaining as possible.
The young demon had decided to make Amory's Grandmaster breakthrough celebration a memorable event for everyone in the city. He was also bound to make more money than he invested because of the sheer number of pre-booked tickets sold at this point.
Unbeknownst to Eren and the rest, this gig was going to turn out to be Argo's road to fame throughout the land of Anfang.
***
Eren explained to Jiana what Argo and Bilo were up to. She looked at Eren closely as she noted an observation in her mind. Eren didn't feel surprised by the way Argo and Bilo conducted themselves in front of him. He didn't even try to ask anyone about the mystery around them. It made Jiana realize something.
'He.. he knows about the continent-spanning array.'
Jiana sighed because she too knew about the restrictions she had. She was given access to some of the privileged information regarding demons. She wanted to know more about them. But the more she learned about them, the more restrictions were placed on her. As a result, she could not discuss this topic with anyone, just like Eren.
'Prince huh? So there's another demon prince that's appeared in the land of Anfang. What are the odds?'
Jiana then looked at Eren and wondered how much he knew about Anfang's past. She wanted to get to know him better. So she pondered for a bit before speaking.
"Guild Master Eren, you are heading to Edin in a few days, aren't you? I have also been summoned by the kingdom there. So I was wondering if I could…"
Eren smiled and didn't let her finish.
"By all means. I always have room for more on my itinerary. Especially if that "more" turns out to be a beautiful lady like you."
Jiana Jihang caressed her right earlobe a bit and flashed a smile. As unoriginal as it got, she liked getting compliments. The elf started looking forward to spending time with her new guild master. She wanted to find out about the other shades of Eren that she hadn't seen yet.
***
The city of White Raven. Chilly winter nights. 8 PM.
A certain vibe of excitement had washed over the entire city. The place was more crowded than ever. It was also more accommodating than ever at this point.
A large platform was suspended about 5 feet above the ground. It was a concert stage set up by Argo for his performance. There was a sea of people spread in every direction around it as far as the eyes could see.
The runic lights had been amplified by the use of arrays creatively, making various illustrations in the sky. The peddlers sold all kinds of food through the use of aerial summons and other modes. All the consumers had to do was shout their order and the food would be drop-shipped to them, no matter where they stood in the crowd.
Some rankers used artifacts while others used their respective spells to go airborne. However, nobody approached the platform or did anything stupid. After all, they were here to take part in a Grandmaster ranker's celebration event. And none of them wanted to mess with the rank of that status.
There were a lot of people onboard the levitating stage. Their enlarged spectral renditions could be seen in the sky above the platform.
Amory Stowage was among them. His normal adventurer gear still covered him, making him appear humble. He was holding a wooden staff in his right hand that measured up to his shoulders in length. The top of the staff was slightly forked and there were runic patterns all over it. It was an A-rank artifact that was sent by the kingdom of Edinburgh as a congratulatory gift to him.
It had been a while since Amory started talking about his life's journey. As a result of the platform's function, his voice would be amplified many times over in all directions. Everyone present at the celebration could hear what he had to say.
The old man didn't consider himself a talented speaker. He didn't have any plan regarding what he had to say either even though it was his day. He just showed up and proceeded to tell everyone the kind of lessons he had learned from his struggle.
"... So all I'm saying is this– if all our struggles could be personified, no two would be alike. And that's a positive thing. Otherwise, how boring would our lives be, right? Hahaha!"
Nobody laughed at Amory's dry humor. The audience thought that they were respecting an A-ranker by not laughing with him. But the treatment actually bothered Amory a bit. He sighed before continuing forward.
"What I meant by that is don't follow in my footsteps. Find your own path. My struggle can only inspire you, not guide your journey.
Some of our plans, coercions, and safeguards become pointless when life happens. When I was most hopeful, I was lost in every way. And when I gave up hope, a miracle happened.
It made me realize that life is… how should I say it…"
"A bitch– Life's a bitch… Gramps wise tortoise."
"Shut the fuck up, you delinquent demon. Let the old ma… Cough… I mean let Grandmaster Amory speak."
Someone on the stage behind Amory tried to finish his statement the right way but used the wrong word. And then there was the other voice reprimanding the previous one.
Amory frowned but didn't say anything to anyone. His audience also showed remarkable restraint in not laughing at the word choices of those voices.
Grandmaster Amory sighed at the youth's brash behavior before continuing forward.
AN: It was mentioned in chapter 649 that Amory Stowage is an anagram. De-anagramming gives us Master Oogway. ;)
