The first to notice King was the Melusine Guard on duty.
As the gentle and adorable Melusine walked down the corridor carrying documents, she saw King slowly descending the stairs. Her large eyes instantly widened, and the files in her hands clattered to the floor.
" S-King, my lord! "
The Melusine covered her mouth and gasped in disbelief.
This "mysterious powerhouse," who had never stepped out of his room since moving into the Opera Epiclese, except for being invited to the Tribunal by Furina yesterday, had actually come out on his own?
She exclaimed and ran off to report to Furina.
Paimon floated behind King, nervously looking around.
Whenever they occasionally encountered Melusines or staff in the Opera Epiclese, the others would immediately stop what they were doing, bow respectfully, and after King passed, begin to excitedly and reverently "spread rumors."
" Am I seeing things? Lord King has gone out! "
" How strange, wasn't Lord King in deep meditation? "
" He must have finished his meditation. Didn't you see? The aura around him has become even more refined; it's practically like the sun! "
The news of King going out seemed to sprout wings, spreading to every corner of the Opera Epiclese.
On both sides of the magnificent gates of the Opera Epiclese, two Fontaine Guards in blue and white uniforms stood straight.
Taking advantage of the sparse morning crowd, they were whispering, seemingly exchanging some major secrets during their idle time.
" Really? Another Damselette went missing last night? "
" It's absolutely true, the patrols have even been reinforced... Huh? "
One of the Guards stopped mid-sentence as his peripheral vision caught a figure walking out from the gate.
His voice cut off abruptly, and he froze as if turned to ice, his body instantly tensing up.
The other Guard noticed his companion's anomaly and followed his gaze—then, he also froze.
King.
That legendary "fontaines strongest" who lived deep within the top floor of the Opera Epiclese and made even the Iudex prepare for battle!
The Guards' minds went blank.
They had received rigorous training and could remain calm in the face of any emergency.
But at this moment, an unspeakable pressure spread with the man's approach. Even without the emperor engine sounding, King still brought them a tremendous sense of oppression!
Almost simultaneously, the two Guards subconsciously clicked their heels together, straightened their backs, and performed an impeccable, standard salute with their weapons.
They held their breath, eyes fixed straight ahead, not daring to make any eye contact with King. They didn't even dare to move their eyeballs, only using all their strength to maintain the salute, as if they were respectfully seeing off a king about to go to war, or... facing an ancient beast slowly walking out of its lair.
King's pace, however, did not pause or accelerate because of this.
He seemed to not see these two "statues" at all, his gaze calmly passing over them as he walked down the steps, gradually moving away and disappearing in front of the Opera Epiclese.
The two Guards maintained their salute for a full ten minutes or more. Only after confirming that the lord had indeed walked away did they suddenly relax, as if finally allowed to breathe.
" Phew—! "
" Phew... The Hydro Archon above! "
The two let out a long sigh of relief, their foreheads already covered in a fine layer of cold sweat, and their hands holding their weapons felt a bit weak.
They looked at each other and saw deep trepidation in each other's eyes.
" Just now... was that Lord King? "
" Who else could it be but that lord! "
" Why is that criminal flying object following Lord King? Could it be undergoing some kind of 'indoctrination'? "
" That must be it. That lord's actions must contain deep meaning! "
" Lord King is even more powerful than the rumors say! I felt like the air around us became heavier when he passed by just now! "
" I felt it too! It scared me so much my heart wouldn't stop pounding! "
" Do you think those rumors are true? Did Lord King really beat Lord Neuvillette into... "
" Shh! "
" Do you have a death wish? Is this something you can talk about? Remember, you didn't say anything today, and you don't know anything! Do your own job! "
"...Yes! "
After a conversation filled with awe, they returned to their posts, their backs standing straighter than ever, and their eyes sharper, as if they had just undergone an invisible baptism.
And a new round of rumors about King would surely soon spread through the staff of the Opera Epiclese, across Fontaine, and even further afield.
King, with Paimon in tow, walked along the streets of Fontaine in the morning.
Sunlight spilled down, the air was fresh, and the faint salty scent of seawater mingled with the aroma of food wafting from breakfast stalls.
Pedestrians on the street increased, beginning their busy day.
However, this ordinary scene of daily life underwent a subtle change due to King's appearance.
Wherever he passed, he brought with him an invisible field of silence.
The originally boisterous conversations suddenly hushed. Passersby's eyes were involuntarily drawn to him, only to quickly look away upon catching sight of King's fierce and indifferent face, lowering their heads and quickening their pace, or pretending to be focused on their tasks.
Admiration, curiosity, awe, fear, speculation... all kinds of emotions mixed into those furtive glances.
Whispers surged like an undercurrent behind him:
" Look! It's that lord! The one from the Opera Epiclese! "
" He actually came out? I thought he only stayed in the palace... "
" Shh—keep it down! Don't let him hear you! Can't you feel it, that feeling that makes it hard to breathe... "
" Is that the little white sprite following behind him? Is that the flying object from yesterday's trial? "
" To think it's being personally 'disciplined' by that lord! Should I go commit a petty crime too? "
" Huh? You can do that? "
Paimon shrank behind King's head, revealing only half of her small face and her large eyes, nervously looking around.
The focused gazes made her feel uncomfortable, especially the looks of "jealousy" or "envy" people showed when they saw her, which made her feel even more uneasy.
" Why are they all looking at us like that? " Paimon couldn't help but mutter in a low voice.
King, of course, also felt those strange gazes and the atmosphere, but he didn't really feel anything about it.
After the initial few times of being the "center of attention," he had become somewhat numb to being treated like a rare animal on display.
Or rather, some hidden ability brought by the KING template made him feel indifferent to such minor scenes.
King had no waves in his heart, and even felt like giving a thumbs-up to these dedicated "atmosphere creators."
Although he was misunderstood, wasn't this also quite good?
Although ordinary people couldn't directly provide Emotion Points, their fear, curiosity, and discussions could increase his reputation.
When his reputation was high enough and his image was deeply ingrained in people's minds, the allogene characters who could provide Emotion Points would experience more intense emotional fluctuations when interacting with him, providing more abundant Emotion Points.
Therefore, these gazes and these rumors were all nutrients on his path to becoming stronger.
Although the quality of these nutrients was currently low, they made up for it in sheer quantity and could continue to ferment.
King did not stop walking, his eyes fixed straight ahead.
" Pay them no mind. "
Paimon said "Oh," feeling slightly more at ease, but still didn't dare to poke her head out completely, only floating step-by-step behind King's head.
King's goal was clear—find a restaurant and fill Paimon's stomach.
Although he had acquired [Home Cooking Mastery], having him cook personally seemed a bit too "approachable," which was not conducive to maintaining his necessary powerhouse demeanor.