"It seems we can’t leave for the time being..."
He looked around and then suggested, "Shall we find a place to sit down and talk?"
As he said this, he glanced in the direction of Giralda.
His intention was simple.
This cheerful uncle with black hair and black eyes was likely the only one among them who knew his way around.
——After all, he was originally a student of Master Michelangelo.
"Wait a moment, everyone... don’t rush,"
Picking up on Annan’s hint, Miss Clare was the first to react.
She looked at Giralda with a hint of doubt, pursing her lips.
"Actually, I had some suspicions before we entered, but I was too embarrassed to say them...
"Shouldn’t all of us candidates be ’without a teacher, classmates, or apprentices’?"
"Yet just now outside, you mentioned... your teacher is Master Michelangelo.
"We all arrived here after receiving a letter. Undoubtedly, you are the most suspicious."
Upon hearing Clare’s words, the others who hadn’t heard this immediately realized the implication.
They also turned their gazes towards Giralda.
Giralda did not panic.
He simply shrugged his shoulders and said solemnly, "It’s true that I knew early on that the teacher had died. But it wasn’t me who killed him..."
With these words, he took out a letter he carried with him.
He unfolded it for everyone to see.
It simply read: "I will die soon, hereby dismissing all my disciples."
At the bottom of the letter, there was Michelangelo’s signature.
"This is a Decree letter."
Upon seeing the letter, Maria explained to the crowd, "This is the Decree spell used by high-ranking wizards and high military officials to convey orders. The words written in the Decree letter are preserved and treated as an official promise."
As she spoke, she cautiously pressed her hand on the signature on the letter.
"——Answer: your name."
She called out in a cold yet youthful voice, demanding.
Soon, a relief of an old man’s head emerged from the letter, answering, "Michelangelo Buonarroti."
"——Answer: the date the letter was written."
The voice was identical to that of the previous elder.
Then, the head returned back into the letter.
Maria nodded in confirmation, stating, "It’s genuine; this is written by Master Michelangelo. The dismissal was five months ago.
"This letter indeed carries legal weight——his disciples have been dismissed."
Could it be that Maria Rime is not a wizard from the Disabling School, but the Decree School instead?
He realized that he might have made a prejudicial mistake.
Fortunately, he realized it wasn’t too late.
But his prompt was still effective.
At least it made everyone aware that Giralda was a disciple of Master Michelangelo. That was sufficient...
Thereupon, Annan wore a gentle expression again on his face.
With a rueful smile, he softly suggested, "Alright, alright... it’s my fault, I shouldn’t have brought these things up at this time.
"Shall we find a place to sit down and talk?"
"Speaking of which," Maria suddenly spoke up, "shouldn’t you be the most dangerous among us?"
She was referring to Annan.
Or rather, to David Gerald.
As a wizard of the Soul Snatching School, he was almost invincible in one-on-one combat.
No one could wake a controlled person while Gerald was also carrying strong Curse Bindings stolen from the Heath Tower of Black.
If anyone among this group of Silver-ranked wizards could possibly kill Master Michelangelo, who was close to the Truth Tier... it would only be Gerald.
——And this speculation was, of course, within Annan’s expectations.
If anything, that was the reason he had spoken first. His purpose was to have people suspect him... and to express their suspicions.
"I understand your point, Your Highness..."
Annan chuckled bitterly, his expression gradually turning serious.
He lifted his left hand and gave the ring a twist.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he solemnly swore,
"I hereby establish a Curse Binding—"
He murmured softly, "Before the dust settles on this incident, I will forsake the use of all Spells!"
As his voice fell, an ethereal rune appeared before his eyes and then vanished.
Annan felt something entwining around his heart.
Because of this, his heart began to beat faster—Gerald’s frail Wizard body was finally keeping up with Annan’s actions.
Afterwards, Annan smiled apologetically at everyone, "Is this acceptable? I just want to inherit some property and survive... I have no intention to fight with you all.
"I know, being in the same room with a Soul Reaping Wizard makes you uneasy. You can’t think clearly... So, I’ve sealed my own magical abilities. Does this put you at ease?"
"...You didn’t have to do that."
Maria looked at Annan, her expression complicated.
She hadn’t expected that a tentative remark from her would prompt "Gerald" to directly and decisively give up his Spells.
Soul Reaping Wizards are not like Destruction Wizards or Decree Wizards—they need not Spells, as their bodies or mere speech in itself are lethal.
Nor are they like Disablement Wizards, who somewhat double as melee fighters.
They are not even like Prophets... at least their instincts for danger are sharp enough.
A Soul Reaping Wizard who binds his own Spell casting ability essentially means giving up all resistance... Without the ability to read others’ emotions and thoughts, even deceiving others is very challenging.
Bear in mind, although the rules state "the murderer cannot kill," a Soul Reaping Wizard doesn’t need to commit murder to easily control the situation.
This Curse Binding, for Gerald, Giralda, Maria, and Eugene Melvin, who are not adept at violent attacks but skilled in control, is actually an advantage.
Even if they murder someone in the White Tower, they can still use Spells to control the enemy.
After all, the Curse Binding only forbids killing.
— But it does not forbid "attacking" others.
It’s true that he still possesses a powerful cursed item...
But if Gerald has one, don’t they have them too?
In any case, "Gerald" has essentially forfeited the struggle for the inheritance.
After Annan invoked the temporary Curse Binding, the vigilance of the others toward him gradually dissipated.
This was exactly Annan’s plan.
As an overt Soul Reaping Wizard, he would inevitably be the most guarded by everyone.
No one would allow a dangerous person, who can take control of one’s mind with a single word or glance, to roam around freely. Once someone decides to commit murder, in the initial, clue-scarce "chaos of slaughter," a dangerous individual like Annan would usually be the first to be sacrificed.
Since they don’t know whom to kill, they might as well eliminate the most dangerous one first.
After all, one can only kill one.
What if he survives till the end?
That’s called being cautious.
People would certainly think so.
And Annan had somewhat figured out Maria’s personality.
She’s the kind of person who speaks what she thinks and acts on her impulses. Annan’s consecutive attempts to lead the discussions would certainly arouse suspicion... and Maria would surely voice that doubt.
Then, Annan could take the opportunity to seal his Spell casting abilities in front of everyone.
— After all, he genuinely had no ability to cast Spells.
This way, even if someone still suspected him as the murderer, they would tend to wait for "the most dangerous person" to be killed before they would contemplate making a move on him, a person who could be "subdued and killed at any time."
After all, in their eyes, Gerald was already equivalent to a sheep in their own pen. If he truly were the murderer, then, unable to kill and cast Spells, he would be completely unable to resist others or flee.
There’s always time to kill, no need to rush.
This would allow him to survive "the first night."
Yes, Annan was keenly aware.
No matter who the murderer is, or whether they need to kill the murderer or not, Annan needed to prolong the ritual until "only four people remained."
His typical way of clearing the situation would be to blend into the crowd and secretly assist the murderer, akin to the "hidden wolf" in a game of Werewolf.
But if he wanted to clear it perfectly...
Annan would need to backstab and kill the real murderer when there were still five people left.
Since he had to avoid conflict,
Annan could only use the Curse Binding on the hammer to silently and unknowingly assassinate the murderer.
In such a scenario, Annan’s role was like the "spy" in The Three Kingdoms Kill game.
Annan needed to make his "ally" aware of his presence first.