Chapter 517
You’re making good out of bad, aren’t you?
Eivass quickly understood what Grey was getting at.
—Because the unicorn hadn’t reacted at all to his touch or being ridden, it was even affectionate.
But how was he supposed to know why this unicorn was so affectionate towards him!
As a symbol of the highest echelon of the Holy Kingdom, only Cardinals were qualified to ride a unicorn—and they also had to be virgins of pure and kind heart. Even male or married Cardinals couldn’t touch it, and if anyone harbored ill intentions, the unicorn would reject them.
And clearly.
He was neither pure nor kind, nor was he a virgin anymore, nor was he a girl. He wasn’t even a Cardinal.
Eivass couldn’t hold back—
You’re making good out of bad, aren’t you! And you’ve done it twice!
Unicorn, is this your flaw this time?
“Is it Path Affinity?”
Eivass asked softly, “After all, I’m already Fourth Tier.”
“Cardinals are all Fifth Tier.”
Pure White replied, “The unicorn is a beast that watches the moon for the Candlemaster. If you weren’t a girl, then you’d be the only exception in the past few thousand years.”
“I remember… unicorns have Affinity with the Paths of Devotion and Love.”
Eivass asked hesitantly, “Could it be Path Affinity?”
Could it be the Path Traits given by the Twin Mirrors?
After all, Number 14 was a virgin, and also a Child of the Moon… perhaps the unicorn saw through his identity as Eivass and smelled Number 14’s scent?
“What do you think, Lady Pansy?”
Pure White lightly touched the long, spiraling horn on the unicorn’s forehead, which was long enough to pierce an adult’s chest.
“To be honest,” a crisp, indifferent female voice sounded, “this is the first time I’ve seen this situation.
“But my body didn’t react with resistance. Since this is the reality, I don’t want to just continue following rigid conventions. We must understand that times change, and we can’t refuse to accept something just because ‘I don’t understand.'”
That was the unicorn speaking.
It was less of a conversation and more of a lesson, a reprimand to the Grey Saintess.
“Yes, Lady Pansy.”
The Grey Saintess didn’t react much, but nodded and humbly accepted the teaching.
“Hello, Lady Pansy.”
Eivass politely greeted the high-ranking unicorn, “May the Candlemaster bless your Radiance.”
In a sense, this unicorn could be considered a senior public servant of the Eternal Holy Kingdom.
Unicorns and Gryphons were completely different extraordinary creatures.
Half-blooded Gryphons often relied on their allies’ Ascension to more easily reach the Fourth Tier, mature completely, and gain full sentience. If a Gryphon’s allied companion managed to Ascend to the Fifth Tier, they might be dragged along to the Fifth Tier as well; they were two sides of the same coin.
Unicorns, on the other hand, were typically Fourth Tier extraordinary creatures. They were born at Tier Four, but it was not easy for them to Ascend to the Fifth Tier… After all, unicorns lived much longer than Gryphons. They even lived longer than Elves… This unicorn named “Pansy” would likely live longer than Avalon.
Although unicorns were mounts, they didn’t have such close pacts with their masters, unlike Gryphons whose fates were even permanently bound to their companions.
Unicorns changed masters quite frequently. When their masters were no longer pure and kind, they would find a new one.
Because of this, although the unicorn’s potential was much lower than a Gryphon’s, it had instead become a symbol of higher status… precisely because of its special Affinity for “pure individuals,” it served as a lie detector similar to Avalon.
Rather than being a mount assigned to Cardinals, it was more like a disciplinary supervisor who moonlighted as a chauffeur.
It had likely served many Saintesses by now.
“You too, Eivass.”
The unicorn kindlyturned back, gazing at Eivass with its clear, sapphire-like pupils.
Even though it had a horse’s face, Eivass always felt as if it were smiling—he even clearly saw a human-like expression on the unicorn’s face. “This is the first time I’ve carried a man. If the movements are too strenuous and make you uncomfortable, please don’t be shy and say so promptly.”
Eivass understood her meaning.
In other words, if his balls got uncomfortable, he should say so and not be embarrassed.
Hearing her words, Eivass actually felt a little shy. He coughed and said nothing.
—It felt like talking to an elder aunt at home. There was a sense of closeness, but he felt like he was being teased.
“Also,” the unicorn added, “May the Candlemaster bless you too.”
As she said that, the unicorn slightly raised its head and offered its horn to Eivass.
Eivass guessed that this was the unicorn’s imitation of a “handshake” greeting. So, Eivass carefully extended his finger and gently touched the unusually sharp horn, as if reaching out to hold the tips of the other person’s fingers.
At this time, they had already left the port.
Outside, there were even more people—it was even bustling.
Elves, Trolls, Lizardmen, Humans, Goblins, Children of the Moon… Eivass saw almost all intelligent races except Dwarves.
They varied in height, build, and even clothing.
These immigrants or tourists wore the clothing of different cultures and gathered in small groups. But hardly anyone spoke Elven, they all spoke their own ethnic languages.
The style of the shops here made Eivass feel like he had returned to Earth—
There were dense rows of shops lining the streets. In front of the shops, there were street vendors or snack stalls.
The biggest difference was that there were no “roads.”
Although there were many horses passing by—Eivass even saw camels—there were no asphalt roads or marble roads here. The ground was entirely wooden, so when the unicorn’s hooves stepped on it, they produced a crisp, long echo.
From Avalon’s perspective, the roads here were quite wide. They were so wide that even with street vendors on both sides, there was still a width of at least two lanes in the middle.
In the distance, many skyscrapers could be seen.
A building like the Lloyd Society headquarters in Avalon, which was unique nationwide, was surpassed by three or four even taller structures within Eivass’s field of vision.
Eivass even saw a true “skyscraper”—it was embedded directly into the outer ring of a giant tree. Like an external elevator, it clung to the outside of the First Ring to the Third Ring.
The “skins” of all these buildings were also entirely wooden. However, some of them were inlaid with glass. Rather than houses built, they looked like structures that had grown.
The First Ring was undoubtedly the largest and highest floor.
When Eivass first emerged from the port, he could see a profile of the sky-piercing giant tree by looking up.
From his vantage point, he could only vaguely see the Fifth Ring.
The parts above that were not due to Eivass’s insufficient eyesight, but were already distorted by the atmosphere, disappearing into the blue sky.
“Do you want to buy anything?”
Grey suddenly asked.
“I definitely do.”
Eivass hesitated slightly, “After all, I brought… money this time.”
He wasn’t sure if mentioning money directly to the Grey Saintess would displease her…
After all, many Elves didn’t like “money,” a sordid thing. The older the Elf, the more they scorned money.
Although the Church was the global trading center, Elves actually disliked trading—this wasn’t a dark joke.
It was because Elves truly believed that the concept of “money” was inherently at odds with Devotion. Its essence was personal ownership. But trade was an act of balance, so Elves wouldn’t resist it too much… however, bartering was more popular within Elven society.
These trades actually didn’t match in value, so fundamentally, they were trading “favors.”
Therefore, within the Eternal Holy Kingdom, at least among pure-blooded Elves, the concept of “currency” did not exist.
When any Elf needed something, they would simply request it, and someone would naturally help them obtain it. And Elves would help others, forming a continuous cycle… After all, Elves were Children of the Giant Tree and inherited the Devotional blood of the Giant Tree.
“Don’t worry,” Grey, aware of Eivass’s concerns, reassured him, “I’m not one of those old-fashioned relics who wants Amber… times have changed, I know that.
“I am an Elf born in a new era. I was born after the Holy Kingdom opened up—I also have some White Crown Coins.”
Yes, White Crown Coins.
Eivass knew that the currency currently used by Elves was also the White Crown Coin issued by Avalon.
Based on this close relationship, some races who weren’t well-versed in the history and political situation here… such as the Lizardmen from the eastern desert, or the Trolls from the south, even thought that Avalon and the Holy Kingdom were two regions of the same country.
But it was quite simple.
Strictly speaking, the Holy Kingdom didn’t have its own legal currency.
Buying things with “money” in the Holy Kingdom had only started in the last few hundred years. Less than a thousand years in total.
A long time ago, the handicrafts made by artisans, the paintings by artists, the clothes made by tailors, or potions, brewed fine wine, and food—these items were casually placed on windowsills or in courtyards. If you saw something you liked, you just took it.
For some old-fashioned Elves, they didn’t have these things during their childhood, or even their entire adolescence… but now it was completely different.
Beginning in the late Hrasal Empire, the internally closed Eternal Holy Kingdom, under the decision of a certain Pope, decided to open up to the outside world and gradually interact with short-lived races.
The peaceful, blissful, and prosperous atmosphere of the Holy Kingdom immediately attracted many foreign immigrants. The internal safety and order also attracted some merchants for trade.
Originally, Elves were quite looking forward to these immigrants… much like humans raising cats.
Because their lifespans were shorter, it meant they had more needs for help. As intelligent beings, it was also easy to communicate with them, and learning to speak the profound Elven language meant they weren’t too unintelligent in terms of knowledge and wisdom, thus making it easier for them to become friends with the lonely Elves—at that time, most Elves hadn’t realized what the lifespan difference meant.
But before they felt the cruelty of the lifespan difference, the Elves experienced the “quality issues of foreign cats.”
Scholars and poets who yearned for Elven culture, or merchants and travelers who hoped to obtain Elven specialties, slowly all gathered in the Holy Kingdom.
However, they couldn’t be as unburdened and modest in their desires as Elves.
Local Elves hired them to work, and it wasn’t enough to just provide food and lodging—they also had to pay wages. But the bigger problem was that Elves didn’t have that many job openings for them.
When these short-lived races asked for materials or gifts, they didn’t just stop after getting what they wanted. Instead, they were insatiably greedy… just satisfying their needs wasn’t enough; they wanted more.
As a result, this directly led to a large-scale chaotic event.
This was known as the “Currency Chaos”—a mandatory subject at the middle school history level in Avalon, as it was directly related to the birth of Avalon.
It was from then on that short-lived races could only gather below the Fifth Ring, and Elves began to use the currency of short-lived races.
“Actually, I understand the Elves’ feelings.”
Eivass said sincerely, “If I had been there back then, I might have just kicked them out.”
He truly understood the Elves’ feelings.
It felt like in the guild warehouse, there were potions, materials, and money for new members, as well as equipment used by veterans… If they sold them, they wouldn’t get much, and it wouldn’t be worth the trouble. It was better to provide some convenience for the new members… This was a common custom in many games Eivass played.
A relay of charity within their means. Even Eivass had provided a lot of things back then.
Then, suddenly, a group of people joined the guild. Eivass still didn’t know if they were professional guild-hoppers or if there had been a mole within the guild who exposed their wealth.
The result was that they weren’t newcomers anymore and didn’t lack these things, but they took everything… and they didn’t use it themselves; they immediately put it up for auction.
Not only that, they didn’t even interact in the guild chat after taking the items—if they were acquaintances, it would be understandable.
But the problem was no one knew them!
The most outrageous thing was that they didn’t leave—and were even unapologetic!
Why wouldn’t they leave? They would wait for the next batch of resources to grow.
Angered, Eivass kicked them out himself and posted their IDs.
“It’s just that the Elves are good-tempered… they only banished them below the Fifth Ring and changed their own habits to accommodate them.”
Eivass complained, “If it were me…”
He shook his head and didn’t continue.
But obviously, Eivass wasn’t the only one who was dissatisfied.
The forced change in lifestyle also made many Elves feel annoyed by these greedy and ill-mannered short-lived races.
Yes, they weren’t annoyed because these short-lived races had taken too much, but because they had to adapt to the lifestyle of short-lived races and change their habits formed over hundreds of years—like roommates suddenly getting a lot of pets.
It wasn’t a lack of food, nor did they dislike small animals. But it was indeed troublesome.
You’re not mine, so why are you biting my wires!
—It was probably that kind of feeling.
It was from that time on that the Holy Kingdom fully supported Avalon.
Since the stray cats from outside weren’t well-behaved, they decided to raise one themselves. The Elves thought.
Initially, Elves contributed greatly to the founding of Avalon. The Pope even directly dispatched over twenty young Pope’s Guards, which was enough to express friendly intentions. At that time, the Holy Kingdom guaranteed the White Crown Coin as a foreign trade currency. The Holy Kingdom directly made Avalon’s legal tender its own currency and supplied a large amount of resources to Avalon for this purpose.
To prevent Avalonians from learning bad habits from other short-lived races, the Holy Kingdom also prevented them from interacting with foreign races—if it weren’t for the impossibility of not interacting with humans, they even didn’t want Avalon to interact with other humans.
This was also the origin of Avalon’s xenophobic culture.
Even so, Avalon eventually degenerated somewhat. Therefore, the Holy Kingdom’s evaluation and favor towards Avalon decreased significantly. Although they were still considered “our own cats,” they were no longer as eager to manage them.
Seeing Eivass’s reaction and sensing his mood, Grey’s favor towards him increased.
Although she was of the type that was more amicable towards short-lived races… over the years, very few short-lived races had realized their mistakes. They mostly stopped based on morality, not from a genuine understanding of Elves.
It was reasonable that the Holy Kingdom now only accepted humans of the Path of Devotion to its highest ranks. After all, only extraordinary beings on the Path of Devotion could genuinely understand why the Elves were angry back then, and thus understand the complex relationship between Elves and short-lived races today.
They liked them, but didn’t want to raise them; they truly loved them, but they were indeed troublesome.
“If you’re not in a hurry right now, come with me first and we’ll handle the paperwork. After that, if you want to buy anything, I can take you shopping in a few days.”
Grey said, “You are now considered an Archbishop, but you are only wearing Priest’s robes… this is not in accordance with etiquette.
“His Majesty the Pope ordered that after you arrive, I should take you to change into a set of Bishop’s robes.”
“His Majesty wants to see me?”
Eivass was somewhat surprised to hear this, “I remember His Majesty the Pope can contact everyone at any time, right?”
He felt Grey’s body tense slightly behind him.
“His Majesty is in slumber and is temporarily unavailable during this period.”
Grey nonchalantly said, “Perhaps next year he’ll be available.”
—Pushing it all the way to next year.
It’s only February now!
But hearing her words, Eivass roughly understood.
The Eternal Pope’s Petrify disease had likely manifested.
Had the plot… started some time ago?
If so…
Eivass subconsciously turned his head and glanced at Grey’s eyes, which were tied with ribbon.
Had the Grey Saintess’s eyes now become “Amber”?
Did the Cardinals know about this?
Noticing Eivass’s gaze on her, Grey held her breath for a moment.
—He found out? Why?
…N-no. It’s impossible for him to know.
It’s probably just me being too sensitive… right?
Just then, the unicorn reached a platform.
“Grey.”
Madam Unicorn directly called Pure White by her true name, “Are you ready?”
“—Guards, prepare for takeoff!”
Suppressing the unease in her heart, Grey calmly said, “Lady Pansy, please. To the Thirteenth Floor.”
As she spoke, a pair of beautiful, clear, translucent wings like moonlight suddenly lit up behind the unicorn.
And then, the Pope’s Guards, carrying Lily and Sherlock respectively, boarded Pegasi with swan-like wings.
They didn’t need to take the elevator-like lift—this was why Cardinals, even after restricting passage between floors, could still travel to other rings.
The next moment, they stepped on a rainbow and rose from the ground.
—Vertically towards the sky!
An update of five thousand five hundred characters, a double update today!
Thanks to Fuxing’s Thousand-Faced Chaos for the alliance leader’s reward, thank you, meow!
By the way, one of the book’s fan groups, Avalon, appears to have encountered the Harsh Autumn incident and was bombed for fifteen days. Avalon refugees can now flee to the second group, the Eternal Holy Kingdom, for refuge. They can return after Avalon is rebuilt as Camelot.
…No, man, are you going to replicate the game’s plot for this too?
(End of this chapter)
