The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 584

Chapter 583: True Illusion

Albert spoke, looking at the neckline of Eivass’s clothes.
There hung Isabel’s token of love to Eivass – the [Isolde’s Tear], capable of resisting one fatal blow.

“It’s called [Isolde’s Tear], a necklace Eini left me. She told me her mother had given it to her. Her mother died of petrification, and this necklace couldn’t save her; if Eini had been wearing it when she was attacked, she might not have died either. But after we got married, she gave it to me.
“…It’s ironic, isn’t it? A consumable necklace that can save one from death, but it has claimed several owners and ultimately protected no one. It didn’t even get the chance to be consumed.
“I feel I don’t deserve to use it. At least, compared to its previous owners, my life isn’t worthy of consuming that precious one-time life-saving opportunity.”

Albert stared at the necklace on Eivass’s chest and said in a low voice, “So, before I left, I gave it to Isabel. That’s why, the moment I saw you… I recognized your identity.”

“Then what are your thoughts about me now?”
Eivass raised his empty wine glass and clinked it against Albert’s. “Father.”

Among Eivass’s many ‘fathers’, Albert was undoubtedly the closest to an ‘Ordinary Person’.

“…You’ve rendered me speechless.”
Albert was silent for a long time, then replied seriously, “But this feeling… it’s not bad.”

“Naturally.”
Eivass chuckled, twirling the wine glass between his fingers. “Because you’ve been waiting for someone who could scold you like this, Father.”

“…Be good to Isabel.”
Prince Albert said weakly, “On little Isa’s birthday… I’ll be back. I’ll return no matter what.”

“You don’t need to say that. You don’t need to make promises to me. Whatever Isabel decides then, I will respect her opinion.
“No matter what danger she faces, I will stand with her and protect her. In fact, I just rescued her not too long ago from a Fifth Tier Demon Avatar. And now, she’s surrounded by hordes of Pope’s Guards… you don’t need to worry about her.
“That timid child has grown up – through her own strong will, and with the help of friends like us. She is now Her Majesty, the Queen of the Avalonians.
“And what about Prince Albert? The poor prince died long ago in some bandit raid.”

Eivass slowly set down his wine glass and placed a finger against the wall of the cup.
He gently turned his finger, and the air trembled, emitting a hum.
The positions of the two had completely reversed from when they first entered the room.

Eivass declared the conversation over. “Now, I’d like to talk to Mr. Yunus – about Miss Anastasia.”

“…Oh, my, oh, my!”
In an instant, Prince Albert, who had been head-bowed and dejected, had somehow transformed back into Yunus.
He clapped his hands joyfully, then patted his belly like a happy seal. “What a show! It brings me so much joy! To see that man with an iron mouth rendered speechless is as rare as falling stars!”
There wasn’t a trace of disappointment on the bald, fat man’s face.
It was as if he and Prince Albert were entirely different people.

He even offered a critique from an observer’s perspective. “That man never faces problems head-on, only your identity made it impossible for him to escape – because you truly took over his responsibilities, the esteemed Minister of Affairs, Prince Moriarty!”

This conversation gave Eivass a peculiar feeling.
He suddenly thought of Dionysus and the Banquet Master.

Eivass suppressed the thoughts for the moment and said warmly, “Putting that aside, let’s talk about Anastasia. Did you really see her in Avalon?”

“I did, and I even touched her hand! Her skin was cool, but still had the warmth of a living being – perhaps it was the cool evening breeze of Avalon.”
Yunus strummed the strings of his instrument a few times, his expression becoming serious. “I obtained her hairband. According to Mr. Maxim, it was a gift from her friends when they visited.”

…Petrification disease?

“If it was a gift,” Eivass mused, “does that mean there’s another one in the Church?”

“Those things were long lost – that’s Mr. Maxim’s statement, but I have a different opinion.”
Yunus said seriously, his cheerful and playful tone suddenly becoming a little more solemn. “This is my first time in the Elven Kingdom, but I’ve been here for months. Many elves don’t see ‘petrification’ as a disease, but rather a form of honor. Because it signifies that petrified elves will be reborn from the Dream Realm in a more noble form… but ordinary elves may not receive the recognition of the Heavenly Envoys and Pillar Gods.”

Eivass nodded.
Indeed, for elves to petrify was almost equivalent to being fast-tracked to becoming a Phantom Demon. Although it meant the premature death of their Material Realm body, if the Material Realm was merely considered a ‘beginner’s period’ and ‘selection period’ for the Dream Realm, then petrification was almost equivalent to ‘graduating from life early’.
Especially for elves who revered the giant trees, ascending as a derivative of the giant tree could naturally be considered an honor.

“Once an elf is fully petrified, relatives and friends will burn the items they cherished in life – placing them before the tree they’ve become, and burning both with fire!”

“…Burned?”
Eivass was somewhat surprised. “Why?”

“Because there’s no meaning.”
Yunus immediately replied, “Unlike petrification – petrified elves aren’t truly dead; their souls are still locked within their shells. Theoretically, there’s even a possibility of recovery.
“But petrification signifies the decay of the body and the sublimation of the soul. Even if they reappear in the Material Realm, they cannot return to their original bodies. It would merely be a tree, like how the ‘Giant Tree’ left behind its divine body in the past. Perhaps some would want to keep the bark or branches as a memento, but those would only be souvenirs. Much like how the Star Antimony people have a custom of refining corpses into jewels or creating undead.
“And elves believe in light and fire. The tree body turning into flames is a blessing for them – much like how elves don’t favor burial but prefer cremation. According to what I’ve heard, many elves believe that when the soul is burned and freed from its bonds, it will be purified and ascend higher.”

“—No, no, no, that’s actually superstition. It’s more like a story that elderly elves tell children.”
Eivass shook his head and debunked it. “Every Priest knows that regardless of whether the body is burned, buried, or cremated, as long as a funeral has been properly held, the soul is definitely sent to the River of the Dream Realm. The corpse left in the Material Realm has no significance; it’s just a piece of meat… In Miss Anastasia’s case, it’s just a pile of wood.
“The main reason elves practice cremation is actually due to the lack of space for burial by the giant trees, and the giant trees don’t need fertilizer…”

“…Whatever it is, Mr. Eivass! My point is, that hairband should have been burned!
“But I saw Anastasia in her girl’s form, and I got the hairband from her – and even Mr. Maxim firmly believes it’s Anastasia’s. Because of this, he changed his statement to say the items were lost, unable to explain it. Just as the tree Anastasia petrified into should have been burned. After all, I’ve been here for so many days and still haven’t seen the tree ‘Anastasia’ became.
“But his attitude is wrong,” Yunus said seriously.
“His own daughter petrified to death, whether he feels happy, sad, or lonely for her… in any case, he shouldn’t have this attitude!
“He welcomed me warmly, allowed me to write to Mr. Sherlock, and didn’t drive me away. He let us investigate here, providing accommodation and food… but when I asked, he said nothing… He doesn’t deny that the girl I saw was Anastasia, yet he insists Anastasia died of petrification.”

Yunus’s voice no longer carried the initial rhythm and humor.
Eivass sensed a trace of powerlessness and unwillingness in his voice.
In that moment, Eivass suddenly understood… why he was so fixated on this matter. And why, in the original timeline, he returned to apologize to Isabel after resolving this incident.
In Mr. Maxim, he saw a reflection of himself. He didn’t know what Maxim was doing, but he just felt something was wrong.
He had a sharp sense of unease – and this sharpness stemmed from his guilt towards Isabel.
“Yunus” realized that if he continued to investigate, it would be equivalent to torturing his past self. Every question he posed to the earth mage would boomerang back at him.
But he couldn’t escape from here… this incident was like a black hole, drawing him in.
From another perspective, he yearned for self-destruction. And Prince Albert had instinctively known that this incident might be his guillotine.

“…May I see the hairband?”
Eivass pondered for a moment and then asked.
Yunus nodded and took out a red cloth bundle from his embrace. He carefully took out the hairband and handed it to Eivass.
Upon receiving it, nothing popped up before Eivass’s eyes… meaning it was at least not an extraordinary item. It was just an ordinary hairband.

“What about Sherlock? What did he say?”
Eivass asked again.

“He seemed to understand something from the very beginning, but didn’t tell me anything.
“He just said things like, ‘Perhaps because of this, you can see ghosts,’ but offered no explanation. When I pressed him, he said, ‘I’ll try to catch a ghost tonight.’
“I don’t know what he did last night, but he said… he wouldn’t say anything until you arrived. He said, ‘Some words are safe as long as they are not spoken.’”

“Typical Sherlock.”
Eivass nodded with satisfaction.
— That idiot finally knows to wait for his teammates before initiating a fight!

In the original timeline, Yunus’s muddled actions eventually solidified the truth into a romantic but anticlimactic and unreasonable story: “The girl manifested a spirit out of longing.”

“Undoubtedly, the Anastasia you saw couldn’t have been a ghost,” Eivass replied with absolute certainty. “Ghosts cannot hand over their belongings to you. And if it were a cursed item, it wouldn’t have allowed you to preserve it intact for so long.
“So, you must have seen a living person.”

“…A living person?”
“Or rather, the [True Illusion] you are very familiar with.”
Eivass said calmly, “Have you noticed… since you’ve returned to your true self, something noisy is missing from this room?”

Yunus looked at Eivass with confusion.
He quickly widened his eyes, recalling:
“That… Miss Fey?”

Eivass nodded.
(End of Chapter)