Chapter 425: 42. A Delight for All
“Ice Owl Race, I didn’t expect there to be such a subhuman race?”
“Indeed.”
“Slime? You mean those semi-transparent, gooey creatures like the Water Spirit, which still have intelligence? Oh my, Mr. Fisher, have you tried touching them? Has anyone ever entered their bodies? How does it feel?”
“… No.”
Inside the hall, Lord Shiran’s appearance, which seemed like a long-awaited reunion, alleviated the previously tense atmosphere, although this was at the expense of sacrificing Fisher. It was likely that Fisher found it difficult to converse with this unusual elf, as he could clearly sense that the eccentric elf in front of him was even more interested in subhuman races than he was.
Moreover, as Xiong had mentioned earlier, his remarkable lecherousness made it often challenging for Fisher to keep up with his conversation; however, Shiran was not disappointed.
He seemed to regard Fisher as a kindred spirit, and to him, Fisher’s lack of such a complete obsession with subhuman races was something that needed improvement. He would drink while sharing insights with Fisher.
Overall, the atmosphere was pleasant, with everyone benefiting.
Xiong and Duke Chuan didn’t have to face a dilemma regarding the Deerfolk Luk Ming and land division; Shiran was also enjoying himself, as he had gained a friend who understood him in Fisher. Despite consuming a significant amount of alcohol during their conversations, he still craved more, and the pressure from his mythical rank gradually became more amiable; Fisher was perhaps satisfied too, as he had gleaned a lot of information about the three newly bound subhuman races from Shiran.
Fisher deliberately steered the conversation back to the previous subhuman topics, and nearby Xiong, Duke Chuan, and Gouwen made several contributions, leading to a fruitful exchange for Fisher.
He seemed to have discovered a method to obtain knowledge about subhuman races without conducting personal research, akin to a weaver who eventually opens a textile factory, thereby escaping labor to sit and collect money. Of course, this was merely a metaphor for the current situation; Fisher couldn’t frequently operate this way, as opportunities to be opportunistic were scarce, and he would likely need to engage personally.
“Mr. Fisher, are you planning to go to the Royal Capital under the tree to celebrate the King’s birthday with this angel?”
According to the general principles of conversation, topics typically progress gradually, and as the topic of “subhuman races” was slightly expanded upon, Shiran’s favor towards Fisher increased. After several rounds of drinks, he suddenly recalled a matter he had previously overlooked, which was the purpose of Fisher’s party.
Fisher had only taken a few sips of the wine; the elves’ winemaking skill did not fall short of Nali in later generations, and this sake looked like water but was surprisingly strong. Fisher stopped after a few bowls, so his consciousness remained quite clear.
“That’s right.”
“… Well, you probably just need to deliver some gifts and well-wishes; it’s not a troublesome matter. However, even if you go, there won’t be many people to attend to you. How about after delivering gifts you return along the way to Chuan Kingdom? I will surely host you well and let you experience some of our unique subhuman races, how about that?”
Faced with Shiran’s hospitality, Fisher stroked his chin and asked nonchalantly,
“Troublesome? Is there anything troublesome in the Royal Capital?”
He inquired about the information concerning the Royal Capital, as they were there to find out whether the World Tree’s tears in Jianmu Palace had been stolen or not. He had previously heard from Gouwen that the Elf King lived right in front of Jianmu Palace, which was where the elves performed their rituals, at the foot of the World Tree.
“There’s no trouble, it’s just that our King has lived for so long, and his lifespan is nearing its end. But no elf knows precisely when that day will be. You know, for us elves, several years or decades are considered quite minor discrepancies. There are rumors that the King’s health deteriorated rapidly half a year ago; not only is Jianmu Palace and the Royal Palace completely shut off to outsiders, but other elves are not even allowed to return to the Royal Capital.”
Shiran held his wine glass and said this, but as he spoke, he seemed to remember something. He turned to the quietly seated Duke Chuan and asked,
“Hey, I just remembered, wasn’t Chuan in the Royal Capital half a year ago? The Deerfolk only exist in Chuan Kingdom, alongside the White Crane Race from ‘Dan’ Kingdom and the Golden Toad Race from ‘Zhang’ Kingdom, known as the ‘Three Great Auspicious Races.’ You and many elves were there to offer tribute to the King. Were there any odd occurrences?”
Every fifty years, the elves appointed by the Elf King would have to offer tributes, of course, differing ranks required different frequencies—Dukes had to offer twelve times in fifty years, Lords ten times, and Grand Dukes merely six times—so many elves often entered the Royal Capital at staggered times.
Half a year ago coincidentally was the time point for Dukes and Males to make their offerings. Hence, Shiran suddenly thought of this and asked Duke Chuan.
Duke Chuan looked speechless; when the guests arrived earlier, he hadn’t asked anything, having shown no interest in discussing matters at all. Now that someone was engaging him, he was eager to impart everything he knew.
Duke Chuan appeared youthful, but his voice was steady and resonant. He pondered for a moment, shook his head, and said,
“Nothing particularly special happened; it was merely customary to deliver tributes and well-wishes. I met the King briefly in the Royal Palace, and his mental and physical condition seemed satisfactory, with no signs of imminent demise. After completing the process, I didn’t linger in the Royal Capital and returned to our borders. Now that Jianmu Palace is tightly shut and there has been no news for quite some time, it inevitably leads us to speculate. This time the King’s birthday has been announced early and prohibits any elf from entering the Royal Capital to celebrate.”
After hearing this, Shiran stroked his chin and chuckled,
“Yes, ‘all elves’ indeed, but guests from the Holy Realm wouldn’t know about this. This time, not only the King but the attitudes of several Grand Dukes also seem rather ambiguous. The King has been secluded for such a long time, yet the Grand Dukes still have not taken action; I have heard that their relationships are even worse than my predecessor’s with Duke Chuan; it shouldn’t be this way.”
Duke Chuan awkwardly chuckled, saying nothing, only gazing at Fisher, who was deep in thought, and said,
“So that’s roughly the situation; both I and Lord Shiran cannot publicly assist you in going to the Royal Capital since there’s already an edict prohibiting anyone from entering the capital. Even guests from the Holy Realm should properly report to the Royal Capital. However.”
“But we can act like we never met you. Feel free to state any requests; even if the Holy Realm’s angels come uninvited, not even the King can do anything about you. If the people from the Royal Capital try to drive you away, the Holy Realm will have an additional lever to pull. Just, if you hear any news regarding the Royal Capital, do not forget about me; we’re quite the confidants, you understand.”
Fisher looked at Shiran, who was calculating on his behalf regarding his own king, unsure of what to say at the moment. It seemed they, along with all the other elves, were highly curious about the current status of the Royal Capital. The king’s reincarnation was imminent; not to mention whether he would need to follow the old customs, the four years of a void period during reincarnation were enough for them to speculate.
Fisher guessed that most uninformed elves were waiting and observing for a specific signal of the king’s passing and reincarnation. He glanced back at Helaire; she was still “Bababa” and seemed indifferent to either agreeing or disagreeing, completely acting like a hands-off manager, leaving Fisher with no choice but to make a decision and say to Lord Shiran,
“Alright, thank you both.”
“Then let me make the arrangements; you must take the land route to the Royal Capital. Even we elves of mythical rank cannot fly there; otherwise, we’d be struck down by the Universe Axis Line above the trees, which is extremely dangerous. I will plan a route and provisions for you, and you’ll reach the Royal Capital in just two days.”
The one speaking was Duke Chuan. He voluntarily took on the task of assisting Fisher and his group, and Shiran did not refuse. Fisher recalled the terrifying lethality of the Universe Axis Line and quickly agreed.
However, thinking of this, he remembered that they had previously been chased by the Universe Axis Line and wondered if the Royal Capital was aware of their arrival. He inquired of Shiran; he first looked astonished at the “Bababa”-speaking Helaire and then shook his head with a smile, saying,
“Ah, so it was you who was chased by the Universe Axis Line last night. To escape from it, you’re not simple either. But don’t worry, the Universe Axis Line often misfires; even birds flying a bit higher frequently trigger it. Not to mention, the Dragon God from the Far Shore usually flaunts its might flying over us. At that time, the Universe Axis Line pummels it like fireworks; of course, it’s ineffective.”
“The Dragon God would fly over?”
“Yeah, it comes to see the World Tree elder. They are siblings and often quarrel, apparently cursing each other quite harshly. However, we can’t hear their voices. Only after each fight, when going to the Jianmu Palace to perform rituals, the fragments of fate bones burned are all marked as ‘misfortune’ and ‘great misfortune.’ Later, whenever the Dragon God arrives, the King would cease the rituals.”
“…”
The fate bones were very similar to the methods of divination used by ancient humans, except that instead of inquiring air for results, the elves were directly seeking the World Tree elder’s opinions. If she completely agreed, it was great fortune; if she completely disagreed, it was great misfortune. However, in moments of anger, the World Tree would disagree with anything the offspring said, leading the Elf King to stop consulting her.
Next, they discussed some arrangements; Duke Chuan took the initiative to handle all matters related to their journey to the Royal Capital. Nevertheless, Fisher felt that Duke Chuan was more reliable than the “confidant” Shiran; as soon as such matters were brought up, Shiran seemed uninterested, drinking a few words, soon becoming terribly drunk, insisting on dragging Fisher outside to find subhuman races to sleep with.
However, after pulling Fisher out a few steps, he fell asleep on the ground, leaving everyone quite speechless.
“Tapirfolk… nose.”
Duke Chuan looked at the unconscious Lord Shiran on the ground, sighed helplessly, waved to Xiong below, signaling him to call the army brought by Shiran outside to take him to another place to rest. They had sat for an entire afternoon, and the sky outside was getting darker. Without the troublesome Shiran, Gouwen, who had been sitting uncomfortably, and Tang Zeming Asuka also stood up, stretching.
“This time, I must thank you very much, Mr. Fisher.”
Watching dozens of soldiers carry the drunken young Lord Shiran out, the dancers in the hall and Xiong also left. At that moment, only Duke Chuan and Fisher’s group remained, and as Fisher stood up rubbing his shoulders, he first glanced at Fisher, and then subtly scanned the Helaire behind Fisher, before retracting his gaze and sincerely bowed in thanks to Fisher.
He was a mythical being, but unlike Lord Shiran’s deliberate restraint, he seemed completely low-key, wearing a humble and polite demeanor, easily evoking trust. No wonder Helaire had chosen to land within his territory earlier.
“No need, I haven’t suffered any loss, and our goals have also been achieved.”
Fisher returned to Gouwen’s side, where Tang Zeming Asuka had been watching him. As he approached, she quickly averted her gaze, making it hard to guess what she was really thinking.
Duke Chuan didn’t mind; he noticed Fisher didn’t seem inclined to engage in conversation with him, so he looked outside the hall and brought up the serious matter.
“Very well, today you arrived at a most opportune yet inopportune time, running into this troublesome fellow, Lord Shiran. Although the reincarnated Lord Shiran appears eccentric, compared to other elves, he is extremely kind-hearted. Be cautious when you encounter any elves from here on out; otherwise, it could lead to great trouble. For now, you all should rest here a bit, eat something, and after sending Lord Shiran off tomorrow morning, I will discuss the journey to the Royal Capital in detail.”
Fisher nodded, Gouwen clasped his hands in thanks to the kind Duke Chuan, who returned the gesture. Duke Chuan summoned the other attendants within the palace to arrange properly for them.
“Take good care of them.”
After that, he left the hall alone, heading toward the direction where Lord Shiran had been carried away.
Waiting for him to leave, Gouwen finally stretched and looked somewhat sympathetically at Fisher, patting him on the shoulder and saying,
“You’ve worked hard, Fisher. This afternoon was made easier with your presence. That Lord Shiran is just bizarre, managing so many subhuman races. You had to forcefully echo and exchange opinions beside all the while; it was… I couldn’t bear to watch!”
“Pff!”
Helaire next to them finally stopped “Bababa,” unsure if recalling something amusing, she suddenly laughed.
“…”
Fisher remained silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Gouwen’s words, nor commenting on whether the afternoon had gone well. Instead, he turned to the waiting attendants beside him; meanwhile, Tang Zeming Asuka, upon hearing Gouwen’s remarks, secretly pressed her lips together again, but ultimately said nothing.
Gouwen watched Helaire finally stop feigning indifference and was incensed; he rubbed his temples and told her,
“Well, Helaire, shouldn’t you say something? Relying on us to maneuver among the elves seems quite improper, right? Or is this the arrangement from Angel Salie?”
Helaire innocently shrugged her shoulders and replied,
“It hasn’t reached the point where I need to intervene. Don’t worry; in crucial moments, I won’t be vague. Mainly, I’m a bit clumsy with words and don’t speak well. Besides, I see you’re all doing quite well with the small talk; the process and results are admirable, everyone seems to be enjoying themselves—indeed, worthy of praise.”
“…”
Gouwen didn’t respond to her, but Fisher did find Helaire’s summary quite acceptable since in front of him, several lines of ethereal text boldly appeared,
[Progress on Moth Species Biological Research: 17%]
[Progress on Tapirfolk Biological Research: 22%]
[Progress on Mantisfolk Biological Research: 25%]
[Rewards for unlocking the first stage of Tapirfolk and Mantisfolk Biological Research have been granted]
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*Thank you immensely for your support!
*(End of this chapter)
