Chapter 1027
The First Hermes
“Is something the matter?” Lord of Scales and Feathers appeared at the doorway at some point, waving to the three inside. “If nothing’s wrong, I won’t come in… otherwise, that child will turn into a Phantom Demon under my pressure.”
—As expected, Lord of Scales and Feathers knew about this! Eivass realized, but found it inexplicably normal.
This was quite reasonable… What secret in this world could be hidden from Lord of Scales and Feathers, who constantly observed other worldlines? Moreover, judging by Lord of Scales and Feathers’ words, he seemed to appreciate Haibasha’s persistence and efforts.
“Boss, I wanted to ask…” Eivass confirmed, “What should we bring to revive that child?”
“That cannot be revealed.” Lord of Scales and Feathers said with a smile, “This is the Hourglass’s taboo. That old man is very serious, and I don’t want to be lectured by him.”
He said so, but he looked very relaxed, leaning against the wall and speaking lazily. Seeing Lord of Scales and Feathers’ strange reaction, Eivass had a flash of inspiration and blurted out, “Then… ‘Guess, what items Ms. Haibasha would need to revive her daughter’?”
“That depends on the extent of the revival.” Lord of Scales and Feathers’ voice was deep and heavy, like a gentle elder. “To be safe, I suggest you bring all five. But the most important thing is ‘Saffron’.”
“Why Saffron?” Eivass asked.
“Why… Uh-huh. You’ve asked a good question.” Lord of Scales and Feathers’ voice was full of laughter. “These five flowers each have their own story… well, none of them good stories.
“As for the other four, there’s no need to elaborate—do you know the legend of ‘Saffron’? A Disciple of the Hourglass was idly throwing a frisbee in the Material Realm, and by accident, he killed a young Elfling. This innocent child who was killed was named Crocus… that is the name of ‘Saffron.’ Yes, he was the first Saffron.
“At that time, the divine connection between heaven and earth had already been severed, and Gods were not allowed to walk the earth. Disciples, as representatives of Pillar Gods and Heavenly Envoys, were an exception, but they were also strictly required to restrain their powers… In that era, they were still called ‘Subordinate Gods’ by mortals. Both Pillar Gods and Heavenly Envoys were their main Gods. In that era, the image of a Subordinate God was the image of the main God, and the voice of a Subordinate God was the voice of the main God.
“Let alone killing innocents without reason… even saying something against the wishes of the main God or acting in a way that damages the main God’s image could result in punishment from one’s own main God.
“That Disciple, fearing punishment, turned the child’s corpse into this flower, trying to hide his crime… Naturally, he failed.
“In fact, this Disciple was once highly trusted by the Hourglass. He was the patron deity of inventors and merchants, and his altars and shrines were everywhere in that dark age. He was also responsible for guiding the souls of the dead… If those dead souls got lost on their way, he would guide them to the Underworld. In an era before the King of the Wild Hunt, he was one of the few Gods who actively cleared the undead.”
“But even so, a minor crime like mistakenly killing a mortal was still severely punished by the strict Hourglass. He was stripped of his Disciple status, lost his memory, and reincarnated as a mortal. Under the Hourglass’s arrangement, he was reincarnated into the family of the child he had killed, becoming their youngest son…”
At this point, Lord of Scales and Feathers suddenly stopped speaking.
Lord of Scales and Feathers looked meaningfully at the few of them, “Do you know the name of this Disciple?”
Sherlock and Arsen exchanged glances, both shaking their heads, then looked at Eivass. If Eivass, who had studied High-Tier Divine Art, didn’t know, they certainly wouldn’t.
Seeing that none of them reacted at all, not even a warning from their instincts, Lord of Scales and Feathers chuckled with satisfaction and gave the answer, “His name as a Disciple was Mercury. You might be unfamiliar with this name… after all, he was stripped of his Disciple responsibilities before humans were born.
“—However, his name as an Elf, you must know. And are very familiar with…” After a pause, Lord of Scales and Feathers said, “He was called… Hermes.
“The ‘Hermes’ from ‘Sherlock Hermes’.”
Undoubtedly. He was the ancestor of the Hermes Family. Upon hearing this, Sherlock’s eyes widened. He had heard… that there was a trace of Elf blood in his lineage. But seeing that his family members showed no obvious signs of longevity, Sherlock had never cared about his “trace” Elf bloodline. The only thing possibly related to Elf blood was Mycroft’s overly intense Twilight desire. In Avalon, which practiced the Path of Authority, with a Minister of Palace Affairs who was directly subordinate to his father, and being smarter than Sherlock, Mycroft should have had strong adaptability in either the Path of Authority, the Path of Wisdom, or the Path of Balance. Yet, he inexplicably had overwhelmingly strong adaptability in the Twilight Path… This should be a sign of atavism.
“…But I am on the Path of Wisdom.” Sherlock, for some unknown reason, suddenly defended himself, “I am not from the Path of Balance…”
“—What a coincidence.” Lord of Scales and Feathers leaned against the wall, laughing with delight, “Mercury was on the Path of Wisdom before. Before he reincarnated as an Elf, he was a Winged One Mage who followed a Great Philosopher… and as the Great Philosopher’s Disciple, he had a son who is now even more famous than him. Namely, the current Grey Heavenly Envoy.
“Later, Hermes, who reincarnated as an Elf, caught the tail end of the Dark Age. The poems chanted by the madwomen of the Fool were written by him; he also followed Dionysus and traveled with Haibasha and Selene.
“However, the most relevant thing to you here… is actually another matter.” Lord of Scales and Feathers stopped speaking at this point. And Sherlock, being so intelligent, had already guessed the truth.
“…The Fool’s Eulogy Grimoire.” Sherlock said in a low voice. He finally understood… why Haibasha had so meticulously told them the story of the Fool Dionysus back then. And why, after Sherlock commented, “The Fool, who tried his whole life to deny the ‘generalization of Gods,’ was honored as the God of Wine after his death,” she became so dejected and sad. And… why she had entrusted the matter of rescuing her daughter to the three of them simultaneously. Eivass’s identity went without saying, and Lily also had to study The Ovum Moon Grimoire at the time, splitting off the old body “Selene” abandoned by Hengwo. Only he seemed irrelevant to this matter… Now, he finally understood.
“—That’s right!” Lord of Scales and Feathers hummed twice, emitting a joyful laugh as if he had seen a good show, “The book ‘The Fool’s Eulogy Grimoire’ was completed by Hermes and Haibasha together.”
“…It’s impossible for me… to be the reincarnation of Hermes, right?” Sherlock’s voice was a little dry.
“Of course—” Lord of Scales and Feathers drew out the word, “—not. If one does not become a Disciple again, the only outcome of entering the Dream Realm is the shattering of the soul… becoming material for newborns.
“At this point, however, Lord of Scales and Feathers said with a smile, “But not necessarily? After all, that was the father of the Grey Heavenly Envoy, the God who taught him to lie.
“Or perhaps, for him… death itself is a lie, who knows?”
Without waiting for Eivass and Sherlock to ask again, Lord of Scales and Feathers waved his hand: “—Alright, your dream has lasted long enough. It’s time to wake up.”
In the next moment, the three felt the ground shaking violently. Eivass only had time to grab the two treasures, and hug the most crucial “Magical Girl Saffron,” before losing consciousness; the other two also grabbed dolls, and grasped whatever they could within reach, and simultaneously lost consciousness.
Watching the world around them gradually level out as if it had been “swallowed,” Lord of Scales and Feathers still gazed at Haibasha’s studio. His face, which had no features, now seemed somewhat silent.
