Chapter 527
“Reynard the Fox’s Lies”
By the time Eivass, Lily, and Sherlock descended back to the First Ring, dusk was approaching.
Despite the considerable stir Eivass had caused there only a few hours prior, the commotion had already subsided by the time he returned, having changed into an Archbishop’s attire.
Not many recognized the alarmingly young Archbishop as the same youth from earlier.
The primary reason was facial recognition.
The population within the Holy Kingdom wasn’t particularly large to begin with. Even among humans, not all hailed from the Empire.
Although Avalon, Iris Flower, and Star Antinomy each used their own distinct languages and customs now, five hundred years ago, they were all essentially one—Hrasal people at their core.
However, humans from other regions still found it somewhat difficult to recognize Eivass, let alone other species.
The group returned from the tranquil High Ring to the bustling First Ring.
Observing the throng of people, Sherlock couldn’t help but exclaim, “Looking purely at the First Ring, who would ever guess this place belongs to the elves’ Eternal Holy Kingdom?”
Lily, hearing this, also looked up and surveyed the scene.
The streets teemed with humans, goblins, lizardmen, trolls… all manner of races, densely packed and filling the entire thoroughfare. The streets, which had felt relatively spacious at noon, were now suffocatingly crowded by evening.
As an Avalon native, born and raised in the Lloyd District, she came up with a very fitting analogy—
This level of foot traffic was precisely the kind that pickpockets would find ideal for their operations.
If this were Avalon, pickpockets would surely be mingling among the crowd.
A peculiar worry suddenly surfaced in her mind: “If things continue like this, will there come a day when… the dominant race in the Holy Kingdom is no longer the elves?”
“Quite possibly—in fact, it’s already practically the case.”
Eivass replied from the side, “After all, elves have a low birth rate.”
Sherlock inquired, “Physically, or mentally?”
“Mentally. Elves generally have poor adaptability to the Path of Love, which directly leads to a weaker desire between the sexes. When both individuals are apathetic, their lack of passion can mutually influence each other. Many couples don’t even share a bed for decades, with many more maintaining their relationship as a purely spiritual romantic bond… rather than being husband and wife, they’re more like friends or roommates.
“Elves only became fully open a few centuries ago, and now elves constitute only half of the Holy Kingdom’s main population—though the short-lived races are typically confined to the lower five rings. Currently, the number of half-elves is nearly a third of the main elven population and also accounts for about a third of the active short-lived population in the Holy Kingdom. Keep in mind, not many elves are willing to marry short-lived races, and this is after only a few hundred years.”
“…If that’s the case,” Sherlock said, glancing at the number of people, “the elf population is likely comparable to that of Glass Island, or at most, only slightly larger.”
“I even suspect it might be smaller than the population of Glass Island.”
Eivass chuckled helplessly.
Lily did some quick calculations in her mind: “If that’s the thought… perhaps in another hundred years, the proportion of elves won’t even reach one-third.”
Eivass shook his head.
The elven population had been declining for many years. Annually, the number of deaths from old age, combat in outer wars, accidents, petrification, and amber entrapment far exceeded the birth rate. Meanwhile, immigrants from other lands continued to pour in.
“Perhaps in fifty years, elves will not even constitute a third of the Holy Kingdom’s population.”
Sherlock calculated this easily.
He mused with some emotion, “I really wonder what will happen then…”
“What else could happen? The elves’ strength far surpasses theirs. In this World, it’s still the Extraordinary who call the shots.”
Eivass scoffed, “Do you think these immigrants will set up a Thanksgiving Day for the elves?”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Eivass shook his head and, taking them with him, boarded a large revolving platform that brought them to a specific marker—if the direction pointing north was 12 o’clock, this was roughly at the two o’clock position. Their previous location was at the adjacent three o’clock, not far away.
Elves favored the east, and facing the sunrise was considered the best direction.
Although Eivass was visiting the Holy Kingdom for the first time, he moved with such familiarity.
He even displayed a distinct look of nostalgia, pointing out certain landmarks and explaining their origins to the two of them, as if he were a local.
Sherlock grew even more convinced of his suspicion—Eivass had likely experienced fragments of events from this era in his dreams or elsewhere! That’s why he knew things he shouldn’t and had seen things he shouldn’t have.
Lily, however, remained puzzled.
She marveled at Eivass’s familiarity, “How does Young Master know the layout here so well… Did you look at a map before?”
“What’s so strange about that?”
Eivass said dismissively, “If you’ve played Ubisoft games, you can easily get familiar with the local terrain even when traveling abroad. I just know a few landmark buildings.”
“…What?”
“Hmm, nothing. Actually, I did look at a map before.”
Sherlock noticed that Eivass’s references to things no one else could understand had become more frequent in the past two days. If Eivass had deliberately concealed his sources of information before, he had gradually stopped pretending these past couple of days.
Was he… feeling lonely?
Sherlock quietly observed Eivass, a flame-like azure hue igniting in his pupils before slowly fading.
He felt he was understanding Eivass’s true nature more and more profoundly.
—Unable to return to his own era and now forced to separate from Isabel, he wanted to say things others wouldn’t understand to maintain his independence. He didn’t want to forget those memories, yet he couldn’t truly reminisce, so he could only indulge in such hollow longing.
It was akin to a person who, after breaking up with their ex-girlfriend, would repeatedly talk about her to friends after getting drunk, claiming they had moved on. But by constantly saying they had moved on, they fundamentally hadn’t.
Sherlock had a high school classmate like that, who was now doing business in the Holy Kingdom.
He could tell that Eivass had clearly never been here before.
On the main road, Eivass navigated with considerable decisiveness. But once he turned into the alleyways, his movements became noticeably hesitant.
Eivass would try to find landmarks first, then ponder for a long time.
—Sherlock had a similar experience once. While investigating a case, he had to analyze the background of a painting to deduce the artist’s city and residence.
Eivass seemed to be deducing a shop’s location based on the relative positions of buildings.
But in the end, Eivass succeeded.
He arrived at a building without taking a wrong turn.
It was a private residence converted into a shop in the alleyway.
A sign hung outside, reading “Reynard the Fox’s Lies.” However, the sign alone gave no clue as to what the establishment sold.
Eivass rang a bell at the entrance, then pushed the door open.
Upon entering, Sherlock looked up, his sharp gaze scanning the surroundings.
—It looked like a bookstore, and also like a coffee shop, he thought.
This was because bookshelves lined the walls, each filled with a variety of books. There were also four round tables, each seating only four or five people. The air was filled with the aroma of coffee, and a little girl, appearing only seven or eight years old, stood on a stool, quietly grinding coffee beans.
This young proprietress appeared to be an elf, with light golden hair and clear amber pupils.
The space, about twenty to thirty square meters, had no other customers.
“A Respected Archbishop.”
The girl, upon seeing Eivass, did not panic.
She simply bowed respectfully to Eivass, her young but clear voice ringing out, “May the Candlemaster bless your light.”
“And may the Candlemaster bless you as well, Madam Haibasha.”
Eivass returned the bow to the girl.
Hearing Eivass’s words, the girl raised an eyebrow in slight surprise, “May I ask, who was your introducer…?”
“Grey told me,” Eivass replied.
“Which Grey?” the girl, identified as Haibasha, asked cautiously.
“Naturally, the Pure White Saintess,” Eivass replied gently, “She mentioned you have some Grimoires here.”
“Ah, that child…”
Haibasha shook her head, jumped down from the stool with a hint of helplessness, and said, “Please, make yourselves comfortable. Would you like sugar in your coffee?”
“Two creams and one sugar,” Eivass said smilingly. “Thank you, Madam.”
This was an Apostle under the Geometric Heavenly of the Path of Wisdom, currently in a reincarnated state, just like Viviane.
Her secret wasn’t something Pure White would have told him – it was a side quest in the game. When Pure White encountered trouble, she would tell players to seek out Haibasha to rescue her. Since then, this place had become a player base.
Overdrawing on favors wasn’t a significant issue.
Eivass was going to help Pure White anyway; it was merely a matter of sequence.
(End of Chapter)
