Whispering Poems

Chapter 3862 The Elves' Feast
"No one else is needed, just me and Daniste are enough. As for the [roots of the teacher], [finger bones of the astrologer], and [hair of the moon chaser] needed for the newborn ritual, I think it's useless to send more people; only I can find them."

Shad replied, and Luvia sighed:

"If only I could have gotten my hands on a special coin before you left. This big event has just ended, and you're already back to work almost immediately. Don't you even have time to rest this time?"

“Going to Mount Karas can actually be considered as going on vacation.”

Shad grasped Luvia's right hand:
"Don't worry so much. Just like you said, the battle of fate has only just ended, and now is the time for us to breathe a sigh of relief. Think about the days ahead. After we finish our work, before everyone leaves, Sevi said she's going to have a party on the ship."

"Once you return to Tobesk, we'll have plenty of time to spend together. Now, I can even have my fortune told at the Prophet's Association without paying!"

Luvia then smiled and said:

"What I'm really worried about is whether there were girls who loved you just like we did in the past that you've forgotten?"

"There won't be any."

The outsider shook his head firmly. In his hometown, he only had a few male friends, such as Li Qian and Zhan Jin. He was also quite certain he wouldn't have met any girls between the spring of 1853 and the summer of 1853, because Detective Sparrow quickly "adopted" him.
"Luvia, you're definitely the first one."

"Seriously, what are you saying?"

She sensed something else in those words, so she gently patted Shad, but it sounded more like she was being affectionate. However, Luvia hadn't finished saying what she wanted to say:
"You know that your High Ring Ascension Word is 'The Fallen Traveler, Rewrites the World's Poem,' and I also know that my High Ring Ascension Word originates from the power of the Moon Seal that surged forth when you summoned the gods, which repaired the cracks in 'The Fool.' After that, the High Ring Ascension Word became complete—'The Fool Who Destroys the World, Pulls For the Last Hope.'"

Shad remembered that the long-haired girl had mentioned a similar profound statement she possessed: "The fool who destroys the world, the hope who shatters the world" (Chapter 3764). The two sentences differed only in the latter half. And the meaning of these two latter half statements was very easy to understand once one knew the complete story.

"The last hope must refer to you, Shad, right? The core spirit rune is [Destroyer], followed by [World], [Fool], [Guide], and [Hope]."

Luvia concluded that although the word "finally" appeared in the sentence, she did not need to obtain the power of "ending".

Xia De nodded:

"You already obtained the [Fool] when you reached the ninth ring, so you can prepare to advance to the tenth ring now, right?"

"Yes, we'll start preparing as soon as we get back to Tobesk. It seems like everyone's promotion speed has accelerated since we met you."

As she spoke, she glanced at Shad again:
“When you summoned the gods, the girls who were given the moon mark could feel the power surging from the moon mark. Mr. Snake also called the three demigod witches ‘divinely gifted demigods.’ I can finally be sure this time.”

She pursed her lips:
"It's not 'summoning gods,' it's becoming a god, right? The one who gives us that power is definitely not a cold, aloof deity. I can feel that although the power surging from the moon seal is strong, it still has the warmth of your soul."

Xia De did not deny that although he had not thought that the "Moon Seal" had this function before, it made sense now, since the "Moon Seal" itself was a bridge connecting him and the girls.

[You've branded them; they now belong to you.]

"She" said with a smile, but Shad ignored her and instead pushed the box to Luvia:

"This is a gift for you and Bella, as you two contributed the most in the battle of destiny."

Luvia opened the box and saw shattered, crystal-like eggshells. After Shad absorbed divinity, these eggshells, though still brimming with powerful miraculous elements, now possessed a power that mortals could glimpse.

After listening to Shad's explanation of the eggshell's origin, Luvia smiled and kissed his cheek, then added a word of advice:
"Tonight, besides dancing with Emilia, remember to dance with Sylvie too."

"I certainly won't forget something like that. Speaking of which, there was the elves' ritual this morning."

"Hmph~ Those pointy-eared girls are hilarious. Don't worry about it, I'll handle it with the witches. They really dare to dream!"

The banquet that evening was held at the elven camp. Shad knew that the elves' tents were ancient alchemical artifacts, with interior spaces much larger than they appeared from the outside, but even so, they shouldn't be enough to host such a large banquet.

But when he and the girls finally arrived at the banquet venue, they found that a verdant barrier enveloped the entire camp. The snow outside the camp had been cleared away, and once inside the barrier, Shad could even feel that the wind was warm and carried the fragrance of grass and trees.

The banquet was much larger than the ceremony this morning, with both indoor and outdoor venues. The camp, which was originally quite simple, was now filled with traces of the ancient and luxurious decorations of the elves, and even the campfires had turned a delightful golden color.

This experience was quite novel for Shad as well. It was not only the first time he had publicly attended a banquet of this scale as the "Caller of Gods," but also the first time he had seen so many pointy-eared elves.

The appearances of elves from different clans vary, but they share the common characteristic that elves are generally more attractive than normal humans.

"If you go to the academy, you will find that, apart from human ring mages, the number of elven students in the academy is the largest."

Wearing a long, fuchsia dress and with her red hair tied up with a gold hairpin, Daniste spoke, raising her wine glass to the long table outside the tent and clinking it against Shad's:
"The number of elves in the material world is more than we originally thought. The three major academies are now in contact with those suddenly emerging elven clans. Saint Byrons has a great advantage in this regard."

"You want to recruit them?"

"Of course, the foundation of the three academies is the batches of graduating students, and no one would let go of such a good source of high-quality students. However, due to their living habits, the elves' own places of residence, and the academies' own capacity, Saint Byrons cannot swallow up all the elven clans in one go."

But thankfully, there are still unicorns, aren't there?

Shad and Daniste stood together, looking at the humanoid Leona in the distance, hesitating between eating green and purple grapes. Ellie was eating an apple beside her; the chosen one of fate didn't have so many worries. Ellie ate the red apple, and stuffed the green one into her pocket.

Both unicorn girls were wearing black Mary Jane shoes, and little Leona had already gotten used to standing on two legs.

"But Ellie's white robe doesn't have any pockets. Speaking of which, how did she manage to take Xiaomia's ring out this morning?"

As Shad pondered this, he heard Daniste say:
"You did a great job this time."

Shad then shifted his gaze from Ellie to the red-haired sorceress nearby.

"There's no need for such praise. Actually, something else happened during the war, right when you were playing 'The Fallen Moon Rebirth.' It's not convenient to talk about these things now. Anyway, let's set off for Mount Karas as soon as possible."

Do you miss my teacher that much?

These were the sorceress's inner thoughts, but what she said aloud was:

“I’ve been planning on that too, but you’ll probably have to wait a week or two. After things are settled here, there are still some things piling up at the academy, plus the matters concerning the new elf students and the unicorns. Today is the seventh day of the Moon of the Rising Wind, and I’ll give you a specific departure date before the 20th.”

Xia De nodded, glanced around, and then lowered his voice to say:

"But before that, you should have time to tutor me on my thesis, right?"

Daniste blushed slightly, but still nodded:

"Of course, it's no problem to set aside some time. I mean, a lot of time."

The two clinked glasses again, their unspoken understanding unspoken.

The "Caller of Gods" was under everyone's watchful eye at the banquet, so Shad didn't talk to Danist for too long. Afterwards, Danist would only say that they were talking about the chosen ones of destiny enrolling in St. Byron's.

The ball was scheduled for the latter half of the banquet, so after saying goodbye to Daniste, Shad handed the empty wine glass to a tiny sprite—or fairy, flower fairy—that flew by, and then walked along the glowing decorative strip of light on the ground toward the witches gathered in the tent.

Even Granny Cassandra came to the banquet tonight, but most of the witches were chatting with their familiar ring sorcerers, so when Shad arrived, only Claire, Flora, Bella, and three witch apprentices were there.

The three witches were chatting about the banquet, commenting on the food and decorations. Seeing Shad approach, they stopped talking and smiled as they bowed to him. Shad quickly stopped them.

"What is this doing?"

The tent was illuminated by glowing gold and white crystals, leaving no shadows. The three witches weren't the most extravagantly dressed at the banquet, but each of their gowns accentuated their individual beauty.

"Didn't we talk about this on the ship earlier? We shouldn't act like we're too familiar with each other. We should maintain a certain distance."

As Bella spoke, she took Shad's hand and pulled him closer:

"Human banquets and elven banquets are really different. I like this banquet. The elves' musical taste is much better than that of humans."

Flora agreed, but she didn't discuss musical styles with Shad at the banquet.
"So, Your Excellency the Summoner, what brings you here? Do you want to play cards with my apprentice, Charlotte?"

"Teacher~"

The pale-faced girl complained softly.

Shade shook his head:

"At a banquet like this, I can't bring out my entire deck. But before I leave Fatummst Island, I'll definitely find a chance to play a couple of rounds with Miss Bell."

The witches laughed, and Miss Belle's pale face flushed even more.

"After talking with Daniste just now, I remembered the Fatu people."

Shad then looked at Claire:
"Has Elder Harald considered sending the tribe's young priests to study at St. Byron's?"

(End of this chapter)