Whispering Poems

Chapter 3867 Golden Apple

When Shad brought Mia out of the bathroom, they saw the three great witches chatting happily while tidying each other's clothes and hair.

Seeing that they got along so well, Shad was relieved. With more family members, he always had to consider the thoughts of other members, but so far the relationship within the Hamilton family was still very harmonious.

The three witches approached Shad together, each asking for a kiss before leaving. Girls' friendships are always strange; Shad remembered that while Sylvie had been close to them before, it hadn't been this close.

After all, we're sleeping together now.

"She" said gently.

"That's a strange statement."

After all, we've slept with the same n.

"Let's stick to the original wording."

Small groups of monsters still roam the island of Fatummister and the surrounding waters, but that's not something Shad needs to deal with this Sunday.

After breakfast, he took the Holy Bell from Fatummont Island to Vistalin. This trip with Ellie was not only Shad's own idea, but also a suggestion from Luvia, who appeared on the Radiant Messenger after breakfast.

She also said that once Shad and Ellie returned, she would talk to Shad about Ellie's "educational issues," but that was a matter for later.

Ellie acquired many spirit runes during the Battle of Destiny, including the [Space] rune. However, she hadn't established coordinates in the Vista Grove, so Shad first went home to the [Sacred White Chapel] to change the blessing to "Creator of Innocence," and then, with Ellie's consent, turned it into a toy and took it to the grove.

The girls stationed at the "Moon Sanctuary" were feeding the chocobos when Shad and Ellie arrived, and all the yellow and blue chocobos immediately gathered around them.

Although Ellie is now in human form, the chocobos still know what she is, and so they chirp and chatter as they approach her. Chocobos have an instinct to seek help from unicorns, and the unicorns, who have lived with the witch for a long time, naturally know to protect the chocobos in times of war.

So Ellie happily transformed back into her unicorn form and played with the chocobos for a while before following Shad to the hermits' camp.

Shad wanted to choose a chocobo as a mount, as usual, and even considered getting one for Ellie too. But just as he was about to do so, Ellie grabbed Shad's hand, then feigned a fierce look to scare away the chattering chocobos, finally pointing at herself:
"Chocobos? No way! Unicorns? Yes!"

Shad understood her meaning, but Ellie was already able to maintain her human form for extended periods, and he didn't want her to continue her old work. However, it was clear that Ellie, as a "professional unicorn," had a particularly strong sense of pride; in her presence, she absolutely refused to let Shad choose the chocobo.
"If I'm not as good as a chocobo, I'll be laughed at!"

So in the end, Shad had no choice but to ride on Ellie's back, while the girls who said goodbye to Shad wentssiping after they left:
"Did you see that? 'That gentleman' is riding the same one that came with him earlier."

Spring is just beginning to sprout. Although the forest is still covered in snow, the wind is not as cold as it used to be when Ellie runs happily.

This was Ellie's first time in this forest, and she ran with extraordinary joy. Although she forgot the direction Shad had indicated and went the wrong way twice because of her excitement, they still arrived at the hermits' camp at nine o'clock that morning.

Elder Davis of the Hermit Order seemed to have anticipated their arrival, waiting early at the camp entrance. After Shad dismounted from the unicorn and Ellie transformed back into human form, Elder Davis quickly stepped forward and bowed slightly to Ellie.

"Welcome, heir to destiny, new master of fate."

"Mr. Davis, I have a feeling that you all knew everything from the very beginning?"

Xia De asked with a smile, and the hermit, of course, denied it:

"We are but mortals, how could we possibly know everything? All we know is the trajectory of fate, and now, you have allowed fate to draw its most beautiful stroke. Please come in and rest for a while, and satisfy our curiosity—what exactly happened during the battle of fate?"

He welcomed Shad and Ellie into the camp, and after Shad returned the Holy Bell, he listened to Shad recount what had happened between Friday night and Saturday morning.

Ellie, having heard from someone that the hermits possessed a strange fruit called the "Empty Bottle Fruit," wanted to try it. However, the "Empty Bottle Fruit" was inedible; this relic derivative could only be used to hold light.

In the end, Mr. Davis gave Ellie an empty bottle-shaped fruit. While Shad was telling the story, Ellie happily played with the fruit-shaped "bottle." Although she couldn't eat it, she really liked the toy.

As Shad finished telling the story and was about to leave, Mr. Davis had the keeper of secrets, Mr. Meloni, bring over a box:
"This is a gift for the chosen one, and I hope it will satisfy you."

The box was handed directly to Ellie, who took Shad's hand and happily opened it after seeing Shad nod in agreement, then let out a small sigh.

The document-level relic, the Golden Apple, lies in the box. It is not only a relic, but also a valuable healing item that can be produced from multiple sources as relic derivatives.

"Mr. Davis, isn't this a bit too expensive?"

Shad spoke to the hermits, but they all laughed and told Ellie to accept it:
"Your Excellency the Summoner, you do not understand the significance of the appearance of the chosen ones of destiny for us. Destiny has not abandoned this world, and knowing this now, when our gods have long since departed, is of utmost importance."

They gave Shad no further gifts, only promising that the "Caller of Gods" would be the eternal and most important friend of the [Forest Hermits].
"From now on, you can not only buy anything we can provide from us, but if you need manpower, we can also go to other places to provide assistance."

Xia De then realized that his favorability rating among the hermits had likely reached its maximum.

However, contrary to Shad's expectations, Ellie did not eat the apple immediately. Although she had only recently acquired human form, she lacked only the knowledge of a ring mage and was quite familiar with the concept of "precious relics".

Therefore, after leaving the camp, she wanted to give the golden apple to Shad, but Shad refused to accept it.

"How about we wait until we get back, then you cut the apple in half and eat it with little Leona?"

Ellie shook her head:

"Four portions, for you, the cat, and everyone else."

It seems that after climbing the snow mountain together, Ellie and Mia have truly become friends.

"How about we keep this apple for now and eat it when we need it?"

Ellie thought for a moment and nodded, then stuffed the apple into her pocket. Shad was still curious about where the apple had gone, since her clothes clearly didn't have any pockets.

On their way back, all Shad had to do was drop the glass slipper. Shad and Ellie returned to Fatummont Island at just 9:30 a.m.

Daniste, Luvia, and Emilia were waiting for their return in the Ice Castle. Winnie had prepared a reception room for everyone. When Shad and Ellie entered, Daniste and Luvia were talking about the unicorns' enrollment, while Emilia was enjoying the tea that Winnie had brewed.

When the little elf saw Shad, her face flushed and she immediately turned her face away, clearly still remembering what happened last night.

The caretaker and the fairy came together this time because of Ellie's matter. After Shad and Ellie sat down, Winnie reappeared with a tea tray, which contained a new teapot and teacups, as well as a fruit plate with apples.

"Let's set aside the future development plan for Ellie for now. We need to determine the current state of the chosen one. First, how long can Ellie remain active in human form?"

Luvia started the conversation, and Emilia added:
"Little Leona can be active in human form for about 5 hours a day, but if she engages in high-intensity combat in human form, the time will be shorter. She stayed in human form for too long yesterday and is still sleeping now."

So they all looked at Ellie, who was taking the "apple tea" from Winnie's hand. Ellie thought for a moment:

"Human form or unicorn form, either is fine."

Daniste nodded:
"You can maintain both forms at will, right? That matches our earlier guess. Ellie has a special experience in the [House of the Pseudo-Humans], and she was one of the chosen ones."

Young Leona, being underage and not yet proficient in shapeshifting, will likely spend more time in human form in the future.

"So, will little Leona still be able to enroll in school?"

Emilia asked Daniste with some concern, and the administrator nodded:
"Of course, it's not difficult to concoct a potion that extends transformation time without side effects. Speaking of which, Emilia, isn't this the potion recipe you should be learning this semester? According to the course schedule, the course should have reached this point in the fourth week of the semester."

The pointy-eared elf immediately fell silent.

Then Luvia asked:

"Now, Ellie, can we see your life ring?"

The little unicorn then summoned the Ring of Fate. She was happy to follow Luvia's arrangements. Although Luvia was not a witch, the chosen one, with her extraordinary intuition, could vaguely sense some things.

The nine-ringed life ring slowly rotated, then transformed into an ouroboros wheel in a dark golden light. But the wheel then transformed into a dark golden apple in the light, and finally fell into Ellie's hand.

"You've advanced to the ninth ring overnight, Ellie. Your advancement speed has surpassed that of Shad."

Luvia sighed softly, while Daneste raised a question:
"Have you noticed? The dark gold artifacts that the other chosen ones' life rings transformed into are all items closely related to the ancient gods, such as scales, scythes, trees and dials, cubes, holy grails, and dragon head emblems."

But how could Ellie still transform the Dark Gold Ouroboros into a Dark Gold Apple? Is the apple connected to that ancient god of fate?

(End of this chapter)