I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

"Pfft—" Lilith, who has a low threshold for laughter, almost spat out the tea in her mouth, but managed to hold it in.

Observing the smiles of the people opposite her, which were somewhere between polite and perfunctory, the elven demigod who called herself Elune stamped her foot, leaned forward slightly, and said seriously:

"Hey, what's with that expression? You guys don't think these are just a bunch of fancy titles, that old folks who've lived too long like to gild their own lily, do you? None of those names of mine are given for nothing."

If you're lost in the forests of the Elven Kingdom, say "The first rays of dawn in the verdant forest," and the nearest tree will guide you; if you need water, say "The first rain of spring," and I can tell you the flow of groundwater within a ten-mile radius; if you encounter a formidable enemy, say "Those who remain standing when the stars fall," and if I'm in a good mood, I might even come to your aid myself.

Lilith interjected curiously, "Then what can this 'one of the first creations of the Goddess of Life' that you mentioned do?"

"That's the biggest and heaviest title. Mentioning it in Ancient Elvish will be sensed by the goddess. Isn't that amazing?"

"Tsk."

Elune, who was refilling her tea, paused upon hearing this. Her eyes, reflecting the silvery-blue light of the lake, narrowed slightly, and her voice lowered: "You clicked your tongue, didn't you? I heard you. You definitely clicked your tongue just now!"

Ji Tian remained expressionless: "No, you misheard."

"I am a demigod, you can't have misheard me."

Ji Tian didn't respond to that question, but instead asked the one he had always wanted to ask: "How much do you know about the world the first hero came from?"

"I don't know the specifics. He rarely brought it up himself, only occasionally saying a few drunken words around the campfire when he was drunk."

She picked up her teacup, her gaze falling on the lake outside the window, as she sorted through her memories of the first hero: "He said he originally lived in a world 'without magic and without gods.' There, iron birds flew in the sky, iron cars ran on the ground, and people could see people thousands of miles away through a small screen. He said his profession was 'otaku' (a man who stays at home and doesn't work).

Ji Tian's eyelids twitched. "Wait, a shut-in?"

"Well, I didn't understand the word at the time, so I asked him. He explained that it meant 'someone who spends most of their time at home and doesn't go out much.' He also said that he has always liked something called 'anime.' One day, after watching a certain anime, he was very excited, so he left home and walked quite a distance to a convenience store that was still open late at night, hoping to meet a kindred spirit."

"...And then what happened?"

"No, he said there were only elderly women in the convenience store. He bought a bottle of drink and a cup of instant noodles, and after paying and walking out of the convenience store, he found himself standing in a palace."

"He often repeated two phrases afterward. The first was—'Thank goodness the first thing I saw wasn't an apple stand.'"

Ji Tian, ​​who hadn't watched many anime, was a little confused. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know either. But every time he finishes talking, he laughs in a weird way, like he's thought of something funny."

"..."

He began to feel that the art style of this first hero was a bit off.

"And the second sentence?"

"The second line is, 'Now that you've come to another world, you must show your true abilities.'"

That statement is actually quite normal.

Just as Ji Tian was about to nod, Elune added:

"However, as far as I know, the 'real skill' he was referring to mainly meant learning how to use chopsticks to pick up pigeon eggs in the Demon King's castle, and being able to memorize the recipes from that world."

Ji Tian no longer wanted to continue the conversation.

Elune rested her chin on her hand, her gaze drifting towards the ceiling. "Oh right, he also said, 'I must bring cute dragon girls to the younger generation,' but he later admitted that it was just empty talk."

The elven archer from the former hero's party, who had been silent for a long time, raised her eyes from her thoughts and asked, "Lady Elune, how much do you know about what the first hero did in the Demon King's castle?"

"He dedicated his life to improving the living conditions in the Demon Realm. At that time, the Demon Realm had no unified writing system or written laws. The tribes relied entirely on strength to fight, make peace the next day, and then fight again the day after. The first hero spent more than a decade helping the Demon King establish a basic framework of 'etiquette', giving the Demon Realm the concept of 'rules' for the first time."

"He knew very well that he could not change the way the entire demon realm operated in his lifetime, but he hoped to at least leave something behind in the Demon King's castle so that future demon kings would have something to follow."

Her voice lowered slightly, clearly lost in memories. "Unfortunately, the old Demon King's castle was destroyed more than three hundred years ago, and most of its things disappeared with that fire. At that time, the human kingdom, the elves, and the church joined forces to raze the entire Demon King's castle to the ground, and many things could not be saved."

I wasn't in the Demon King's Castle at the time, and by the time I got there it was too late. There were only some scattered fragments left, which I dug out of the ruins and brought here.

All that can be found now are the technologies he improved, scattered throughout various places, such as the more efficient furnaces in the Dwarven Mountains, and the irrigation devices on the edge of the Elven Royal Court.

Ji Tian listened quietly until the other person looked at him and asked:

"You're from his world too, aren't you?"

"Yes, but the timeline is probably no longer accurate. Three thousand years ago, he was likely living in the same era as me in that world."

Elune narrowed her eyes slightly. "Different flow rates of time?"

Before Ji Tian could speak, she nodded thoughtfully, "No wonder he's always so secretive about the 'future.' When he occasionally mentions the streets and skies of his hometown, his tone is very soft, as if he's describing a dream that's already gone."

Lilith leaned closer from the side: "That first hero... how did he die?"

"He died of old age. He lived a very long time, much longer than an ordinary human, but he still grew old. He died in the study of the Demon King's castle, and it is said that he was still holding a stone he brought from the other world when he died."

"Are those torn pages still there?"

Elune stood up, walked to a wooden box half-buried in vines in the corner, squatted down, lifted the lid, and took out a flat wooden box from inside.

She placed the wooden box on the table, her fingertips lingered on the edge of the lid for a moment, and then gently opened it.

Inside lay several yellowed pieces of paper, their edges charred and curled, some even burned through. The words written in both Chinese and English were barely legible, the handwriting neat yet casual, as if they were random thoughts jotted down.

Elune gently pushed the wooden box: "This is all that's left. You can take a look if you're interested; no one would understand it if it's just sitting here with me."

Ji Tian thought for a moment, "Did he leave any message?"

Her gaze met Ji Tian's. "He left behind a sentence: 'If one day you meet someone from the same place as me, tell him that I have already walked this path for him.'"