I want to be a faded person for life

"Neferi told me about you, Miss Fengchuan. I remember that people in the distant land of reeds used the first half of their full names as their surnames."

"Welcome to join us and become a true member of the Round Table Hall."

The old man introduced himself.

"I am Gideon O'Fnir, known as Lord Hundred Wisdom. I am a Faded One who sought to become the King of Elden in order to meet the Elden Circle. I am a man with a thirst for knowledge and a desire to know everything."

"As one of the few comrades, I hope we can achieve long-term cooperation."

The old man's speaking habits reminded Xiangzi of Kenneth Hyde, except that Gideon O'Flint's accent was not as exaggerated as the former, and was more in line with the stereotype of the old aristocracy - Xiangzi had also seen this kind of people at the Toyokawa family when he was a child.

However, even though it was just their first meeting, Sir Baizhi's words contained some words that Xiangzi was very concerned about.

"What place are you talking about...the land of reeds?"

She didn't have time to think about it. In Neon, people have always used "Weiyuan" to refer to the human world, and most of the native residents in the border area use the second half of their names as their surnames.

"Ok?"

Sir Baizhi put down the book.

"Could I be mistaken? But the names of you and Ms. Deng do align with what I've learned... This isn't surprising. Given your age, it wouldn't be surprising for you to be descendants of someone born in the border region."

Xiangzi suppressed his trembling voice with excitement.

"Where exactly is this land of reeds you speak of?"

Chapter 25: The Kings

"It's a world outside the border."

According to Sir Baizhi, the name Junction means exactly what it says - it's the place where many worlds meet.

On the other side of the fog, there are indeed other worlds and civilizations.

But that is not a place that can be reached by ordinary means.

It's not just the physical distance between the different areas, but the laws that support and connect them like the branches of a tree - the structure sounds a bit like the nine realms in Norse mythology.

As for the outsiders from the so-called "Land of Reeds", the last time they appeared at the border was before the Ring was broken.

The blessed light guides the faded ones who are heading towards death to come here, but it will not guide them away.

"After the movement of the stars was sealed, the borderland has become a giant prison. In my opinion, to travel to other worlds, at least two conditions must be met."

"One is to defeat General Ratan and restore the stars to normal operation."

Sir Baizhi spread out his hands.

"The second is the birth of a King of Elden, who wields the great power of Blessing and uses it to guide you back to your homeland."

Sure enough, I circled back to the original place.

Xiangzi had more or less had such a premonition, but Sir Baizhi's words once again pointed her in the right direction.

Rather than relying on the new king's mercy, she should become king herself. This is exactly what the Faded One should have done - it has never changed since the beginning.

"It seems you've come to your senses, which is good."

Sir Baizhi withdrew his gaze and looked back at the parchment spread out on the table.

"You probably want to get more Great Runes. For the sake of our comradeship, I can share some information with you."

"The Round Table Hall has already discovered the whereabouts of five of the Lords who possessed the fragments of the Great Rune, including Greg, whom you defeated."

"The Lord of Stonewell you are most familiar with, [Limb Retrieval] Greg."

"General [Star Shatter] Ratan, who imprisoned the Flow of Stars and fought Marennia to a draw in the Gallid Fields."

"Lord of Gmir's Volcano Residence, [Justice Officer] Lakkad."

"The lord of the royal city of Rodel, the invisible king, [King of Blessing] Mungot."

"And the leader of the Magic Academy Rhea Lukalia, [Full Moon Queen] Lenara."

"...Whose Great Rune do you want among them?"

It turns out that it is necessary to come to the Round Table Hall.

Xiangzi wrote down all these names. If she hadn't come to the Round Table Hall, God knows how long it would take her to grasp this key information.

but......

Xiangzi noticed something strange. The names of these demigods did not include the Moon Princess Lani and the Blood King of the Mongwen Dynasty.

These two were undoubtedly demigods, but even Lord Baizhi, whom Nepheli called "all-knowing," probably didn't have any information about them.

If Xiangzi wanted to get the Big Rune from someone, he would first eliminate two of the four people.

First was General Latan, a name she had heard more than once.

The demigod who imprisoned the stars is someone who must be defeated upon returning to the original world, but if Latarn is really as powerful as the rumors say, then there is no way I can be his opponent right now.

The other is Monggot, the Blessed King.

According to the history Xiangzi now knows, even the coalition of demigods could not capture the royal city. The strength of the Blessed King Monggot is probably not weaker than that of Ratan. He is an enemy that should not be faced until the last stage.

So the only two options left are Justice Larcade and Full Moon Queen Lenara.

Speaking of the Full Moon Queen...Teacher Seren said that he needed to meet her, and Xiangzi has already promised the half-wolf Blaze to work for the Moon Princess Lani.

Lenara was probably considered the mother of her employer, and she didn't really want to have a conflict with her unless it was necessary.

But it never hurts to have some information.

"I want to know about the Full Moon Queen."

"A smart choice. I like working with smart people."

Sir Baizhi expressed his approval for some reason.

"The Magic Academy of Rhea Lukalia stands in the foggy Lienia region, north of Nimgefu. Lenara is the leader of the academy—the queen of the Calia royal family."

Xiangzi knew this information. The route to Lienia was also marked on the map of Nimgfu in her hand. She could probably start directly from the small gate on the north side of Stonewell, or go around the cliff on the east side of Storm Hill.

Sir Ovniel continued:

"Yet Lenara herself is not a demigod."

Xiangzi was shocked. This was the first time she had heard of this information.

Having said that, Xiangzi didn't seem to know what a demigod was. She originally thought that anyone who held a Great Rune could be called a demigod, just like herself now.

......But from what Sir Baizhi said, it seems that this is not the case.

"The red-haired hero, King Radagon, became Queen Marika's second husband after abandoning Lenara."

"It is said that a large rune is hidden in the amber egg that the man gave her."

——Ah, this is a complete scumbag.

Xiangzi couldn't help but complain in his heart, wondering why the two queens would fall for such a guy.

Even the nicknames that outsiders called him were related to his appearance. In Xiangzi's mind, he had subconsciously equated Wang Fu Ladagon with a pretty boy.

However, since the Great Rune is in the amber egg, the best outcome is that we don't have to fight with the Full Moon Queen, but can obtain the amber egg she holds through other methods.

"Besides the above, there are several demigods whose whereabouts I, and the Round Table Hall, have no clue about."

"[Pure Gold] Sacred Tree Mikaela, and her twin siblings, the invincible Valkyrie Marennia, [Moon Princess] Rani, and the unknown figure known as the Blood King."

"It's said that Lani has abandoned the Great Rune, so the Round Table has been searching for the whereabouts of the others. If you have information about them, I will provide a secret treasure or a unique spell that only I know of in exchange."

"We have all gathered here to meet the Circle and become the King of Elden. I hope you can help us out of comradeship."

Xiangzi hesitated.

She was very interested in the secret treasures and unique spells that Sir Baizhi mentioned.

The reward a figure like Bai Zhi could offer could be quite valuable, and it wasn't impossible that it could increase her power significantly further.

However, if he revealed the information about the Blood Dynasty here, the pure-blood knights who would later become aware of it would most likely target him.

Enemies that can cause severe bleeding are troublesome, not to mention the Knight Captain Ampahe, whose background she cannot figure out.

After much thought, she decided not to reveal it.

At least he had to wait until his identity as a fake pure-blood knight was exposed and the relationship between them was broken before he could exchange the information.

Chapter 26 Never Died

After bidding farewell to Sir Baizhi, at his suggestion, Xiangzi first went to the deepest room in the Round Table Hall to meet "Two Fingers".

Although not far from the bright round table and the great blessing, this room is obviously darker than other places.

A tattered red carpet stretched from the room where the round table was located to here.

None of the large candlesticks in the room were lit, only a few short candles were scattered on the ground.

——When Xiangzi first entered the room, he almost couldn't control himself and drew his weapon.

Because "Two Fingers" was completely different from what she imagined it to be.

Xiangzi originally thought that "Two Fingers" should be a name for someone of high status who only had two fingers left, like [Limb Extension] or [Broken Star].

Otherwise, it is some kind of symbolic statue or emblem.

But standing before him in the deepest shadows was a creature.

The shape of the giant creature was indeed like a severed hand with only two fingers.

The "palm" part even has palm lines, and the "fingers" have a structure like three joints.

——The part with the finger should be the head.

Xiangzi thought so, but there were no facial features there, and the tips of the fingers were not covered with "nails". On the contrary, there were sparse white hairs where the nails and the first joints were originally.

There were many signs of ulceration all over the two fingers' bodies, and those old wounds had not healed but exposed dark red flesh.

As if he had sensed his presence, his two fingers trembled slightly and turned towards him.

This action made Xiangzi even more alert, and he took a step back to resist putting his hand on the hilt of the sword.

——Fighting is prohibited in the Round Table Hall.

This is what Deng said, although he didn't know what the consequences of a fight in the Round Table Hall would be.

But the lamp would never harm her.

——Even after becoming what she is now, Toyokawa Shoko still firmly believes in this.

Putting aside that strange possessiveness and wrong perception, Deng's attitude towards himself has not changed at all.

With this unfounded trust, Xiangzi slowly relaxed and moved his hand away from the hilt of the rapier.

There were six high-backed chairs on both sides of the red carpet in the room. Very close to the bottom of his fingers, sat an old woman with a hunched back.

The other person was wearing a faded dark red robe, and his hands, like dead wood, were holding a wooden cane that was much taller than his body.

The old man was deep in the bird's nest, and it was pitch black. There were no eyeballs in the nest. He was a blind man.

Not noticing Xiangzi's vigilance, the old woman turned her head and "looked" in the direction of Xiangzi with her eye sockets without eyeballs.

"New Fader, thank you for your hard work. I am Enya from 'Reading Fingers'."

"Master Finger is the messenger of the Supreme Will, and I am the old woman who conveys his words."

"Look carefully, the finger is trembling—it means He is welcoming you, the holder of the Great Rune."

Suspicious, really suspicious.

Xiangzi couldn't help but think of the words of Fan Lei in the white mask. He asked himself whether he had any feelings after seeing the two fingers.

The answer Xiangzi gave at the time to deceive people was "suspicious", but this view was deeply agreed by Fan Lei.

It seems to be true now.

In her opinion, the two fingers were just dumb monsters, or at least she could not understand the language that used vibrations and subtle changes in movements as a means of communication.

All communication between him and his two fingers had to be relayed through the old woman who could interpret the fingers.

——Even when Mu was acting as a mouthpiece to convey information between himself and Nagasaki Suyo, misunderstandings would be created.

Not to mention the two-finger mode.

However - the Enya grandmother who explained the meaning did fill in some of the information she wanted to know.

That is, only the offspring of Queen Marika, who is a god, are qualified to be called demigods.