Life has dealt a heavy hand to a weak demigod like me.

"Palasti welcomes anyone who wishes to stay here, but first you need to agree with our traditions and customs and be willing to uphold them."

"Some people from outside the country may occasionally envy the situation here, but if they really want to stay, they will refuse. After all, customs and traditions are different for every ethnic group and country, and few people can stick to it." Blue said casually.

Hogot was a little tempted. When one day he lost interest in adventure, staying here might be a good choice.

While thinking this, he said, "Let's talk about the holy objects. I'm very curious about these things."

-

Chapter 139: She asked me to dance

"Mr. Hogot is really impatient." Blue sighed and then opened the parchment. "Have you heard the story about the pact between the elf princess and the bard?"

"The Elf Princess and the Bard?" Hogot thought for a moment and then said, "I seem to have heard of them when I was little."

"Legend has it that long ago, there was a young bard who was talented and loved by the world. While traveling around the world, he happened to meet an elven princess. They were attracted by each other's talent and eventually fell in love."

"However, due to his status, the bard cannot announce this love to the world, nor does he have the courage to go to the Forest of Life to ask for marriage. He can only hide this love deep in his heart."

"He then gave up his beloved poetry and literature and chose to become a transcendent. After experiencing countless setbacks and hardships, he finally gained the recognition of the Forest of Life and lived happily with the Elf Princess."

Of course, the story is not that simple. There have been many versions of this story since it was first circulated, but they are all similar. Most of the differences are in the adventure parts of the bard.

Many people have changed the story over the generations, and the bard's adventures have also varied greatly. In some stories, the bard slays an evil dragon with the help of others and takes its heart as a betrothal gift; in others, it's a sea monster, and in still others, it's a thunderbird...

But the beginning and the end are the same.

"We also have this story here, but it is very different from what you told." Blue spread out the parchment.

"In our story, the Elf Princess and the Bard never fell in love, nor did they end up together."

Hogot became interested. "Can you tell me more about it?"

"Palasti was a kingdom of elves a long time ago, and most of the people who have lived here for a long time have elven blood." Blue said something that Hogot had not expected.

As soon as he finished speaking, Hogot's eyes swept over Blue's ears and eyes, but he did not see any evidence of elven blood in Blue.

"This happened a long time ago. You know that Palasti doesn't forbid outsiders from staying here. This rule hasn't changed for tens of thousands of years. Initially, elves were indeed everywhere here, but later, they were gradually assimilated by the outside population. On the contrary, people with obvious elven blood are now rare."

While the elves possessed life far superior to humans, they were inferior to humans in terms of giving birth to new life. For tens of thousands of years, especially during the Dark Ages, anyone who could find Pallasti would eventually choose to stay.

Although there are not only humans, but also elves, halflings and the like, due to the difficulty of reproduction between different races and the fact that humans are the largest population, most people here have been humans over the past tens of thousands of years.

However, most of them have alien blood in their bloodline, elves are the most common, and although halflings, giants and the like are rare, they do exist.

"In the textbook, the Elf Princess's name was 'Lulu Eve'. She was beautiful, gentle, and powerful, and was loved by all the elves at the time."

"Compared to other elves, she saw the elves' decline, so she encouraged them to leave the Forest of Life and cooperate with churches in many countries to seek greater benefits for the elves."

"Just when they were about to succeed, Lady Eve was assassinated. The elves have been weak for a long time, and many people don't want to see them emerge."

"In the end, the reforms initiated by Lady Eve gradually came to an end. Except for a few who persisted, most elves retreated back to the Forest of Life." Blue's tone was a little low.

Hogot was a little confused. "Um...Mr. Blue, you didn't seem to mention the bard."

In the fairy tale of the Elf Princess and the Bard, the Bard has always been the dominant character, and the Elf Princess is just a "tool", but in Blue's story there is no trace of the Bard at all.

"He appeared fourteen years after the Elf Princess's death." Blue smiled and continued.

Hogot was stunned.

"No one knows his name, but he brought back the Elf Princess' extraordinary qualities and returned them to the Elf race."

"When the Elf Queen asked him why he did this, the bard smiled and said, 'She asked me to dance with her,' and he didn't say anything more."

"He finally left behind some words to encourage the elves to continue moving forward and then left."

"After that, Parasti was established, and the Elf Princess's extraordinary characteristics were made into sacred objects and have been preserved to this day."

In the banquet hall of Rocks Manor, Charles was tasting red wine alone. Then he slowly stood up and walked to the side and took out a phonograph. Some noisy sounds were heard first, and then some familiar music echoed in his ears.

Lulu Eve, this name is very familiar to Charles.

When he first met her, he was still a Sequence 8 Beyonder who had not yet joined the church.

At a dinner party, he met the other party, a well-known wandering poet.

Almost instantly, he was attracted by the other person's appearance and fell in love with her.

Now that I think about it, this kind of thing is most likely not about love, but simply lust.

Well, Charles coveted her body.

Probably the same feeling as Emperor Guangwu when he married Yin Lihua, he also boasted to his friends that he must marry this beautiful elf princess in the future.

What was a bit embarrassing was that the other party heard what he said while bragging.

However, she was not angry at what Charles said. Instead, she asked Charles to dance with her.

It was a dance he would hardly forget.

After that, his life plan for a long time was to work hard to improve his strength and marry the elf princess.

Unfortunately, the next time he heard from her was when she died.

At Sequence 4, the first demigod he killed was a demigod who possessed the other party's extraordinary characteristics. At Sequence 3, the subordinate god he risked his life to kill was also the mastermind behind that incident.

Her face may have slowly disappeared from Charles' mind, but the throbbing feeling at that moment will always be retained by him.

Now that she thinks about it, a big reason why she did this was because she valued Charles, as a famous troubadour, who could help her realize her ideals through his works.

But no matter what she was thinking at that time, the memories she brought to Charles were priceless.

So, when he was faced with a Sequence 3 extraordinary characteristic that was very suitable for him, Ciel chose to return to the elves.

Although he had no connection with the other party, Charles found the servant god and killed him.

This is not in line with his character of seeking profit and avoiding harm.

However, for him, interests are important, but they are never the most important.

At that time, he felt a little better because of what he had done, but this little bit of mood was not brought by those benefits.

"After that, did the elves try to investigate the identity of the bard?" Hogot asked curiously.

Blue shook his head. "Who knows? Maybe everyone knows it, but they will never tell anyone."

Many things cannot withstand investigation, and Charles did not hide his identity at the time.

Not to mention the people at that time, many people today who have stayed in Parasti for a period of time and want to investigate the identity of the bard have the opportunity to guess it.

After all, there were many traces of him left here.

"Can you lend me this to take a look?" Hogot pointed at the parchment in Blue's hand.

"Well..." He hesitated a little, "If you are interested in us, Parasti, I can help you borrow some other people's textbooks, but forget about mine."

Parchment can barely be considered an extraordinary item. It can store a lot of knowledge based on the thoughts of the holder, and the content on it can be changed at will according to the user's wishes.

This is Blue's textbook. When he was little, he would often draw some weird things on it, or write some weird words that make him feel ashamed now.

If someone saw it after lending it out... Blue felt it would be embarrassing.

"Then... thank you for your help." Hogot said gratefully.

He has been to many closed countries and experienced many different customs.

But this is the first time I've seen a place like this.

As Blue stood up to leave, Hogot hesitated before asking, "Mr. Blue, don't you have the slightest bit of wariness or vigilance towards outsiders like us?"

"You're telling us information about the city like this. Aren't you afraid that we might spread it or do something bad?"

This is what puzzled him the most.

Pallasti seems to be an undefended and welcoming city, with goodwill towards any outsiders.

But... not everyone in the world is gentle.

Or perhaps this world has never been gentle, and with the atmosphere here, it is easy to be hurt by some people.

"Of course not, the High Priest will protect us."

"Moreover, Pallasti is a city of goodness. People with evil hearts cannot enter."

Think about it carefully.

In this era where demigods are the most powerful force, a country guarded by three demigods and where a fourth demigod may appear at any time is indeed not easy to deal with.

But...the city of kindness?

Hogot's expression was a little surprised. He didn't expect that his reputation in the academic and supernatural circles was average, and even some bad old men would be regarded as "good people".

"If the city can really filter out everything, then things like this wouldn't have happened a decade ago," Hogot said meaningfully.

"Maybe he turned bad after coming here." Blue was not interested in Rotten's affairs. After saying that, he walked out the door to help Hogot borrow books.

In the evening, Hogot returned to the residence arranged for them by Blue with a brand new roll of parchment.

Bang bang bang!

He knocked on Perozzi's door and then gently pushed it open.

Looking at Peroz who was writing something in his notebook, Hogott showed a slight smile on his face.

"It seems you are recovering well."

Peroz turned around helplessly and said, "Teacher, I'm not sick. I'm just feeling a little complicated."

"Indeed, it's normal to feel bad after suddenly hearing so many negative things about your loved ones."

"Well, do you want to rest for a while? I will help you investigate Mr. Rotten's matter."

"I think there may be some factors that we don't know about his transformation."

"This city is beautiful and the people are kind, but what they say may not be true."

On the one hand, Hogot's words comforted Peroz, and on the other hand, they were also what he was thinking in his heart.

Roden may not be a perfect person.

But he definitely wouldn't be so easily blinded by greed.

"My father was indeed mentally unstable during that period."

"He began to pursue some legends about immortality, and then he set his sights on Pallasti." Peroz slowly stood up, lifting the boiling water on the campfire in the room while showing a complicated smile.

"Ever since my mother's death, my father has been searching for a treasure that can bring people back to life."

"Perhaps in his heart, the source of life is one of them."

Everyone has something they care about.

Peroz knew that her father cared most about her mother and her.

The mission inherited from the Krolov family's bloodline made him worried about Peroz's future.

He could only live as long as possible so that she could have more years of ease.

"This morning, I asked a grandmother downstairs, and she told me about the power of the Source of Life."

"The Elf Princess is a demigod who controls the power of nature and life. The power of the source of life lies in life and nature."

"It can restore youth to those whose lives have withered, and it can use the power of nature to give people endless life."

"Also, in ancient stories, a priest of Pallasti even rose again to protect their hometown after years of death because of the source of life."

"This is a great sacred object that can grant immortality, resurrection, and control over nature."

"It seems understandable that Dad would want to steal it."

Peroz remembers that his father's greatest wish was that the family could live happily together forever.

And the source of life has the ability to help him realize his dreams.

Not only her father, but even Peroz herself might choose to steal the item if she had the ability.

After all, she also wanted to pray quietly at home with her father and mother during mass, and she also wanted to share the joy of her success with her family. After the adventure was over, she returned home and hoped to have a warm embrace and two family members who could listen to her experiences during the adventure.

Maybe this is the reason why my father did those things.

"Do you really think Mr. Rawdon is such a person?" Hogot asked in a deep voice.

Peroz stared blankly ahead without saying a word.

"Let me ask you another question. If you had the chance to obtain the Source of Life right now, would you choose to steal the sacred object belonging to Pallasti?"