When the plot-skips players into the game world-Chapter 1318 - 41 The First Hermes

"Is there something you need?"

The Lord of Scalefeather appeared at the doorway at some point, waving a hand at the three inside. "If there’s nothing, I’ll be leaving... Otherwise, that child might turn into a Phantom Demon under my pressure."

——As expected, the Lord of Scalefeather knew about this matter!

Aiwass realized this, but it felt inexplicably normal to him.

This is quite reasonable... What secret in this world could be hidden from the Lord of Scalefeather, who watches other timelines daily?

Moreover, looking at the Lord of Scalefeather’s demeanor, they seemed to quite appreciate Hebashia’s dedication and effort.

"Boss, I wanted to ask..."

Aiwass confirmed, "What should we take with us to revive that child?"

"That can’t be said."

The Lord of Scalefeather said with a chuckle, "This is the Hourglass’s taboo. That old man is very serious, and I don’t want to be lectured by him."

Though he said this, he seemed very relaxed, leaning lazily against the wall as he spoke.

Watching the Lord of Scalefeather’s strange reaction, Aiwass, moved by a stroke of genius, blurted out, "Then...

"’What do you guess Lady Hebashia would need to revive her daughter’?"

"It depends on the extent of the revival."

The Lord of Scalefeather’s voice was deep and resonant, like a gentle elder: "To be safe, I suggest you take all five. But most importantly, it’s the ’saffron’."

"Why saffron?" Aiwass asked. freewēbnoveℓ.com

"Why... Ha. You’ve asked a good question."

The Lord of Scalefeather’s voice was filled with amusement, "Each of these five flowers has its own story... And none are very good stories.

"There’s no need to elaborate on the other four——Do you know the legend of ’saffron’? An angel envoy of the Hourglass, once bored in the Material Realm, was tossing a frisbee, and accidentally killed a young elf. The child, innocently killed, was named Kroks... This name is the name of ’saffron’. Yes, he is the original saffron.

"At that time, heaven and earth were absolutely forbidden, and gods were not allowed to walk on the ground. As an agent for the Pillar God and the Celestial Marshal, the angel was an exception, but they were still strictly required to restrain their powers... At that time, they were still called ’demigods’ by mortals. Whether Pillar God or true god, they were their Main God. In that era, the image of the demigod was the image of the Main God, and the voice of the demigod was the voice of the Main God.

"Not to mention indiscriminate killing of innocents... Even uttering words or performing actions contrary to the Main God’s will could result in punishment from their own Main God.

"Afraid of being punished, the angel turned the child’s body into this flower, attempting to hide their crime... Naturally, they failed.

"In fact, this angel was once a highly trusted angel of the Hourglass. They were the guardian deity of inventors and merchants, and in that Dark Age, their altars and temples were everywhere. They were also responsible for guiding lost souls... If those who had passed got lost on their way, they would guide them to the Underworld. In that time before The Wild Hunt, they were among the few gods proactively cleaning up the undead."

"But even so, a minor sin of mistakenly killing a mortal led to severe punishment by the strict Hourglass. They were stripped of their role as an angel, lost their memory, and reincarnated as a mortal. According to the Hourglass’s arrangement, they were reborn into the family of the child they killed, becoming their youngest child..."

At this point, the Lord of Scalefeather suddenly halted his speech.

The Lord of Scalefeather looked meaningfully at the group: "Do you know the name of this angel?"

Sherlock and Arsene exchanged a glance, both shook their heads, and then looked at Aiwass.

If Aiwass, who studied Advanced Divine Art, didn’t know, they would have even less of an idea.

Seeing that none of the three had any reaction, not even an instinctual warning, the Lord of Scalefeather let out a satisfied laugh and revealed the answer, "The name of the angel was Mercury. This name might be unfamiliar to you... After all, he was stripped of his role as an angel before humans even existed.

"——However, his name as an elf is surely one you know. And are very familiar with..."

Pausing for a moment, the Lord of Scalefeather then said, "He was called... Hermes.

"That’s the ’Hermes’ in ’Sherlock Hermes’."

Undoubtedly.

He is the ancestor of the Hermes family.

Upon hearing this, Sherlock’s eyes widened.

He had heard... that his family’s bloodline contained a trace of elf blood.

But seeing no obvious signs of longevity in his family members, Sherlock never paid much attention to his "trace" elf blood. The only thing possibly related to elf blood was perhaps Mycroft’s overly intense desire for Dusk.

In Avalon, which adheres to the Path of Authority... having a father who was a chamberlain directly under the Monarch and even smarter than Sherlock, logically, Mycroft should have strong adaptability for either the Path of Authority, the Path of Wisdom, or the Path of Balance. Yet somehow, he had an overwhelmingly strong adaptation to the Path of Dusk... This must be an atavistic trait.

"...But I follow the Path of Wisdom."

Not knowing what thought prompted it, Sherlock suddenly defended himself, "I am not from the Path of Balance..."

"——What a coincidence."

The Lord of Scalefeather leaned against the wall, letting out a joyful laugh, "Mercury was formerly on the Path of Wisdom. Before reincarnating as an elf, he was a winged mage who followed the Great Sage... As the angel of the Great Sage, he also had a son more famous than himself now. That would be today’s Grey Celestial Marshal.

"Later, when he descended as the elf Hermes, it was at the tail end of the Dark Age. The poetry once chanted by the Maenads of the Fool were composed by him; he also traveled with Dionysus as a follower, alongside Hebashia and Selene.

"However, the most relevant matter to you... is actually something else."

The Lord of Scalefeather stopped speaking here.

Sherlock, being so astute,

had already guessed the truth.

"...The ’Fools’ Chants Manual’."

Sherlock murmured.

He finally understood... why Hebashia initially recounted the tale of Dionysus the Fool to them in such detail.

And why, after Sherlock commented, "The Fool, who strived lifelong to deny ’God’s Universalization’, was worshipped as the God of Wine after his death," Hebashia became so desolate and sorrowful.

And why she entrusted the task of saving her daughter to the three of them.

Aiwass’s identity goes without saying, Lily was also studying the ’Egg Moon Manual’ at the time, splitting off the abandoned old shell Selene from the Eternal Self. He alone seemed unrelated to this matter...

Now, he finally comprehended.

"——Exactly!"

The Lord of Scalefeather hummed, letting out a pleased chuckle at the enjoyable spectacle, "This book, the ’Fools’ Chants Manual,’ was a joint effort of Hermes and Hebashia."

"...Surely I can’t be... the reincarnation of Hermes?"

Sherlock’s voice was somewhat dry.

"Certainly——"

The Lord of Scalefeather drew out the word: "Not. If one doesn’t once again become an angel, the only fate of entering the Dream Realm would be the fragmentation of the soul... turning into material for a newborn."

Saying this, the Lord of Scalefeather ceased speaking.

But Sherlock was incredibly smart.

He immediately grasped the implication.

"Of course—" he interjected, "that’s not possible. If he hadn’t become an angel again, the only outcome of entering the Dream Realm would be the fragmentation of his soul... turning into material for a newborn."

Not giving Aiwass and Sherlock any time to question further, the Lord of Scalefeather waved his hand:

"——Alright, you’ve dreamt long enough. It’s time to wake up. Also, to him, death itself might have been a lie, who knows?"

No sooner than Aiwass grabbed those two treasures, and held on to the most crucial ’Magic Girl Crocus’, he lost consciousness; the other two also quickly grasped their dolls, holding on to whatever lay close by, and simultaneously lost consciousness.

As the surrounding world gradually returned to normal, as if it were being ’swallowed’, the Lord of Scalefeather continued to gaze at Hebashia: "And it might well be... that to him, death itself is just a lie."

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