“Then let’s go find your father.” Lumian stood up abruptly.
He has always been able to act, and he knows very well that the investigation of the village legend cannot be delayed. If it is delayed for a long time, it will be easy for his sister to find out, and his sister Aurora will definitely not allow him to continue.
This is because in Aurora’s eyes, the pursuit of extraordinary power is a very dangerous act.
How could I not know that there is danger? Aurora will not lie to me on this point, but even if there is a sea of knives and wildfires in front of me, I will go down, and I can’t let Aurora face it alone. Yes… At the same time as getting up, Lumian had such a thought in his mind.
Whenever it is mentioned that the world is getting more and more dangerous, the seriousness and worry on Aurora’s face can’t fool anyone!
Raymond Clegg was even more confused.
“What are you looking for him for?”
“Ask how long ago the legend of that wizard happened.” Lumian looked at Raymond.
Why can’t this guy understand human language? It seems necessary to find an opportunity to test his IQ.
Raymond’s face was full of doubts; he looked at Lumian and said:
“Ask so clearly what to do.”
Uh, are you going to find some reason to fool this guy, or just say it? Lumian fell into deep thought for a moment.
Considering that it is impossible to completely hide the truth from these friends in his subsequent investigations, and the reason for pursuing the truth of the legend itself seems to be deceiving, and no villagers will believe it if it is spread, Lumian quickly had an idea.
He instantly showed his usual deceptive smile.
“…” Raymond took two steps back abruptly and said, “Speak well!”
Lumi adjusted his dark jacket and the linen shirt inside and said with a smile:
“I think the legend of the wizard is worth thinking about.”
“What’s worth thinking about?” Raymond thought for a while before asking.
“There used to be a wizard in the village.” Lumian said seriously, “Think about it. When I make up stories to deceive people, I definitely don’t say the time, place, and background that everyone can confirm immediately, but the legend clearly mentioned that there used to be a wizard in the village, our Kordu village. If this is a lie, wouldn’t it be easy for everyone to expose it?”
“But that was a long time ago,” Raymond retorted.
“I’m also referring to the people who were around when this story was first circulated a long time ago. They should have easily confirmed whether a wizard died in the village at that time.” Lumian said with a smile, “Since this story can continue to be passed down, then that means it probably happened for real.”
This reason does not convince Raymond.
“That’s why I need to check with your father!” Lumian said with an expression, “Now I know why I asked your father”.
“It’s also…” Raymond accepted this explanation, but he always felt that something was wrong.
When the two left the square and walked deep into the village, Raymond finally came to his senses.
“But why do you want to confirm whether such a legend is true or false?”
“Wizard, that’s a wizard! If we can confirm which house he lived in and where he was buried later, maybe we can discover his secrets and give ourselves magical powers beyond ordinary people.” Lu Mian spoke the truth like a lie.
Raymond really showed an expression of “Don’t lie to me”:
“Most of those stories are made up to scare children; how could they be true?
“Besides, those who pursue the power of wizards will be thrown into the tribunal!”
The Republic of Intis is located on the northern continent of this world. The orthodox gods are “the eternal blazing sun” and “the god of steam and machinery.” The Church of the “Goddess of the Night” and the Church of the “Lord of Storms” in the Kingdom of Loen, the Church of the “Goddess of the Earth” in the Kingdom of Fenepot, and the Church of the “God of Knowledge and Wisdom” in the south-central countries such as Lunburg, Fusac, and the Empire’s “God of War” church came in to preach.
And the Inquisition of the Church of the “Eternal Blazing Sun” has always been feared by the people. I don’t know how many heretics have been imprisoned and subjected to cruel treatment.
Lumian laughed:
“Why are you worrying about this now? You said it yourself: most of those legends are made up, and it is almost impossible to find what the wizard left behind.
“Besides, even if we do find the legacy of the wizard, we don’t have to inherit the forbidden power. We can hand it over to the church in exchange for their rewards. Well, as a wizard, there must be a lot of treasure at the funeral.”
The church Lumian mentioned refers to the “Eternal Blazing Sun” church because there is no “God of Steam and Machinery” church in Kordu Village, where they are located—this is often concentrated in various big cities and places with factories.
Seeing Raymond’s heart pounding, Lumian secretly said “tsk” and added:
“Do you really want to be a shepherd?”
The shepherd he was talking about was not the idyllic shepherd that people in big cities recognised. He was not a member of the family; he drove a few sheep to graze every morning and just took care of them.
In the Daliège region of Reston Province, where the village of Kordu is located, shepherding is a profession destined to be hard and lonely.
They accept the employment of the owner of the flock and drive dozens or even hundreds of sheep back and forth between the mountains and the plains.
This is known as a transition—when autumn comes and the alpine pastures of the mountains around Kordu die, the shepherds drive their flocks outside the pass to warmer plain pastures farther away, often across the border, into the territory of Ferneyport, Lemburg, etc., and at the beginning of May, they drive the flocks back to the villages, shear the wool, and wean the lambs, making cheese while grazing sheep until the weather turns cold.
In this way, the shepherds turn around year after year, trekking all their lives, and only have a very small amount of time to return to the village. Therefore, most of them are single, it is difficult to get married, and they cannot form a family. The few widows who had to shepherd sheep for their livelihood were very popular among this group.
Raymond was silent.
After a while, he hesitated and said:
“Listen to you, this thing sounds fun and can be used to pass the free time.”
Under normal circumstances, after the family decides which child needs to be a shepherd, he will be sent to a shepherd’s house to learn how to shepherd between the ages of fifteen and eighteen. Three years later, that child will officially become a shepherd. Shepherds, look everywhere for hire.
Raymond, who is seventeen years old this year, has found different reasons to delay this matter for more than two years. If there is no change in his life after that, then he will have to learn to shepherd next year.
“Let’s go.” Lumian patted Raymond on the shoulder and asked, “Is your father in the field or at home?”
“I don’t have much work recently, and Lent is coming soon. He is either at home or in the tavern.” Raymond once again made an envious voice: “You don’t know these things? You are not a farmer; you have a good sister!”
Lumian walked forward slowly with his hands in his pockets, ignoring Raymond’s sigh.
When approaching the dilapidated tavern in the village, a person walked by the side road.
The man was wearing a dark brown long coat with a hood, a rope tied around his waist, and a pair of brand new black leather shoes that looked soft.
“Pierre, Pierre, from the Bailey family?” Raymond said in surprise.
Lumian also stopped, looking at the side road.
“It’s me.” Pierre Berri smiled and waved his hand.
He is thin, with slightly sunken eye sockets, black hair that is greasy and curled, and a beard that has not been shaved for an unknown period of time.
“Why are you back?” Raymond asked suspiciously.
Pierre Berry is a shepherd. It is the beginning of April. He should be grazing on the plain pasture outside the mountain pass. How could he appear in the village?
Even if he moved to Lemburg or the northern border of Feneporte this time, he has only just started his journey, and it will take about a month to arrive back in the Daliege Mountains.
Pierre had blue eyes with a gentle smile, and he said happily:
“Isn’t this Lent coming soon? I haven’t participated in several years, so I can’t miss it this year!
“Don’t worry, I have a companion to help me look after the flock. Being a shepherd is good. There is no supervisor. As long as you can find someone to help you, you can go wherever you want. It’s very free.”
Lent is a festival that exists widely in India. People welcome the coming of spring in various forms and pray for a good harvest for the year.
This has nothing to do with the Church of the “Eternal Blazing Sun” or the Church of the “God of Steam and Machinery,” but it has already formed a folk custom, and there is no worship of pagan gods, so it has been tacitly approved by the orthodox.
“You want to see who is selected as the spring elf this year?” Lumian joked with a smile.
During Lent in the village of Kordu, a beautiful young girl is chosen to play the role of the spring elf as part of the celebration.
Pierre followed with a smile and said,
“I hope it’s your sister Aurora, but she will definitely not agree, and the age is not suitable.”
“Okay.” He then pointed to the tavern not far away and said, “I’ll go to the church to pray, and I’ll treat you to a drink later.”
Raymond responded subconsciously:
“No, you don’t have any money.”
“Haha, the gods taught us, ‘Even if there is only one copper coin, share it with the poor brothers,'” Pierre said of a proverb circulated among the shepherds in the Dar Liege region.
At this moment, Lumian smiled at Raymond:
“Pierre has become rich, so he must buy us a drink!”
He was pointing to Pierre Bailey’s brand new leather shoes.
Pierre Berry was very happy.
“The employer is good this time. I have a few sheep, and then I have some wool, cheese, and leather.”
The remuneration of the shepherds consists of food, a small amount of money, and shared livestock, cheese, wool, and leather. The specific amount they can get depends on the contract signed with the employer in advance.
For shepherds who need to travel long distances, a pair of good and suitable leather shoes is their most urgent and practical desire.
Watching Pierre Berry walking towards the village square, Lumian’s eyes gradually became serious, with a bit of doubt.
He said silently to himself:
“Spent a week or two or even nearly a month to come back just to participate in Lent?”
After thinking for a moment, Lumian looked away and walked to the tavern with Raymond.
The tavern has no name and does not need one. There is only one in Kordu Village, and the villagers like to call it the old tavern.
Just entering the tavern, Lumian looked around habitually.
Suddenly, his eyes stopped somewhere.
He saw the stranger who left early last night.
a foreigner who is obviously not in the same group as Ryan, Liya, and Valentine.
This is a lady, wearing an orange long dress, with slightly curly brown hair and light blue eyes, staring at the glass of light red alcoholic drink in her hand.
She is beautiful and lazy, as if she is not in the same scene as the low, dark, and dilapidated tavern.
“But when you make up stories, you often use ‘more than a hundred years ago’, ‘hundreds of years ago,” and ‘a long time ago’ to make it impossible for everyone to confirm.”