Two hours after dinner, Shangluo lay in his room.
In fact, the meal was really good, using top-quality ingredients from all over the Western Hemisphere. The town of Aricea is just a small town, but because it is just outside Rome, it can collect such rich ingredients.
If it weren't for the real Mayor Kelso's speech in the anatomy room, he could have eaten twice as much. While eating, he also confirmed that the standard would be the same from morning to night tomorrow. He was still looking forward to tomorrow's breakfast - if there was no one singing next door.
The singing started two hours ago, and the voice came from Mayor Kelso's daughter, Karin Kelso, the Roman girl with long black hair. Shangluo still remembers her voice at that time, just like now:
"Beautiful Diana, goddess of the moon. You drive the silver carriage in the night sky, you let the farmers see the crops, you make the lovers - they - they - they -."
The singing stopped abruptly. It's like the record is stuck, stuck on the last syllable. After being stuck for a while, the song sounded again:
"Beautiful Diana, goddess of the moon."
Following the singing, Mayor Kelso walked in at the door:
"This foreigner, please forgive me for calling you this. I know that you are a professional, far more than the professional of the inner guard. I once asked the inner guard for help, but they"
"Can't the inner guards help you?"
"Of course they can help. But they are not willing to make trouble, and their tactics are too clumsy. They are afraid of the power from myths and dare not make any changes. They also don't care about the opinions of a small person like me - as you can see , although I am the mayor here. But in front of the empire that rules the entire Western Hemisphere, I am just a nobody. So, a stranger from Cathay, I want to implore you in the name of a father to help my daughter. .”
"So your daughter, she's just going to be here singing on repeat?"
"No, no, no." Mayor Kelso shook his head, "If the problem was just that simple, even the inner guard would help me. The key to the problem is that that is not Karin at all. It is just Karin's silhouette, An afterimage. Or according to them, it was just an imitation, a substitute for Karin."
"They, you mean?"
"Have you played "Heroes' Parade-Elf Hill Expansion Pack"?"
"Um, no." Shangluo shook his head. Although he did know that the "Pilgrimage of Heroes" sold by the Romans was very popular, he had been busy in Yangzhou, so he had no time to play it.
"If you have played it, you will know that this is an expansion pack with a Celtic mythology theme. The expansion pack adds a profession called 'Changeling', which is included in the "Grimm's Fairy Tales" published by Tech Barbarians There is also an absurd and uninhibited "The Stolen Child", which has the same theme. I once thought it was just the ravings of barbarians, but I didn't expect it to happen to me. The legend goes like this."
He sighed: "According to legend, there is a kind of fairy spirit living on the British Isles, a kind of fairy spirit that cannot use human concepts to judge good and evil. They are beautiful and noble, and they often protect passers-by who are lost in the forest, but their actions But extremely cruel. They are called Issi people, or according to their own language, Loyansu people - these elves in the forest will replace the human child with an 'imitation' and replace the real child with an 'imitation'. Take him away and make him one of the faeries. The child will learn the magic of the Issi faeries, grow up like a faerie, and forget that he is a human. And the substitute they leave behind will often There are many shortcomings. Because it is not a real human being, it is just an imitation."
While talking, the singing sound next door got stuck again.
"Beautiful Diana, goddess of the moon."
After the pause, the singing voice that was destined to be incomplete sounded again.
Shangluo looked at the wall and thought for a while.
"When did this happen?"
Mayor Kelso looked at the ceiling: "It happened when she was 7 years old. Yes, I am sure that was that day. I remember that afternoon, I asked her to go out to buy some ingredients, but the store did not sell her favorite food. White mushrooms are the kind of mushrooms called mushrooms. Karin, like other children in Rome, thought that the products grew on the shelves. For the first time, she discovered that the things she loved could not be bought in the store. After questioning later, I found out that she went to the library and borrowed books about mushrooms. Only then did she know that mushrooms grow in the woods. So, she walked into the sacred grove on the shores of Lake Nemi and walked out again. , it’s just not her anymore.”
"When did you first know about it? On the same day?"
"I didn't find out until a long, long time later. But from that day on, Karin somehow suddenly became much more well-behaved. She studied hard in class and went home early every day to help the maid at home with some housework. Her mother helped Karin's mother with the garden. She became more and more diligent and perfect, unlike the lazy Karin before. I once thought she was a treasure given to me by God, until now. .”
The singing was repeated again, still stuck in the same position without any change.
"She has been stuck like this since 3 months ago. She has to sing until 12 o'clock sharp, and then she will go to bed after a new day starts."
"."
Shangluo listened quietly to the singing next door.
The singing was perfect every time, but it got stuck at the end of the song. The song stays stuck there, never being able to move forward one step further.
"So, have you looked up the reason?"
"After we repeatedly appealed to the Legion, Mr. Titus came to our home. After examining Karin's eyes, he told us about the changeling."
"But that's a Celtic myth. Why does it appear here?"
"No, that's not just a Celtic myth. It doesn't just appear in the British Isles. The same myth also appears in the myths of Iberia, the Germans, and the Slavs. Similar myths appeared in all the places conquered by Rome. The myth. Mr. Titus did not hide the truth from us: this is the karma of the Romans as invaders, and it really happened. The root of this myth comes from the resistance of the indigenous people to the invaders. Barbarians all over Europe because of Rome Displaced by the conquests, they went into hiding. They used to swap sick and dying children with healthy children from Roman invaders.”
"Like the golden boughs of Lake Nemi?"
"Yes. Myth is history presented through stories and is the eternal continuation of history - this is also what Mr. Titus said. The myth of the changelings is the karma of the Romans as invaders. But no matter what, I can't Unexpectedly, this kind of retribution should not happen to me, let alone my daughter. I did not invade anyone, and this is Rome, where are the barbarians? The only ones here are those in the sacred grove."
What follows is self-explanatory. If he has any karma, it is that as a local, he became an "accomplice" of the inner guards and offended the sacred forest. To the Sacred Grove, he was indeed a "Roman invader."
"So, you thought of me?"
"Yes. I'm wondering if I have offended the king of the forest. Are you going to perform the Golden Bough Ceremony? If you become the new king of the forest, can you put my daughter back? This is just a simple task for the king. As In return, I am willing to truly practice the period of history that the Golden Bough myth continues, and regard you as the secular lord of this place, the 'real' priest king - yes, the reward promised to you by the Romans is precious, but it is not Complete. The real king of the forest should also be the lord of this place, because the mythical king needs a secular crown. The Romans were afraid that the real authority of the forest king would fall into the hands of outsiders. But as long as you are willing to rescue my daughter, the authority is yours That’s it.”
He paused and said seriously:
"In other words - the hidden mission I am releasing for you here is the real main mission! This is a father's request, and this is my last request as the lord of this place. After everything is over, everything here will be It will be yours.”
(End of chapter)
