Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 211
The elven ruins were deeper in the forest, with paths overgrown by vegetation, making it impossible for even mounts to enter. Only the giant birds trained by the Nawen tribe could reach them.
Arnie had long wanted to ride the giant birds, and his rare eagerness made it hard for the Duke and Duchess to refuse him.
Additionally, with the knights accompanying the Duke into the forest, the situation had completely shifted, and Arnie was no longer a pitiable child restricted in his movements. The Nawen tribe had lowered their stance sufficiently. As long as they remained rational, they wouldn’t harm Arnie under these circumstances—the Duke and the knights were confident of this.
However, the seer had limited the number of people allowed to enter. Besides Arnie, Charlie, and Alfred, only one more person could follow.
Having nearly lost her child, the Duchess was adamant about not compromising this time, and Duke Dwight had no choice but to agree to let his wife go in his stead.
This was actually a good thing for the Nawen tribe, as they were quite resistant to “outsiders” entering elven territory (Arnie and the Duchess didn’t count because of their bloodline advantage). Alfred was already an exception, and as for Charlie, the seer personally agreed to his presence, so it didn’t count either.
After finalizing the personnel, the Nawen tribe summoned two giant eagles large enough to carry people, which landed in the clearing of the settlement.
Duke Dwight frowned at the sharp beaks of the two birds, feeling a bit regretful.
“Arnie, how about I go with you?” he suggested to his son.
The Duchess picked up Arnie and firmly looked at her husband.
“I will not be separated from Arnie again,” she said. The Duke knew that Arnie’s experiences over the past few days had shattered her heart, so he had to give in.
Charlie initially thought that after passing through the spatial magic barrier, the elven ruins would be a combination of buildings and trees covered in vines.
But when the giant birds circled down and finally set them down, everyone was stunned.
It was a city.
Unlike the envisioned elven huts and seas of flowers, this was a pristine, exquisite marble city hidden within the vast sea of trees.
Although vines had integrated with the intricate carvings and the once smooth floor was covered with fallen leaves and branches, the precisely cut stones were combined in an unimaginably aesthetic manner, beautiful and majestic. Despite being abandoned for centuries, it still amazed and shocked the viewers.
“The elves took all the books and stationery,” the seer said as he led them across the square, with the massive, long-silent clock tower watching silently as they walked towards the palace.
“But they left the murals and sculptures on the walls.” The seer’s withered fingers lightly touched the cold, hard wall. “We can only glimpse a bit of their former glory from these.”
There was no need for him to say more. Everyone was already mesmerized.
The high dome had large crystal windows that let light through, with sunlight falling on the two thrones in the main hall. Stone-carved swords stood beside the chairs, and the curved walls were filled with historical scenes depicting the elves migrating from the cold north to be accepted by the southern forest and building this city with the help of the treants.
The Duchess and Arnie were almost entranced by the details in the murals, while Alfred’s attention was more on the mother and son.
The seer crossed the main hall, with Charlie quietly following.
In the center of the palace was an open-air garden with beautiful trees and a jade fountain. Grass grew in the cracks of the floor, and while the fountain no longer flowed, it was still full of water.
“This is the place,” the seer said calmly.
Charlie glanced inside and frowned. “Where does this water come from? Rainwater?”
After so many years, the fountain should have dried up. Yet now, the fountain was still more than half full of greenish, murky water, with small twigs and leaves floating on the surface, looking dirty.
“The large fish at the foot of the gryphon statue is the water outlet,” the seer said calmly, seemingly not hearing Charlie’s disdain. “Please place the gem in the fish’s mouth, and I will activate the magic for you.”
Charlie looked back. The other three were still in the main hall. Except for Alfred, who might have sensed something, the Duchess and Arnie were unaware that the seer and Charlie had already left the hall.
“I have a question.” Charlie hesitated, which was rare for him. “Arnie…”
“His memory?” The sharp-minded seer nodded. “Besides me, everyone else will not remember the specific details about the elven ruins—they will retain impressions but won’t remember the way, as if they had a very vivid dream.”
This was to protect the secrets of the elven ruins, which Charlie understood. But he wanted to ask something else. “I wasn’t supposed to be here. When I leave, will Arnie and the others’ memories of me also fade?”
The seer asked him in return, “Do you want everyone to remember you?”
Charlie shook his head. “No.”
This answer seemed to please the seer. For once, his usually calm face showed a hint of approval towards Charlie. He slowly stepped forward and stood beside Charlie.
“I can correct everyone’s memory, erasing the impressions of all who remember you—this is one of the powers granted to me: maintaining the law,” the seer said. “The moment you leave, everything will be corrected.”
Although knowing it was supposed to be this way, hearing himself being treated as an error to be corrected still felt strange.
“If your power can do that, I have a request,” Charlie said. “Consider it… as payment for helping you place the gem in the fountain’s center.”
“That depends on what the request is.”
“When erasing Arnie’s memory, leave a little bit.” Charlie saw the seer’s expression and added, “Just a little bit.”
The seer disapprovingly looked at him. “You and he will meet again.”
Charlie said, “I don’t want to emphasize my existence. I just want to leave the story I told Arnie. Only that… it doesn’t matter if he thinks someone else told him.”
Although five-year-old Arnie had a unique personality, he was generally a happy child, loved and cherished by countless people. Charlie’s presence at this time was just another source of joy for him. Occasionally, Charlie would think about how, if he could return to Dwight’s side when he was a teenager, during his loneliest moments when he had lost so many important people, he could have held his cold hand.
He couldn’t make any warnings or change the past, and he couldn’t leave any mementos. He could only hope that the happy memories he gave Arnie would leave a small mark, becoming an insignificant but essential foundation to support him through the dark years.
The seer looked at him, neither agreeing nor refusing.
Charlie took it as a yes, turned, and stepped onto the fountain’s stone steps. He estimated the distance from the edge to the central sculpture, deciding he could make it with a big leap.
“The one under the gryphon’s foot, right?” Charlie confirmed without turning around. As he bent his knees, he was suddenly shoved hard in the lower back. The narrow edge of the fountain was difficult to balance on. His center of gravity shifted, and in a moment of shock, he helplessly fell into the pool of murky water, only managing to hold his breath and tightly close his eyes.
Splash.
Arnie, held in the Duchess’s arms and looking at the angel image on the mural, turned back in confusion.
“What was that sound?” he asked.
Alfred looked around. “I didn’t hear anything.”
The Duchess didn’t hear it either. She hugged Arnie a bit tighter. “My Arnie is as adorable as a little angel.”
Arnie had been secretly homesick these past few days. Hearing his mother say this, he wrapped his arms tightly around her neck.
……
Charlie didn’t consider himself a clean freak, but—the water in this centuries-old fountain was just too dirty! After falling in, he didn’t dare open his eyes because the thick green water might cause an eye infection.
He tried to find his balance in the water. The fountain wasn’t very big, so he should be able to touch the bottom, but the dead water was inexplicably thick and seemed to offer no buoyancy, making movement extremely difficult. Charlie reached out to touch the fountain’s edge, realizing that he still had the elven gem in his hand.
Why did the seer push him into the water? As he started feeling the need for air, a thought struck him.
Whether it sensed Charlie’s thoughts or not, the elven gem began to heat up, especially noticeable in the cold pool water. Charlie stopped struggling and let himself sink until his back touched the bottom of the pool, where something poked his lower back.
Charlie used his right hand, which was holding the gem, to feel around and found it was shaped like a doorknob. Without hesitation, he grasped it, and the gem slipped from his hand.
The doorknob seemed to be attached to a heavy, rusty iron door. No matter how hard he tried, Charlie couldn’t open it underwater. His lungs were running out of oxygen, but he was determined not to surface for air.
The seer stood by the fountain, watching Charlie struggle in the green water, saying nothing. After a while, as Charlie’s movements slowed, the seer lowered his head.
Suddenly, a whirlpool formed in the once-stagnant pool, and the water began to drain rapidly. Within minutes, the pool was dry.
The person in the water was gone. Sunlight fell on the thick green algae, reflecting off something.
The seer tilted his head, recognizing it as the elf gem.
The author has something to say:
Elf Gem: What’s going on? Doesn’t anyone want me?!
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