Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 121: The Blind God’s Blessing

Myss gave a sound of acknowledgement and plopped down on the edge of the bed.

He didn’t really care. Salaar’s explanation went in one ear much like “that wasn’t actually a Markdos goat, but a Malcolm ibex.” Either way, it was still just some goat-shaped animal passing by.

Still, since Salaar had brought it up, the Archdemon reluctantly continued the conversation.

“He said he wanted to stay. Why don’t we just sneak away without him? Why can’t we leave tonight?”

Myss hadn’t sensed the aura of a Divine Realm. If Crimson Marsh relied only on human guards, its residents wouldn’t be able to stop them.

“Besides the possibility that he really is Earl, there are three others.”

Salaar sat beside Myss and casually swept the ends of Myss’s hair onto his own lap.

“The least interesting possibility is that he’s an assassin from the Karns family in disguise. ‘Payton’ hasn’t returned home yet, so technically our trial still hasn’t ended.”

“The worst possibility is that he’s one of V.O.R’s lackeys. Our little adventure drew V.O.R’s attention, so they specifically sent someone to investigate us…”

Myss sat up a little straighter. “And the last one?”

Salaar’s deductions were usually clean and decisive. He rarely hesitated like this.

Salaar: “…Compared with us, that man seems more interested in Father Kalen. He may also be a member of the Order of Shadows.”

“All right.” Myss understood.

If he was an assassin, they could simply dispose of him. If it was either of the latter possibilities, then he was a clue delivered straight to their door.

Since they were in no hurry to leave, the Archdemon threw himself backward.

The bed boards were so hard that he cried out, immediately rolled over, and rubbed his back.

Salaar burst out laughing. “Want me to massage it for you?”

Myss instantly turned around, flopped face down across Salaar’s comparatively soft thighs, and presented his still-aching back.

He even swept his thick braid out of the way so Salaar could provide better service.

“Come to think of it, the Secret Garden didn’t exist in your era?”

Salaar gently kneaded Myss’s back. “No. At the time, Mondicia was only a geographic region. It wasn’t even a country, much less a place with a state religion.”

“Back then, the Church of Cadence was still a new religion without much reach. The Listeners of Night had far more followers. They regarded the darkness as divine punishment and believed everything was a trial from the gods. They wanted humanity to coexist with the Night Scourge.”

Salaar’s pressure was just right. Myss relaxed his body and began to feel sleepy again.

“Mm…”

Salaar smiled faintly. Myss’s chest was pressed against his legs, and he could even feel the Archdemon’s powerful heartbeat.

“I read that the Secret Garden appeared after the Night Scourge ended. Since it is fiercely hostile toward other religions, most of its emissaries are concentrated in Mondicia.”

Salaar continued unhurriedly, “The Eye-Opening Ceremony really is one of their religious rites, but it isn’t held on a fixed date. Supposedly, they wait for an oracle from the Blind God. We arrived at just the right time and happened to catch it.”

The massage felt so good that Myss shifted his shoulder further beneath Salaar’s hands.

“And about the Eye-Opening Ceremony…”

“I’ve only read brief descriptions. I don’t know the details.”

“Forget it. We’ll treat this as a vacation.” Myss made a soft sound. “The journey through the Old Lands didn’t take us very long anyway. A little rest will be nice.”

The room had been stocked with several Mondician specialties, arranged on beautiful wooden trays that could conveniently be eaten from in bed.

Myss dragged the tray in front of himself and ate while enjoying the massage.

He especially liked the meat braised in sour fruit juice and the mixed vine-tuber porridge. He also happened to need a peaceful stretch of time to study magic, so this was like being handed a pillow just as he became sleepy.

Unexpectedly, before he had even finished the bowl of sour-fruit braised meat, Father Kalen added another layer to that pillow.

“The Eye-Opening Ceremony is supposedly a very peaceful ritual.”

Before nightfall, Father Kalen came to their room.

“The Blind God’s priests select two young people as the most suitable sacrifices. During the ritual, they become the Blind God’s left and right eyes.”

“After the ceremony, the sacrifices are unharmed. The witnesses are also given a pair of golden eyeballs as the Blind God’s blessing. That’s what Earl told me.”

At this point, he scratched his head awkwardly.

“Uh, he was worried you might think he was an assassin, so he asked me to pass that along. He hopes neither of you will overthink it.”

“That’s all?” Salaar handed his portion of sour-fruit braised meat to Myss.

Myss accepted it without the slightest courtesy. “If that’s all, why did the others run away?”

“The witnesses must pray to the Blind God together with the locals. The great nobles of Serpentia are all followers of the God of Cadence, so they can’t accept such behavior.”

Father Kalen honestly added, “Mm, according to Earl, what they really can’t accept is being seen doing it by people they know.”

‘That made the yellow-eyed man’s desire to stay seem reasonable,’ Myss thought.

Among those remaining, the only supposed “great noble” was Salaar. And “Kendrick” had such a terrible reputation that even if Salaar spread word everywhere that Earl had bowed to the Blind God, no one would believe him.

Salaar had clearly reached a similar conclusion. His tone relaxed somewhat.

“Is there anything else we should know?”

“I don’t think so. Oh, before I came here, I performed a divination. There’s no ominous aura here… Ah!”

The priest suddenly wore the expression of someone who had forgotten something extremely important. He cleared his throat solemnly.

Salaar stopped massaging Myss, and Myss held his breath as well.

“Right, right. Apparently, the two young people chosen by the priests always marry after the Eye-Opening Ceremony and live happily together for the rest of their lives.”

The priest said gravely, “The locals call this the Blind God’s Blessing, because ‘love is blind.’”

Myss and Salaar: “……”

After experiencing so many bizarre Divine Realms, the Eye-Opening Ceremony sounded almost heartwarming.

The Blind God’s Blessing…

Myss instinctively looked at Salaar, only to discover that Salaar was already staring directly at him.

Afraid Salaar might misunderstand, Myss hurriedly turned away. Salaar shifted at nearly the same moment and seemed to turn his head aside too.

What would happen if the two of them took part?

Yes, he was merely curious about the scope of the Blind God’s power.

Myss secretly let his gaze drift back over, only to collide with Salaar’s eyes again. This time, both of them felt a touch of awkwardness. One looked up at the ceiling, while the other stared at the floor.

“What kind of people are chosen as sacrifices?” Salaar asked the wooden floor.

Father Kalen, who had witnessed everything: “……”

Father Kalen: “Usually, the most beautiful young man and woman are selected. But if the two of you want to participate that badly, I could go ask…”

“No need!” Myss and Salaar shouted in unison.

The priest looked at them dubiously for a while.

“Uh, then rest well. Good night.”

Wearing an expression of subtle helplessness, he gently closed the door.

Myss suddenly felt as though Salaar’s thighs had grown thorns. He sat up uncomfortably and crossed his legs beside Salaar.

“I was only curious about the general content of the ritual. That crow priest completely missed the important part.”

“Indeed,” Salaar said dryly.

Knife poked its head out of Salaar’s pocket. “Do you need us to investigate?”

It had been forced to miss the previous adventure and had even made Fork stay behind to look after it. The little snake sounded both guilty and eager.

“I’m not going. I want to rest!” Fork crawled out of Myss’s braid. “The two of them aren’t going to get killed by some mere Blind God, so what’s the rush?”

Knife flicked its tongue dejectedly and fell silent.

Salaar squeezed Knife’s soft little head. “Rest. I need my weapon to remain close to me.”

Hearing that, Myss suddenly had an idea.

He rummaged through their luggage, pulled out “Brave Salaar”, and rapped his knuckles against the hard cover as if knocking on a door.

“What is it?”

After a moment, Brief pushed the pages open and looked at them curiously.

He had two hair clips pinned into his blond hair, his sleeves rolled high, and pencil-like smudges on his face, as though he had just crawled out of a mine.

“Woo woo?” Bedsheet Archdemon mimicked Brief’s tone and poked its head out behind him.

Myss gave them a serious command.

“We’ve arrived somewhere new and need your help investigating. Go see what the Blind God’s priests are doing. Don’t let anyone discover you.”

“Wow, a new adventure!”

Literal stars appeared in Brief’s blue eyes. “Leave it to us. No one can possibly discover me and Bedsheet!”

“Woo woo!” Bedsheet Archdemon expertly rolled Brief up and placed him on its back.

The Crimson Marsh’s buildings were already brightly colored and drawn in broad, rough lines. The two little stick figures practically came with natural camouflage and blended into the wall paintings within moments.

They struck heroic poses and were just about to charge forward when they awkwardly floated back again.

Brief asked, “Where do we find the Blind God’s priests? I’ve never even heard of the Blind God.”

Myss rolled his eyes thoughtfully and said in a profound voice, “That’s part of the adventure.”

Brief took a deep breath, hugged Bedsheet Archdemon again, and resumed his pose.

“Bedsheet, let’s go!”

With joyful cheer, the two of them shot through the crack in the window and vanished into the night.

“My, how useful.” Myss looked deeply satisfied.

“Aren’t you afraid something might happen to them?” Salaar asked curiously. “If they get into trouble, you won’t be able to study the magic of the Sea of Concepts anymore.”

“Brief may be an idiot, but he isn’t stupid. Bedsheet Archdemon is the same.”

Myss crossed his arms confidently. “They care about each other so much that they would never recklessly endanger one another. Didn’t you realize that too? Isn’t that why you didn’t stop me?”

Salaar smiled. “I just didn’t expect you to have such a… humanly considerate line of thought.”

“Humanly considerate? Hardly.” Myss scoffed. “Because if it were me, I would also…”

Halfway through, he abruptly swallowed the rest and nearly bit his tongue.

“You would also?” Salaar’s brows climbed higher and higher.

“Because I’m an extraordinary genius,” Myss replied stiffly. “I can understand their simple little minds at a glance.”

“That isn’t what you just said. You said, ‘If it were me, I would also…’”

“Shut up.”

Myss grabbed the tray from the bed and stuffed several chunks of sour-fruit braised meat into Salaar’s mouth.

The next day.

Before dawn, Bedsheet Archdemon flew back happily with an extra flower petal sitting atop its head.

“This year’s male sacrifice has been chosen. It’s Salaar!” Brief announced. “According to those people, the male sacrifice, the god’s left eye, is always a handsome young man with dark hair and a beautiful build.”

“They haven’t chosen the woman yet. They said they have to wait for tonight’s oracle…”

The last traces of Myss’s drowsiness instantly vanished.

“What?” he cried, his voice cracking slightly.

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The author has something to say:

Myss: Blind God, would you like to reconsider before I slap you to death with one paw? [cat paw]

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