Pillar of Yita

However, no one at this moment would fail to understand the atmosphere and say anything inappropriate.

So, for a while, only the voice of Barbaltan could be heard in the hall.

Aleph slightly lowered his head, feeling a sense of wandering anxiety inside, always sensing his father’s words had some hidden meaning.

”After the war, the disease followed closely.”

”But thanks to the Holy Chooser, this disease was swiftly eradicated.”

”That day, when I saw the Sufang Tree I planted years ago, I was startled by how much time had passed.”

The King of Sand looked at his eldest son and suddenly asked, ”Aleph, I’ve heard you’ve recently made a new friend?”

Aleph’s heart skipped a beat, and he couldn’t help but look up again, surprised that his father knew even about this?

But Barbaltan said, ”I only heard about it by chance.”

He turned around, his gaze landing on a courtier in the hall. That solemn-looking middle-aged man had a cute little girl standing by his side, with soft blonde hair, tilting her head to look in this direction. Facing the King of Sand’s gaze, the middle-aged man just slightly nodded.

...

Fang Hong disposed of the robes and headscarf used for infiltration, changed his clothes, took another turn in the library, and by the time he returned to the plaza, the celebration and revelry in the open space had already started for a while.

He returned to the crowd, seeing that no one around noticed him, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief — tonight’s operation went smoother than imagined, not only achieving the goal, meeting the Grand Princess, completing the commission, but also without causing any trouble. Everything went so smoothly it was almost unbelievable to him.

Not long ago, Sophie said he had a disaster-prone nature, although he denied it verbally, Fang Hong sometimes wondered if this Little Princess of Silver Weslan accidentally pointed out some truth? After all, from Dolifen to Idus, and here, there seemed to not be a single instance where he didn’t get into trouble.

And small troubles would turn into bigger troubles, big troubles would evolve into colossal troubles, and eventually, they might even tie into events like the descent of the Star of Calamity, wars among gods, almost as if his every move directed Eteliria towards a path of destruction. This thought was somehow absurd, but sometimes, thinking deeply about it, would even scare himself.

But fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be the case. At least for once, he didn’t get into any trouble, nor did it escalate into some foreign affairs dispute as imagined. Overall, things didn’t proceed in the worst direction and were even surprisingly smooth. Fang Hong couldn’t help but reflect if he had been too careless in the past?

If only every time he planned carefully and arranged everything beforehand, maybe he wouldn’t encounter so many troubles?

Fang Hong looked up at the brilliance rising slowly above the bonfire.

It was the Star Ceremony of the Istania People.

This indicated the celebration had reached its midpoint, when the revelry was halfway through, the crowd would gather around the bonfire to enjoy the performances of court entertainers, feast on delicacies, and drink merrily. At this time, the Master of Ceremonies would use magic to raise starlight from the bonfire, that brilliant light not only symbolizing the starlight of all beings but also the sacred flame of Androma, the Overlord of the realm of life and death.

Those blessed by the starlight were considered to have received Androma’s blessing, possibly encountering fortune in the coming year. Of course, this is just a beautiful wish, but history turned into tradition, and tradition deeply ingrained within the heart of every Desert People, becoming a sacred culture.

This is also the most important social moment of the year for the Nobles of Quistack, the Desert People are not as closed and conservative as Colin Ishurian, young men and women often find their partners at such celebrations. It’s said that in the past, Istania had a beautiful legend where the current King of Sand met the Grand Princess’s birth mother in such a way; she was Barbaltan’s first love.

As a young man, Fang Hong naturally received much attention from enthusiastic young girls in such occasions, also partly due to his alchemist’s robes and the prominent Golden Star at his collar.

”Alchemist, would you like to dance with me?”

”Alchemist, would you like to exchange bracelets with me?”

”Alchemist, which family do you come from?”

The noble girls of Istania were passionate and unrestrained, their gazes bold and direct.

However, they were also very straightforward, certainly not naive and ignorant girls. When they heard that Fang Hong was just a commoner and a Holy Chooser, they politely took their leave.

For a moment, this left Fang Hong in a somewhat helpless yet amused state.

Though at this moment, what came to his mind was nothing but Hilveld — at most, there was also a fleeting silver-haired girl, but soon she too faded from his thoughts. Nonetheless, the straightforwardness of these noble girls of the Desert People left him somewhat speechless.

Of course, he also realized that Quistack’s annual social ceremony, especially in this plaza, was certainly not a simple affair. These girls from noble families were educated in such a way from a young age, for them coming to this place naturally meant seeking their ideal targets.

As for looks, talents, and others, they were not as important as family background.