I was attracted by Sandora’s exclamation and approached the table, only to find that it was just so books and manuscripts that didn’t seem unusual. There were neither traces of advanced technology like spaceship designs that we had been looking for nor a startling Imperial Army Emblem (speaking of which, after frequently encountering non-combustible trash from the Empire, I’m no longer surprised when I see the Imperial Army Emblem in any nook and cranny). Among these books, one was a finely printed edition, while the rest were obviously handwritten copies or items printed using primitive thods.
"What’s strange about this?" I’m still mindful not to touch others’ belongings recklessly, but flipping through a few pages shouldn’t be a problem. However, after doing so, I found nothing: the characters on these pages were unfamiliar, twisted like ghost talismans.
"Notice the printing quality," the Sandora Ball landed on the only printed edition, bouncing twice but realizing it currently lacked hands, so it continued to hop around, "Flip a couple more pages, I can’t turn pages..."
The voice of Sandora, full of majesty, emanating from this adorable glowing ball felt like being hit at a bullseye. I could only press that soft, warm, glowing ball while muttering, "Could you refrain from being so adorable? You’re a queen after all, maintain so dignity even if you temporarily turn into a ball—I can’t believe you can’t turn pages!"
"Hmph, manipulating physical objects with Spirit Spark is rather troubleso. This drone is specifically designed to interfere with energy bodies and consciousness, and the one before you is small, lacking many functions. Why don’t you have a single soldier fighter jet embroider," the Sandora Ball climbed onto my shoulder, extending a golden thread from its surface to turn the pages of the printed edition: it does have this ability, "Besides, I don’t know how to be adorable. Why are you focused on such peculiar things?"
Sandora’s tone was serious; even as a re ball, I could sense her dignified presence from her tone. It seed Her Majesty the Queen genuinely didn’t find her current behavior inappropriate—it’s probably the pinnacle of natural adorableness.
"Look here," Sandora pointed with a golden thread at the corner patterns of the book pages, and the colorful reflective traces hidden beneath the patterns, "These effects can only be achieved by precise printing from high-precision printers, and these colorful reflective traces should be associated with laser technology, possibly serving as so kind of anti-counterfeiting mark."
I finally realized sothing was amiss—are you saying this book is a product of high technology?
Actually, it wasn’t entirely my negligence; the main issue was that books were commonplace in my daily life. While Xyrin Apostles generally don’t use physical printed items unless necessary, decades of Earthling habits are entrenched. The living habits of nurous ordinary races in Shadow City also persist, and more importantly, the Imperial Military Academy system is unique—Bubbles and Little Light are always dragging around unfinished howork at ho—I had grown indifferent to printed items, no longer finding it strange. Encountering a finely printed book in a theoretically technologically backward place didn’t imdiately strike as suspicious. But Sandora, with her keen observation, spotted the issue first.
"This planet... at least from what we’ve seen right now, doesn’t possess such precise technology anymore. It’s uncertain whether the space stations above were made by their ancestors, but regardless, the current inhabitants have nothing to do with advanced technology," Sandora quietly remarked, "This book appears quite new and should be a product of recent years. Moreover, based on the way Alu’s mother was looking at the book earlier, the locals here aren’t unfamiliar with such precisely printed items... Ah Jun, what do you think is happening?"
"Who knows, my imagination isn’t great," I shrugged, "Perhaps their technology collapsed in various areas, but printing technology was preserved? Or maybe elsewhere on the planet has advanced technology, and where we’re staying is actually a primitive civilization ecological sanctuary?"
Sandora seed intrigued: "Your imagination isn’t as low as you claim—too bad it’s not very useful."
I awkwardly scratched my face: "Well, it’s not an urgent issue, we’ll study it slowly. Let’s set this aside for now, are we still unable to contact the Imperial District?"
"No contact, there’s a peculiar interference, this interference seems to envelop the entire universe, even the world barrier and a large area beyond it are abnormal," Sandora’s voice suddenly turned serious, "I’ve tried having the Imperial Admiral create so void probes, but they lost contact shortly after leaving the world barrier, it’s uncertain whether they were destroyed by sothing or simply interfered with."
"Hmm..." I looked down at my hands, montarily voidifying them before returning to a normal state, "Then let’s not act rashly, sealing off the entire universe to this extent is quite the feat, we’re in a semi-alive state now, let’s be cautious. I’d hate for our hard-won victory in the war to be overshadowed by a hot-headed move leading to returning to the void reading bar to wait for resurrection—and your resurrection coin just ran out."
"Why does everything sound so peculiar when you say it," Sandora mumbled, before suddenly turning invisible again. anwhile, I heard footsteps coming from the direction of the wooden staircase, and indeed, the first one to run down was still the naughty kid, Alu. The little girl seed particularly happy: "Scholar, scholar! The room’s ready! But do you want to eat first? My mom’s cooking is delicious!"
"Then I’ll be imposing, boss lady." I nodded and smiled at Alu’s mother who had just co down, attempting to make myself genuinely look like a scholar (though I had no idea what scholars on this planet should resemble).
"Just call Celine," Alu’s mother nodded gracefully, then curiously observed my attire, "I can’t tell if you’re from the North or the South. If you’re from the Southern Duchies, you may not be used to the spicy soup here."
I really wanted to say I was from above, but following the principle of ’less is more,’ I answered ambiguously: "It’s okay, I don’t fear spice, just regular ho-cooked als are fine." Saying this, I took so baked cakes out from my pocket, "I just happened to bring so homade dry goods along, we can eat together later. You probably don’t have these here."
Celine slightly bowed, her etiquette flawless, then turned to head to the kitchen while Alu excitedly pounced over once her mother disappeared: "This slls so good! Alu wants a taste! Why didn’t I notice you were carrying this earlier?"
It’s obvious, it was kept in the personal space earlier!
I sat down at the dining table in the lobby, curiously watching Alu, who was running around excitedly, "Why do you seem so happy? Is having a guest such a big deal?"
"Because the family tavern is finally reopening!" Alu hopped onto a neighboring chair, "Soon it’ll be bustling again; many adventurers will pass through here, and mom won’t be staring at those books every day. Moreover... dad might co back!"
"Dad?" It was only then that I realized what had been feeling amiss, "By the way, Alu, it’s just you and your mom here, right? Such a big house for just the two of you? Is your dad out?"
"Yes, mom says dad’s an adventurer, he’s gone exploring far away and won’t return for many years," Alu shifted restlessly in her chair, "I’m not dadless, it’s just that dad’s out. Dad’s a very skilled person, although he left when I was small, I still rember he could swing an enormous axe. Everyone says he used to be a warrior, a very impressive one."
So, this is a family with a story... though while explaining "where dad went," Celine gave her daughter quite a flashback sensation. My first reaction was that her dad was dead, nowadays "went far away" doesn’t have other connotations, does it?
Yet, Alu still appeared carefree and firmly believed her dad to be a heroic adventurer who would eventually return ho from his exploration. So, is Alu’s interest in adventurers tied to her dad?
I didn’t have ti to ask more before Celine’s voice ca from the direction of the kitchen, and Alu quickly jumped off her chair to help serve dishes. This little girl, who seed around ten years old, ran around like the wind, evidently accustod to helping with household chores. Feeling sowhat embarrassed to just sit and wait, I hurried over to help, and soon the table was filled with dishes.
The ecological environnt of this planet is highly similar to Earth; the food was strangely styled but still "common" with Earth dishes, as previously confird at the tavern, so there’s no need to worry about eating anything too peculiar.
The staple local food seems to be a kind of whole, soft pastry, which is sliced with a long dinner knife when eaten, accompanied by various soups with odd colors, but the taste isn’t bad. The flatbread I brought was Anwina’s craft, which turned out to perfectly suit the local taste and received high praise from Celine and Alu, as evidenced by the young girl biting her hand three tis. Since we were not very familiar with each other, it was inappropriate for to directly inquire about their personal affairs, so I could only chat about trivial topics, seeking an opportunity to ask about the book’s origin when suddenly, Alu asked excitedly, "By the way, Mom, now that adventurers are increasing, do you think Dad will co back to town with them?"
I imdiately glanced at Celine discreetly, and sure enough, her expression changed subtly, but she covered it well and quickly replaced it with a gentle smile towards Alu. "Hmm, he will definitely co back... And even if he doesn’t, he will surely ask other adventurers to bring ho letters and diaries like before. He’s quite busy, doing important things outside, as long as Alu grows up well, he’ll be worry-free about ho. Co on, hurry and eat, the soup is getting cold."
Alu behaved obediently in front of her mother, imdiately burying her head in her soup bowl and slurping away, while I couldn’t help but glance at Celine again. Despite appearing as an ordinary civilian housewife and a single mother raising her daughter, her deanor at the dining table was extraordinarily graceful and elegant. Though I’m not sure what noble dining etiquette is like on this planet, I’m certain ordinary civilians don’t ticulously dissect pastries with a dinner knife and dip them in soup in sequence. Only nobles polished by upbringing to the point of obsession tornt food at the table relentlessly. Of course, the First Family of Xyrin isn’t factored into this.
And as expected, the Sandora Ball rolled around the table, unseen by others, but I could visibly see her circling each dish, murmuring, "Unhappy... unhappy... unhappy..."
"Why is the table shaking a bit?" Celine frowned, looking at the soup bowl, "Alu, don’t shake your legs while eating, you need to understand etiquette."
I quickly pulled the Sandora Ball aside, keeping her still, then nonchalantly started the conversation, "By the way, Alu ntioned her father is also an adventurer? Is he away?"
"...Ah, he left long ago. Who knows what part of the world he’s digging up antiques in?" Celine paused, then offered a seemingly normal smile. "At that ti, Alu was only three or four years old and probably doesn’t rember much about her father."
"I rember! My dad is amazing, right," Alu imdiately lifted her head in defiance, "and dad sends letters back often. He’s out there defeating monsters, I love reading dad’s diary. There are gigantic things in the eastern mountains..."
Alu began retelling those bizarre heroic feats, battles between heroes and giant dragons, blazing sulfur forests, and treasures buried in ancient cities. These stories sound so familiar; with a slight tweak, they are the ’guides’ the young girl recounted when she took on a tour around town—I think I know where her stories originate, certainly not from so knight’s novel, and the so-called "letters from father" are entirely fabricated.
"Eat your al well, finish quickly and go back to your room to study," Celine finally interrupted her daughter’s exuberant storytelling. She then smiled apologetically, "Sorry, this child loves to cause a ruckus... she really admires her father."
I showed an understanding look, "No problem, I have a handful at ho... hmm, even more troubleso than Alu."
It’s more than just troubleso! Four months ago, Little Light and Little Baobao concocted a "Big Firework," resulting in Shadow City launching three waves of interceptor missiles to shoot it down in outer space. Three months ago, Lili took Xiao Xue back to ’visit family,’ and the whole Demon Town nearly moved to the Mars Sanctuary. Two months ago, Lilina fought with Little Light... there are still bullet casings unsorted in the World Tree Garden.
Comparatively, Alu’s innocent youthful curiosity makes her as naive as a blank sheet.
Kids fill up easily, and Alu quickly finished her dinner, neatly cleaning her dishes before bouncing back to her room, leaving only Celine and in the front hall.
Of course, there was also a Light Ball persisting in rolling around the table: unbeknownst to Sandora, she’s already wholly playful.
"Is Alu’s dad really an adventurer?" Now that the topic had started, asking again felt less awkward, "Judging by how she speaks, her stories hardly seem reliable. Anyway, I just asked out of curiosity; it’s okay if you don’t feel like discussing it."
"There’s nothing I can’t discuss, Alu’s father indeed was an adventurer, but..." Celine sighed, appearing sowhat sad, "we haven’t heard from him for a long ti. I hope he can co back."
So it’s as expected. That ans the "letters from father" that Alu received over the years were fabricated by Celine herself... it’s genuinely a deeply moving story. However, considering Alu’s wildly imaginative stories and peculiar worldview makes nearly blurt out to Celine: Madam, it’s a sha you aren’t a novelist!
After all, it’s regarding her family matters; it’s impossible to disclose much to a stranger. Celine only briefly ntioned Alu’s father and refrained from further comnt. However, based on this snippet and my imagination, I could piece together a complete story:
Alu’s father indeed was an adventurer, quite renowned in his youth. He t Celine during an adventure, but these events occurred before Alu was born. Specifically, he abandoned the perilous life of adventuring after his daughter was born.
After their daughter’s birth, this young couple settled in this quiet little town, using funds saved from adventures to purchase a large house to open an inn. They intended to provide their daughter with a stable environnt to grow up—the story isn’t bad up to this point.
But as many might have anticipated, stories shared in such settings seldom result in a family living peacefully ever after: Alu fell mysteriously ill at the age of four.
Celine didn’t divulge details of the situation back then, but even her brief ntion suggests what transpired: their daughter’s illness depleted the family’s savings, prompting Alu’s father to retrace his adventurous steps with a small passing group.
For the first two years, letters and money were sent ho, using these funds to heal Alu’s illness. However, after discovering his daughter’s recovery, writing a joyous final letter ntioning his return journey... he vanished without a trace.
"Perhaps he’ll never return," Celine softly sighed, "Fortunately, living is still manageable... although interactions with business travelers visiting the elves have reduced, and unable to maintain the shop, there are still other ways to make ends et. I spoke too much about unimportant things."
"No, I should apologize. I think I asked what I shouldn’t have." I replied awkwardly, eliciting a free-spirited smile from her. "No worries, after so many years I’ve grown accustod. Earlier years were more difficult than now."
Is Alu’s father alive or dead? This story seems to lack a definitive outco, but based on Celine’s words... that man who ventured out for his daughter did not abandon his wife and child. Tragically, he went missing while cheerfully returning upon learning of his daughter’s recovery, leaving the result self-explanatory.
As I pondered quietly, Celine silently cleared the dinnerware before suddenly murmuring under her breath, "May the God of Technology bless Alu; now, only she remains with ."
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