Chapter 557 The Second Ring
Finding Oswald was not an easy task.
He was not an active member of the Papal Guard, so he was not required to be on duty; and at his age, he obviously did not need to work.
Luckily, Freya had lived in the Theocracy for so long that she had some connections there. She first took Lily to the Sixth Circle and found a retired Papal Guard from the area guarding the ruins.
Freya's reason for looking for him was simple. She knew Oswald's age, and the old man was about the same age as him. Moreover, when they had chatted before, the other party had said that he almost became the Guardian of Avalon.
That means he most likely knew Oswald.
Sure enough. She inquired with him, and he indeed knew that Oswald had returned. He also knew that Freya's current surname, "Molu," was a name she had given herself; her previous surname was Moriarty, the name Oswald was responsible for.
Therefore, he simply handed the information about Oswald to Freya.
But Oswald's location surprised Lily.
She was deeply impressed by the silent elf butler who was like a lone wolf. He was a serious, cold, and unsmiling old man.
Oswald did not go to the upper floors to live with the pure-blooded elves. Instead, he stayed in the second ring, which had a very high flow of people.
Compared to the chaotic First Ring Road, which is even more chaotic and bustling than other countries' downtown areas, the Second Ring Road is at least not as chaotic—the biggest difference is that there are significantly fewer people carrying luggage. But the streets are still crowded, and many seats in front of stores are occupied by elderly people waiting in line.
The second ring is a relatively affordable place to live, and many long-term residents of the Theocracy will stay here.
A large number of apartment buildings have been built here. Thanks to the intervention of the elves, both rent and prices are not too high, so many people live here for years or even decades...
There are also some church schools here, where pastors come to teach the children of the short-lived race. Those short-lived races born in the church often come here to study and work.
Life here is quite stable. The academic pressure isn't great, and the work hours aren't long. While not wealthy enough to save a lot, it's also within reach of necessities. There's no war, no disputes caused by economic pressures. Some people are even born and die in the Second Ring, never having traveled to any other area in their entire lives.
Lily glanced around and found that the majority of residents in the second circle were elderly people and children.
Lily had also been out when she was in Avalon. Compared to the children of the knight families in White Queen, the children here were not as well-mannered - they wore simple clothes like villagers, and they would run around in the streets, shouting, arguing, and fighting with each other.
The simple nature of these garments is simply due to the lack of intricate embroidery; they are simply stitched solid fabrics. The fabric itself is of excellent quality, and with a bit of elven craftsmanship, it could fetch a high price as a fashion item.
Lily even saw a group of human children playing with a lizardman child; a human girl holding a young snakeman in her arms; trolls carrying heavy objects on their shoulders could be seen in the streets, but people were very friendly to the trolls... at least much friendlier than in the first and fifth circles.
The least common race here is the goblins.
——And the most surprising thing was that Lily even saw a dwarf.
The elves and dwarves were sworn enemies. Dwarves were essentially heretics, their racial faith centered on "waiting for a dwarven pillar god." This was particularly true of Flame Celestial Being, a rapidly growing Celestial Being on the path of devotion, who posed a direct threat to Candle Celestial Being.
Even though the elves had prayed and asked Yan Tiansi about his thoughts on the position of the Pillar God, what they learned through prayer was not necessarily the truth, and even if it was the truth, it was not always the truth. And even if Yan Tiansi really had no thoughts, at least the dwarves had some.
——You have pushed all the cannons to the border, and then you say you just want to strengthen national defense; maybe you really want to strengthen national defense, but even if it is just strengthening national defense, it means that you regard us as an imaginary enemy.
Such was the attitude of the elves toward the dwarves.
Although it is not as great as the hatred humans have for giants, it can at least be considered disgust.
In the second ring, a dwarf couple was even walking openly down the street. Not only did they not hide their ethnicity, they even casually greeted other elderly people on the street. Others clearly knew them, and they exchanged friendly greetings.
“…The people here live really well.”
Lily sighed.
"really."
Freya nodded slightly. "Of all the countries and regions I've traveled to, the Second Circle of the Theocracy is the most peaceful. If the Hellasl Empire still existed, it would probably only be during its peak prosperity that ordinary people could live such a carefree life."
"Sometimes I think, if I get tired and need a place to retire... I'll find a house in the Second Ring Road and teach alchemy to children for free. This is more in line with my philosophy than getting married and having children."
"...The elves' mentor system?"
Lily murmured.
Freya chuckled and reached out to touch Lily's hair. "No, not yet. I'm not looking for an heir. I just want to play with the children so they won't be too lonely in their old age. And rather than giving them candy and cake, giving them knowledge is better for their health and future."
As she spoke, she looked at Lily with interest: "It seems you still remember me, Lily."
"...Of course I remember, Miss."
Lily had a complicated expression and murmured softly, "I'm not Moriarty."
"You know their amnesia is related to Moriarty...it seems you also know about the curse."
Freya smiled with relief. "That's good. Although I knew the first time I saw Aiwass that he must have known about the curse, which is why he didn't say anything after seeing me...but even though you still remembered me, you still brought Aiwass to see me."
Lily didn't respond, but chose to remain silent.
This is also the reason why she had such a strange expression when she saw Freya.
Although she always claimed to be "taking care of Aiwass when he was little," it had to be said that Lily was actually not that old when Aiwass was little. She had never taken care of anyone before that, and she even needed someone to take care of her at the beginning.
At that time, it was Freya who took care of Lily and Aiwass.
Freya was five years older than Lily, twelve years older than Aiwass, and only four years younger than her eldest brother Edward.
This is the true meaning of an elder sister being like a mother.
Aiwass's fondness for Lily was actually due to his forgetting Freya. Under the influence of the curse, many memories belonging to Freya were shifted to Lily, who was closest to her.
This is also the reason why Aiwass is very close to Lily and trusts her very much, but Lily is always very cautious and distant towards Aiwass.
Because she was worried that one day, Aiwass would find out that he had remembered the wrong person.
If the fact that I was impersonating someone was exposed, perhaps the good impression would turn into bad impression.
——She never dared to take things that were not hers.
But even so, when she actually met Freya, she still felt very nervous. Although she was very careful not to cross the line... she still felt guilty that she had stolen something.
"How are those two children doing lately?" Freya asked.
"...The young master is about to get engaged," Lily replied, "and Miss Yulia's phantom egg problem has also been solved."
"I'm glad it's been resolved. I thought Yulia was already... engaged... so soon. He's only eighteen this year, right?"
Freya touched her chin and corrected him, "No, not too soon. He's already become the Archbishop, so he needs to have a child quickly."
"…What does it have to do with the Archbishop?"
"The higher the energy level, the lower the probability of having children. This is also one of the laws of balance in the world—the strong are not good at reproduction. The elves have a long lifespan, but their population has never exploded. This is partly because elves are relatively apathetic towards sex, and partly because the average energy level of elves is too high."
Freya replied calmly, "Given Aiwas's status, he needs to leave behind his own bloodline quickly. Otherwise, by the time he's in his twenties, he might have already reached the fifth energy level—and by then, it would be difficult to leave behind any offspring."
“…That requires some urgency.”
Lily obviously didn't know this secret, and her features suddenly tensed: "He must leave behind offspring."
"Why," Freya said lazily, "is he going to get engaged to the princess? And he insists on having offspring - if my brother doesn't want to have children, then he doesn't have to, it's all the same. I just said that if he wants a child, he'd better do it as soon as possible."
"It's not the princess..."
"Um?"
"It's Her Majesty the Queen."
"……ha?"
Freya was stunned for a moment, her expression visibly frozen.
Then it suddenly dawned on her: "Oh yes, the new queen is that Isabelle... How old is she?"
"Less than a year older than the young master."
"...So small? Is it because of the royal curse?"
Freya was stunned and said, "The curse is actually real? I thought it was just a cover-up put forward by Hawkeye..."
They chatted and soon arrived at the destination.
To their surprise, there was a bar.
As soon as the curtain was lifted, the strong smell of alcohol, shouting, and cursing could be heard coming from inside.
It was so noisy inside—it even made Freya frown.
In the middle of the bar, there is a large crystal screen.
It was a ritual magic similar to the surveillance mirror of the thirteenth ring, which could directly spy on an area.
From a distance, they could only see a green screen and nothing else.
Suddenly, everyone shouted in unison: "Unicorn! Unicorn! Unicorn!"
“——The ball goes in!”
A heart-wrenching voice rang out.
Then the whole bar suddenly turned into a sea of joy, with shouts, screams, and the clinking of glasses resounding through the sky.
Because Freya drank the wine of immortality, her ears have become a little pointed and her hearing has become very good.
Now she was so annoyed by the noise that her eyes widened and she covered her ears with her hands with an ugly look on her face - she hadn't heard such noise for almost ten years, and she could hear every word clearly.
...Mr. Oswald, is he really in a place like this?
Lily, who was standing behind Freya, was also a little confused for a moment.
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