Chapter 1322: Chapter 1322: Chosen of the Earth

“Tonight we’ve been quite a help to the Church.”

The witch said again, Shard nodded slightly, leaning against Luviya. The girl with purple eyes had a very soft body:

“The members of the Blood Spirit School and cultists we knocked out will probably soon be discovered by the Church, and hopefully, they’ll find new clues from them. The pollution at Eldron Lake, as well as that golem, doesn’t seem like the work of the cultists; they’re merely exploiting this situation… The most important find tonight is that the cultists have local allies, Osenfort and the powers behind them…”

“And the madness of the Earth.

Shard, Vanessa and I found my father’s notebook in the city’s sewers. The notebook said that when travelers step into and leave Randall Valley, they carry the breath of this land to all parts of the world. However, if Randall Valley’s earth becomes cursed and plagued, such curses and plagues would also be easily spread across the world.”

Miss Lathis said worriedly.

“In the past two weeks, two more instances of Crazy Earth have been discovered in the eastern coastal regions of the Old Continent and on an island in the open sea.”

Luviya also shared intelligence she gathered from the Prophet’s Society, combining these pieces pointed to a terrifying outcome.

“Today is the thirteenth day of Sparse Star Month. Spring is still about a month away, right?”

Shard looked at the snowstorm surrounding them:

“Why hasn’t this snowstorm ended after the Rain-Prayer Golem disappeared?”

“It takes time to stop, and in the past month or two, the frequency of rain and snowy weather here will be quite high… Spring may still be a long way off.”

The witch sighed softly, then said again:

“I gave tonight’s credit to the Church; I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind; could I have claimed the reward from the Church myself?”

Shard retorted, Miss Benanis nodded slightly, glanced at Luviya, from whom she saw a certain impulse. The purple-eyed girl smirked slightly, then squinted her eyes and nodded, encouraging Miss Benanis to lean in and kiss Shard lightly on his cheek:

“Thank you… Galina, Hevy, Granny Cassandra, and Sylvia were right, you’re really quite remarkable.”

With a faint blush on her face, she returned to her seat. Shard, surprised, looked to Luviya for an explanation, but Miss Diviner only laughed. Miss Lathis looked at them with some surprise, then showed a relieved smile.

Once Shard was rested, it seemed the Church had no intention of tracking them, so they started moving back to the city. The witch’s group returned to the Wilder Opera House, while Shard escorted Luviya to the Abundant Land Inn.

He did not rush to leave but instead entered the room Luviya rented together with her. Once the door was closed, Shard immediately asked the question he had been holding back the entire way:

“Is Mr. Fleming the Chosen One?”

Luviya took a chair and sat down:

“Yes, but not entirely.”

“What do you mean?”

Shard didn’t understand, and Luviya shook her head herself as well:

“It’s very strange, truly very strange. He is part of the Chosen One, do you understand what I mean? You can think of Mr. Fleming as the Chosen of the Earth, but the Chosen of the Earth isn’t entirely the soul we saw tonight. This time’s Chosen One is very special, probably more complex than any before… Did he really disappear?”

“No, it’s a trick to deceive his enemies… Remember what I said? Behind Osenfort is actually an ancient evil fiend, a Third Era Evil Spirit Demon. The demon covets the souls of those Guardians, and I even suspect that its plans for Osenfort are for that purpose. And about the truth of the Chosen One… I have some guesses, but for now, I can’t be sure; we still need to find out from the Guardians.”

Shard sat down himself:

“The Guardians are unwilling to meet us or communicate, probably because of that demon. They fear the demon that spies on their souls, and the demon also doesn’t want to reveal itself in front of them. So, finding the Guardians actually requires two conditions: one is completing the true Guardian’s inheritance test based on those three antiques or the path Miss Lathis is currently retracing, and the other is defeating that demon.”

He thought for a moment:

“Since you’ve already met the Chosen of the Earth, or rather, not entirely the Chosen of the Earth, can we now determine the sequence of candidates for the Chosen One?”

Luviya nodded, as she too had held onto this information all the way:

“Miss Lathis is the third candidate, but not entirely.”

“Not entirely again? Oh, I see, she doesn’t yet possess the Power of the Earth, so she herself is a candidate, but even if the previous two die, she’s not qualified to hold the ‘Feast of the Earth Mother Goddess.'”

Shard said, and Luviya nodded slightly:

“But this time the third candidate seems to be of no use. We have a good chance to strive for the support of the first candidate, the real Chosen of the Earth. They have a friendly attitude towards you, even respectful. If you really defeat that demon, I think you won’t need to ask; they would willingly cooperate with you.”

“No, no. The third candidate is still very useful, even other candidates are useful. I’m considering what exactly the true and complete Chosen of the Earth refers to… Luviya, the Chosen One must surely be an individual, right?”

“Yes, it cannot be a group of people.”

The purple-eyed girl understood Shard’s idea.

“In this way, we must also consider what changes might occur if Miss Lathis becomes one of the Guardians.”

He hadn’t forgotten that just before Mr. Fleming’s imminent disappearance, he surprisingly saw Mr. Thomas Granger’s face.

Luviya furrowed her brows slightly, also contemplating the possibility Shard mentioned.

Shard continued:

“This time, the content of the Poem Chapter we have is too scant for us to make a final judgment. Moreover, we don’t have a single Special Coin in hand this time… It seems we still need information from Iluna’s side. After tonight’s events, the Church should increase their exploration of Randall Valley. Even if they don’t know that the Chosen of the Earth’s ritual can cleanse Crazy Earth, they will still…”

Suddenly, he had an idea:

“Have Iluna inform the Church that the Chosen of the Earth’s ritual can cleanse Crazy Earth, so she’ll have a reason to learn the content of the Poem Chapter.”

They hadn’t informed the True God Church about this because Iluna wasn’t local, and Miss Benanis couldn’t do it either because she couldn’t tell other Witches Shard didn’t know where the information came from.

“That’s actually a good idea.”

Luviya also agreed with Shard’s opinion:

“The epic of the Chosen of the Earth officially begins, and this time, I’m with you.”

She took Shard’s hand, her purple eyes gazing softly at him:

“Tomorrow is Friday. Are you going to explore the Night Shrine in the mountains? How will you go?”

“The Night Shrine isn’t urgent. Delaying the Time Key task by a day or two isn’t a big deal.”

Shard shook his head:

“The matters concerning the Demon and the Heart of the Earth are the most critical right now.”

The latter even implies a drop of Divinity.

“Will you visit the city statue gallery first, or pay a visit to Earl Granger first?”

Luviya asked again.

“The statue gallery. The old curator is a Folklore Scholar. Haila Osenfort said I could get help from him. Earl Granger is local, and I can visit anytime without encountering danger. But after the Demon failed to act tonight, I’m worried if the old curator might be in danger.”

Shard considered cautiously.

“Do you need me to go with you? I haven’t visited the local statue art gallery yet.”

“No, no, I’ll handle this myself. Luviya, regarding the Demon, absolutely, absolutely don’t get involved.”

Shard reiterated, and the girl with purple eyes nodded, knowing that Shard was concerned for her:

“Then be careful yourself. Even if Iluna is transferred to Randall Valley, it’ll probably be the latter half of this month. For now, I’m with you.”

Though Luviya wanted Shard to stay and enjoy a good night, Miss Diviner thought Shard’s body was still somewhat weak after the big battle, so she didn’t let him stay that night, instead planning to find time to spend the night in Randall Valley this week.

Thus, Shard returned home, and Mia was somewhat displeased with his late return.

The cat, though not fond of going out, didn’t like not seeing Shard all day either.

So, on Friday morning, when Shard was about to leave after breakfast, the cat surprisingly followed him to the foyer while he was changing shoes, instead of just watching from the stairs.

“Meow~”

Mia meowed softly, circling around Shard’s boots. Shard understood:

“Do you want to come with me?”

He was quite surprised but also pleased. However, noticing the cat still had the Plague Doctor’s Ring on its tail, Shard removed the ring.

“Meow~”

Mia jumped up, front paws gripping Shard’s pants while the hind legs pushed off the ground, trying to take back its ring. Shard rummaged around, trying to find another ring for it. Since the cat rarely wanted to go out, Shard certainly wouldn’t leave it home because of a ring.

Relic Rings and spellcasting materials like the Mind Crystal Ring and Moonstone Ring were definitely not for it to wear outside. In the end, Shard put the Signet Ring, a souvenir from the Fifth Era 5177 given by Miss Violetta the Witch Empress, on the cat’s tail.

The ring band was quite thick, and the ring face was made of gold, with a complex symbol resembling a curved cross. Besides its decorative function, the ring was also a seal. Compared to Shard’s other gemstone rings, only this ring, with its face weathered by time, appeared low-key.

“Don’t lose it, it’s a very precious keepsake.”

Shard said to the cat. Mia looked sadly at its drooping tail, as it didn’t like this ring.