Yujing Terrace.
It was nearing noon, and all the preparations for the Rite of Descension had long since been completed.
At that moment, quite a number of Millelith soldiers were stationed around the platform where the ceremony would be held, guarding the area and keeping order. The solemn, imposing scene made ordinary people wary of approaching without permission.
"Whoa!"
(⊙o⊙*)
"It's so lively!"
But Annie wasn't ordinary—not second-rate or third-rate, either.
So, when she arrived with the crowd and saw the grand ceremony packed with onlookers, then spotted all the offerings and interesting objects arranged in the middle of Yujing Terrace, she didn't think twice. Taking advantage of her small stature, she squeezed her way through the gaps between the spectators.
Before long, she'd reached the front.
Then, taking advantage of the Millelith guard's distraction as he struggled to keep an eye on everything, she dashed forward, crossed the lotus pond from the steps of Yujing Terrace, and scampered straight to the middle of the sacrificial altar.
"Huh?"
("ヘ")
"There's so much food!"
('﹃')
Leaning over the edge of the great stone altar, Annie immediately spotted all sorts of odds and ends laid out on it.
For example: piles of flour-based foods, fine silks and fabrics, wine and tea, all kinds of delicate pastries, beautifully arranged seasonal fruits and vegetables, boxes upon boxes of preserved fruits and dried goods, perfume and ointments, bottles and jars, incense sticks and candles—and a huge bronze incense burner!
"..."
|ω`)
"What the heck!"
(~)
"They all look pretty, but I bet they taste lousy..."
⊙﹏⊙‖∣°
"You can tell just by looking that they probably aren't very good..."
(lll￢▽￢)
After leaning over the altar and looking around without a care in the world for a while, Annie pursed her lips and began commenting just as