As soon as Buggy spoke, everyone turned to look at Lilina.
Lilina coughed lightly and began to tell the story of the Rainbow Fish in a clear, melodious voice like that of a nightingale.
"This is a story that has been passed down on Crown Island for hundreds of years. It is said that more than four hundred years ago, there was a prosperous and powerful country on this island, and the people lived a carefree and peaceful life."
One day, a fisherman fishing on the shore suddenly saw a large fish radiating seven-colored light leap out of the sea in the distance. After leaving a beautiful rainbow for a moment, it disappeared back into the sea. Witnessing this incredible event, he regarded it as a sacred miracle and reported it to the king. The king, of course, did not believe the fisherman's one-sided account, so he decided to let the fisherman lead the way to investigate the matter himself.
Led by the fisherman, the king arrived at the riverbank. This time, the giant fish, radiating seven-colored light, reappeared. Its body was crystal clear, radiating seven-colored light like a rainbow after the rain. However, in an instant, the fish returned to the sea.
The king was utterly astonished. Like the fisherman, he revered the colorful fish as a sacred object. For some reason, the image of this beautiful fish, draped in rainbows, constantly haunted his thoughts, day and night. But from then on, even when he frequently walked along the coast, he never saw the Rainbow Fish again or heard any news about it.
So he made a decision: to gather the best craftsmen in the country to create a seven-colored crown, and to have a priestess imbue the crown with magic, hoping to use it as a medium to see the Rainbow Fish again.
However, the priestess warned the king that the Rainbow Fish was an ominous sign, and that excessive contact with it would bring misfortune and disaster to the country and its people.
However, the king did not believe the witch's warning at all and flew into a rage. In a fit of anger, he ordered the witch to be hanged and then made her disciple take over the priesthood.
Witnessing her teacher's tragic death, the witch's disciple dared not disobey the king's will. However, her power was far from sufficient to apply magic to the Rainbow Crown. In her desperation, she dreamt of her teacher, the witch's spirit, who told her that if she recited the incantation, her soul could be sealed within the Seven-Colored Crown, allowing it to radiate true light. In this way, the king would be able to see the Rainbow Fish again. Finally, the witch warned her disciple that once this was accomplished, she must leave the island and never return.
After the priestess's disciple awoke, she pondered the matter repeatedly and decided to follow her teacher's instructions. Sure enough, after chanting the incantation, the Seven-Colored Crown emitted countless rays of light, like a rainbow in a dream, vibrant and colorful.
The king was overjoyed upon learning of the completion of the Seven-Colored Crown and decided to reward the witch's disciple. However, the disciple, remembering her teacher's words, resolutely refused any reward and instead requested to leave Crown Island. At her insistence, the king granted her request and sent a small boat to take her away...
Lilina paused here, looking at the group of sleepy, drowsy kids, and suddenly felt annoyed. She was kindly telling them a story, but they weren't paying attention at all! And that one of them, he was practically drooling!
You can't blame anyone else; her voice was so melodious, and she spoke in such a soft and gentle tone. If it weren't for the flickering light of the campfire, not only these people, but even a baby crying incessantly at night would have already drifted off to sleep.
"Wake up, wake up, all of you wake up!!"
Lilina shouted at the top of her lungs, but it had little effect; only Buggy yawned and opened his eyes.
"Hmph!" Lilina snorted and ran out to mix sand and water together. She then smeared the mixture on Cabaji, Mohji, and Shuma, whose eyes were closed with only a slit in them. She didn't even spare Richie, who was fast asleep with his head buried in his rice bowl. She drew all sorts of strange lines and patterns on them before sitting back down in her original spot.
Kaya, who had been listening intently and showing surprise, finally couldn't help but ask, "You know so much! Even ' Ivan's Adventures' doesn't have such detailed records."
"How can those storybooks compare to what I know..." Lilina patted the damp sand off her hands and whispered, "Because that priestess's disciple was my ancestor..."
Buggy jolted awake, startled. He had initially thought it was just a common, clichéd legend, but after hearing Lilina's words, he felt things weren't so simple. "Is what you're saying true?"
"Take a guess!" Lilina smiled slyly, her attitude suddenly becoming unpredictable.
"You rascal..." Buggy chuckled and shrugged, "So, what happens next in this story?"
"And that's it," Lilina said casually. "The king wore the Seven-Colored Crown and saw the Rainbow Fish he had always dreamed of. And just as the witch priestess had foretold in her dream, the country was suddenly shrouded in disaster, plunging into the quagmire of war. In the end, the entire country..." Lilina spat out some sand from her palm, "... and just like that, it vanished into thin air. As for the legendary Seven-Colored Crown and Rainbow Fish, no one ever saw them again."
"Is this the history of a nation's rise and fall? The country of the Blue Sea is truly terrifying..." Nilek, who had been silent until now, muttered softly.
"You have no right to say that!" Lilina glanced at Nilek. "Your Sky Island was almost destroyed!"
"Whatever you say... then it is..." Nilek didn't argue, but its thoughts quickly drifted towards its instincts, "Could this Seven-Colored Crown and Rainbow Fish be some kind of high-tech invention...?"
Buggy laughed, "Kid, not everything in this world can be explained or solved with science. We can't blindly believe in science."
Nilek didn't respond. If Buggy's few words could change its way of thinking, then it wouldn't be Nilek.
Buggy continued, "So, this island is now a deserted, uninhabited island?"
Kaya continued, "No, although the original kingdom that stood on this land disappeared, some tribes later gathered on the island. They chose to coexist peacefully. The book ' Ivan's Adventures' also records what the author saw: 'When dawn rose again, although the yellow sand that filled the sky continued, the faces of those people covered with thin veils were filled with sincere smiles. They knew that everything was over.'"