"Prank"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that was the situation," Ryan apologized politely to Lumian.

Lumian chuckled. "Wasn't that worth another glass of Green Fairy?"

Without waiting for Ryan to answer, he changed the subject.

"What brings you outsiders to Cordu? Buying wool or leather?"

Quite a few of Cordu's residents made their living herding sheep.

Ryan silently sighed in relief and seized the opportunity. "We're here to visit Guillaume Béné, the parish priest of your village's Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun, but he wasn't at home or in the church."

"You don't need to specify which church. Cordu only has one," Pierre helpfully reminded him after drinking Ryan's free absinthe.

The other locals around the bar drank their own drinks. None answered Ryan's question, as though that name represented some taboo or authority that couldn't be casually discussed.

Lumian took a sip and thought for a few seconds. "I can probably guess where the parish priest is. Would you like me to take you there?"

"Sorry for the trouble, then." Lya accepted without hesitation.

Ryan nodded as well.

"Once you've finished that glass."

"All right." Lumian raised his glass and gulped down the pale green liquid.

He set the glass down and stood up.

"Let's go."

"Thank you very much." Ryan thanked Lumian while gesturing for Valentine and Lya to get up.

A smile appeared on Lumian's face.

"No problem. You listened to my story, and I drank your booze. That makes us friends, right?"

"Yes." Ryan nodded gently.

Lumian's smile grew even brighter. He spread his arms as though about to give Ryan a hug.

At the same time, he said warmly, "I'm delighted to meet you, my cabbages."

Ryan, who had been preparing to accept the hug, froze.

"Cabbages?"

He looked both bewildered and embarrassed.

So did Valentine and Lya.

"It's our affectionate name for friends. Everyone in the Dalege region knows it. It's been that way for centuries," Lumian explained innocently. "Trust me, my cabbages."

Lya couldn't help looking around, setting off a chorus of jingles.

Pierre and the others nodded in turn, confirming that Lumian hadn't lied this time. Yet the smiles on their faces seemed to say they were delighted to see outsiders struggling with such an intimate form of address.

Lumian rubbed his chin.

"Don't like it?

"Then I'll use something else. These are all names for friends, too.

"My rabbits, my chicks, my ducks, my little lambs-which do you prefer?"

Ryan's expression grew even stiffer, while Valentine frowned.

Half annoyed and half amused, Lya replied, "Let's stick with cabbages. At least that sounds a little more normal."

Ryan quietly let out a breath, pressed Valentine's elbow, and nodded slightly. "They all sound like things treasured at home."

Before Lumian could respond, he turned toward the bartender. "The bill, please."

"Two Felkine." The bartender glanced at the glasses on the bar.

While Ryan paid, Lya changed the subject.

"Lumian is a pretty uncommon name."

"At least it's better than Pierre or Guillaume," Lumian said with a smile. "If you shout Pierre here, at least a third of the people will answer. Shout Guillaume, and another third will answer. And this fellow..."

He pointed at the lean, middle-aged man drinking his free booze.

"His full name is Pierre Guillaume."

Lya gave a suitably timed laugh, finally putting the cabbage topic behind them.

Before leaving the tavern, Lumian turned to scan the room.

"What's wrong?" Lya asked curiously.

Lumian answered thoughtfully, "You three weren't the only outsiders at the tavern today. Someone else came earlier, but I don't know when she left."

"What did she look like?" Ryan's expression turned serious.

Lumian thought back.

"A lady, very elegant. You could tell at a glance she was from a big city. I can't describe what she looked like. Should I draw her for you?"

"Can you draw?" Having gained some understanding of Lumian's nature, Lya countered warily.

Lumian laughed.

"No."

"Then let's find the parish priest first." Ryan ended the subject.

Cordu had no streetlights at night, but it wasn't pitch-black. The twinkling stars overhead cast a quiet, faint glow, and yellowish light spilled from some of the windows along the road, allowing the four of them to walk steadily.

Before long, they reached the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun beside the village square.

In the darkness, the village's grandest building seemed to blend into the night, its outline slightly hazy.

"We've been here. There was no one inside," Valentine, who had remained cold and silent, said with a frown.

Lumian smiled. "Just because there's no one at the main entrance doesn't mean there's no one elsewhere."

As he spoke, he led the three around the front of the church to a spot near the cemetery.

There was a dark brown wooden door here.

Before Ryan could knock, Lumian reached over and fiddled with the keyhole.

With a creak, he opened the side door.

"Isn't this rather impolite?" Ryan frowned.

Lya nodded with a jingle.

"We're here to visit the parish priest, not to go after him."

"All right." Lumian was very willing to accept sound advice.

He pulled the wooden door shut and knocked lightly.

"Hey, is anyone there? If you don't answer, I'm coming in." He kept his voice very low, as though muttering to himself in the night.

Silence reigned inside the church.

A second later, Lumian pushed the door open again and pointed inside.

"Go on in."

Ryan had intended to refuse, but as he gazed into the deep darkness beyond the door, he pondered for a few seconds and exchanged a glance with his companions.

"All right." He stepped forward, slowly but firmly.

Lya and Valentine followed close behind.

At that moment, none of the four small silver bells attached to Lya's two boots and the sides of her veil made a sound.

The four advanced through the dim, gloomy surroundings.

Suddenly, Ryan stopped and lowered his voice. "Do you hear something?"

"Yes." Lumian agreed wholeheartedly.

No sooner had he spoken than he shoved to the side, opening another door with a clatter.

It appeared to be the church's confessional. Faint starlight streamed in, revealing a simple low bed and a naked man in his prime.

The man was on top of a woman's pale, naked body.

For a moment, everyone froze, including the man and the woman beneath him.

A few seconds later, the man turned his head and roared at Ryan and the others, "You sons of bitches! You've disrupted the holy church's work!"

As his roar echoed, Lumian, who had already moved behind Ryan and the others, waved and said with a laugh, speaking very quickly, "Looks like we've found the parish priest. See you tomorrow, my cabbages!"

Halfway through, he had already turned and sprinted toward the side door. The remaining words drifted on the wind, growing fainter and fainter.

At that moment, the same sentence surfaced in Lya's, Ryan's, and Valentine's minds.

It was what the middle-aged man named Pierre Guillaume had said:

"That kid is the village's biggest prankster. You'd better stay well away from him..."

Beneath the starlight spilling from above, Lumian began to whistle.

With his hands in his pockets, he strolled leisurely along the country road.

The parish priest really was having an affair with Madame Pualis.

Those outsiders clearly have some standing. The parish priest definitely won't dare do anything to them. He'll have to pay a hefty price to stop word of his affair in the church from spreading, won't he?

Hmph. That's what he gets for always having designs on Aurora. I've been waiting for this chance for ages...

Muttering inwardly, Lumian returned to his home on the edge of the village.

It was a two-story house with its lower floor partly below ground. The first floor consisted of a kitchen that doubled as a living room, with an oven and a large stove.

"Aurora! Aurora!" Lumian called as he climbed the stairs.

No one answered.

The second floor had three rooms and a washroom, all with their doors open.

Lumian glanced into each in turn but saw no sign of his sister.

After a moment's thought, he went to the end of the corridor and climbed the ladder there onto the roof.

The orange-red roof was enveloped in the spreading darkness. A figure sat in the middle, hugging her knees and quietly gazing at the stars.

She was an exceptionally beautiful woman with long, thick blond hair, pale blue eyes, and striking features.

At that moment, she gazed intently at the sky and its glittering pinpricks of light, her expression as tranquil as a statue's.

Lumian said nothing. He moved beside her and sat down as well.

Tilting his head slightly upward, he looked toward the distant mountain forests and heard the wind rustling through the trees.

After an unknown length of time, the woman raised both arms and stretched without the slightest concern for appearances.

"Aurora, I don't understand what's so interesting about this view that you keep coming up to the roof," Lumian said.

"Call me big sister!" Aurora curled a finger and lightly rapped Lumian on the head.

Then she sighed, her expression dimming. "A philosopher once said that only two things in this world deserve reverence: the moral law within us and the starry heavens above us."

Lumian glanced at his sister's faintly melancholy face and deliberately smiled. "I know the answer to this one. Emperor Roselle said it!"

"Pfft..." Aurora burst out laughing.

Then she sniffed, and her pretty golden brows rose.

"You've been drinking again!"

"It's called socializing." Lumian took the opportunity to recount what had just happened. "I met three outsiders..."

Aurora couldn't help laughing.

"I really hope you didn't scare the parish priest into falling ill."

A second later, her expression grew serious.

"Lumian, stop provoking the parish priest. He won't do anything to me. Having a new one replace him would only be more trouble."

"But I can't stand the sight of him..." Before Lumian could finish, Aurora stood up.

She looked down at her younger brother and smiled. "All right, time for bed, my little drunkard of a brother."

As she spoke, Aurora casually tossed out a sprinkling of silver dust.

Then her whole body floated up like a little bird. She slowly flew down from the roof and slipped through a second-floor window.

Lumian watched silently, then called out urgently, "What about me?"

"Climb down yourself!" Aurora replied mercilessly from inside the house.

Lumian pursed his lips, and the smile gradually faded from his face.

Watching the silver specks of light rapidly wink out in the darkness, he sighed softly and murmured to himself, "I wonder when I'll be able to have supernatural powers like that..."