Startling news

"How is it?" Lya and Valentine asked in unison upon seeing Ryan.

Although they had already believed Lumian's words, people always have a bit of wishful thinking, still hoping that the problem might not be so serious and that the kid was just exaggerating due to his lack of experience.

Ryan looked around and, seeing no one else near the Elm Tree, said in a low voice, "I dare not ask too directly, I only know that the actual date is already late April, but I don't know the exact date."

Lya and Valentine both fell silent.

We have indeed fallen into a bizarre time Loop!

Judging from various files and documents, this is definitely not something the three of them should face, nor is it something they can handle.

They were all seasoned Beyonder had handled numerous Paranormal Event, and this was the first time they had encountered such a serious and unusual situation.

Lya couldn't help but turn her head and look at Lumian:

"What kind of place is your Cordou Village exactly?"

Abnormalities are everywhere, each one more outrageous than the last!

"I don't know either." Lumian looked "innocent." "Before the Loop, this place was beautiful, the people were kind and honest, everyone was normal, and they were very hospitable."

He didn't tell the Three Foreigners that the person standing in front of them was also one of the abnormal.

Ryan sighed and said, "I've never encountered so many anomalies all at once, and each one is very serious."

"This is the most dangerous situation I've ever faced," Valentine chimed in.

Lumian was somewhat numb to this, and scoffed, "It's normal that I haven't encountered this before, because everyone who has is dead."

"..." Lya smiled and glanced at him. "If you can't speak properly, then don't speak at all. Someone like you will never grow up anywhere else."

"Nipped in the bud?" Lumian scoffed, then turned to Ryan, asking, "Have you gotten an answer about the matter of the Assistant Parish Priest?"

Ryan nodded:

"It is said that in recent years, several very similar legends have appeared in different parts of the Southern and Northern Continent. (and related books)"

Legend has it that Heaven Banishment a group of sinful little Elf to Earth, where they could only reside within human bodies, hoping that one day they could atone for their sins, receive forgiveness, and return to Heaven.

In some legends, those little Elf are depicted as transparent Lizard.

"Well, the Elf I'm referring to aren't the ancient Elven Race; they're more of a hybrid concept of Fairy and various other spirits."

Again, in recent years? Lumian remembered that the legends related to the "Night Lady" had only emerged in recent years.

What's wrong with this world?

He thought for a moment and asked:

"Is it said to be the Heaven of some Deity?"

Ryan shook his head:

"What's amazing is that everyone who claims to have witnessed the Elf believes they come from the realm of local Deity."

Local Deity refer to the Orthodox God of the local faith.

Heaven of different Deity? Lumian raised his head and looked up at the azure sky.

Did that Lizard -like Elf come from the sky?

According to Aurora, the sky above is the Starry Sky, and each Stars represents a world.

So, extraterrestrial life?

Or perhaps it comes from the Astral World in Mysticism?

Amidst a jumble of thoughts, Lumian asked with a hint of curiosity, "In some legends, those little Elf are transparent Lizard, but what about in the others?"

Ryan shook his head again:

"This is all they can find out in the short term; they'll probably need to communicate with headquarters to get the full details."

At this moment, Lya said thoughtfully, "I have heard some legends about Elf."

"I recently met a man from Lenburg who said that in recent years, many farmers in the south-central region have come to believe in the existence of mischievous little Elf who make a mess of their homes and fields or play all sorts of pranks, and are called ' Jester '." (Note 1)

The Central and Southern Region refers to the area where small countries such as Lenburg, Massy, and Segal are located, and also includes a few areas of the Republic of Intis, the Kingdom of Loen, and the Kingdom of Feynapotter.

The area is mostly located on a plateau, with many mountains and forests, and is rich in historical sites and legends.

It's really not an isolated phenomenon... Lumian listened very attentively.

"Different Elf seem to behave differently," Ryan said thoughtfully. "And the ' Lizard ' residing in human bodies are probably the most Evil kind. Whether they're the most dangerous is still uncertain. Hmm, given all the anomalies in Cordu, the Elf parasitism shouldn't be an isolated phenomenon. Perhaps someone wants to use it to control the Assistant Parish Priest."

"Your thinking is very clear..." Lumian glanced at the villagers who were returning home after finishing their various tasks, and said to Lya and the others, "Meet me at 3:30 this afternoon, behind the hill where the Administrator's Castle is located."

"Will you come with me to search for clues?"

"Okay," Ryan agreed.

Seeing Lumian about to leave, Lya quickly called out to him:

"That's all?

"You need to describe in detail the state of the Castle, who's inside, and the unusual behavior of Madame Pualis. We can't go exploring and searching without any preparation."

Although Lumian was reluctant to recall anything related to Madame Pualis, he had to admit that Lya's request made sense, so he forced himself to endure the discomfort and recounted the whole story.

Even though Ryan and the others knew roughly what was going to happen beforehand, they were still shocked, and their expressions became somewhat blank.

Soon, Lya's laughter jingled loudly:

"I'm fine, since I'll probably experience something like that in the future anyway. But for you guys, this is an opportunity that other men might never have in their entire lives, so cherish it."

Valentine ignored her joke and muttered coldly, "These are all things that need purification, things that need purification!"

Lumian didn't want to provoke this guy, so he waved and said, "See you this afternoon."

After taking a few steps, he turned around, looked at Ryan, and asked warily, "Did Bertrand know the contents of your Telegram?"

Bertrand was the Telegram operator in charge of the matter. If he knew the date and the legend of the Elf, it meant that the Administrator also knew, and if the Administrator knew, it meant that Madame Pualis knew.

"Don't worry," Ryan said gently, "We have a pre-arranged code; he won't understand it."

Lumian breathed a sigh of relief, left the Village Square, and headed back to his house.

After walking for a while, he saw Ava Lizier herding a flock of white geese home.

"Hey, isn't this our ' Spring Spirit '?" Lumian tried to forget the bloody and cruel scene at the end of the Lent Festival celebration and greeted Ava with his usual joke.

Ava was a little embarrassed.

"We haven't chosen yet!"

Her delicate features made her Gray-White Long Dress look anything but rustic.

"No problem at all," Lumian said with a smile. "Raymond and I will help you campaign for votes."

Ava immediately showed a surprised expression:

"You do not know?"

"Know what?" Lumian's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.

Did something happen in the village that is outside the course of "history"?

Ava observed his expression and suspected he was teasing her.

After a few seconds, the girl frowned slightly with concern and said, "Raymond is missing, didn't you know?"

"Huh?" Lumian was too shocked to hide his expression as usual.

In the previous Loop, he and Raymond Craig met almost every day starting from the second day, March 30, until Lent Festival April 5th.

At that time, following the procedures of the Riverside Ritual, they lifted Raymond was the last to throw the Sacrifice, and threw him into the river. Raymond, like the others before him, swam to a more distant place and could only go ashore and return home after leaving the Ritual site. He did not go out until night.

From that day on, in the next two Loop, Lumian was too busy with too many things to do and didn't have time to hang out with Raymond.

Who knew that today, Ava would suddenly tell him that Raymond had disappeared!

This is something that didn't even happen in the previous Loop!

Seeing Lumian's expression, the doubt in Ava's light blue Eyes vanished completely:

You really don't know...

Raymond's father might come looking for you today to ask where Raymond has been.

Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Lumian asked, "When did Raymond disappear?"

Could it be that things went wrong because I didn't follow the "historical" sequence of events when I went to find him?

"A couple of days ago," Ava recalled, "He said he went out on the afternoon of the 29th and never came back. His family initially thought he was drunk and chatting with the ' Greenwatcher ' at the Old Tavern. They only started looking for him last night, and they'll probably come to ask you about it today..."

She paused, then lowered her voice:

"They suspect Raymond didn't want to learn shepherding and ran away."

Did they think I Instigation, and they'd come later to question me? Lumian roughly understood what had happened.

The time of day on the afternoon of the 29th immediately made him think of the beginning of Loop.

The last two Loop both started on the afternoon of the 29th!

In other words, Raymond disappeared at the very beginning of the Loop? This means that perhaps no one deliberately changed the course of "history" because there wasn't enough time... Then why was there such Mutation and difference? Lumian fell into deep thought.

Ava glanced at him and asked softly, "Do you know where Raymond went?"

"I haven't seen him for the past few days," Lumian said truthfully.

He began to suspect that Raymond's disappearance was related to being thrown into the river in the previous Loop.

But Raymond can't leave Cordou Village because of that, as that would trigger Loop.

After saying goodbye to Ava, Lumian forced himself to remain calm and made his way home.

He didn't have time to talk about anything else; he first told Aurora about Raymond's disappearance.

Aurora's expression turned serious. She frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten about this person..."

She was wearing a simple fuchsia Long Dress and began pacing back and forth, and Lumian began to think about the possible reasons.

After a while, Aurora looked at her brother and said seriously, "I remember that the essence of the Lent waterside ritual is to offer sacrifices to the concept of 'water source' represented by the river. Is it possible that Raymond, who was thrown into the water, was also a sacrifice and was taken away by some being?"

"After that, because there was no corresponding substance, the Loop manifested as disappearance."

Lumian shook his head:

That would trigger Loop.

The event should be triggered when humans leave Cordou Village and the surrounding area.

Aurora asked in a deep voice:

"What if it's in the form of Corpse?"

Note: In Swiss folklore, there is a type of little Elf called "Jester".