The second day

Southern Continent, Lacré Region.

During the day, Darsh Lake is crystal clear, reflecting the blue sky and distant Snow Mountains, creating a dreamlike and enchanting scene.

Lumian had no time to appreciate the beautiful scenery. He was leading Ludwig, who had changed into a woolen suit jacket, and Lugano, who was wearing a light cotton coat, slowly around a pit at the edge of the forest to the side.

Inside the pit were highly decomposed Corpse, in a semi-melted state, as if they had merged with the surrounding soil, decomposing themselves in a unique way and allowing nutrients to return to the earth.

Seeing this, Lumian roughly understood why Oseto, the "Witch King," didn't destroy the Corpse after performing the Ritual, leaving behind evidence and traces of his crime:

Burying the Corpse and returning them to the earth should be part of the Ritual!

Last night, after reading the information provided by the "Knight of Swords," Lumian had a clearer idea of how to find Oseto, an important follower of the "Primordial Moon."

Clearly, conventional methods such as "Magic Mirror Divination" would not be effective; otherwise, That One Temperance Faction Member, the Knight of Swords ' companion with a very strong spiritual intuition, would have found Oseto long ago.

Lumian currently has three ideas:

One possibility is that Oseto is a member of the "Rose School" and has long associated with the Indulgence Faction, embracing the idea of indulgence. The suggestion is to have Franca and Jenna, the two "Witch," dress up carefully and wander around Lacray City to see if they can encounter Oseto, thus prompting this "Witch King," who never Temperance his desires, to make a move. Of course, this would certainly be under the protection of the Temperance Faction.

Furthermore, Anthony would also follow Franca and Jenna using methods such as "Psychological Invisibility" or disguising himself as Ordinary Person, observing the reactions of those around them upon seeing the two "Witch" to see if they would show any obvious malice. In this way, he could identify Oseto before he actually made a move and eliminate the danger before it occurred.

As for whether Oseto has already accepted the "Great Mother's " Gift and become a woman, this detail does not affect the two "Witch" tempting him— Lumian deduced from the situations of Madame Pualis and Franca that Oseto would still like women, at most he would also like men at the same time.

Secondly, by taking advantage of the special condition that they have the bloodline of Ombella and that the Gifted of the "Great Mother's " gifts can sense her within a certain distance, they can wander around the Lacray Region and try to lure out Oseto. Similarly, Lugano, who has some kind of anomaly and may be related to the "Great Mother," is also a good bait.

Third, we need to re-explore the site left by Oseto to see what is edible.

Lumian pinched his nose, carefully examined the marks inside and outside the pit and the dozens of Corpse for a while, then turned his head and asked Ludwig:

Is it dirty?

"It's very dirty." Ludwig nodded vigorously.

"Dirty from the ' Great Mother '?" Lumian asked further.

Ludwig grunted in response, his expression filled with struggle.

Then, unsurprisingly, he heard the Godfather ask him:

Is it edible?

Upon hearing this question, Lugano, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but gag. Maric, the "Knight of Swords" who had been quietly watching and suppressing his emotions, twitched his eyebrows slightly.

Ludwig replied reluctantly, "Yes."

"After consuming it, will you be able to sense the child born from the Corpse?" Lumian asked further.

Based on his experience, these Corpse must have been passively conceived during that Ritual, with Bird-Clawed Monster growing rapidly inside their bellies. Then, these Bird-Clawed Monster Infant tore open the mother's belly, absorbed the corresponding residue, and crawled out on their own.

From Mysticism perspective, whether actively or passively, willingly or forcibly, the Bird-Clawed Monster Infant and the Corpse have the closest blood connection, and can easily find the other through one, and even complete the Curse remotely.

However, the "Knight of Swords" records say that their Divination using blood ties yielded no results, and the Bird-Clawed Monster Infant that crawled out of the Corpse seemed to have vanished from the world.

This might be due to a powerful Anti-Divination by High-Ranking Being, or it might be that the Bird-Clawed Monster Infant ' condition has Change. Lumian can only hope that Ludwig will glean some different information from what he eats.

Ludwig, with a somber expression, said, "A small amount of the Corpse's blood can be obtained through some cooking method. While this won't help me detect the child's location and condition from a great distance, I should be able to sense its presence if both are within thirty meters."

"Okay." Lumian felt the results were better than expected.

Then he watched as Ludwig crouched down and used a silver children's knife and fork to pry a piece of half-melted, half-rotten flesh from one of the Corpse.

The oozing yellow pus and the disgusting state of the flesh itself made Lugano turn around and gaze at Darsh Lake in the distance and the Lacray City on the other side of the lake.

Ludwig then had Lumian take out an iron pot, a stand, wheat flour, Liqueur, several spices, and a block of solidified Lard from the "Traveler’s Bag."

Lumian took on the role of "Cook's " assistant, mainly responsible for starting the fire, while Ludwig first melted the Lard, then added a little Liqueur and several spices, frying it to create a rich and enticing aroma.

Next, he wrapped the rotten flesh in wheat flour, threw it into an iron pot, and fried it in dark-colored, fragrant Lard.

The fragrance and the stench mingled together, gradually spreading out.

Finally, Ludwig finished cooking, picked up a golden-brown fried meatball, and stuffed it into his mouth.

As he chewed, tears seemed to well up in his eyes, and he looked aggrieved, as if he had been bullied.

"You didn't complain about how bad it tasted when you ate ' Loki ' raw," Lumian joked.

Ludwig muttered, "Rotten food doesn't taste good, and it has no spiritual essence either."

After swallowing the rather appealing fried meatballs, Ludwig slowly said, savoring the taste, "The deceased's birthday is the second day of the year."

"Is there anything special about this?" Lumian asked.

Ludwig quickly stuffed the candy into his mouth and casually replied, "In mythology, on the first day, the world was Primordial One; on the second day, the ' Great Mother ' was born."

"How come I've never heard of such a myth or legend..." Lugano muttered to himself, his back to Ludwig.

Lumian then thoughtfully turned his gaze to the other Corpse:

"Could their birthdays also be on the second day of the year?"

"I remember that the New Year celebrations of many Tribes in the Southern Continent are different from those in the Northern Continent. The first day of each year is not always January 1st. So, what exactly is the second day of each year, and which calendar do they use?"

Ludwig, with a candy in his mouth, said, "Any kind is fine, as long as it's the second day of the new year according to the calendar I believe in."

Purely symbolic... Lumian turned to look at the "Knight of Swords":

Have you confirmed the identities and birthdates of these Corpse?

Lacray is a relatively prosperous region in the Stars Plateau, with a sizable population. It is similar to the area where Rhaps, the "White City" that Lumian visited before, is located. It was one of the several strongholds of the ancient Highland Kingdom that ruled the entire Stars Plateau.

This area is known for its rich mineral resources, but the mining sites are miraculously far from Darsh Lake, allowing the sacred lake in the hearts of the Highlanders to remain pristine.

In the Past, the Stars Plateau was mainly contested between the Republic of Intis and the Feysac Empire. After the war a few years ago, the power of the Feysac Empire declined, and the Kingdom of Loen slowly extended its reach. Even the Church of the Goddess of Evernight of Loen seemed to have begun to preach in this area. Lumian had heard about this when he was in Rhaps.

The place with the highest concentration of Loenian in the entire Stars Plateau is Lacray, the "city on the mines".

"Knight of Swords" Maric nodded slowly and said, "Ninety percent of the Corpse have been confirmed. According to the Northern Continent calendar, most of them were born on January 2nd, and the rest were born on the second day of the new year according to the local calendar."

"Those whose identities are still uncertain are likely Outsider. They may have come here voluntarily or involuntarily. Give us a little more time, and we'll definitely be able to find out their identities."

The sample size was large enough to largely match Ludwig's account, suggesting the Ritual required a strong symbolic representation of the "Great Mother"... Lumian didn't stop the Temperance Faction from wasting their energy confirming the identities of the remaining victims, just in case there were other oddities.

Lumian glanced at the Lacray City across the lake and said, "Let's go back to the city now and wander around."

It depends on whether it's Ombella's Bloodline, the anomaly of the "Earth" Pathway, or the bloodline connection with the Bird-Clawed Monster Infant that's more likely to play a role!

After walking for a while along the shimmering, sky-blue Darsh Lake towards the city with its many Gray-White stone houses, Lumian suddenly thought of a problem related to books.

He inquired about the "Knight of Swords" walking quietly beside him:

"Within the ' Rose School,' Oseto was in charge of the Lacré Region?"

"Not before, but not sure now," the Knight of Swords replied succinctly.

Lumian nodded, muttering to himself, "If he wasn't in charge of the Lacré Region and was just passing through when he started a ritual, he should have left after the Ritual. Why is he still here?"

Did he have a deeper purpose in going to the Lacré Region?

"Or perhaps the ' Rose School ' intends to take action here?"

The Knight of Swords paused for a few seconds before saying, "We suspect there's a deeper purpose behind this."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Before the establishment of the Highland Kingdom, many areas of the Stars Plateau worshipped the ' Death God Death God,' and Lacray was the place most influenced by this belief. Even today, traces of Death Worship still remain in some of the local people's customs."

As they spoke, the three adults and one child arrived outside the Lacray City.

Compared to the refined "White City" of Rhaps, the buildings here are quite rugged. Although some people wear dark red Robe and brightly colored skirts, most of them wear more durable canvas work clothes.

Even before Lumian approached the road into the city, he could feel the noise and bustle.