DKIE CH54: Face to Face

Luka, who was used to dealing with things all at once, was momentarily stunned.

Is this a solo kill?

What followed seemed to confirm the Quill Pen’s words. The Elf King kept the High Priest detained, and every time the latter tried to find an excuse to leave, he was refused.

A priest, carrying a hundred drops of Life Elixir, was unable to return for a long time. If the Holy Court made no move, it would be equivalent to admitting everything. But if they publicly pressured the elven race, there was a chance of being exposed. It was a true dilemma.

Luka, with a clear conscience, composed music and researched magical frameworks daily, while silently enjoying the show.

After another half a month, when the first snow fell on the human lands, another visitor arrived by sea from the north.

The newcomer wore a snow-white cloak and held a ruby-hilted longsword. Like ice and snow itself, even among the elves where it was spring year-round, there was no sense of seasonal dissonance.

Long before the ship docked, the elves in the forest had begun to pay attention to this extraordinarily large dragon ship.

A woman with a unique aura stepped off.

The ranger’s expression was much more solemn than when he had faced the High Priest. His gaze fell on the prominent cross symbol on the woman’s scabbard.

He ordered, “Let them pass!”

A priest could not represent the Holy Court, but a Saintess could.

One was a visitor, the other represented diplomacy.

Since ancient times, the Holy Court had been extremely strict with its requirements for the Saintess, including age, so the succession of Saintesses had been very frequent, usually serving for only about two years.

Only the Saintess of this generation had been in office for a full thirty years.

The reasons for this were unknown. The outside world only knew that during this period, the Holy Court had been very unstable and had experienced several major incidents, but the Saintess’s position had always been stable. This point alone was not to be underestimated.

The Saintess had only brought one female attendant on this trip, with no other divine envoys following. This was one of the reasons she was allowed direct passage.

From the moment the Saintess appeared, the surrounding air seemed to have been purified. The visitors on the beach couldn’t help but keep stealing glances, wanting to see what was so different about this legendary figure.

Unfortunately, before they could study for too long, their line of sight was blocked by the forest barrier ahead.

The ranger led the way to the palace. Since she was not a normal trading visitor, a guard went to announce her first. A moment later, the Saintess was invited into the royal hall, but the guard continued walking in another direction without stopping.

In the treehouse, the indoor temperature was pleasant, and the bouquet of flowers on the table was fresh and vibrant.

Luka was buried in his writing.

When the guard arrived, his expression was slightly complicated.

Even the relatively isolated elven race knew about the relationship between Iliad and the Saintess.

He didn’t know how to be tactful and announced in a stiff, formal manner, “The Saintess has arrived. His Majesty requests your presence.”

Luka’s pen tip paused. A few seconds later, he looked up and smiled. “Alright.”

Then he quickened his pace, seemingly preparing to finish the chapter before going over.

Seeing this, the Quill Pen said, “I’ll go take a look first.”

The air outside was too fresh, and the faint coolness in it made the Quill Pen’s brow furrow slightly.

Luka never procrastinated. Not going over immediately showed some degree of avoidance.

A child’s feelings for their mother are always special. If the Saintess had come specifically for this and played the emotion card, the other might not be able to withstand it.

“What a hassle.”

The Quill Pen realized the importance of strengthening the network, or more accurately, the negative effects of this platform.

The resentment and negative emotions born within it could help him recover his strength more efficiently.

At that time, if he saw any problematic forces, he would just clear the field directly.

At the palace gate, the guard who hadn’t “studied hard” was stubbornly standing guard today.

As the Quill Pen was about to arrive, a voice came from within the royal hall. “I heard that child has also come to the elven lands.”

The woman’s voice was strange, possessing a power that could calm one’s heart.

As she was speaking, she seemed to sense something.

The Saintess turned to the side. A full dozen seconds later, she let out a soft, shallow sigh. “He’s grown up.”

Her words paused slightly. “…All these years, I have been keeping up with your news.”

The Elf King said nothing.

The High Priest’s eyelids trembled. The Saintess was known for her approachability, always meticulous and considerate. Only her confidants knew of her true coldness.

Today, this ever-successful approachability was clearly being used in the wrong place.

After a moment of silence, the Quill Pen smiled playfully.

He still had the black-haired appearance from his time in the Holy City, but anyone who read a newspaper would know what Luka looked like.

After this stalemate for a while, footsteps came from behind.

Luka arrived late, holding the ferret.

Seeing the Quill Pen stopped at the door and not going in, he subconsciously looked at the white-clad woman beside him for two extra seconds.

Is this the Saintess?

Luka stepped forward and said to the female attendant outside the door, “Mother, you’ve finally come.”

The memory of the Saintess’s appearance had long faded, only a snow-white shadow remained.

But this did not prevent Luka from preventing emotional blackmail by playing the victim first. “After you left, I dreamed of you almost every night.”

The air fell silent very suddenly.

Luka sensed that the atmosphere was not right. Just as he was about to speak again, he unexpectedly discovered that there was another faint figure in the royal hall. He seemed to realize something.

Almost immediately, that snow-white figure took the initiative to appear outside the door.

Luka’s movement of looking up was half a beat slow as he carefully examined the woman before him.

She was very tall, draped in a soft, snow-white cloak. Her smooth forehead was covered. Just half of her face was already a beauty rarely seen in the world.

Looking at this face that was sixty to seventy percent similar to his own, he readjusted his emotions. “Mother, you’ve finally come.”

The Saintess’s smile was as before. “You’ve grown up.”

Luka sighed. “I dream of you every night.”

The Saintess: “I have also been keeping up with your news.”

Both of them had a sense of happy reunion that disregarded the lives of others.

In the next second, they both fell silent at the same time.

When they weren’t speaking, their temperaments were actually very similar, both possessing the tranquility of a snowy glacier.

The scene was so harmonious that the guards and the female attendant at the door began to doubt themselves, as if the incident of them both mistaking the person earlier had never happened.

After a brief reunion, the Saintess sat down gracefully.

She seemed to have a thousand faces, and she didn’t hide it. When she looked at the Elf King, she had returned to her noble and cold appearance.

“The priest has not returned for a long time. Does Your Excellency feel that there is something inappropriate about this transaction?”

The Elf King was concise. “The Life Elixir.”

The Saintess: “In terms of quantity…”

The Elf King interrupted, “Quality.”

The Saintess broke the silence very directly. “Are you suspecting that the Life Elixir is fake?”

Before the Elf King could speak, she said calmly and firmly, “There are many visitors who come seeking medicine. Your Excellency can find any injured person and give him a drop, or have a high-level pharmacist examine it personally.”

The Saintess was decisive and swift in her actions. After speaking, she actually had the High Priest take out the Life Elixir and hand it over to the Elf King on the spot.

This kind of boldness was beyond imagination and successfully stunned everyone present.

The Elf King said nothing. He looked at the porcelain bottle in front of him, which emanated a thick aura of life, and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

The Saintess stood up. “Let’s set a limit of ten days. That should be enough for you to conduct your verification. After several days of tiring travel, could you first arrange a place for me to rest?”

Thinking of something, she looked at Luka. “We haven’t seen each other for many years. It would be best if I could be close to this child.”

The Quill Pen had no goodwill towards the Saintess, but he had to admit that her way of handling things was somewhat similar to Luka’s.

Both would first show the greatest sincerity, then unknowingly seize the right to speak.

When the elven race acted as hosts for diplomatic activities, they would hold a banquet as a welcome.

That evening, the banquet was held in a large circular hall at the top of a mushroom. During the banquet, there were dishes worthy of a state dinner, and elves singing and dancing.

Luka was treated with great hospitality.

The other elves’ attitude towards him was far better than towards the Saintess. They invited him to sing and play instruments with them. The Saintess was not annoyed at all by this, and watched everything with a gentle, water-like gaze throughout the entire event.

It was clear that she was truly very happy.

After drinking too much fruit wine, Luka’s steps were still a bit unsteady when he returned to the treehouse.

He groggily cast a cleaning spell and went to bed early.

The Quill Pen sat by the side, keeping watch through the night, his eyes half-lowered as he studied the magical framework. The communication software required many modules, and linking them all together was quite difficult.

At midnight, Luka’s breathing suddenly became rapid. The Quill Pen realized something was wrong and was about to wake him.

Luka first sat up with a carp-like flip, drenched in cold sweat.

“Had a nightmare?”

There was no longer any trace of drunkenness in Luka’s eyes. The first thing he did was turn his head to look out the window, his gaze extremely penetrating.

“I think… my dream was invaded.”

The Quill Pen’s gaze suddenly became sharp.

Luka wasn’t certain, because the time was very short.

“Based on my experience of entering the Demon King’s dream, the possibility is very high.” He analyzed methodically, as if he weren’t the victim.

“When I truly saw the Saintess, my mood was a bit complicated, so I had a few more drinks. After the banquet, one feels a brief moment of relaxation. Logically and emotionally, it was the best point for dream invasion.”

His faith magic made his senses very sharp. The feeling of dream invasion earlier was probably not a misperception.

The Quill Pen was born into a fallen royal family, and his family relationships were cold. But compared to Luka’s experience, it was thousands of times better.

He concealed the killing intent in his eyes, his tone calm, but his words carried a sense of comfort.

“It doesn’t matter. Even if they know you want to build a network, they won’t be able to replicate it in a short time.”

Luka waved his hand. “They couldn’t know a single thing.”

The Quill Pen raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Luka had been busy with the network recently. Under normal circumstances, his dreams would definitely reflect that.

“Did you dream of something else?”

“Castrating the Demon King.”

The Quill Pen’s pupils shrank slightly.

Luka didn’t understand why he was so surprised. “Didn’t I say when we first met that I would do this sooner or later?”

“…” The Quill Pen just hadn’t expected him to be so true to his original intention.

But Luka seemed to have thought of something and muttered to himself, “Dreams are very inclusive. They are equivalent to another space.”

Here, natural disasters, tsunamis, and fields of corpses could be easily accommodated.

His gaze slowly shifted to the thin paper in the Quill Pen’s hand, which was covered with dense magical formulas.

Finally, he suddenly asked, “A flat construction has its natural limitations. What if we switch to a three-dimensional one?”

The Quill Pen considered the feasibility. “You mean to superimpose spatial magic and stuff some things inside?”

He became interested. Normally, no one would do this because the magical framework itself was very fragile, and adding another layer would easily cause it to collapse.

But there was always a balance point in all things, and Luka was abnormally sensitive to space. Perhaps it was worth a try.

To add spatial magic, they couldn’t try it on paper. After the Return Hunt, Luka now had ample resources. He took out a high-grade blank scroll from his storage ring.

Referring to the previously failed magic system, the Quill Pen found a few places that were relatively suitable for superposition and randomly chose one.

He skillfully superimposed a layer of spatial magic and commented, “It’s very unstable.”

Luka: “It’s fine. Let’s stuff it in first.”

The Quill Pen had thought the same thing. First, test its tolerance and see how many magical combinations a single space could accommodate.

This process was very fast. The spatial tolerance was stronger than they had imagined.

Luka looked at the somewhat deformed magic system. “Why don’t we try running it again?”

The Quill Pen: “Are you sure?”

They had just thrown it together casually. Many parts were extremely crude.

The entire system now looked like a monster with incredibly thin limbs and a huge belly, a belly that looked like it would burst in the next moment.

The instinct for a lucky break is innate to humans. Luka nodded heavily. For this, he even went to wash his hands, preparing to activate it himself.

“Come on, let’s bow.”

Even hearing it a second time, the Quill Pen still found it quite absurd.

Considering that someone had just been frightened by a dream invasion, a little foolishness wouldn’t hurt.

He sighed. “Alright.”

Luka, with great ceremony, flattened the scroll, allowing the moonlight to shine in, calling it “absorbing the essence of heaven and earth.”

Kneeling and kowtowing was too exaggerated. A shallow bow would suffice.

“Come on, I’ll count to three, two, one, together.”

“Three, two… one!”

The moonlight covered the ground. As the countdown ended, the figures standing on either side of the table bowed at the same time.

The last “one” was slightly louder. The ferret on the windowsill was awakened. It covered its mouth and yawned elegantly. As it opened its eyes, it saw the husband and wife bowing to each other.

It rubbed its eyes with its paw.

Squeak?!

What happened!

During the activation process, the demonic inscriptions lit up one by one. They dimmed briefly when passing through the spatial nodes, but before the onlookers could get nervous, the next set of inscriptions also lit up completely.

At first, the Quill Pen was absent-minded. After two-thirds had been successfully activated, his gaze also became three parts more solemn.

???

Could such a technical task succeed so sloppily?

Compared to the failure of the previous night’s research, he was even less able to accept such a casual perfection.

Luka held his breath even more.

Only a few demonic inscriptions were left. The light continued to flow. The moment it was completely lit up, forming a virtuous cycle, Luka’s eyes also lit up.

“It worked!”

In his excitement, he directly hugged the Quill Pen. “We succeeded!”

With his neck being held, the Quill Pen, who was still in astonishment, froze on the spot.

After opening the window, it wasn’t very soundproof. The genuinely excited voice echoed nearby.

In the room next door, the Saintess sighed lightly by the window, wondering what that “succeeded” referred to.

This timing was truly subtle. After being ‘awakened’ by a dream, he suddenly shouted in success.

Some were happy, some were worried.

Luka slept very well for the latter half of the night. The most difficult magic system had been conquered and formed. All that was left was to copy and upload it one-to-one into the Tree of Wisdom’s space.

The most basic online social platform was born!

…

The next day, he woke up early and went to find the Elf King as if on fire.

The guard on duty reminded him that the Saintess was also there.

Luka hesitated for a moment. After thanking him for the reminder, he suddenly turned back to the treehouse.

The Quill Pen was studying the magic system, not understanding how a deformed framework had successfully operated.

Seeing him return, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Let’s go, let’s go watch the fun together.” The Saintess wouldn’t go looking for the Elf King for no reason. There must be some big show to watch.

Before leaving, Luka considered for a moment, then gave a few instructions to the ferret perched on the windowsill before setting off again.

This time, he walked straight to the palace without stopping.

There were no animal performances in the royal hall today. Not only the Saintess, but the High Priest was also there.

An elder of the elven race was reporting on the situation. The Saintess sat to one side. When she saw Luka, her eyes flickered slightly.

After the elder finished speaking and withdrew, the Elf King lowered his eyes in thought.

All the elders in the clan had tested the Life Elixir and confirmed that no problems were found.

They had also checked the records of past users of the Life Elixir and found no records of sudden death or harm.

The Saintess spoke, “I am visiting on behalf of the Holy Court and can stay for some more days. But in a while, it will be the celebration of the founding of the human city-states. Everyone will be very busy, so the priest must go back first.”

From her arrival on the elf island, every step had been precisely timed.

Under the circumstances where no problem could be found with the Life Elixir, the elven race was in the wrong. The Saintess did not take the opportunity to demand to leave, but instead took the initiative to stay. It would be unreasonable for the Elf King to still disagree.

Unfortunately, the Elf King was not so easily persuaded.

In a silent confrontation where neither would give way, Luka, who had just entered, suddenly smiled.

He looked at the Elf King. “You still have doubts about the Life Elixir, and on the Holy Court’s side, even if it’s proven to be fine, it has delayed their time and energy. This cannot be erased with simple compensation.”

The Saintess had a bad premonition and was subconsciously about to find a way to interrupt Luka’s interjection.

Who would have thought that not only was the Elf King not annoyed, but he even let Luka continue.

“It’s actually very simple.” Luka looked at the Saintess and said only three words: “You drink it.”

According to the description of the Life Elixir’s effects, even if used without illness or disaster, it could preserve youth and activate bodily functions.

“Drink it all in one go, and you’ll definitely be in great shape.”

So that was his idea.

The Saintess’s expression shifted slightly upon hearing this. She immediately drew her sword. The sword’s light carried a frosty chill, and she was actually about to injure herself.

Before the tip of the sword could cut the skin, it was stopped by a vine that appeared out of thin air.

The Saintess did not immediately break free from the vine. Instead, she stared at the tip of the sword. “If this sword goes a few inches deeper into the skin, it can freeze the breath of life. I don’t mind personally demonstrating the effect of the Life Elixir.”

Her calm fearlessness would make anyone who saw it believe her seven-tenths of the way, making Luka seem aggressive instead.

Luka was also staring at the sword, but at the cross on the scabbard.

In his original world, the cross was originally an instrument of torture, later mythologized.

Across different times and spaces, he hadn’t expected the Holy Court to also use the cross as its symbolic emblem. What an ironic coincidence.

A light sigh brought him back to his senses.

The Saintess looked over with a gaze that carried a hidden apology. “I know you have resentment in your heart, but that is a private matter.”

Luka frowned slightly. Before he could speak, the Elf King on the main seat said lightly, “It is not appropriate to see blood in the hall. Do as he says.”

The Saintess frowned. “Why waste a god-sent gift? It clearly only needs a few drops…”

“The Holy Court will not be at a loss,” the Elf King did not like to repeat nonsense. “After it’s confirmed there’s no problem, you can still take the Wisdom Fruit with you.”

This time, however, the Saintess was no longer decisive and swift.

Luka suddenly found it interesting. The Saintess wasn’t afraid of inspection, nor was she afraid of using a small amount on an injury, but she dared not consume it all at once.

Could it be that the side effects were related to the dosage?

Does a quantitative change lead to a qualitative change?

On the other side, seeing the Saintess suddenly stop her actions, the Elf King’s expression grew colder and colder.

The guards at the door also lost their usual friendliness. Their fingers were already on their weapons, ready to draw their bows and arrows at any moment.

Luka’s Diary Excerpt:
I’m quietly building a network on the elf island. Why are they all coming to my door one by one? [Dalang, drink your medicine.jpg]¹

Alec: @HolyCourt, why did you provoke him?

1. a meme referencing a historical story about poisoning ↩︎

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