Chapter 359 First Encounter with Shadow <TOC> Chapter 361 Extraordinary Gathering
Translator: SumTLMan
Leonrique invited Angel to take a seat.
“Lord Mask, can you save my daughter?” As soon as she sat down, Cynthia hurriedly spoke, afraid that Angel would vanish in the next second.
Angel looked up at Cynthia, and in just five days, the once elegant and composed lady had become haggard and unrecognizable. Even though her hair was still meticulously combed, it was no longer adorned with decorations; her plump cheeks had become hollow, and her skin had turned a waxy yellow.
It was the mother who suffered the most due to her daughter’s misfortune.
Angel bowed his head slightly, reminded of his own mother by Cynthia’s love for her daughter. She, too, had loved him and his brother unconditionally, even to her last moment.
Angel’s silence left Cynthia staring blankly, sitting in her chair, as silent tears flowed down her cheeks.
“Dr. Caroline, can you help me take Cynthia back to her bedroom?” Although Leonrique was also sad, he was the only one who could bear the burden of the entire family at this moment, and he could not collapse.
Caroline nodded: “Yes. The lady hasn’t closed her eyes for days and needs to rest.” With that, Caroline led Cynthia away from the hall, leaving Angel and Leonrique alone.
Angel: “I heard from Bal that you found a clue?”
Leonrique appeared slightly uneasy: “Not really a clue, but I saw a city legend in a travelogue at the Central Library.” As he spoke, Leonrique’s speech quickened, and his expression became sorrowful: “I don’t think it has anything to do with the little shadow, but I’m really out of options. Magda woke up these few days, but…”
Angel interrupted him: “Let’s not discuss irrelevant matters for now. I want to hear the city legend you told Bal.”
Angel’s solemn expression made Leonrique pause, a suspicion rose in his heart, one he didn’t even believe himself: Could it be that the city legend he saw happened to be related to this matter?
Considering this possibility, Leonrique immediately sat upright and began recounting the city legend from the beginning:
“It is said that a thousand years ago, in Siporak, there lived a race that loved to dwell in human families, called the Kulakuka tribe. The local people of Siporak called this race the Little People, or the Fairies in the Attic.”
“They were small in stature, mostly no larger than a palm. They were gentle and kind, good at singing and dancing, and loved to make various exquisite ornaments. Whenever the Kulakuka tribe was present, life would become more refined, as they especially loved to repair and decorate rooms. Humans also liked them very much and would even make room for them, but the Kulakuka tribe was not a race that liked to bother humans. Their small size did not require large rooms, so they often lived in attics or under the floor, hence the name Fairies in the Attic.”
“Initially, the Kulakuka and humans were the closest of companions, and there was even a legend in Siporak that as long as a family had a Kulakuka living with them, the family would be forever happy and harmonious. However, it was because of this legend that the Kulakuka tribe faced its greatest disaster.”
“On that day, a drastic change occurred in Siporak, as war arrived and smoke from gunfire filled the air. The people living there began to flee, many left for other lands, wandering abroad… The war lasted ten years, and when a new regime was established, Siporak, once a prosperous city, had become fragmented. The wandering children would eventually return home; after ten years of drifting, they came back to their homeland with their weary bodies, only to see broken houses and moss everywhere.”
“But strangely, the houses that once hosted the Kulakuka tribe remained intact. When these wanderers who had been away for ten years returned, they found that the Kulakuka tribespeople had not died; they still lived in their original homes, waiting for the wanderers to come back…”
As he reached this point, Leonrique let out a soft sigh: “The Kulakuka tribe were too pure and kind-hearted; they believed that the people of the past were still the same. However, while people may not change, their thoughts and hearts do, especially after a war and ten years of wandering. The people of Siporak learned many things but also lost a great deal.”
“They learned greed, how to fight for resources, and the art of war; at the same time, they lost their kindness, innocence, and happiness.”
“The Kulakuka tribe, when faced with the new Siporak people, suffered a devastating blow that nearly wiped them out. Many Kulakuka tribespeople were captured, sold, and some were even tortured and abused out of human jealousy.”
“Then, the Kulakuka tribe disappeared from human sight and vanished from the annals of history.”
After Leonrique finished recounting the legend of the city he had seen, he whispered: “Perhaps the reason why the houses remained undamaged during the war was that the Kulakuka tribe had been diligently repairing them, just waiting for their former masters to return. But regrettably…”
“Those who returned had become demons,” Angel whispered, completing the thought.
Leonrique nodded: “The fortune of the Kulakuka tribe lay in their belief and affection for humanity; but their misfortune was also due to their excessive trust in humans, who are the most changeable of all.”
Angel contemplated the story, thinking that if this were a story written by humans, it would be an enlightening one, teaching us to maintain goodness and warning us that war is the source of all suffering.
But… what if this were not just a story, but reality?
A thousand years ago, war, Siporak, Kulakuka, stories… Angel sorted through the keywords one by one until suddenly, something came to mind.
Angel raised his head: “Is Siporak actually what we now call Votegrass?”
Leonrique lowered his head and lamented: “Yes, the Siporak in the story is now Votegrass.”
“Then the war a thousand years ago? Was it the war that established the Whiskas Royal Court?” Angel recalled that Bal had once said that the establishment of the Whiskas Royal Court was only a thousand years ago.
Leonrique nodded, “If nothing unexpected happened, it should be. The former Votegrass was renamed Watthelmgrass by the king at the time after the establishment of the royal court…” At this point, Leonrique shook his head slightly, “Forty years ago, I was only sixteen years old when I took over Watthelmgrass. At that time, the local customs were quite similar to those in the story of Votegrass people, with the land being barren and the people being unruly. I spent half of my life improving it, building houses, promoting education, and spreading morality. It took forty years to see the initial results.”
“But now, when I should be enjoying the fruits of my labor, this incident happened. My late-born and only daughter has been…” Leonrique’s voice broke with emotion, tears flowing down his cheeks, “If the little shadow that stole my daughter is the long-lost Kulakuka tribe, does this mean that the debt our ancestors owe is due to be repaid?”
By the time Leonrique had cried enough and regained his composure, Angel shook his head, “No, that’s not it.”
“Why not?”
“If it were for the purpose of collecting a debt, they wouldn’t specifically target people with blond hair and blue eyes,” Angel said, subconsciously smoothing his messy golden hair.
“Lord, is the Kulakuka tribe really the one that stole the shadows?” Leonrique pondered for a while before asking the biggest question in his heart.
“I don’t know.” Angel recalled the conversation with Shadow the night before and thought about what the Magician had said. It seemed clear that Shadow had a preference for blond-haired, blue-eyed people, “But it’s highly likely.”
“What should I do? Where can I find the Kulakuka tribe?” Leonrique seemed to see a glimmer of hope and eagerly asked.
Angel didn’t answer, but instead stood up and bid farewell to Leonrique, “Thank you for the information, Count. We’ll part ways here for today.”
Seeing this, Leonrique looked helpless and disappointed. Was there really no solution?
It wasn’t until Angel had completely vanished into the darkness that Leonrique covered his face and cried silently.
Just as Leonrique was sinking into despair, he heard a familiar voice in his ear.
“If you have the courage to face the wrath of a wizard who can destroy Watthelmgrass, you can come to find me.”
…
Angel didn’t actually leave; he used Boundless Silence to hide nearby and tested the voice transmission spell for the first time, wanting to see its specific effects.
Judging by Leonrique’s expression, it seemed like he had received the message?
“Wizard? What wizard? Is it the Magician that Bal mentioned?” Leonrique asked loudly.
His shout confirmed to Angel that the voice transmission spell had worked. Angel didn’t intend to respond to Leonrique; instead, he slowly disappeared into the darkness and left the count’s estate.
Upon returning to the villa in Bay Area, Angel stepped into the courtyard and discovered an odd scene.
Bal and Totoro were sitting together, with Dushana sitting opposite them, her face serious. Totoro looked bewildered, while Bal kept his head down, not daring to make a sound.
“How come, Bal, are you planning to come here and learn with Totoro?” Angel entered.
Bal, as if he had encountered his savior, immediately crawled and rolled to kneel before Angel, “Lord, please take me out of here, I can’t take it anymore.”
With tears and snot streaming down his face, Bal recounted his painful morning.
He wanted to leave the place, but as soon as he stepped outside, he fell into an illusion, seeing his enemies coming to kill him. He cried and made a fuss for a long time before returning to the villa, where the illusion finally disappeared.
He dared not leave and could only obediently stay in the villa waiting for Angel to return.
But then, Dushana ran over to him and began to berate him. The reason was that when he was seeing ghosts and making a fuss outside earlier, he had mentioned some of the crimes he had committed in the past. His past crimes were too numerous to be written in a small book, so at first, he completely ignored Dushana and even showed a fierce and ferocious expression, trying to intimidate her. But Dushana, relying on her advanced age, was not afraid of Bal’s threat at all and became even more enthusiastic in her scolding.
Bal also dared not truly harm Dushana, as he knew that Angel was standing behind her. Under such circumstances, Bal eventually had no choice but to listen obediently.
After listening to Bal’s complaints, Angel couldn’t help but laugh, “Grandma Dushana just wants you to turn over a new leaf.”
Bal wanted to cry but had no tears: he didn’t want to turn over a new leaf at all!
Angel looked at the indignant Dushana and then at the speechless Bal. He suddenly smiled and said, “How about this, Bal. In the next few days, follow Dushana, protect her and Totoro’s safety, and learn the principles of being a good person from Grandma Dushana. I can give you permission to enter and leave the villa.”
Bal was shocked and paled, shaking his head repeatedly. He couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to be nagged by Dushana all day long… But Angel’s smile sent a shiver down his spine, and he could only tearfully and painfully agree.
“Now that Bal is here to protect you, Grandma Dushana, you can continue with your original teaching plan tomorrow.”
After solving this problem, Angel signaled for Bal to follow him inside.
Chapter 359 First Encounter with Shadow <TOC> Chapter 361 Extraordinary Gathering