The wheels of history rolled forward, kicked along by the Lich.
In the blink of an eye, another December had arrived. It had only been a year since Gray first came to Lion King City. However, to the people of Lion King City, it felt like a century had passed. The entire world had undergone earth-shattering changes.
After the turmoil, people’s lives returned to order. But peace was impossible. Due to Holy Knight Gray residing here, various delegations visited frequently, making this place the center of the Southern Continent. After all, unlike the previous papacy which was unwilling to excessively interfere in secular matters, Holy Knight Gray was very willing to use his power to intervene in worldly affairs whenever he felt something was unjust. This made him the go-to person for almost everyone in the Southern Continent.
And the agreements with the Angels and the Demon Lord became his greatest protection before a crisis arrived, creating a channel for unconventional forces to be invested in the world, thus forging a walking "Holy Spirit."
Gray was busy every day, handling various matters. Now he understood the weight of his identity, no longer making hasty decisions like before. When encountering uncertain issues, he would seek more opinions from others.
"What is the elf trade about?"
"Elf trade has always been prohibited," Count Gruglu replied, "Elves, regardless of gender, are exceptionally beautiful and have lifespans exceeding those of ordinary people by more than ten times. This has led many nobles to want an elf as a slave, offering especially high prices. As a result, many adventurers would sneak into the Elf Forest to abduct elves and then sell them to nobles. These sold elves could serve them for generations before gradually aging. Due to the desire for elves, various countries even attempted to conquer the Elf Clan but failed, suffering a crushing defeat. After that, the Elf Clan and humans forged an agreement requiring humans to prohibit elf trade and impose severe penalties on kidnappers and buyers. This situation has become rare now, not because of the agreement but because the Elf Clan has taken strict precautions, making abductions difficult. The agreement was signed by the Pope representing humans and the Elf Clan, with every Pope reaffirming its validity. I think they are trying to test your attitude."*
"Why only the Wood Elves make this request, not the Blood Elves? Are Blood Elves not beautiful enough?"
"No, that’s not it. Mainly because the Blood Elves have always harbored hostility towards humans, adopting more extreme measures. Adventurers typically target the relatively ’gentler’ Wood Elves. Perhaps the Blood Elves find the agreement redundant now."
"Hostility towards humans? Then why do they seek my support in excavating the Krimasha Relics?"
"Hmm... I’m not sure about that," Count Gruglu said, not understanding everything.
However, Vivian knew the answer.
"Krimasha was a magical civilization from ten thousand years ago, which later declined. To be precise, it wasn’t a location but an era. The Krimasha era marked the pinnacle of human magic civilization."
"Humans had a magical civilization?" Gray was astonished.
"Yes, there was. Actually, I read about it in books since it was from ten thousand years ago," Vivian said, "Human lifespans are exceedingly short. Although their intelligence might be the highest among all races on the continent, their physical limitations are many. They cannot accumulate enough knowledge or condense enough magic power. The best way to engage with magic is like you are now, using the power of the Demon Lord. Humans once widely used the power of Angels or Demons."
"So in that era, almost everyone was either a Holy Knight or a Demon Envoy?"
"Kind of, but definitely not nearly everyone. Angels and Demons weren’t that plentiful. In short, they used the powers of Heaven and Hell to achieve a high level of civilization. But they were later abandoned, and thus the Krimasha era became part of the past."
"Why were they abandoned?"
"Uh... I’m not sure about that either. And that’s another topic," Vivian said, "In short, they were abandoned but left behind many things. These things are called ’Krimasha Relics.’ They are scattered across many places on the continent. Your pendant was excavated from the Krimasha Relics. Blood Elves have always wanted to acquire the knowledge humans accumulated during the Krimasha era, which the papacy has consistently opposed. The largest ’Krimasha Relics’ are within the Gustav Empire, where the papacy even assigned a special army to guard and prohibit anyone from approaching. I think the Blood Elf Queen wants that."
"Should I agree to their request or reject it?"
"I don’t know either. But I can confirm if you reject them, there won’t be any impact. And if you agree with them... then you must prepare for an expedition. After all, it’s within the Gustav Empire. Moreover... you are still not familiar with the internal affairs of humans. Handling relations with other races now seems a bit premature."
Gray thought for a moment and could only reply, "Okay, then I’ll tell them I can’t answer this question for now."