Volume 3, Chapter 25 – Tradition

Odom had intended to lean down, take the hand of the peerless young girl before him, and perform a hand-kissing rite, but his movements instantly froze at that moment.

After noticing the expressions of the people behind the black-haired girl and the faint black aura flickering beside them, Odom’s heart nearly leapt out of his chest, and a dense feeling of dread instantly surged into his mind.

Under Odom’s terrified gaze, Miss Xizhi, standing behind the black-haired girl, slowly raised a finger to point at Odom’s hand and mouth, then made a throat-slitting gesture with a ‘kind’ smile on her face.

Although the other party did not speak, Odom read an intense killing intent from her eyes.

The shadowy memories that he had managed to temporarily push to the back of his mind began to play out in his head again like a slideshow.

Recalling the scene where he had been pinned to the ground and beaten by Xizhi and Qiu Mingtong because he didn’t want to come to the rescue, Odom sucked in a sharp breath, feeling as if he wanted to cry but had no tears. After all, he didn’t even know what he had done to make these people nearby show such murderous expressions!

‘What, what the hell is this!’

Odom couldn’t help but roar in his heart.

Intuition told Odom that if he continued, he might not see tomorrow’s sun.

With his life under threat, Odom suddenly recalled the action his elder brother always used to great effect after offending the Duke of Blackrose.

No matter how much his brother sought death, once he used this move, the Duke of Blackrose generally wouldn’t hold much of a grudge anymore.

‘Nobody’s watching anyway!’

The determined Odom directly cast aside his dignity as Elven royalty. Under the black-haired girl’s utterly bewildered gaze, he abandoned his goal of taking her hand and suddenly leaned down, slamming his head directly onto the ground.

The movement was so practiced it was heartbreaking.

At this moment, the entire cave fell into a deathly silence; all sounds vanished, and one could hear a pin drop. Even the corners of Xizhi and Qiu Mingtong’s eyes twitched, despite their constant signaling earlier. Clearly, the Elven prince’s action had exceeded the two girls’ expectations as well.

Both sides fell into a brief, eerie silence.

It wasn’t until a moment later that Yumo regained her senses and couldn’t help but let out a cry of surprise.

“Huh?”

Seeing the Elven Race prince suddenly kneeling before her, this unexpected scene caused Yumo to frown as countless question marks surfaced around her.

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‘Uh, what’s going on?’

‘Why did he suddenly kneel? I… I didn’t do anything?!’

“Um, what, what are you doing?”

“…”

However, before Odom could reply, the dragon-horned girl behind Yumo walked to her side with a chuckle and said quite seriously (nonsense), “Don’t be too surprised, Lady Yumo. When the Elven Race meets a noble person from a foreign race for the first time, this is how they greet them~”

“Eh? Huh?! What did you say?”

Hearing this, Yumo couldn’t help but twitch.

‘What kind of ghost greeting is this? Kneeling upon meeting someone? Are you kidding me?’

Yumo waved her hands repeatedly, saying suspiciously,

“No, no, no, how is that possible?”

“It’s true, Lady Yumo.”

Qiu Mingtong, who was beside her, also chimed in.

“Although it’s hard to believe, this is indeed their tradition.”

“This? This kind of tradition?”

“Yes, if you don’t believe it, you can ask him?”

“Hmm?”

Hearing those words, Yumo pursed her small mouth slightly and looked at Odom with confusion. She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but Odom’s current kneeling posture seemed much more elegant than before, as if it really were some kind of formal rite.

It just felt like he had changed it on the spot after hearing Xizhi’s words.

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These naughty girls couldn’t be bullying him just because the Elven Race is kind, could they?

“Um, Prince Odom, is this really your Elven Race’s… tradition? It’s fine, just tell the truth.”

Yumo spoke with as much gentleness as possible.

Hearing this, Odom looked up nervously.

Upon seeing Yumo’s signature smile, Odom was momentarily stunned, and an unparalleled sense of unease immediately sprouted from the depths of his heart. From the conversation just now, Odom had already learned that the beautiful girl before him was the leader behind the Blackrose Family, the superior of that Duke of Blackrose.

To be that man’s superior, this girl was definitely not someone to be underestimated! She must be like Xiao, with an appearance full of deception. Possessing a beautiful exterior, but deep inside full of various schemes and plots, capable of tricking someone to death at any moment.

This smile is beautiful, yes…

But he remembered when that Duke of Blackrose first came to the Elven Forest, he had smiled at them just like this. Then, they were beaten to a pulp. Therefore, the girl’s smile was definitely not a friendly one, but a smile full of ill intent! There must be some deeper meaning. Wait? Purposely interrupting my meal, dragging me here, forcing me to kneel, and then asking if it’s a tradition in such a ‘teasing’ tone?

‘This woman is showing me her power! She wants me to understand the status of the Elven Race.’

‘Does she mean the Elven Race can only grovel before humans? If I say it isn’t a tradition, this girl will probably force the kneeling etiquette to become a tradition!’

‘These damn people!!’

At this moment, Odom felt an extremely dense sense of humiliation in his heart.

‘No!’

‘I can’t let this go on. I must resist!’

…

‘Wait?’

‘But is there a possibility that the woman before me really doesn’t know about any tradition? Her smile and question have no special meaning? Am I overthinking it?’

‘No! Impossible!’

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After thinking for a moment, Odom dismissed his own thought.

‘She is the person behind the Blackrose Family; how could she not know these things! She must be putting pressure on me!’

…

Thinking of this, Odom summoned his courage, seemingly wanting to let out a few roars to express his heart’s determination to never surrender. However, when he raised his head again and caught a glimpse of what was behind Lady Yumo from the corner of his eye, Odom froze in place once more. He saw Xizhi and Qiu Mingtong wiping their weapons with cloths, watching him with ‘amiable’ expressions.

Odom: …

After hesitating for exactly 0.1 seconds, Odom immediately displayed an incredibly ‘sincere’ smile and met Yumo’s eyes cheerfully.

‘Dammit… Instead of getting beaten and then having a new ‘tradition’ anyway, I might as well just accept my fate, f*ck!’

In a sense, Odom and the Elven King truly were biological brothers.

“Yes, Lady Yumo, I’m sorry for making you misunderstand. Our Elven Race’s traditions are indeed a bit strange, haha… hahahaha…”

Although he was laughing, as Odom continued to laugh, he seemed to have an urge to cry.

“Hmm? It really is a tradition?”

“Yes… yes.”

“Well, alright then…”

Seeing the Elven prince say so, Yumo could only accept this bizarre etiquette with some bewilderment. After all, the world is vast and full of wonders. Since the Elven Race spent most of their time in isolation within the Elven Forest, it seemed excusable for them to have some etiquette that was out of touch with the times.

It seemed Saibok had told her something similar before.

While muttering to herself, Yumo slowly turned her head to look behind her. In an instant, Xizhi and Qiu Mingtong, who had been intimidating Odom with their gazes, retracted the black aura from their faces and suddenly returned to their usual well-behaved selves.

Yumo: …

After casting a suspicious glance at the two girls, Yumo turned back to look at Odom, who had already slowly stood up after receiving a look from Xizhi.

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“Regardless, I must thank you, Prince Odom, for the help in the rescue just now.”

“No, no, no need for thanks. It was just a minor effort.”

“How could I not thank you? If you were discovered, you would likely become enemies with the Snownight Empire. Taking such a big risk definitely deserves gratitude. Also, those Tears of Nature and various magic scrolls you sent before were really useful! Thank you very much for your help; you’ve solved many problems for us.”

“Hahaha, don’t worry about it, it’s all small stuff, hahaha.”

‘Dammit… Even if I have to be enemies with the Snownight Empire, I don’t want to provoke Blackrose! If we provoke the Snownight Empire, what can they do to us? But provoking Blackrose? We’d probably go straight to meet the King of Hell.’

‘As for the ‘Tears of Nature’, what do you mean we sent them! They were clearly traded by force! F*ck!’

Odom complained in his heart with a sense of grievance.

At this time, Yumo’s curious words once again reached the Elven prince’s ears.

“Speaking of which, Prince Odom, I heard you’re going to the Sky Dome this time? Don’t the Elven Race, especially the royalty, usually live deep within the Elven Forest and rarely communicate with the outside world? Why are you suddenly going to the Sky Dome, Prince?”

“Ah?”

‘This… I didn’t want to go either; wasn’t I forced by you people!’

‘Are you asking even though you already know?’

Of course, Odom wouldn’t say that. Instead, he very tactfully showed a respectful smile.

“Recently, the Chosen Son is going to hold a Coronation Ceremony and has sent invitations to many factions across the continent. For someone who might save the world, our race believes we should go and pay a visit.”

“Hmm? A Coronation Ceremony? All the major factions are going?”

“Yes.”

“Oh? That sounds a bit interesting…”

Yumo raised an eyebrow, a hint of interest surfacing in her crimson eyes.