Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1363 - 149: Not the First Time Opening

"Do you know that we are to pay a visit to the King of the Undead?" Catherine said in surprise, "We hadn’t mentioned it, and I thought only the village and town leaders would know. I didn’t expect all of you leaders to be aware as well."

"Haha, you don’t understand, the King rarely issues orders, but who knew that this time he suddenly announced he wanted to meet the guests of the master in advance. For us, the King’s rare issuance of such a specific command is quite sensational, probably most of the city knows by now, not just us leaders," Shiela said with a laugh, shaking her head, "But there’s no need to worry, it’s definitely too late for tonight. When the King sleeps, not even the city bell can wake him. Let’s just let him continue to sleep; after all, you’ve come from afar and need rest. Why not stay here for the night and meet the King when the moon rises tomorrow?"

"It’s the perfect opportunity to also indulge your curiosity by listening to some of our stories." In just a few minutes, three stone cups were placed in front of Pannis, who now rested his chin on his hands and said lazily, "I think that’s the most attractive part, don’t you?"

"Well, I can’t hide anything from you, can I?" Shiela, who appeared to be middle-aged, covered her cheek with her hand, cocking her head with a shy smile, saying quite embarrassingly, "I can’t help it. Although I’ve slept in death for so many years and lost much of my memory, my longing for home hasn’t diminished with the decline in my memories. On the contrary, the less I remember, the more I want to reacquaint myself with home. Even if I can’t see it for myself, meeting someone from home and listening to their stories can provide comfort to us spirits who are without a home."

"Hmm, sometimes, a vague impression can provoke anticipation in the heart, can’t it? This theory certainly makes sense," Pannis suddenly shook his head vigorously, as if trying to fling thoughts out of his brain, and picked up a fourth cup, gesturing to Saen and Shiela, "Let’s make a trade then. We’re just as curious about your world, so, we’ll exchange our world’s stories for yours. How does that sound? Isn’t that an attractive trade?"

"Hehe, you guests are sly indeed. Aside from attending the master’s summons, you likely have other missions on this trip to the capital, don’t you?" Shiela leaned forward on the table and rested her chin on her hand, looking with interest at the faces of the beings in front of her, "Let me guess, at least one of your tasks is to understand as much as possible about this world, right?"

"Is it that obvious? That’s only natural," said Catherine, taking over the conversation with a modest smile, "If a door suddenly mysteriously opened in your house and many strangers of different races came in and started building things, wouldn’t you be skeptical and want to check out the other side of the door? I think any person with normal reasoning would do so. Therefore, it’s not at all strange for us to want to understand this world."

"Is that so?" Shiela’s form remained hazy, her expression unchanged as she said, "But how come I heard that the Door Home didn’t open for the first time? It seems that long, long ago, before everyone had revived, the Door Home had opened once before, hadn’t it?"

"I don’t deny it; over a hundred years ago, the Door Home indeed opened once. But that doesn’t contradict our need to understand the situation. Besides, a hundred years have passed, and so much has changed. If we don’t confirm things, it would be difficult to choose our stance. That’s perfectly reasonable, and didn’t you just confirm our attitude as well?" Catherine picked up the cup of unknown drink passed by Pannis and could smell the faint sour aroma from the beverage. The scent wasn’t unpleasant; in fact, it whetted the appetite. Just smelling it made one want to down it in one gulp. However, Catherine had more restraint than Pannis and merely sipped lightly, smiling, "Ah, this drink tastes quite good. I wonder if regular beings could drink more. Oh, that’s great, I’d love to take some out for everyone to try. Speaking of which, about the Door Home having been opened before—did you learn that from the few outsiders who’ve made contact with you?"

"Of course not." Shiela shook her head, "We don’t trust them, and most of the Undead don’t either."

"Why is that?" Catherine asked in confusion, "They should be on the same side as you, shouldn’t they? Why don’t you trust them then?"

"However, we are not on the same side," Shiela simply denied Catherine’s idea without elaboration, instead smiling and skipping to the next subject, "As for trust, the King has never trusted them from the start. Although the King hardly meddles in affairs, we absolutely trust his judgment on important matters. So since the King says so, it means they’re indeed untrustworthy."

"I see." Catherine narrowed her eyes thoughtfully and nodded slightly, "That means you have other ways of learning about the outside. But that’s imaginable; it’s unlikely that such a large-scale construction operation would be initiated without any solid information, that would be too reckless otherwise."

"The construction operation was actually initiated jointly by leaders of various races in the capital. On one hand, too many want to return to their homeland to see for themselves; on the other hand, as you said, since the Door Home has opened, it would be impossible not to check out the attitudes on the other side. To my surprise, Shiela offered an answer I hadn’t thought I’d get, with no attempt to conceal," the female Ghost leader spoke candidly, "Saen and other skeleton leaders gathered the most elite of the skeletons from various villages and towns, led by six skeleton chiefs, forming this construction brigade. In fact, they were ready for war to break out between the two sides at any moment from the time they departed."

"Yet, the attitude of the neighbors doesn’t seem optimistic," Catherine remarked noncommittally, "The construction team must have sent back news by now."

"Indeed, the outcome is not optimistic, and both sides have reached the brink of war," Shiela sighed, "But there’s still hope. At least your troops are still monitoring and observing, not directly initiating an attack."