Chapter 1449: Chapter 1449

He realized he was in a dream. Before him was a forest scene in early spring. Although Black Town was part of the Hamparvo Kingdom, it was located on the kingdom’s southern frontier, and spring here was just as vibrant as in Nolan.

Before Jenkins lay a somewhat unfamiliar lake, smaller in area than it was in his own time. But that didn't stop the town's young people from enjoying a spring outing. Spread-out picnic cloths indicated it was already noon, and men and women dressed in styles clearly not of the current era sat scattered across the grass before the lake, enjoying the precious spring day.

Jenkins stood in the green shade of the forest on the lake’s edge. He looked up to see a squirrel with a large, bushy tail clutching a pinecone, perched on a branch and gazing at the water. He remarked aloud:

"That's a nice lake. Quite beautiful."

Through his Spiritual Communion, he clearly understood the squirrel's reply:

"It is nice, but there's something terrible in the water. It's best to stay away."

"Something strange? What is it? And what's the date in the Universal Calendar? Is this the Eighteenth Epoch?"

He asked again, but this time, he received no answer. It dawned on him then how foolish it was to ask a wild animal about a calendar devised by humans. The squirrel, as if to console him, tossed him the pinecone it was holding before leaping to another branch and vanishing deep into the woods.

"If I'm not mistaken, my adversary this time will be quite a handful."

The young women who had been with him had been sent away, leaving him to enjoy his afternoon nap in peace. Jenkins waited patiently for two hours until he finally awoke. The youth sat on the grass for a while, dazed, and just as he began to pack his things to leave, his gaze suddenly fixed on the lake.

From Jenkins's vantage point, he saw nothing out of the ordinary in that direction. The young man, however, looked as if he had seen something incredible. He dazedly dropped his picnic cloth and staggered toward the water's edge.

Jenkins quickened his pace and emerged from the forest. He saw the youth already kneeling on one knee by the lake, his head bowed as he spoke to the water.

His back was turned, so Jenkins couldn't see his expression, but his voice and tone were unmistakably those of a man speaking to a girl he admired.

The youth soon noticed someone behind him. He spun around, saw a strange man, and scrambled to his feet in a panic. Head down, he brushed past Jenkins, grabbed his things, and hurried off into the woods.

Instead of approaching the lake, Jenkins strode after the young man. The latter heard the footsteps and tried to quicken his pace, but Jenkins soon caught up to him.

Forcing an ordinary person to tell the truth was no difficult task for Jenkins now. Relying on his power over lies, he easily learned what had just happened. From the young man's perspective, upon waking from his nap, he had seen a beautiful girl, like an elf from a legend, standing on the surface of the lake.

By the time he hurried over, the girl had sunk into the lake, but her face remained above the surface as she spoke with him.

"What a cliché. Why are the young men in this world always falling for elven maidens? Is it some sort of racial bias?"

After sending the young man home, Jenkins turned and walked back the way he had come.

This time, he shed the disguise of his black robe, returning to his usual appearance. He mentally fashioned a shirt, black trousers, leather shoes, and a tie to replace his current pajamas. He undid the top button of his shirt, ran a hand through his hair, and walked toward the lake with a warm smile. Before long, he heard the sound of bubbles rising from the water. He clasped his hands behind his back and stood on the grass, pretending to admire the scenery. Soon, a playful, silver-bell laugh drifted from the direction of the lake.

Lifting his gaze, he saw a young elven maiden with braided hair, covering her face as she giggled at him. He had wondered just how "very beautiful" the young man had meant. Now, he knew.

Though it was his first time seeing a living elven woman, he doubted a more beautiful one existed anywhere in the world.

As if enchanted, he walked slowly toward the lakeshore. As he drew closer, the elven maiden, who had been standing on the water in the middle of the lake, also began to move toward the bank.

She seemed to walk through the water, her body sinking lower with each step, leaving smooth ripples in her wake. By the time she reached the shore, only her head remained above the surface. Fresh chapters posted on novel fire.net

"My love..." (in the human tongue)

The maiden in the lake called out in a low voice. Jenkins quickened his pace, knelt on one knee at the water's edge, and looked at her. At such a close range, his Eye of Reality pierced through every illusion and false image. In his true sight, what spoke to him was a terrifying skeleton, its bones covered in green moss.

"Who are you?" (in Elvish)

Jenkins asked in a low voice, slow and elegant.

"I have waited here a thousand years for you. We promised a thousand years ago that we would meet here again," (in Elvish)

the maiden in the lake replied.

"Is that so? To be loved by a maiden like you is truly my honor... Will you come with me now? My bed is quite large."

"Not yet, my love. While waiting for your return, I was imprisoned here by a wicked curse."

"Then how can we be together? I'm not particularly fond of living in a lake."

"At midnight tonight, bring me the heart's blood of your closest kin. That is the only way to break the curse, yes, the only way..."

The maiden sank into the lake as she spoke. The muffled voice from beneath the water faded, and soon, not a trace of her could be seen in the clear water.

Jenkins remained kneeling, a look of hesitation and confusion on his face. After a long moment, he finally stood up. As he turned away, a faint smile touched the corners of his lips.

He was certain he had made the right choice in reading this third story; it held a profound fascination for him. To occasionally experience a fairytale-like adventure , a brief respite from the tensions of his real life, was utterly delightful.

More importantly, all of this was happening in the past. This world's timeline had a powerful self-correcting mechanism, so he had no fear that his actions would cause any temporal chaos.

"I'll use the time before midnight to head back to town and have a look around."