Cthulhu Gonfalon

Those auras emerging from underwater were from the envoys that were in the sea. They prepared presents and planned to visit Garth city during the celebration, to get along with the neighbors and start a diplomatic friendship.

Sui Xiong of course wouldn’t object to the idea. Just when he wanted to thank them, Janvier suddenly smiled and said, “Why not let them wait for a bit. Wait for a little while more; the effect will be even greater.”

Sui Xiong and Heimsarah were stunned. Have to “wait for a bit” to send a present? “Greater effects”?

“What so mysterious? What’s going on?” Sui Xiong asked.

Janvier smiled cunningly and said, “Don’t forget that I’m God of Celebration. I could clearly predict that there would be some accident during today’s celebration. If you were to let the envoys that came to congratulate hold on for a bit and make an appearance during a crucial moment, the effect would be very good; unexpectedly great!”

Heimsarah looked at Sui Xiong.

Sui Xiong nodded.

Then, he sent out a message again, to have the envoys who were prepared to depart to wait a little while more and wait for his news.

The time passed by and the festooned vehicle slowly came to the plaza. Along with people cheering, it drove past the arch that was built last minute and stopped before the stage that was not luxurious but still crowded.

Ray changed into formal wear, which was a rare sight, a plain black knight wear that brimmed with mysterious and elegant character. In harmony with his good looking face, his healthy and graceful body and his soldierly aura, it drew everyone’s attention. When he stood up to give a speech, there were tons of women gawking at him under the stage.

Ever since he had entered legendary realm, Ray’s appearance had been changing gradually. All in all, he looked younger and even more handsome. Compared to the broken down thief that Sui Xiong forcefully took in, he was now daring and energetic, in high spirits; totally deserving of his identity of a prince.

He avoid verbosity but simple reminisced about when Garth City was a ruin. He thanked everyone for working hard and looked ahead to their future, which he firmly believed would be even better.

Honestly, the speech wasn’t sensational but it tugged the heartstrings of people staying in Garth city.

Everyone had lived a tough life for the last year or so. From building with every brick and tile in a hopeless situation back then, to finally rebuilding a township from a ruin. Even though he didn’t say it, he felt a sense of achievement. When Ray gave his speech, there was surge of emotion in everyone’s heart.

There were times of work, abandonment, depression; changing bit by bit, developing bit by bit. Looking back, every drop of sweat left a deep trace. Looking ahead, scenes of booming prosperity were just around the corner!

Not knowing who started first, the people in the plaza started cheering.

There were tearful voices among the cheers, as they were hot with emotion. The sudden hail was thundering; a spirited fervor soared up the sky and made all the Gods that were paying attention looked to the side.

It seemed as though they could see Garth city as a traveller that was once severely injured, but had fully recovered, and was preparing his luggage by the bed to depart again. He was once injured all over and took staggered steps but he had almost recovered now. He was once depressed and disheartened but at the moment he was high spirited and had high morale.

“Garth city will be revived,” Sui Xiong said.

“Yes, I can see that.” The corner of Janvier’s mouth raised faintly, showing a hint of reflection. “Only… maybe there were too many people that could tell; it wouldn’t be a good thing!”

After cheering, it was the real city owner’s turn to give a speech: Casari Riley.

The east coast maiden that was famous for her beauty was gawking at Ray, especially when his speech stirred high emotions among the crowds. She felt moved. She then walked onto the stage with tears welled up in her eyes and that made people adore her even more.

She was not someone like Ray who could give a short, to-the-point speech. She was also not someone like Ray who had high prestige. But her beauty held a power of persuasiveness, especially when she thanked everyone with her watery eyes, thanked everyone for willing to believe in the Riley family after drastic changes, to have and to hold on, to unite, and to battle for the revival of Garth city. That stirred countless men’s hearts and got their blood boiling.

To work for such a cute and innocent girl? Don’t even mention about putting in sweat and effort, it wouldn’t have been a problem to take their own lives!

After the speeches by archon and city owner, they didn’t invite the local head of religion to deliver a speech, according to convention.

The church of Goddess of Bumper Harvest that originally seized ruling position in Garth city suffered severe damage in the war; even the Goddess of Bumper Harvest herself passed away in her incarnation. All the while, they had been low profile, and weren’t fond of the limelight.

Of course, even if they tried to court publicity, Ray wouldn’t agree with them!

Even the church of God of Wealth who put in a lot of effort and provided a huge sum of loan during rebuilt of Garth city did not go on stage. The God of Wealth was a God that wasn’t good at fighting. Even though the Goddess of Bumper Harvest suffered heavy losses, He did not have guts to fight against the old God. Using the method of spreading money to buy in two wall corner would do. If they were to go on stage to deliver a speech, that signified their intention to fight for the position of core belief in Garth city. That meant He fell out with Goddess of Bumper Harvest. Don’t forget that Garth city was once fully controlled by the church of Goddess of Bumper Harvest. To Her, the city’s belief had a very unique meaning She wouldn’t allow anyone to meddle in.

As for the other churches, they never thought of fighting for the leading role for religion in Garth city. Of course they wouldn’t go up to the point where the going was the toughest.

Instead, the church of Goddess of Marsh was interested. The Goddess had been keeping Her eyes on Garth city constantly. She even fought with Goddess of Bumper Harvest previously and, in the end, neither sides gained ground. But it was obvious how firm Her intention was. Even since the last war, the Goddess of Marsh went to the dark side and no one knew where she hid or what she did. The Goddess of Marsh was lost; even the God of Justice asked around, but there was no news.

So, the speech by church was skipped. Ray waved his hands and announced that entertainment time started then!

What was the entertainment?

Singing songs, dancing, eating, drinking, having fun; something along those lines.

The most important among all, was eating!

Ray made sufficient preparations. Dozens of chefs were busy by the side of the plaza, the breads that were freshly baked were hot, wheat wine that wasn’t mixed with water was fragrant and delicious, and the aroma of barbecued meat and steamed fish made people salivate.

Not only that, there were fresh fruits and vegetables. And, there were even a few strong men that were at the juicery to help people who were interested to juice the fruits and drink on the spot. There was also an unlimited supply of seafood; it didn’t matter how much one was to eat.

The most unique among all were the few round pots. They were on low fires, just nice enough to keep the soup in the pot at a simmer. Next to the pots were various ingredients that were cut into slices, and there were some attendants to look after the booth and to prepare seasonings for people who wanted to try them. Under their guidance, the people pairs of tongs made with fine wooden pieces to hold the food and soak them in the boiling soup, take them out when they were just cooked, dip into the seasoning, and eat it while it was hot.

Such a dining method had not been tried before and attracted a large crowd. Steele, who was in charge of food and beverages, had to transfer more helpers and added a another few pots of soup, wooden tongs, and large amount of ingredients with another attendant that taught them how to eat.

“The eating method is very interesting; I have never seen it before,” Janvier said as he turned into a normal adventurer and moved over to take a few portion of food. He was very cunning; he picked all the higher quality meat that was most fresh and delicious then he boiled them just so. He took a bite and he beamed with joy. He was full of praises.

“That’s awesome! I wonder which chef invented it… He is a genius!”

Sui Xiong smiled faintly and raised his head proudly.

“It’s you?” Janvier suddenly understood his hint and he was so shocked that the food in his mouth nearly fell out. He left his mouth hanging open while he looked at Sui Xiong who was smug. He didn’t believe his eyes.

“You are a jellyfish, how would you know anything about cooking?!”

“Who stipulated that jellyfish cannot know how to cook? Let me tell you, there are many things that I know of!” Sui Xiong laughed with his head held high. “I know about space and shadow, sketching, symbols of art, expression of colour and feelings, appraisal of art, various views of ancient paintings, visual language, shapes, human body sketching, cartography and design, sculpture and decoration. Let me tell you, actually the clergy that suits me the most is God of Art!”

Janvier nodded blankly. Those things that Sui Xiong said; he could understood them if they were separated, but he couldn’t understand them in combination.

It couldn’t be said that he didn’t know, the rough concept could be understood by a few guesses here and there. But he had never expected Sui Xiong, a jellyfish, would understand so many things about art!

Although the mermaid tribe under the deep sea was abound with artists, they were rich with musicians and singers, a sculptor at most, but never a painter!

“You want to be the God of Art?” After a while, he responded and asked softly. “This clergy has been taken away. You will either share with Him or be ready to fight a battle… are you sure you want to do that?”

“I just said it casually. Don’t take it seriously,” Sui Xiong laughed. “Come on, eat more!”

“Mm! Eat more!” Heimsarah stuffed the bunch of vegetables that looked red and were drenched in god knows how much seasoning into his mouth. His saliva was splashing all over with the sauce, disgusting many.

Janvier rolled his eyes and wiped away the sauce that splashed onto his face. He then quickly moved two steps further to stay away from the bastard that had bad table manners.

Looking around, most of the people didn’t look quite well-mannered. All these condiments and sauces that were fragrant, spicy and sweet, that consisted of Sui Xiong’s memory, were like heat that was soaring up in their mouths. There were many people that had their eyes and noses running; their foreheads were also dripping with sweat.

But they didn’t have any intention to give up. They were laughing at each other’s ugliness in eating while continuing to feast.

Not far away, the bards were performing some happy program while a few clowns were cracking jokes and fooling around. The atmosphere at the plaza was extremely busy.

Almost there, Janvier thought in his heart. He lowered his head and smiled cunningly. The bastard who has a death wish should be here soon.

Just as he expected, just as everyone was busy having fun, a voice that didn’t go well with the atmosphere rang.

“Miss Riley; up to this moment of bumper harvest, aren’t you supposed to lead everyone to pray to Madam Richness (Goddess of Bumper Harvest) and thank Her for the bestowed flavour upon them?”