Shut up, brave man! I don't want to atone for my sins to you!

"Yes, I have," she said. "I know that, too."

Then, as if talking to herself, she added:

"At first, Charles and I thought it was strange. Just like you said, how could someone name himself with a string of numbers? But later, Charles and I learned some more secret information, so we both understood the meaning of this string of numbers."

"It's the order - the order born from the breeding room."

"So, in fact, it's not a name at all, but a number. Mla is the 09527th newborn in Lentiheim, so his number is . The other elves born in the breeding room also have the same number as him, including you."

At this point, Lacier raised her lips silently:

"No, it should be said that the real Archon of Lentiheim should also have her own number."

The more Fuvenna listened, the less she understood what Laciel was saying, so she frowned, as if she was going to order Laciel to stop.

But it's too late.

Because Rachel smiled and told her the crucial thing that was missing:

"——Madam."

The witch said, and suddenly raised a finger:

"In another Lentiheim, the elves' mistress seemed to have gone mad, so Archon Fuwenna asked for help from the brave Charles. But if the mistress had never existed in the first place, Fuwenna, who didn't need to seek help, would certainly not have known the brave Charles."

Then she raised her second finger:

"Also in another Lentiheim, Fuwenna told us that all elves were born in a breeding room, and the breeding room was controlled by the Matron, so it can even be said that the Matron gave birth to all the elves."

"But now, the mistress no longer exists, so it stands to reason that the breeding room has also disappeared. But if that's the case, how do we explain the origin of the elves?"

"You know, you elves were all born in breeding rooms, and you don't have any concept of normal reproduction methods."

"The answer is an incredible reproduction method. All you need to do is sleep in the same bed and a newborn will be born the next day."

Finally, she raised a third finger:

"Also, you said that as the governor of Lentiheim, you should know why Lentiheim does not communicate with the outside world, but in fact, you don't know the reason at all. You only know that you should do this."

"Perhaps this is because, in the other Lentiheim, it was the Matron who asked you to have less communication with the outside world."

"And in this world, as everyone knows, the concept of a mistress has never existed."

Having said this, Lacie retracted the three fingers and took out the wand.

She looked warily at "Fvenna" which had crashed for the third time, took two steps back, and came to Charles' side.

"When did you think of this?" she asked in a low voice.

Charles was silent for a moment, then replied:

"just."

He had just figured out which of the two Lentiheims were real.

The key lies in the mistress.

The Lentiheim in the thick fog was most likely real, and the sunny Lentiheim in front of them seemed to have abruptly eliminated all concepts related to the mistress on the basis of the former.

But the entire Lentiheim was conceived by the Mistress, so how could it be eliminated just like that?

Therefore, the Lentiheim in front of him became a strange thing that seemed to be fine at a glance, but was full of contradictions and logical loopholes upon closer inspection.

At this point, the truth has finally come to light... right?

No.

Lacie stared at Fuvenna, who was motionless and seemed to have completely lost her life, as if she was facing a formidable enemy.

They had indeed uncovered the truth of the Lentiheim before them - it showed a possibility, a world full of loopholes where the Matron did not exist.

But what is its essence?

And where is the real Lentiheim?

At this moment, Charles suddenly handed the bronze lantern he carried with him to Laceline.

"Please lift it up," the brave man said solemnly, "and then, please light it up with your magic power."

Lacele took the lantern subconsciously.

She seemed to understand something.

"No way……"

The witch whispered with a hint of fear.

She followed the hero's instructions, held up the bronze lantern high, and then injected magic power into the lantern.

As a result, the lanterns that had been extinguished due to lack of energy once again emitted a soft and quiet orange light.

Under the shining light, Lentiheim in front of the two people slowly dissipated.

Whether it’s the bright sunlight, the elves coming and going on the streets, or the realistic street scenes…

Everything gradually became blurred and melted into a large area of ​​flowing white.

It's fog.

Endless fog surrounded the hero and the witch——

It turns out that the thick fog covering Lentiheim has never dissipated from the beginning to the end.

[To be continued]

-

12. It’s awesome

The outlines of all tangible objects collapsed under the light of the bronze lantern, melting like ice and snow.

The colors faded, the fresh vitality was taken away, as if the pause button was pressed, and "Fuwenna"'s expression was frozen in a trance.

Then, her eyes lost all their luster and her body disintegrated into wisps of mist.

But it's not just her.

And there was the street behind her, the elves on the street, and the entire Lentiheim where the elves lived.

The world was once again engulfed by thick fog.

Lacie and Charles stood in the fog, looking around at the space dyed pure white.

Just like two small boats drifting in the open sea, no matter how they struggle to survive and how hard they paddle, they will eventually find in despair that the sea is so vast that it is almost boundless, and they will never be able to reach the land. In the end, they will probably only die alone in the center of the sea as far as they can see.

Neither Rachel nor Charles could see anything other than themselves through the thick fog.

Whether it is a building or a living thing.

What on earth is this thick fog, and why does it become what it is today?

Lacie thought about it and bit her lip unconsciously.

In Lentiheim, which is shaped by thick fog, everything seems to have a real touch, but this is really ridiculous. It is obvious that the essence of those things is thick fog, which can be dispersed by waving hands.

What's more, if the Lentiheim created by the thick fog is real in some sense, then what about the original Lentiheim?

Where did the city-state that was originally shrouded in thick fog go?

So, it's an illusion?

Did the thick fog have a hallucinogenic effect? ​​Or was it not the thick fog that surrounded them now, but something that had the characteristics of thick fog?

Lacie suddenly looked at the bronze lantern she was holding high.

So the question is - what is the nature of the lantern that can dispel this strange fog?

She remembered that the real lady archon once said that this lantern was a sacred object passed down by the ancestors of the elves. Unfortunately, the elves had too long a history and much precious knowledge had been lost. So they did not know why the lantern could dispel the thick fog.

Of course, Laciel couldn't understand what the elves couldn't understand, but this didn't stop her from drawing conclusions through observation and experiment.

"The thick fog that shrouds Lentiheim may have a deep connection with this lantern."

But no matter what, this matter is becoming more and more weird.

Clearly, she had brought Charles to Lentiheim just to collect materials to fabricate a fake priest, but somehow, the two of them were drawn into this conspiracy.

It doesn’t even have to be a conspiracy – it could be something much weirder.

After all, not even the elves knew what was going on.

Rachel suddenly felt a little regretful about coming to Lentiheim.

But in front of Charles, she couldn't play the role of Zhu Bajie, who would clamor to pack up and go back to Gao Village at the slightest sign of trouble.

Although the wisest option for them now seems to be a strategic retreat.

After briefly weighing the pros and cons, Lacie decided to wait and see for a while.

Although the current situation in Lentiheim was strange, it had not yet developed to the point where it could threaten her and Charles' lives. Besides, there is a saying:

“The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish!”

The weirder the situation in Lentiheim, the more troublesome it is to solve, and the more rewards they can get from the elves in the end.

Maybe, as long as they finish this big task, they will be able to collect all the necessary materials. By then, not only can she help Charles resurrect the priest, she can even take this opportunity to rebuild the plane teleportation array.

Stud poker is an art.

Beat a fight, bike change bike!

If you win, you’ll get the club’s young model. If you lose…if you lose, let Charles go to work in the sea!

After making up her mind, Lacier turned to look at Charles and asked curiously:

"When did you guess the truth?"

Hearing this, Charles withdrew his gaze from the thick fog, glanced at her, and then quickly looked away:

"just."

"just?"

"Well," Charles nodded gently, "There can't be two Lentiheims in the world, so one of them must be fake."

Then he looked at the lantern in Rachel's hand:

"The fake Lentiheim appeared after it went out. If we light it up again, will the fake Lentiheim disappear... That's what I think."

Charles' answer was straightforward and his thinking was simple and crude.

But surprisingly, Lacie actually thought that Charles was right.

Throw away all irrelevant issues and get to the essence, that is, "there is only one Lentiheim in the world", and then deduce the truth of the matter through this indisputable truth.

In addition, the thick fog suddenly dissipated after the lantern was extinguished, so Charles should have thought of asking her to light the lantern again and try.

However, she, because she thought too much, overlooked the details that were not difficult to find, and thus fell behind Charles.

"Tsk."

Lacey was a little unhappy.

But she did not show her displeasure, she just continued to ask:

"Then what should we do next?"

They had left the lodgings that the Archon Lady had arranged for them and had gone deeper into the fog.

However, the depths of the thick fog seemed to be empty except for the endless fog. Rachel was already trying to raise the lantern, but she could only ensure that the fog was isolated outside a hemispherical area with a radius of about three meters.

As for what was hidden in the fog outside, or what would happen after the lantern was extinguished, she had no idea.

If she hadn't seen the neatly laid bricks under her feet, she would have even suspected that she and Charles were no longer in the city of Lentiheim.

So, where should the two of them go now becomes the most important question.

Should I stay where I am and wait for death, or take the initiative to explore the thick fog?