TGS - Chapter 44
Chapter 44: The Giant Fish's Performance
Walking out of the River Goddess's temple, Her Highness the Princess made no effort to hide the smile on her lips.
Alyuin believed in the gods, but only because she revered one particular deity. She had never trusted the priests in the royal city who performed divinations and communed with the gods for the nobility; she had been this way since childhood.
But since those people had said that her destiny was intertwined with Lotus's, it was a different matter entirely. To be able to reach the correct conclusion, she supposed this method of calculation based on one's birth date and parents' names must have some merit.
With this thought in mind, her action of holding Lotus's hand seemed all the more justified. She completely disregarded the fact that, by this method of calculation, there must be hundreds, if not thousands, of people whose destinies were intertwined with the River Goddess.
Taiyi, who was waiting by the door, saw this scene, and her expression, which had just begun to relax, twisted with conflict once more.
But as a professional handmaiden, she knew very well when to turn a blind eye. So she simply lowered her head, pretending to be an emotionless guide.
The recreational facilities in Yilulaila were slightly inferior to those in the City of the Sun God. After all, there were no quarries nearby, and transporting stone from other quarries was a labor-intensive task.
In contrast, the waterways here were more extensive. On the west side of the city lay a vast lake, like a great piece of azure gemstone. The Yilu River supplied it with ample fresh water before flowing leisurely on its way.
Taiyi was very dedicated to her task of guiding the Princess, even preparing a speech in advance. Facing the blue lake, which the Solancians called Jadaar, she introduced it with great emotion:
"This is our sacred lake. Everyone says it is the largest blue chalcedony from the Goddess Lotus's necklace, which she accidentally dropped onto the land of Solancia, thus creating Jadaar."
Lotus thought the young girl was like a competent tour guide. If she were wearing a red hat and a red vest, the resemblance would be even stronger.
As for the origin of the so-called sacred lake, Lotus offered no opinion. She was already used to the notion that anything related to water was a gift from her.
Rivers were the embodiment of the goddess, rain and snow her teardrops and stray hairs. Even a natural boulder with a streak of blue and white variegation could be interpreted as a mark left by the goddess out of affection. Compared to all that, the explanation of a lake being a gemstone seemed rather mundane.
Alyuin was already in a state of joy from having her connection to the goddess affirmed by "destiny." Upon hearing that Jadaar was formerly the goddess's gemstone, she immediately thought of the blue chalcedony embedded in her own amulet.
The Princess remembered it clearly.
In a dream from her childhood, the goddess had taken the largest blue chalcedony from the center of her necklace and placed it in her palm.
Therefore, even if this lake before her truly was the goddess's gemstone, it couldn't be the largest one, because the real one was hanging around her neck.
Harboring a strange sense of pride, Alyuin took advantage of the handmaiden's engrossed and emotional narration up ahead. She lifted her amulet with one hand and wrapped the other around the goddess's shoulder.
Her rose-colored lips brushed against Lotus's ear as she asked, "The blue chalcedony you gave me is the only one, isn't it?"
Lotus turned her head slightly and gave an affirmative answer: "The only one."
...She didn't know what had gotten into Alyuin lately, but she seemed to have taken a particular liking to whispering closely in her ear. The warm breath from her parting lips was intensely present, making the shell of her ear tingle with an indescribable itch that made her want to reach up and rub it vigorously for relief.
However, rubbing one's ear was not a very godlike action, so Lotus restrained herself. Then she began to worry if her ear had already turned red.
Unbeknownst to her, the Princess at her side had long since noticed the crimson blush gradually spreading across the pale shell of her ear.
When Alyuin had leaned in, she truly hadn't had any ulterior motives. But once she spotted that blush, she found her gaze completely unable to move away.
To leave one's own mark on a beloved thing—it was an instinct of humans, or rather, of all animals. Alyuin couldn't help but think that the goddess's ears were blushing because of her.
She took a quiet breath and moved a little farther away. The fingers holding the amulet suddenly tightened, clenching it firmly. The slightly dull silver Snowtu flower petals pricked her palm, helping her reason suppress the thoughts that shouldn't be surfacing at this moment.
Taiyi was still dutifully explaining, "There are also giant fish in Lake Jadaar. On a clear day, you can sometimes see one or two surface, though I've never seen it myself..."
Suddenly, the handmaiden's voice caught in her throat. In her excitement, she unconsciously lowered her voice and exclaimed in a whisper, "Look! You two, look over there, in the middle of the lake!"
The two of them looked up at the sound.
The azure lake, once as smooth as a mirror, was now rippling. A massive shadow from beneath broke the surface, its moon-white body flipping over before sinking back under the water.
It was simply too large, and it lacked the ability to leap several meters out of the water like a dolphin. Thus, when its head and torso emerged, its tail remained submerged. By the time its long, beautiful tail was on display, its head had already plunged back into the water. Its streamlined body never revealed its full form.
This was not an isolated case. Near this giant fish, countless others were repeating the same flipping motion, moon-white ribbons constantly emerging from the center of the lake as if in a grand performance.
Taiyi stared, her eyes wide.
"Dozens, no, hundreds... How can there be so many?"
Usually, one was lucky to even catch a glimpse of a shadow!
Lotus gazed into the distance, vaguely sensing the giant fishes' desire to draw near. Imagining the scene of hundreds of enormous shallow-water fish swimming toward the shore, wagging their heads and tails, she immediately sent out a mental command for them not to approach.
The giant fish, not expecting to be rejected, immediately grew listless and gradually sank beneath the water, disappearing from sight.
As the scene that seemed to exist only in fantasy dissipated, Taiyi finally came back to her senses. She suddenly thought of something and looked at the Princess with awe.
What else could make the River Goddess's giant fish leap from the water one after another? Besides this princess, who was said to be favored by the goddess, what other reason could there possibly be?
Alyuin, however, remained composed. She could guess that this scene had little to do with her and was likely the goddess's influence. A glance at Lotus's slightly helpless expression told her that the other probably hadn't expected such a fervent welcome either.
"I'll have to trouble you to keep this a secret," Alyuin said.
Taiyi quickly bowed her head. "I will never speak of what I saw today. Please rest assured, Your Highness."
Any event that one is told must absolutely not be spoken of is inevitably destined to become common knowledge.
Taiyi did not act as the originator or the mouthpiece, but there were other people by the lake at the time. Witnessing such a spectacle, it was naturally impossible for them to keep silent. And so, a new rumor emerged.
Following the blue heron with the flower, now came the giant fish leaping from the water. As the only remaining direct royal bloodline aside from the God-Concubine, the Princess was truly a being beloved by the River Goddess!
On the afternoon of the incident, the rumor had not yet gained momentum.
No sooner had Lotus returned to her temporary residence than she went out again in her spiritual form, heading straight for the main temple with a clear objective.
It was not the time for daily worship, and the sacrificial chamber was empty, save for the tall, silent statue.
One had to tilt their head back to see the blue chalcedony eyes set in the statue's face. Its appearance, so different from a real person's proportions, gave it an inhuman quality. It was both a marble sculpture and an echo from a distant age.
Lotus floated up to the same height as the statue. She closed her eyes slightly and placed her fingertips on the spot between the statue's brows.
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