Chapter 246 The girl I met before

Horseback riding starts from Bayerischer Most.

Before noon, towering and verdant mountains appeared before the group's eyes.

That is the remnant of the Mahakam Mountains and the most suitable part for human habitation.

Ireland was built at the foot of the mountain.

This is a city that is no less powerful than Ban Ade and Vengerberg.

No.

Although the city size and population do not seem to be as large as the first two cities, Elland is stronger than other human cities in almost all other aspects.

For example, smell.

Even though the group had just entered the city, they were still in what was generally considered a slum, the lower city area.

The air was not filled with a foul odor.

But it has a faint scent of flowers and plants.

Both sides of the street.

Whether it is a shop or a house, it looks poor or expensive.

Colorful flowers are planted at the door and on the windowsills.

It’s just that the flowers placed on the windowsills of wealthy families’ doors are more expensive, mainly light pink carnations.

The poorer ones have mostly wild flowers, occasionally mixed with pink carnations.

But no matter what kind of flowers it is, you can see the owner's intentions.

Walking through the city gate, countless flowers decorate the city, making the entire Ireland look like a magnificent flower city.

“I like this place.”

Leading the horse and walking on the clean and tidy streets, Mary took a deep breath and felt happy.

"Everyone loves Elland!"

Vesemir also seemed to be in a good mood. After pulling the reins to respond to Mary, he looked at the young witcher who looked equally pleased: "Don't you agree, Master Arryn?"

Ailin, who didn't have to avoid dirty excrement from time to time, naturally had no objection to this.

and.

It's not just the smell and the clean and beautiful streets.

Even the mental outlook of the poor in the lower city of Ireland is different from that of other cities.

From children to the elderly, almost every woman has flowers in her hair.

Although he was wearing cheap grey linen, he looked very clean.

Energetic, gentle, confident...

It is completely different from other cities that are dirty, messy and indifferent.

Also.

He also noticed.

When the civilians of Elland saw them, they showed no disgust or aversion at all.

On the contrary, many elderly people stopped what they were doing, put their right hands on their chests, and greeted them by pulling their children beside them when they passed by.

Of course, I didn't go up to disturb them.

He just smiled and looked at them with gratitude, especially the leader Vesemir.

"I like this city, too!" Ailin nodded with a smile.

"Hahaha~" Vesemir laughed heartily a few times, "Elland is indeed worthy of being loved."

"And you're lucky, we came at the right time."

"April is the time when the carnations that goddess Meliteli loves are in full bloom. It is also the most beautiful month in Ireland in the year..."

"and……"

"It will be May Day in a few days..."

"May Day!" Mary's eyes suddenly lit up.

She excitedly pulled Ailin's sleeve and smacked her lips:
"Wow!"

"Alin! Alin!"

"It's May Day, Ireland's May Day!"

"The May Festival here is the most famous in the north. It is said that the goddess Meliteli will appear on that day to bless..."

"I've wanted to come here for a long time, but Ms. Vera never let me come out alone..."

Sniffing the faint orange scent at the tip of his nose, Ailin, whose sleeves were pulled, smiled helplessly:
"I know... I know... I'll spend May Day with you before we leave."

"Yeah!" Mary nodded vigorously, her big, blinking eyes seemed to be able to speak.

But suddenly she seemed to think of something.

His cheeks flushed, and he instantly loosened the young witcher's sleeves.

Arlin was curious about Mary's behavior, but suddenly he noticed Vesemir's teasing smile, and then he suddenly remembered...

May Day is also known as May Day, May Night, etc.

The entire celebration takes place from the night of April 30th to the early morning of May 1st.

People burned fir tree trunks into a bonfire and performed sacrificial dances around the bonfire, praying to the gods to bless them with a good harvest and numerous offspring.

of course.

Praying to the gods for a good harvest is something that middle-aged and elderly people do.

The responsibility of reproducing offspring naturally falls on the young people.

On this day, under the witness of fire and gods, they will express their love to their loved ones and seek happiness...

In a rather unrestrained way...

Recalling the description of May Day in the original book, Ailin's body stiffened slightly.

He glared at the frivolous Vesemir, pretended to chat with Mary as if nothing had happened, and continued walking forward with his horse.

Mary was obviously thinking of the May Day events.

Her fair cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she continued Ailin's questions and answers in a low voice.

If Ayling hadn't been a demon hunter, he would have almost not heard Mary's voice.

The witcher master didn't care when Ailin glared at him disrespectfully.

He watched the two little guys chatting away in an awkward manner with great interest, the curve of his mouth growing bigger and bigger.

The warm breeze brings the fragrance of flowers, and children are playing on the street.

Vesemir took a deep breath of the intoxicating aroma and sighed softly:

"It's great to be young!"

……

The faith of the goddess Meliteli is one of the oldest and was the most widespread at the time.

Its origin can be traced back to ancient times before human civilization.

Almost every pre-human race, as well as primitive nomadic peoples, worshipped such a goddess.

This is derived from the primitive belief of human beings in fertility, love, farming, stoves in the home and pregnant women, and this belief is transformed into various female images.

They govern fertility and reproduction, care for farmers and gardeners, and bless lovers and couples.

These different beliefs slowly converged and blended, and finally all the gods merged into one, becoming the mother of all: Meliteli.

So for the northerners, as long as there are girls, wives and mothers in this world, the goddess Meliteli will never lose faith.

therefore.

Even though Elland is a city built on a mountain, the roads are naturally sloping.

The Temple of Meliteli is even in the deserted back mountains far away from the city center of Elland, but there are still many people coming and going.

Young girls come to pray for marriage, women come to pray for fertility, old women come to pray for health...

Ailin even saw a pregnant woman with a big belly, who was at least six or seven months pregnant, coming in a carriage without a roof and covered with hay.

It was so devout that it seemed a little ridiculous to Ailin.

“They are not afraid…”

As soon as he pulled the reins and stood side by side with Vesemir, Ailin couldn't help but secretly pointed to his belly and asked curiously.

"Be careful with what you say!" When the witcher master saw Ailin's posture, he quickly signaled him to put his hand down with his eyes.

He looked up at the Queen cautiously, then whispered:
"It is said that this road was blessed by the goddess..." Hearing this, Ailin lowered his head and looked carefully at this ordinary mountain path, then changed his perspective to the wolf emblem.

I found that there was nothing special in my sight except that there were a few more blue water elemental light spots.

"Are you sure?" Ailin asked again in a low voice.

Vesemir knew that the witcher's eyes seemed to be able to see chaos magic. Seeing Ailin like this, he knew that he must have used his ability to see it.

But even so, he nodded seriously with a serious face:
"I am very sure!"

"Why?" Ailin was surprised.

Vesemir looked at the ancient and solemn buildings hidden in the trees in front of him and said:
"The temple of the goddess Meliteli has been built for hundreds of years, and I have never heard of a pregnant woman having a miscarriage on this road."

The Demon Hunter Master stared into the blue eyes and emphasized solemnly:
"not a single one!"

Ailin suddenly looked solemn.

At this time.

A few pregnant women passed by him.

The young witcher thought about it, then looked at the gravel-paved, seemingly ordinary ground.

A sense of awe arises spontaneously.

After looking at Vesemir, Arryn said nothing more and rode straight towards the temple.

……

When they were almost at the temple gate, all the riders and carriages got off.

Arryn, Vesemir, Mary, and the two little ones also dismounted to follow local customs.

But the next second, they found that when the girl, the pregnant woman and the old woman walked into the temple gate.

The husband, the coachman, and the sword-bearing attendant were either waiting at the door or turned around and left, which made them feel a little embarrassed.

"Master Vesemir, are you sure we can go right in without being kicked out?"

Arryn tilted his head to look at Vesemir.

This Temple of Meriteli gave him the feeling of a women's bathroom or changing room in his previous life.

The door was there and no one was blocking it.

But if you go in, you will be socially doomed, and you might even be arrested as a pervert.

Even though we know that Geralt had healed his wounds here in the original book, who knows if it was possible to enter here a hundred years ago?
Or do I need to find someone I know before going in?
Vesemir looked at the unguarded temple entrance and scratched his head:

"I don't know about this either..."

Feeling Arryn's surprised gaze, Vesemir uncomfortably pressed his black wide-brimmed hat and defended himself:
"It's true that I come to Elland often, but the goddess Meliteli is the deity of all women, and the temple is so far away from the city of Elland?"

"I wouldn't come here if I was fine!"

"Hasn't Master Vesemir ever accepted a commission to worship the goddess?" Mary asked curiously.

“Yes…” Vesemir nodded, “but they were all in Elland or the surrounding villages. No monster dared to invade the vicinity of the temple…”

Just as Vesemir and Arryn were discussing whether to ask someone about the rules of the temple...

"Alin... here..."

A cold female voice suddenly sounded in the young demon hunter's mind.

Subconsciously looked to the left.

A woman was standing at the entrance of the temple, next to the marble triumvirate of the goddess Meliteli - "Maiden", "Pregnant Woman" and "Old Woman", smiling at him.

She was wearing a plain grey dress and her hair was wrapped in grey linen, but it did not detract from her feminine beauty.

Instead, it adds a touch of holiness, just like a priest in a temple.

There were two other women standing next to Vera, all dressed like her.

"Ms. Vera!"

"tutor!"

Vesemir and Mary followed Arryn's gaze and cried out in surprise.

Vera nodded to Vesemir and Mary, then looked at Aylin and asked curiously:

"Now that you're here, why don't you come in?"

Vesemir and Arryn looked at each other, then subconsciously looked at the coachman and guards waiting at the door.

Seeing this, the older woman next to Vera smiled kindly:

"Ms. Meliteli is the mother of all things, not just a mother and god of women..."

"Don't wait outside, come in, kids!"

The woman didn't look very old, probably in her twenties.

But the three words "children" sounded particularly infectious and not at all inappropriate when they came out of her mouth.

Vesemir and Arryn looked at each other, then tacitly led their horses towards the temple.

After passing the statue of the goddess, Vera naturally walked to Ailin's side.

After carefully examining him for a few times, as if observing his changes:

"Grown taller again..."

she whispered.

Vera's voice was very low.

If they weren't so close, Ailin's perception had reached 47, so he definitely wouldn't have been able to hear it.

But what surprised him was that the sorceress's tone seemed to contain both relief and sadness.

But before Aylin could ask, Vera took the initiative to introduce the person who was leading the way.

"This is Ms. Nannick, the priestess of the goddess Meliteli. She will help you arrange everything in the temple..."

"If you encounter any difficulties in the temple these days, you can ask her for help..."

The woman who had spoken earlier turned around and smiled at Ailin.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Ms. Nenneke, for the next few days..."

Ailin nodded politely, but his heart was filled with turmoil.

Nenneke...

In the original book, this young woman will become the future high priestess of the goddess Meliteli, the owner of the temple whose influence and power in Elland far exceeds that of the prince.

Do not……

More than that.

In the northern continent, Nenneke's status and influence in some aspects will even exceed that of the owner of this land, King Foltest of Temeria.

It is worth mentioning that.

In the original novel, Geralt had been healed by Nenneke several times.

Nenneke also said that she watched Geralt grow up.

Maybe in the near future, Ailin will have a chance to get an SSR from her?

"As for the other person, you know Ailin..."

The cold female voice interrupted Ailin's scattered thoughts.

"I know?"

Ailin looked curiously at the woman...or girl...

"Lesa!"

After taking two closer looks and seeing the girl turn around and smile, Ailin exclaimed.

"Who is Lisa?" Mary's voice came from the side with some vigilance.

"Hmm?" Ailin looked at Mary in confusion, "Don't you know her? She is..."

The young witcher was about to reveal the girl's identity.

Suddenly remembering that Lisa's identity was a bit sensitive and there were other people around, he quickly made up a story:

"She...she is the girl we rescued on the road..."

I could feel that Mary's gaze seemed to be getting hotter and hotter.

Ailin turned his gaze and saw Vesemir who was watching the show, and blurted out:

"Isn't that right, Master Vesemir?"

Vesemir: “Hmm?”

(End of this chapter)