After hesitating for a moment, Violet, under the expectant gaze of everyone present, gently loosened the only cord on her robe.
Then, like a fish slipping into the water, in the split second before everyone could see clearly, she made a splash and plunged into the milky-white spirit spring, disappearing into the mist and water.
And where she landed happened to be next to Miss Dragon, whose golden hair was moistened by the warm mist and spring water, floating on the surface like ribbons.
Seeing this scene, Xiao Guang just slightly opened her eyes and revealed a satisfied smile that was rarely seen, while the other girls exclaimed with various expressions.
“Ah! Lady Violet is too cunning. I haven’t seen anything clearly yet!”
“Indeed, Lady Violet is still so easily shy, even though there’s nothing to hide.”
“I envy Miss Xiao Guang so much...”
“Ah, what a pity, I was so close to seeing it...”
“Hey hey! Can you guys calm down a bit!”
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The priestess, with a little head popping up from under the water, quickly stopped the endless complaints of everyone with a face full of black lines.
When the situation finally quieted down, she leaned back against the smooth stone wall behind her, quietly feeling the magical warmth brought by the specially made spirit spring of the Spirit Puppet Tribe.
The water temperature of the spring was just right, and although it might be a bit chilly at first, once you adapted, especially in this fast-approaching late autumn period, it could really help dispel the cold and warm the body.
Even though Violet’s divine body wasn’t affected by temperature, it didn’t mean she couldn’t perceive it. Rather, the priestess quite enjoyed activities like bathing and massage for self-care and relaxation, otherwise she wouldn’t have spent all day lounging in Lilya’s royal bathhouse.
Outside, it was rare to enjoy such a private hot spring.
This wasn’t an area of active tectonics, so the spring water probably wasn’t heated by geothermal energy. There was likely some special device buried below.
Although she was a bit curious, Violet realized that if she scrutinized everything too closely, life would be too exhausting. It was important to relax when it was time to rest.
Although it looked like some kind of translucent white liquid, Violet discovered that the water here wasn’t actually turbid once she entered it.
It was light in color, but when scooped up with her hand, it was still clear and translucent. It was only the magic elements that filled it that made it appear that way under the light from above and around.
Like a curious little girl, Violet scooped up some more spring water with her hand and watched it flow slowly between her fingers.
Then, she leaned her head on the smooth and moist shoulder of the little dragon girl beside her, feeling the slight scent of their skin touching, closing her eyes contentedly with a slight smile on her lips.
Enjoying good food, soaking in a hot spring, and petting her dragon companion – that’s what real travel was all about.
“It seems like the master is in a good mood.”
A girl’s whispered words with a smile reached Violet’s ears. She didn’t open her eyes, just leaned against the other person and smiled softly in response.
“Yeah, Xiao Guang, do you feel the joy of life?”
“It doesn’t matter, as long as I can be with the master, I...”
“.....”
After a moment, the little dragon girl lowered her voice again, seeming somewhat bashful.
“But... this is also nice, isn’t it?”
“Yeah~”
After a while, feeling those strange glances lingering on her body gradually dissipate, Violet slowly opened her eyes. Seizing the opportune moment when everyone was relaxed and the warmth had filled their bodies, she decided it was a perfect time to bring up some topics.
In fact, during this time, everyone had been chatting casually about various things, so speaking up wouldn’t seem out of place.
Seemingly casually, Violet cast her gaze towards the two spirit puppet girls sitting opposite, who were also enjoying the warmth and magic of the spring with closed eyes, their faces relaxed. She spoke softly.
“By the way, Miss Ini, it seems that your spirit puppet tribe is quite skilled at creating exquisite works. Is there any special origin behind this?”
“Hmm?”
Attracted by this seemingly casual conversation, Ini and Eilush simultaneously opened their eyes in surprise. After exchanging a glance, the former nodded slowly.
“Well, yes. To be honest, it has something to do with our creator, ‘Father,’ who is also known as the creator of our spirit puppet tribe.”
Oh~ Looks like it worked?
Watching the spirit puppet girls with a melancholic and reminiscent expression, Violet nodded inwardly. She could sense that Ini and the other spirits clearly avoided the topic of “Father,” not just during the afternoon, but also during dinner when the priestess subtly probed for similar information from the spirits responsible for hosting them. However, these inquiries were deftly sidestepped.
Although curious, Violet understood that directly asking about such a sensitive topic would undoubtedly disrupt the current harmonious atmosphere and might even provoke resentment from Ini and the others. That’s why she chose to subtly guide the conversation, allowing them to bring up similar topics voluntarily.
Of course, the trust she had built by taking the initiative to help and bringing back Ini had played a significant role.
“I’m interested to hear more,” Violet nodded, but did not press further.
Seeing that the curious glances of the other girls were drawn into the conversation, Ini thought for a moment and then continued.
“Our ‘Father’ was a very talented craftsman. The things he created were not limited to just our spirit puppet tribe. I’ve seen designs or finished products in his workshop ranging from miniature crafts as thin as a finger to colossal statues, palaces, and even iron birds that could fly in the sky. They were wonders far beyond your imagination...”
“Unfortunately, by the time our spirit puppet tribe was created, ‘Father’ had already stopped his magnificent artistic creations. The death of ‘Mother’ plunged him into madness and stubbornness. He became obsessed with esoteric soul studies and devoted his astonishing talent entirely to the restoration and creation of life.”
“I think ‘Father’ didn’t see us as his ‘daughters.’ Our existence as Spirit Puppets was probably just a part of his plan to resurrect ‘Mother,’ or perhaps an early experiment.”
“I’m not entirely sure about Father’s plan. However, unfortunately, even though we Spirit Puppets have self-awareness and agile thinking abilities, it doesn’t mean that we have souls. Our self-awareness originates from the mental cores created by ‘Father,’ which is undoubtedly a magnificent feat of creation, but there’s still a fundamental difference compared to a real soul.”
“Upon realizing this, ‘Father’ felt disappointed in us. He seemed to intend for us to be assistants and pioneers for subsequent experiments. That’s why he endowed us with the remarkable creativity inherited from him when designing our mental cores. However, after our actual creation, ‘Father’ realized that his experimental direction was wrong. Puppets cannot generate souls, and mental cores cannot carry souls, let alone resurrect them.”
“Feeling frustrated, ‘Father’ originally planned to destroy us. However, due to... certain circumstances, he ultimately chose to leave us behind and disappear without a trace.”
“After ‘Father’ disappeared, the decisive eldest sister, Ewan, led us to wander in the mountains, searching for a new place to settle. Eventually, we arrived in this tranquil forest, where we settled and called ourselves the spirit puppet tribe.”
“After the tribe settled down, Ewan left the forest alone. Although she claimed to be traveling, I suspect she’s actually searching for ‘Father’s’ whereabouts, wanting to demand answers for certain things.”
“Hehe, actually, everyone has come to terms with it. It’s okay. Look, isn’t our life good now? The spirit puppet tribe doesn’t need to rely on anyone and can live peacefully. We don’t need any fathers or mothers!”
After a brief pause, feeling the somewhat silent atmosphere, Ini smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I brought up something so heavy all of a sudden.”
“No, I brought up the topic. I should be the one apologizing...”
Violet did feel some regret. If she had known it was such a serious topic, she would have chosen a more suitable time and place to bring it up.
During the silence, a short-haired spirit puppet girl who was soaking beside Ini suddenly clapped her hands forcefully, attracting everyone’s attention.
“Yeah, why talk about old stuff? Instead of that, why don’t we discuss where to start with my 【Artificial Wing No. 1786】... Hey, why did you suddenly hit my head, Uwah!”
“If you keep talking with me about your failures over a thousand times, filling the warehouse with a heap of junk scrap, I’ll throw you out of the Spirit Spring!!”