Chapter 1214: The So-Called Banquet

"At least you are honest."

Xia De admitted this point as well; most of the promises he made would be fulfilled, and honesty was one of the few qualities he possessed that he was quite proud of.

Next was for the four of them to mutually vote for the most excellent poem. Thus, Xia De naturally received the petals from the other three, while he gifted his own petal to Mr. Leman. His poem had been written by someone else; in terms of creating poetry, Mr. Leman was indeed a cut above.

Just like last time, the Butterfly God herself could also bestow two petals to indicate her likes and dislikes. Thus, two petals drifted out, passing over the gold and silver utensils and delicacies on the table; one stopped by Mr. Leman's hand, and the other stopped by Sister Perry's hand.

Up to this point, Xia De had obtained six petals, Lady Blachette one, Sister Perry one, and Mr. Leman four. Although Mr. Leman was in the lead, there were still six petals waiting to be bestowed in the final round, so it could not yet be said that Mr. Leman was definitely the final winner.

After this round ended, the God did not present gifts to each person individually, but instead directly announced the third activity of the banquet:

"The original plan was to have you tell stories about butterflies, but I have already received a story just now."

She smiled at Xia De, and Xia De's guess had actually fallen through:

"Then what are we to do last?"

He asked softly, very worried that the remaining time would not be enough for him to resolve the trouble. But the God only pointed to the top of the crowd, at the swarms of butterflies circling and hovering around the underground skylight:

"Mortals, finally, show me your understanding of the beauty of butterflies. There are butterflies here; each of you chooses one you consider the most beautiful, and then you will evaluate each other. You only need to call them, and they will fly toward you."

Thus, the three witches immediately looked up, and then were forced to squint their eyes because the skylight was too bright.

Only Xia De looked at the God, and the God said with a smile:

"Foreign guest, you wouldn't be wanting to choose me, would you?"

"Your beauty, of course, surpasses all butterflies, but I do not yet have the courage to blaspheme a God."

Xia De said softly, praising the beauty of the God's manifested form. As for what this God's true form looked like, he could not see through it now, nor could he see through the illusions of the 【Thousand-Eyed Phantom Butterfly】, also known as the "God of Illusion."

The Butterfly God maintained her smile:

"Not going to pick a butterfly? Wait a while, and the other mortals will pick away my most beautiful butterflies."

Xia De shook his head slightly:

"To me, your butterflies are far less beautiful than my own."

A swarm of red butterflies flew out from his sleeve, then split into two clusters and gathered on the left and right sides behind him. The dense swarm of red butterflies gathered into human shapes with a slightly eerie effect, and with the use of the spell, the flickering butterflies finally formed the likenesses of Grace in a white dress and Helen in a black dress. Of course, it was their mature appearance in their twenties.

Xia De smiled and looked back at the two, then turned to pick up the red wine glass at his side, saluting the Butterfly God:

"Look, God of Butterflies, these are my butterflies. Originally, they were taken a fancy to by a decent guest, but fortunately, I snatched them from that Duke at the lakeside in the night."

"From a cage in the Duke's hands, to become imprisoned in your cage?"

The God asked softly, also picking up a goblet and clinking it in the air with Xia De.

Xia De sipped the red wine and shook his head slightly:

"I have not imprisoned them; what imprisons them is their mission and the power of that city."

This referred to Mid-Hill Fort.

"No, you have indeed woven a new cage. That is far more terrifying than cities and missions; it is a cage of emotions. The Duke only wanted the ownership of their bodies and souls, while you want more. They ultimately failed to escape the fence; they can only dance in the palm of your hand."

The 【Thousand-Eyed Phantom Butterfly】 said with implication, and Xia De did not refute:

"But at least my palm is big enough, and we mortals, even if we are relics, are mere mortals to existences like you. Who, then, can truly jump out and obtain true freedom?"

The God smiled and shook her head, no longer entangling with Xia De on this issue:

"However, I admit that these two butterflies of yours are indeed very beautiful. Stories bestow charm upon girls; this is common to all races. You have already told their story just now, otherwise, I would not acknowledge their charm."

Xia De put down his wine glass, enduring the discomfort and dizziness, and looked directly into the God's eyes:

"They are called Grace White and Helen Black; you already know their location. If you can, please help them."

This was something that had already happened, but Xia De had to ensure that it would still happen.

"The Tree Father's partiality toward you is truly terrifying."

The 【Butterfly God】 said softly:

"I will go and see your butterflies, to see what the butterfly twins, who have not yet grown up, look like now. Although they have already accepted the power of the twin gods, this does not prevent me from blessing the butterflies I like."

Xia De nodded gently, and Grace and Helen behind him turned into a swarm of red butterflies and dissipated.

He picked up his last petal that had not been gifted:

"I have always believed that Miss Grace White and Miss Helen Black are the most beautiful mortal butterflies in my heart; I am absolutely convinced of this."

"So, your last petal is to be gifted to yourself?"

"No, their beauty does not need my acknowledgment. You and that decent vampire Duke have both said that unusual stories and experiences make girls even more charming. Their charm is here, in me."

He tapped his own chest and gave the last petal to Sister Perry. While the latter accepted it without understanding why, Xia De whispered a "Thank you."

Sister Perry did not understand at all why this was.

The God smiled without comment, and the other three, who were looking up and squinting to observe the butterflies, also found their respective butterflies one after another.

"God, I choose this one."

The first to speak was Lady Blachette, the witch, whose eyesight was the best among the three.

The butterfly chosen by the witch appeared blue-purple overall, with gorgeous metallic luster on its wings, and the front wings had variations of deep blue, azure, and light blue at both ends, while the underside of the wings had rows of eye-shaped spots. This was a quite gorgeous butterfly; after being chosen by the witch, it circled around her, and finally stopped on the witch's hair, like a gorgeous blue-purple metallic hair accessory.

"I want to gift the petal to myself; this is the most beautiful butterfly."

The words of the gorgeous middle-aged witch were also full of confidence.

"God, please allow me to choose this one."

Next was Sister Perry, but what was somewhat surprising was that the butterfly flying down from high altitude actually looked like two withered leaves. The underside of the wings was the color of a withered leaf; when resting, there was a dark brown horizontal line from the apex of the front wing to the anal angle of the hind wing, plus several diagonal lines, resembling leaf veins.

"Merging with nature and the earth, I like this butterfly."

The nun said, extending her hand to let the butterfly stop on the pad of her right index finger, and then she also gave the petal to herself.

Finally, it was Mr. Leman's turn. He stared blankly at the butterflies flying all over the sky, and finally shook his head, choosing nothing:

"Sorry, God, the butterflies I appreciate must have the characteristics of human girls; this was the purpose of my coming here in the first place. I do not wish to violate my inner true thoughts before you and give the title of the most beautiful butterfly to a butterfly I do not love. There is no most beautiful butterfly here; I will not make a choice."

Saying this, he took out his leaf and handed it to the witch Blachette:

"The butterfly chosen by this lady is relatively beautiful... I don't understand why the girl who appeared behind that gentleman over there just now also counts as a butterfly; that just looks like a human."

In this way, Xia De possessed six petals, Lady Blachette three, Sister Perry three, and Mr. Leman four.

All the mortals closed their eyes, waiting for the final "judgment," while Xia De looked at that God:

"The last two petals you bestow will determine who can obtain the favor of your dependents."

He reminded softly, and the last two petals flew up from the God's side, then circled around this terrifyingly large round table. They did not immediately stop by anyone, and the God asked with a smile:

"Mortals, you came here for your respective purposes and participated in this banquet that might cost you your lives and souls. Before the final result appears, I allow you one last time to state your wishes."

"For greater power."

The witch remained firm on this.

"To touch the supernatural."

The nun whispered softly.

"To find the girl I love."

Although the scope was a bit smaller, Mr. Leman did not feel ashamed at all.

The God finally looked at Xia De. Xia De had come here originally without his own wishes, just to complete the Tree Father's task, but now he had a wish:

"To obtain the God-calling ritual to call you, and also to witness the end of this story, to see who exactly obtained the favor of the God's dependents."

The God clapped her hands with a smile, and the two petals fell by the sides of Lady Blachette and Sister Perry respectively.

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

"Why?"

Xia De asked in confusion.

"What are we doing?"

The Butterfly God said gently.

"Attending a banquet?"

"Yes, at the banquet of the earth and butterflies, everyone should enjoy this moment of time; I don't quite understand."

The languid lady rested her face on her right hand and looked at Xia De:

"Why have you been so vigilant against me from the very beginning?"

As she spoke, the orchestral music became louder, and more light shone from above the underground cave, allowing everyone to bathe in this light:

"Watching you come with vigilance and leave with vigilance is truly interesting. But isn't this a banquet?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1215 =====