novelraw Chapter 525 - 515: Mushroom Worship Sect
Chapter 525 - 515: Mushroom Worship Sect
The technique of my dear niece still has its merits.
Elvyn had never thought before, when certain parts of Puki were gently scratched, it could bring such a relaxed feeling!
The indentation at the junction of the mushroom cap and the torso, the connection at the root of the tentacles, or perhaps the short legs being gently pinched...
As for the matter of being touched by Inanna?
The one being touched is No. 14 Puki, what does it have to do with the Sword Saint Elvyn who has long died in battle?
Inanna’s caresses continued until No. 4, who had already returned to a normal body, used mycelium tentacles to tap Inanna’s arm, finally ending it.
Of course, Master of Water Inanna would never abandon the old for the new or favor one over another, she picked up No. 4 and skillfully kneaded it as well.
Only No. 10 stood silently in the shadows among the crowd, showing no intention of joining in.
However, it wasn’t daydreaming; it was learning magic through the Fungal Network.
There were specialized mushroom beings flipping through magic books as it requested, then projecting the images through the Fungal Network into No. 10’s consciousness.
No. 10 was very clear that Puki didn’t need to train skills, the great Mushroom Lord could bestow most abilities.
But this "most abilities" didn’t include the knowledge needed for casting, which it needed to learn on its own, and No. 10 itself also enjoyed the feeling of acquiring knowledge.
It planned to become Puki the Great Mage.
Though it had never expressed it, No. 10 firmly believed that it was the Mushroom Lord’s most outstanding creation!
...
By the time Inanna had returned, Fa’er had already dispatched a search team to attempt clearing the passage that No. 10 had previously blocked.
Lin Jun used bat Puki to take Inanna from the crack to the sixth level, then took a hidden house, straight to the first level.
When Inanna emerged from the Underground City, Fa’er hurried over upon hearing the news, almost wanting to hold Inanna’s feet to vent his grievances.
Who could understand the pressure brought upon him by the news that Duke Alama was heading to Mushroom City?
"Luckily... luckily you returned safely!" Fa’er wiped the sweat from his forehead, then noticed there was an extra figure beside Inanna.
If it were other Mushroom Race members, Fa’er might find it hard to tell at a glance if it was special.
But Sword Saint Puki with its 80-centimeter small body carrying four sword scabbards was too conspicuous, obviously not an ordinary Puki.
Fa’er didn’t ask much; Alama was about to arrive, Inanna’s matters were not for him to manage.
And Inanna also happened to want to discuss with her boss about her desire to make a trip to the Dwarf Mountains.
Arranged by Fa’er, Inanna once again stayed in the Adventurer’s Guild, where she also met Shi Wu who had just returned and temporarily settled in Mushroom City.
At first glance seeing Inanna, Shi Wu walked up with a smile, intending to greet her.
Upon first seeing Inanna, Shi Wu smiled and approached intending to say hello. But the moment he caught sight of the sword-carrying Puki beside her, his movement visibly froze.
Only after seeing clearly it was four swords instead of the remembered dual swords did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
Thinking about it, he had hurried back non-stop from the Scarecrow Abyss.
That Puki who once completely overpowered him, even if it climbed immediately from the deep, couldn’t possibly be faster than a horse rider, and shouldn’t appear beside Inanna.
But whether it was an illusion or not, he always felt that the gaze of that four-sword Puki was fixed on him...
Sword Saint Puki indeed was staring at Shi Wu.
Rarely lucky to see Shi Wu again, its tentacles itched, wanting to try four-sword style.
Unfortunately, this is not a chance encounter in the Underground City; fighting would be hard to explain.
It could only give up regretfully.
Though the Sword Saint had given up picking a fight, Shi Wu still felt an inexplicable chill on his back.
However, No. 9 on top of his head was rather calm, already knowing that the Sword Saint Puki was its fellow mushroom.
Tentacles clutching the top of Shi Wu’s hair, short legs stepping down, the mushroom cap still brushed against Shi Wu’s cheek: "Don’t panic, little Shi Wu, if a fight starts, I’ve got you covered!"
After finishing its boast, No. 9 turned to snuggle with No. 4, exchanging internal Mushroom Race feelings, and was also taken by Inanna for a rub, and didn’t forget to sigh afterwards, wondering why its own Shi Wu lacked such skills.
...
After settling Inanna properly, Fa’er finally dragged his weary body back to the office.
Lillian walked up behind him, her fingertips exerting a calming pressure to knead his shoulders and neck.
Inanna’s disappearance for the past few days had truly exhausted him physically and mentally.
Pressure not only came from Duke Alama, but the calls from Mushroom City citizens to "intensify search and rescue efforts" were also increasing.
How could a war hero disappear without a trace in the Underground City?
As a result, he had to temporarily shelve other state affairs, focus major manpower and resources on the search and rescue, even risking to offend the Mushroom Race in the Underground City by attempting to dig the bottom-layer passages.
Under such tremendous pressure, Fa’er felt his hairline starting to recede.
Thankfully, Inanna returned on her own, temporarily saving him from the crisis of early baldness.
However, this didn’t mean he was relaxed.
He’s not one of those deadbeats waiting to live off their laurels, having been exception-breaking to become the City Lord of Mushroom City, he has grander aspirations to fulfill, and has to catch up on all the previously shelved state affairs.
After a brief rest for a quarter of an hour, he resumed his seat at the wide desk.
Most of the documents were various applications from subordinates, such as allocating resources for adding magic arrays to city defenses, requesting to purchase special materials from abroad...
Fa’er quickly scanned through and approved one by one, until a document made his pen halt.
"Mushroom Worship Sect..."
The content was simple: recently, small gatherings of mushroom and Puki worship had appeared in Mushroom City.
In this world, there’s never a shortage of such new faiths, most of which never become a trend.
Logically, such unknown-origin beliefs should directly be defined as a cult. But the problem is, the Kingdom and the Mushroom Race are in the initial stage of contact, with potential for various cooperation in the future.
And behind the "Mushroom Worship Sect," it’s hard to say whether there’s any Mushroom Race quietly promoting it.
In that case, how to deal with this church somewhat becomes a diplomatic issue.
It seems presently, the main members believing in Puki are mostly those survivors of the Dragon Roar Valley battle and their families, and these people indeed are most likely to become followers of this church.
The numbers aren’t large yet, to suppress it needs to be early!
Fa’er also recalled the news lately coming from the fallen western region, where the cult Hand of Death had already quietly held several sacrifices taking advantage of the chaos there.
Not only humans, but even the Demon Race, once caught by them, were sacrificed just as indiscriminately, and judging from the traces left, the scale of sacrifices was increasingly large, who knows what those madmen planned?
He summoned Mira Belle, ordering her to arrange for personnel to investigate undercover, at least to figure out the driving force behind the Mushroom Worship Sect.
What Fa’er worried most about, was the so-called Mushroom Worship Sect actually being a new skin put on by Hand of Death.
If Hand of Death truly caused chaos in Mushroom City, he feared he wouldn’t even have a place to cry.
As for the considerations regarding the Kingdom and Mushroom Race’s relations... just right the Duke is coming, Fa’er decided to seek Alama’s counsel then.
...
A few days later, when Alama finally arrived in Mushroom City, what greeted him was Inanna holding the Sword Saint Puki.
This scene, even with Sword Saint’s thick skin, couldn’t help but silently turn its mushroom cap to the side.