As the middle-aged witch Blackett performed a spell that Shade could not understand, the branches of the newly grown slender sapling continued to grow. Not only did the branches grow longer, but the emerald green leaves that grew also fell off and turned into green little people, which soon filled the branches of the sapling.
They sat close to each other on the upper and lower branches, each holding a different musical instrument in their hands.
As the witch bowed to the gods and stood up to sing, the "miniature" orchestra on the small tree began to play.
It seemed that singing was a necessary skill for witches. As soon as Ms. Blackett opened her mouth, Shad knew that Mr. Lyman and Sister Perry had no chance of winning.
The ballad chosen by the witch was one that Shade had never heard of. It sounded like a country tune, but it was not simply a song praising butterflies and the gods before them. It was a narrative ballad that told the story of a witch riding a unicorn and traveling around, meeting her beloved lover, breaking up and getting back together, and finally getting together after a series of adventures and trials.
The length of this song is almost as long as Sister Perry's hymn, but fortunately there is still enough time left. With the accompaniment of the orchestra, the witch's already moving voice is brought to a higher level.
So when she finished singing and bowed, Mr. Lyman and Sister Perry both showed lost expressions, and they were also aware of the gap between themselves and the witch.
So, finally it was Shad's turn, and he also stood up instead of sitting.
He took a few steps back so that the stool would not hinder his movements. Finally, he snapped his fingers, and with the use of the incomplete puzzle, a huge silver moon disk appeared above Xia De's head. At the same time, the sky was filled with stars, shining with the flying butterflies.
Activating the sound of thaumaturgical music, recalling Miss Benannis under the only light on the stage less than two hours ago, Shade began to sing:
"It sprouts from the new year..."
Just now on the way home, although Shade tried to hum a few lines while using magic, when he really started singing formally, he was surprised by his own voice.
Miss Benanis's female voice has a completely different timbre from Shade's male voice, and the witch's intoxication when singing is not something that a foreigner who doesn't understand art can imitate. But even so, with the help of magic, Shade still imitated the witch's voice almost perfectly and sang his own butterfly song.
Although this caused Shade's singing to show too many expressions and skills that only women have when singing, it did not prevent him from being almost intoxicated by the sound. He himself had no emotions, only skills that were copied almost one-to-one, which fully explained why the sound of thaumaturgy music could be used to record the sounds of nature. At this time, thaumaturgy was used to offer the gods the songs that would only appear in the next era, so it was not a waste of its own power.
This time the butterflies were not just flying in the air, they fluttered around Shad, and in the singing, under the small starry sky, they formed a tide of butterflies as if controlled by Shad, surging with the music.
Sister Perry, Mr. Lyman and Miss Blackett looked at this scene in surprise. After Shad finished singing and the silver moon and the starry sky disappeared, they were unable to react immediately.
The fluttering butterflies surrounded Shade and refused to let him sit down again. Even if Shade waved them away, they would come back soon. It was not until the god at the table smiled and spoke that the butterflies let Shade sit down again. But soon they landed on his shoulders again, which made Shade very glad that he did not bring the cat with him.
“There is no emotion involved, but if we only consider the technique, I am afraid there is no mortal who can sing this song in this era.”
God said with a smile, and then continued to comment:
"It's a very good song, but unfortunately, it's not your song. I would really like to meet the mortal woman who sang this song."
But unfortunately, the Butterfly God left in the Fifth Era. Even if she sighed at this time, Shade thought it was not a hint. She could not hear Miss Benanis's song in the Sixth Era unless Shade could bring the witch here next time.
The god could tell that this was not Shade's song, and Shade was not surprised. He nodded slightly to show that he agreed with the god's opinion:
"I realize it's not my song, so I don't think I'm the best of us."
He picked up a petal and handed it to the witch, Ms. Blackett:
"I give the first petal to this lady. I love your singing."
The middle-aged witch took it with some surprise, and seeing Shade make a move, they all picked up the petals at hand. No one had the courage to play tricks in front of the gods, so everyone chose the one they thought had the best singing voice, which was Shade.
Then three pink and white petals fell into Xia De's hands. Xia De took the lead in the first activity of the Butterfly God Banquet.
"Since I'm sitting at the table, I can obviously judge the best singer as well."
The god said with a smile, and two pink and white petals floated up beside her hands, apparently indicating that she could cast two votes, but no one objected.
The butterflies gathered around the two petals and flew towards the same person, Mr. Laiman, the only man other than Shad.
The people at the table did not ask the reason. The gods' standards for judging songs were obviously different from those of mortals. Besides, the songs of the four people just now could be called excellent. Maybe the god was just moved by Mr. Leiman's "determination".
Therefore, out of the six petals in the first round, Shad got three, the witch got one, Mr. Lyman got two, and Sister Perry, who was considered by Shad to be the most likely winner, did not get any.
"Then, God of Butterflies, are you satisfied with the songs we presented?"
Xia De asked on behalf of the four people, and the god nodded slightly:
"They are all very beautiful songs. Butterfly and I both like them very much."
The mortals breathed a sigh of relief, and the god smiled and continued:
"Before I announce what you are going to do next, enjoy the party. You deserve the reward. Not only the winner, but everyone deserves the reward."
This god seemed more generous than any god Shade had met before.
"Give you health."
There was a glittering potion in the golden wine glass in front of Mr. Leiman. After expressing his gratitude excitedly, he drank the potion in one gulp.
"I will give you clear eyesight."
A glimmer of light flew into Sister Perry's eyes, and she whispered a thank you, then bowed her head in prayer.
Shade didn't sense too many miraculous elements. It seemed that the gods had only given him simple blessings such as "dark vision" or "expanded field of vision".
"Give you beauty."
Suddenly, one of the grapes stacked on the silver plate rolled out and landed in front of the middle-aged witch. It turned into a huge purple gem, a real divine item.
The witch suppressed her smile, picked it up, and thanked the god in a low voice.
Finally, it was Shade's turn. He looked up at the Butterfly God with great anticipation. Even with his perception, he could not determine what the god's true form was. The old god Thousand Eyes Illusion Butterfly was very good at the power of illusion. Unless Shade burned his divinity, he could only see a deeper level of illusion.
"I know what you want."
God smiled and said to Shad:
"I also know many of the answers you are seeking."
She shook her ringed finger:
"But you failed to satisfy me, so I cannot tell you. I will give you three options, and you can choose one as a blessing."
She smiled and seemed to find this very amusing:
"One, my butterflies like you very much. I can let one of them merge with you and give you more power over butterflies."
This is almost equivalent to giving the miracle - the "Butterfly" spirit rune to Shade. Shade even believes that the spell of "Transformation into Red Butterfly" can become more powerful.
"Second, you are slightly tainted by the curse of the earth. Although this will not affect you, it lets me know what you are about to face. I can give you some hints... just small hints."
This is also a very tempting option. Even though he knows that what the gods say must be an obscure "riddle", it is still very useful to Shade.
"Finally, I can give you an interesting gift, but you can't take that gift away. You have to find it yourself."
God looked at Shad's face, and Shad understood that he was asked to go to the Sixth Age to find the gift himself.
These three options are actually very good, and Shad also saw that the god in front of him valued the fun of it more than giving him gifts. Dorothy said that this god was not a good god or an evil god in the strict sense, she was just a little "unloving". But in Shad's contact, he felt that this god was really good.
Of course, if he could decide for himself, Shade would rather ask the gods to fulfill their wish of "letting the three of them leave safely after the banquet." This may seem to have no benefits, but for him it is a choice full of greater future possibilities, but unfortunately he can only choose one of the three.
First, let’s rule out the first option. Although the spirit rune is extremely valuable, with further contact with sisters Helen and Grace in the future, there is still a chance of obtaining the “Butterfly” spirit rune.
After a brief hesitation, he ruled out the third option. It was not because Shade despised the gift from God that transcended time, but because he was too busy recently and had no time to add another task to himself:
"God, I want to know about the crazy land."
He said respectfully, expecting what kind of "riddle" he would hear. But he did not expect that the god who appeared in the form of a beautiful woman smiled and nodded:
"No problem, it's wise of you to want my gift."
"Um... ... "
Xia De was sure that this was definitely not the one he had chosen just now.