Godoferin, riding his goat, slowly led Nidhogg and the others into a lush forest where branches and leaves intertwined. Yet, through the sparse gaps, they could still catch glimpses of the corner of the huge cherry tree in the distance.
After a long time, they saw a relatively primitive village. All the houses here, like the Spirit Tree Pavilion, were tall treehouses. The doors of the treehouses were covered with unknown flowers and plants.
Hidden behind the large trees that hadn't been carved into houses stood many wizards, young and old, dressed in magic hats and robes like Godoferin's.
The older mages were clearly teaching the younger mages all kinds of magic.
Schierke looked curiously at her peers among this group of mages, compared their progress, and found that she seemed to be much faster.
This made her a little proud. Either her teacher was very capable at teaching, or she was very talented in magic, to have caught up with so much progress, right?
These mages naturally noticed the presence of Nidhogg and the others. But when they saw that they were brought by the great archmage Godoferin, everyone simply waited and didn't intervene.
"Lord Godoferin."
Three young witches passing by, with wands in their hands, saluted Godoferin respectfully.
There was only one witch, riding on a flying broom, who nodded quite casually to Godoferin.
However, these young witches were, without exception, very curious about the group of strangers Godoferin had brought.
Besides the five goblin brothers, they didn't know any of them.
Huh? Puck?
That Puck who disappeared a few years ago? How did he come back? Still following this group of strangers?
The little witches were confused for a while.
Godoferin didn't need to explain to them. He simply introduced them all:
"These are the new generation of witches today. The tallest is Thione. The somewhat plump one is Uni. The short one is Kuuka. And the one flying on the broom is..."
"Ah, Schierke, you're around their age. Perhaps you can communicate with each other in the future."
Schierke's eyes slid towards the little witches, politely nodding to them, until she met the gaze of the one on the flying broom. She always felt those eyes were quite aggressive, which made her uncomfortable.
After greeting the little witches and parting ways again, Godoferin led Nidhogg and the others further on. Soon, they approached a treehouse that was larger than all the others.
Seeing that they were about to enter the treehouse, the four goblin brothers said something was wrong at home and flew away.
Puck flew up into the air on his little wings and scolded his brothers for being disloyal.
The treehouse occupied such a large area that it could encompass the entire Spirit Tree Pavilion. When they opened the door and entered, it seemed even more spacious. Many tree trunks had become supports for this place. The glass windows radiated warm sunlight.
At the end of the treehouse was a skylight embedded in the tree wall. The shape of the skylight also corresponded to the magic symbol of the Spirit Tree Pavilion—a six-pointed star. It should be said that the prototype of the Spirit Tree Pavilion originated from here.
In the hall of the treehouse, there were many round tables and seats. But only one was behind the innermost round table. Four people sat there. When they saw Godoferin, Nidhogg, and the others, one of the four stood up.
She was an extremely beautiful woman, dressed in a magic hat with a wreath, her eyes always closed, holding a magic wand. Her character was quiet and dignified.
"Flora, Godoferin, you're here."
The woman approached, bringing a waft of floral fragrance. She smiled at Flora and Godoferin, who were clearly acquainted with her. Then she looked at Nidhogg and the others and slightly opened her eyes.
She glanced at Nidhogg and saw the magical power emanating from the Carian Knight armor he wore. Then she closed her eyes and smiled appropriately.
"Just call me Danan. Distant guests, please sit. We have been waiting for you."
Everyone followed Danan to the round table and sat down. Danan took her pastries and brought them to everyone, without using a tray.
Puck and Ivalera unceremoniously took the desserts and enjoyed them, ignoring the goblin image, repeatedly praising Danan's skill.
Danan smiled modestly.
Schierke glanced at Flora. Flora smiled and nodded. She dared to take a piece of pastry, carefully put it in her mouth to chew—it was truly delicious. She admired Danan.
However, Danan wasn't the only one being admired. They were also surprised, because Godoferin began to introduce the identities of the four people at the round table.
"This old man with dark eyes and a beard is the 'Heavy' Ginnar."
"This old man with a long nose and beard is the 'Arranged' Vider."
"This old man with squinting eyes and a rosacea nose is the 'Confused' Skryubjorn."
Obviously, these three old men were the other three of the four great archmages of the Island of Fairies, just as famous as the 'Rider' Godoferin.
Finally, Godoferin narrowed his eyes and introduced: "As for this beautiful woman, she is the 'Flower King' and the 'Fairy King' Danan of the Island of Fairies."
Guts, Schierke, and Ivalera looked up in surprise upon hearing this and stared at Danan, who had just brought them several more plates of snacks. They were astonished.
It was almost absurd that Puck, a native of the Island of Fairies, was hearing this for the first time. He looked stunned.
He actually didn't know that Danan was the "Flower King." That was truly incredible.
Among the crowd, only Nidhogg and Flora remained calm, having known Danan's identity in advance.
After Danan placed the plate of snacks before everyone, she quietly opened her eyes, glanced curiously at Nidhogg, and then leaned back in her seat, completely unlike the "Snow King" she was here.
The "Heavy" Ginnar broke the silence of the scene at this moment. His dark pupils looked at Flora.
"Alas, I saw your spirit body before and didn't realize it. But now, seeing you in person, I understand that breaking the taboo back then severely injured your body and shortened your life."
"Otherwise, you, who practice elemental spirit magic, should be long-lived, like us. You wouldn't be at this point now."
Flora smiled slightly. It was obvious that she still didn't regret her original choice.
Schierke looked anxiously at her teacher.
She knew her teacher wasn't in good health. But actually hearing from a great archmage that her teacher didn't have long to live still caused pain in her heart.
Flora sensed Schierke's anxiety and simply gently patted the back of her student's hand in comfort.
Birth, aging, sickness, and death were originally natural laws. She could live for a thousand years. That was far stronger than most people, even most mages. She believed that wasn't so important.
Now, she just wanted to see her long-cherished dream come true.