Mystery: The Stars Returner

Desire and reproduction?

This was the first thought that came to Hastur's mind. He looked at it carefully for a while, but did not find the key element of desire, only pure reproduction.

It is also possible to reproduce and use it on crops, but hiding in red cloth and gathering people like this... is still a bit inappropriate after all.

In one's own territory, it is better to have fewer such things.

Hastur began to think about how to change the concept of the small town residents holding the Valley Festival. If they believed in the festival held by the Mother Earth God, he would ignore it.

Because there will be no uncontrollable events if you believe in the Mother Goddess of the Earth.

But this town believes in reproduction, not the Earth Mother Goddess. If it continues to develop like this, it will be dominated by reproduction, and sooner or later it will fall into the arms of the Mother Tree of Desire or the Fallen Mother Goddess.

This is something he will never allow.

"It should be windy here, strong wind!"

Hastur whispered softly, preparing to set off a gust of wind to overturn the red cloth, revealing the true face of the so-called Breath of Spring Goddess to everyone.

But when the wind blew in the distance, the corners of the red cloth were lifted, but the red cloth in the middle seemed to be held down by something, allowing it to be blown by the strong wind.

There is a situation.

Hasta turned on his spiritual vision and looked in the direction of the red cloth. He vaguely saw an illusory figure lying on the red cloth, admiring the art of reproduction between the five couples inside.

The figure looked like a spider, but it didn't have that many spider legs, and it didn't have any hair on its body. Its abdomen was round, as if it were pregnant, but its upper body was slender and long, like a person planted in a flower bed. Inside, then stand up and drag the flower bed like walking.

Maybe he felt the gaze, and the figure looked back. It should be a human face, but there were no facial features on the face.

Spider with a human face? Is this the true face of the so-called Breath of Spring Goddess?

Hastur did not interrupt, and still chose to watch quietly. The human-faced spider did not make any other move, and still lay on the red cloth, admiring the great things that were multiplying inside the red cloth.

When the sun cast its rays from the sky, the slightly illusory human-faced spider disappeared in the sunlight, leaving no trace behind.

With waves of cheers ringing out, this year’s Grain Sacrifice Festival has come to an end.

Under the instructions of the priestess, some strong young men brought the firewood that had been prepared nearby, piled it around the red cloth, and then lit it.

During the entire process, the red cloth was never lifted, and the statue was burned with the flames.

According to the residents of the town, all living things eventually return to the soil and turn into nutrients that nourish the growth of all things.

The same is true for the Breath of Spring Goddess. When she turns into ashes and blends into the soil with the blessings of believers, she will nourish the crops and usher in a joyful harvest.

This statement is well-founded and convincing, and it is difficult to find fault with it.

But Hastur still didn't want to let the Breath of Spring goddess exist. He didn't believe in the mercy of the gods.

Everything is equal, what you gain is what you lose.

This kind of protection never comes without a price.

Silver City, a gift from the earth formed by the remains of the giant queen Omi Bella after her death, allows the people living here to have the staple food of black-faced grass, allowing them to survive in the harsh and dangerous land abandoned by the gods.

The price the residents of Silver City have to pay for this is: they will have to bear the fate of being cursed. Only those killed by immediate family members will not turn into terrible evil spirits.

A good harvest comes at a price.

Hastur did not act immediately, but went to the bathroom to wash up, then went downstairs to have breakfast, and then went out to hang out.

Although the sacrifices have ended, the festival still continues, and this excitement usually lasts for a week.

Every household will display the fruits and vegetables produced by their own family during this festival.

The quality of the fruits and vegetables here is indeed better than the crops produced in other areas. The fruits and vegetables that Hasta's castle needs on weekdays are purchased from this town.

Firstly, it’s because it’s close, and secondly, it’s because the quality is really good.

Hastur walked around, intentionally or unintentionally asking about things about the priestess. In such remote villages and towns, what a respected priest said was often more useful than a mayor.

The priestess in the town of Moira is not fixed, but changes every year. As for why it happens so frequently, the residents here give the same answer.

A good harvest needs to be brewed, just as women always need a certain amount of time to recover after giving birth to a child.

The same is true for worshiping the goddess of the breath of spring. After a good harvest one year, a new priest is needed to brew the harvest again.

This statement made some sense, but it did not convince Hastur. He specifically asked the priestess who held the annual sacrifice if he could still see her in the coming year.

The answer I heard is that it can be seen, and it is more popular when marrying, because many people believe that the priestess who presides over the sacrifice is also conducive to the reproduction of offspring.

This made Hastur realize that something was wrong. In his impression, priests had a lofty status. In order to maintain their sanctity, most of them were not allowed to marry and have children, and they needed to remain single for life.

But according to the custom here, not only can priestesses get married and have children, but they are also very popular.

Not only that, Hastur also discovered that the town residents attach great importance to reproduction.

Some families gave birth to seven or eight children and continued to have more children. The tallest family had twenty-three children!

"You must be a foreigner. We here all know that the more offspring you have, the easier it is to receive blessings from the God of Ceramics, and the easier it is for your family's fields to have a bumper harvest, and you can even avoid bugs all year round. "A drunkard who was a little drunk mocked Hastur's ignorance with the strength of his drink.

Some people thought that Hastur came to their town specifically to find a girl suitable for marriage.

This is nothing new. There are always many outsiders who value the blessings of good harvests here and want to marry a daughter-in-law here so that their fields can have good harvests.

But in the end, they often fail. A lot of children are born, but the fields will still be barren if they should have a bad harvest, and they will still be barren.

People came to the conclusion that only an area around the town could enjoy the blessings of Ceres' harvest.

Hastur disagreed with such remarks, but he still took the opportunity to say that he was indeed here to find a suitable wife for marriage, and that he would succeed in finding a priestess's home address this year.

"It's not that easy to marry the daughter of Old Jeff's family. You have to prepare at least 100 gold pounds as a bride price and a field big enough for ten cows to cultivate, to have a chance to marry his daughter." Someone shouted loudly. .

"I think you have no hope. Although you are very good-looking, old Jeff's daughter is only fourteen years old this year. He is reluctant to let his precious daughter marry far away."

"Young man, let me teach you a way. Take out 500 gold pounds and slap it on the table at Old Jeff's house. I guarantee that Old Jeff will not say a word of objection, but will happily accept you as his son-in-law."

When these discussions faded away, Hastur did not go to Old Jeff's house immediately. Instead, he returned to the hotel to rest and wait until night before going out for action.