Santa Harbour, a room with a card table.

Changing their appearance and clothes, Lumien and Lugano meet the black marketeer who claims to be a descendant of the Dalezhes.

Dressed in a white shirt and black waistcoat, he sat at the head of the table, with a glass of pale malted white wine in front of him and a slow-burning cigar between his fingers.

He did seem to have the blood of the Daliege region, his eye sockets were slightly sunken, his black hair was slightly curled, his blue eyes were like the sky of the mountains without clouds, his cheeks were thin, his beard was dense, and he looked like he was in his thirties.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Valerio." Lugano greeted in the highland language.

Valerio looked back at the bodyguards with guns pinned to them, and said with a smile in Intis with a Dalezhan accent: "It's been a long time since I've been back to my hometown, and it's very kind to see you."

"Yes, Mr. Valerio." Lumi cringed and replied in Intij, also with a Dalezhan accent.

Although the shepherds are adept at fighting the dangers of the wilderness, they instinctively fear the authorities in human settlements.

Valerio nodded slightly, "Are you from Larnaca?"

"yes, just finished attending the trading conference there." Lumian replied fluently.

He had heard of Larnaca from the shepherds of the village of Cordu, where a trade fair was held every month, creating a lively country market where shepherds from near and far would come in search of opportunities to buy and sell lambs, wool, cheese and other goods.

Valerio then chatted about the transition and the folklore of the Dalieges, which Lumien knew and answered from the perspective and point of view of a shepherd.

In the process, he was vaguely in a trance, remembering the words that his sister occasionally said when she was angry:

"If you don't study hard, I'll send you to be a shepherd!"

Now, he is indeed playing a shepherd.

After a while, Valerio nodded in satisfaction, took a puff on his cigar and said:

"You are still wise, you can graze in the suburbs without identification, you must have it when you settle in the city, I will help you get two sets as soon as possible, and after that, you can come to me if you encounter any difficulties, I may not be able to help, but one more person will always have more ideas, we are all Daliege people, of course we have to help each other."

Lumian is not at all surprised by the black marketeer's enthusiasm: "uniting" the people of his hometown will form a force to be used and not to be reckoned with!

It's like the Savoyard Party, which was originally formed by Savoyards who worked as coolies and waiters, and they made a lot of contributions to the big bosses of the Savoyard Chamber of Commerce to develop their businesses, expand their operations, and keep their family property.

As for how many of these Savoyards will never be able to get on the right path, and will die on the side of the street at some point, the rich merchants don't care.

Lumian relied on the acting skills he learned from Jana and Anthony Lumian. Rhett's point of commendation praises Valerio for his very noble character.

Valerio smiled and deliberately advised:

"If you want to survive here, it's best to convert to the 'Mother Earth Goddess' as soon as possible, find a good girl to marry as soon as possible, and have a few children, only in this way will you not encounter some hidden troubles."

Is marriage and fertility a tradition in the Kingdom of Fenerport? Lumian sneered and smiled bitterly: "Without copper plates, there will be no good girls."

This is also a proverb in the Daliege region, which means that it is difficult for the poor to find good girls, and it is even more difficult for shepherds to start a family.

"This is Fenerport, not Daliege." Valerio took the glass of white wine and took a sip, "The good girls here value a strong body and a brave temperament, and the money can be earned when they get married." ”

"Why?" Lumian didn't hide his bewilderment.

"That kind of man is better suited to procreation, and he is more capable of impregnating good girls." Valerio smiled, "Unlike Dalege, the core of many things is fertility, reproduction, and only by thinking about this can you truly understand Fenerpot, the mother of all things!"

The black marketeer stood up, feet slightly apart, hands raised in the air.

It's no wonder that Fenerport is the most populous of the countries of the Northern Continent, and if it weren't for their ability to improve the land and grow food, they wouldn't have been able to feed so many people...... Lumien's thoughts raced, and he said tentatively: "Mr. Valerio, I heard that there will be some sea prayer ceremony next month, will there be an opportunity to make money?"

"Yes." Valerio sat down, "It's still hot in Santa Port in November, and when my grandfather first came here, he rented a wooden box with popsicles, went to the ice factory and got a bunch of ice cubes back, piled them around the popsicles, covered them with towels, and then squeezed into the crowd, sold them popsicles and ice cubes, and earned his first pot of gold, and now, this business can be done, but the competition is much fiercer, and he even has to rent an extra bicycle so that he can do it."

Bring a larger insulated wooden box and go to more ceremonial venues. ”

"How many ceremonial venues?" Lumian asked.

Valerio replied with a smile: "This is a grand event in the whole Santa Port, and there are many processes that need to be held in different places, such as the sea dance in the port, the flower boat parade in the whole city, the boat racing competition on the sea, the vigil in the village of Milo, and, most importantly, the sea festival."

"What is the Sea Festival?" Lumian asked curiously.

Valerio shook his head slowly:

"I don't know the specifics, but I know that the 'Governor of the Sea' and the 'Handmaidens of the Sea' took special boats and carried the sacrifices offered by fishermen and maritime merchants to a certain sea area outside the harbor to hold a unique ceremony, and those who have not followed it will never know the detailed process."

"Governor of the Sea", "Handmaiden of the Sea'?" Lumian kept picking at keywords.

This fits perfectly with the situation of a Daleges shepherd who has just arrived in Puerto Santa.

Valerio smiled: "The most important thing in the sea prayer ceremony is to elect a man to be the 'Governor of the Sea' and four young girls to be the 'Handmaidens of the Sea', they first parade through the city in a flower boat, then go to the port to board the special fishing boat, go out to sea in the 'Sea Dance' performance, guide the race to begin, and then circle the harbor and enter the oldest one in the region."

Spend the night in the fishing village of Milo.

"At seven o'clock the next morning, they will re-board the ship, take the offerings, and go to the land of sea sacrifices."

The elected "Governor of the Sea" and "Handmaidens of the Sea...... A multi-part prayer ceremony...... Lumian mentally repeated the crucial part.

He was suddenly shocked and had an association: this is very similar to the Lent celebration in the Daliege Mountains, and the "spring elves"!

Although the real-life Lenten celebration did not show the horror of Ava's head being cut off and blood splattering, the scene in the dream left a deep impression on Lumian, making him instinctively equate the Lent celebration with the evil and terrible.

The prayer ceremony here resembles a Lenten celebration?

In the blink of an eye, Lumian felt that such similarities did not explain the problem.

Because this is a very common treatment in the occult, erecting a specific symbol to represent the object of sacrifice in order to achieve the desired effect.

This can be seen in many folklore ceremonies.

"How were the Governors of the Sea and the Handmaidens of the Sea chosen?" Lumian looked curious.

It won't be voted for by all the residents of Santa Harbor, just like the "Spring Elves", right?

After the ceremony, you can still gain a high reputation and enjoy hidden benefits?

Valerio took another sip of his cigar: "Picked by the members of the Fisheries Guild, the oldest guild in Santa Port, what are the specific criteria, whether to vote or not, they are all kept secret, and even the official members of the Fisheries Guild do not know."

As he spoke, the black marketeer smiled

"I also want to be elected as the 'Governor of the Sea', which is said to have many benefits, but none of the parties are willing to reveal what it is."

"How are those 'Governors of the Sea' doing now?" Lumien is more concerned about this issue.

Valerio was stunned for a moment, remembered for a moment, and shook his head: "I don't know."

"The term of office of each 'Governor of the Sea' is only one year, and it seems that he has been sent to another place after leaving office, and he can't stay in Santa Harbor anyway, so as not to conflict with the new 'Governor of the Sea', hehe, that must give a high compensation, and it will be allowed to bring his family with him."

Sent to the field? Was it really sent to another place, and not something else? With his previous experience, Lumian would instinctively think in the direction of evil and horror when faced with this kind of folk ritual.

And the follow-up encounter with the "Governor of the Sea" in the "Prayer for the Sea" does sound strange.

Lumian thought for a moment and asked in a manner befitting his current status, "What about those 'maids of the sea'?"

"It is very popular with maritime merchants, shareholders of fishing companies, fishermen and sailors, and every one of them wants to marry the 'maid of the sea', which represents the favor of the sea, and when you go to various fishing villages, to the fishing guild, to the homes of those maritime merchants, you will find that many powerful grandmothers have been 'maids of the sea'." Valerio looks envious and seems to want to marry a "maid of the sea" and become a real sea merchant.

This is the same hidden benefit as being a "spring elf"........ Lumian resisted the urge to raise his right hand and touch his chin.

He stopped in moderation and didn't ask any more questions, and after paying a deposit of 50 gold liso, he left Valerio's underground casino with Lugano

Ludwig did not come with them, and was left in a nearby family restaurant with children's entertainment facilities, a special staff and a meal provided.

In Fenerport, there are many industries that make it easier for parents to raise their children and help them reduce stress, which is not available in countries such as Intis, and even if there are, they are only offered to the upper echelons.

Trier, Catacombs.

Franka and Jana took the lit white candle and returned to the third floor.

"What's the name of that burial chamber you're looking for?" Franca, who no longer felt so depressed, asked sideways.

Without recalling, Jana said directly, "The Thorns and Shields Tomb."