In the afternoon, the sun gradually grew lazy, evenly pouring its warmth over the once bustling mining town.
However, according to Thomas's introduction, the town's scale has significantly shrunk, resembling more of a tranquil village, mostly inhabited by elderly people, as if abandoned by time in a corner, guarding memories of the past.
As Miraidon sped into the village, its sound was exceptionally clear in the quiet atmosphere.
At the entrance of the village, several ancient maple trees stretched their branches, their leaves rustling in the breeze, as if whispering stories of time.
A Fletchling, startled by Chen Kai and the others' arrival, flapped its wings and flew out from between the branches, chirping, briefly breaking the tranquility.
They looked around and saw houses scattered throughout the village, with stone walls covered in green Vine, as if the houses were draped in a green coat.
Two Smoliv peeked out from the gaps in the Vine, warily glanced at them, and then quickly retreated.
The roof tiles were uneven, shimmering with an old luster in the sunlight. The road was paved with stones of varying sizes, uneven and bumpy, with every step revealing the clear marks of time.
“This place is a bit different from what I imagined,” Chen Kai said as he dismounted from Miraidon and looked around.
This town was somewhat different from the Western Europe documentary scenes Chen Kai had in mind.
Thomas nodded in agreement, it was his first time here as well, and his eyes held a hint of curiosity: “Although the mine can no longer be dug, I was worried there would be no one here, but it seems people still live here.
I see it's getting late, why don't we rest in town for the night first?”
Chen Kai nodded in agreement.
So the two continued along the road, and as they passed a small courtyard, an old man was sitting on a chair at the entrance, sunbathing, with a cane beside him.
The old man's hair was white, his face was covered in wrinkles, but his eyes were still firm. In the courtyard, a Fidough was happily circling the old man, occasionally rubbing its head against his leg.
Thomas dismounted and walked forward to greet the old man in French: “Hello, old sir, we would like to rest in town for the night, may I ask where there is a hotel?”
The old man slowly raised his head, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, then he showed a gentle smile, waved his hand and said: “Young man, it’s been a long time since outsiders came to this town. I didn't expect several to come at once, and even a dark-skinned young man like you. But it's a pity, there hasn't been a hotel in town for a long time.”
Thomas was a bit embarrassed, this was far beyond his expectation, he frowned slightly and muttered to himself in French: “Then what should we do? We can't let Chen Kai sleep on the street, can we?”
The old man heard him and comforted him: “Don't worry, don't worry, I'll point you to a place. Keep going straight along this road, then turn right, there's a house with a red roof, that's the mayor's house.
The mayor's house is bigger, you can go there and ask, you might be able to stay.”
After Thomas thanked the old man, he led Chen Kai to search in the direction indicated.
Midway, Chen Kai discovered a church.
The church's spire shone with golden light in the setting sun, and the stained glass refracted colorful hues in the afterglow.
In Western Europe, having a church was not uncommon, but what was strange was that this church was somewhat unique; the church door was carved with exquisite patterns of the flower of life, surrounded by Vine patterns symbolizing vitality and vigor.
Chen Kai could not understand the text on the door, and for a moment he couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong, he just found it very strange.
Thomas noticed Chen Kai's gaze, also looked up at the church, and asked with a smile: “Chen Kai, do you also believe in the life god?”
Chen Kai looked bewildered: “Huh? What life god?”
Thomas was startled: “Do people from the Dragon Kingdom really not know about the life god? This is the god with the most believers in the world, I even know about it in Africa!”
Thomas stared at Chen Kai for several moments, and seeing that Chen Kai seemed truly unaware, he felt quite strange, so he cleared his throat and began to recount:
“When I was little, I heard that in the past, the world's sky was shrouded in darkness, filled with death and terror everywhere. People lived in dire straits, seeing no hope. Just when everyone was in despair, the gentle life god appeared from the earth. It brought vitality and vigor, dispelled the darkness, and saved everyone. From then on, people, out of gratitude, began to believe in the life god, and also built many churches like this to worship it.”
Upon hearing this story, Chen Kai couldn't help but ask: “The life god, it wouldn't happen to be called Xerneas, would it?”
Thomas, surprised by Chen Kai's question, strangely asked back: “What are you talking about? The life god is the life god.”
Chen Kai pressed on: “Does it not have a name?”
Thomas was a bit confused why Chen Kai asked this and continued to explain: “A god is a god, just like the sky is called the sky, and the earth is called the earth.”
But Chen Kai did not give up: “But the sky can also be called the blue sky, and the earth is sometimes called the thick earth, shouldn't everything have its own name for distinction?”
Thomas pondered for a moment: “Hiss! Now that you mention it, it does make some sense. Chinese truly is profound, but I really don't know what the life god is called.”
So Chen Kai changed his approach and asked: “Then what does the life god look like?”
Thomas still shook his head: “I don't know, I don't believe in gods or anything like that, so I've never been inside.”
“Alright.” Chen Kai looked at the tightly closed church door, full of curiosity, but he figured it was more important to find a place to stay first.
Finally, Chen Kai and Thomas found the house with the red roof—the mayor's house.
Thomas stepped forward and knocked on the door.
After a while, the door opened, and a kind-faced middle-aged man appeared at the doorway, presumably he was the mayor.
Thomas quickly explained his purpose: “Mr. Mayor, we are passing through and would like to find a place to stay for the night. A kind old man just told us that you might be able to help here.”
The mayor looked at the two people at the door, one black, one yellow-skinned, very puzzled: “Where are you from?”
“We are from Paris, I am still a student in Paris.” Saying this, Thomas also pulled out his student ID.
The mayor looked at it, and after confirming that Thomas was a student from Paris, he let the two in, muttering to himself: “It's really strange, a little girl from Paris just arrived recently, and now you two. I've never seen people of other skin colors here before.”
Chen Kai did not understand French at all, Thomas asked curiously: “Mayor, are there other people staying here with you?”
“Yes, a little girl, she's been here for quite a while, often out of sight, quite strange.” But the mayor thought about it and then changed his words, “But perhaps your combination is even stranger.”
Thomas scratched his head awkwardly: In the France countryside, black people are indeed not common, so it's no wonder the mayor would say that.