At first, Riel found the matriarchal customs of Rinnascita quite amusing.
But after seeing too many lively things, Riel started to feel a bit bored.
From time to time, there were even some eye-watering scenes playing out on the streets—
For example, a dignified old lady, using the joyous occasion of the Saintess's Coronation Day as an excuse, clung to a shy and lewd old man, wanting to dance with him... Or a profligate young lady from a certain family, accompanied by several male companions of varying heights, weights, and builds, all embracing and kissing under the Saintess's blessing... Or... forget it, no more examples.
Riel couldn't help but turn his head away, not wanting to watch anymore.
Speaking of which, the various locations of the Saintess's procession were exceptionally lively compared to usual, with countless vendors taking advantage of the period to hawk their wares on the streets, seizing the opportunity to make a fortune.
The entire coronation process of the Saintess was long, and the enthusiasm of the Rinnascita people was also very high; not a few wanted to accompany the Saintess through the entire pre-coronation and procession.
But the full coronation process, including the procession, was very long, and they would surely need to eat and drink, right? So, the opportunity for these street vendors to make money arrived.
However, not everyone held reverence for the Saintess, the Church, or even the Sentinel; the light of the Church couldn't bathe everyone. Riel also saw many people taking advantage of the lively occasion of the Saintess's coronation to commit theft, crimes, and beg.
But dare to do bad things right under the Saintess's nose?
Those intimate displays were fine, but anyone daring to steal or commit crimes was immediately caught by Fleurdelys. The Pterosaur Echo and the Clerics pointed, and they struck, raising Fleurdelys's prestige even higher during the procession.
As of now, the procession in Laguna City was almost coming to an end. Fleurdelys's performance was perfect: sacred, pure, righteous, and approachable.
If there was one downside, it was that... she didn't have any extra energy to focus on Amaterasu, only occasionally patting his back to soothe him.
Hmph!
Slut!
You bring this dragon out and then don't take responsibility?
Damn it!
Riel was feeling glum—but he also knew this was one of the most important moments in Fleurdelys's life, and he wisely didn't disturb her, instead turning his gaze back to the surrounding crowd to find his own amusement.
Soon, a cute shout caught Riel's attention:
"Daddy! I want that! Look at that! That one, that one! It's so tiny, so cute~!"
Riel looked in the direction of the sound—who was calling this dragon "that thing"?
He saw a particularly striking three-person human pyramid formation in the corner of a following procession bearing the Montelli Family banner:
An energetic woman about 1.6 meters tall was riding on a horse over a meter high. On her shoulder sat an adult male about 1.5 meters tall, presumably her husband.
The man's features were quite proper, and his skin was relatively smooth, without many pockmarks. His physique was well-proportioned; he was probably the most handsome man Riel had seen so far in Rinnascita.
But Riel's sexual orientation was absolutely straight! No matter how good-looking or handsome a man was, he wasn't worthy of attracting his gaze—what attracted his gaze was a delicate, white-haired little girl sitting on that man's shoulder!
She looked about three or four years old, with fair skin that glowed pink, short white hair tied into twin pigtails, and eyes brighter and more sparkling than crystals, like a living porcelain doll! Super cute! This was the cutest little girl Riel had seen since transmigrating here!
Moreover, the vertical arrangement of "little girl riding her dad riding her mom riding a horse" was also very eye-catching.
Presumably, the little girl was sitting high enough to see Amaterasu lying in front of Fleurdelys, past the layers of Pterosaur Echo and Clerics.
The other Montelli Family members around that family occasionally frowned and cast disdainful glances at them, whispering something:
"This representative of the side branch... tsk, walking with them is so embarrassing."
"Not just that, a bunch of uncultured bumpkins. I really don't know why the Family Head invited the side branch to join us for the Saintess's procession—do these bumpkins deserve to be bathed in the same holy light as us?"
"Exactly, what's wrong with this woman? How can she tolerate a man riding on her head? This isn't just an embarrassment to our Montelli, but to all of us women!"
"I really don't know what she's thinking. The Family Head announced that each side branch should send one representative, but she, on the other hand, brought her whole family... I bet she's here to freeload."
...The Montelli side branch representative, who was carrying her husband and daughter on her shoulders, turned a deaf ear to the discussions of the main family members. The sense of pride she felt from within for her husband and daughter made her seem like an unyielding warrior, fearless of death.
Her husband, however, seemed a bit self-conscious upon hearing the remarks and suggested that the woman put him down, but he received no response from the husband-doting maniac below him.
Helpless, he could only pat the little girl's leg, who was riding on his shoulder, and somewhat sternly told her:
"Xiao Keletta, that is the Saintess's seihai, not something you can just have because you want it. You mustn't disturb the Saintess and her mount. The Saintess's procession is an important event before the coronation ceremony, it's very serious, so don't shout and yell. That will damage the family's reputation, do you understand?"
The man gently admonished his daughter, who was riding on his neck, his tone very gentle—he had thought Carlotta was referring to Gehinnom, the Saintess's mount, and felt a slight impertinence at his daughter's boldness.
Xiao Keletta didn't understand what procession, coronation, family, or reputation meant... but she knew to listen to her father and reluctantly shut up, though her lively little eyes couldn't help but dart towards Riel.
After Riel became a seihai, his five senses seemed to have become much more acute—or rather, his new body was healthier, not suffering from nearsightedness due to looking at phones or playing games, nor from hearing loss due to listening to music at max volume with headphones.
Such five senses seemed truly incredible to Riel, a completely new experience!
Riel also heard the conversation of the Montelli Family clearly—of course, this was also related to the Montelli procession being in the inner circle of the current following processions—although the Montelli Family hadn't fully developed during this period, having rooted themselves in the frontier town of Laguna, they were almost like local overlords there.
In fact, most of those who could follow the Saintess's procession all the way were various family powers; naturally, they wouldn't laboriously walk the entire journey on foot, but used various horses, carriages, and seihai vehicles.
As for the other wealthy merchants and commoners, it's not excluded that some truly walked the entire pilgrimage to Avinoleum on foot, but most, after the Saintess left the local area, relied on gondolas, high-sky messengers, and other rentable or public seihai transportation to go directly to Avinoleum to await the start of the coronation... 'Montelli? Carlotta?'
Riel mused inwardly, a sudden realization hitting him—so this is what Carlotta looked like when she was little?
Then, was the reason she didn't grow tall due to genetic inheritance...?
Seeing a familiar character made Riel very emotional, and he couldn't help but want to flirt a little.
So, Riel suddenly stretched out his limbs, collapsed, stuck his tongue out to the side at Carlotta, rolled his eyes, and made a funny face.
As expected, Carlotta, being a child, fell for it!
"Ah hahahahahahaha~! Daddy, look! Quick, look! That little dragon is playing dead! Mommy! Mommy, you look too!"
A child's emotions are always hard to suppress; one second she promised her dad to be quiet, but in reality, she would forget it the next second.
However, Carlotta's parents' line of sight seemed unable to see Riel, only the majestic body of Gehinnom, and they couldn't understand Carlotta's laughter at all.
They just assumed the child was acting up again and could only smile reassuringly, telling her to quiet down.
Immediately after, there was another wave of disdain and scorn from the main branch descendants of Montelli; Carlotta would probably be in for a good scolding when she got home tonight—in a matriarchal society, girls didn't need to be pampered.
Carlotta's current image was completely that of a mischievous child who wouldn't learn.
Under Riel's continuous playful antics, the distance between the human and the dragon's hearts constantly narrowed, and the image of that exquisite little black dragon was deeply imprinted in Carlotta's mind—
Carlotta laughed almost non-stop, so much that her drool dripped onto her dad's head.
But Carlotta's dad's lectures also gradually intensified, putting Carlotta in a very difficult position—she couldn't help but laugh, but after laughing, she would be lectured again.
Under Carlotta's dad's continuous lecturing, a firm thought couldn't help but rise in young Carlotta's heart:
'I must grow up quickly! When I grow up, Daddy won't nag me like this anymore! By then, I also want a seihai just like the Saintess's!'
...