Rope and the others were moving at a fast pace, and their destination hadn't changed.
Although it was true that these things that the gods were causing were a bit tricky, it wasn't as exaggerated as one would think is all.
After Rope made a start, there would naturally be plenty of people to help him deal with it.
Take the Oak family for example.
After all, if Rope became the strongest, then the most direct beneficiary would be the Oak family.
This was not the same as Red, who was strong, but he had never had the idea of getting the strength in his hands together. Rope was different. This was a leader type of person.
That's what the Oak's came to when they did their character analysis on them at the time.
You don't push Red to a certain point, he's not going to take the initiative to join people together to get involved in anything political. But Rope is different. He'll compete with others for profit, so Rope is higher on the Oak family's grooming list.
Red was a sparring legend, but Rope was a living legend all the same.
And placing a bet meant taking care of some trouble for them.
For Rope, it's all about the hassle.
So after he set the basic tone he proceeded with Whitley and the others to find those villages.
Struggles for power were always minor and didn't require him to get involved in a lot of little things.
But these villages were different...he had a hunch...these villages, most likely, had something to do with why this world was so different.
"Professor, it's not far ahead."
Diana, who was driving the car, spoke up.
Rope looked at the village that could be vaguely seen in front of him and nodded, "Don't rush close to the village first, you first ask if we are allowed to enter the village to conduct some research, if not we will find another way to enter the village."
Rope said this in a way that made Diana feel like they weren't here for anything good...
"Okay."
After answering, Diana also reflected what Professor Rope meant.
After all, if it wasn't allowed then she would have a good talk about it, which would sort of lower their guard and make it easier to sneak in.
Of course, allowing them to enter was naturally better.
Whitley didn't say anything, the scene in front of her was new to her, so she looked around.
It was indeed rare, the previous village, that is, Diana's old home could still see quite a few traces of modern life. But a village this deep in the mountains was a lot more backward than the one they had been in.
However, this village didn't give people a feeling of being outdated. On the contrary, it had a kind of mysterious feeling of antiquity.
With this sense of mystery in mind, Rope and his group of three came to the village's front.
"What is the name of the village?"
Rope casually asked.
"There's no name... or rather, we don't know what the village's name is..."
Diana shook her head, she didn't know what the village's real name was either. And her old home...Grandpa said that the name of their current village was something that League had blurted out at the time when he came to count. The real village name...
No one knows. At least no one knows now.
To them, the village was just 'the village'.
Rope frowned slightly and nodded, "You go in first!"
Diana nodded likewise before heading towards the village.
Rope looked towards the village from the village entrance and felt that this village was instead a bit more vibrant than the one before. After all, the previous village was really twilight, and it was almost like only old people stayed in that village.
But now right at the entrance of the village, Rope could also hear the playful sounds of children. It meant that this village wasn't losing people in large numbers to the outside without the big brother.
You say this is the village is too remote can't just go out, that's nonsense. Rope they can easily come in, that side is also easy to go out. At least there is absolutely no problem with going out to work.
The basic condition for everyone to stay in this village was that there were enough resources, meaning that this village was able to be self-sufficient.
"Rope, there's something wrong with this village, isn't there."
Whitley apparently thought of this as well, so he tugged on Rope's sleeve, then whispered.
"Tell me."
Rope did save a few moments to quiz him.
"You see, there are so many children in this village, which means that the old people in this village are capable and taking care of the children. But odds are the parents won't make the choice to leave their children behind."
"After all, no matter where they are outside of the mountains, these kids won't be a problem once I drop them off at that school."
"Which means the odds are that all these adults are staying here too. It's not just a matter of resources...what's tying down the ambitions of the young?"
Rope listened in a bit of silence as well.
There were some minor flaws in Whitley's living statement. But as long as the inference was correct...then what shackles the ambitions of youth?
Rope, too, wanted to know the answer to that question.
"Ugh, Eiichi-brother? You didn't go out to work?"
Diana asked suspiciously as she looked at the stout man in front of her.
"Hahaha! Why should we go out? There's enough land in the village for us to grow, and there's a tree orchard and all that. The elders are also very good at teaching children. There doesn't seem to be much need for us to go out!"
The dark-faced man named Eiichi chuckled.
Diana bristled, hell no, she'd believe that excuse.
Their village was exactly the same, there was no shortage of land, no shortage of people, and there were highly qualified elders who could teach.
But which young person doesn't want to go out and see the big world outside?
But as she looked around, none of the older siblings she had seen as a child had left the village...
"It's customary!"
Eiichi saw the disbelief on Diana's face and smiled, then threw out a reason that left the others speechless.
Custom...a thing that was very light to say, but very heavy to say.
"Well..."
"Just say what you have to say, Diana, we're all siblings, and I remember your grandmother was supposed to be my aunt. This relative of ours is also a real blood relative, so just say what you have to say."
Eiichi obviously didn't want to embarrass Diana, much less talk to her with useless pleasantries. He was busy.
"I'm a researcher now, and one of my seniors heard about our villages and the legend of Arceus, and wanted to come with me to visit our various villages, and he asked me to come in first to ask if you agree."
Diana said nonchalantly as the situation in front of her was such.
Eiichi's face showed a puzzled look. She was silent for a long time.
Diana looked a little panicked, whether you agree or not, at least give an answer...
"Eiichi, if you can't decide, you can ask Grandpa Jun."
With these words, Eiichi looked as if he had come back to his senses.
He waved his hand repeatedly and said, "No, no, no need to ask the old man, I'm already the village chief. My father and my grandfather don't care about the village anymore."
"I'm just wondering...is there anything special about our legend?"
Looking at the doubt on Eiichi's face, Diana didn't think much of it just shook her head and said, "Maybe there is or maybe there isn't, we'll have to let the Doctor judge some of this. After all, no matter if there's something strange or not, we have to check it out. This is the spirit of a researcher! Whether there's a problem or not, there's always something to be gained by checking it out."
What Diana said was also true. Regardless of whether or not there was any problem, it wasn't a big deal for them to check it out. It wouldn't take much time. But if they didn't check it out, they might be missing out on a shocking discovery.
That's why the researchers always had the nature of having a kill and not letting go.
"That's fine, come on in. I'll have a couple of the little guys walk around with you."
Eiichi didn't have to think long before being convinced by Diana.
"Then thank you brother Eiichi."
Diana said with a grateful face.
Eiichi waved his hand without any concern and said, "It's nothing, just take care of yourselves. We are all family, let's not talk about these thanks."
After saying that, he turned around and called out to the two children who were peeping at his and Diana's conversation to come over. After leaving behind the words to instruct the children to listen to Diana's command, he turned around and walked towards the center of the village.
Diana watched his back as he left and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.
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"Rather, I didn't expect it to go so smoothly."
In the village square, Rope looked at the statue of Arceus in front of him and said with some emotion.
"Indeed, Rope, if you come out to do something, it's really rare that something doesn't go wrong."
Whitley said with some emotion as well.
Rope gave her a blank stare, but didn't retort...
How to retort? Couldn't find any examples of things that had gone well at all.
"Professor, I still think there's something wrong."
Diana whispered in Rope's ear at that moment.
Rope didn't say anything, just nodded.
"Brother Eiichi, the mayor of this village, left just too directly. I find it hard to believe that there wasn't something else wrong with him leaving so quickly."
Diana had previously repeated what she had convinced Eiichi to say to Rope, and also raised this doubt of her own.
But looking at Rope's complete lack of concern, it was as if it didn't exist.
Rope shook his head once again, then smiled and said, "Don't worry, the matter is definitely there, but it shouldn't be bad for us is all."
Rope also said with quite a bit of certainty.
Diana looked at the confident Rope in front of her, as well as Diana over there who was concentrating on her work, and suddenly felt that she did have a lot more to learn...
What she didn't know was that where they couldn't see, the old, middle-aged and young village leaders were having a heated discussion in their hut.
"Eiichi! I see you've gotten your wings!" A middle-aged man looked at Eiichi in front of him and said with some gnashing of teeth.
"What's wrong with me?" Eiichi asked back with a strained neck.
"You! Why are you casually letting outsiders into our village? It's not in line with the ancestral tradition!"
The middle-aged man said with some exasperation as he listened to his son's unflinching rhetorical question.
"Ancestral training? Does the ancestral training have a clause that does not allow outsiders to enter? Or does the ancestral training not allow us to tell outsiders the legends of the village?" Eiichi bellowed.
"Plus, with Diana leading the way, are people really outsiders? Plus who exactly is Professor Rope do you guys know in your hearts? This is a big person! Even if we don't allow them to enter, can't they come in? Isn't our village under the League's control now?"
Eiichi's series of rhetorical questions rendered the middle-aged man somewhat speechless.
"You! You! You don't say anything useless! I'm just saying, you're not in line with the ancestral teachings!"
"What is the ancestral training! You say! What's the ancestral training! The motto is that we're not allowed to go out! It doesn't allow us to see the outside world! But he didn't forbid us to let outsiders in!"
Eiichi's face had a bit of a grimace to it. It still looked like there was a lot of resentment.
Looking at the grim-faced Eiichi, the middle-aged man also stopped talking... He was also young once, and he also possessed endless yearning for this world. But all of his thoughts were suppressed to death by that so-called ancestral training.
Now, he didn't want his own child to break through this so-called ancestral training either?
He didn't know what to say for a moment. No matter what was said...it all seemed wrong.
"Don't you guys want to know exactly why there is such an outrageous ancestral training?"
"My whole life has been delayed. I'm already bound to this village...but I'll have children too! I don't want my children to be like me..."
Eiichi's face was marked by resignation and disgust.
The middle-aged man lapsed into silence. He could see to whom that disgust was directed. It was to the ancestral teachings. It was to the status quo. It was also towards him as a father.
"You guys should stop talking."
The old man at the top sighed, then spoke, "Have Professor Rope look into it. Whether or not we can find out anything..."
"Actually, I'm also like to know... our ancestral tradition, is it right or wrong?"
After a heavy sigh, then the room fell silent once again.
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"I'm not even worried about them being against us." Rope smiled lightly and whispered to Diana, "Didn't you see it when we entered the village? The eagerness in those young people's eyes was not even fake."
"In the face of a beautiful world, is there anyone who doesn't yearn for it?"
Diana listened to Rope's words as if she knew something, and then had a very sad feeling when she looked at the village again.
Thinking about their village again, then gave a bitter laugh.
It was all what the same misery, just in a different way.
"Alright, get back to work. You go interview the old people. Ask for as much information as you can."
Rope patted Diana on the shoulder, then said.
"What about you guys?"
Diana asked suspiciously.
"We, I just heard the boys have a shrine, and a cave. Whitley went with the girl to investigate the shrine. I'm going with the other boy to check out the cave."
The rapt look in Rope's eyes.
"There might be some surprises..."