-216- She's not
As the evening twilight approached, the celebration reached its climax.
People's emotions were at their peak, hunters returning from the hunt, farmers returning from their fields.
After changing into clean clothes, they all emerged and gathered in the center of Uwendale's square.
The main venue was already crowded, shoulder to shoulder, foot to foot. The celebration held in honor of the Demacian hero had the townsfolk completely intoxicated with joy. Poppy wandered among the legs of the townsfolk, unnoticed by most.
Only the obstructive hammer occasionally blocked her path. Unable to do anything about it, Poppy had to carry the hammer across her back horizontally, holding it with one hand.
"Demacia!"
When a shout of Demacia echoed from the high platform ahead, the bonfires ignited along with the roar of the crowd, igniting the townsfolk.
Here it comes, the real start of the celebration!
Poppy anxiously looked around, realizing she, squeezed into the crowd, couldn't see what was happening on the high platform! This wouldn't do; she had to see that hero and entrust him with Orlon's weapon.
She had been searching for him for too long!
Poppy looked around and finally, the resourceful little warrior spotted a tall pillar!
Yes, she could climb the pillar and see! Along the way, amidst the noisy voices, Poppy listened intently to the men speaking on the platform.
"Demacians never forget their roots; we should thank him and must thank him!"
"He saved..."
The crowd erupted into cheers, and Poppy, with her acute hearing, sucked in a breath, feeling her ears ache.
Instinctively folding her long pointed ears, Poppy soon straightened them again.
This wouldn't do; she couldn't miss any details about the hero.
Reaching the base of the pillar, Poppy rearranged the hammer behind her back and then, using both her hands and feet, quickly began to climb.
But halfway up, Poppy suddenly stopped.
"What... what should I do afterward? Where should I go?"
Poppy, perched on the pillar, suddenly froze.
From knowing Orlon to fighting alongside him, to creating Demacia with him.
She liked Orlon, admired him. He was someone Poppy respected and trusted.
He entrusted the sacred hammer to her on his deathbed and hoped she would find its true master.
He looked so pitiful lying on the sickbed.
The one who once wielded the war hammer unstoppable on the battlefield, who led the people to evade the war and built the great kingdom of Demacia, aged, even needing to catch his breath after speaking a sentence. But he still laboriously told Poppy the story of the hammer, how it was made, what it represented, and what it could do in the future!
It was a hammer made for the "Peerless Hero of Demacia".
Destined to be the weapon of a hero.
And that hero would use the Orlon's sacred hammer to guard the stability of Demacia, creating a happy and stable life for the people of Demacia.
Orlon was dead. At his funeral, Poppy secretly vowed to find this hero. She would tell him Orlon's ideals, tell him what task he should accomplish.
But... what about herself?
Without the goal of finding the hero, where would she go in the future?
Poppy had been searching for him for she didn't know how many years. Since the day Orlon died, Poppy had been looking for him.
Now, she really had to find that hero.
The people's description of him, noble and powerful, must be able to bear the mission of carrying this hammer.
This suddenly made Poppy feel a little lost, even a little scared.
A Yordle without a goal is pathetic. With a long life, if there is no goal, it's better to die.
But... what Poppy promised, she would definitely do.
Her gaze became firm again, and Poppy climbed to the top of the pillar, gripping it with her hands and feet, looking toward the main stage.
Her timing for coming up was just right.
"Although the great demon slayer is not here, we have made this statue based on his appearance!"
"In the future, this statue will be respected by the people of Uwendale. If anyone sees him one day, please tell him, the entire town of Uwendale thanks him!"
"Come on, let us now witness the greatness of this hero!"
Behind the speaker on the high platform was a covered object.
A group of well-dressed men eagerly pulled down the gray cloth.
Then, a statue appeared before Poppy's eyes.
It was like seeing a pile of stars; Poppy excitedly watched, and this image gradually took root in her mind. He must look like this! He must be exactly like the hero in her imagination!
This was a typical Demacian warrior, over two meters tall, muscular and strong, clad in heavy plate armor, bulging biceps, and there was even a wolf sculpture under his feet!
But it was still too far away, and Poppy couldn't see more clearly.
"It must be him!"
Poppy was convinced, but just then, a child's voice rang out.
"Dad! Look, it's the hero! Just like the statue!"
Poppy's eyes widened; a little girl in front of her was pointing behind her, loudly exclaiming.
Poppy suddenly turned around, the hero was behind her? But when Poppy turned back, searching in the crowd, she couldn't see anything.
Below, when Poppy turned around, the man holding the little girl's hand said with a wry smile, "No, dear, she's not the hero. Look, she's not even half his height. How could she be the hero?"
"Oh, Dad, you're right."
In the crowd, a group of oddly dressed men were also attracted by the girl's words, then they looked towards Poppy's direction.
Ekko stood in the crowd, next to a Demacian in armor.
Summer had arrived, and winter was not far behind, so the first Hextech station, ordered by King Jarvan III, was built near Freljord.
As a result, Ekko led the team here. As for Professor Mos, the people he brought were to make the Hex Gates in Piltover, which was a more labor-intensive device than the Hextech stations.
At this moment, Ekko stared blankly at the purple-skinned little person looking around on the pillar.
"The Yordle carrying a hammer?"
Just as Ekko was about to go up and say hello, and ask if the other party knew Lulu and Tristana, a student hurried over and pulled Ekko away, "Mr Ekko, we should start working soon."
Ekko exchanged a few words with him, then turned his head to look at the pillar, but at this moment, the Yordle on the pillar was gone.
Seeing this, Ekko could only shake his head helplessly.
There were so many Yordles, and this one might not be the one he knew.
But she really looked like Tristana.
Should he tell Big Bro about it?
With this in mind, Ekko turned around.
---
The celebration came to an end, and after the catharsis, what was left was a ground full of garbage and debris.
Poppy walked among the pile of garbage and arrived in front of the high platform.
Looking up, now, Poppy could carefully observe the appearance of this demon slaying hero.
The hero's hair was long, with knots on both sides. His battle-hardened hands were rough, holding a giant war hammer. Poppy was stunned because this hammer looked very similar to the sacred hammer behind her.
"It's truly magnificent," Poppy said blankly.
He and the hammer he held, they really looked like heroes!
No, in this nation, Poppy couldn't think of anyone more peerless than this hero!
"I'm late again."
Poppy climbed onto the high platform, reaching out her small hand and gently touching the thigh of the stone statue.
"But, I will find you."
Turning around, Poppy shrugged her shoulders and lifted the small shield and war hammer behind her.
She couldn't be lost.
She promised Orlon.
Demacia needed this hero.
She must find this hero.
He must protect Demacia.
---