597 Too Dirty
Francaâs curiosity was piqued by Lumianâs words.
âIs there anything we canât see?â
âAre you sure you want to watch? Iâm afraid it will deal a strong blow to your mind,â Lumian asked in a teasing tone.
Amused, Franca pointed at herself and retorted, âMe? Iâm not a minor. My mind is very mature. Why wouldnât I dare to look? Heh, Iâm much more knowledgeable than you, boy!â
Jenna nodded in agreement, silently endorsing Francaâs claim.
Without further persuasion, Lumian left the apartment and headed to the room he had rented with a fake ID to monitor himself.
Lugano was staying there with Ludwig.
Franca followed with Jenna and Anthony, muttering, âI thought it was something major. Isnât it just going to your godson? What impact on the mindâŠâ
Lumian signaled for Lugano to retreat temporarily. Then, he retrieved two gruesome items from his Travelerâs Bag, forming a humanoid figure with them.
Maintaining an unchanged expression, Lumian looked at Ludwig and pointed at the two parts of Mad Ladyâs corpse.
âIs it edible?â
Edible⊠Franca was taken aback.
Her gaze shifted between the repulsive corpse parts and Ludwigâs boyish appearance. Suddenly, she felt a wave of nausea, as if her mind had been corrupted by the imagined scene.
Indeed, Lumianâs godson gained knowledge or abilities by consuming specific creatures, including humans. Memory, after all, was a form of knowledge!
Franca couldnât suppress her urge to retch, regretting her decision to witness the cannibalistic act.
To make matters worse, she knew the person who had been consumedâMad Lady. She had interacted with her before.
Jennaâs face contorted, clearly struggling to contain her churning stomach acid. Anthony, a seasoned veteran accustomed to witnessing scenes of gore, subconsciously frowned.
Ludwig scrutinized the two bloody corpse parts in Lumianâs hands for a moment before slowly shaking his head.
âItâs too dirty.â
Dirty? Could it be a reference to the severe corruption of the Celestial Worthy? Even you wonât dare to swallow it for fear of something happening? Lumian threw Mad Ladyâs two corpse parts to the ground with regret, summoning a crimson fireball that was nearly white.
Rather than exploding, the fireball adhered to Mad Ladyâs corpse, burning and compressing it into charred dust.
Amidst the dancing flames and the burning fragrance, Franca and Jenna breathed a sigh of relief.
Lumian pulled up a chair and sat down, addressing Ludwig, who was nonchalantly nibbling on a cupcake, âWasnât that personâs arm dirty?â
He was referring to Loki.
âJust a little. The dirtiest part isnât on the arm,â Ludwig commented casually, as if discussing which fish were poisonous and how they should be consumed.
Only then did Lumian get to the point.
âWhat did you gain from that personâs arm?â
âSome knowledge,â Ludwig replied, nonchalantly nibbling on a sponge cake covered in light cream, as if he preferred not to be disturbed while eating.
Lumian, feigning indifference, asked bluntly, âWhat are they?â
Ludwigâs voice alternated between clarity and muffled tones as he replied, âSequence Knowledge about his pathway⊠There are two other terms⊠One is Dylan⊠and the other is OrvilleâŠâ
Dylan? Is that the name of Lokiâs ancient castle? And whatâs Orville? Lumianâs curiosity peaked, prompting him to interrupt Ludwig.
âApart from the name itself, is there any relevant knowledge?â
Ludwig seized the opportunity to take another bite of cake. After chewing and swallowing, he said, âNo, but⊠these two terms seem to be connected. Orville should be the name of a place, and Dylan is the castleâs name.â
Connected⊠Name of a place⊠Castle Dylan is in Orville? Where is Orville? Lumian turned to Franca, Jenna, and Anthony, realizing they were clueless, shaking their heads in ignorance.
After a moment of contemplation, Lumian spoke in a deep voice,
âOur next priority is to find information about Orville and Dylan through our respective channels.â
Getting nods of agreement from Franca and the others, Lumian asked Ludwig again, âAnything else?â
âHis spirituality is quite abundant, and his quality isnât bad. He doesnât like hard liquor or drinking freely. He only drinks champagne and occasionally has coffee. Heâs a loyal advocate of tea leaves. Heâs healthy, has good bowel movement, and urinates normally. He hates the smell of the washroomâŠâ Ludwig shared the information obtained from the half arm.
Franca listened with keen interest, and just as Lumian was about to interject, Ludwig divulged another piece of valuable information:
âHe owns Castle Dylan, but he doesnât reside there. He only returns occasionally. Heâs not the sole proprietor yet. Many areas there arenât accessible to him. Recently, he unlocked a room and acquired a dark-gold mask.
âThat mask will grant him immense power, but once he wears it, heâll face terrifying matters.â
Could that dark-gold mask be a relic from the original owner of Castle Dylan? Perhaps a memento from the previous leader of the Secret Order? Lumian nodded thoughtfully.
To him, this information wasnât particularly crucial as the dark-gold mask had already been handed over to Mr. K. Thus, he had no reason to be concerned about it.
Franca, Jenna, and Anthony prepared to return to Trier after the Q&A session with Ludwig, having confirmed that they had gleaned all they could.
Of course, Lumian took responsibility for their return journey. Franca couldnât bring herself to use one of the Seven-Stone Bracelets at the moment.
âBy the way,â Lumian looked at Franca, pondering for a moment. âContact the Eternal Blazing Sun Church and see if theyâre willing to exchange information about the humanoid Sealed Artifact and its corresponding story. Weâll make efforts to facilitate this transaction.â
ention that he was uncertain about his human status, Lumian realized his resemblance to the humanoid Sealed Artifact. However, Bard retained his rationality and clarity, possessing a relatively independent fate. Otherwise, he could be deemed a walking Grade 0 humanoid Sealed Artifact. This sparked Lumianâs curiosity about the humanoid Sealed Artifact, wanting to uncover what had happened to her and why she had transformed in such a manner.
Franca nodded and instinctively said, âBut, uh, that lady only mentioned the possibility of returning it, nothing definite.â
âWeâre merely striving to facilitate the transaction. Itâs not guaranteed either.â Lumian chuckled.
He quickly sent Franca, Jenna, and Anthony back to Trier Quartier de la Cathédrale Commémorative before entering Aquina Street. Strolling among the citizens still immersed in the afterglow of the celebration, he made his way towards Solow Motel.
Half of the motelâs fifth floor had collapsed, and the fourth floor was severely damaged. Otta, the owner, observed the scene with sorrow and helplessness. He wanted to cry, but the tears wouldnât come.
At a certain point, Noelia of the Fertility Order approached Louis Berry, the adventurer overseeing Solow Motel. She spoke in a formal tone, âYour partner said youâd be responsible for the compensation.â
Lumian retrieved 10,000 gold risot from his Travelerâs Bag and handed it to Noelia.
Noelia glanced at his black coin bag and sighed with emotion.
âThatâs good stuff.â
The combat nun then counted the compensation.
â10,000 risot? Thatâs enough to build two motels like this!â
âHow generous. Just as expected from an adventurer who recently bagged a bounty of 300,000 gold risot.â
Lumian brushed off Noeliaâs teasing and continued, âThis is the reward from the Paco familyâs commission.â
âThe Paco familyâŠâ Noelia fell silent.
The Paco familyâs matriarch, the current family head, and his wifeâall perished in this conflict.
Lumian pressed on, weaving through the crowd as if on a leisurely stroll.
In the duskâs afterglow, he heard singing, seabirds chirping, and citizens animatedly discussing the past few days.
âDid you see that? In the morning, seabirds came to pay their respects to the Governor of the Sea!
âIs this yearâs sea prayer ritual that successful?
âThatâs right. Back then, many vines grew crazily. Many people fainted from joy. This is Earth Motherâs recognition of the sea prayer ritual!
âNo, thatâs not right. It represents a bumper harvest. It means this yearâs fish harvest will fill ship after ship!
âPraise the Earth, praise the Mother of All Things!
âPraise the Governor of the Sea!
ââŠâ
Though Lumian wasnât privy to the Church of Earth Motherâs method to make citizens view the morning mysticism roundup as a miracle, he sensed joy and delight in everyoneâs hearts.
Leisurely, he thought, I wonder if the remaining committee members of the Fisheries Guild have finalized the choice for the fake Governor of the Sea. Sure, the real Simon Guiaro is the top contender. However, it doesnât matter who takes the role this year. The power leaked by the spaceship is now in my possession. In the next year or even two, there wonât be frequent catastrophes in these waters. The sea creatures will reproduce faster thanks to the âwateringââŠ
Heh heh, from a certain perspective, Iâm the true Governor of the Seaâfor just a weekâŠ
In the midst of the lively parade and numerous street vendors, Lumian casually located a bar and ordered an undiluted Manzan and a large cup of locally brewed dark-gold malt beer.
Placing the Manzan glass across from the small round table, he lifted his beer, clinking it. Then, he muttered with a smile, âDid you see that? Did you hear that? Their dance, their singing, and the sound of fish multiplying.
âIsnât this the future you desire?â
With that said, Lumian downed a mouthful of dark-gold beer.