597 Too Dirty
597 Too Dirty

Franca’s curiosity was piqued by Lumian’s words.

“Is there anything we can’t see?”

“Are you sure you want to watch? I’m afraid it will deal a strong blow to your mind,” Lumian asked in a teasing tone.

Amused, Franca pointed at herself and retorted, “Me? I’m not a minor. My mind is very mature. Why wouldn’t I dare to look? Heh, I’m much more knowledgeable than you, boy!”

Jenna nodded in agreement, silently endorsing Franca’s 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, “I thought it was something major. Isn’t it just going to your godson? What impact on the mind…”

Lumian signaled for Lugano to retreat temporarily. Then, he retrieved two gruesome items from his Traveler’s Bag, forming a humanoid figure with them.

Maintaining an unchanged expression, Lumian looked at Ludwig and pointed at the two parts of Mad Lady’s corpse.

“Is it edible?”

Edible… Franca was taken aback.

Her gaze shifted between the repulsive corpse parts and Ludwig’s boyish appearance. Suddenly, she felt a wave of nausea, as if her mind had been corrupted by the imagined scene.

Indeed, Lumian’s godson gained knowledge or abilities by consuming specific creatures, including humans. Memory, after all, was a form of knowledge!

Franca couldn’t suppress her urge to retch, regretting her decision to witness the cannibalistic act.

To make matters worse, she knew the person who had been consumed—Mad Lady. She had interacted with her before.

Jenna’s 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 Lumian’s hands for a moment before slowly shaking his head.

“It’s too dirty.”

Dirty? Could it be a reference to the severe corruption of the Celestial Worthy? Even you won’t dare to swallow it for fear of something happening? Lumian threw Mad Lady’s two corpse parts to the ground with regret, summoning a crimson fireball that was nearly white.

Rather than exploding, the fireball adhered to Mad Lady’s 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, “Wasn’t that person’s arm dirty?”

He was referring to Loki.

“Just a little. The dirtiest part isn’t on the arm,” Ludwig commented casually, as if discussing which fish were poisonous and how they should be consumed.

Only then did Lumian get to the point.

“What did you gain from that person’s arm?”

“Some knowledge,” 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, “What are they?”

Ludwig’s voice alternated between clarity and muffled tones as he replied, “Sequence Knowledge about his pathway… There are two other terms… One is Dylan… and the other is Orville…”

Dylan? Is that the name of Loki’s ancient castle? And what’s Orville? Lumian’s curiosity peaked, prompting him to interrupt Ludwig.

“Apart from the name itself, is there any relevant knowledge?”

Ludwig seized the opportunity to take another bite of cake. After chewing and swallowing, he said, “No, but… these two terms seem to be connected. Orville should be the name of a place, and Dylan is the castle’s name.”

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,
“Our next priority is to find information about Orville and Dylan through our respective channels.”

Getting nods of agreement from Franca and the others, Lumian asked Ludwig again, “Anything else?”

“His spirituality is quite abundant, and his quality isn’t bad. He doesn’t like hard liquor or drinking freely. He only drinks champagne and occasionally has coffee. He’s a loyal advocate of tea leaves. He’s healthy, has good bowel movement, and urinates normally. He hates the smell of the washroom…” 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:

“He owns Castle Dylan, but he doesn’t reside there. He only returns occasionally. He’s not the sole proprietor yet. Many areas there aren’t accessible to him. Recently, he unlocked a room and acquired a dark-gold mask.

“That mask will grant him immense power, but once he wears it, he’ll face terrifying matters.”

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 wasn’t 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 couldn’t bring herself to use one of the Seven-Stone Bracelets at the moment.

“By the way,” Lumian looked at Franca, pondering for a moment. “Contact the Eternal Blazing Sun Church and see if they’re willing to exchange information about the humanoid Sealed Artifact and its corresponding story. We’ll make efforts to facilitate this transaction.”

Upon Bard’s mention 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 Lumian’s 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, “But, uh, that lady only mentioned the possibility of returning it, nothing definite.”

“We’re merely striving to facilitate the transaction. It’s not guaranteed either.” 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 motel’s 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 wouldn’t come.

At a certain point, Noelia of the Fertility Order approached Louis Berry, the adventurer overseeing Solow Motel. She spoke in a formal tone, “Your partner said you’d be responsible for the compensation.”

Lumian retrieved 10,000 gold risot from his Traveler’s Bag and handed it to Noelia.

Noelia glanced at his black coin bag and sighed with emotion.

“That’s good stuff.”

The combat nun then counted the compensation.

“10,000 risot? That’s enough to build two motels like this!”

“How generous. Just as expected from an adventurer who recently bagged a bounty of 300,000 gold risot.”

Lumian brushed off Noelia’s teasing and continued, “This is the reward from the Paco family’s commission.”

“The Paco family…” Noelia fell silent.

The Paco family’s matriarch, the current family head, and his wife—all perished in this conflict.

Lumian pressed on, weaving through the crowd as if on a leisurely stroll.

In the dusk’s afterglow, he heard singing, seabirds chirping, and citizens animatedly discussing the past few days.

“Did you see that? In the morning, seabirds came to pay their respects to the Governor of the Sea!

“Is this year’s sea prayer ritual that successful?

“That’s right. Back then, many vines grew crazily. Many people fainted from joy. This is Earth Mother’s recognition of the sea prayer ritual!

“No, that’s not right. It represents a bumper harvest. It means this year’s fish harvest will fill ship after ship!

“Praise the Earth, praise the Mother of All Things!

“Praise the Governor of the Sea!

“…”

Though Lumian wasn’t privy to the Church of Earth Mother’s method to make citizens view the morning mysticism roundup as a miracle, he sensed joy and delight in everyone’s 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 doesn’t 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 won’t be frequent catastrophes in these waters. The sea creatures will reproduce faster thanks to the ‘watering’…

Heh heh, from a certain perspective, I’m the true Governor of the Sea—for just a week…

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, “Did you see that? Did you hear that? Their dance, their singing, and the sound of fish multiplying.

“Isn’t this the future you desire?”

With that said, Lumian downed a mouthful of dark-gold beer.