Man on the ark, forced to become king

"Indeed, such a big decision cannot be made hastily. Even I care about it a lot."

After another drink, Hoshiguma's face became even redder, and she seemed to be a little drunk. Her languid voice made it hard to tell whether she was serious or joking.

"So we still need to observe, we can't afford to mess it up."

"Hiccup~ But if it's Lin Lu, I can actually accept it..."

As she spoke, a barely perceptible mischievous glint flashed in her seemingly drunken eyes as she observed Chen's reaction, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

"No, no!"

The little dragon's reaction was even more intense than expected, and he actually voiced his opposition.

"Oh, why not?"

Taking advantage of his drunkenness, Hoshiguma retorted directly.

Yes, why not?

Chen opened her mouth, blurted out her words, but then suddenly realized that she didn't seem to have the right to say such things, and she was immediately embarrassed.

"I mean, no, how can we make such a decision so easily? Even Lin Lu would need to consider this matter carefully, right?"

Chen's dull brain started working at full capacity in the awkward atmosphere, and he gave a seemingly plausible reason, but in reality, he didn't even know what he was saying.

Fortunately, Hoshiguma didn't seem inclined to delve deeper. She had already gathered enough information, so there was no need to continue teasing Chen.

This attempt to cover up the truth is so blatant, it's practically the same as trying to hide something obvious.

Those involved are often blinded by their own perspective; perhaps only Chen himself thinks the problem isn't that big of a deal.

With just these few flawed and far-fetched sentences, Hoshiguma could confirm that Chen's feelings for Lin Lu were definitely more than just 'teacher and student' or 'friends'.

This person has a problem! A really big problem!

"That's right."

Having made up his mind, Hoshiguma's eyes darted around, and he suddenly looked at Kyu, who was shrinking back and keeping his head down in silence.

"By the way, now that you don't have to work at the Guard Bureau anymore, what are your plans for the future? Like finding a partner or something?"

"what?"

Jiu suddenly looked up, her eyes wide with surprise. She looked around blankly, unsure of what to say.

She had already tried her best to keep her presence to the point that she didn't even dare to speak, so why did these two still target her? Wasn't this an undeserved disaster?

Anyone with eyes could see that the atmosphere had started to get awkward ever since the topic turned to Lin Lu. Not to mention Chen Xian, whose acting was so bad it was practically self-incriminating, Hoshiguma's words were also very clear—to be precise, she hadn't been hiding anything from beginning to end and had already laid her cards on the table.

Since it involved two of her friends, and they were discussing her boss, Jiu dared not get involved in such a topic. Wouldn't that just make things difficult for herself?

But after remaining silent for a long time, Hoshiguma still managed to forcefully drag her into the conversation. Couldn't she just treat her like a nobody?

If you two are fighting over a man, why drag me down with you?

Nine had already sensed something was wrong.

Unlike those two, she has now joined the Golden Tree, and her future is entirely in the hands of its leader, Lin Lu.

As an employee, especially a newcomer, if I get involved in the boss's romantic problems, I might easily become a punching bag. What if I end up being thrown to the Ursus ice plains to dig potatoes because of this?

"Hmm? You don't have any plans for the future at all, do you?"

Please, I beg you, let me go!

Jiu no longer cared about her worries and confusion. If things continued like this, she would have no reason to worry anymore—not far from outside Lungmen was the Ursus Ice Plains, a great place to dig potatoes. She didn't want to be punished and forced to go out and starve on her first day of work because she entered the door with her left foot first.

"Ugh, I'm so dizzy, I'm drunk!"

In desperation, Jiu stuck out his tongue and slammed it on the table with a thud, expressing his stance through his actions—you two are not going to try to drag me into this topic!

'Could you make your performance any more exaggerated?'

Hoshiguma shook her head speechlessly, but secretly breathed a sigh of relief at not being able to fool Nine.

It seems that Nine is not a likely opponent.

"Lin Lu is a good person... but he already has a wife."

Suddenly, for reasons unknown, Chen Youyou said something and gulped down the wine in her glass, her expression indescribably complicated.

Perhaps it was the alcohol that made her thinking less agile than usual, and it wasn't until then that she realized Lin Lu had already said the words "teacher's wife" herself...

"Oh? It's nothing, is it?"

Hoshiguma was a little confused. She scratched her head, not quite understanding what Chen was trying to express by suddenly saying that.

"You don't think it's a big deal?"

Chen's eyes widened in astonishment. This was the second time she had been stunned by Hoshiguma's amazing remarks, and she felt as if she had suddenly become inferior.

"Of course it's nothing..."

Hoshiguma thought about it for a moment before belatedly realizing what was going on.

"You mean... it's probably a difference in cultural values? The Eastern Kingdom doesn't have a monogamous system, and as far as I know, the Yan Kingdom also has the concept of having multiple wives and concubines, right? It's said that in some countries, a man's ability to support multiple wives is a symbol of strength."

"That's different!"

Hoshiguma's repeated shocking remarks really made Chen lose her composure. Her expression almost collapsed. Under the influence of alcohol, she even had the urge to grab Hoshiguma by the collar, lift her up, and fiercely question her about what she had said!

From the moment they started discussing it, the topic began to veer off in a strange and bizarre direction. How can you be so calm and even accept this as a matter of course?

"..."

Jiu, who was lying on the table, carefully shrank his body even smaller, trying to minimize his presence so as not to be affected by the sudden and unknown AOE.

Chapter 147 Sculpting a Lani

Lin Lu, far away in Kazdel, had no idea that she had become the focus of the girls' conversation without her knowledge.

Inside the Great Blessing, with the assistance of Kal'tsit and Melina, Lani's doll body has taken shape. Kal'tsit played a crucial role in this process. As the head of the medical department in Babel, she possesses profound medical expertise and is particularly suited to make meticulous adjustments, making it virtually impossible for her to make mistakes.

Of course, Miss Nian, who said no but her actions spoke louder than words, also deserves credit. The metal parts she made had near-perfect size and proportions, so there was no need to spend extra effort on manual adjustment; they could be used directly after assembly.

The only regret is that many aspects of the initial design could not be actually used, such as certain artistic transformation functions... those functions were too complex to implement and difficult to achieve on such a slender body.

However, apart from Lin Lu herself, even Melina felt that cutting those unreliable designs was a good thing. Even now, she could imagine Lani's furious reaction after waking up.

"That roughly completes the internal structure. Next, we need to adjust the appearance... This isn't too difficult."

Looking at the doll she had assembled herself, which was filled with all sorts of unexplained devices, Lin Lu felt that it was almost done.

Put everything else aside for now; at least we can see the general outline of a human figure on the table now, and everything that needs to be put in has been put in.

That's how dolls are. As long as they look similar, minor differences are perfectly acceptable. After all, what drives these things isn't a human-like structure, but a complete and independent power system.

As long as the overall structure is sound, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Next, all they need to do is beautify this rugged humanoid figure to resemble Lani's physical appearance.

Melina was mainly responsible for this aspect. Lin Lu didn't think she was good at makeup, so she didn't plan to interfere too much, lest she make a fool of herself.

Since it's just a matter of making changes to appearance, Melina has more than enough authority to handle it.

"Let me do it."

Melina blinked and began to stuff the doll with a soft, flesh-like material.

This doll is completely different from the one Lani used in the border region. The result of spending a lot of money is that its final product can be extremely close to a human in appearance, with at least 90% similarity. It is far superior to that four-armed blue scarecrow.

"Do you think Lani might have any objections to this part of her body?"

As the project neared its end, Melina held two documents in her hand and gestured with them against the chest of the doll, her expression becoming subtle.

For some reason, the thought of making this part a little bigger made her feel very uncomfortable, as if only a flat face could perfectly match Lani's temperament.

"...It shouldn't matter, right?"

Lin Lu stroked her chin, her tone filled with uncertainty.

"After all, she could accept the crudely made scarecrow body made of hemp rope, so she probably wouldn't care too much about such details."

"...No, I care a lot."

Suddenly, a faint voice sounded from the side. Lin Lu and Melina turned their heads at the same time and saw the petite doll that housed Lani's soul wobbling up from the ground, its large hat brim swaying back and forth.

"Why couldn't you two ask the person involved for their opinion before doing this?"

Lani's voice sounded full of resentment. The little doll wobbled over and kicked, but due to its height, it could only kick Lin Lu's shin even with its best effort...

Princess Moon is exuding majesty today!

"Alright, alright, it's not too late for you to wake up now, is it?"

Lin Lu lifted the princess into her hands and placed her on the table. Her eyes glanced at the two clumps of materials in Melina's hands, and she made a subtle arc with her palm.

How about filling it in like this?

"Stuff them all in!"

If it weren't for the fact that the doll's face couldn't make expressions, Lani would probably be very angry right now.

"...No, I think it's better to be realistic in this regard."

Melina roughly estimated the materials in her hand, then glanced down at her own, and voiced her objection.