Man on the ark, forced to become king

The town was in chaos after the war. The streets needed repair, the houses needed rebuilding, and the bodies needed to be buried. Neither Lin Lu nor Mostima intended to stay there any longer, so they set off for their destination overnight.

The only problem was with Fiameta. The space on Torret's back was limited, barely enough to carry two people, let alone a third. So after discussion, Fiameta bought a second-hand cart used for transporting odds and ends from Zhenmin out of her own pocket. Lin Lu was responsible for riding the cart and pulling it, while the two 'delicate and frail' girls sat on the cart in the back. This way, everyone could save a lot of effort.

—In fact, Lin Lu had always been deeply puzzled by Fiameta's speed. You know, when he and Mostima came out of Lungmen, they were driving a car. Even when the car broke down, they rode horses and their speed was not slow. However, the Liberian girl, who had no means of transportation, arrived in town at the same time as them... Could she be running faster than riding a bicycle?

Considering the many unsolved mysteries surrounding the Super Terrans, it doesn't seem impossible...

And since she's a bird, she might even be able to fly...

"Speaking of which, I've really offended the people of Babel this time. If I'm not mistaken, they might actually come after me. Are you two sure you still want to come with me?"

Bored with riding a horse, Torret knew the direction and could move on his own. Lin Lu sat on the horse for a while, but felt uncomfortable, so she jumped onto the cart behind and took the initiative to start a conversation.

"You've already asked that question."

Mostima seemed to really like the rather strange-looking sapphire dollop, and put it on her head again after getting into the car, making it impossible to see her expression. Of course, she rarely had any expression anyway.

"You're the one who provoked Babel, what does it have to do with us? Besides, you've made it sound so serious to Fiameta, like it's a diplomatic dispute or something, but it's really nothing special."

It was clear that she didn't really care about provoking the Tower of Babel, but Fiameta still had a slight objection to what she said.

"Don't make it sound so easy. If we really confront Kazdel's officials head-on, we'll be in for a scolding and punishment when we get back. Do you want to listen to those old men's endless nagging?"

"Being scolded and punished? Is that all?"

Lin Lu had a strange expression and didn't know what to say.

So all that talk about diplomatic disputes and international conflicts, making it sound like it could lead to war between the two countries, and this is all? Just getting a reprimand and punishment?

“I’m not exaggerating.”

Fiameta hugged her unique brilliance stone dollop and examined it closely. She looked up and rolled her eyes. Compared to Mostima, who was used to wearing a formulaic smile, she was much more normal and emotional when it didn't involve work.

“Our identities are messengers of all nations, that is, diplomats dispatched by Laterano abroad. When we have a conflict with an official organization of a country, it will naturally escalate to the national level. But that depends on which country it is. As far as I know, Kazdel is probably too busy to deal with these things right now. They haven’t even resolved their own internal power struggles, so how can they have the time to pursue things at the national level?”

"Makes sense."

Lin Lu nodded, agreeing with her assessment.

In a country where even a unified government is in a state of division, and a civil war is raging, it is indeed unlikely that they would go to great lengths to pursue two foreign diplomats—unless they really cause something big. A mere verbal dispute with a Babel-affiliated combat squad would not have such a significant impact.

"Do you have any further information about the Regent and Princess Theresa? I'd like to know more; I feel it might be useful."

"Seriously? You dared to do that when you knew almost nothing about them?"

Mostima wasn't very interested in the topic and continued to silently study Tops' position while holding his staff. Fiameta, having nothing to do, was quite interested in chatting.

She glanced at Lin Lu with surprise, then thought for a moment and explained, "I do know some information, but not much. Don't expect to hear any secrets from me."

"Princess Theresa, the leader of Babel Tower, is the rightful heir to Kazdel. She possesses the full power of a Demon Lord and is the current Demon Lord recognized by all Sarkaz. She once led Kazdel to victory against an external invasion and was once regarded as a war hero of the Sarkaz. Regent Theresis is her blood brother, who also has royal blood and is the actual controller of most of Kazdel's army."

"During Theresa's reign, the Regent assisted her rule as the military leader. Kazdel was relatively peaceful during that time. However, the two had different ideas. The princess was more conservative and advocated solving problems in a gentle way, while the Regent Theresa's ideas were much more radical. He advocated using struggle and battle to achieve the restoration of Kazdel."

"The conflict between their ideologies intensified over time, eventually reaching an irreconcilable point. Ultimately, Regent Theresis could not accept the weakness of the current Demon King and planned to replace Theresia by force, making Kazdel operate according to his will. Thus, the civil war in Kazdel broke out. Upon closer examination, this war has probably been going on for many years."

"Speaking of which, the princess's reputation is much better than the regent's. People who have met her have said that she is as warm as the sun. She must be a very gentle person. Otherwise, why would the regent criticize her for being too weak?"

"No, not necessarily. I think the conflict between them is not that simple, at least not as simple as the rumors suggest."

Lin Lu listened to Fiameta's words, pondered them carefully, and did not agree with her statement.

"If that princess were truly as weak as the outside world portrays her, how could she have become a Sarkaz war hero?"

Chapter 50: Limited Edition Holy Bullets in Collaboration with the Pope!

"It's just a rumor, so it's not very reliable. If you really want to understand it, you'll have to get in on their side."

Fiameta remained noncommittal in response to Lin Lu's question. Having come from Laterano, she didn't care much about Kazdel and had no fondness for the Sarkaz. She usually treated these rumors as stories, whether they were true or not, it didn't matter.

"Oh, by the way, could you perform that again?"

The crimson feathers on the Liberian girl's head trembled in the wind. She seemed to have suddenly become interested, gesturing with her hands in large outlines, leaving everyone puzzled.

"Which one?"

"That's the one! The one with the big head, the one that spits out ice!"

"What do you mean..."

Upon hearing this, Lin Lu immediately understood what she meant.

To be fair, regardless of its actual power, the sheer scale of the Dragon's Prayer was truly awe-inspiring, far surpassing any blue light or fireball-type spells in its brilliance. It's no wonder it attracted attention.

but……

"That's not a move you can use casually."

As she said this, Lin Lu pulled up the sleeve of her coat a bit, and under the illumination of the Starlight spell, the veins on her arm appeared an abnormal bluish-black.

"I'm not at the point where I can use it freely yet. This time, I was able to use it with the help of the Pure Origin Stone, which put a lot of strain on my body."

Moreover, the holy mark used as a spellcasting tool is broken, and it's unclear where to find another piece...

"That's it..."

Fiameta was somewhat disappointed. Her gaze swept over the dark blue veins, and she hesitated for a moment before asking, "Then... can I learn that kind of magic? Don't worry, it won't be for nothing. You can name your conditions."

"Not at this stage. It's not that I'm unwilling to teach you, it's just that... those kinds of spells require special conditions to learn, unlike the Tops position where you can learn them by studying them diligently."

Lin Lu shook her head in refusal, extinguishing Fiameta's fantasy.

He was not lying. Among all the prayers he knew, some were indeed special. Their specialness did not lie in their power, but in their learning method—they could not be learned through normal study and required certain prerequisites. The Dragon Village Prayer was one of them.

That is the power gained from hunting dragons, devouring dragon hearts, and plundering from real dragons through the Dragon Village ritual. To learn it, one must hunt real dragons and perform the ritual; there is no shortcut.

He is able to use it because he already possesses the corresponding abilities—those are the paths he has walked and the powers he has mastered, but he is unable to use them due to his current physical condition.

But Fiameta and Mostima are different; their prerequisite for learning is to undergo a Dragon Village ritual, and as far as he knows, there are no real dragons in this world.

There are dragon girls like Waifan who might have dragon blood, but you can't just capture people and dig out their hearts to perform a ritual, can you?

Putting aside the question of whether it works or not, that approach is simply unacceptable.

Furthermore, they did not use the holy seals required for prayer.

Holy Mark... Hmm? Holy Mark?

Seeing the halo around Mostima's head out of the corner of her eye, Lin Lu had a flash of inspiration and suddenly had an idea.

Everyone knows that Lateran is a religious country with religious beliefs and worship. Since Hoshiguma's amulet can be used as a holy seal, could there be something similar in Lateran's churches?

Thinking of this, Lin Lu's heart immediately became eager.

"Um... you two, I wanted to ask if you have... you know, those amulets or something that are kept in churches?"

"what?"

Fiamet was taken aback by this strange question and it took him a while to react.

"If I understand correctly, there are indeed similar items in the church, such as crosses or something... Why are you looking for that?"

"As a casting material, some of my spells are quite special, and they will be more effective if I have that kind of item."

"Ah this."

This answer was completely unexpected by Fiameta. When did even church souvenirs become spellcasting materials? Those things were useless except as souvenirs, and had absolutely nothing to do with Originium Arts.

This is really strange.

"If you have it, please show it to me. In exchange, I can teach you a fun and useful magic spell."

Although they hadn't known each other for long, they were all acquaintances thanks to Mostima, so Lin Lu didn't lie or deceive anyone and directly stated her terms.

From the way Fiameta played with the Radiant Stone Shield, it's clear that she was actually quite curious about the magic she'd never seen before, but she was too embarrassed to say it. If there was this as an exchange, she would most likely be interested.

Sure enough, upon hearing that there was magic she could learn, the Liberi girl nodded in agreement almost without hesitation.

"Of course I have them!"

As she spoke, she turned to look at Mostima, who was deep in thought while holding her staff. Her eager gaze startled the angel from her reverie, and she shrank back warily.

"What are you going to do?"

"Hand over my limited edition Pope-branded commemorative bullet!"

What is this thing whose very name sounds so mysterious...?

Lin Lu's lips twitched slightly as she watched Fiameta pounce on Mostima and pin her down. He rummaged through her body and pulled out a silver-white bullet about the size of a lighter from somewhere. It seemed to have words and patterns engraved on it, and there was a small opening at the end. It didn't look like a live bullet that could be fired; it looked more like some kind of work of art.

"Here, this is it. See if you can use it."

Reaching out to catch the bullet that Fiameta threw at him, Lin Lu immediately felt the power of faith condensed within it. Compared to Hoshiguma's amulet, the power of faith contained within this bullet was purer and more restrained, to the point that he couldn't perceive it from the outside at all.

Undoubtedly, if used as a sacred seal in prayer, its effect would be stronger than that of an amulet, but...

Lin Lu's gaze was rather strange as she played with the exquisitely crafted bullet.

Why are bullets enshrined in the Lateran church?

Is this something that should be in a church?

Also, why is there a "Pope co-branded" version of this? Does your Pope accept advertising endorsements?

He thought for a long time, but finally couldn't help asking the question. Then he heard Fiameta explain with a devout expression: "Because we believe that bullets can extinguish suffering; they are sacred!"