I, Viego, conquer Terra!

Is Inès a socially anxious person who becomes shy when revealing her emotions to others?

"Ines, you rarely say thank you to people?"

"This is my privacy. It has nothing to do with you." Ines' voice was filled with a warning: "Now shut up and leave me alone for a while."

Viego spread his hands and said nothing more.

You are a wounded soldier, you have the final say.

After a while, the cold female voice sounded again:

“Is this the camp of the Tower of Babel?”

"..."

Inès turned her head to look.

Viego opened his eyes and spread his hands towards her innocently. "You were the one who told me to be quiet for a while."

But those eyes were full of mischief, obviously intentional.

Inès took a deep breath: "...Now you can speak, answer my question, Viego."

"Yes, we are on the ship of Babel—they call it the 'Isle of Rhodes.'"

Inès was distracted for a moment, then came back to her senses. "Where's Hedley?"

"I'm going to a meeting." Viego told Ines about the casualties of the mercenary group and the attitude of Babel Tower, and asked: "Ines, what are you going to do? Continue to stay in the mercenary group... or stay in Babel Tower?"

Inès asked in return: "What about you, Viego?"

"Me? I won't continue to follow the mercenary group, nor will I stay in the Tower of Babel." Viego shook his head:

"Hedley said that the mercenary group will continue to accept commissions from the Tower of Babel - I don't want to get involved in this kind of royal faction war."

"......" Ines looked at Viego and was silent for two seconds, then said, "I will stay in the mercenary group. If you don't plan to stay, where are you going next?"

"I haven't made up my mind yet. Just stay here for now. You guys still need to recover from your injuries, right?"

"?" Ines stared at Viego. "Since you're not staying anyway, why do you have to wait for us to recover? You're not injured, are you?"

"Uh...how can I explain it to you?" Viego scratched his face. "To put it simply, staying with you and W can make me stronger. If I can have direct skin contact with you, I will become stronger even faster."

"......" Inès' eyes were slightly cold: "You did something to us? You are indeed from Leitania...!"

I knew it.

Viego sighed in his heart, but raised his brows and raised his hands in surrender as if jokingly:

"Captain Ines's reaction is really cute. I was just kidding. I don't have the chance or the ability to do anything to you and W."

The level of trust between him and Inès and the others was not enough to make things clear.

These Sarkaz mercenaries seemed to be all the same; they could entrust their lives to a stranger or someone they had just met without hesitation, but it was difficult for them to completely open their hearts, let down their guard, and completely "trust" anyone.

——Not to mention, whether it was W or Ines, they had only known Viego for less than a week.

What mercenary who has been through life and death together would trust someone they have known for less than seven days, whose origins and background are unknown, and who is not even considered to be of the same race as them?

Yes, Viego could indeed force an explanation, telling everything and his own situation.

But trust is something subjective in nature, and it is impossible for people to believe everything Viego says.

Besides, Ines has always been wary of Viego.

If Viego really confronted her, it was more likely that Inès would not believe a word he said, or would only believe the parts of his words that she found credible and could verify.

For example, Viego had done something and had plans for her and W's lives, so he came to save them. His appearance in front of W, being brought back by W, and then contacting W, Inès, and Hedley may all be carefully planned.

Of course Viego knew that this was not the case, but from the perspective of Inès, W, Hedley and others, they did not know Viego's full situation.

In this land, among the mercenary group, saving a life means nothing at all. In most cases, it only means that the person who saved your life has a bigger plan for you.

There are no truly good people among mercenaries.

Intrigue, deception and betrayal are the norm in this group.

Among mercenaries and even in the country of Kazdel, the word "trust" is an absolute luxury.

Inès and W might be able to trust Viego, but that would definitely be after he had known them for a longer time and understood each other better, not now.

You want to max out someone's favorability and trust in just five or six days, so that they will obey you? What a joke.

Viego cannot perform hypnosis, does not have a body odor like O-drug, and is not a gold coin that everyone loves - and in this world, a gold coin may also be a fake copper-plated gold coin.

"Cute...?" Ines snorted, and the coldness in her eyes disappeared.

"You shouldn't use these words to describe a mercenary, especially when she's your superior. Don't forget, Viego, you haven't left the mercenary group yet, and I'm still your captain."

But her vigilance and thoughtfulness did not diminish in the slightest.

Why did Viego suddenly say such a thing? He didn't look like he was joking just now.

Is it a test... or a warning?

My reaction was too strong. Maybe he had seen through it... No, if he was really from Leithania, then he should have known it all along, but he didn't care...

As expected, I had let my guard down too much.

When I woke up, Viego was putting his fingers on the back of his hand. His purpose was indeed not simple.

For a moment, the room fell into silence and the atmosphere was almost stagnant.

Whether Viego's words were a joke or not, both he and Inès knew it clearly.

After a moment, a hoarse voice from the other bed broke the silence.

"... Viego, Ines? Where... am I?"

Chapter 33 Kal'tsit: Cat Head Surprised

W's awakening broke the stagnant and stagnant silence in the ward.

"You are now on the ship of Babel Tower." Inès said coldly. "You are also our 'escort target'."

W was silent for two seconds, propped himself up on the bed and sat up, looking at Ines on the bed, then at Viego in the middle of the bed. "I didn't expect you could really save us, Viego."

The smile disappeared from her face, but Viego felt that the current appearance of W seemed to be the real her.

Viego raised his eyebrows at her: "Yeah, what, have you fallen in love with me?"

W sneered: "Seeing you still look so stupid, I feel relieved. It turns out that I am not dreaming. Where is Hedley?"

"I'm in a meeting with the top executives of Babel Tower." Inès replied.

dong dong——

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation between the people.

A cold, white-haired cat head appeared at the door.

She looked at Viego. "Viego, follow me."

He probably came to discuss the compensation he had mentioned earlier. Viego understood.

He nodded, said hello to W and Inès, stood up and followed Kal'tsit out of the ward.

boom--

The ward door was closed.

"......" Ines was silent for two seconds and looked at W. "What do you think of him?"

"Who? Viego? What's going on?" W raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Why are you asking me? Are you in love with him?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, W." Ines stared at her, her cold eyes seemed to penetrate her soul. "There are many suspicious points about him. Don't tell me you have never doubted him."

"So what? Suspecting or not, it won't affect anything." W's smile faded. "You suddenly started talking about this. What? Are you provoked? What did he do?"

"...before you woke up, he was touching the backs of our hands with his fingers and told me that he could gain power by touching us."

Inès wanted to know W's reaction and attitude towards this matter.

But when she looked at W's shadow, she felt what was in her heart...

Don't agree?

Why don't you take it seriously?

Inès finally frowned slightly. "Do you know how serious this matter is—"

"Of course I know." W interrupted her and looked at her calmly. "Viego told me this on the first day he met me. Otherwise, do you think I would trust someone with an unknown background so quickly?"

"What? He told you a long time ago...?! Then why did you..."

"Why not tell me? What would happen if I told you? Would it make you more suspicious and wary of him, and then secretly monitor and test him?"

She looked at the dazed Ines, threw back the quilt and got out of bed.

"I always thought you were the same as Hedley, both of you like to be sentimental and overthink things. Haven't you noticed that he never concealed these things? He is not a Sarkaz, nor a mercenary. I have never seen him before."

"..."

"Don't think about his intentions, because you can't understand him. Just look at what he did, because that's what you can see. Don't think your life is worth so much, Inès. You are only worth fifteen candies, right?"

"Think about it yourself. I'm going to go out for a walk."

After saying this, W also walked out of the ward.

......

In Kal'tsit's office, Viego and she sat opposite each other across a desk.

Kelsey got straight to the point:

"I called you here for two reasons. First, Theresa had promised to compensate you. I am here to discuss the details of the compensation with you on her behalf. Second, I have some questions about the power in you... No, I have something to tell you."

"First of all, Theresa will personally compensate you with materials or money worth 200,000 Longmen coins. It's up to you whether you want money or things. Are you satisfied with this result?"

According to W's calculation, two hundred thousand is enough to buy two lives.

Viego didn't know what purchasing power this amount of money had in the other world, but two hundred thousand was definitely not a small amount. He knew when to stop, so he nodded:

"I have no opinion."

"Okay, then the second thing." Kal'tsit nodded, and looked at Viego seriously with her emerald eyes:

"What I am going to say next is from my personal standpoint. If you feel uncomfortable or offended by the content of the conversation, you can stop it at any time, but other than that, I hope you can answer the questions you can answer as truthfully as possible."

Viego raised his eyebrows: "If you believe it, everything I said is true. I am not a good liar."

"That's the best." Kal'tsit said noncommittally: "First of all, I want to know if you know about the changes in me?"

"What?" Viego was stunned for a moment: "I didn't know you before today... How do I know that you have changed?"

"Mon3tr." Kal'tsit called softly.

The next moment, a creature that looked somewhat like a mechanical creation and had sharp limbs and claws appeared behind her.

It’s indeed a monster.

But that's not what Viego cares about.

He stared at the faint black mist lingering around Mon3tr, surprise in his eyes.

At this moment, Viego clearly realized that the "monster" in front of him that ran out of Kal'tsit's body was embedded with a fragment of Isolder containing the power of the Curse of Ruin.

"Are you aware of this? Or, do you know the source of the change?" Kal'tsit leaned forward slightly and stared at Viego.

A few days ago, she discovered changes in Mon3tr's body. A thin black mist began to linger on its body. The mist would enhance its power when it attacked, making its attacks sharper.

But this change is unknown, and Kal'tsit feels uneasy about it.

After meeting Viego today, she confirmed that Viego might not be the culprit for the changes in Mon3tr, but he must know some information that might help her find out the reasons for the changes in Mon3tr.

"I do know where it came from, but before that...can I touch it first?"

"...Please do as you please."

Viego placed his hand on Mon3tr's torso and was slightly stunned.

Can't sense it? But the fragment is clearly here.

Viego thought of something and turned his gaze to Kal'tsit. "Can I touch you again? Just the back of your hand will do."

Kal'tsit frowned, but still reached out her hand to Viego, allowing his fingertips to touch the back of her hand.