People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Ines raised an eyebrow and asked with interest:

"Everyone's asking me this kind of thing? You're rich?"

Hedley scratched his head:

"Didn't we save some money? Besides, I am a civil servant, after all."

Ines smiled and said sarcastically:

"Did Prime Minister Ernst show you special favor again?"

Hedley did not deny it, but instead raised his hand in a Sherag prayer gesture, closed his eyes, and sincerely said:

"grateful!"

Ines glanced at him, shook her head, but still imitated him and performed a less-than-perfect prayer:

"grateful."

Chapter 511 W: No one can replace Theresa!

Shelag, Tukarim.

W randomly picked a small restaurant on the street, pulled out a chair, and shouted towards the kitchen:

"Boss, warm a bowl of wine and two plates of fried beans."

Boss Sherag came out of the kitchen, walked up to W, handed him a menu, gestured to W, pointed at the menu, and then gave a thumbs up.

"Can't understand Sarkaz?"

W frowned. She had assumed that all the Sherag people were geniuses like the station staff, all of whom could speak Sarkaz.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. Many Sarkaz mercenaries are supposed to take jobs in Victoria and Colombia, but usually only the leader knows a little Victorian. It's normal for these Sherag people who have spent their whole lives in the mountains not to know Sarkaz.

Despite W's seemingly uncultured appearance, she actually has a knack for languages. She speaks Sarkaz, and has a basic understanding of Ursus and Victoria, although speaking and writing are two different things.

W is quite proud of this. Although most of her cultural background comes from Hadley's forced education, Hadley was right about one thing: once you learn these things, they become your own.

She didn't make things difficult for the owner of the restaurant, Sherag, but she also didn't bother to pull out any of her Victorian language skills to reorder. She simply pointed to a few dishes on the menu that were marked in Victorian.

The boss nodded, gave her an OK sign, and turned back to the kitchen.

Looking at his enthusiastic appearance, W found it somewhat amusing.

I'm a Sarkaz, why are you so eager to be associated with Sarkaz? You want to make money off Sarkaz?

The Sherag man is quite interesting; he seems to think I'll pay?

W did indeed spot two or three Sarkaz figures on this street as he strolled along. To be honest, if it weren't for the horns on their heads being so obvious, W would have almost failed to recognize them.

They seem to have integrated very well.

But the more W thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed.

These Sarkaz have truly forgotten their past wounds. Shalag is kind to you now, but who knows when he might turn against you? Then, how will you fight back, stripped of your fangs and claws?

Upon entering a new environment, Sarkaz must be vigilant and maintain the highest level of alertness. There's no such thing as a free lunch or something good for no reason.

If there's a free lunch, it's definitely because I'm not planning to pay for it myself!

As W thought about this, a pure white figure involuntarily appeared in his mind.

Well... we can't be so extreme. Free lunches did exist before. On the ship at Babel, Princess Theresa would serve the returning warriors a bowl of hot vegetable soup.

It's free. You don't need to achieve any military exploits, nor do you need to collect enemy horns or fragments like the Military Commission to receive a reward.

If you are willing to come to the Tower of Babel and ask for a bowl of hot soup, Princess Theresa will give it to you without asking whether you are a member of the Military Council or an “enemy.”

That damned hooded man and the grumpy old lynx called this a "psychological warfare tactic," but W had seen Princess Theresa with her own eyes and had even personally received the bowl of soup from her. She knew that no matter how many schemes and tricks the "evil spirits of Babel" had plotted in that bowl of soup, Theresa had only poured love into it.

Her eyes were always only on the entire Sarkaz.

That's why Sarkaz, drawn by that gaze, was willing to follow Theresa.

She is no exception.

"Eat, child."

A voice calling in Victorian rang in W's ears, and W snapped back to reality. The beer and fried beans she had ordered were already placed in front of her, along with a plate of stir-fried pack animal meat.

The Sherag boss, sitting opposite her, gestured towards W, pointing to the plate of stir-fried pack animal meat:

“This is free.”

W frowned:

"free?"

Her first thought was that this Sherag man had some ulterior motive, wanting her to do some dirty work. But to think he could bribe a legendary mercenary of her caliber with a plate of stir-fried pack animal meat was wishful thinking.

Besides, what dirty work is there to do in Sherag? Assassinate that Ernst Shivaesh?

W stared into the boss's eyes for a while, but couldn't discern any ambition in them.

She resisted the urge to immediately take out her equipment to test the toxicity, and instead asked a question in Victorian:

"why?"

"you are sick."

Seeing that W could speak Victorian, the boss breathed a slight sigh of relief and pointed to W's forearm.

Originium crystals crawled menacingly out of her fair skin, ruining the overall aesthetic. The Sarkaz girl, however, was not unconcerned; she boldly smoothed the Originium crystals, using them as three claw-like decorations.

This is not beneficial for the treatment of Oripathy, and may even be harmful.

W looked at the boss with some surprise, then couldn't help but laugh, pointing to herself:

"I am a Sarkaz."

"I know."

"I have contracted Oripathy."

"I know."

"Then why don't you kick me out? You dare to keep me here and even sell me things?"

The boss gave her a strange look:

"Why not? There are quite a few Sarkaz in Kjerag now. Lady Nasti, Lady Mudrock, they are all Sarkaz, but they are practically living saints. Are Sarkaz really that bad?"

W was at a loss for words.

She had lived for decades, and this was the first time she had ever heard someone ask her, "Are the Sarkaz bad?"

Are Sarkaz bad?

W fell silent. She suddenly realized that, apart from the initial feeling of speechlessness, she really had no way to answer the question.

From her own experience, the Sarkaz are wicked, utterly wicked. Most of them are incredibly evil, especially that guy from Londinium who calls himself the "Regent," who tops her list of people she absolutely has to kill.

Princess Theresa once said, "The Sarkaz are not bad."

"The Sarkaz are not bad, and neither are the infected. That's what Prime Minister Ernst said."

The boss recited Ernst's quotes with great clarity, also incorporating his own personal experiences and understanding.

"It is foolish to arbitrarily label an entire race as good or bad. If the Sarkaz are bad, are Lord Nasti and Lord Mudrock, who built our cities and houses, also bad? Is Lord Safar, who provided us with heating, also bad? Is Lord Hadley, who taught my children to read and write, also bad?"

"Are the infected bad? Could it be that Prime Minister Ernst's sister, Lady Encia, is also bad?"

“Anyone who dares to say such things in Shelag would have been hung up the mountain tomorrow in the past!”

Why "in the past"? Are they no longer used now?

No, it's just that when the great god Yeragand got up a few days ago, he made quite a commotion, and there are fewer mountains around Shelag, so it's not easy to find a suitable grave.

Well, it's also because Prime Minister Ernst said that Scherrag is now going to pursue "civilization" and not scare those timid Victorians.

W was somewhat stunned.

Nasti, Mudstone, Safar, and even Hadley...

She'd heard of the Sarkaz, but never heard of them. How could they be so famous in Sherag?

And what do you mean by that? Why does that sound so familiar?

W opened his mouth, his expression somewhat complicated:

"These were all said by that Prime Minister Ernst..."

“Not entirely.” The boss shook his head. W breathed a slight sigh of relief.

She said, "There's no such thing as a coincidence."

"Prime Minister Ernst's words were far more profound. When he spoke with that Rhodes Island doctor from Kelsey, he also said something about 'ensuring everyone in Serrago sleeps peacefully'..."

W didn't hear what the boss said next.

She only heard three keywords.

Rhodes Island, Kal'tsit, sleeps peacefully.

These words sounded all too familiar. What did that damned old lynx think she was doing, teaching these words to that snow leopard?

There is only one Theresa in the world! No one can replace her!

W suddenly sat up, startling the shop owner across from him, and his voice rose several octaves:

"Rhodes Island is here? That grumpy lynx... no, that Kal'tsit, is in Seraphim?"

"Yes...yes."

The boss stared blankly at the Sarkaz girl, whose expression had suddenly changed for some unknown reason, and swallowed hard.

"Didn't I just tell you? After you finish eating, walk to the end of this street, and you'll reach Tucarim Grand Plaza. Rhodes Island's base vehicle is parked there. There are people selling things and seeing doctors there. I heard that this Stone Disease you have is quite troublesome. Jeragand bless you, you should go see a doctor as soon as possible. They're nice people. I had a cold a few days ago, and I went there to see a doctor, got some medicine, and felt better after taking it."

As he spoke, perhaps worried that W might be in some difficulty, he hesitated for a moment before taking the initiative to say:

"If you don't have money, I can lend you some. You can pay me back when you find a job."

"Aren't you afraid I'll just run away?" W had lost count of how many times today his basic survival sense had been challenged.

But the boss didn't seem worried at all:

"You've already come to Shelag, how could you possibly run away?"

W laughed: "Can Sherag trap me?"

The boss shook his head and waved his hand, saying:

"Shelag won't trap you, but to be honest, among the Sarkaz I've met who came to Shelag, there were some who were more wary than you, but in the end, none of them wanted to leave. They all stayed."

"I......."

W opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to blurt out some rebuttal, but the words caught in her throat. She gritted her teeth, clicked her tongue, and swallowed them back.

Forget it.

Let's go to Babel first... no, it should be called Rhodes Island now.

Let's go to Rhodes Island first and see that grumpy lynx. She needs to give herself an explanation!

W stood up, and by the time she got up and left, the food on the table was almost cold, and she had lost her appetite. She walked towards the door, and the owner watched her back, sighed slightly, and picked up the untouched stir-fried meat and wine on the table, intending to heat them up for his own dinner that night.

But as soon as he stepped into the kitchen, he saw the departing figure through the glass partition.

W stood at the door, pulled two Victoria pounds from his purse, slapped them on the table, and then turned and left.

There's no such thing as a free lunch. If there is, it's only because she doesn't intend to pay for it.

As for why she paid, is that even a question?

Could these ignorant Sherag people possibly mistake her for one of those Sarkaz beggars?

She's the legendary mercenary W, and she's got plenty of money!

Chapter 512 Kal'tsit: He's not my substitute meal, he's the main course.

"Dr. Kal'tsit, have you been feeling a bit unwell lately?"

This was Amiya's heartfelt concern after hearing that Kal'tsit had been carried back by Ascalon once again.