Chapter 202: Why Are You So Skilled? (Bonus 35 of 55)

In the Knight-Lieutenant's room.

The white-haired boy blinked at the stern Knight-Lieutenant, subtly conveying his meaning.

Cough! Cough!

Uh, Leader, I won't deliberately tell the big boss you're making things hard for me, but… might he think that anyway… ahahaha, I'm not sure.

Leader, you get what I mean, right?

You don't want the big boss to misunderstand you, do you?

"…"

After Herbert had been winking and gesturing for a long while, the Rust-Nail Bishop averted his gaze, slowly shook his head, and sighed.

"No, you don't need to tell him."

Herbert's heart leapt with joy.

Good!

You're scared of the old man too!

Who in the entire monastery isn't afraid of the old man?

Why has everyone submitted to his tyranny?

Stand up already!

Let's form an Anti-Old-Man Alliance!

Together, let's overthrow the tyrannical old man's rule and create our own beautiful homeland!

He thought this, but the Rust-Nail Bishop shook his head, pulled out a wooden box, and said helplessly:

"The Grand Archbishop has already instructed me: if you make such a request, approve it outright."

Herbert:?

"Huh?"

He blinked rapidly, uncertainly asking: "Did the Grand Archbishop really say that?"

The Rust-Nail Bishop nodded solemnly, letting out a weak sigh.

"... Sigh!"

Recalling the earlier instruction, his expression became twisted, even pained.

In his mind, though Valentina had obeyed Herbert's orders, she was still an anomaly and couldn't serve as a reference.

Her compliance didn't mean the other monster prisoners would behave the same.

The risk was simply too high; he couldn't allow Herbert to take such an uncertain gamble.

So the Rust-Nail Bishop had deliberately omitted any mention of this matter—but Herbert had still found the loophole.

"... Sigh!"

He solemnly placed the wooden box into Herbert's hands and sighed: "The Grand Archbishop said that once you see what's inside, you'll know what to do."

He felt the pain of having tried hard to teach a child, only to have the elder spoil them without restraint.

He couldn't resist—could only watch helplessly.

So painful—

After handing over the box, the Rust-Nail Bishop shut his eyes in anguish and waved Herbert off.

Leave quickly, leave quickly, go wherever you want—just don't let me see you.

"Uh, Your Grace, shall I take my leave then?"

"Go."

"Then… what about entering the Mist Mountains?"

The Rust-Nail Bishop's brow twitched, but he kept his eyes closed and said: "Regardless, take responsibility for your own safety. I don't want to hear of your death."

"Yes, I understand."

Having finally received permission to enter the Mist Mountains, Herbert slipped away quietly, no longer irritating the Knight-Lieutenant.

Outside the door, Herbert stared strangely at the wooden box in his hands.

What could be inside?

And the Grand Archbishop had already anticipated this step…

With a sigh, Herbert opened the box—and saw what was hidden inside: a ring.

"Of course it's this."

Inside the box lay two silver-white rings, made from his own hair—two of them.

They had been plucked from him during his last conversation with the Grand Archbishop.

Compared to the previous rings, these two now appeared even less stable, as if capable of one more transformation.

"So they can still change shape once more?"

【"Mm, you're right. The rings' state isn't stable—they still have one chance to change form."】

Nie Nasha sighed, then grinned mischievously:

【"That guy really went out of his way, huh? He's probably afraid you won't be able to explain these to others~"】

Herbert blinked, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Wait, he's actually this thoughtful?"

Is he worried the monster girls will get jealous seeing identical rings?

That old man…

He's actually a good guy!

But hey, you old geezer… aren't you a little too practiced at this?!

You even thought of this kind of detail?

Herbert had already been suspicious the last time the Archbishop helped him craft the ring.

Why not the shape of some other accessory?

Did it have to be a ring?

Did you do it on purpose, or by accident?

Herbert had well-grounded, serious suspicions that this old creep… he… was probably enjoying it!!?

Speak!

You old creep, have you secretly been getting high on it behind the scenes?

Herbert really wanted to find the Archbishop and confront him face to face, but after thinking clearly about his own strength, he silently decided to act as if nothing had happened.

Sigh.

He's an old man already, if you want to get high on it then get high on it, suit yourself.

In any case, up until now, the Archbishop had never harmed him, but had instead given him quite a lot of help.

Although this would not shake Herbert's ultimate goal of overthrowing the Archbishop in the future, it still made him feel complicated emotions.

How exactly am I supposed to beat this invincible old creep in the future… it feels like it would be very hard to defeat him in every aspect.

"…Take it one step at a time." Herbert shook his head and tossed the question to the back of his mind.

Things in the future should be thought about when the future comes; agonizing over them now has no meaning at all.

Then… now, a new problem has arrived.

Who should I pick to go out with me?

Herbert looked at the two rings and sighed with feeling.

"What a real dilemma!"

Deep Water Prison.

Fu Leimei was still walking.

Compared to the beginning, her movements had already become quite practiced, almost no longer showing any trace of clumsiness.

For a Legendary-tier powerhouse, this kind of control was not considered difficult once the technique was mastered.

Waves surged and rose, forming a huge water mirror under her control, reflecting her current appearance.

She walked lightly on the water's surface, strolling gracefully among the waves, leaping up gently and floating with the help of water element, slowly descending from midair.

Fu Leimei looked at herself in the mirror and nodded with satisfaction.

"Very good, I've pretty much finished practicing! After this I can go out with him anytime…"

Fu Leimei was not certain exactly how long it would be after this.

In any case, for her, waiting a year or two was not a big deal.

Of course, if that time could come a little earlier, she still hoped it would be sooner.

"Fu Leimei!"

Upon hearing Herbert's voice, Fu Leimei happily turned her head, eager to show him the results of her training.

"Mm? You're here, look at my legs! I'm already very skilled now! After this we… mm?"

The mermaid Young Lady stopped halfway through, blinked dazedly.

"Eh, what is that?"

In that instant, whether out of intuition or instinct, her sharp eyes clearly saw what Herbert held in his palm.

A silver-white ring.

That is… a ring?

"!!!"

Plop.

She fell into the water again.

Gurgle gurgle—

Last day, begging for monthly tickets!!!

We're already in ninth place on the new book monthly ticket chart, it's really dangerous!

Save the child!

Really don't let the big shots behind us push me down to eleventh, I'll really collapse then. ()

Five updates today, slept a bit more yesterday but my body feels even heavier, for the sake of updating on time, still going with five updates.

In the end, the seven-day plan of twelve thousand updates succeeded for five days.

We'll fight again next month!

……

As of now, the extra-update progress (35/218), monthly tickets added 116 updates……

You're all too strong, I'll pay it back slowly.

I'll record it once more in December, probably starting from January next year I'll pause the accumulation first, until it's all paid back, otherwise I really might never finish paying it back.

I really do plan to pay it all back, no intention of writing it off as a bad debt.

Also starting next month there will be a treasure chest in the book friends' circle, everyone remember to like and check in and stuff~



(End of this chapter)