Chapter 313: Strange Boy

Lenburg? Baron Brignais's illegitimate child or godson lives in Lenburg? Amidst his confusion, many teasing guesses flashed through Lu Mian's mind:

Gang leader Baron Brignais values education very much and sent his most cherished child to the kingdom of the "God of Knowledge and Wisdom" early on...

Lu Mian looked at the little boy and asked casually:

"At your age, shouldn't you stay in Lenburg to study? Overall, the education there is much better than in Trier."

The little boy's expression suddenly became unusually vivid:

"I don't want to, I don't want to go to school every day, do homework until late every day, and have exams every month!"

Sounds a bit terrifying... Lu Mian imagined that kind of life.

At the very least, he couldn't accept it.

After nodding in deep agreement, Lu Mian asked as if inadvertently:

"Are live rats delicious?"

The little boy returned to that relatively calm state:

"They aren't delicious, but when you're hungry, you don't have the qualification to be picky. And I don't want to wait until noon to sneak into the kitchen. True enjoyment is always food cooked by an excellent chef, preferably with a bit of non-serious hunger..."

After explaining for two sentences, he seemed to feel he had acted a bit too mature and hurriedly changed his wording:

"Who told your kitchen to wait until almost noon to prepare food!"

That's not the point, okay... I didn't think about eating live rats when I was wandering either. Of course, mainly because I couldn't catch them. If I really caught one, I'd at least have to find a way to get some fire, skin it, and roast it... This guy can catch rats with his bare hands; his strength or luck isn't bad... It's only about an hour until noon now, and he can't hold back? The more Lu Mian looked, the more suspicious he found this little boy.

He asked with amusement:

"Didn't Brignais feed you enough? Do you need me to help you go to the police headquarters to report him for child abuse?"

"Except for urging me to do homework, he's quite good in other aspects. He makes me eat a main meal every two hours, and he also prepares extra cakes, cookies, roast meat, and pies so I have something to eat when I'm hungry in the middle of the night." Speaking of this, the little boy subconsciously licked his lips.

Are you a pig? Lu Mian didn't eat this heavily even during his growth spurt.

Moreover, this guy doesn't look fat, just sturdy.

The next second, the little boy's eyes changed slightly, and he said quite quickly:

"Maybe learning consumes too much of my energy; I must eat this many meals to maintain my brain's activity."

Is there no such phrase as "explanation is cover-up" in Lenburg's education? You explained it so specifically, and I feel even more that your appetite is problematic... Eating so much didn't improve your brain either... Where did the nutrition go? Lu Mian said with a smile:

"Since Brignais didn't deliberately starve you, why do you still eat raw rats and beef?"

The little boy replied with some annoyance:

"I ran out today without eating breakfast, and I didn't have morning tea either!"

You're hungry enough to eat live rats just from that? If you're hungry for another half day, a day, would you even want to eat the people on the road? Lu Mian took out an iron-gray military flask from the inside of his clothes with his right hand.

His left palm also reached out from his trouser pocket to help unscrew the flask's cap, then tucked it back in.

Lu Mian raised the iron-gray metal flask, sniffed the fragrance deeply, and asked with a smile:

"Do you want a sip?"

Gulp! The little boy's throat moved, and he swallowed some saliva.

He replied very arduously:

"I'm not an adult yet, I'm still just a child!"

Already drank alcohol and likes it very much... Lu Mian made a judgment and took a gulp of the strong liquor.

He didn't let the military flask leave his mouth and asked somewhat vaguely:

"Which god do you believe in?"

"Why are you asking this?" the little boy asked back quite vigilantly.

Seeing that he didn't have an over-the-top reaction, Lu Mian secretly breathed a sigh of relief, took another gulp of strong liquor, and made a gurgling sound.

He let the military flask leave his mouth and said with a clear voice and a smile:

"As a devout believer of the 'God of Steam and Machinery,' I must verify the faith of those whose origins are unknown.

"Steam be above!"

This time, Lu Mian no longer had the vagueness of speaking while holding liquor.

The little boy subconsciously shook his head:

"That's useless. If I say I believe in which god, do I really believe in that god?"

"Not-so-devout believers of the Orthodox Churches can indeed claim to believe in whichever god they want, but these people are not harmful. What I am preventing are believers of evil gods. They are fanatical, irrational, and wouldn't falsely claim their faith to deceive others, believing that it is not devout enough and is an act of blasphemy." Lu Mian observed the little boy's reaction.

The little boy instinctively retorted:

"That's not the case. Some believers of evil gods, in order to complete sacred missions, will actively disguise themselves as believers of Orthodox gods. They can pray, listen to scriptures, participate in mass, and recite the honorific names of other gods without any psychological barriers, as long as they repent to their own lord afterward, there is no problem at all..."

Speaking of this, the little boy suddenly stopped. He and Lu Mian looked at each other, eyes meeting, and remained silent for a long time.

After a good while, he took a bite of raw beef and took the initiative to introduce himself:

"I am a believer of the 'God of Knowledge and Wisdom.' Devout believers of our church all have a habit, which is to point out the errors in the other party's words, just like just now, yes, just like just now!"

Lu Mian looked deeply at this guy for a few seconds and said:

"What are the common prayers of the 'God of Knowledge and Wisdom' church?"

The little boy said like a conditioned reflex:

"I already said just now, believers of evil gods can recite the honorific names of Orthodox gods with repentance and use those prayers. You can't distinguish others' true faith this way unless you are a person from the 'Eternal Blazing Sun' church who has made a notarization in advance that you cannot lie..."

Saying this, the little boy fell silent again, staring blankly at Lu Mian who was gazing at him.

After a few seconds, he reached out his right hand that wasn't holding beef and pressed his head:

"May wisdom be with you!"

Such a stupid guy shouldn't be a spy sent by some evil god... Judging from his IQ, he really is a little kid... Lu Mian almost couldn't control his expression just now. Relying on secretly taking a breath and letting the small amount of airflow roll in his mouth, he relaxed his facial muscles.

"Indeed." He agreed with the little boy's words just now with a voice full of smiles, then imitated the other party, touched his head with the bottom of the iron-gray military flask, and said meaningfully, "May wisdom be with you!"

Without waiting for the little boy to respond, Lu Mian said in a bewitching tone:

"Do you want to go to the second-floor cafe? I'll treat you to a main meal. The chef here is not bad."

The little boy swallowed some saliva again:

"You won't betray me, will you?"

"You can follow me all the time, so I won't have the opportunity to betray you." Lu Mian began to test whether the other party's IQ level under the temptation of food was consistent with his apparent age, and whether it would be lower. "Besides, we only prohibit the 'God of Knowledge and Wisdom' church from preaching in Intis and building churches; we don't prohibit believers of the 'God of Knowledge and Wisdom' from entering the country. Trier even has a Lenburg Chamber of Commerce."

The little boy pondered for a second and said:

"Alright."

Lu Mian glanced at him, pulled out his left palm, closed the flask's cap, and stuffed the iron-gray container back into the inside of his brown jacket.

Then, he pressed his head again:

"May wisdom be with you!"

After saying this, Lu Mian turned his body and walked into the stairs.

The little boy followed behind him, very politely closing the dark brown door of the cellar.

Seeing Lu Mian turn his head and look at him, he explained earnestly:

"If it's not closed, the food inside will easily spoil."

"Yeah." Lu Mian withdrew his gaze and continued up the stairs.

The little boy followed him closely, watching his every move, always guarding against him contacting people around him and betraying his information.

Lu Mian took him through the kitchen, arrived at the cafe on the second floor, and ordered a set meal.

Not long after, pan-fried veal steak, grilled eel, roast lamb leg, chicken pie, red wine cream, and other foods were served one after another.

Lu Mian sat there, watching the little boy devour these foods quickly in a posture that his stomach capacity had no upper limit.

He even commented from time to time:

"The veal steak is fried well, but the meat quality itself isn't too good..."

"The sweet sauce eliminates the fishy smell of the eel itself, but the problem is it's relatively greasy..."

"The lamb leg is roasted at the right heat, charred yellow on the outside and tender on the inside, but the choice of spices isn't too perfect; too much cumin was added..."

"..."

Just eat, why so many words... Lu Mian watched quietly as the little boy ate a table full of main meals with a satisfied expression.

Another quarter of an hour later, Baron Brignais, wearing a half-high silk top hat and a diamond ring, appeared at the entrance of the second floor.

The little boy turned around in astonishment, took a look, and then turned back to look at Lu Mian.

Lu Mian smiled slightly:

"You didn't think I was the only one here who knows you, did you?"

The little boy was stunned and fell into silence.

Baron Brignais walked to Lu Mian, with undisguised relief:

"Thank you, Charles."

"I just happened to find him sneaking food in the cellar." Lu Mian responded with a warm attitude.

Baron Brignais glanced at him, turned his head, and said to the little boy:

"Ludwig, let's go back."

The little boy Ludwig didn't speak, quickly finished the remaining food, and stood up.

"Charles, I'll come find you later." Baron Brignais nodded to Lu Mian.

Lu Mian sat on the opposite chair, watching Baron Brignais take Ludwig's hand and intend to leave the cafe, so he said with a smile:

"Remember to pay for the meal."

Baron Brignais was stunned for a moment, his eyes moved slightly, as if his original judgment had wavered.

He didn't say much, took out a wallet containing quite a lot of banknotes, and paid for Ludwig's meal.

Silently watching the big and small figures disappear at the stairwell, Lu Mian leaned back against the chair, lowered his voice, and said to himself:

"Termiboros, where exactly is the encounter you spoke of?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 314 =====