Chapter 599: Too Dirty

Hearing Lu Mi's words, Flanca felt unusually curious:

"What could there be that we can't look at?"

"Are you sure you want to? I'm afraid your mind will suffer a severe shock," Lu Mi replied with a teasing tone.

Flanca pointed to herself and laughed:

"Me? I'm not a minor—my mind is very mature. What's there to be afraid of? Ha, my experience far exceeds yours, little brother!"

Yu Jianna nodded silently in agreement, confirming Flanca was right.

Lu Mi stopped persuading and left the apartment, heading to the room he had rented under a false identity to monitor himself.

Lu Jianuo was staying there with Ludwig.

Flanca led Yu Jianna and Anthony behind him, curling her lip as she muttered:

"I thought it was something huge—turns out you're just looking for your 'godson'? All this talk about mental shock…"

Lu Mi first signaled Lu Jianuo to step aside, then pulled two bloody fragments from "The Traveler's Satchel."

When placed together, they formed a human shape.

Lu Mi stared expressionlessly at Ludwig and pointed to the two fragments from the "Mad Woman's" corpse:

"Can you eat it?"

Eat… Flanca froze.

After glancing several times between the grotesque, repulsive corpse fragments and Ludwig's childlike appearance, she suddenly felt nauseated—her mind felt polluted by the imagined scene.

Of course—Lu Mi's "godson" gains knowledge or abilities by consuming certain beings!

Humans are a kind of being; memories are a kind of knowledge!

Ugh—Flanca couldn't help gagging, deeply regretting her decision to witness "cannibalism."

And the person being eaten? She knew her—she had interacted with her before: the "Mad Woman!"

Yu Jianna's face twisted as if suppressing a sudden surge of stomach acid; Anthony, a veteran who had seen countless bloody scenes, also involuntarily frowned.

Ludwig studied the two bloody fragments in Lu Mi's hand for a long moment, then slowly shook his head:

"Too dirty."

Dirty? Meaning the contamination from that Archduke was so severe—even you wouldn't dare swallow it, fearing consequences? Ah, no more "Siso" intelligence to gain… Lu Mi sighed regretfully and dropped the two fragments onto the floor, summoning a sphere of crimson-white fire and hurling it at them.

The fire didn't explode—it clung to the "Mad Woman's" remains, burning and compressing them into blackened dust.

Amid the flickering flames and the scent of char, Flanca and Yu Jianna both exhaled quietly in relief.

Lu Mi pulled over a chair and sat down, addressing Ludwig, who was nibbling a small cake:

"Isn't that person's arm dirty too?"

He meant "Loki."

"A little. The worst part isn't the arm," Ludwig replied as if evaluating which fish was poisonous and how to prepare it.

Only then did Lu Mi get to the point:

"What knowledge did you gain from that arm?"

"Some knowledge," Ludwig said, still chewing his sponge cake topped with light cream, clearly signaling he didn't want to be interrupted while eating.

Lu Mi pretended not to notice and asked bluntly:

"What exactly?"

Ludwig answered, sometimes clear, sometimes vague:

"The sequence knowledge of his path… and two terms… one is Dilan… the other is Orville…"

Dila—was that the name of Loki's castle? And what was Orville? Lu Mi's spirits lifted; he interrupted Ludwig:

"Besides the terms themselves, is there any related knowledge?"

Ludwig took the chance to bite another piece of cake, swallowed, then said:

"No—but these two terms seem connected. Orville is likely a place name; Dila is the castle's name."

Connected… place name… Dila Castle is in Orville? But where is Orville? Lu Mi glanced at Flanca, Yu Jianna, and Anthony—they all slowly shook their heads, indicating they didn't know, had never heard of it.

After a brief pause, Lu Mi said firmly:

"Our most important next step is to use our own channels to find information on Orville and Dila."

After receiving "no problem" responses from Flanca and the others, Lu Mi asked Ludwig again:

"Anything else?"

"His spiritual energy is quite rich, quality decent—he doesn't like strong liquor or binge drinking, only sips champagne, occasionally drinks coffee, is a loyal tea enthusiast, in good health, regular bowel movements, normal urination, hates the smell of the bathroom…" Ludwig recalled the information he'd gained from the half-arm.

Just as Flanca was listening intently and Lu Mi was about to interrupt, Ludwig finally offered another valuable piece:

"He owns Dila Castle but doesn't live there—only visits occasionally. He isn't its master; many areas remain closed to him. Recently, he opened one room and retrieved a dark gold mask."

"That mask grants him immense power, but wearing it brings terrible consequences."

Was the dark gold mask part of Dila Castle's original owner's collection? A relic of some former leader of the "Secret Order"? Lu Mi nodded thoughtfully.

To him, this wasn't especially critical information—the mask had already been handed over to Mr. K; he didn't need to worry about it.

After further questioning and confirming no more information was forthcoming, Flanca, Yu Jianna, and Anthony prepared to return to Trill.

Of course, Lu Mi would escort them—Flanca wouldn't dream of using one of the seven stones in her bracelet yet.

"By the way," Lu Mi looked at her, then said, "communicate with the Church of the Eternal Sun—see if they're willing to trade the humanoid relic's data and its story in exchange for the relic itself. We'll do our best to facilitate the deal."

When the "Bard" said he wasn't even sure if he counted as human, Lu Mi realized how similar he was to the humanoid relic—only he retained his reason and clarity, his own independent fate; otherwise, he could easily be called a walking Class-0 humanoid relic. So he felt a certain curiosity about it: what had happened to her? Why had she become this way?

Flanca nodded, then instinctively added:

"But… uh, that lady only said she might return it—not that she definitely would."

"We're only trying to facilitate the deal—not guaranteeing it will happen," Lu Mi chuckled.

He quickly escorted Flanca, Yu Jianna, and Anthony back to the Trill Memorial District, then entered Aquinas Street, strolling slowly among citizens still immersed in the festival's afterglow, heading toward Sollo Inn.

Half of the fifth floor had collapsed; the fourth floor was severely damaged. The owner, Ota, stared at the scene, heartbroken and helpless—too numb even to cry.

Noelia of the Order of Abundance had somehow walked up beside the great adventurer Louis Berry, who was gazing at Sollo Inn, and said formally:

"Your companion said you'd cover the compensation."

Lu Mi directly pulled 10,000 Jin Lisuo from "The Traveler's Satchel" and handed it to Noelia.

Noelia glanced at his black coin pouch and sincerely remarked:

"Good stuff."

The battle nun then counted out the compensation:

"Ten thousand lisuo? You could rebuild two such inns!

"How generous—you're truly the great adventurer who just earned a 300,000 Jin Lisuo reward."

Lu Mi ignored her teasing and continued:

"This comes from the payment for the Paco family's commission."

"The Paco family…" Noelia fell silent.

The Paco family's matriarch, current head, and his wife had all died in this conflict.

Lu Mi kept walking, strolling casually through the crowd.

In the fading twilight, he heard singing, the cries of seabirds, and citizens enthusiastically discussing the past few days:

"Did you see? This morning, the seabirds came to worship the 'Sea Viceroy'!"

"Was this year's Sea Prayer so successful?"

"Yes—vines grew wildly everywhere, many people fainted from joy. It's the Mother Goddess's approval of the Sea Prayer!"

"No, no—that means abundance. It means this year's catch will fill boat after boat!"

"Praise the Earth! Praise the Mother of All Things!"

"Praise the 'Sea Viceroy'!"

"..."

Though Lu Mi didn't know how the Church of the Earth Mother had convinced the citizens that the morning's massive occult manhunt was a divine manifestation, he could feel the joy and happiness in every heart here.

He mused calmly:

"I wonder if the remaining Fisheries Guild councilors have decided who will play the fake 'Sea Viceroy'? Hmm—Simon Giaro would be the best choice, but it doesn't matter who it is this year. The leaked cosmic energy has already been stolen by me; for the next year, even two, this sea will know no frequent disasters, and marine life will multiply faster thanks to the 'irrigation'…"

"Heh, in a sense, I'm now the real 'Sea Viceroy'—for one week…"

Amid the joyful parade crowds and street vendors, Lu Mi casually picked a bar, ordered a glass of pure Manzan wine and a large mug of locally brewed deep-golden wheat beer.

He placed the glass of Manzan wine on the opposite side of the small round table, lifted his beer, tapped it against the empty glass, then smiled as if speaking to himself:

"Did you see? Did you hear? Their dancing, their singing, the sound of fish multiplying."

"Isn't this the future you wanted?"

With that, Lu Mi gulped down a large mouthful of deep-golden beer.

(End of Chapter)