Chapter 793: Capture

After dinner, Franca and Jenna returned to Apartment 702 at 9 Rue d'Orosay.

"Finally succeeded." Franca raised her hands and stretched, "Next, should I find the 'Mirror Person' Pallya first and then report to the 'Black Witch,' or should I tell the 'Black Witch' tomorrow morning that I have become a 'Pain Witch'? She said that once I advanced to 'Pain,' she would tell me some secrets of the Witch sect."

Regarding the latter, Franca wanted to know but was also a bit afraid to know. At the same time, she felt that her progress in digesting the "Pleasure" potion was much faster than expected, which might arouse the "Black Witch's" suspicion, and she did not wish to report matters related to "Admiral Deep Sea."

That involved the secret of the "Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society" group's transmigration!

Up to now, Franca and Lu Mian had only separately mentioned to their direct Major Arcana card holders that "Admiral Deep Sea" was suspected to be an elf, and they had not yet received a reply.

Jenna thought for a moment and said,

"I think even if you don't go to the 'Black Witch' tomorrow, you have to do this recently. The sooner you understand those secrets of the Witch sect, the more it will help us plan and arrange subsequent actions and avoid potential hidden dangers."

She could roughly understand Franca's concerns and said with a smile,

"Just tell the 'Black Witch' that Lu Mian has become a 'Reaper' and he helped you digest the 'Pleasure' potion."

"Uh..." Franca was stunned for a moment, "These are all facts, but the meaning expressed feels a bit off..."

"That's the kind of misunderstanding that's needed." Jenna replied with a faint smile.

She then glanced at the night sky outside the window.

"Finding Pallya should be enough with you and Anthony. I want to go to Port Lesel to see Julian in the next few days. We haven't seen each other for almost two months, and I want to probe his attitude to see if he must return to Trier."

"Sure." Franca understood Jenna's anxiety.

Jenna nodded and said,

"Then I'll go home tonight, pack some things for him to take over, and try to set off tomorrow morning. The sooner I go, the sooner I return."

There were many steam trains and inland river vessels to Port Lesel, so she didn't have to worry about not being able to buy tickets on the spot.

After chatting for a few sentences, Jenna packed her luggage, took her suitcase, and left the apartment.

—She did not follow Julian's instructions to give up the rental house on Pasteur Street to save money while he was in Port Lesel for exchange studies; she would still go back to stay for a few days from time to time, as if she had never left.

Watching Jenna leave, Franca suddenly felt a bit disappointed and muttered,

"I wanted to celebrate tonight..."

She walked slowly back to her bedroom and saw that some of Jenna's dresses and items that were originally placed here had been taken away just now.

Looking at the bedroom, which was a bit cleaner and fresher, Franca suddenly seemed to understand something.

She fell silent instantly.

She felt that her "Pain" potion seemed to have digested a bit.

…………

Woo, clatter, clatter, clatter.

A cream-colored steam train painted with brass-colored patterns sped along the tracks, heading toward Aissala, the capital of Lenburg, located among the mountains.

Lu Mian sat in the second-class carriage, looking around in a seemingly leisurely manner.

He didn't have the coordinates for Aissala, and he was too lazy to summon a messenger again, so he chose to "Teleport" back to the Leston Province, take a steam train to the border, and then cross the mountains to smuggle himself in.

Relying on the Lenburg legal currency, Sassen gold, which he had exchanged in advance, and his familiarity with black market merchants and brokers, Lu Mian easily obtained new identification and bought a ticket to Aissala.

Lenburg was a small-to-medium-sized country, not too large; he would arrive at his destination before evening today.

As his gaze swept, Lu Mian discovered that Lenburgers loved light-colored clothing and brass ornaments, and everyone held a book, quietly reading it during the train ride. Even those who chatted would pay attention to controlling their volume.

When stopping at stations along the way, if they encountered elderly people or people dressed as scholars, the passengers would provide help very enthusiastically, showing heartfelt respect.

"As expected of the country of the Church of the 'God of Knowledge and Wisdom'." Lu Mian sighed silently.

Lenburg was a country with a single faith and no royal family; the Church of Knowledge had very strong control over the country and influence over the people.

Perhaps noticing his scrutiny, a young man sitting next to him, holding a book, tilted his head to look at the "Lenburg Travel Guide" in his hand and chuckled in a low voice,

"Are you a foreigner?"

He used Lenburgian, then switched to Highland, Runic, Intisian, and Feynapotter to ask again.

Lu Mian was a bit shocked.

As an ordinary Lenburger in a second-class carriage, he actually knew the languages of so many countries?

Moreover, he felt that the other party had a bit of a show-off attitude.

"Yes, I am Intisian. I know Lenburgian." Lu Mian answered cooperatively, "What is your name? You actually mastered the languages of all the countries in the Northern Continent."

The young man pushed the light-colored frame glasses on the bridge of his nose and smiled,

"My name is Salient, a small clerk in a company."

"Actually, for the languages of the countries in the Northern Continent, as long as you learn one, learning others will be very easy. If you master Old Feynapotter at the beginning, it's even simpler. And we Lenburgers have been learning Old Feynapotter synchronously since the stage of compulsory education."

There was a hint of self-satisfaction in Salient's tone, as if he looked down on other countries for having such a large illiterate population and so many people who didn't know foreign languages.

Theoretically, that's the case, otherwise my Highland language wouldn't have been mastered so quickly. In comparison, my Dutan language can only be said to be barely usable... Lu Mian didn't care about the bit of arrogance hidden in Salient.

This morning, the Lenburgers he came into contact with all had similar problems to a greater or lesser extent.

Lu Mian controlled his volume and said with a smile,

"You are truly civilized, very respectful to the elderly and scholars, and when taking the train, it's not mainly about chatting and playing; most of the time you are reading."

Salient smiled reservedly,

"In the hearts of us Lenburgers, knowledge is the most precious, and scholars are those who have mastered more knowledge. The elderly have also accumulated a lot of experiential knowledge throughout their lives."

Having said this, Salient laughed at himself,

"Reading is a habit cultivated from childhood, and it is also a realistic need. You don't know, our lives are full of exams and assessments. It's like this in school, and it's like this in the company. Even when going to church, we have to do theology-related questions during High Mass to show our piety and our respect for the gods and knowledge."

Lu Mian suddenly felt that this didn't seem like a good thing.

No wonder Ludwig would rather die than return to the Church of Knowledge...

However, Aurora would probably like it here. She wouldn't come to live here herself, but she would definitely hope to send me here to study abroad...

Noticing that the foreigner sitting next to him had fallen silent, Salient sighed,

"So I didn't stay in Aissala after graduation. The pressure there is terrifyingly high: professional qualification exams, annual reviews of professional ability, monthly company assessments, job training exams, and so on, and so on."

Lu Mian listened and secretly hissed,

Is this the daily life state of Lenburgers, especially Aissala people?

Ludwig's brain isn't enough, and his description was unclear. I thought it was just that the students were having a hard time...

It's a good thing that the one who took me in at the beginning was Aurora, not some Lenburger...

Talking about this matter, Salient was stirred up with strong melancholy, which created a sense of urgency. He lowered his head and continued to read the book in his hand.

Lu Mian judged from the time that Aissala, the capital of Lenburg, was not far away, and turned to think about the problem of the "City of Exiles," Morora.

He pondered for a moment and asked Salient next to him,

"Have you heard of a city called Morora?"

Salient thought carefully for a while and said,

"No, neither in reality nor in legends from various places."

Lu Mian said "Hmm" and turned his gaze back to the mottled mountains flying backward outside the window, as if it were just casual chatting.

"Madam 'Magician' couldn't find it, so I shouldn't be able to either, unless I can kidnap a demigod from the Church of Knowledge..."

"Since the Church of Knowledge put the other two parts of the 'Abscessed Hand' in Morora, can I rely on the induction between the parts of the 'Abscessed Hand' to find that city?"

"The Church of Knowledge is looking forward to and allowing me to go to Morora, and one could even say they are hoping for me to come. Will they give me a hint directly?"

"..."

Thinking and thinking, Lu Mian gradually became certain.

The sky began to darken, and the steam train stopped at a platform paved with gray-white stone slabs.

Lu Mian carried his small suitcase, which didn't contain much, and while chatting with Salient, walked through the station decorated with book sculptures and brass patterns, heading outside.

The wind among the mountains blew with a wooing sound, bringing coldness and freshness.

Just as they were about to reach the entrance of the Aissala steam train station, Lu Mian saw several members of the Church of Knowledge wearing plain white robes inlaid with brass threads blocking the way, holding documents, checking the passengers leaving the station one by one.

"What is this for?" Lu Mian asked.

Salient glanced at it and answered indifferently,

"Daily exit inspection, church people and government people take turns doing it."

"I thought it was randomly intercepting passersby, making them do papers, and assessing their knowledge reserve level." Lu Mian joked.

Salient suddenly turned his head to look at him, his eyes full of fear, as if saying,

"Are you a demon? Even the bishops of the church can't think of such things!"

Lu Mian shrugged his shoulders and walked toward the exit first, accepting the inspection of the Church of Knowledge clergy.

The old man leading them looked him up and down, looked at the documents in his hand, and suddenly gave a wink to the other clergy.

Lu Mian was quickly surrounded by these clergy, all of them in a posture of being ready to go.

The leading old man looked at him and said in a deep voice,

"Found a wanted criminal."

"Take him away!"

Uh... Lu Mian raised his eyebrows.

As thoughts raced through his mind, he gave up resistance, stretched out his hands, and let the Church of Knowledge clergy put a pair of silver-white handcuffs on his wrists.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 794 =====