Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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Luo Mi sat on the bed in a daze.
Anos had already returned to his bed, his breathing deep and even, as if tonight’s adventure was just Luo Mi’s illusion.
But the system’s prompting voice reminded him that it was all real.
[Host, have you decided which demonic physique you want to upgrade to?]
Luo Mi quickly composed herself and said, “Didn’t I tell you to look at so many before, and I could choose from them all?”
[Any low-level demon’s physique can be selected.]
Luo Mi was somewhat disappointed: “Can’t we choose a higher-end option?”
[According to the mission description, the first two upgrades can only be done with low-level demons, but the final upgrade, which involves planting the Seed of Charm on a bishop-level clergyman, will allow for an upgrade to a special, high-level physique.]
Luo Mi was taken aback: “Not optional?”
No, that’s not it.
What is that?
The system didn’t know either; you can only see it after completing the task.
Luo Mi pursed his lips. He was too preoccupied with his own worries to investigate the ultimate reward of the side quest.
He had already read through the demonic descriptions and decided on the type he would choose for his next upgrade: the succubus’s abilities leaned towards control and support, the phantom’s abilities leaned towards survival and concealment, and both lacked direct and effective attack methods.
Considering that his main area of activity was still within the Holy See, and that the Holy See’s holy light could be transformed into flames to some extent, Luo Mi quickly made his choice: “The Flame Demon.”
Please wait a moment, host.
Similar to his previous upgrade to the “Phantom” physique, Luo Mi soon felt his body suddenly become scorching hot.
He stretched out his hand, and a wisp of crimson flame rose from his palm, illuminating his face.
Luo Mi carefully got out of bed and went to the dressing mirror in the room.
The demon in the mirror looked almost exactly the same as before, except for his hair— when he activated his fire power, his hair turned orange-red like flames and swayed slightly like fireflies.
“I look pretty handsome,” Luo Mi muttered silently, feeling slightly better.
Although he hadn’t slept with the demon Anos for a while, he had eaten very well each time before, enough to digest for a long time, so the fire demon’s abilities weren’t diminished like the initial phantom.
Besides the simple and brutal act of igniting fire, Luo Mi could also condense flames into whips to use as melee weapons, transform himself into flames and teleport, cover his body with a layer of flames for attack or defense, etc., making him feel that his combat power had suddenly increased.
“As the saying goes, there’s always a supply rush before a big battle… I hope it’s not a bad omen,” Luo Mi muttered, then lay back down on the bed and quickly fell asleep.
….
In a daze, Luo Mi saw a patch of purple flowers.
The Sinialat flower? The kind that will make you bewitched by the Zixiang Lord just by touching it?
Luo Mi was startled and instantly woke up, finding herself back in a real dream.
Without Anos by his side, Luo Mi’s first reaction was to quickly exit the dream— but just as he was thinking this, a rich floral fragrance wafted over, and the alluring figure of the Zixiang Lord appeared in the flower field, smiling at him.
Luo Mi then discovered that he could not find a way to leave the dream.
Lord Zixiang smiled and said, “Don’t be afraid, my child. I just want to talk to you alone.”
Luo Mi dared not look into Lord Zixiang’s eyes, staring instead at the petals at Lord Zixiang’s feet: “What do you want to talk to me about? It’s almost dawn.”
He implied to the other party that Anos would easily discover that he had been pulled back into the real dream.
Of course, the truth was that when Anos woke up, he would go to wash up first because he was used to Luo Mi staying in bed and would not wake him up until noon.
Lord Zixiang chuckled: “Soon, I just wanted to offer you another option.”
“What choice?”
“The existence of Blackwing is both a good thing and a bad thing for the Demon Realm.” Lord Zixiang did not answer the question directly but instead brought up another topic. “Because of the existence of Blackwing, the Holy See does not dare to directly crush the Demon Realm, fearing that Blackwing’s destructive power will be even greater after the Demon Realm is gone; but it is also because Blackwing has been targeting the Holy See that we other lords have to divert our energy to deal with the Holy See. Rose and I actually do not plan to invade the Light Realm, we just want to live a peaceful life in our own place.”
Luo Mi nodded and said “uh-huh,” but in his heart he didn’t believe it at all: if the demon lords were really such benevolent beings, the protagonist in the original work wouldn’t have had to fight so hard.
Lord Zixiang had no intention of persuading him, only smiling slightly, “Blackwing’s sole purpose is to end the rule of the Church and God. When you have value to him, he will promote you; but what happens after you lose your value?”
Luo Mi asked warily, “What are you trying to say?”
“I can offer you another option. If you are abandoned by Blackwing, you can come to me.” Lord Zixiang stretched out her fair hands, and purple petals on the ground floated up, condensing into a wreath in her palms. “You possess my bloodline, I am your ancestor, we have a natural common ground, don’t we?”
Luo Mi paused for a moment before asking, “What do I have to give in return?”
Lord Zixiang smiled elegantly: “Nothing is needed… If I said that, you would definitely be suspicious and wary. Here’s what we’ll do: Blackwing is aware of Eugen, so you find a way to seduce another high-ranking clergyman from the Holy See for me. The souls of clergymen possess a rich power of holy light, which can strengthen my real dream.”
Luo Mi frowned: “How could I possibly have the power to seduce a high-ranking clergyman?”
“If you meet the right person, you can ask for my help. You have my bloodline, and no matter where you are, I can find you through dreams and spirit, and provide you with strength and support,” Lord Zixiang explained with a smile. “You just need to silently say my name in your heart.”
“Your name?”
Lord Zixiang gently blew a breath, scattering the petals in her palm, causing the Sinialat flowers to fall like rain: “Sinialat, that is my name.”
….
When Luo Mi woke up, he was stunned for a while before asking the system in his mind, “Am I marked by Lord Zixiang?”
The system first checked Luo Mi’s body:
The host’s body and soul bear no special markings.
That was, as Lord Zixiang said, it was through bloodline marking… Luo Mi planned to tell the demon Anos about this next time he saw him.
Although he was somewhat afraid of the demon Anos, in terms of credibility, the demon Anos was far superior to Lord Zixiang.
Just as he was thinking about Anos, Anos pushed the door open and came in. He was taken aback when he saw Luo Mi sitting up: “You woke up so early today?”
Looking into Anos’s azure eyes, Luo Mi breathed a sigh of relief and felt at ease: “Hmm, I can’t sleep.”
“Then get up, let’s go back to the palace.” Anos didn’t suspect anything. “Her Majesty the Queen has arranged for me to give her sermons these few days.”
Upon learning that Anos was Caroline II’s fourth child, Luo Mi’s feelings were complicated, and he couldn’t help but think of the task that the demon Anos had given him yesterday.
Although his first reaction was not to want Anos to get hurt, the demon Anos was right about one thing: a false environment was not a good thing for Anos.
The key was how to gently guide Anos to gradually discover and accept the truth… but where to begin?
Would Eugen completely take orders from me now? Should I let Eugen “inadvertently” let something slip? Or…?
As Luo Mi dressed, he pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered someone:
First Prince Charlie!
If we calculate the time, Prince Charles should have been six or seven years old when Caroline II gave birth to Anos, an age where he could remember things. Not to mention that Anos’s biological father, Bishop Florian, was always at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, so Prince Charles would have had a deep impression of him.
Most importantly, Prince Charles glanced at Anos very quickly when he attended yesterday’s luncheon.
Luo Mi guessed that this unfavored prince knew something about Anos and could at least provide Anos with the information that “Bishop Florian looked a lot like him”.
Thinking of this breakthrough point, Luo Mi looked at Anos: “Anos, do you think Prince Charlie has any problems?”
Anos’s light golden eyebrows twitched slightly: “What’s the problem?”
Luo Mi hinted, “I feel like Prince Charlie seems to be paying extra attention to you.”
He didn’t know if Prince Charles was paying special attention, but in any case, he was.
Anos chuckled, “Perhaps it’s because my status as a Holy Son of the Papacy is rather sensitive. Isn’t Prince Pearl also paying close attention to me?”
“That’s different…” Luo Mi retorted first, then paused for a moment.
Prince Pearl did indeed maintain a warm but appropriate attitude towards Anos from the very beginning, which was just within the reasonable range of “the heir of the empire towards the holy son of the papacy”.
However, considering that Anos might be Pearl’s half-brother, Luo Mi couldn’t help but wonder if Pearl also knew the truth.
Luo Mi quickly regained his composure and continued, “Pearl is paying attention to you because he is the heir to the empire. Why is Charles paying attention to you? Does he want to compete for the throne? Caroline II’s attitude towards us is rather ambiguous. I think there’s more to it than meets the eye!”
A thoughtful look appeared in Anos’s eyes before he said, “Although I didn’t sense what you’re talking about, it’s true that I intend to investigate the royal family indirectly. The Blackwing Lord’s arrow that day was aimed at the direction of Sig City, and the alchemists also fled towards Sig City. As the actual controllers of Sig City, the Pelant royal family couldn’t possibly be completely unaware of this.”
Luo Mi nodded repeatedly.
Anos stood up: “I plan to ask Lord Eugen first, to see how much he knows about alchemists.”
Should he ask Bishop Eugen first? Luo Mi’s mind raced nervously: Should he manipulate Bishop Eugen to leak some information?
Luo Mi quickly came up with an idea and hurriedly tugged on his sleeves: “I’ll go with you.”
….
After hearing Bishop Eugen’s words, Anos’s expression became serious: “A group of alchemists were sent to the palace? Why wasn’t this reported to the Holy City?”
Bishop Eugene paused for a moment before saying, “I reported this to His Majesty in a secret letter, but His Majesty has not replied.”
The attitude of not replying was obvious: pretending not to know.
Anos’s beautiful eyebrows furrowed as he couldn’t understand why the Pope was doing this.
Seeing that the message had been successfully conveyed to Anos, Luo Mi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn’t help thinking about another matter: Reinhard said that the Sig Palace was able to block the Pope’s surveillance because of the involvement of alchemists?
Was the royal family secretly supporting alchemists?
Emerging from St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Anos’s expression remained solemn, but his gaze softened considerably when he looked at the little succubus beside him: “Lian, your judgment and reasoning abilities are truly outstanding.”
Luo Mi was stunned: “What?”
“I know far more about the Papacy and the royal family than you do, yet I couldn’t judge the royal family’s problems as quickly as you can,” Anos said with genuine admiration. “You are truly intelligent.”
That’s because I knew the answer first, and then I figured out how to make up the solution… Luo Mi chuckled dryly, inwardly comforting himself with shame: As long as it makes Anos pay more attention to the royal family.
“In that case, Prince Charles might indeed be a breakthrough point.” Anos pondered seriously for a moment. “We’ll visit Prince Charles as soon as we get back.”
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