Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1459 Nemi Lake

The car drove a long way before it was out of the scope of Rome. Such a large built-up area is considered a large city even in the Ming Dynasty. This made Shangluo further determined not to buy Rome at full price. He had to buy it at the bottom. Otherwise, he might really squeeze out Rome's military expenditure several times, but he still couldn't handle this matter. Because if he relied on buying to acquire, the price would be unstoppable.

"Shangluo, we're almost there." Titus's way of addressing Shangluo was as erratic as his blood pressure. Sometimes he called him "Your Majesty the King of Rome", and sometimes he called him by his name. The specific address depended on the situation at the time and whether he needed Shangluo's help. Now he was driving and had no time to think about these things, so he called Shangluo directly, "Then, there's something I need to ask you when we get there. I wonder if you're willing to help me."

"Huh? What's the matter?"

"Mayor Kesso of Aricia heard that you were coming, and he wanted to ask if he would have the honor of having lunch with you this afternoon."

Shangluo still remembers this man, he is Karin's father. When the Golden Branch Ceremony was held, Mayor Kesuo was the one who was responsible for entertaining them. Because the element of the Golden Branch Ceremony is to need a group of "travelers who have eaten foreign food". As the saying goes, "A man who eats someone's food will be soft-hearted, and a man who takes someone's food will be short-handed." According to the elements of the ceremony, Shangluo and others must eat a meal from him to have a reason to go to the sacred forest of Lake Nemi to carry out the mission. They performed the ceremony, in theory, they paid for the meal.

In some places, when you invite friends to eat puffer fish at home, everyone must bring a coin - this is similar to the ritual Shangluo experienced before. Puffer fish is delicious, but it is very dangerous. After all, friends invite you to dinner, not a restaurant, so it is not reasonable to pay for it. But puffer fish is dangerous after all, and the host does not want to invite guests to dinner and risk the risk of poisoning the guests and having to pay compensation.

At this time, some "ritualistic costs" are needed. Bring a coin and place it on the table when eating, which means "I am eating puffer fish voluntarily, and I will take my own responsibility if there are any problems with the food, and I will never trouble the host family." This means to settle the cause and effect relationship.

The meal at Lake Nemi was the opposite. Eat first, pay later. Eat first, then have a reason to ask Shangluo's people to carry out the task. Because Mayor Kesuo is the manager of this land in legal terms, and the land including the Holy Forest belongs to the scope of Aquilia Town. So as the host, he can decide who will solve the problem of this land.

"So this time, we won't encounter any rituals again, right?"

"No, no, don't worry." Titus explained, "Why did we have to choose you last time? Because this ceremony has a particularly harsh condition, which is 'foreigners', which directly excludes half of the Romans. Because Lake Nemi is in the suburbs of Rome, all Latin Romans are not considered 'foreigners' because this is their hometown. In addition, after so many years of mixed blood, there are very few Romans on the Greek side who can be selected. And there is also an age requirement, it must be a teenager or a young adult. After we failed several times in a row, we had used up all the action teams. In the end, we asked Shangluo to come and solve the problem. This time."

He glanced at Shangluo and said, "You are the King of Rome, you are not a foreigner. It is only natural for a king to accept hospitality from his own people. On the other hand, it is not legal for him as a vassal to not provide you with tribute when the king comes to his own land. Of course, he invited you to dinner mainly to thank you, after all, it was you who saved his daughter - both of them."

"By the way, which Karin is home now?"

"It's the one holding the sword. The other one has been working overtime in Alexandria recently. I even asked her if she wanted to come back, but she said she was too busy recently."

"I haven't seen her for a long time, so let's go have a meal. When you come to someone's place to do business, you should meet them."

A powerful dragon cannot suppress a local tyrant. Mayor Caesar is the real local tyrant here, and he is the custodian of this land. According to the Roman class, he is the knight class between citizens and senators, the most "free" group of people in the whole of Rome. He is a Roman, one of the rulers of half a century. Among the Romans, he is a noble, one level higher than ordinary Roman citizens. He is one level lower than the senators, so he has fewer troubles and more economic freedom that the senators do not have.

Shangluo read a novel called Robinson Crusoe, which is unique in this world. In it, the father of the protagonist Robinson Crusoe commented on this state and said that "the middle state is the best state in the world."

In this state, people will neither experience too many changes of honor and disgrace like the upper class aristocrats, nor will they work hard and lack food and clothing like the destitute; they will not become arrogant and dissolute and restless because of excessive spending, nor will they be worried about the various physical and psychological problems brought about by poor life.

He also said that this is a good state for enjoying human happiness. Because of the great abundance of material and spiritual things, people can go through life smoothly, comfortably, and peacefully. They don't need to experience the pain of mental and physical labor. In this relaxed environment, as they grow older, people in the middle state will learn to taste and feel happiness more and more consciously.

Shangluo agrees with half of this view - this kind of life with great material abundance is most beneficial to people's physical and mental development. But there is no need to compare it with the upper and lower classes, because the existence of these two classes is not normal. Excessive poverty and excessive accumulation of materials are both diseases that this world should be cured.

Karin's family is in this ideal state. Unfortunately, the good life they should have had was destroyed by the invisible war. Shangluo doesn't know whether his efforts can redeem their family's pain - but although what is lost can never be regained, they at least have a chance to mend the rift in their lives in the future. Moreover, they will have unlimited time to make up for it all.

"Thinking about it, I'll have to visit them more often later."

【why? 】

"Because the favor is so great, I have to find a way to help them balance it out, so that Karin's family won't always think about treating me to a meal."

[Hey man, are you sure you went there for this? ]

"Normally, there's no need. There are so many people in the world who care about me, right? I don't need to be on good terms with everyone. It's just that their family is the local knights, just like landlords. Holmes's landlady cooks for him, so it makes sense for me to eat at my landlord's house."

[Wait, you're not going to live in his house, are you? ]

"What are you thinking about? Although his house is indeed suitable for living. The house is big, there are delicious cheese and ham, and each person has a suite. Ahem. Anyway, I'm here on a business trip. When you are on a business trip, you should do what you should do. It is also within the scope of business to establish good relations with local partners. Hmm."

【Then, is there anything else you want to do? 】

"Of course I have. I'll discuss the war situation with Karin. We haven't seen each other for a while. I wonder how her war is going."

【Oh】

"You oh what?"

[I'm wondering if I should avoid it? ]

"No need to avoid it! Just watch!"

[Ah? You still want me to watch? Eh, you are becoming more and more unpredictable. ]

"I say the same thing to you! You weren't like this before. Stop surfing the Internet, thank you. What have you learned?"

[Wow, why are you the only one who can date cute girls? 】

"You want to date a cute girl too, right? And what's this called a date? I'm going to her house for dinner, and her parents are here."

[Wow, all concubines are like this. In Dream of the Red Chamber, Jia Lian had dinner like this when he went to You Erjie's house - you said, let me read a serious book. Dream of the Red Chamber is a serious book, right? ]

"Then you'll go eat for me?"

[Really? Can I really go for you? ]

"I'm just sleepy. Well, I'll take a nap. You know the old rules, right? Call me if you need help. If you don't need help, you can prepare it yourself."

[Hey, cough, it’s not impossible. I haven’t eaten for a long time, you know. 】

"I knew you were waiting for this. Just eat if you want to! Why go through so much trouble? And even bring up Dream of the Red Chamber."

[Because their food is really delicious. I wanted to eat it last time, but your cultivation was too low before, so I couldn't come out. Ah, now I can finally eat! ] "Alas" Shangluo shook his head and looked back at Phaethon, who was looking at the scenery outside the window.

Rome was a familiar yet strange place to her. She mainly stayed in the east and rarely came to Rome for daily life or missions. But after all, it was a country, and the infrastructure here was generally similar to that of the Eastern Empire.

"Hmm?" Noticing Shang Luo's gaze looking over, she also looked over, "What's the matter?"

Shangluo pointed to his head.

"Ah, she's making a scene, isn't she? What does she want to do?"

"Want to come out to eat. She's hungry."

"Why?" Phaethon asked, "She's not usually noisy, is she?"

[Let me tell you, Karin’s cream of mushroom soup is so delicious! I really want to eat it! ]

"Really? Is it that delicious?" Phaethon was stunned for a moment, "I wasn't there at the time, right?"

"Of course you weren't here. I was able to free you from the statue after the Golden Bough Ceremony when I got the necessary ritual props."

"It seems that I missed a lot. That's when you and Karin met, right?"

"cough"

[Yes, that’s when they met. But it doesn’t matter. Their cream of mushroom soup is so delicious! If I could have it, Karin would come to our house every day.]

"Isn't it just cream of mushroom soup?" Phaethon was stunned for a moment, "Can't we make this ourselves?"

【Will you do it?】

"What's so difficult about this? Isn't this the most basic dish?"

[Okay, then go and learn it, and then cook it for me.]

"Okay. I'll learn from you then. Really, how difficult is this?"

An hour later, the car stopped in the familiar west.

At the entrance of Karin's house, the walls are white and the tiles are red. This is the traditional color scheme in Italy. The building materials here are naturally this color after they are built. However, compared with the last time, there seem to be more strange colored paintings on the wall. Karin herself is holding a palette, sitting on a tall shelf, painting something on the wall.

"Hey." She waved to Shangluo who got off the car, "Long time no see."

"Huh? Yeah yeah! Not for a long time Karin!"

"." Karin stared at him for a while - then stretched out her left hand. Her left hand had six fingers, and the magic of the elves began to condense on it, with fire elements condensing into a long spear.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Titus looked up suddenly.

"You brought him all the way here, didn't you realize that this Shangluo was fake?!"

"Wait! He's real! Emperor Agasocles just met with him!"

"If this isn't fake, what else could it be?!" Karin said angrily, "Look for yourself! Is his expression and gait what he should be like?"

[Shangluo! Come out quickly! I've been recognized! ]

"Hey, what's going on? I just opened the game and was playing online with my senior brother."

After stumbling for a moment, Shangluo took control of the body again: "What happened?"

Karin was stunned. "You...you also encountered a changeling? That shouldn't be the case. Elves don't want you at your age."

Before he finished speaking, the door of Karin's house opened. Karin's mother, wearing an apron, poked her head out, and the rich aroma of cream wafted out. Karin's left hand suddenly retracted and dispersed the flame spear.

"Ah, you're here!" Karin's mother pushed the door open when she saw Shangluo, "Please come in."

She came up and gave Shangluo a warm hug, kissing his forehead and cheeks, as if she was welcoming her son who had been away from home for a long time.

"We've been waiting for you for a long time. Come in quickly. I hope my daughter hasn't caused you any trouble." She glanced at Karin who was drawing. "I'm really sorry. She seems to be particularly excited recently. She's more energetic than before. She was only like this when she was a child. She became much more well-behaved when she grew up, but she has become more excited recently. I hope Karin hasn't caused you any trouble?"

Shangluo shook his head violently, still somewhat stunned by the sudden courtesy.

[Ah, the Romans are indeed more enthusiastic. When friends meet, they kiss each other on the cheek, and kiss children on the forehead. ]

"I know." Before Shangluo could say anything else, he was dragged into the house by Karin's mother.

Phaethon stood behind and watched all this -

"Ah" She glanced at Karin above, and the two of them looked a little awkward. Phaethon and little Karin could see each other every now and then, but the older one was rarely seen.

"Hello." She nodded to Karin. Karin nodded back, then turned back to paint on the wall with her own strange palette, each stroke a colorful black.

(End of this chapter)