People in Xumi: I am really not the Dragon King

Chapter 586 Arecino: I have a request. I wish to go and see that secret realm.

The port of an outlying island, bathed in the afternoon sun.

The white-haired figure, who exuded an invisible sense of oppression, paused slightly and cast his gaze in a distant direction from the entrance of the dock.

"."

I never imagined that my habitual inquiries would yield such an unexpected result.
Sensing the confusion of the "child" beside her, Arecino stopped and thoughtfully walked forward:
"Resurrection? Interesting."

"Fimini, keep your disguise up."

"Before setting foot on this land, as an unwelcome guest, come with me to meet the 'person in charge' here."

I will never let any unnecessary emotions affect my decision-making; only rationality can ensure my survival in the "hunt".

After discovering that Inazuma's group of spies had been completely wiped out, her intelligence about the area had become far behind.
Although Arecino was somewhat interested in some of the words she gleaned, she knew very well that patience and caution were the most valuable things in all intelligence work.

"."

"This should be the last one. How much time has passed?"

"One thousand one hundred and seventy-three days, that is the amount of time that has passed in the space of consciousness."

The highest point of Inazuma Castle is the castle tower.

After receiving "a little bit" of work from someone, all the staff in the castle tower went into overtime mode.

As the one with the strongest consciousness-bearing capacity, Shadow's acceleration rate is exceptionally high.
Because the accelerated thinking affected her and the general's shared consciousness space, even the autistic general was forced to watch countless "reflections" originating from the earth's veins with her.

"."

He fell silent for a moment, showing no joy whatsoever at the completion of his work.

Having finally completed this screening of public memory, Ying felt a strange mix of emotions.

"This is what life was like before the shogunate, and what an ordinary person's life was like."

He had never observed Inazuma, the country under his rule, from this perspective, nor had he ever experienced firsthand the lives of the people under the Eye-Killing Edict and the Isolation Edict.

Extortionate taxes, embezzlement of resources, deception of superiors, and collusion with outsiders—scenes drastically different from those reported flashed before my eyes.
Even when the shamans on Hachiyeon Island caused trouble, the people who became treasure hunters and pirates were the first to come to the rescue, rather than the inactive shogunate.
"Such deception is also detrimental to eternity, and this body acknowledges the punishment you have inflicted."

Being in the same space of consciousness, it was impossible not to see. Having witnessed firsthand what Inazuma, whom he ruled, was like, the general briefly broke through her previous self-imposed isolation.

"."

"Eternity. It is precisely because eternity is like this that Chiyo and the Divine Child are able to..."

Suddenly, he understood why his old friend and Hana Sanri, who inherited the memories of the Fox Palace, both stood on the opposite side of him when they returned.

Kage discovers that Inazuma has changed drastically in the past five hundred years, and is completely different from how she remembers him, even though she and the general originally intended to pursue "unchanging".
For a moment, I even felt a little lost.

The discrepancy between her ideas and reality made Ying realize just how many problems had gone wrong in the implementation of her "eternity".

"That's why there are rebels and so many bandits."

When the shogunate oppresses the people to the point where they can no longer survive, the people will naturally respond accordingly.
This does not mean that it is justified for these bandits to plunder other civilians, but...
He raised his head, as if he had finally made a decision.

After hesitating for a long time, Ying looked at the countless festive flags fluttering outside and suddenly understood the meaning of "Zhen's" advice to go out and travel more often a long, long time ago.

"So, Aying, you've made up your mind to lift the general's order regarding eternity?"

"While I wasn't surprised you ultimately made this decision, I didn't expect it to be in this way."

The second floor of the castle tower is the office of a certain "divine servant".

I finally finished the small portion of work I had received from Aying.
Before the goddess could even find a chance to rest, she was somewhat surprised to find that her beloved Aying seemed to be in a different state than usual.

"The eternity of the past is not suitable for Inazuma. There are many things that the general and I are unaware of."

"I will go out and find out what the people truly want, and then I will entrust that person with my wishes."

He paused suddenly as he was speaking.
Ying recalled seeing in those memories that when going out to ask for help, one should always bring a "gift" with them.

Recalling their previous meetings, she realized that she seemed to be enjoying the other person's hospitality all along, and suddenly felt that this was not quite reasonable.

"Divine Child, I remember you seem to be quite good at making fried tofu?"

?

"So, Ah Ying, would you like some?"

Somewhat confused, Shenzi blinked, wondering why her friend Aying had suddenly brought up this topic during their conversation.

"When I was treated to a meal before, I promised to serve some fried tofu. Since you're so skilled at it, I'd like to learn how to make it as a small gift."

I learned a few things from those memories, such as always remembering to bring Mora when going out, and being sincere when visiting friends who have helped me a lot.

Although I'm not very good at cooking delicate dishes, I should be able to produce a decent result if I cook a few more dishes.
"."

"."

With her ears standing straight up on her head and a somewhat dazed expression, Shinko blinked, wondering if she was hallucinating from exhaustion from working overtime.

I really wanted to advise my daughter, Aying, to give up on the idea of ​​giving food as a gift, since her cooking skills were really questionable.
But upon considering who would receive this gift, the priest paused thoughtfully before speaking, swallowing back her words of advice:
—Ah Ying's talent in cooking is hard to assess, but in short, it's to the point that even "Zhen" has completely given up on letting her participate, which is obviously not a good sign.
While it's generally true that you should never let her use something like this as a gift, there are exceptions to every rule. This time, you might be able to do it even if you don't stop her.

After all, the reason her tail is now bald and uneven and won't grow back is because a dessert shop owner, without her knowledge, told Ah Ying everything and even had her tied up.
Anyway, it's not like I'm eating this myself. Even if it tastes a little bad, as long as I didn't teach it wrong on purpose.
He blinked, confirming that he meant no harm and was only trying to fulfill Aying's wish.

I'm suddenly very curious about what Ah Ying would make if she focused all her energy on learning to cook.
But no matter what, even if the taste is completely beyond saving, she felt that putting more effort into the appearance and packaging wouldn't hurt.
"."

"Father, is this Inazuma Castle, the place where the gods reside?"

"Linny sent me here, saying he wasn't feeling well and had a special task for me."

"But it's a holiday here. Could the mission be related to the holiday?"

The southernmost side of Hanamizaka, the steps leading to Inazuma Castle.

Standing at the top of the steps and looking ahead, the still somewhat immature-looking boy paused, seemingly unaccustomed to the bustling environment.

He was puzzled as to what task Linni had entrusted to him when he approached him.

Having spent quite a bit of time alone underwater lately, Fimini couldn't think of any work that could be related to the holidays.

"I have some more important things to take care of later. In the meantime, you can write down anything that you find special."

"Holidays are the best source of intelligence; just do what you think is right."

Instead of directly answering the question from the "child" beside her, Arecino simply issued a command.

It was clear that due to her past experiences, Fimini was more comfortable following orders than acting freely.

He didn't expose everything Linni had said when she asked him to let Fimini come over.
Arecino increasingly felt that once he took over the role of "father," his interpretation of "family" would not disappoint him.

"What a grand festival! Perhaps this is a celebration of that victory?"

"But on such an important occasion, why not choose to keep an eye on the 'Fools'? Is it due to a shortage of manpower, or perhaps..."

Arranged for Fimini to go out and experience the festival under the guise of a mission. Arecino knew very well that Linni had sent him here because he had always been alone underwater during this time.

While moving forward, they paid attention to the lines of sight from their surroundings and also tested the waters by moving in unusual directions.

When he discovered that the situation was completely different from the tight security he had expected, Arecino couldn't immediately guess why they had allowed him, the dangerous executor of the Fools, to move freely.

"."

"Because the gods are present, you have absolute confidence?"

"But more likely than such arrogance as that of my colleagues is that I have been under surveillance all along, just like an unsuspecting insect about to run into a spider web."

I don't mean to underestimate anyone; my journey here was incredibly smooth.

It's good if things go smoothly, but when things are abnormally good, rather than gamble on and underestimate the opponent, Aregino prefers to believe that he has fallen into a trap.

"."

"Indeed, a keen insight."

"The reason why wild animals are not restricted is naturally because they are in a larger cage."

"If everyone were this vigilant, there would probably be far fewer unpleasant things."

Without any warning, a voice came from behind him.

The sound appeared abruptly, and even now, in her perception, there was still no one there.

"."

He paused slightly, showing no extra emotion, trying his best not to reveal any flaws.

After just a moment's thought, I realized that the owner of the voice had no hostile intentions.

I roughly guessed who was behind me.
Turning around, Arecino gazed at the newcomer's face and felt that everything unusual since her arrival now made sense.

"."

"It's been a long time, Ms. Arecino."

"As you can see, the two colleagues you were tasked with bringing back are now under my management."

His tone was calm, and he didn't mean to startle the other person.

I already knew who was coming to meet me.
Faced with such an extremely stable emotion, Lin Feng felt that unless the lively previous generation "servant" appeared behind her, probably nothing could cause Arecino to have a significant emotional fluctuation.

A moment later, at the reception desk of the Order Institute located near the headquarters of the Heavenly Commander.

They changed the location of their meeting, and Lin Feng sat opposite Arecino.

On the table in front of them, apart from the desserts and tea, two floating square crystals were particularly eye-catching.

"."

“Your two colleagues are here right now. This is a special kind of cave. I have provided them with food and seeds. They are currently in relatively good condition.”

"The information about the Fools has not been released. You may not know that the Inazuma side has already handed the prisoners over to the Kyoto Institution."

"Well, based on my understanding of the Fools, if they had known from the beginning that the target of the redemption had been changed, then this mission probably wouldn't have been possible in the first place."

The atmosphere between the two sides was not tense. Lin Feng knew very well that when he went to Fontainebleau in the future, he would probably meet many people from the House of Hearths.

Unlike ordinary prison cells, food was not provided on a regular schedule. Instead, he arranged a small room and a lot of fast-growing farmland within these two grottoes.

Actually, if he doesn't come to redeem him by winter, judging from the progress of a certain Tartaglia's farming, he might be able to live there for the rest of his life.

"."

"Perhaps Capitano will come, or perhaps there will be two more scrapped machines here, but that should be about it."

"Among my colleagues, there are some crazy people, but there are also people who will help, whether willingly or unwillingly, as long as you ask."

"Of course, I'm not one of them; I'm only here for a 'transaction.'"

Arecino glanced at the square golden crystal floating on the table, never imagining that the "cell" imprisoning them would be in this form.

It was clear that once it fell into the hands of this person in front of them, there was almost no chance of it being exchanged back.
Although he had a fairly good relationship with one of them, Arecino did not seem to be in a hurry for the mission.

"That's understandable. After all, Zhi Dong's side probably isn't prepared for the cost of exchanging people from me, and the original things are probably meaningless to me."

Lin Feng nodded, having no objection to the possibility that the "captain" might come.

"I do have some ideas about their arrangements, but let's talk about something else first."

"You must have gathered a lot of information about the secret realm outside the city along the way, right? Is there anything you're interested in?"

"Yes, I do have a request, and I'm willing to pay the price for it."

With a faint glint of a crimson cross in her eyes, Arecino looked up at the "ordinary scholar" before her and, with her usual efficient communication style, stated what she cared about.

After realizing that the other party seemed to have anticipated this, her tone remained calm, but there was a subtle, almost imperceptible, undercurrent of emotion within it:

"The boundary between 'life and death' should be insurmountable, and even one of my colleagues has never attempted the miracle of 'resurrection.'"

"The return of the deceased always stirs emotions in those who witness it. I hope to stay in Inazuma a little longer and participate in this 'miracle' as a helper."

(End of this chapter)