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The black figure in front of her was blurry, but Bernadette could sense that this dark silhouette was her father, the man who called himself "Caesar," Roselle Gustav.
Her eyes were slightly red, and she took a step forward.
Roselle chuckled: "When I was making picture books, compiling textbooks, and inventing all sorts of little games for you, you were only this big. Now you've come to save your poor old father.
"I remember you loved all the dresses I designed for you when you were little. It's a pity you can't wear those cake skirts anymore now that you're grown up…"
Hobert chimed in: Emperor, the words 'invent' and 'design' should be in quotation marks.
Bernadette walked faster as she listened to her father's rambling. Suddenly, Roselle pressed his forehead with a shadowy hand: "Stop!"
His voice was filled with indescribable pain.
Bernadette was taken aback and immediately stopped.
Roselle gripped the handrail beside him tightly, saying with great pain: "Don't... come closer.
"I'm corrupted."
The sadness in Bernadette's eyes deepened. When she had received this information from Cattleya through the Tarot Club, she found it somewhat unbelievable, but later she realized it might be true.
Now that the truth was confirmed, she felt even more sorry for her father.
Roselle took a deep breath, as if he had regained some composure, and then looked at Hobert: "As for you…"
"Someone asked me to bring you a message," Hobert said with a smile.
Roselle was stunned. Why did this sentence structure sound so familiar?
Then, Hobert said in Mandarin: "I used to be an adventurer like you..."
Roselle: "...then I took an arrow to the knee… I… I swear, you are…"
Bernadette looked at the two of them in surprise. They were speaking a language she had never heard before.
At this moment, crimson cracks suddenly appeared on Roselle's face, as if there was a scarlet moon inside his body.
He took a deep breath, looked at Bernadette, and said with great difficulty: "Seal me!"
Hobert didn't expect his code word to "break" Old Huang so quickly. He immediately mobilized the surging "Power of Order" to help Roselle contain the corruption within him.
The crimson cracks on Roselle's body gradually closed, and he took a deep breath, sitting weakly on the giant chair: "How do you plan to save me?"
Of course, he could feel that the person in front of him was a King of Angels of the "Black Emperor" pathway. Since the other party had not directly advanced but chose to see him in the mausoleum, he must have found a way to save him.
This time, Roselle used Intis. Bernadette stepped back to the side, first looking at her father and then at Hobert.
She couldn't understand why the two of them had established mutual trust so quickly after each saying a sentence she couldn't understand.
She had hesitated for a long time before choosing to trust Hobert, to trust the "Creator." As Hobert said, if the "Creator" wanted to harm Roselle, he didn't need to do anything. After becoming a "Black Emperor," Roselle would completely perish.
Hobert didn't answer Roselle's question immediately but said first: "The power just now can only temporarily suppress the corruption on you. You can maintain your sanity for about half an hour, but it will be difficult after a long time."
He had already "weakened" the power of the Outer Deities on this island, so there was no need to worry about the creatures outside disturbing them.
Then Hobert said to Bernadette: "I'll talk to your father about a few key issues first. Because it will involve some corruption, you can't listen!
"After we finish talking, I'll give you time to reunite."
Bernadette hummed in agreement. What else could she say? But she was also concerned: "How do you plan to save my father?"
"As I said just now," Hobert said, "temporarily seal him, but I shouldn't seal him for too long."
Because your Uncle Klein will advance to "The Fool" before the new year and soon become a "Half-Great Old One."
Hobert paused and then said: "And you will do the sealing."
Bernadette opened her mouth, but then she seemed to understand something and nodded, indicating that she had no problem.
The "Clairvoyant's" ability made her foresee that this was the opportunity to advance. She smiled sadly, lamenting the tricks of fate.
Hobert "tampered" with Bernadette's hearing and vision. Roselle on the chair breathed a sigh of relief: "When you said that 'code word' just now, I suddenly felt like my old father's secret had been discovered by his daughter."
Hobert smiled. Their next conversation, even if it didn't involve some polluting issues such as the Great Outer Deities, was not suitable for Bernadette to hear.
The Emperor's voice sank as he asked, "You know the truth about the apocalypse?"
Hobert nodded in response: "I know."
Roselle continued asking, "You know that this is Earth?"
"Yes."
Roselle smiled self-deprecatingly upon hearing this: "You knew so early. I didn't dare to finally confirm it until I went to the moon and saw the true appearance of this planet from above."
At this point, the Emperor sighed and said, "The moon is bizarre. I clearly felt terror, but I didn't even consider the possibility of being corrupted. Then, I became more and more extreme.
"However, I did occasionally gain a certain level of clarity from the views of people around me, but I didn't dare to write it in the diary in that state. I was afraid of exposing secrets and losing my final chance.
"I eventually decided to use all the groundwork I did previously to switch to the Black Emperor pathway. Apart from the impending apocalypse with Sequence 0s being the only ones capable of protecting the people 'They' wish to protect, 'They' can hide them in other planets in the vast universe and use the corresponding authorities to rebuild a set of order for humans to survive in desolate lands. I also saw the hope of escaping my corruption, by using the Black Emperor's ability to 'resurrect.'
"As long as I became a Sequence 0 Black Emperor and was truly killed after turning half-crazy, I'd have the chance of resurrecting in the mausoleum or in the astral world. When that happened, what would return to me would be a pure Uniqueness and three Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics. I wouldn't be tainted at all, nor will I contain an uncontrollable madness.
"Speaking of which, I made use of the Eternal Blazing Sun and the God of Steam and Machinery to a certain extent back then.
"But the horror of the Great Old Ones far exceeded my imagination. Accompanying my revival was a new life of corruption… Perhaps only Great Old Ones can resist Great Old Ones.
"I could only terminate the revival process, and live such an ignoble existence in my final mausoleum to prevent the Great Old One from using my body to be born in the real world. That would've brought about a devastating disaster."
Speaking of this, Roselle paused and asked: "By the way, why did you choose the 'Black Emperor' pathway? How exactly do you plan to save me?"
"I can only choose this pathway…" Hobert briefly described his family's curse.
After listening, Roselle "hmmphed" a couple of times: "These old schemers are always very difficult to kill. But I completely killed Solomon."
Hobert added: "As for the specific plan to save you, I need to ask our other 'fellow countryman' for help…"
"Fellow countryman…" Roselle suddenly stood up from the chair: "There's… there's another one… Are transmigrators so worthless these days?"
Hobert put away the "Book of Law" and explained with a smile: "Our transmigration is because of the same being in ancient times. I'll explain this to you later.
"Let me first talk about the plan to save you. I have a few questions to ask you later."
Roselle hummed and sat back down on the chair.
Hobert continued: "Our 'fellow countryman' is a Beyonder of the 'Seer' pathway. In the near future, he will have the authority of 'Grafting' and 'Fooling,' and he also has the ability to summon 'Historical Projections.'
"And before that, I have already taken advantage of a previous War of the Gods to risk seizing the 'Knowledge Emperor' characteristic from you from the God of Steam and Machinery…"
"Wait a minute," Roselle interrupted: "The God of Steam and Machinery had a War of the Gods with someone else?"
"Yes, it was a War of the Gods that all seven Gods participated in. The God of Combat fell as a result." Because time was limited, Hobert simply said:
"I guessed your current state from your diary, so I spent a long time thinking about how to save you and actively looking for the Beyonder characteristics that were extracted from your body."
Roselle's shadowy face was unreadable. He paused for about two seconds before saying: "Thank you for thinking I can still be rescued."
He was very clear about how high the level of corruption he was suffering from was. In fact, Hobert could completely pretend not to know of his existence and then advance.
Then Roselle asked: "How much of my diary did you read?"
Hobert's mind suddenly flashed the sentence "The taste of a Demoness is not bad," but he honestly said: "Not much."
To be precise, not much of the diary he saw after coming to this world.
Roselle was silent for a few seconds before saying: "Okay, I'll just assume you really only read a few pages."
Then he returned to the topic: "Are you planning to use that 'fellow countryman's' ability to 'graft' the current me with that Beyonder characteristic and use my 'projection' of once being the 'Knowledge Emperor' to 'fool' history and reality, turning from the 'Black Emperor who is being resurrected' into the 'Knowledge Emperor'?"
Hobert nodded: "Yes, this way I can successfully advance to the 'Black Emperor,' and you can regain… well, 'rebirth' sounds more like a curse. You can also get a new life."
"Is there a problem you overlooked?" Roselle said: "'Primordial Moon' will definitely try to hinder your plan. How do you plan to stop her?
"You should know that her power may be very limited on Earth, but her status is very high."
Hobert had already planned: "Leave that to me."
After accommodating the Uniqueness, the "Bell of Order" could briefly suppress the corruption of the Great Outer Deities.
Then he added: "However, the corruption in your body cannot be completely eliminated. I can only help you suppress it to a controllable range.
"Theoretically speaking, as long as you don't continue to advance or encounter new corruption, you should be able to basically control your state.
"Then I will use a mystical item to help you suppress the corruption, and you can completely return to the real world. But you have to be careful not to pollute others."
"That's already very good," Roselle described: "It's like a paraplegic patient who can finally get out of bed and walk after treatment."
"Uh, that analogy is very down-to-earth," Hobert said: "Okay, time is limited. I have to ask you a few questions."
"Go ahead."
"I received some information." Hobert's expression became serious: "After advancing to the 'Black Emperor,' will the 'Lord of the Mysteries' awaken to some extent?"
Roselle sighed: "Your preparations are more detailed than mine were at the time.
"When I found out about this, there was no way to make some defenses."
Hobert couldn't help but frown: This problem is the biggest problem in advancement right now.
Given the special relationship between Hobert and the "Celestial Worthy," he suspected that when he advanced, the "Celestial Worthy" would not just "awaken initially."
"However, this problem is not difficult to solve." What Hobert didn't expect was that Roselle then said: "You just need to put the sealed artifact 'Genie' next to you during the advancement."
Hobert was stunned: "'Genie' can block the 'Lord of the Mysteries'? Wasn't he sealed by the 'Lord of the Mysteries'?"
"Precisely because he was sealed by the 'Lord of the Mysteries,' he can stop him," Roselle explained: "This is a characteristic of the 'Black Emperor' pathway!"
Hobert immediately understood: It was to use the "Celestial Worthy's" seal to interfere with the "Celestial Worthy's" arrangement!
Then he thought: In this world, "Genie" is the person who least wants to see the "Celestial Worthy's" plan succeed because as long as the Celestial Worthy awakens in the "Black Emperor" or "Justiciar," he will easily become the corresponding Great Old One, then "Genie" will lose everything.
Hobert also understood: No wonder Trunsoest never mentioned the problem of the "Celestial Worthy" when he advanced to "Justiciar." He previously thought that the Six Gods had helped him solve this problem, but now it seemed that he might have obtained the "Genie" at that time! Perhaps that was one of the spoils of killing Solomon.
As for Solomon, he had the help of the True Creator, so there shouldn't have been much of a problem when he advanced, and he also obtained "Genie"! Finally, the "Genie" fell into Roselle's hands!
This was definitely not a coincidence, and it might even be the "Genie" actively disrupting the "Celestial Worthy's" plan.
Now Hobert's only concern was that his situation was special, and it was not certain whether the "Genie" could help him.
At this time, Roselle said again: "As for the 'Genie's' reward, it must be to help him escape after you become a God, but I don't know what his specific purpose is because he doesn't seem to be in a hurry to escape.
"When I traded with him, I deliberately didn't promise him a time to help him escape, and he didn't care."
Hobert asked: "How exactly does he complete this operation?
"Well… to be honest, I have some doubts about his ability."
Roselle spoke without reservation: "I learned about this from 'Uncertain Mist'…"
Hobert was stunned: "You also contacted 'Uncertain Mist'?"
"He took the initiative to contact me after I became the 'Black Emperor,'" Roselle said: "The specific theory should be similar to the law of mutual attraction between adjacent pathways. After I advanced, I had a few minutes to establish contact with him.
"It's just that my mind was not very clear at the time, so I only talked to him for a few words."
Hobert slowly nodded, recalling that when he advanced to Sequence 1, Tamara and Trunsoest were able to sense it. Advancing to True God should attract onlookers from higher-level existences.
"The power that he can project onto Earth is very weak, difficult to cause corruption, you can safely chat with him for a few words," Roselle continued: "He told me at the time not to be deceived by 'Genie' and gave me a complex descent ritual. He hoped to descend to Earth to deal with 'Genie.'
"My idea is that their words are all untrustworthy, but we can use their mutual attacks to obtain some information."
"For example, I got a seemingly reliable piece of information from the 'Uncertain Mist': the 'Genie' is mostly in a sealed state, appearing to be non-aggressive, but at a specific moment, it can display power beyond that of a god!"
Hobert found it hard to believe: "How does it do that?"
Even if the 'Son of Chaos' still has the position, that's 'Celestial Worthy's' seal!
Roselle said: "I had the same question as you at the time, after all, based on my research, the 'Genie's' influence on the outside world is almost negligible usually."
"Moreover, it is sealed with an angel-level Beyonder characteristic."
Speaking of this, he spread his hands: "It's the first time I've encountered such a luxurious seal!
"However, the 'Uncertain Mist' told me that there are Beyonder characteristics inside the 'Genie', and even the 'Lord of the Mysteries' can't tear these Beyonder characteristics from it!"
Hobert suddenly thought of a sentence the 'Dark Angel' said when communicating with him before: "The 'Son of Chaos' is a life directly conceived by the 'Original Creator', closer to the 'Original Creator' than the 'Mother Goddess of Depravity!"
At that time, Hobert didn't pay much attention to this sentence, but now more than one piece of evidence proves that although the 'Son of Chaos' is not a Pillar, He is a very special Great Old One!
In that case, how many Beyonder characteristics did the original 'Son of Chaos' have? There are only two on Earth, 'Black Emperor' and 'Justiciar', the 'Uncertain Mist' seems to have some, and the 'Son of Chaos' also has characteristics!
"I think this information is basically accurate." Roselle said: "Otherwise, there would be no need to seal the 'Genie' with an angel-level Beyonder characteristic."
Hobert nodded slowly, expressing his approval of Roselle's conclusion. With the 'Celestial Worthy's' strength at the time, if the 'Son of Chaos' had no Sefirah, no Beyonder characteristics, the 'Gray Fog' of the Sefirah Castle could seal this guy somewhere, and he would never want to escape.
However, the 'Celestial Worthy' took a 'Miracle Invoker' Beyonder characteristic from himself for the seal, which shows how much He valued the 'Son of Chaos' after tearing out the 'Uncertain Mist'.
But this is good news for Hobert. Although His situation is relatively special, the 'Genie' should also be able to help Him solve the problem.
Thinking of this, Hobert asked again: "Regarding the 'Black Emperor', do you have any other instructions?"
"This pathway seems a bit special." Roselle, sitting on the iron chair, pondered and said: "I don't know if the 'Justiciar' is like this, but as far as the 'Black Emperor' is concerned, before becoming a god, the Outer Deities have almost no influence on the Beyonder of this pathway.
"But after becoming a god, both the 'Genie' and the 'Uncertain Mist' can easily influence or notice you.
"I am because I have already been polluted, so their influence and attention will not have any impact on me.
"But thinking of Solomon and Trunsoest, the probability of these two pathways being polluted seems very high!"
Hobert was slightly stunned when he heard this. He hadn't made this Connection before, but it is indeed the case. Roselle's situation is a bit special, so let's not talk about it for the time being. Solomon and Trunsoest, one counts as one, have been polluted or affected in some way.
Some of Solomon's previous performances were strange, suspected of being influenced by the 'Uncertain Mist' or the 'Genie'. Trunsoest was completely polluted by the 'Uncertain Mist' and even tried to destroy the 'Genie'.
Although they may have their own purposes, the fact that they have been influenced by the Outer Deities is undeniable.
Relatively speaking, the other four Beyonder characteristics that "just" came from the cosmos seem very dangerous, but there seems to be room for relaxation.
Currently, the 'Devil Monarch' Farbauti is still fighting against the 'Mother Tree of Desire'. Lilith has been corrupted on the 'Moon' pathway. After switching to the 'Mother' pathway, the corruption has basically been suppressed.
Only the 'Black Emperor' and the 'Justiciar' seem to be able to get involved with the 'Genie' and the 'Uncertain Mist'.
Thinking of this, Hobert took a deep breath and said, "Thank you for your answer, I have no questions."
Roselle smiled and said: "Friend, your arrival has given me great hope. I hope you and that fellow countryman can work hard and rescue me quickly.
"To be honest, the feeling of being polluted by the Outer Deities is really too tormenting."
This is his most helpless side. Before this, he had never shown his weakness in front of others.
Hobert said seriously: "We will do it as soon as possible!"
Roselle took a deep breath and said again: "What you were holding just now should be the Uniqueness of the 'Justiciar' pathway, right? It seems you are already preparing to become a Great Old One.
"That must be a very difficult road. If you are tired, take a break.
"To hell with the end of the world, people from our place have too much sense of responsibility. It's okay to be a little selfish."
Hobert sighed, with a bitter smile: "I will pay attention."
Roselle paused, got up from the chair and approached Hobert a few steps, lowering his voice and asked: "Is Bernadette married?"
"No."
"Does she have a boyfriend?"
"As far as I know, it doesn't seem like it."
Roselle looked Hobert up and down: "You don't have Sanguine blood, do you?"
"Uh... a little bit."
Roselle "hmm"ed and asked again: "How did you and Bernadette meet?"
"I understand what you mean." Hobert said with a wry smile: "I already have two wives, and I love them very much."
"That's good, that's good." Roselle seemed relieved a lot, but then became vigilant again: "Two...wives?"
Hobert raised his hand and rubbed his forehead: "Well... we are of the same generation. In theory, Bernadette has to call me uncle."
"Haha." Roselle laughed twice: "You're right."
Saying this, he slowly returned to his seat: "Yes, she has to call you uncle."
"The next time is left for you father and daughter." Saying this, Hobert lifted the "tampering" on Bernadette: "I'll wait for you outside. If you need me to assist in the seal later, contact me with the 'Order Crystal'."
Bernadette "hmm"ed.
Hobert didn't eavesdrop on the conversation between the father and daughter, but came to the open space outside the mausoleum, looking at the situation on the island.
Because the power of the Outer Deities was weakened, the entire island was quiet at this time.
While waiting, Hobert pondered the information he got from Roselle. He was a little surprised that the biggest problem in advancement was solved like this.
However, for the sake of stability, before preparing for advancement, it is necessary to talk to the "Genie" first.
After about ten minutes, Hobert's spirituality received a "notification" and came to the mausoleum again.
At this time, blood-red cracks appeared on Roselle's body again. Bernadette had already put on a pale metal mask. On the mask, a series of pale lines constantly outlined an extremely complex mysterious symbol. This symbol sometimes looked like a bird with long feathers, and sometimes turned into a feathered snake coiling its body.
Under the mask, Bernadette projected a cold gaze. This gaze seemed to have substance, forming a layer of pale white brilliance, surrounding Roselle on the huge chair layer by layer.
Roselle's aura then disappeared, and the cracked bright red gaps closed one after another. He seemed to fall into peaceful sleep in an instant.
But in the next instant, several blood-red cracks grew on Roselle's body again. His aura, after decaying to the extreme, gradually renewed, fiercely resisting the pale white brilliance like thin mist around him.
Hobert immediately realized that the rank of the mask was not enough.
He immediately took action, "using" the "Pale Death" worn on Bernadette's face to tightly wrap the layer of pale white brilliance around Roselle.
And use the power of the "Nation of Disorder" to increase the rank of the seal, "magnify" the power of "Pale Death", and "tamper" with the intensity of Roselle's "rebirth".
In this way, the corruption suffered by Roselle was completely suppressed by the "Pale Death". Before it reached the point of breaking through the seal, the power of "Pale Death" would turn "rebirth" into "passing" again.
"Pale Death" will continue to provide power for this seal until Bernadette actively lifts the seal, or it fails because its state changes for some reason.
Roselle looked at Bernadette and smiled weakly: "This seal is good, I can finally have a good night's sleep."
His eyes slowly closed: "Let's go, leave here..."
In the blink of an eye, Roselle had fallen into a deep sleep.
Bernadette opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but in the blink of an eye she found herself back at the edge of the primitive island.
She stared at the mountain in the central part of the primitive island for a few seconds, then slowly turned around and walked towards the sea.
Hobert's doppelganger didn't follow, but "tampered" with his state, and waited on the beach.
After a while, Hobert heard a melodious whistle from the "Dawn" not far away. Bernadette played a gentle melody with a whistle, with a faint sadness, which could calm people's minds.
After more than a hundred years of searching, she finally found her father, but she had to seal her father.
Although Roselle repeatedly emphasized that he still had the possibility of resurrection, Bernadette didn't know why, but she always felt an unspeakable sadness in her heart.
Maybe it was more than a century of separation, without even a hug, that she still felt regret.
Maybe she was secretly regretting why she left her father back then?
Maybe...
After being silent for a while, Bernadette's eyes became clear again.
She no longer hesitated, no longer blamed herself, no longer produced various negative emotions, and firmly raised her right hand, summoning a spiritual world creature with a human upper body and a wind lower body, and took from Him the supplementary ingredients for the "Sage" potion.
The remaining parts do not need special preservation, they are in the collection room of the "Dawn".
Before long, Bernadette used the "Pale Death" to shatter the "Sage Frontlet" and prepared the potion.
She picked up the potion. At this time, her heart was full of hope to help her father get rid of the corruption and completely resurrect him. This required a higher sequence and stronger strength.
Bernadette had never been so determined as she was now. She drank the potion in one gulp, seeing her body become illusory at a speed visible to the naked eye.
She decomposed into strands of vast knowledge, transforming into the existence form of the information torrent.
Bernadette tried her best to maintain her ritual and quickly established a connection with the spiritual world information that prevented the occurrence of a high-level disaster.
That information had her distinct mark and involved a very high level, appearing exceptionally "solid".
This information prevented Bernadette from being scattered by other information in a short period of time, helping her to initially stabilize her consciousness, so she had time to gather the torrent of information of her body little by little.
Just when she was about to completely gather the vast torrent of information, strands of secret information came from nowhere, taking advantage of the opportunity for Bernadette to reorganize her body, trying to merge with her.
This was interference from the "Hidden Sage".
As a certain incarnation of knowledge and information in this world, as an approximate Sequence 0 of the "Mystery Pryer" pathway, the "Hidden Sage" can exert a certain influence on Beyonders of the same pathway who are lower than himself.
At this moment, Hobert suddenly appeared in the captain's room. He waved his hand like a conductor, "distorting" the direction and state of the "foreign information", causing them all to flow to himself.
Then Hobert casually picked up a glass bottle from the table, and the "foreign information" rushed into the glass bottle. Hobert plugged the bottle cap and built a "Wall of Spirituality" to seal this information.
While watching Bernadette make the final adjustments to her state, Hobert made a judgment: The state of the "Hidden Sage" is similar to that of the King of Angels who has accommodated the Uniqueness!
Finally, Bernadette completely reorganized her body. At this moment, she truly became Him, became the Sequence 2 angel of the "Mystery Pryer" pathway, a big shot in the mysterious world who can be called a "Hidden Existence".
Adjusting her state, she looked at Hobert and said with a strange expression: "Thank you, Hob... Uncle Hobert."
Hobert twitched the corner of his mouth: "You can still call me Hobert."
...
Utopia.
Hobert looked at this small city with a small area but complete supporting facilities, as well as several small villages in the suburbs and several pieces of reclaimed farmland.
He had planned to come long ago, but after returning from the mysterious island discovered by Roselle, he had to deal with the affairs of the Kingdom of Atlantis, and only came here now to take a look.
In the next second, Hobert appeared in Utopia's small square, listened to a young man playing the seven-stringed lyre for a while, and chatted with an old gentleman for a few words.
He "inquired" that the elven restaurant in this small city has a unique flavor and is worth a try.
The architectural style of this restaurant is a unique "Atlantis style", with smooth lines, beautiful and generous.
Entering the restaurant, inside are "Atlantis-style" tables and chairs with a rather heavy texture. Because it is not yet meal time, there are only two tables of guests inside.
Among them, by the window, sat a young man wearing a black suit, with black hair and brown eyes, and a scholarly temperament.
The young man immediately got up after seeing Hobert: "Haha, Hobert! My friend, I didn't expect to meet you here."
Dressed in a Loen-style trench coat, Hobert entered as if from another world, a warm smile on his face: "Klein, my friend, you look to be in excellent spirits."
The person before him was Klein, with Klein's appearance.
Hobert had forgotten when he last saw this face.
"Indeed," Klein said with a smile. "Utopia's fine wines and delicious food have healed the loneliness in my heart."
The two shook hands firmly before sitting down.
Hobert asked, "Have you ordered anything?"
"I ordered braised prawns in oil, sweet and sour cod, and cold spinach salad," Klein said with a smile. "This place is near the sea, and the seafood is excellent."
At this moment, the waiter handed over the menu. Hobert glanced at it and, as he expected, the so-called 'Elven cuisine' consisted of familiar dishes.
Hobert also ordered two dishes, and the two began to chat while drinking beer.
"Not long ago, I encountered Roselle, and he turned out to be one of our 'fellow countrymen'," Hobert said, not intending to hide the matter, briefly recounting his and Bernadette's exploration of that mysterious island.
He focused on Roselle's current state. Hobert did not tell Klein about the method to rescue him for the time being, as it required a good opportunity, such as after Klein advanced to Sequence 1.
Klein listened quietly, finally sighing, "If only he could sit here with us."
Hobert raised his beer glass: "Yes, then we could play poker."
"No, Texas Hold'em."
The two laughed heartily, clinked glasses, and took a few gulps.
After eating a few bites of food with the "Elven tableware," Klein said, "I've long suspected Roselle's identity."
Hobert put down his chopsticks and hummed in agreement: "When he called himself 'Caesar,' he had already completely exposed himself."
"Then what about the Elves?" Klein asked, raising the "Elven tableware" in his hand. "What's their story?"
"Perhaps they came from the Western Continent," Hobert said. "As a history researcher, I know very well that our ancestors have always attached great importance to recording history since very, very early on.
"Especially enemies who have invaded us and harmed our compatriots, we will definitely record them clearly."
"Yes, ancient history used two volumes for thousands of years," Klein said with a smile. "Modern history also used two volumes for a hundred years."
Hobert looked at the beer foam in his glass: "Then, will the people there still know their ancestral origins?"
Klein's expression gradually became serious: "Probably not, after all, there was a period of madness during the First Epoch."
Hobert hummed in agreement: "Maybe I'm overthinking it, I just… I just…"
"Missing home?"
Hobert suddenly raised his head, their eyes met, and Hobert suddenly smiled: "I originally thought that since I had a home here, I wouldn't have such feelings."
"As you said before," Klein said gently, "we are all wanderers working hard away from home, buying houses and getting married in big cities, but that doesn't mean our roots are planted there."
"I used similar words to comfort you before, but I didn't expect them to be 'returned' to me," Hobert said with a smile.
After returning from that mysterious island, Hobert's inner loneliness gradually grew, especially when he recalled Roselle saying 'To hell with the apocalypse,' a sense of sorrow appeared in Hobert's heart:
Why am I not doing my research properly, but instead fighting these monsters?
Why, when I have free time, am I not thinking about playing games, eating skewers, and drinking beer, but instead, forced by survival, having endless things to deal with, and having to think about advancement every moment?
Why do I already own a country, but it's not as fun as playing 'Minecraft'?
Why do I have to go through these things? Why can't I say 'no'?
Why…
At this moment, Hobert realized that he was actually a little tired, but he had been ignoring it.
So, after dealing with the matters at hand, he gave himself a vacation, and his first stop for relaxation was Utopia.
Klein continued, "I'm not very good at comforting people, but I always feel that our driving force is those who have helped us, or those who need our help.
"Because we are already in this world, because we have relatives and friends in this world, so we cannot retreat.
"This is our responsibility."
Hobert repeated, "Responsibility, huh?"
His mood brightened a lot: "Sorry, it's been a long time since we met, but we ended up talking about such a heavy topic.
"Let's talk about something else, um… how are the preparations for the ritual going?"
Klein looked out the window, at the people in the square and on the streets, each with their own lives, each with their own personalities, each doing their own thing.
"As you can see, it's going quite smoothly!" A smile filled Klein's face.
Hobert also followed Klein's gaze outside, and after hearing this, he said, "Let me give you another hand."
As he spoke, he strengthened the "connection" between the city and the spirit world.
For a moment, the light in the entire city dimmed a lot, but this dimness disappeared in an instant.
Looking outside again, there were still people coming and going, the square was still the same square, the church was still the same church, the city was still the same city, but it gave people a different feeling.
It was as if everything around had become more real, as if the city had a solid sense of history.
Klein took a deep breath, feeling the subtle changes in Utopia. Everyone here was different from before. Originally, they were like "unregistered residents" of this world, but now everyone's relationship with this world had become very harmonious.
The ritual that he had originally planned to complete by the end of the year had now been basically completed. In another week, at most half a month, he would be able to try to advance to "Attendant of Mysteries."
Hobert drank all the beer in front of him in one gulp: "Thank you for your hospitality. It's rare to have a few days of leisure, I want to wander around.
"Oh, right, I have a friend who needs to strengthen their humanity, and your place is a good choice."
Klein got up and said, "Then let them come."
The two shook hands again to say goodbye.
Klein saw Hobert off, sat back in his chair, and continued to enjoy the food while sighing inwardly.
Suddenly, his spirituality was touched, and he looked towards the entrance of the restaurant.
A young lady wearing a court dress, with very delicate features, like a delicate doll, appeared there.
Klein was slightly stunned before getting up: "Miss Sharron."
Then he understood: "You are the friend that Hobert mentioned just now!"
After seeing Klein's appearance, Sharron's face showed a hint of joy: "Long time no see."
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