Man on the ark, forced to become king

The area surrounding Da Cifu has changed drastically since then; it's practically unrecognizable.

Although the golden tree's vitality had previously covered the barren land around it, giving rise to a lot of life and making it a rare oasis in the Kazdel Wasteland, it still lacked the grandeur it should have.

Given the strength of the Golden Tree, it can hardly be considered a small organization. So what's the point of having only two or three wooden huts at its headquarters?

These days, everything is about keeping up with the times. With industrial civilization, Originium has been developed to the point where it can be used to push cities around. We can't expect people to live under the open sky and eat dew anymore.

Before incorporating the Tower of Babel, the entire Golden Tree consisted of only a handful of people, so it didn't really matter. But things changed after incorporating the Tower of Babel.

Even though many operators chose to leave after the war ended, there were still quite a few who wanted to continue following Theresa.

With everyone added together, there were several thousand people left in the end. It wouldn't be right for them to all be camping around the Golden Tree, would it?

Therefore, the first thing Kal'tsit did after taking charge of the daily operation of the Golden Tree was to transform the surrounding area with the Golden Tree as the center.

With the help of Lungmen's network of connections, a large number of readily available building materials were sent here, allowing Kroos, the former head of the Babel Tower's engineering department, to work with the engineering department's operators. With the help of Originium Arts, the construction speed was incredibly fast.

After all the resources were arranged, blocks sprang up one after another. In just one month, the Golden Tree Territory, which was no different from the wild, had several small and exquisite towns, and gradually began to connect into one.

According to Lin Lu's plan, the Golden Tree will definitely undergo a transformation afterward, so Kal'tsit deliberately avoided a large area centered on the Golden Tree, making the newly built town form a ring around it.

Only a separate small building was built at the foot of the golden tree, which still retains its original appearance, as office space.

After it was built, Kal'tsit lived there and took care of all the affairs.

With collaborations with Kazdel, Yan, Sherag, Ursus, Syracuse, and Colombia all piled up, Kal'tsit herself couldn't remember how many days she hadn't had a proper rest.

Originally, the doctor had some help to share the workload, but after the doctor was sent to Chernobog to tinker with that home-use labor-saving repair device, all the work fell on her shoulders again. With such a high workload, even though she was used to being busy, she was now finding it hard to keep up.

"what……"

The files on the desk were stacked half a meter high, forming a row that almost completely blocked out the people behind the desk.

Kal'tsit, sitting in her chair, put down the documents in her hand and couldn't help but yawn. Her haggard face was marked by two large dark circles under her eyes.

She just felt very tired, extremely tired. Even when she was at the Tower of Babel, worrying about its life and death every day, she had never felt this tired.

If one weren't under the golden tree, bathed in its life-giving golden light all day long, it wouldn't be impossible for them to die suddenly.

Kal'tsit never imagined that someone like her would one day so desperately crave 'rest'.

In the past, the word "vacation" simply didn't exist in her vocabulary.

However, even though she desperately wanted to rest, there was nothing she could do, because she couldn't find anyone to handle her work for her.

Nian and Xi went to Yan Kingdom to visit relatives with Lin Lu. Lani was busy tinkering with her new magic research and was nowhere to be seen for several days.

Mostima is watching her sister at Lungmen, who is reportedly planning something related to Laterano.

Fiamet found some information and went to Letania on his own, and has not been heard from since.

Shining and Surtr went to Ursus, but of course, given their abilities, it wouldn't have made much of a difference if they hadn't gone.

While the capable Theresa was busy taking care of the children, Amiya and the three little devils that Lin Lu had brought back from Colombia not long ago could not be sent to regular schools due to special circumstances. They could only be taken care of and personally taught by Theresa and Melina.

In addition, there is also Huang, who comes from Yan Kingdom, and he also learns Originium magic from Theresa.

After some deliberation, the only one who was free and could be found was Jeragand, the god of Sherag who had recently joined the Golden Tree.

However, after learning what Seraphim was like under that great god's rule, Kal'tsit immediately gave up on the idea of ​​involving her in the work; that would only cause more trouble.

"Perhaps I need to find an assistant who is old enough and experienced, who has participated in high-level affairs, and who is full of energy, preferably one who doesn't need too much rest."

Slumped weakly in her chair, Kal'tsit rubbed her throbbing head. One by one, the people who demanded the same level of effort from her memories surfaced, culminating in a petite figure with white hair and red eyes.

If it's a Blood Demon... it should only need to be fed a little bit of high-quality blood every day to work tirelessly, right?

As far as I can remember, that guy had been involved in quite a few things before, then switched to studying medicine and gained considerable international fame. I suppose handling these daily affairs wouldn't be a problem for him.

When the time comes, just let her sit here and feed her a bag of blood plasma at a set time every day...

Although she hasn't met the person yet, Kal'tsit is already planning how to use them once they arrive. She has never longed for a vacation so much!

These damn, ever-increasing number of documents!

Thinking this, Kal'tsit shakily raised her arm and turned on the communicator on the table.

"Bring Logos to the office."

If there's anyone who can temporarily take over Golden Tree's work, it's only Logos. The others are just looking for fun all day and are completely unreliable.

...Although Logos isn't exactly reliable either, it's still better than others.

Of course, Kroos could actually do the job, but as the head of the engineering department, she had a lot of responsibilities and couldn't spare the time to cover for her.

Unable to find suitable replacements, Kal'tsit had no other choice but to temporarily use Logos as a replacement, while she herself needed to leave as soon as possible to find that 'old friend'.

……

"Protest! I protest! I shed blood for the Tower of Babel! I fought for His Majesty! Kal'tsit! You can't do this to me!"

A moment later, Kal'tsit walked out of the office looking refreshed, closing the door behind her to shut out the shouts from Logos, who was strapped to a chair with bandages.

In her estimation, Logos, as a powerful sorcerer from the Banshee race, could at least work tirelessly for several days and nights on end, which would be enough time for her to 'invite' him back.

"How many of you are there?"

As soon as she stepped out of the office, Kal'tsit saw two furry dogs crouching outside, and her brows, which had just relaxed, furrowed again.

"ACE, Scout, are you two really that free?"

"No, no, no, we were just passing by, just passing by."

The burly Phildian man and the Sarkaz with the black horns exchanged a glance, waved their hands in perfect unison, and were about to run away, but before they could take a step, Kal'tsit grabbed their shoulders from behind.

Kal'tsit, who had been working tirelessly for countless days, exuded a low-pressure aura, and her demeanor was no longer as composed as usual; she was extremely irritable.

"Since you two are so free, you can stay here and keep Logos company. I'm going on a field mission, and Logos must take over my work here until I get back, understand?"

"Understood! Understood! Don't worry, Dr. Kal'tsit, with us here, this kid can't go anywhere!"

ACE patted his chest and guaranteed, betraying his friend without hesitation.

"He's right!"

Scout echoed her sentiments, and seeing this, Kal'tsit nodded in satisfaction. The shadow that had been spreading behind her returned to calm, and she walked with slightly heavy steps toward the stairwell.

"..."

"..."

After Kal'tsit left, the two looked at each other in silence for a long time before bursting into laughter.

"Pfft, I never thought this kid would have a day like this."

"Yesterday he was thinking about something like roller skating office chairs, but he got caught today. So, you can't be too high-profile."

The two stood at the door, listing Logos's sins. Finally, ACE stroked his stubble and came up with a good idea.

"Kal'tsit's not here for the next few days. What do you think about us getting a small grill and having a barbecue in the office?"

"This……"

Scout thought for a moment, then slowly raised his thumb.

"You're still the same dog. In that case, I think we need to make some improvements. Go to Kroos and get two alloy chains. Dr. Kal'tsit's bandages are unreliable."

-------------------------------------

Kal'tsit didn't tidy up much; she simply changed into clothes that were easy to move in, put on a cloak that was big enough to block out the fan, took some LMD and red gold, and some portable compressed biscuits.

For her, these are enough; carrying more would only be a burden.

Although she is not known for her martial prowess, she is not the weak woman who appears to be powerless. With Mon3tr by her side, even if she encounters opponents of the level of Ursus Guards, Yan Kingdom Imperial Guards, or Columbia Commander's Guards, she can still escape even if she can't win.

Now that Kazdel has been reunified, Regent Theresis has taken control of the government and launched an unprecedented purge across the entire territory of Kazdel. The royal courts have also regrouped under the Demon King's command. There are many powerful figures in the wild, but it is unlikely that one will encounter a strong person of that level.

Ordinary bandits and mercenaries don't even need Mon3tr; Kal'tsit can handle them with her Originium Arts skills—she's lived for so many years and isn't completely useless, unable to do anything without Mon3tr.

At the very least, it's more than enough to deal with some ordinary soldiers.

"I remember the last time we contacted her, she was... here?"

Portable personal terminals are useless except for basic entertainment functions once they leave the base station coverage area. Kal'tsit didn't need those things, so she didn't carry them. Instead, she took a very retro leather map.

Having traversed high mountains and deep forests, as well as vast deserts, she knew very well that in harsh environments, the simpler things were, the safer they were.

Furthermore, after gaining enough experience, there was little difference between physical maps and electronic maps for her.

After briefly planning her destination and route, Kal'tsit rode a motorcycle out of the newly built logistics department, applied for a 'field mission' for herself, and signed it off.

The reason for choosing this less-than-safe mode of transportation is that the person we are looking for is just one person.

In the Kazdel wilderness, motorcycles are smaller and faster, making them ideal for solo missions—provided the rider has sufficient off-road driving experience and won't seriously injure themselves due to some of the most frequent accidents.

Leaving the region shrouded in golden light, it was just a step away, yet it felt like crossing two worlds.

The land bathed in golden light is vibrant with life, boasting a mild climate, birdsong, and fragrant flowers—a veritable paradise on earth. Beyond this lies endless sandstorms and desolate, barren wastelands.

That thin layer of light separated the inside from the outside; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them two different worlds.

Having stayed under the golden tree for so long, Kal'tsit suddenly felt somewhat uncomfortable when she stepped outside. It was like walking from a clean and tidy room to a room that hadn't been cleaned in years; her body instinctively resisted, an instinct that shouldn't have been there for her.

Needless to say, this is definitely one of the effects of the golden tree.

That ancient tree, seemingly existing since time immemorial, constantly displays its power, penetrating into every corner.

Once you've experienced that feeling, almost no one would want to lose it.