The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"Oh, by the way, the reason I used to determine the identity of this princess was similar," Luca said, even happier to see Ange's companions all looking on in astonishment. "There was a slightly... faint and bitter scent in her incense."

"ha?"

Even Ange herself was stunned – although she had been a princess for more than ten years and used royal incense for more than ten years, she didn’t even know that her perfume contained this scent!

"Yes, Your Highness, it's quite normal that you're unaware of this: the royal incense of Fayun contains essential oil made from the nectar of white lotus flowers grown only in the lotus pond outside the capital, Cangtao City. This essential oil actually slightly dilutes the fragrance, and its inclusion is primarily as part of ancestor worship," Luca explained. "Because those white lotuses were introduced to Cangtao City by the first head of the Lindenhild-Fayun family. Due to the extremely small amount used, even if people knew, they generally wouldn't be able to smell it."

"But...have you used this kind of essential oil before?"

"Yes, Princess Ange Katarina Tifalisa Lyndenhild-Fayun," Luca said this time, giving the other party's full name, which made all her friends look alarmed—after all, publicly revealing such a major secret was tantamount to dragging these kids, who usually only did petty theft, into the mess, "and not just once."

"Since I'm the only member of the ducal family in the Duchy of Fayun who can still roam freely—of course, the current Fayun Regency Council has declared me 'dead' in the storm. However, since I made a public appearance in the Duchy of Penglai, anyone with a sound mind would at least consider the possibility that I'm still alive. So, you used the process of elimination based on that." Ange finished speaking for the other person. "Not bad reasoning."

"Oh my, it seems my little fish has really made something of herself, she actually met such a benefactor."

“That’s right,” Ange added, “and Prince Fish is already engaged to me—he will succeed me as the next Grand Duke after I regain my rightful rights in the Duchy of Fayun.”

"Whoa—" This time, Luca, who was about to snuggle into Fish's arms, finally showed a surprised expression for the first time. "Really?! You can do that?!"

"Hmph, hmph, hmph, and he also became a powerful armored warrior, and during this time, he gathered a group of brave and reliable comrades for us," Ange pointed to her companions beside her. "Now it's my turn to ask a question: Little sister Luca, I don't think you're an ordinary person, are you? Although the incense in the Duchy of Fayun isn't completely closed to the public, the fact that you can access it proves that you've at least been a guest of honor of some member of the Grand Duchy."

“Yes. Now that I’ve ‘accidentally’ revealed your identity to my friends, I feel it’s necessary for me to be frank with everyone—besides, even if I didn’t say anything, Little Fish already knows most of my personal information,” Luca said. “My full name is Iluvisca Alexandra Sherin, the current head of the Sherin Corporation. Of course, here, you can just call me Luca.”

"Hmph." Xiaoxing suddenly hummed twice, clearly dissatisfied.

"Miss Xiaoxing, is there something you're unhappy about with Miss Luca?" Shana asked.

"Ah, little Xing is here too, nice to meet you," Luca said. "It's quite normal that she has some issues with me. After all, I didn't help her when she needed it before."

"Could it be...?"

“Xiaoxing’s family and my family were related by marriage in the previous generation. And we’ve always had business dealings—my Sherlin Group mainly manufactures machinery, while Xiaoxing’s family deals in machinery recycling and dismantling artifacts from the old civilization era,” Luca explained. “We’ve met a few times in the past. However, I didn’t help her when her uncle took over her business, so she’s a little…resentful of me.”

"Huh? You know about this too?"

"Yes, she even wrote me a letter asking for help... Unfortunately, my legal advisors found that there was very little we could do: Admittedly, her deceased parents were probably deceived by her uncle's false promises, but their wills were notarized and were legally valid. Even I couldn't stop her uncle's actions."

"Hiss..." Xiaoxing gasped for breath, glaring at Luca—clearly, she didn't quite agree with this statement... though she couldn't refute it either.

"Of course, I wasn't willing to just sit idly by and do nothing about Xiaoxing. At the time, I had already prepared a relaxed and comfortable position at the company for her... well, unfortunately, when I contacted her again, she had already run away from home in a fit of anger. I looked for her for quite a while afterward... but I never expected to run into Xiaoyuyu."

"Back then, we joined the infamous 'Tidal Lightning' warband to make money and explore ancient city ruins," Fish explained. "A lot happened after that... Anyway, now I'm with Ange, and we've returned to Oasis Harbor to try and thwart a plan by those who currently control the Duchy of Fayun..."

"Back then, we joined the infamous 'Tidal Lightning' warband to make money and explore ancient city ruins," Fish explained. "A lot happened after that... Anyway, now I'm with Ange, and we've returned to Oasis Harbor to try and thwart a plan by those who currently control the Duchy of Fayun..."

"Are you referring to the legendary plan to acquire Dark Isle?" Luca asked.

"You knew too?"

"Don't underestimate my intelligence capabilities," Luca said. "After all, I'm both the head of the Sherlin Consortium and the leader of the Red Cat gang of thieves."

As she said this, she took out a fan in the style of Penglai from the wide sleeves of her dress, and with a "whoosh," she unfolded it, revealing the pattern on the fan surface—an elegant red cat. This was also the symbol of her "righteous thief gang."

"Wait a minute, how did you, the head of a conglomerate, become the leader of a band of thieves?" Shuangye asked. "That's too strange!"

"It's Luca's quirk," Fish explained. "She's shown a lot of extraordinary talents since she was little, including not only running businesses, but also engineering, acting, martial arts, and even... theft. It sounds a bit strange, but she really does consider stealing an important hobby."

"Just like Farouk II, the 'King of Thieves' of Egypt in the past." Huang Yan recited a name from an old civilization era that Fish didn't recognize.

"In short, although the theoretical headquarters of the conglomerate is in Sailpoint Port in the north, Luca enjoys spending time in Oasis Port. She met some street kids there and formed what she calls the 'Red Cats,' a group of 'righteous thieves,'" Fish continued. "Of course, they are indeed a kind of 'righteous thieves,' at least they never actively harm the local poor, but rather steal from the rich and wealthy outsiders. The stolen money is used to buy necessities and distribute them to the poor and orphans in Oasis Port."

"No wonder you deliberately flaunted your wealth at the docks," Xiaoxing said. "So it was all to lure the 'Red Cat' gang into making a move, then track them down to their hideout?"

"Heh heh heh, we're 'acting as thieves on behalf of Heaven'! How about it? Shouldn't you praise my sense of justice?" Luca said.

"In my opinion, you're probably just doing this because you enjoy stealing, aren't you?" Ange shrugged. "It's common knowledge that the Sherin Consortium produces 35% of the Pan-Pacific Empire's military light weapons, including pistols, rifles, and swords; about 30% of its military helmets and uniforms; and over a quarter of its civilian kitchenware, small boats, logging tools, and fishing nets. Even if they only take one percent of their annual revenue, it would be enough to feed the poor in Oasis Harbor several meals. Why resort to these illegal methods?"

"Hehehehe..." Luca, whose sore spot had been hit, started to play dumb.

"Of course, a 'righteous band of thieves' is also suitable for carrying out clandestine activities—such as gathering intelligence or resolving certain 'problems' and 'troubles' through shady means," Ange continued mercilessly. "However, these kids don't seem like any vicious scoundrels, so I guess they'll just gather some information for you at most, right?"

Luca nodded: at least intellectually, she and Ange were evenly matched. Neither could hide anything from the other.

“In that case, I understand why my husband approached you… Undoubtedly, when he was still making a living in the local bar, you two unexpectedly became…friends. Ah, don’t misunderstand, the Duchy of Fayun doesn’t have any special requirements regarding the chastity of male nobles. Under the pressure of life, whatever happens isn’t a big problem,” Ange said. “In fact, I myself don’t care about such things. Given the status of the Sherin Consortium, if you are willing to become my husband’s ally, I can not only reserve a place for you by his side, but I can even offer you the title of Viscount…”

"I recall that among the Grand Duke's concubines, only the one ranked first was granted the title of viscount, right?"

“That’s right, but non-affiliated nobles who are granted titles due to special achievements are a different story. You can even become a member of the House of Nobles and sit in the first row with the earls,” Ange waved her hand. “How about it? Want to make this investment? Use your wealth and your little friends to help us, and the seats and crowns in the White Lotus Palace will be your reward.”

"Alright, I'll decline the position as a member of the House of Nobles. Going to meetings every month is so annoying... However, I'm quite interested in the position next to Fish. The title of Viscount sounds good too," Luca said. "However, I need some other things... After this is done, the individual weapons, armor, clothing, and canteen tableware of the Duchy of Fayun's army should be purchased from companies under our Sherlin Group first."

"That's only natural. The product quality of your conglomerate's companies has always been reliable," Ange said. "I think we've reached an agreement?"

"Hey? You've already started tailing those envoys? Why?" Fish asked.

"Little Fish, you must have noticed by now. We've set up quite a few traps outside this base, haven't we?" Luca countered. "While they're not enough to deal with you, they wouldn't be so easy for other uninvited guests to break in."

"Ah...that's right. But I remember you 'Red Cat' used to set traps outside your base. But never on this scale," Fish nodded. "What happened?"

"In short, ever since the Fayun delegation arrived at Oasis Harbor three weeks ago, strange disappearances and murders have been occurring in the city. At first, almost no one paid any attention to these cases, but soon, the number of cases increased." Luca's face darkened as she sat down at a long table.

"Disappearance and murder?"

"Yes. Most of the dead were gang members from the slums, as well as orphans and elderly people living alone. Even the day before yesterday, two of my friends went missing. After that, for safety reasons, I arranged for those friends under the age of twelve who lacked the ability to defend themselves to temporarily stay in the company's empty dormitory, protected by armed security guards hired by the conglomerate; the rest no longer spend the night in the slums, but gather in my relatively safe villa. At the same time, these additional defense measures were also implemented, just in case."

"Is the situation really that serious?" Fish asked. He knew very well that Luca and her "Red Cat" gang were usually fearless, the type who would knowingly barge into hell to steal a heist.

The fact that these people were so frightened indicates that the situation is clearly not optimistic.

"Yes. Although murder isn't particularly rare in the slums. Every now and then, someone will be found dead in the street because of a brawl, a stupid argument, being cuckolded, or some other trivial reason, but this situation is... very different from the past." Luca closed the folding fan with the red cat pattern on it and gracefully put it back into her sleeve.

"Well... I don't think being cheated on is a trivial reason," Xiaoxing whispered to the others.

"That's right, that's right." Shana and Alicia, both from the old civilization era, immediately nodded.

"I think so too... Of course, my husband is an exception. It is the Grand Duke's right to have a harem." Ange said this with a completely frank expression.

“Hey, that’s not the point,” Luca said. “The key point is that these recent murders, and the mysterious disappearances that seem to be murders, are almost entirely without reason—no one owes money, it’s not revenge, there’s no gang fight, it doesn’t seem to be a spur-of-the-moment act of retaliating against society, and of course, there’s no evidence that anyone has been cuckolded.”

"In short, the identities of the dead and the missing are not only quite random, but no one knows why they were killed. The only thing they have in common is that these strange cases all occurred after the arrival of the delegation from the Duchy of Fayun, right?" Ange once again began to shake the "fox radish" behind her in a regular manner, starting her "contemplation mode".

“Yes, the lack of motive is what’s most unsettling about these cases.” Luca tapped her palm lightly with her folding fan. “A smart person like you should be able to realize what that means.”