Goddess Kaleidoscope

"I'm sorry, Master... I was a bit out of line."

"Hehe, young man, it seems you've successfully overcome your greed. Keep up the good work!"

Rudd casually tucked the mask into his pouch and stared at Trillin without saying a word until Trillin felt a little uneasy under his gaze, before slowly speaking.

“Young Master Telin, it is fate that we have met. As for divine artifacts, I don’t really care about them. They are just external things. I would have given them to you under normal circumstances. But have you ever thought about it? In your current situation, even if you do take the divine artifact back, will the credit be given to you in the end?”

"This……"

"Let me ask you a very basic question: when you go back to your hometown, how will you prove that you are yourself?"

"I...I..."

After stammering and scratching his head for a while, Trin realized that this was indeed a rather tricky problem. His current physical body belonged to a necromancer; only the unseen soul within was Trin. But the problem was… who would believe him if he said that?

As the eldest son of the family, Trin does know many family secrets that are unknown to outsiders and can confront his father face to face. However, one of the main reasons why the necromancer Dick is able to hold a mid-to-high position in the Brotherhood of the Black Hand, yet is disliked by all sides, is that this guy has a unique skill in necromancy, which allows him to spy on other people's memories, thus making him a target of suspicion by many.

This means that no matter how much he knows, there are still reasons to be suspected. His father is a naturally suspicious and overly cautious person, so he is unlikely to believe empty testimonies. He might even carefully "deal with" him, a suspicious person of unknown origin who knows too much.

This wasn't just Trilling being overly pessimistic; his father had actually done it.

And more than once!

The thought that he might not be able to go home or recognize his relatives made Terlin, who had just been excited about finding the artifact, suddenly lose interest.

However, Trinn quickly rekindled his hope, placing it on Lud. Lud had just said that necromancy could transfer souls, and perhaps Lud, who was even more powerful than a necromancer, could do the same.

But just as he cast his hopeful gaze upon Lud, Lud threw a bucket of cold water at him.

"Young man, you're overthinking it. I don't know necromancy, let alone how to transfer a human soul. And even if I did, three months have passed. Are you sure your original body is still there?"

"Uh……"

Looking at the completely silent Trilling, Lud didn't try to discourage him anymore, but suddenly came up with a "good idea".

Previously, in order to deal with the Black Hand Brotherhood, Ludd's strategy was to focus on strengthening his own power while instigating internal strife within the Brotherhood. Therefore, Ludd instigated Trinn and Dick to provoke them into a fierce conflict within the labyrinth, hoping that this fire would ignite within the Black Hand Brotherhood itself.

What happened next was quite interesting. The two sides ended up fighting to the death in the maze. The necromancer Dick was fatally wounded, but his body mysteriously disappeared. Meanwhile, Trin was left with only an empty shell and was taken back to his hometown, Flamewood City, by his family guards.

According to Hume, the "war correspondent" on the front lines, this incident did indeed have a significant impact on the Brotherhood of the Black Hand.

Despite the necromancers' generally unpopularity within the Brotherhood, this didn't stop certain factions within the Brotherhood who had long harbored resentment towards the Navarro family from exploiting the situation to launch attacks against dissidents. They fabricated all sorts of baseless rumors without even needing Ludwig's input; these people just made them up on the spot!

However, to Lud's slight disappointment, although the atmosphere of this infighting was very heated, none of the parties' actions had crossed the line, and they were still limited to verbal sarcasm. This was far from Lud's expectation that they would "beat each other's heads off".

However, a new opportunity has emerged. Lude has found the necromancer Dick, who has been missing for nearly three months, in the labyrinth. Although the soul inside is that of the eldest son of the Navarro family, Trin, this does not prevent Lude from using him to do some crazy things.

Meanwhile, in Yanmu City, a key southwestern stronghold of the Duran Kingdom, Hume and Fallen Leaf, who had been lying in wait in the city for over a month, were as usual, changing their appearances and moving between various places in the city, secretly gathering intelligence related to the Black Hand Brotherhood.

As the most developed city in the south of the kingdom, Yanmu City has the second largest population in the country, with a total of more than 500,000 permanent residents. As a result, it is favored by various religious sects. At the same time, it is also a military stronghold, serving as a major military base against the southern Canary Empire and providing supplies to many fortresses at the forefront of the border.

Various factors have contributed to the prosperity of Flamewood City, but they have also made it a place of mixed people and filth since the founding of the kingdom. There is a reason why the Black Hand Brotherhood chose this place as its headquarters.

To be honest, Hume's feelings were quite complicated after keeping an eye on the Brotherhood for over a month. After all, she was the one who initially set up the organization, but things didn't go smoothly. Like many simulation game players who dislike losing, Hume simply changed her identity and started a new game.

Instead of collapsing, the Brotherhood of the Dark Hands, which she had abandoned, grew stronger on its own without her interference, and even cultivated a "double" that seemed poised to replace her as the real deal. This gave Hume a great deal of frustration.

It's like when you're playing a five-player ranked game with others, and you're in charge of the team, but the whole team keeps losing. So, in a fit of anger, you quit the team, and as soon as you leave, the other team's situation immediately improves.

I'm such a noob.jpg

This was a mess in every sense of the word, but besides "serves him right," Hume couldn't really find any other words to describe himself for the time being.

"Oh~!"

Hume was sighing deeply when a petite figure suddenly leaped through the window and into the house. It was Fallen Leaf, who had been ordered to infiltrate the Navarro family mansion. On her way back, the little messenger had also bought dinner for her master.

"You're back! Any new discoveries?"

"There are no major moves for now, but Jeffrey has brought in a barbarian shaman from somewhere, saying he's going to prepare a soul-summoning ritual."

"Tsk! Has this guy given up on praying to the gods?"

Upon hearing that the Navarro family head, Jeffrey, had invited a barbarian shaman, Hume couldn't help but curl his lip. From their observations over the past month, Jeffrey had never given up on saving his son, Trin, and had invited many high-ranking priests and archbishops from reputable schools to treat Trin. He had also used his connections with the Brotherhood to summon numerous cultists to perform rituals.

But no matter who comes, it's the same; they just can't wake the person up.

As for barbarian shamans, these guys belong to a primitive, unorthodox religion. They have no fixed objects of worship or doctrines, believing in all sorts of random things, but they often possess some strange and unusual abilities. Jeffrey's hiring of these people to save his son only shows that he's truly out of options.

However, in a sense, this also proves that Jeffrey really values ​​his eldest son. Even in this situation, he is unwilling to give up and is still trying every possible way to save him.

"How strange! This guy clearly has over a dozen sons, but he seems to favor this Trinin exceptionally."

"That's definitely the feeling. His third son had subtly mentioned at a family dinner that they should establish a separate heir just in case. When that got back to Jeffrey, the third son was punished that very night. Apparently, Jeffrey himself carried it out with a belt."

"Interesting! I have a feeling that if he keeps going like this, his other sons will definitely unite and rebel against their own father."

After thinking for a moment, Hume picked up his notebook and wrote down all the information, planning to report it to Ludwig in the distance when he contacted him at the scheduled time that evening, so that the intelligent man could analyze it, while he would just collect the information.

Before he knew it, Hume found himself becoming increasingly dependent on Rudd. Although the guy hadn't helped him develop any followers in Pinetown and always treated her like a tool, Hume still trusted him, even more than when they first met, and was willing to place all his hopes on him!

Thinking of this, Hume couldn't help but chuckle.

"You little rascal, you better not disappoint me!"

End of this chapter

In order to lead Trin out of the maze without revealing themselves, Lud went to great lengths. By the time they returned to Pine Town, it was already late at night, two days after the Harvest Thanksgiving Festival had ended.

Back in town, Lud first settled Trin in the place where Dick had previously hidden, before sneaking back to the temple.

During the two days that Lud was away, the temple claimed that he was in seclusion, using this intense prayer to thank the goddesses for their grace in descending to earth. The reason was so grand and reasonable that no one could find fault with it.

Upon returning to the temple, Ludwig immediately summoned Shanis to inquire about what had transpired during his two-day absence. He learned that most of the guests invited to town for the ceremony had already departed. However, some remained, such as Hamilton and Debra, who had joined the three-person tower.

Lude had previously invited them to set up a branch of the Three-Person Tower in Pine Town, which was close to the Void Forest. This location was much more convenient than the Three-Person Tower headquarters, which was located in the heart of the kingdom, for obtaining various rare materials and arranging trials for magic apprentices and young mages.

Faced with Lud's enthusiastic invitation, and driven by their own ulterior motives, the two archmages decided to stay and conduct research. It's said they even went to a school yesterday to survey magical talent and discovered quite a few promising children.

Shanes also reminded Ludwig of something else: before Duke Gamelin left, he sent a gift and a letter to the temple, specifically instructing Ludwig to open it in person and not to let too many people know its contents.

With a touch of curiosity, Ludwig opened the letter Shanis had handed him. It contained little more than some polite formalities; the main point was that the Duke would, as previously agreed, send a "friend's child" to study with him. The child should already be on their way and was expected to arrive before winter.

Upon seeing the letter mention "the previous agreement," Lud scratched his head, suddenly remembering that it was indeed more than half a year ago that Duke Gamelin had mentioned this matter in a letter to him. At the time, he had thought that the old lecher had gotten into trouble outside and had caused a death, and wanted to hide an illegitimate child with him. Now, Duke Gamelin had personally visited Pine Town and had taken the opportunity to mention this matter to him privately.

Similar situations were not uncommon for nobles, and many religious monasteries were willing to accept such illegitimate children for further studies because they could receive a considerable amount of sponsorship money.

Lude didn't think much of it at the time, feeling that even if the adults made mistakes, at least the children were innocent, so he agreed in his reply.

Looking at this matter again now, I have a feeling that things are not so simple.

"Forget it! We'll find out the situation ourselves when the child arrives."

Lude casually tossed the Duke's secret letter into the burning fireplace and stretched. He had been busy these past few days, first preparing for the festival, then rushing to the labyrinth to deal with an emergency, and bringing Trin back to town. Now he could finally relax, feeling sore and achy all over.

At this moment, Shanis obediently came up behind Lud and proactively placed her hand on Lud's shoulder, massaging it for him. However, Lud frowned. Knowing Shanis as he did, he was sure she had gotten into trouble again while he was away, and she would only be so attentive when things couldn't be kept secret and he needed to go out and help her sort things out.

"Tell me, what did you do this time?"

"Master, they didn't do anything!"

"Is that so!"

"Uh... you remember that red dragon that just came to town?"

"Oh! Emily...wait a minute! What did you do to her?"

"Nothing much... I just saw that she seemed to be in a lot of pain, so... I helped her a little bit... really, just a little bit!"

"..."

Hearing Shanis's obviously unsure voice, Lude felt a chill run down his spine. He thought to himself, "Won't this SP goddess ruin the red dragon that I finally managed to win back?"

Thinking of this, Lud couldn't sit still any longer. He didn't even bother to ask Shanis what exactly she had done, and jumped up from his chair in a flash.

"Let's go! Let's go take a look now!"

Pulling the errant Shanis along, Rudd left the temple and headed straight for the threshing ground on the west side of the town. Rudd had temporarily converted the large granary there into a temporary residence for the red dragon, Amy.

This year's harvest thanksgiving festival was a great success. The town not only held a successful religious event, but also took the opportunity to hold a trade fair, signing many orders for spices. Among them were some merchants who came from afar and wanted to transport spices to distant places for sale.

Generally, if long-distance transportation cannot be carried out by water, a large-scale transport convoy needs to be organized. Not only is the long journey time-consuming, labor-intensive, and inefficient, but it also carries great risks. Bandits who kill and rob, severe weather and natural disasters, and even corrupt officials in towns along the way could all cause the trip to be a complete loss.

So Lude recommended to these merchants that they wanted to try his newly launched "one-stop service".

With the dragon's incredible speed and carrying capacity, it can deliver goods within a 5,000-kilometer radius of Pine Tree Town on the same day. It's fast and safe. Not only would bandits not dare to rob the dragon, but even if they did, they wouldn't be able to do anything to a dragon flying thousands of meters in the air.

As for the price, the all-inclusive service is definitely not cheap, and it is not cost-effective for transporting bulk goods. However, it becomes very cost-effective and prestigious when used to transport high-value goods such as spices.

So, under Ludwig's persuasion, more than a dozen merchants signed transportation contracts with him, agreeing on the delivery date and location, and then charging according to the weight of the goods and the transportation distance.

With Nidhogg running off to find his wife and no one knowing when he'll be back, the red dragon Amy, who promised to work as a volunteer for the town for three months for free, has become the town's only available air transport force, so he absolutely cannot afford to have any mishaps.

Fortunately, when Lude arrived at the threshing ground, Amy seemed to be alright and was looking up at the starry sky, seemingly lost in deep thought.

"Um... Amélie, are you alright?"

Upon hearing Lud's voice, Amy lowered her head. In the instant their eyes met, Lud finally noticed something was wrong. This female red dragon, who should have been in heat, had a clear look in her eyes, as if she were in the state of a sage.

"Master, you've arrived."

"Uh...you...you're over your heat?"

"I don't know either. I just suddenly lost that desire. I feel very calm now, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

"..."

Lude looked at Shanis in astonishment, who shrugged with a forced smile, as if to say that she hadn't expected things to turn out this way either.

Seeing Amy in this mental state, Lude roughly understood what had happened. It was probably because Amy, who was originally in heat, was radiating a strong "sexual energy," and Shanis had always regarded this energy as a dessert in addition to the main course. So, unable to resist the temptation, she "sucked" on Amy, eliminating her reproductive desire and forcibly putting her into a sage mode.

End of this chapter

Amy Milon's first heat ended abruptly because of Shanis. Fortunately, this effect wasn't permanent; even if this round was ruined, there was always another chance, so he wouldn't die without a man!

However, despite the unexpected situation, Grandpa Lu could reluctantly consider it a "work injury" for Amy out of humanitarian concern and give her some compensation for emotional distress. But the contract that had already been signed could not be voided just because of this. Three months of volunteer work could not be missed for even a second.

Moreover, ending the mating season early, theoretically speaking, will not cause any physiological harm to the female dragon (psychological harm aside), and she can even start delivering packages earlier, so this is actually a "good thing"!

However, in order to keep Amy, this "high-end dragon talent," in Pine Town after the three-month volunteer period, Lude wouldn't really let her work for nothing. Instead, he carefully prepared a series of methods to make her unable to leave the town.