Looking at Castorice's pleading eyes, like those of a small animal, what else could Fu Zhu say?
"Alright."
Once she had his permission, Castorice's eyes instantly brightened, and she hugged Fu Zhu tightly.
Who knew how such a small girl could suddenly have so much strength.
A few minutes later, seeing his stock of golden apples about to hit rock bottom, Fu Zhu quickly and lightly patted Castorice on the shoulder.
"It's been more than a minute."
Startled, Castorice quickly let go, took two steps back, and stood there wringing her hands in front of her, looking a bit flustered.
"S-Sorry!"
Then, she cautiously raised her head, sneaking a peek at Fu Zhu. The moment their eyes met, she immediately looked down again.
"Um, can I still touch you?"
The moment she said that, Fu Zhu couldn't help but lean back.
If the one standing before him wasn't this petite and cute little girl, but some man, he felt like he would have thrown a punch without a second thought.
It was hard for someone steeped in internet culture not to get the wrong idea from a line like that.
"You can, but you have to ask me first, you know?"
He didn't want to be walking along, only to suddenly get a tap from Castorice and drop dead.
When Castorice heard Fu Zhu agree, she bloomed with joy, nodding her little head vigorously. "Okay!"
Seeing her adorable expression, Fu Zhu smiled and reached out to rub her hair again. Castorice blissfully leaned her head into his touch, as docile as a little kitten, just short of purring.
"Lord Fu Zhu, you're here! What are you doing?!"
A shocked cry suddenly came from the side, followed by the sound of rapid footsteps.
The priestess rushed over and slapped away the hand Fu Zhu was using to pat Castorice's head.
Having his hand suddenly slapped away, Fu Zhu couldn't help but frown. He was about to ask the priestess what she was doing when he saw her look him up and down with a tense expression. Only after confirming that he was physically unharmed did she finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"Lord Fu Zhu, please do not make contact with Her Holiness so casually. This is for your own safety. A guest room has already been prepared for you. Please, follow me."
Then, the priestess turned and instructed Castorice, "Your Holiness, it is getting late. You should also return and rest."
Seeing that the priestess wouldn't let Fu Zhu get near her, Castorice was a little disappointed, but she still nodded obediently.
The priestess, satisfied, began to lead Fu Zhu toward the guest rooms. Castorice looked wistfully at the two departing figures. Fu Zhu quietly turned his head, gave her a wink, and mouthed a silent message.
"See you tomorrow."
Castorice's disappointed expression was instantly swept away by that silent promise. She nodded happily and waved energetically at Fu Zhu as he left.
---o---
After returning to his guest room, Fu Zhu casually flopped onto the bed and reset his respawn point.
He had originally planned to rest for a while, but after dancing with Castorice, he no longer felt the least bit tired.
"Forget it. I'll head back to Okhema and have Cerydra come and annex Aidonia as soon as possible."
The Yamato appeared in his hand. The spatial portal opened with a sound, leading directly to Okhema, and Fu Zhu stepped right through.
---o---
Cerydra was currently handling official business submitted by her subordinates when a spatial portal suddenly tore open in front of her desk. She looked up just in time to see Fu Zhu stepping out of it and immediately stopped writing.
"Lord Nameless, your method of entry is quite surprising. Next time, could you perhaps knock on the door first?"
Fu Zhu just waved his hand. "No can do. I don't have your room's coordinates specifically saved. It's a miracle I can even open a portal to the general vicinity."
Cerydra rolled her eyes at him speechlessly, then crossed her legs, folded her arms, and looked at him with curiosity.
"So, Lord Nameless, what brings you back so suddenly from Aidonia?"
"Right."
Fu Zhu gave her a rough summary of his experiences in Aidonia, emphasizing the story told by High Priest Eleusis and the promise he wished to secure.
After hearing him out, Cerydra immediately made a decision. "I accept Eleusis's wish. I will send people to annex Aidonia as soon as possible. Lord Nameless, I'll trouble you to relay my intentions to Eleusis when you return."
"Okay, that's a small matter."
After discussing Eleusis, Cerydra spoke again. "So, do you have any leads on the [Coreflame]?"
"Yes. The Holy Maiden of Aidonia, Castorice, is already a [Death] Demigod. I didn't find the [Coreflame] on her person, but even if I didn't, she is still the key figure for finding it."
When he had been in contact with Castorice earlier, it wasn't just out of curiosity and a desire to help. Gathering the [Coreflame] was his primary mission.
But that didn't stop him from helping the little girl along the way.
Cerydra bent her index finger and rested it against her lips, her eyelids lowered as she thought about something.
Seeing that she was silent for a long time, Fu Zhu simply sat down in an empty seat nearby, took out his phone, and started scrolling through some previously cached videos.
After a moment, Cerydra came back to her senses. She looked up and saw Fu Zhu playing on his phone, and she complained in an annoyed tone.
"Lord Nameless, when we are discussing official business, could you please not play with your Teleslate? Be careful, or I'll have the Dux Goldweaver cut off your Omninet."
"What things? Teleslate? Omninet?"
Fu Zhu looked up in bewilderment and met Cerydra's gaze.
Could those two terms be the local Amphorean names for phones and the internet?
The background setting clearly looked ancient, but now you're telling me Amphoreus has phones and internet?
Fu Zhu immediately stood up, his expression serious as he asked Cerydra, "Your Majesty, what's the WiFi password?"
"WiFi?"
"That is, the Omninet."
Good heavens, so Amphoreus has internet! All this time, he'd been living such a hard life, having to kill Black Tide creatures just to pass the time when he was bored.
Seeing Fu Zhu suddenly get all serious just to ask for the Omninet, Cerydra couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.
"Lord Nameless, now is the time for official business! Never mind the Omninet for now. Let's talk about the Holy Maiden first."
Fu Zhu pouted, sat back down, and said no more, simply putting his phone away.
Seeing Fu Zhu quiet down, Cerydra nodded in satisfaction.
Even though Lord Nameless is powerful enough to destroy the world on his own, he's still quite respectful to me.
"Lord Nameless, this request of mine may be a bit much, but I hope you can bring that Holy Maiden back to Okhema and persuade her to join the Flame Chase Journey. The journey needs more Chrysos Heirs…"