Chapter 253

It wasn't very blurry, just a tiny bit.

"Damn it!"

By late afternoon, things outside had finally settled down completely.

Dominica called.

"Ron."

"Senior Dominica."

Dominica sounded somewhat embarrassed at that moment.

The intelligence that Taris's Nen users had entered the Fiora Kingdom had come from Ron and been passed to the royal family.

Dominica had previously dismissed it, claiming that Taris's Nen users posed no threat and could be easily subdued.

Yet now, things had turned out this way.

"Ron, you can come to the Dragon Dojo now."

"Senior Dominica, I might need you to do me a favor."

"What favor?"

"I picked up a little girl just now, and I need your help to resolve her identity issue."

"You picked up a little girl?"

Dominica frowned.

"What do you mean?"

If he'd picked up a little girl, returning her to her original parents would solve the problem, right?

Why bother with an identity issue?

"I'll head to the Dragon Dojo first, and once we meet, I'll explain everything in detail, Senior Dominica."

Though Dominica felt even more doubtful, he still nodded.

"Alright."

Ron took Miste out of the hotel, hailed a cab, and headed to the Dragon Dojo.

He gave Miste a slight disguise.

Dominica greeted them at the entrance.

"Ron."

"Senior Dominica."

Dominica looked at Miste beside him.

"This is the little girl you picked up?"

"Exactly."

Miste tilted her head up to look at Dominica.

"I wasn't 'picked up.' My mother sold me to Big Brother as his tool, and Big Brother paid for me."

Dominica's expression became quite peculiar.

Ron gave an awkward laugh.

"Senior Dominica, there's a backstory here. Let's go inside and talk."

"Alright."

The three of them entered.

This time, there were far fewer people turning their eyes toward them.

Most were probably focused on the chaos and explosions at the venue and had no time for other matters.

They entered a meeting room.

"Miste, please wait here. I need to speak with Senior Dominica alone."

"Okay."

Ron and Dominica went into the adjacent room.

"Senior Dominica, have you ever heard of a group called Hongtelan?"

"Hongtelan?"

Dominica shook his head.

"Never heard of it."

"Hongtelan is a group that steals and traffics people, mainly targeting the children of the rich and powerful. Miste was one of the children they kidnapped."

Ron said, "When the chaos broke out earlier, I took the opportunity to rescue Miste."

"I plan to send Miste to Heaven's Arena to stay with Nina and the others."

"So I need your help, Senior Dominica, to give Miste a proper identity."

"Miste says those things because Hongtelan taught her to think that way. After some time, she'll naturally understand the truth."

Dominica's expression cleared with understanding.

He believed Ron's words. After all, Ron had no reason to lie for the sake of a little girl.

"That's not a big problem; arranging an identity is simple. Do you want to change her attire?"

"Changing it would definitely be better. Sorry to trouble you, Senior Dominica."

"No need to be polite. It's a small matter."

Dominica waved his hand lightly.

After a moment's thought, Ron asked another question.

"By the way, Senior Dominica, what's going on with those Taris Nen users?"

A hint of awkwardness appeared on Dominica's face.

Then he sighed.

"It's not just the Taris Nen users. The Míngbō Republic is involved as well."

"The Míngbō Republic?"

Ron's brows rose slightly.

The Míngbō Republic was also one of the V5, standing alongside the Fiora Kingdom. The relationship between the Míngbō Republic and the Fiora Kingdom was very complicated. Long ago, the Míngbō Republic had been one of Fiora's colonies.

The Fiora Kingdom had once reached a peak period in its history.

At one time, it occupied one-third of the entire human continent.

Later, it gradually shrank in size.

But it still remained one of the top-tier nations on the continent, perched at the pinnacle.

Among the V5, the Fiora Kingdom ranked near the top.

Because the Míngbō Republic used to be a colony of the Fiora Kingdom, its feelings toward Fiora were complex. On the one hand, the people of both countries had some connections. On the other hand, the Míngbō Republic harboured resentment toward Fiora, recalling that period of humiliation. Even though the Míngbō Republic was once just a scattered alliance without a unified identity, those historical memories lingered.

Currently, the human continent was relatively peaceful, but small clashes were inevitable.

There were many conflicts between the Fiora Kingdom and the Míngbō Republic, though none had escalated into large-scale war.

In economics, technology, and Nen abilities, Fiora surpassed Míngbō.

But in terms of population and territory, Míngbō outstripped Fiora.

Furthermore, the Míngbō Republic often produced Nen users with strange abilities, which greatly vexed and disgusted the Fiora royal family—far more troublesome than Taris's Nen users.

After all, Taris was just a small country and posed limited threat to Fiora.

But the Míngbō Republic could genuinely threaten the Fiora Kingdom.

"That's right."

Dominica said, "None of us expected the Míngbō Republic to get involved, to cooperate with Taris's Nen users, catching us off guard."

"The losses were severe."

"After so long a period of peace, who would've thought the Míngbō Republic was plotting this?"

"Now, it seems Taris's Nen user resurgence might also be connected to the Míngbō Republic."

A worried look crossed Dominica's face.

"I don't know how this will develop."

Dominica sighed.

"Let's not talk about this. I'll handle Miste's situation for you. As for the Nirvana Festival, the first phase will be canceled directly, but the second and third phases will proceed as planned."

"The second phase will take place in the royal palace."

"Tomorrow, I have other matters to attend to and may not have time. When the time comes, Ron, go with Wendy. Someone will receive you."

Ron nodded.

"Understood."

Dominica soon left afterwards.

Ron took Miste to the room Dominica had arranged for them.

In his mind, he kept replaying Dominica's words.

"Are the conflicts between the Fiora Kingdom and the Míngbō Republic really that deep?"

"Could it lead to a war between great nations?"

"In the original storyline, it wasn't mentioned much. But conflicts between nations aren't rare at all—they happen frequently."

"War wouldn't be surprising."

"It would be more unusual if there were no wars at all."

"But if a war really breaks out, would that be good for me?"

"Good for achieving another nen beast through the Observer Intent?"

Ron shook his head.

"Better not rely too much on that."

"It's still best to focus on those fixed events."

"For instance, the Hunter Exam, Greed Island, the Kakin Prince Succession Battle…"

---

Ron looked at Miste, who stood across from him.

Miste's condition was quite unusual.

Aside from insisting that Ron had bought her and that she was his tool, she didn't care about anything else.

Where they lived, what they ate, what they wore… none of that mattered to her.

She also obeyed orders without question.