Chapter 56: Belobog's Letter of Appointment (Major Revision)

Intent on not letting these visitors from beyond the sky look down on Belobog, Gepard arranged for the group to stay at the highest-class hotel in the city, the Goethe Hotel. Security was also a major consideration; the Goethe Hotel sat between the Administrative District and the residential areas, with Silvermane Guards patrolling nearby, making both surveillance and assistance much easier.

After helping them complete the check-in procedures, Gepard prepared to leave with his Silvermane Guards, only to notice all the guards looking towards a certain spot with strange or fascinated expressions. Gepard frowned slightly and followed their gaze.

What he saw were the two heroes who had apprehended the thief of ancient relics, now dancing around a trash can. The young woman named Stelle was cheering excitedly, having practically dived headfirst into it, gleefully "swimming" amongst the varied refuse as if searching for something. Finally, she triumphantly pulled out a piece of moldy bread and a broken, dirty metal part from the trash can, showing them off ecstatically to the young man named Caelus as if they were priceless treasures. The two then seemed to get into an argument over the two pieces of trash and started playfully fighting.

Witnessing this, Gepard's internal CPU slowed its processing speed due to sheer incomprehension. The utterly bizarre scene caused his brain to completely crash. His wariness towards the unknown gradually dissipated, replaced by bewilderment, astonishment, and a sliver of delight. At that moment, Gepard thoroughly believed their story of being from another world.

He turned to Dan Heng beside him. "Do you people from beyond the stars have such a fondness for trash?"

As the sole bastion against the Eternal Freeze on the entire planet, humanity's final fortress, Belobog had a considerable population. The massive amount of waste generated daily by so many people, particularly how to dispose of non-recyclable trash, was a persistent headache.

"Esteemed guests from afar, please, don't stand on ceremony." Gepard's tone was exceptionally sincere and earnest. "If you need it, I can immediately mobilize the Silvermane Guards to deliver all the city's trash to you."

"No, please, absolutely do not do that!" Dan Heng felt a cold sweat break out on his back. Guard Captain welcomes alien visitors, discovers aliens eat trash, rejoices greatly, and with one command, ten thousand Silvermane Guards rush over to dump the entire city's garbage onto the outsiders. Such a Trailblazing path was vastly more terrifying than doing mandatory labor at the Taik'an Grand Pipe for half a month.

Fortunately, Caelus and Stelle finally settled down, at least temporarily.

Watching Gepard and the guards depart, Dan Heng said calmly, "There's still some time before nightfall. Let's put away our luggage first and then decide on our next plan."

As the only reliable senior Trailblazer in the group, the others naturally had no objections. Ascending the curved staircase, the group entered the Goethe Hotel. While not exactly opulent – Belobog was a city in an apocalyptic era, after all – the hotel possessed a unique charm, offering a profound sense of warmth and security amidst the doomsday cold.

"Wow! What a bright lobby!" March 7th's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. She then proposed enthusiastically, "Should we have a pillow fight tonight? Should we? Should we?"

"Okay!" White Seele's voice bubbled with excitement. It reminded her of her time in the orphanage; they used to have pillow fights at night too, and Sister Bronya always protected her.

However, White Seele was the only one supporting March 7th. Stelle shook her head like a rattle-drum. "How can pillows be as interesting as trash cans..." Halfway through her sentence, Stelle suddenly held up a finger. "Hey! How about we have a trash can fight instead?"

"A t-trash can fight?" March 7th's eyes went wide like dots. Honestly, she sometimes found it troubling how active her imagination was when it wasn't needed. Right now, for instance, her mind instantly conjured an image of the Trailblaze team members grabbing trash cans, digging out rotten vegetable leaves, eggshells, and various kinds of wet and dry waste, and throwing it all at each other.

"Eww~" The image made her shudder immediately, crossing her hands in an 'X' in front of her chest. "Rejected! Rejected!" Then, struck by another thought, she grabbed Stelle and Caelus's arms in alarm. "You two absolutely cannot bring trash cans back to the hotel! Do you hear me?!" She definitely didn't want to be thrown out by the hotel staff just after settling into a soft, comfy bed! After a moment's thought, she added, "Also, if you really can't resist rummaging through trash cans, do it far away from the hotel, and don't let the staff see you." If not for the duo's instinctive ability to isolate the trash with energy, Stelle, having just emerged from a bin, wouldn't have even been allowed through the hotel entrance.

"Ohh~~" Stelle dragged out the syllable, lowering her head with a wronged expression. She was just a baby who wanted to open treasure chests, what did she do wrong?

Their rooms were adjacent. After dropping off their backpacks, the Trailblaze team gathered in Dan Heng's room.

"Ahem! The first plenary meeting of the Trailblaze task force will now commence." March 7th announced with mock seriousness. Caelus, Stelle, and White Seele dutifully applauded, while Dan Heng remained expressionless.

"So, what are we discussing? Where to go play next?" Stelle raised her hand first. "I remember Brother Gepard recommended several attractions, right?" She counted on her fingers, "The Golden Theater, the History Museum... though I think you need credentials to enter the museum..."

Sitting on the sofa, March 7th adopted a mature posture, interlacing her fingers under her chin and deepening her voice to imitate Welt: "Logically speaking, we should minimize unnecessary activities right now to dispel the locals' suspicion of us. I'm certain someone is monitoring us nearby!"

Stelle stopped counting attractions, looking utterly shocked. Even White Seele seemed slightly surprised.

"However!" March 7th slapped her small hand on the low table and mimicked Welt pushing up non-existent glasses on her nose, which seemed to glint with reflected white light. "Hey, I think the Everwinter Monument sounds good! I hear it's Belobog's most symbolic landmark!"

Watching March 7th's personality switch back in a second, as if an exorcism had just occurred, Stelle breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest. The warm, soft, springy sensation vanished from Caelus's palm in an instant, making him instinctively glance at Stelle's chest. It didn't look that large, but it was surprisingly substantial. This coat really did hide her figure too well.

"Sigh." A faint sigh was lost amidst the chattering discussion. The meeting had gone completely off-topic before it even began. Dan Heng remained silent for a long moment before finally rapping his knuckles on the low table.

"Before discussing where to play, we need to discuss the matter of meeting the Supreme Guardian."

Dan Heng was the most reliable member of the team, but that didn't mean he was flawless; even Mr. Welt couldn't guarantee perfection. Asking for everyone's opinions on important matters was standard procedure for the Express crew – after all, three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang!

The room quickly fell silent. March 7th and Stelle looked at each other, and finally, Caelus posed the question. "So Dan Heng, how did you and March usually handle Stellarons before?"

"Directly explain our purpose to the local powers and seek cooperation," Dan Heng replied frankly. "The disasters caused by Stellarons differ on each planet, but every world afflicted by one develops Fragmentum and dangerous Fragmentum creatures. Cooperating to seal the Stellaron benefits everyone."

"Oh~" Caelus nodded thoughtfully, then his tone suddenly shifted as he grinned. "If it's that simple, you two must have been flagged as wanted criminals by local forces quite often, right?"

The room fell silent again, utterly still. Stelle scratched her head, looking puzzled. Dan Heng was stunned, and March 7th looked even more astonished. "Caelus, how did you know?"

"Isn't it common sense for the protagonist to get a wanted level upon entering a new map?" Caelus spread his hands matter-of-factly.

Of course, from a realistic standpoint, the potential reasons were far more numerous. Few factions are truly monolithic internally; wherever people gather, there will be left and right wings, and nine times out of ten, there will be those who covet the Stellaron's power. If such a faction held sway, becoming wanted was inevitable. Dan Heng, reliable as he was, could sometimes be overly straightforward.

"Do you have a suggestion?" Dan Heng asked seriously. He and March 7th did frequently end up wanted for no good reason. Theirs was the simplest, most direct method, yet something always went wrong.

"What if we say we're alien tourists visiting Jarilo-VI? Use sightseeing as a pretext to familiarize ourselves with Belobog's situation, try to gather information about the Stellaron in the process, and then decide on our subsequent actions."

Dan Heng pondered for a moment, then nodded. "That's a good idea." Very prudent!

March 7th's eyes widened, looking at Caelus with the same expression he'd just given her. "I never thought! Caelus could actually come up with such a useful suggestion..." She patted his shoulder. "I'm looking at you in a new light!"

Isn't this basic strategy? Caelus wanted to retort but just smiled.

"But you mentioned the Stellaron and... before, in front of Gepard," Dan Heng recalled Stelle and Caelus's "performance art" when answering Gepard's questions earlier.

"Given my and Stelle's behavior, do you think Gepard would take our words seriously?" Caelus spread his palms.

March 7th and Dan Heng were shocked! You actually possess that level of self-awareness!?

"Secondly, even if they figure it out, it doesn't matter. Whether we gather enough intel or not, we'll eventually have a showdown with the Supreme Guardian anyway. It's just a matter of sooner or later." Based solely on the name 'Cocolia,' Caelus didn't think they could escape the fate of being wanted. His goal was simply to extend the time they could move freely and openly in the outside world.

There were many reasons for this.

Opening treasure chests!

Finding crystals!

And... while he hadn't managed to snatch a Belobog City commission letter from Advisor Sampo, he had his own!

The Big Duck Duck character card currently lying in the System's Valkyrie Space.

He was the Supreme Guardian's successor—Bronya!

But to make it absolutely authentic, one small step was missing.

Caelus's consciousness drifted to the System Shop.

Memory Fruit, 19 Crystals, Ability Duration 3-5 hours.

A rare treasure among Paramecia-type Devil Fruits, granting the user the extraordinary power to manipulate memories.

With a light touch, one can, like a magician, meticulously extract memories from another's mind as if pulling out film reels, peering into the depths of their psyche.

Caelus wasn't planning anything nefarious towards the Rand Duck. It was just that, to perfectly play the role of the Supreme Guardian's successor, certain hidden intelligence was indispensable.

________________________________________

I have a little challenge for you! For every 100 POWER STONES, I'll release ONE EXTRA CHAPTER!

________________________________________

If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 30 advanced chapters available on Patreon

patreon.com/Leanzin