Chapter 140: Lucius: I'll Help You Draw Away The Pantheon's Guards
Scáthach gave Cú Chulainn a beating, which somewhat vented her frustration, while Cú Chulainn was still lying there, fast asleep.
After Marcus regained his composure, he looked at Noah and Scáthach, once again questioning their identities.
After all, if this so-called Lyra was the Queen of the Land of Shadows, then what was the true identity of this man who clearly seemed to hold a more dominant position between the two?
However, Marcus didn't ask.
Not because he didn't dare, but because Noah and Scáthach had come with Lucius.
Although he knew that this emperor, Lucius, was often unreliable in many matters, he believed that when it came to crucial affairs, there shouldn't be any major issues.
With this thought in mind, he overheard the conversation between Lucius and Noah not far away.
"Noah, you're planning to visit the Pantheon? I'll show you the way!"
"Sure, having you lead the way would save a lot of trouble... But I'm just going to take a look for now. I have business at the Pantheon, so I might wait until there's no one around before sneaking in."
Hearing Noah say this, Marcus almost spoke up to stop him.
Although the Pantheon wasn't completely off-limits, he felt that someone like Noah, whose identity and intentions were unclear, should be prevented from entering.
But before he could say anything, Lucius spoke first.
"Oh! That sounds just like an adventure from a story, so exciting! I want to join in too!"
Lucius said this first, then, fearing Noah might disagree, added:
"Even late at night, there are soldiers stationed at the Pantheon. I'll help you distract the guards so you can slip in and do your thing~!"
When Lucius had earlier retrieved the journal, Noah had seen not only the Epic of Radiance describing himself in Lucius's bag but also quite a few miscellaneous stories—
Among them were three or four he had read, including one about a group of thieves.
Seeing the sparkle in Lucius's eyes now, Noah roughly understood—she probably thought this was incredibly cool.
Well, why not!
Although she was a bit of a monkey, she was still the emperor of Rome. In such a situation, merely diverting the guards should be a piece of cake for her, right?
Besides, his purpose in going to the Pantheon was only to interact with the statues there, to understand how the Pantheon's blessings worked, so he could refine his never-before-used authority—the Blessing of the End. That was all.
So if she wanted to come along, then let her.
It wouldn't cause any trouble.
"Alright, then let's head to the Pantheon first and take a look."
Noah said this, and Lucius was quite excited.
"It's scouting, right!"
She deliberately lowered her voice, clearly having already immersed herself in the role of a thief.
Seeing her like this, Noah helplessly nodded, playing along with her words, and glanced over at Scáthach, meeting her gaze.
Scáthach then understood his meaning. After nodding to Noah, she stayed behind.
Not only was Cú Chulainn still asleep, but the main reason was Marcus.
Noah wasn't afraid that Marcus would expose his identity—because from the moment he revealed himself to Lucius, he had no intention of deliberately hiding it.
However, Marcus had proposed the concept of Heroic Spirit summoning, and Noah intended to recruit him for Britain.
This time, dealing with the White Giant might not be useful, but in the future, in the third volume or even later simulations, perhaps it would be his time to shine.
Britain could easily support one more person without any issue.
Especially someone useful.
Scáthach was a warrior; she couldn't spend all her time researching these things. So, for the time being, Noah planned to let Marcus take over the refinement of the Heroic Spirit summoning ritual.
Marcus, of course, was unaware of these plans. At the moment, he was watching Lucius, who was following closely by Noah's side, even appearing ready to help Noah infiltrate the Pantheon—a place of immense importance to Rome. His eye twitched slightly.
The Sword Emperor must have some understanding of these two dangerous individuals... right?
On the way to the Pantheon, Lucius kept chattering about all sorts of random things, commenting on almost everything she saw. Noah simply went along with her, following closely behind.
To Noah, Lucius felt less like a monkey and more like a child.
If she saw something resembling a railing, she would jump onto it and walk along it.
If she kicked a small pebble on the road, she could have a great time playing with it.
Honestly, if Noah hadn't known beforehand, he would have found it very difficult to associate someone like this with the title of Sword Emperor.
So, Noah couldn't help but wonder:
"Luya... if you were the emperor of Rome, would you be happy?"
Hearing Noah's question, Lucius, who had been balancing on a wooden, slightly wobbly railing, immediately lost her footing and tumbled down!
If not for her quick reflexes—grabbing the railing with her hands and steadying herself—she might have fallen face-first onto the ground.
"Don't scare me like that... what emperor or not emperor."
Lucius first shot Noah a rather displeased look. Seeing that Noah remained silent, she crossed her arms and began to ponder.
After thinking for a while, her brows visibly furrowed.
"Happy... of course I wouldn't be happy. If I became emperor, and if circumstances allowed, I'd probably abdicate to someone capable as soon as I saw them—and then I'd be very happy!"
....
Lucius, who had frowned at the thought of becoming emperor, smiled again at the idea of abdicating.
Seeing her like this, Noah grew even more puzzled.
"You're that averse to the position of emperor? You know, many people dream of experiencing the 'pain' of being emperor."
Lucius shrugged.
"I can't understand their way of thinking, but in any case, I wouldn't be happy about it... What I love is a life full of surprises, like the twists and turns in stories, brimming with the unknown."
"Rather than a life where, from the very first day, I already know that tomorrow, the day after, and even the day after that will all repeat the same things."
"Anyway, compared to being an emperor, I still prefer being a mercenary and adventuring everywhere!"
"To put it bluntly, I and you people—kings, emperors, and the like—are fundamentally two completely opposite types of individuals!"
"So I don't expect you to understand me, and I don't intend to understand you either. Isn't it just fine to get along as we are now?"
"Happiness is what matters most!"
Lucius raised her right hand high, speaking these words as if proclaiming a famous saying—then she leaped back onto the railing and continued forward just as before, while
Noah watched her retreating figure, a glimmer of understanding in his eyes.
Indeed...
He and this person truly were two completely different types.
After that, Noah didn't bring up any more topics. He only occasionally responded when Lucius spoke, waiting until she led him near the Pantheon before finally focusing his attention on it.
"So this is the Pantheon..."
In Noah's imagination, the Pantheon, capable of bestowing blessings, should have felt more majestic, more unapproachable, and more solemn.
But when he actually saw the Pantheon, he didn't sense any of that at all.
Instead, he felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity from the direction of the Pantheon, and the aura emanating from there gave him that impression. Some of the auras even seemed to invite him over.
At that moment, Mary's voice echoed in Noah's mind.
Clearly, she had sensed this aura too.
"Noah... Do you feel this chaotic divine presence as oppressive or familiar?"
Hearing Mary's question, Noah immediately answered.
"Familiar."
After a moment of silence at Noah's response, Mary spoke again.
"If that's the case, then Noah, I might just know what kind of god you truly are."