Chapter 151: Odin: No One but a Smart Person Could Think of This Idea of Mine
After discussing matters of Great Qin with Noah, Odin departed.
The reason was that he had originally intended to linger at Noah's place instead of returning to the palace, but upon discovering Scáthach was also there, he immediately fled.
Before leaving, Noah recalled Odin shouting loudly.
"Even if I die and return to the Inner Sea of the Planet, I will absolutely never become the emperor of the Roman Empire again!"
He yelled such words and then ran off, with Lucius looking on approvingly.
As for Odin, Noah had no intention of interfering with him.
Because all Odin could do was limited to certain things.
He was different from Noah. Noah had never intended to enter the Inner Sea of the Planet; instead, he planned to lead the people and even the world forward.
Moreover, Noah bore the label of the Will of Britain, making him the Incarnation of Britain.
This identity essentially made him a part of the Planet itself, so no matter what he did, the Planet's will would not interfere.
Thus, Noah had no taboos.
He could do whatever he wished.
But Odin was not so fortunate.
Odin's true self resided within the Inner Sea of the Planet, and if he made a mistake, he would be unable to return—Odin's will was currently outside, while his true self remained within the Inner Sea.
If his Incarnation made an error outside and could never return, Noah had no idea what would happen to his true self, but at the very least, the version outside would be completely free and severed from his true self.
Odin would never allow such a thing to happen.
Thus, the things he could do were extremely limited.
And they would have no impact on Noah whatsoever.
Odin himself was aware of this; otherwise, he would not have yielded so easily back then.
Even if Odin had no intention of causing trouble, he was still unaccustomed to living under surveillance.
Although he could now use most Rune Magecraft, rendering normal Surveillance Magecraft ineffective against him, this was Rome, after all.
"That Noah is practically the One True God of Rome... No, it would be more accurate to say that Noah is the Mediterranean Pantheon itself!"
"In that case, the Mediterranean is no place to stay. Hmm..."
Using his wisdom, Odin pondered and finally reached this conclusion.
The most dangerous place is the safest place.
Thus, Noah would never expect that, after leaving Rome, he would head to his homeland—the island of Britain!
As Odin made his way toward the island of Britain, he secretly rejoiced in his heart.
He believed he had seen through everything.
Just as Noah had recognized him as Odin upon first meeting him and reading his Divinity, Odin also viewed Noah primarily through the lens of Divinity.
For gods, everything else could be false, but Divinity could not!
So even though Britain appeared to be Noah's homeland and stronghold, since Noah was the Mediterranean Pantheon itself, his control over Britain could not possibly be greater than his control over the Mediterranean region!
Thus, the island of Britain was far more reassuring than the Mediterranean!
Moreover, Odin had no intention of causing trouble; he simply wanted to find a place to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, while observing how Noah dealt with the White Titan. Once he had his fill of fun, he would return to the Inner Sea of the Planet.
He just didn't want to be monitored.
In that case...
"To Britain!"
Odin believed his decision was exceptionally wise—only a truly intelligent person could make such a choice.
But...
If Odin were within the Mediterranean region, Noah truly couldn't be bothered to deliberately seek him out and keep watch over him every day.
Thus, as long as Odin remained within the Mediterranean area and managed to block Mary's Clairvoyance, he was essentially free.
But Britain...
It could be said that the island of Britain was practically Noah himself!
That place was genuinely, indisputably Noah's territory!
Noah's control over the island of Britain was far greater than his influence in the Mediterranean. If he felt the summers in Britain were too hot, he could, with a single thought, plunge Britain directly into winter.
If he found a certain species of bird in Britain too noisy, he could, with a single thought, drive that bird to extinction.
He was Britain—this was not an exaggeration but the truth.
Therefore, Odin himself likely never imagined that the moment he set foot on the island of Britain... no, the moment he entered the waters surrounding the island of Britain, Noah immediately detected him.
Then, while marveling at Odin's "brilliant" decision to travel from the Mediterranean to Britain, Noah began keeping an eye on him.
It was during this time that Merlin, leading the forces from Britain, used an Illusionary Disguise to quietly approach the vicinity of Rome City.
"My, my, I truly never expected the King to consider striking at Rome before winter arrives. This really exceeded my expectations."
After listening to Noah explain his plan, Merlin smiled and sighed with amusement.
However...
"Your Majesty, sending me to spread propaganda about the current Roman Emperor, Lucius... I believe this decision is quite problematic."
Merlin, who had been smiling all along, now opened his eyes, his tone and expression gradually turning serious.
"I think this is completely unnecessary. Even if we assume, for argument's sake, that I could successfully tarnish Lucius's reputation, is such an action truly necessary?"
Hearing Merlin's words, Noah nodded.
"Lord Merlin, if it were anyone else, it would indeed be unnecessary. The extent of defamation I can conceive is limited at best—it might only add a bit of stability to the plan, but it wouldn't play a decisive role. However, if you were to speak in support of Lucius, the consequences that could arise would far surpass any slander against Lucius that I could possibly imagine..."
Seeing Noah deliver such words with a straight face, Merlin twitched at the corner of his eye.
Then, as if out of spite, he accepted the task, turned around, and left.
Seeing him like this, Mary now spoke to Noah.
"Is this really alright? He might just act out of spite and cause trouble for you."
Hearing Mary's words, Noah shook his head slightly.
"This is exactly what I want. After all, I've begun to understand Lord Merlin somewhat. If he were to genuinely set out to praise someone with the intention of defaming them, such a utilitarian approach would likely fail to achieve the effect I desire—because despite his appearance, Lord Merlin is actually a highly capable individual, different from you in both personality and methods. If he takes this seriously, there's no chance of any surprises in such a minor matter."
"So it's about provoking him, or rather... making him think it would be fun to do this—only then can we achieve the effect I want."
Seeing Noah's confidence, Mary stopped arguing.
Come to think of it, she was right.
After all, this was Merlin!
He had truly surpassed her understanding of what it meant to be annoying. Well, if Noah thought it was feasible, then so be it.
Although Mary agreed with Noah's decision at this point, she still wasn't as confident as he was. She even secretly used Clairvoyance to check on the commotion Merlin was causing.
And then...
She saw Merlin, with utmost seriousness, drinking in a tavern while praising Emperor Lucius for his freedom, passion, and concern for the people!
Then he pulled out those proposals of Lucius that had been rejected by the Senate—such as making bananas the primary staple food for the people, requiring all Roman citizens to learn how to climb trees, and declaring that those who couldn't weren't true Romans—which made the Romans drinking in the tavern shudder!
Perhaps because they had drunk too much, some began to voice their disagreement with what Merlin was saying.
And then Merlin, that sly old fox, noted down their names and later reported them to the guards, accusing them of insulting the emperor, leading to their arrest!
This was the ultimate method Merlin had come up with in all seriousness to boost Lucius's reputation and educate him!
Simply...
—If no one in Rome dared to criticize Lucius anymore, that would be enough, right?
He was determined to show Noah just how terrifying he could be when he got serious!
Watching Merlin's smug expression, Mary couldn't tell for a moment whether he was pretending or being genuine...
But in any case, Noah hadn't placed his trust in the wrong person.
She had been overthinking it.
Merlin...
Perhaps no one was more suited for this job than him!