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Lin Ruo's question was undoubtedly extremely direct, and seeing Calamity Queen Cohinem's expression suddenly change, he smiled, then looked at Klein beside him and said, "Gehrman, some parts of the upcoming conversation are not suitable for you to know right now. Go wander somewhere else, see if there's anything valuable left in this ruin… I'll tell you what I can later."
The Western Continent already involved the secrets of the Celestial Worthy and the Nine Sephirot, and it was even possible that Outer Deities would be mentioned. These were not things Klein should know at his current Sequence, so Lin Ruo naturally had to send him away before Cohinem spoke.
"Again…" Klein, who had been prepared to hear a great secret, was stunned when he heard this, then mumbled softly.
However, he also knew that since Lin Ruo had said so, the matters they were about to discuss would probably involve some secrets he, at his current Sequence, could not know. So, though somewhat helpless, Klein obediently departed.
After he left, Lin Ruo again looked at Calamity Queen Cohinem. She had remained silent since her expression drastically changed, and now her emotions seemed to have calmed, but she clearly had no intention of speaking.
Lin Ruo knew why she was like this. After all, only her Clone was captured; her true body was still hiding somewhere, only facing the risk of being traced. If he were in her situation and asked about such a big secret concerning himself, he would also remain silent.
But Lin Ruo was not in a hurry. He slowly said, "The thing you left in the Book of Calamity, I actually have some guesses about it. Either it's related to your resurrection contingency…"
He paused there, looking at Calamity Queen Cohinem, observing her expression without a change in his own, and continued with a gentle smile, "Or it has some connection to the Western Continent…"
"…I did leave a resurrection contingency in the Book of Calamity." Calamity Queen Cohinem suddenly spoke, her expression having returned to its previous faintness.
"Your Highness, I believe that statement…" Lin Ruo withdrew his gaze from Calamity Queen Cohinem, seeming to nod carelessly while continuing unhurriedly, "I originally thought that Your Highness wanted to send that item to the Western Continent because it had some connection to the Western Continent. Now it seems that's not entirely the case."
Sending the item from the Book of Calamity to the Western Continent was the agreement between Calamity Queen Cohinem and The Hanged Man in the original work. It also saved The Hanged Man's life, allowing him to escape his predetermined fate and serving as an important side plot.
Although the plot had changed, Lin Ruo, considering that he didn't actually know the Calamity Queen, felt it was still worth bringing this up to test her. Even if he was wrong, he wouldn't feel awkward.
Moreover… thinking of the changes in Calamity Queen Cohinem's expression he had just observed, Lin Ruo's smile grew even brighter.
Upon hearing Lin Ruo's words, Calamity Queen Cohinem suddenly looked up, staring at Lin Ruo in disbelief, "You—"
After a single "You," Calamity Queen Cohinem's lips trembled slightly. Eventually, she seemed to suppress the words that almost escaped her. She took a slight breath, her expression calming again, and said, "What exactly do you want, Your Excellency? Please speak plainly."
"Actually, I don't want anything. I just have a bit more curiosity than others. My greatest pleasure is listening to hidden knowledge and watching interesting stories."
Lin Ruo smiled in response, but his eyes narrowed slightly. From Cohinem's reaction, he had actually glimpsed something—something surprising yet remarkably logical.
So Lin Ruo smiled, still sighing in that unhurried tone:
"Your Highness and Elf King Your Majesty truly have deep affection…"
This seemed to be just an inexplicable sigh, but the meaning subtly revealed within it made Medici raise an eyebrow. The latter had clearly reacted, and his blood-colored eyes looked at Calamity Queen Cohinem, carrying a coldness and sharpness that had not been there before.
This time, Calamity Queen Cohinem truly couldn't suppress her emotions. She looked at Lin Ruo with an almost shocked and terrifying gaze, her tone growing cold as she said, "What exactly do you want to do?"
So Calamity Queen Cohinem truly has Elf King Sonia Solemn's resurrection contingency on her, huh? Hmm, it's most likely related to the Book of Calamity, but this definitely isn't the only contingency, after all, it was entrusted so easily to The Hanged Man, though it was certainly out of consideration for The Fool's Face…
Various thoughts flashed through Lin Ruo's mind, but he showed no sign of them on his Face, still smiling gently and brightly. He said, "To be honest, I have no ill will towards either you or Elf King Sonia Solemn, as long as you don't covet things you shouldn't…"
Speaking of this, Lin Ruo seemed to think of something, and chuckled, saying, "Of course, if you think of some things you shouldn't, you won't need me; others will naturally come to deal with you."
Calamity Queen Cohinem seemed to think of something and snorted coldly. Then her tone was no longer as stiff as before, "Now is already the era of humanity, and I am not someone who still lives in past glory… What we seek is merely self-preservation in the coming apocalypse, and a place for the elven race to settle."
"Perhaps…" Lin Ruo neither confirmed nor denied it, still smiling gently. Just like when he had expressed friendliness earlier, it was impossible to discern what he truly thought, or how much sincerity lay beneath his friendly facade.
He simply changed the subject and asked, "If the elven race only wishes for a place to settle, why not seek refuge with a True God Church? A True God can always offer some protection to Their believers during the apocalypse."
Lin Ruo knew that the elven race was not extinct; although they were very rare now, like the Vampires who hid in plain sight, the elven race must still exist, and even continued to worship the Calamity Queen, Elf King, and others.
Lin Ruo even had some conjectures; this question was actually a kind of test.
"The elven race will not change their faith." Calamity Queen Cohinem's tone was extremely firm this time.
"Heh." Hearing this, Lin Ruo couldn't help but chuckle, then said with a slight hint of sarcasm, "But you are now unable to protect the elven race. Are you going to let them die with you?"
Calamity Queen Cohinem's expression darkened. She opened her mouth to retort but was interrupted by Lin Ruo.
"Actually, I'm not very interested in the affairs of your elven race. Compared to you, I'm more interested in the matters of the Western Continent."
"So, let's talk about that. I wonder if Your Highness is willing to share your understanding of the Western Continent with me."
Calamity Queen Cohinem's expression instantly became hard to describe, looking at Lin Ruo with an expression that almost screamed "Why the hell are you doing this?" on her Face.
She truly couldn't quite grasp Lin Ruo's approach. Just moments ago, he had dropped such a huge bomb, almost making Calamity Queen Cohinem feel that he harbored malicious intentions towards the royal family, and then he mentioned faith, leading Calamity Queen Cohinem to wonder if he wanted the elven race to submit. Yet, in a blink, he started asking about the Western Continent?
What kind of approach was this?
Calamity Queen Cohinem didn't understand, but this time, she didn't choose to remain silent as before. After all, the bomb Lin Ruo had just thrown was too big, making Cohinem's heart pound while also making her eager to figure out his bottom line.
And this naturally didn't allow her to continue her silence. So, after some consideration, Calamity Queen Cohinem spoke, "I don't know much about the Western Continent…"
The parts involving the Book of Calamity, the Western Continent, and the Sephirot are my own additions.
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