Chapter 194: It's All Kal'tsit's Fault!
In the Kazdel region, outside the landship of Babel, Rhodes Island.
In Theresa's arms, the tiny Catus was fast asleep with her arms wrapped around Theresa's neck.
Gently patting Amiya's back, Theresa turned to look at the somewhat weary Doctor beside her.
The Doctor gave a sheepish smile. "Thank you for making a special trip off the ship to meet us... Theresa."
At this, Theresa teased, "It seems you aren't omniscient after all, Doctor."
"At least when it comes to taking care of children, you still have much to learn."
"Of course," The Doctor lowered his head in embarrassment.
The main issue was that Charlotte was too timid to approach, given that this was the Demon King. Meanwhile, the Sarkaz Mercenaries were crowding forward excitedly, their faces glowing. Being personally greeted by the Demon King was an incredible honor for any Sarkaz.
Even though they were just incidental and the important person was someone else, it didn't stop them from using this for bragging rights in the future.
Thus, The Doctor had to carry Amiya forward himself. After all, he couldn't let Xia Yu do it—how much taller was she than Amiya?
As for Ascalon?
She was even worse than The Doctor at this...
Compared to The Doctor, Theresa had far more experience with children. She was, after all, the person who had single-handedly built the current educational system of Kazdel.
"You look very different from when you left, Doctor. How was the journey?"
"I saw a lot, and I learned a lot... everything I saw on this vast land was very interesting."
The Doctor smiled. "Also, I met Amiya... saving her from that accident was nothing short of a miracle."
Theresa looked down at the child in her arms. "Amiya. She is indeed even cuter than described in the letters. A pitiful child, but a lucky one."
"During the time I was away, Babel..." The Doctor hesitated. He knew that if Kal'tsit hadn't run into some trouble, she wouldn't have called him back so urgently.
"It hasn't been smooth. We've encountered many problems, but there's no need to solve them all this instant."
Theresa said helplessly, "After such a long journey, you must be exhausted. Please, rest first."
"And you as well," she turned to the row of Sarkaz Mercenaries, curiosity showing in her eyes as to how The Doctor had ended up with these rookies.
"It's been a hard journey. Babel Operators will arrange accommodations for everyone."
"Your Highness..." The Sarkaz Mercenaries were beyond excited, Mudrock included.
This was the extent of Theresa's influence in Kazdel.
"Thank you very much, Theresa," The Doctor looked at Amiya in her arms and said softly, "Amiya, we're home."
"Mm... Doctor, are you calling me..." A sleepy-eyed Amiya opened her eyes. "Did I fall asleep?"
Theresa looked at her cute little face with a brilliant smile. "Ah, little Amiya, you're awake."
"You... you are..." Amiya looked at the stranger holding her with a bit of shyness.
"Theresa," the latter smiled. "I am Theresa."
"Theresa..." Amiya thought hard. "The Doctor mentioned you to me."
"And what did The Doctor say about me?" Theresa asked curiously.
"Ooh... I forgot," Amiya's face was full of distress. "But I was eating delicious carrot cake at the time, so Theresa must be... fragrant... sweet... and warm!"
"And now?" Theresa couldn't help but pinch Amiya's little face.
"Fragrant, sweet, and warm," Amiya said seriously. "Just no carrot flavor!"
The Doctor gave a helpless smile. "Amiya, come down now, okay? Theresa will get tired holding you all the time."
Amiya nodded obediently, hopped down from Theresa's arms, and bounced on the ground.
Then, she naturally took the hand of Xia Yu standing nearby.
"By the way, this is..." Theresa looked at the strangest person in the group.
The Black Crown couldn't sense a single shred of emotion from the other party... it was as if she were a massive void.
In fact, Theresa had noticed her the moment she appeared and had been observing this girl of the Dragonkin.
"Just call me Bailu," Xia Yu smiled, then directly handed over her Supreme Gourd. "My treat. Have a drink."
"My, quite direct, aren't we?" Theresa said, but her movements weren't slow at all. She reached out to take the gourd and opened the lid.
An enticing aroma of alcohol instantly swept across the area.
Theresa's eyes lit up. She raised the gourd for a swig, then closed her eyes to feel the changes in her body.
When she opened them, the way she looked at the gourd had changed.
"This is..." Theresa looked at Xia Yu.
"Loong Balm," Xia Yu answered with a smile. "Well? Tastes good, doesn't it?"
"More than just good," she reluctantly returned the gourd to Xia Yu. "If we had a drink like this on the battlefield, how many soldiers could survive?"
"You're overthinking it," Xia Yu shrugged. "Brewing this isn't a simple matter."
"I guessed as much," Theresa said regretfully. "If it could truly be mass-produced, there's no way I wouldn't have heard of it in all these years."
Beside them, The Doctor's expression was peculiar.
'No, it would be a huge problem if you HAD heard of it. This clearly isn't something produced on Terra, is it?'
"However, is it really alright for Miss Bailu, as a member of the Dragonkin, to enter Kazdel so openly?" Theresa looked at the tiny Dragonkin and smiled. "I've heard that it's quite difficult for your kin to procreate."
"It's true that procreation is difficult, but I'm a Vidyadhara," Xia Yu sighed. "Forget it, think whatever you like."
"Regardless, a guest is a guest," Theresa stepped aside and gestured for everyone to follow. "Welcome to the Rhodes Island."
The group entered Rhodes Island via the freight elevator and then began to be diverted.
Charlotte, holding Amiya, and the Sarkaz Mercenaries were led toward the Medical Department by Ascalon, looking confused. The Doctor and Xia Yu were led toward the bridge by Theresa.
"Miss Bailu, I have some matters with The Doctor..." Theresa started to say to Xia Yu, but was interrupted by The Doctor.
"She can listen," The Doctor said slowly. "She isn't an outsider."
"I see," Theresa gave Xia Yu a deep look, then turned to The Doctor. "One of the original purposes of Babel's founding was to help every Oripathy patient to the best of our ability."
"From the day Kal'tsit woke you up, I believed you would help us all, just as you would help Amiya."
The Doctor hesitated for two seconds before speaking. "...Thank you."
"Doctor, perhaps I finally have the chance to ask you that question."
Theresa gazed at The Doctor. "How do you view this vast land?"
'Hiss, this question...' Xia Yu's eyes lit up. 'Is that moment finally coming?'
"I don't think I am qualified to comment on anything yet."
The Doctor spoke slowly. "Civilization does not have a hierarchy of superior or inferior. The current civilization of Terra has also undergone a long and arduous time to evolve into what it is today."
"And Originium has played an incredibly cruel joke on all life..."
Theresa recalled the past. "I remember you said that the current Originium does not meet the original expectations."
The Doctor lowered his head, recalling the suffering of the Infected he saw after waking up. His voice was somewhat hoarse. "In my original expectations, it was never meant to bring this much suffering."
"I can feel that you are hiding some secrets," Theresa said gently. "But that compassion in your heart that I cannot understand... is certainly not fake."
"I want to fix this mistake, but right now, I am powerless..."
The Doctor said bitterly, "Besides, the progress of civilizations is mostly similar. No matter how people struggle, no matter how brilliant their light is at a single moment... the end is probably obvious."
Theresa's smile remained unchanged. "But Kal'tsit said that in the final days, you did not give up hope."
"In those final years, I also had many friends. They faced problems and troubles far beyond your imagination, and they also held... a fighting spirit and hope no less than yours."
The Doctor glanced at Xia Yu. "But they, without exception, failed and perished."
Theresa felt his sadness and fell silent.
"Theresa," he looked up at her, "we haven't known each other very long. I want to know, what is the source of your confidence in doing all this?"
"What kind of result is Babel waiting for by compromising with the Military Commission?"
Theresa remained silent for a few seconds before reaching a certain decision.
"Doctor, I have something I want to show you."
Theresa looked up. "Regarding Originium, we will eventually have to ask you for answers. This is also why Kal'tsit woke you up."
"I hope you can come and see... the results of my brief efforts."
Since The Doctor had personally said this person was a companion, Theresa naturally wouldn't question it.
'As expected.'
Xia Yu followed behind them silently.
The two who had just arrived at the Rhodes Island had to leave the ship once again.
They then set out toward the wasteland under Theresa's guidance.
"We are almost there..."
After traveling for a long time, Theresa spoke to them.
"...The surroundings are nothing but barrenness. It's extreme even for a Catastrophe-prone area," The Doctor observed the area. "But I can see that Closure even spared some effort to maintain this path. A dangerous little trail..."
"A fork in the path between Originium Shards. Theresa, you have no fewer secrets than I do."
For some reason, her heart was thumping, as if something significant was about to happen.
"I am the Demon King, after all," Theresa smiled.
"Doctor, and Miss Bailu, please do not speak of what you are about to see next to anyone."
After trekking for a long time across the wasteland littered with Originium Shards, the visitors saw a small flower bed.
In the center of a Catastrophe, amidst destruction, on an unnamed plain where neither sunset nor starlight could be found.
Clusters of small white flowers circled a sacred ground that stood aloof from the world, isolated from the surroundings. Everything barbaric had nothing to do with this place; even the wind became soft.
It was like a greenhouse forgotten by time, preserving a pristine appearance from the distant past.
It was like the first time Humans stole fire from the gods, lighting up a corner of the vast night sky.
Theresa picked up a pure white flower.
"This is my—and Babel's—most in-depth research into Originium."
The Doctor saw something and said in disbelief, "Flowers...?"
Theresa's eyes were full of pride. "No, it is Originium."
The Doctor fell silent.
Theresa continued, "You should realize that this isn't some Originium Arts used to force flowers to bloom."
"Information from within Originium, a reversal of the Internalized Universe..." The Doctor murmured. "Your research into Originium has already reached this stage? Since when..."
"The Sarkaz are the race that understands Originium best. Even so, compared to the entirety of Originium, what we know is but the tip of the iceberg."
Theresa sighed. "Even with Kal'tsit helping us study the essence of Originium, what we have achieved with all our effort and heart's blood is merely transforming a palm-sized piece of active Originium into this..."
"A flower bed."
"A kind of hope."
Theresa held out the petals in her hand to the two of them. "This tiny white flower is just a bit of my effort. I also want to ask for your help, Doctor."
Her face was full of an expectant smile. "I want to see a sea of flowers overflow, pouring out from the cliffs and valleys of Kazdel, until the day they bloom across the entire land."
'Oh, then you won't be seeing it.'
Xia Yu sighed deeply at this sight.
'Theresa, you really need to use your head. If you used the Black Crown to probe The Doctor's thoughts right now, they would definitely be a complete mess.'
'Sigh, of all things to mention, you had to do this kind of reverse-decompression project. Isn't this obviously undermining the prehistoric Originium Project?'
'You have to realize, the person standing in front of you right now is the founder and Executive of the Originium Project!'
'You really want to see flowers bloom across Kazdel... then asking her is like a mouse asking a cat to be her bridesmaid.'
Theresa had been the Demon King for two hundred years; she couldn't be this naive...
So there was only one answer!
'Kal'tsit! What on earth did you tell her!'
Only an absolute disparity in information could cause such a catastrophic error. Xia Yu estimated that Kal'tsit still believed the one who woke up was her "good papa" the Prophet—the one who once told her to find life, find hope, and find meaning.
So waking him up would definitely help her.
But the Prophet and the Priestess... neither was to be trifled with.
That little couple is scheming against each other, and you come barging in recklessly... ruining The Doctor, and ruining your best friend.
So it's all Kal'tsit's fault!
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T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
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