Chapter 7: Breakfast Time

Along with the first rays of the morning sun, Li Ruoyi woke up.

A large amount of magic particles lingered in the room, along with various traces left behind by the casting of Grand Magic.

Magnificent curtains and bed veils adorned the wide European leather bed, while various magical artifacts flickered with a faint fluorescence.

The hollow sensation from using the forbidden technique that had drained his entire body had vanished.

His body had returned to the state it was in when he was first resurrected.

His illusory clothes had disappeared, and he found himself wearing a cartoon onesie.

“What is this?”

Li Ruoyi was momentarily lost for words as he tugged at his clothes.

“It fits quite well, Lord Human King.”

The voice belonged to a blonde maid leaning against the door frame.

Her long, dazzling platinum-blonde hair was tied in twin tails, and a faint air of majesty flickered across her cute, pale face.

Her sapphire-like blue eyes were captivating.

“Do you like the pajamas I selected for you?”

“How could anyone like this kind of thing! You bastard, Alestasia!”

“This is clearly Lady Rhein’s favorite—”

Both were startled in an instant.

Though it was his first time seeing the blonde maid, Li Ruoyi had blurted out her name directly.

That name seemed carved into his mind, and he had shouted it involuntarily upon seeing her.

Almost simultaneously, a golden dagger was pressed against Li Ruoyi’s neck; Alestasia was already in front of him.

“How do you know that name?”

Alestasia asked, making no attempt to hide her killing intent.

“Let me guess? A lackey of the Third Civilization, or an enforcer for Amon-Rethruis?”

“What are you talking about! I just blurted out the name in my head!”

Pressed down, Li Ruoyi couldn’t resist.

In terms of both strength and magic priority, the maid far exceeded him.

If she wished, that dagger could easily slit his throat.

“You are a human of the Fifth Civilization; how could you have my name in your mind?”

Alestasia applied slight pressure with her thumb, and the golden blade left a thin streak of blood on Li Ruoyi’s neck.

‘The Fifth Civilization?’

‘Why do this maid and the old man keep mentioning it?’

“Maybe an old man in my spirit world knows you,” Li Ruoyi struggled to say.

“What is this Fifth Civilization you keep talking about?”

Ignoring his resistance, Alestasia tore open Li Ruoyi’s clothes, revealing the black vortex in the youth’s chest.

“Father?”

Alestasia murmured to herself.

After a brief hesitation, the maid withdrew her dagger.

“Please forget what I just said, Your Excellency.”

“Allow me to reintroduce myself. My current name is Galena, a maid-guardian serving the Saint, Lady Rhein.”

“Um… my name is Li Ruoyi.”

“Very well, Lord Ruoyi. In a moment, I shall inform Lady Rhein that you tore your pajamas to shreds because you disliked her choice.”

The maid walked with elegant steps and pulled back the heavy curtains.

The blindingly bright sunlight made Li Ruoyi squint; when he refocused, the maid had vanished into the light.

****

Rhein was eating a simple breakfast—two pieces of bread with cheese, dried meat, and nuts—looking quite irritated.

“Even if you didn’t like the pajamas I picked for you, you didn’t have to rip them up!”

The girl’s face was livid, her anger palpable.

Her shoulders trembled violently, and her voice began to crack.

With eyes reddened by near-despair, she forced back tears that fell anyway.

She bowed her head, clenched her fists, and shouted with mindless fury: “…That was from my first trip to the outside world! I bought it in Japan!”

“I told you, it’s a misunderstanding.”

Li Ruoyi shrugged helplessly and laughed.

“And what normal man would like that kind of thing anyway!”

“Look at you, still laughing!”

Rhein yelled, her face red.

“Eat more! I hope you choke!”

Across the long table, Li Ruoyi, the respectable Human King, was gorging himself without any table manners.

He brandished a knife and fork against the steak Galena had just served, with stacks of empty plates already piling up around him.

Even through his suit, his firm, lean body was visible.

‘Dammit! Do people like Human Kings even have body fat?’

‘Or is their physique fixed after resurrection?’

‘Or is their appearance something they can decide for themselves?’

Rhein wondered in a daze. After finishing her sandwich, she picked up a piece of pizza.

“Aren’t you afraid of getting fat?”

The question stabbed into Rhein’s fragile heart like a blade.

She was furious!

Rhein desperately tried to calm the emotions rushing to her head.

She practically screamed through her tears.

“You have the nerve to say that to me? You’ve eaten twenty-four portions of breakfast!”

Li Ruoyi looked at Rhein shyly, but his hands didn’t stop.

After finishing the last piece of steak, he managed to squeeze out three words: “Is there more?”

Seeing Rhein’s mixture of rage and helplessness, he smiled and took the next dish—pasta—from Galena.

“Maybe you’d be even cuter if you got a little chubby, Rhein?”

“Wh-what kind of stupid thing are you saying?! Finish eating quickly and follow me to see the Old Ancestor.”

Rhein stood up with a red face and left the dining room.

Li Ruoyi shook his head helplessly, ignored the angry Rhein, and continued his breakfast feast.

****

As the capital and largest city of Germany, Berlin was once a political and economic center with 3.5 million residents; now, fewer than 100,000 remain.

Located in northeastern Germany, it is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg, with the Spree and Havel rivers flowing through the city.

In terms of culture, politics, media, and science, Berlin was a world-class city.

It served as a transport hub for European aviation and railways and was a global focal point known for its liberal lifestyle and modern artistic spirit.

The architecture of Berlin was diverse and spectacular.

Walking the streets, one could see ancient cathedrals, various museums, and towering luxury residences.

There was the brilliant Baroque style of Friedrichsplatz and the Neoclassical Schinkel Theater.

Palatial estates stood alongside world-renowned modern architectural works.

These buildings, beautiful yet weathered by history, allowed one to feel Berlin’s blend of classical and modern, romantic and rigorous atmospheres.

Berlin is a cultural city with festivals held throughout the year.

Often, in an instant, the streets transform into stages and pedestrians into audiences.

Almost everyone on the street bowed to Rhein; these poor souls thanked the Nicolae family for saving their lives.

Passing through the Brandenburg Gate on horseback, Li Ruoyi was deeply captivated by the magnificent structure.

This solemn and grand architecture fully displayed the dignity of the Prussian capital during its peak.

Modeled after the Propylaea of the Athenian Acropolis, the gate was built of creamy-white granite.

Atop the gatehouse, supported by six large stone pillars, stood a bronze statue of Victoria driving a four-horse chariot.

The two rode side-by-side, witnessing the rebirth of Berlin.

Humans were indeed resilient.

Setting aside the magicians living between fantasy and reality, the refugees who survived were worthy of respect simply for staying alive.

After a dozen minutes on horseback, they arrived at the foot of the Holy City.

As the city’s new command tower, the Holy City towered over the center of Berlin.

This citadel possessed an innate, rustic aura characteristic of military warriors.

The exterior of the castle consisted of six bastions with one main keep in the inner circle, each with its own name.

On the edge of the castle, one could see giant statues of famous Nicolae magicians and German emperors, showcasing the family’s majesty.

Among them was a statue of Frederick the Great.

In terms of sculpture, it didn’t differ much from other monarchs, but it still perfectly showcased his style.

Welcomed by the guards at the entrance, Li Ruoyi stepped into the hall and pushed open the doors leading to the main keep.

****

He pushed open several luxuriously decorated doors and climbed an untold number of extravagant steps.

Li Ruoyi finally arrived at the Throne Room of this main keep.

With a dignified stride, the King in Black, Li Ruoyi, entered the center of the room.

If he were to spend a long time in Berlin’s high society following Rhein’s influence, an audience with the Patriarch of the Nicolae family would have been only a matter of time.

All he could do now was estimate the total value this mysterious Patriarch hoped to gain by proactively inviting him ahead of schedule.

Whether in the past or the future, magicians were recognized as shrewd and capable, yet cruel and ruthless.

They worshiped tradition, believed in titles, and were polite yet cold to others.

They were absolutely loyal to their own principles and held the conventional theories and theorists of human society in utter contempt.

This was the so-called survival code of a magician.

Whether dealing with the talkative types, the liberals, or the conservatives, Li Ruoyi had never quite fit in.

It should be said that from a young age, Li Ruoyi had harbored a deep-seated hatred for the existence known as a magician, though he simply did not show it on his face.

Listening to the sounds of chanting from all sides, a massive map appeared in his field of vision.

To describe it, this map was not made of paper.

It was constructed from four giant marble pillars emitting a dark red glow.

The surface enclosed by them rippled like water.

Numerous fluorescent dots traced the terrain and geography upon these ripples, resembling the holographic projection technology he had read about in old-era science fiction novels.

The Patriarch of the Nicolae family, a man leaning on a magnificent magic staff, was looking up at the map.

His other hand gestured toward it, searching for a route from Celo to China.

“Haha, so this is the King in Black that Rhein brought back!”

The man turned around, though he was not as solemn and steady as one might have imagined.

Nature has its own laws of operation, and every cause must have its effect, yet these seemed to have no influence on him.

The man’s eyes were lined with dark kohl, resembling deep caverns of the night.

His body was not exactly skeletal, but it was excessively thin, and his complexion was as pale as a desolate moon.

An air of seasoned maturity and youthful immaturity—two irreconcilable qualities—coexisted on the Patriarch’s handsome face.

Aside from a white tie, he was dressed in pure black from head to toe.

Only a subtle red ribbon passed through a buttonhole, acting like a slight piping that broke the monochrome palette, resembling a blood-red line drawn by a paintbrush.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Nicolas Aved Dracula.”

The man announced this in a high-pitched, excited tone while fiddling with the staff in his hand.

The man took a glass of red wine and approached Li Ruoyi.

After an elegant gentleman’s bow, he offered the cup to him.

Although Li Ruoyi felt a deep-seated disgust for the man, he still accepted the glass.

The blood-red liquid was more viscous than wine.

A faint metallic scent of blood mingled with the mellow aroma of red wine and wafted into his nostrils.

“What? Does Your Excellency not like this wine?”

The man raised an eyebrow, clearly disappointed that Li Ruoyi had not drunk it.

“Or perhaps Your Excellency has lived in the East for so long that you aren’t accustomed to Western liquor?”

“Mr. Dracula, I assume you invited me here for something more important than drinking.”

Li Ruoyi poured the crimson wine onto the ground.

The moment the liquid touched the earth, it began to boil and evaporated like a vampire exposed to sunlight.

“Or rather, do you European magicians simply enjoy drinking chemical agents that resemble strong acid?”

Li Ruoyi offered a noncommittal smile.

“If this was a test, you can dispense with it. I will show loyalty to the Nicolae family.”

“Haha! Whatever do you mean, Your Excellency? If that is the case, it is naturally for the best!”

Dracula laughed along, though whether the laughter was genuine or fake was impossible to tell.

“Your Excellency!”

Dracula said this in a high-pitched, artificial tone—the kind a judge might use in court—which felt somewhat inappropriate for casual conversation.

“I thank you for the tremendous help you gave to our family’s Saint a few days ago, rescuing her from the hands of that Sun King.”

“Her mother, if she were still alive, would surely wish to express her gratitude to you.”

The man wore an expression of regret.

Although he acted well, it appeared incredibly fake to Li Ruoyi’s eyes.

“I invited you here today precisely to fulfill this obligation and express my sincere thanks.”

It was far too transparent.

Li Ruoyi was secretly startled; the man before him was like a collection of lies.

Both his expressions and his phrasing were false.

“Sir,” Li Ruoyi replied in a freezing tone.

“To be able to preserve the life of a daughter for her mother makes me feel incredibly happy, for it is often said that maternal love is the most sacred of emotions.”

“Since I already possess this sense of happiness, there is no need for you to go out of your way to fulfill an obligation of gratitude.”

As Li Ruoyi spoke these words, his stern gaze was more arrogant than usual.

He delivered the lines one word at a time, with a tone almost bordering on killing intent, his neck and shoulders held stiff and straight.

“For I know that magicians do not dispense favors and gratitude so freely.”

“However, no matter how precious such a favor might be, it cannot compare to my inner satisfaction.”

This retort caught the man completely off guard.

Dracula couldn’t help but be surprised, his whole body jolting as if he were a soldier feeling a strike pierce through his armor.

At the very least, he had regarded Li Ruoyi as a refined gentleman before this conversation began.

Dracula looked around the room, attempting to escape the awkward situation and find another topic.

The previous conversation felt as though it had been dropped and shattered into pieces.

Then, pointing at the map he had been examining earlier, he spoke again.

“I have recently begun studying the geography of the New World, sir.”

Dracula smiled.

“This is a profound field of study, especially for you. I hear you previously lived in that sacred ancient land of the East?”

“Yes, sir.”

The response to Dracula’s words remained cold.

“I once conducted research on human physiology.”

“What distinguishes me from other magicians is that I start from the individual case, while they start from the collective.”

“Deducing the whole from the part is troublesome, but it is incredibly accurate.”

“The process of calculating known variables from unknowns is always so fascinating…”

Realizing that standing while talking was inconvenient, Dracula pointed toward the throne in the center of the room.

“Please, sit, Lord Human King. After you.”

“Oh! Are you discussing philosophy with me?”

After taking his seat, Li Ruoyi replied with interest.

“To be honest, if the decades of my life had been as idle as yours were before your death, I too would have sought out such a non-boring pastime in that ancient Eastern land.”

Like strong opponents facing off in an arena, the man seized the opportunity to gather his strength.

“Indeed, sir.”

Li Ruoyi laughed loudly.

“A thing like a magician, if studied under an astronomical microscope, is nothing more than an ugly caterpillar.”

“I think, as you said, I was idle before my death. But what about you?”

“Sir, do you believe that in the thousands of years you have lived, you have ever truly had anything worthwhile to do?”

“Or let me be more blunt. Do you believe that what you are doing is worthy of being called ‘real business’?”

“I thought that you, being neither human nor magician, would understand how one ought to live.”

Dracula felt as though he had been struck with a club.

It was the second heavy blow he had received from this strange opponent.

The magician had not heard such powerful and peculiar arguments in a long time.

More accurately, this was the first time he had lost in a conversation.

This twenty-year-old youth before him actually possessed a life experience more profound than his own.

Dracula did not know that his entire existence had been seen through by the Eyes of Life and Death.

It wasn’t just his physical presence, but even his spirit, wrapped in conspiracy, that had been pierced by that gaze.

“May I ask, Your Excellency, why you have such rich experience at such a young age?”

Dracula asked tentatively.

Li Ruoyi smiled slightly.

“Very well, sir!” he began.

“I can see that although you are the noble Patriarch of the Nicolae family, you have not managed to transcend the mundane.”

“At your core, you are still a person who views everything through the lens of society’s vulgar materialist perspective.”

“You say you’ve studied humans? Don’t make me laugh!”

“You have never started from the perspective of a person, nor concluded from human nature.”

“You are trapped in the most limited and narrow way of thinking that human intelligence can adopt.”

Li Ruoyi hadn’t expected his own words to be so judgmental, or to see through the man’s essence so thoroughly.

These words felt like they were being transcribed in his mind, and he was simply speaking them aloud.

This was the power of his eyes—the ability to see through all phenomena.

“Could you please explain, sir?” Dracula said.

The more he listened, the more astonished he became.

“I don’t quite understand what you mean? My meaning? I am merely an ordinary magician.”

Dracula’s hand tightened slowly around his staff.

Clearly, Li Ruoyi’s next words would change the atmosphere of the Throne Room.

“I am saying, sir,” Li Ruoyi crossed his legs and rested his head on one hand, propped against the armrest.

“If your eyes are fixed only on the power of the machine while ignoring the noble craftsman who makes it run—I mean, if you only acknowledge things that are beneficial to you while failing to see the revelation of God before your eyes.”

“Before Tobit saw the angel who restored his sight, he thought he was just an ordinary young man.”

“When the nations of the world saw Attila, the destroyer of civilization, they saw him only as a common conqueror.”

“Those who bear a divine mission will only be recognized by people when the truth is revealed.”

“One does not need to say ‘I am the messenger of the Lord’ or ‘I am the Scourge of God’ for their divinity to be revealed.”

“One does not need to hide and sneak around like you, sir, engaging in shady business.”

“Is that so?” Dracula sneered.

If it were a normal day, he would have thought he was facing a religious fanatic or a madman.

“I don’t believe I’ve done anything shady. Furthermore, since Your Excellency has listed such extraordinary figures, surely you don’t think you are one of them!”

“And why not? I should say I am far more capable of saving humanity than you are.”

Li Ruoyi replied with a cold laugh.

“Hahahahaha! My apologies, Your Excellency.”

Dracula couldn’t help but laugh.

“Please forgive me, but what you just said amused me.”

“Spending time on dreams of social dialectics and the development of philosophical theory is hardly a habit for us poor souls of a destroyed civilization.”

“Such things can, at most, only comfort those who have suffered misfortune and cannot enjoy the pleasures of the human world.”

“Is that not enough?”

“Perhaps not~”

Dracula walked with elegant steps until he stood before the seated Li Ruoyi.

He undoubtedly had the intention of not being defeated in this confrontation.

“As you just said, you feel you transcend the masses. So, are you the only one among the world’s people who is perfect?”

Dracula spoke while laughing, causing him to slightly lose his breath.

“Not perfect,” Li Ruoyi replied.

“Merely unfathomable to the likes of you.”

“Sir, if this conversation is not to your liking, then let us end it here.”

“We are even; neither of us has threatened the other. As for what you want to know, I have nothing to say.”

Li Ruoyi stood up and walked toward the door without looking back.

“Not at all, not at all.”

Though it was hard to detect, the man’s eyes turned fierce as he moved out of the way.

“Your exceptionally noble and brilliant conversation has elevated me above the level of ordinary people as well.”

The fake smile reappeared on the man’s face.

“This was more than a mere conversation.”

“Even the theologians and philosophers on the podiums of Berlin University would be ruthless in exposing each other’s flaws when they argue.”

“However, I have one thing to say.”

“No matter how abrupt this may sound, my dear Human King, you are too indulgent in your pride.”

“You stand above others, yet there is always someone still above you.”

It was a threat that practically drew blood.

“Above all! My dear Mr. Dracula!”

Li Ruoyi retorted fiercely, his tone incredibly low.

“I treat magicians with pride only because you are all venomous snakes who bite without blinking!”

“Then you really should watch out for the snakes in the grass!”

The heavy sound of the door closing drowned out Dracula’s vicious final words.