Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 119

Ronan stretched back in a relaxed manner. "If you can't hold on any longer, just fall down and glide slowly. This space is full of magic, so replenishing magic is relatively quick. There's no place to stop and rest around. Just keep moving towards that lit vertical line."

“I hope that place is safe,” Agustina said.

"Can't you be a little more optimistic?" Ronan retorted.

“I’ve always been a pessimistic person,” Agustina replied, and for some reason, she started talking about her past. “I was born in a town in Villa, not one of those poor and run-down towns, but a town near a big city. My father also owned three small workshops. When I was a child, my life was better than that of those small noble families in the countryside. I could hold a banquet for my birthday, while those small nobles had to borrow money to hold banquets for their weddings.”

“But in the four years between when I was five and nine, prices doubled. The products my father’s factory produced could no longer be sold in big cities. City dwellers went to buy cheaper imported goods.”

"Our family went bankrupt, and then we went to the Kingdom of Fas to stay with relatives."

Villa's situation was similar to that of Spain in Ronan's original timeline. They mined a large amount of silver from the New World, which made the country richer than ever before. In a short period of time, they built a huge and invincible fleet and established a powerful army on land. The king was crowned emperor, and for a time, the country became the strongest nation.

However, the large amount of silver also caused soaring prices and destroyed the domestic manufacturing industry, which laid a deep foundation for the later collapse.

Agustina continued, "In their house, I was no different from a servant. If it weren't for that time I accompanied her to the talent test, if it weren't for the teacher who happened to show up and thought I should be very talented and paid for the test fee for me, my future would probably be to marry some fat pig son of a small businessman, be supported by him for a few years, give birth to a useless person as ugly and disgusting as him, and then slowly grow old like a dead person, and finally be put into a cheap coffin and buried in the cemetery."

"Later, I joined a mage guild and met the guild leader. At first, I disliked her. She seemed to be of noble birth and arrogant. But I eventually learned that she was also a good-for-nothing at first."

"Hahaha." Ronan laughed at this moment.

"But she didn't have a single bit of self-doubt, how should I put it, even though she didn't have top-tier skills back then. She was the kind of person who believed that there was nothing in this world that couldn't be done. This 'person' doesn't refer to herself, but to everyone. She believed that everyone could break free from their own destiny, which is a really stupid idea."

"I want to say something that might make you laugh, but I want to protect this spark that is her."

After saying that, Agustina laughed at herself. What right did she have to talk to Dinia about protection? She didn't have great strength, nor did she have a first-rate mind.

After laughing, Agustina suddenly grabbed Ronan's pectoral muscles hard. "By the way, you can't tell her this. It's my secret."

"Since it's a secret, why did you tell me?" Ronan asked with a smile.

Agustina rested her chin on Ronan's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "I'm going to be your lover, right? There have to be some secrets between men and women, right? By the way, you have to tell one too."

“My secret is that I’m very big,” Ronan teased deliberately.

"What's so big?" Agustina didn't understand for a moment.

Ronan chuckled, then turned back with a knowing smile and asked, "Guess?"

Agustina finally realized, "You're big, so I'm tight."

"Hahahaha." Ronan was completely amused by her.

At the same time, on the other side, infinitely near yet infinitely far, Dinia was rowing a mushroom boat with Elena. Below the boat, the moonlight shone on the gently rippling sea.

Both of them were moving forward along the lit vertical lines.

"Why haven't you said a word?" Elena finally couldn't help but speak up. Since Dinya fell into this place, she hadn't said a word, and she really couldn't stand it anymore.

"What do you want to say?" Dinia asked. She wasn't a very sociable person, but that didn't mean she was oblivious to everything. She knew that Elena didn't like her.

Elena asked directly, "You must have had many suitors, so why did you choose him instead of someone else?"

“He’s fine,” Dinia replied.

"Don't you always call him a scoundrel?" Elena asked again.

“He’s patient,” Dinia replied. “And, relatively speaking, he’s a conservative person.”

“I agree with that,” Elena nodded.

Ronan was as conservative as a devout believer; only a few morbid ascetics were more conservative than him.

After saying that, Dinia fell silent again.

As Elena rowed, she questioned, "Didn't you give me any advice? Like, 'I hope you won't do anything that will affect your relationship with him because of your personal feelings or likes'?"

“You’re a very good person. Even if you have a problem with me, it won’t cause any harm. You’ve always been like that, haven’t you? So why should I say such things?” Dinia retorted, then continued, “Besides, I have no right to speak to you in this tone. I’m not even his lover yet, right? Okay, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s row.”

Elena fell silent.

At the same time, on the other side.

Having just recovered from his weakness, Henry and his old butler Duden were walking in the wasteland under the night sky. There were no plants or animals around, only stones. The two of them headed toward a lit vertical line in the distance.

"Do you think we can survive?" Henry asked.

“Your father would never ask such a question,” the old butler, Duden, replied.

Henry sighed in frustration. "Yes, he couldn't, but he still died."

“You’re not dead yet, Henry,” said the old butler, Duden, then pointed to a bright line in the distance. “You can’t see or sense anyone around here. That might be your chance.”

Henry took a deep breath. "This is our chance. I'm pretty good at traveling."

At this moment, the old steward sensed that the young master who had always disappointed him was beginning to transform, showing a hint of the second prince from back then.

Chapter 269 Unable to Reach, Choosing a Test: You're All Freaks

One day, or perhaps less, Ronan noticed that the vertical white line had not grown larger in his field of vision.

Either the white line in the distance is a pure illusion, and they are currently in a virtual space, or he and Agustina have not actually moved to close the distance to the white line at all.

Ronan stopped flying towards the white vertical line and began to descend, gradually approaching the endless, fiery swamp.

Since we can't get close to the white vertical line, we can only seek a way out from this fiery swamp.

However, just as Ronan was about a meter away from the swamp, a man suddenly appeared in mid-air, right in front of him and Agustina.

The man's appearance was roughly the same as the man in the giant painting from before. His facial features and skin tone were somewhat similar to those of the indigenous people, but there were also significant differences. He looked like a mixed-race person with darker skin and yellowish-white features.

“Hello, my descendants,” the man said.

To be precise, he wasn't speaking, but rather directly transmitting a voice into your consciousness. It wasn't a language, but rather a way of making you understand his meaning directly.

Agustina laughed out loud, "Is he blind? You and he are not even the same breed."

“Perhaps he doesn’t have independent consciousness; he’s just speaking according to the program,” Ronan said.

The man continued, “It seems that you have deciphered the truth hidden in those ancient inscriptions and the witchcraft I passed down, and obtained the power I left you. This proves that the little spark I left behind before I left has brought more and more variables.”

Agustina was confused by these words and looked at Ronan.

Ronan shrugged and shook his head, indicating that he also had absolutely no idea what this guy was talking about.

However, if the descendants this man spoke of were natives of the New World, then his hopes were dashed. He and Dinia were the first to pass the trial of two and obtain the crystal skull skeleton, while Lichfield, no, Grand Duke Flag of Villa, found this place first.

All of this has nothing to do with the indigenous people.

The man seemed to be just a program, just as Ronan had thought. He couldn't see Ronan and Agustina at all. Then he opened his hands, and a fruit appeared in each of his hands.

"But to get there, you must eat the fruit. The fruit on the left is the fruit of pain, which will weaken you even if you can endure it. The fruit on the right is the fruit of pleasure, which will make you lose your mind even if you quickly get out of that pleasure. Choose one for each person."

The man continued.

Now, it's time to choose one of the two.

While Ronan was still pondering, Agustina reached out and grabbed the Fruit of Pain and Weakness, stuffed it into her mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it.

"Heh, it tastes alright," Agustina said casually.

The moment she finished speaking, pain struck her. She couldn't help but scream, her eyes tightly shut, her face contorted in agony. If Ronan hadn't caught her, she might have stumbled and tumbled into the fiery swamp below.

Ronan understood her thinking. This choice was to strengthen one and weaken the other. They didn't know what awaited them ahead. They couldn't weaken Ronan, because weakening Ronan might cause them both to lose hope. Weakening her, at least Ronan would have a better chance.

Moreover, if this is a scam, then she should be the one to test the poison.

Ronan held Agustina, who had gone limp as if her bones had been removed, in one arm. Although she was weak, her magic was still stable, which meant that the fruit had not caused her any real harm. Then, Ronan grabbed another fruit and ate it.

In an instant, Ronan's consciousness was brutally flooded with some pleasurable experiences.

Countless obedient subordinates worshipped him as if he were a god. He had mountains of gold coins that he could never spend indefinitely. Nude beauties kept flocking to him, trying to seduce him. He also possessed the power of a creator, able to move mountains and overturn seas with a wave of his hand.

"Boring, bureaucrats who can't be fought, no fun at all like slaves, money not earned by themselves, no joy whatsoever, and these naked women, not even stockings, is this the kind of pleasure designed for primitive monkeys? And this so-called power, is that all?"

Ronan mentally mocked this so-called happiness.

Before long, Ronan came to his senses. His magic and physique had been slightly enhanced, but this enhancement was insignificant. Moreover, he was not delirious. On the contrary, his brief moment of distraction had almost caused him and Agustina to fall into the Flame Swamp together.

Ronan, carrying Agustina, continued forward.

After an unknown amount of time, Agustina's condition improved somewhat.

"If we encounter strong resistance ahead, don't even think about taking care of me," Agustina said weakly.

“Who do you take me for? If there were a powerful enemy, I would definitely use you as a human shield or bait,” Ronan said.

Agustina forced an awkward smile. "I was just worried you'd catch something from the captain."

Ronan patted Agustina's bottom. "She's more like I've corrupted her; my heart is as filthy as the swamp below."

“Ha.” Agustina laughed, then her expression froze.

Seeing her change, Ronan suddenly asked, "What's wrong?"

“I feel like I’m breaking through the threshold of the second stage,” Agustina said, though she was very weak.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Elena was cursing Dinia because Dinia had taken the Fruit of Pain and Weakness and eaten it first.

"Are you out of your mind? If you eat the Weakness Fruit, you'll have a reason to make me die when we encounter a strong enemy, won't you?" Elena kept scolding her.

Dinya remained silent and offered no response.

"Say something!" Elena yelled impatiently.

Dinya still did not respond.

“If you don’t say anything, I’ll jump,” Elena threatened.

At this moment, Dinia finally spoke, "You can't jump."

"I..." Elena was speechless after Dinia's words.

“My friends and my teachers died because of me, and I don’t want you to die because of me,” Dinia said. “If that man was lying, this fruit might be extremely harmful, but even so, I certainly won’t die. You’re different; you might die if you eat it.”

In fact, Dinia was also enhanced, but this enhancement meant nothing to her and she couldn't feel it at all.

"Alright, I owe you a life now," Elena pouted.

“No need. You won’t die from eating the Pain Fruit; at most, you’ll writhe in pain and scream,” Dinia said.

Elena angrily slammed her fist on the mushroom boat twice. "Are you stupid? If someone is in danger, she won't die even if you don't save her, but if you do save her, doesn't that mean she owes you her life?"

With a thud, Dinia punched Elena in the face and said, "I was just about to kill you, which makes up for saving you once. Now you don't owe me anything."

Elena was speechless, both amused and exasperated. After a long pause, she finally managed to say, "I'm starting to understand why the young master likes you. It's because you're a weirdo too."

Chapter 270 The Seres, Clearly a Tower, A Logic Puzzle

At this moment, Ronan and Agustina stood on a small island with a thick layer of sand on its surface. In the middle of the island was a tower whose height was impossible to estimate and whose top could not be seen when looking up.

The tower emitted a strong white light, which was the dim white vertical line that Ronan had first seen.

Ronan didn't know how long it had taken to get here from the burning swamp; it could have been three days or five.

This place is always dark, with nothing but burning swamps. At first, I had a relatively accurate sense of time, but now it's completely blurred. I can only roughly estimate that three to five days have passed based on my physical exhaustion. If I stay here any longer, I might completely lose my sense of time.

After taking a few steps, Ronan stared in shock at the vertical column of traditional Chinese characters.

The writing wasn't written on; it was drawn with a finger.

“What does this say?” asked Agustina, who had recovered. She could tell it was some kind of script, but she didn’t recognize it at all.

"I bestow upon it the name Eternal Night Palace." Ronan slowly read the words aloud in Chinese. Although he hadn't used his mother tongue for over ten years and hadn't forgotten it at all, he still stumbled a bit when he read it.

"What are you saying?" Agustina couldn't understand at all.

“In Seresian,” Ronan said, then translated for Agustina, “this means, I bestow upon this place the name Eternal Night Palace.”

“Palace? Don’t try to fool me, I’m not well-educated. This is a tower!” Agustina said.

“Is that the point?” Ronan said. “The point is that a Seresian was here, but no, there are three other people’s footprints here.”

Agustina looked down and saw that there were indeed three different people's footprints. She looked closely and realized that they were not the captain's or Elena's footprints. She walked over and stepped on one of the footprints, compared it to hers, and found that it was slightly larger than hers. So she said with certainty, "It should be that Lex, and Henry and his old butler."

"Let's go into the tower."

Ronan called to Agustina and then entered the tower.

Upon entering the tower, I felt my magic power being suppressed. Although it wasn't as completely impossible to cast spells as it was in the magic-suppressing space with Gardener Tyr, casting spells inside the tower still became a very difficult task.

Ronan finally understood that all the otherworldly beings or the alternate dimensions they left behind had one problem: they all had a problem with magic.

Once inside the tower, Agustina went up the stairs, only to find Ronan standing motionless on the first floor. "Why aren't you moving?"

"How tall do you think this tower is?" Ronan asked.