William couldn’t possibly maintain his silver hair and the swirling nebula (upper body shirtless) state forever, so there was no need to disguise himself as the so-called Queen.
"Um... City Lord, you may have mistaken me for someone else."
Faced with William’s denial of identity, the silver-haired rat in front of him was not swayed, "I couldn’t be mistaken~ I personally witnessed your death and the fall of the moon during the war.
After that, even with all the knowledge I acquired throughout my life, I was unable to create even a piece of moonstone the size of a fingernail cap. That’s why I am certain that the war caused the Old World to lose the ’concept of the moon,’ and it’s impossible for anyone other than you to create a new moon.
Now, seeing a completely different new moon on you, it has to be related to you! You must be the reincarnation of Queen Fisney."
The convincing nature of the City Lord’s innermost words made William feel somewhat guilty. It wasn’t he who truly brought about the moon’s revival, but that man.
Through this conversation, William could confirm even more that the City Lord’s devotion to the moon was even greater than he had imagined.
"If Lorrian had found this place first, I can’t even begin to imagine the scene; he might well cling to Lorrian’s legs and lick them right away.
Never mind, I’ll attempt first contact. A talent must not be left to Lorrian."
While William was contemplating how to establish a normal relationship with the City Lord, another voice came to his mind, "Is such a simple matter really that hard for you, William?
Since he has misrecognized you as the Queen reincarnate and is utterly devoted to you, why not ’educate’ him straightaway with this fine opportunity?"
"Yi Chen, is it really that simple? This individual pulled the Abyss directly out of his brain, a pure being, and moreover, he is definitely of a higher level than me in terms of plague, a powerhouse from the Ancient Era.
If I use deception for the education, and once he realizes that I am just a Moonlight Infected and doesn’t even acknowledge the ’Moonheart Theory,’ we might face the situation of removing masks from before.
I have no doubt that he could stick his fingers into his brain and crush the Madness Brain Virus into pieces.
So-called education is not without a solution, it’s just a matter of utilizing the Mad Shell Virus for quicker thought implantation. The true essence of ’education’ lies in my role as a teacher preaching and bestowing knowledge, sustaining the relationship between teacher and student through the resonance of knowledge.
If the teacher-student ideology is impure from the start, the end result will inevitably be bad.
If education were one hundred percent effective, why then, back at the Orphanage, were Teacher Cao and the others unable to completely tame you? In the end, weren’t you, City Lord, removing your mask?"
"Hahaha, ha ha ha!" The sound of mad laughter filled the brain, "William, oh William, you really are~ you’re actually lecturing me? Did I, or should I say we, really remove our masks? Who built the Orphanage during the first performance of the Circus, who played the various roles of the Orphanage.
Who was acting, perfecting the Orphanage in another way, amplifying the fear within?
William, take care of yourself."
These words made William pause for a moment, and Yi Chen said no more.
Phew~ He let out a long breath.
William prepared to greet the City Lord before him in his own way.
He bent down like a gentleman and gracefully extended his right hand in front of the other.
"Although I don’t know who Queen Fisney is, and I don’t acknowledge myself as her reincarnation, it was intuition and fate that brought me here.
Upon seeing this Dark Moon Tower, hearing about your deeds, and seeing the moonheart design on the tower’s stone door, I wanted to meet you.
Even if you have been eroded by the Abyss, I still believe that a person like you would not fall into obscurity. Hence, I asked my friends to wait aside while I attempt the awakening.
Do not see me as any Queen. My name is William Behrens, and I would prefer to become friends with you."
Faced with William’s heartfelt invitation and his penetrating words, the City Lord chose to take William’s hand and slowly rose from his half-kneeling position.
"Mr. Price, my friends and I are planning to venture into the Dark Nest Mine to investigate the suspected Abyss inside the mine.
All the ratmen above Open Source level within Rat City have been affected by the Abyss, and since you’ve stayed in the Tower after the war, Price, you might not be aware of this ’special area’ that emerged in the Old World."
Price nodded, "So that dark substance is called the Abyss?
I thought it was a shadow formed by my gradually sinking will... During my slumber, there was always a voice whispering in my ear. I, too, want to see what this so-called Abyss is truly like."
And just like that, the prehistoric City Lord—Price—officially joined the team.
Snap—William snapped his fingers, and his outfit adhered to his body with a slide.
As the attire emanating the aura of an Angel Envoy concealed his body as beautiful as the starry sky, Price’s gaze also cleared up somewhat, heeding the earlier discussion and temporarily regarding him not as the reincarnation of a queen but as a moon-appreciating confidant of a friend.
He finally shifted his gaze away from William and noticed the other two females present.
He took note of the armor on Jin that incorporated gold, skin, and proliferation as its main components, and he smelled the unique Cancer Palace.
"Honored Tumor Knight... am I right?"
"Yes, I’ve just been promoted," Jin responded.
"Is armor now designed ? It seems to have become more conservative, with a unified style.
Wait for me a moment... I need to put on my armor too, which I forged with much effort back in the day."
Price’s calves tensed, and he rushed to the top of the Tower in a superfast hopping motion, a speed that belied one who had just awakened from a near-death state.
Ten minutes passed when a silver-white figure plummeted down, creating a pit in the ground without any reduction in speed.
A perfectly fitting pure silver armor,
Seeming made of pure silver metal but actually created through an ancient technique called ’Metal Mutant’ in a living state, capable of perfect self-adaptation,
Even Price’s exaggerated claws on hands and feet were covered with a layer of silver structure,
And even his tail was wrapped in silver,
The knight helmet with a design of twin moons also featured a silver mane structure, allowing a section of hair-like white fur to elegantly trail behind him, which not only improved balance but could also block attacks from behind.
The overall armor presented a distinct gradient layering, giving off the impression of a perfect exoskeleton armor. Paired with Price’s enormous ratman body, the effect was downright imposing and incredibly handsome.
"Is this the armor of an Honored Tumor Knight?"
In her experience of creating armor, the Cancer Palace had very strict rules: a gold main color scheme, skirts of flesh, among many details that were fixed and not subject to change.
"Back then, the Honored Tumor Knights weren’t fully established. Everyone could forge their armor according to their own style. By the way, how is our Lord doing? Her old self is doing well, I hope?"
"Old self? The Lord is very beautiful and young."
"Young? Yes... yes... the Lord indeed has a young skin, but I generally judge a person’s age by their body hair and smell.
It’s good to hear the Lord is still alive. After all, she is the second individual who has shown me care, after the Queen."