Lucian had nearly forgotten about the dwarves; it was only when Natasha brought it up that he remembered. He paused in eating his caviar and chuckled, "Didn't I already give you a rough account of the adventure on the Plateau of Night?"
"Right, you were absolutely terrible — you added another layer of extra defense on that vampire count's defensive core, making it even more 'sturdy'!" Even now, the mere mention of it set Natasha grinning from ear to ear. Lucian was always full of what he himself called his twisted sense of humor, but — well, she loved it!
Lucian was rather proud of how he'd handled that situation: "That was the one. To lure the dwarves back, I went along with the misunderstanding and impersonated their God of Steam, even 'displaying' a fictitious divine kingdom — 'Atlantis.' Inside were my fantasies of how the alchemical industry might continue to develop, the future I wanted to see. Heh heh, back then I even imagined that through great advances in the elemental and alchemical fields, we could create alchemical bombs that would rival the rising sun. And as it turned out — well, reality is stranger than fiction. The 'Eternal Blazing Sun' already exists."
Since the topic of dwarves had come up, Lucian offered a brief preliminary explanation of "Atlantis."
Hearing Lucian's account, Natasha was stunned at first, then burst into laughter so uncontrollable she could barely maintain her courtly composure. She nearly collapsed onto the table: "So that's what those dwarves have been worshipping — an alchemical bomb! Ha ha ha, that's too hilarious! I've never come across such an amusing sect!"
Worshipping the Nuclear Bomb Cult — well, I've seen that in games before, Lucian thought with a smile, watching Natasha doubled over with laughter.
Natasha struggled to compose herself, speaking between fits of laughter: "According to the intelligence department's report, after the 'Eternal Blazing Sun' detonated a while back, those dwarves went completely mad. Every single one of them devoutly worshipped that silver-grey — ha ha — that silver-grey steel bomb, shouting about divine blessing, the arrival of Atlantis, and all manner of things. They kept trying to find out who had cast the 'Eternal Blazing Sun,' convinced it was an apostle of the God of Steam… a Chosen One… a saint."
"If they found out it was me who created that Arcane Magic, their God of Steam would be downgraded to Chosen One." Lucian shook his head and sighed, a strange thought rising in his mind: if the dwarves continued developing like this — refining their doctrines, perfecting their religious rituals — would the power of faith converge on him? Or would it go straight to the "nuclear bomb" instead?
Lucian had no interest in "ascending to godhood" for the time being — El was a cautionary tale. But studying how the power of faith gathered had always been something he wanted to do; peeling back the veil of the gods would surely unveil the deeper mysteries of the world.
After discussing matters related to the assimilation of the dwarves, Natasha picked up her napkin and dabbed her mouth: "I'll allocate the surplus monasteries to the municipal councils in various regions as sites for public schools."
After the Southern Church's withdrawal, the moderate faction's numbers had dwindled considerably from their peak. To keep them in check, Natasha had seized part of the monasteries and Church properties, claiming them for the crown and the state respectively. This had instantly filled both the Queen's coffers and the Kingdom's treasury, which was why she could so readily agree to Lucian's public school plan — she was using her private funds, no vote in the House of Lords required.
"Once the schools you establish together with Parliament start producing waves of talented people, I imagine the royal family's foundation will only grow more secure," Lucian said with a smile.
Natasha set down her napkin and smiled at Lucian: "Of course I'll support your plan. And you've already convinced me."
Lucian nodded gently, his expression solemn and earnest: "If everything around us stays the same, still mired in ignorance and backwardness — what joy is there in achieving success within such a society and looking down from above? What meaning is there in being the leader of a herd of pigs? A true Archanist must drive society forward, make humanity more civilized. Ensuring that everyone can enjoy the convenience and comfort brought by alchemical goods — that is the greatest achievement…"
Listening to Lucian's heartfelt words, Natasha gazed at him quietly, her eyes intent. This version of him was more charming than he had ever been.
When Lucian finished, Natasha beamed: "Mm, being queen of a poor, backward country where most people can't even read — how could that compare to watching your nation flourish, its civilization growing ever more advanced?"
Lucian glanced at Leo and the two maids standing at attention nearby, then rose with a smile: "Let me show you the actual sights of Atlantis."
Natasha was briefly stunned, the corner of her mouth twitching, before she caught on — Lucian had something else to discuss. She picked up her black riding hat from nearby, set it at a jaunty angle on her head, and followed him at an unhurried pace into the sitting room.
Once Lucian activated the isolated Magic Circle, she asked gravely: "What is it?"
"Nothing urgent at the moment. Weren't you just upset that I advanced to the legendary realm without telling you?" Lucian said, the corners of his mouth curving upward as he looked at Natasha.
Natasha seemed to recall something, and couldn't help blushing — beautifully so — before she coughed twice, her thoughts racing: "You intend to conceal the fact that you've already advanced to legendary? To strike at the legendary powerhouse the Church might send to eliminate you?"
Lucian gave a thumbs up — in this regard, Natasha was always sharp: "Exactly. I want to weaken the Church's legendary strength as much as possible. If I made this public, they'd most likely stop acting and switch to some other method of hunting me down. After all, a legendary mage is very hard to kill — which means it wouldn't serve the purpose of striking at them. Besides, you're still under the Shadow of Ctonia, and I'd like to resolve both matters together."
Understanding that a large part of Lucian's plan was motivated by helping her deal with Ctonia, Natasha had been about to object. But seeing the resolve in his eyes, she abandoned the thought. The corner of her mouth curled upward as she smiled: "The thing is — there are those who are always plotting how to assassinate others, but there's no one who spends all their time guarding against being assassinated."
"Then we need to find the right opportunity to lure them out together," Lucian said without a moment's hesitation. As long as the enemy underestimated his strength, he could hold them in place until His Excellency the Chairman, his teacher, Grandmother Heather, and the other reinforcements arrived to encircle them.