The Matter of Talula Picking Me Up and Adopting Me

Faust walked to the roadside and held out his hand to flag down a private car.

"Excuse me, sir, I'm hijacking this vehicle. Please cooperate."

Faust replied to Lumen while stopping a car by the roadside in a humble and polite tone.

"Are you crazy, kid?!"

Thump!

"…?"

Faust tilted his head. The other party had no intention of stopping at all. Instead, they cursed at him and sped away.

"Was my method wrong? Mr. Orson clearly said that when you ask for help, you must be polite…"

"Perhaps this is no longer a matter of asking for help… Let me handle it."

Lumen commented that Faust seemed rather airheaded and then flagged down the next car.

"Excuse me, sir, could I borrow your car?"

"Are you crazy, miss—Aaaahhh!?"

The car owner, who was about to curse, immediately fled in a panic after seeing Lumen smiling and pointing a spear longer than his head at him.

"…Please let me drive."

Faust blinked and got into the driver's seat, while Lumen looked at the unlucky car owner she had scared away with mixed feelings.

Father… your humble and elegant daughter is probably beyond saving.

"Speaking of which, Faust, can you drive?"

Lumen shook her head, casting aside her useless sentiments, and asked Faust after getting into the car.

"Yes, Mr. Orson taught me when he had some free time, and he even gave me high praise."

Faust straightened up so his head could clear the steering wheel, then released the handbrake and floored the accelerator.

Vroom—!!!

"Whoa!?"

The car went careening down the road like a madman, the G-force almost throwing Lumen into the back seat.

"Wait a minute—Whoa! Faust, is this how Mr. Orson taught you to drive?! What did he say?"

Lumen felt like she was being tossed around in a washing machine on the spin cycle.

"Mr. Orson said I 'am already a qualified road hazard'."

Faust replied while aggressively turning the steering wheel.

"That's not a compliment—Ugh!"

Before Lumen could even consider jumping out, a crossbow bolt shattered the rear window and lodged itself in the car.

Due to Faust's hasty driving skills, the private car's tires were already shredded, and it was about to be caught by the army group.

"Damn it—Faust, try to drive steadily, and lend me the crossbow!"

Lumen frowned, then gritted her teeth, smashed open the car's sunroof, and leaned out with her siege spear.

The noble lady took out several explosive crossbow bolts from her quiver, tore off the shoulder straps of her clothes to tie them together, then inserted them into the barrel of her steam siege spear and aimed at a car approaching her.

Boom!!

With a loud explosion, the road surface was blown through by the crossbow bolts, and several cars, unable to dodge in time, crashed into each other.

"Uncle Sekka from the Traffic Management Bureau is going to kill me… but there's nothing I can do."

Lumen continued to create "improvised RPGs," constantly using her siege spear to block the pursuers. Although her shoulder was hit by a crossbow bolt, under the effect of adrenaline, Lumen didn't even notice the wound.

"I'm out of ammo, Faust!"

"The second checkpoint is up ahead, we'll be there soon."

Faust stylishly turned the steering wheel, accidentally hitting the windshield wipers, and then a spray of washer fluid shot out when he tried to turn them off.

"...I feel really sorry for the owner of this car."

Lumen wiped her sweat silently, then loaded the last siege spear into the launcher, the air pressure indicator already at its lowest.

—If there's only one shot left, how can I maximize the damage… Ah.

A human-shaped statue standing tall not far away caught Lumen's eye.

Lumen decisively pulled the trigger, the siege spear embedding itself into the marble statue next to it. Then, without hesitation, she threw the steam spear launcher itself near the chassis of a passing high-tonnage truck.

Creeaak—!

After a series of teeth-grinding stretching sounds, the launcher was ripped away by the truck. The giant siege spear connecting them pulled the marble statue down entirely, laying it across the road and blocking most of the pursuers.

"I'm sorry, Mayor of the First Generation…"

Lumen clasped her hands together. The public safety damage she had caused today was probably equivalent to compensating five Orsons.

58. I'm just a passerby bird-walking grandpa, you remember that!

The car, swaying precariously, finally arrived at the commercial street. Apart from the airbags, almost nothing else in the vehicle remained intact.

The commercial street, which should have been bustling with crowds, was deserted. Reunion had closed it down in advance, leaving only a few fearless Ursus civilians who had come to film and broadcast live.

"We've reached the second rendezvous point. There are crossbowmen and Arts users stationed here."

Faust took out a different colored signal flare and fired it into the sky. At the same time, dozens of armed drones suddenly appeared behind the two, and dozens of red lasers were aimed directly at them.

"Take cover, Faust!"

Lumen grabbed Faust and tried to find cover. However, before the drones could open fire after their targeting red dots landed on the two, Originium Arts and crossbow bolts surged from the windows of the tall buildings on both sides of the commercial street, shooting down all the drones.

"Sasha, are you alright!"

From a nearby window, Ino, a white-haired Liberi boy, poked out half of his body and waved his arms at Faust.

"Idiot... You're supposed to use my codename when we're on a mission."

Sasha frowned slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed, and then headed towards Ino's location with Lumen.

"You must be Miss Natalia. Teacher Orson mentioned you to us— Alright, I'm done bandaging. Please be careful with your movements."

In a room on the commercial street, Lumen sat on a chair, resting briefly, while Ino chatted and bandaged Lumen's wound.

"You're so skilled... Um, thank you for your help. Is Orson your teacher?"

"Yes! Teacher Orson is the one I admire, respect, and like the most! Also, just call me Ino. I'm the head of the Arts user squad and a medical operative for Reunion, codenamed [Mephistopheles]. Since Natalia is a friend, you don't have to use codenames, Sasha."

"Hah... Alright, Ino," Faust replied with a sigh.

Ino's innocent smile, as he stated his name, seemed to alleviate some of Lumen's fatigue and soreness from the journey.

"Hey, Sister Natalia, I know you still have a mission, but could you spare me just one minute?"

Ino leaned closer to Lumen and asked in a soft voice. Sasha, standing nearby, had a helpless expression of "here we go again." He sighed and walked to the window, setting up his crossbow.

"What is it?"

"Hmm~ Has Teacher Orson done anything strange recently? Like, lying in bed with Sister Natalia, feeding Sister Natalia, or watching the stars with Sister Natalia?"

"Uh, I don't think so..."

Lumen thought for a moment and realized she hadn't done any of the relationship-building activities typically found in dating sims with Orson. She replied with a hint of disappointment.

"That's good. Please keep up the good work, Sister Natalia. Sasha and I will lead the crossbowmen and Arts users to hold off the pursuers~"

"Okay, I'm counting on you...?"

Lumen was a bit curious why Ino seemed so much happier after hearing her answer.

Since they were almost at the edge of Kazimierz City, Orson's frequency array detection capabilities were practically negligible. However, the signal tower was only about two to three kilometers away.

"Good luck, Miss Natalia. The engineering team will assist you in entering the signal tower."

Sasha nocked a crossbow bolt and aimed at the Duke Baikal army, who were cautiously approaching the commercial street, while quietly greeting Lumen.

"Yes, I will."

Lumen nodded and then followed the engineering team on the path to the signal tower.

Thanks to the obstruction by the Shield Guards and the crossbowmen and Arts user units at two key points, the number of Duke Baikal faction personnel pursuing Lumen had significantly decreased. Even so, there were still scattered groups of mercenaries and similar individuals harassing Lumen and her group.

"Damn it, that bastard Orson didn't mention we'd run into those crazy mercenaries!"

The captain of the temporary engineering unit, an old acquaintance named Isaac, cursed as he complained and used his illegally modified nail gun to push back any mercenaries who showed themselves.

"Were you also sent by Orson?"

Lumen asked curiously, as almost everyone she encountered along the way mentioned Orson's name.

"Ah, he told me that if things got out of hand, I might need to contact the outside world. So I secretly came here beforehand and left a backdoor for the system hacker (the purpose of attracting the attention of Duke Baikal's spies on Club Activity Day). Here, get lost!"

Isaac handed an access card to Lumen, then pushed away an engineer who was forcefully picking a lock, and knocked out an approaching mercenary with a punch. He then stomped on the mercenary's armor, crushing their chest plate.

"Are all Federation engineers monsters..."

Lumen, a noble girl who had single-handedly paralyzed an entire main road, marveled inwardly as she accepted the access card.

"This access card will bypass identity verification and grant direct access to the city broadcast. We'll hold this position. Hurry and go, leave this place to us to cover your retreat!"

"...Okay!"

Lumen was initially worried about what might happen after Uncle Isaac said such a standard FLAG, but the next second, she saw him pull out an Originium vein laser cutter and slice through the shield of an opposing heavy unit, immediately dispelling her unnecessary worries.

The signal tower was empty. Lumen quickly reached the control room at the top.

Since Terra did not have fixed mobile base stations, signal transmission between cities primarily relied on high-power Originium-powered signal stations. The Emperor's location, Saint Gallant Castle, which was far from Kazimierz City, required the activation of signal towers to transmit information, regardless of physical distance or political stance.

"Access granted... Success!"

Lumen placed the access card given by the engineering team onto the reader. After a short loading period, Lumen successfully bypassed the permission verification stage and could directly use the signal tower to transmit information.

- First, I need to send a message to Saint Gallant Castle. Duke Baikal has colluded with Viscount Kerke to carry out a political kidnapping, attempting to instigate a war. I also need to notify Lungmen. If Kazimierz City is truly taken, the most logical "sacrifice" for starting a war would undoubtedly be that economic metropolis.

Lumen immediately determined her next course of action, but before she could press the button, a nauseating chill ran through her body.

"——!?"

Lumen dodged to the side as a spear pierced the spot where she had been standing a moment before.

"Heir of Rostov, traitor, deserves the harshest punishment."

The Emperor's Guard, a living hell, stood silently before Lumen, declaring Natalia's death in a voice as low as ever.

"—"

Lumen didn't speak. She wasn't interested in why the Guard was in the signal tower; her only thought now was how to transmit the message before the opponent swung their weapon.

Clang—!

The saber swung, but the sound that echoed was that of metal colliding.

"…!"

The Emperor's Guard let out a waver in their emotions for the first time, and Lumen's eyes widened.

"Are you… General Hegre?"

Lumen spoke the name of the man before her with disbelief.

"Not a general, the eldest daughter of the Rostov family—"

"Just a jobless old man passing by."

Hegre sheathed his katana and stood before the Guard, a reassuring presence like a mountain.

59. The Thunderous General

On the wasteland approaching Chernobyl, the Reunion group was marching forward.

Initially, the members of this group were chatting and joking amongst themselves, but as the march continued, more and more people gradually fell silent.

This was partly because the high-intensity march left the rebels with no energy to spare for speaking and inhaling cold air, and partly because of the dark mass of troops not far away—the invincible Ursus machine known as the Third Army Group.