How to Make an Idiot Listen to You (Continued)

"No." Schrödinger toyed with the apple in his hand and shook his head. "I didn't say that... but at least, it's established in mythology that Aphrodite couldn't give Prince Paris happiness, isn't it?"

"..."

Rita felt as if she had been hit by a suicide truck.

The other person was clearly using those words to disgust her.

"But then again, Hera was originally meant to be a clown played by Shakespeare himself... Honestly, why did I have to get involved?"

Schrödinger arrived, sighed in boredom, and left with the apple, talking to himself as he went.

"..."

Although Schrödinger turned and left, Rita still felt annoyed.

"Um... what are you two talking about? Discussing mythology?"

Bianka looked completely bewildered.

"... Well, Lady Bianka, I'll go prepare dinner now. Please excuse me."

"Oh..." Bianka nodded slowly.

This could be considered a bad ending?

Although Liu Bai felt that the ending this time was not bad...

"Was the atmosphere a little off just now?"

Bianka belatedly realized what was happening.

"... They all really want to eat apples?"

... Isn't this a case of not reacting at all?

"Um... I guess so, but anyway, thank you for today."

"?"

Bianka looked completely bewildered.

Out of consideration for Bianka's help, Liu Bai sighed and explained, "Because dividing an apple isn't just about an apple. Even though I know that dividing it equally is the best approach, I can't say that."

This matter is not as simple as just dividing apples!

After Shakespeare left, to put it nicely, it was an expression of affection; to put it bluntly, the apple had become a symbol of courtship.

In this situation, even if Liu Bai wanted to divide it equally, he couldn't say it directly—the occasion and atmosphere were inappropriate.

"...don't know."

Bianka for a moment but then shook her head. "However, Mr. Guardian Spirit, who do you think Prince Paris in the myth should have given the golden apple to?"

For some reason, Bianka felt an intense urge to know the answer.

"From a mythological perspective, this seems to me to be a dead end. No matter how eloquent Paris is, he can't change the outcome. Because women are mostly emotional beings, let alone goddesses? And Greek goddesses at that, who are known for their capricious tempers... So unless Paris can conjure up two more golden apples out of thin air, he's doomed either way."

Liu Bai sighed, and thought of Shakespeare's stupid play again.

"But then again, based on the myths, if we had to choose from these three... perhaps choosing Athena would be the option that would allow us to live the longest, probably."

"Why?"

"Because Athena is more reasonable?"

"Oh..."

"Of course, I'm referring to mythology... Thankfully, what I just saw was just a play with Shakespeare bad taste..."

Liu Bai sighed wearily—even though he didn't have a heart.

Bianka turned her head away, seemingly lost in thought.

After several days of sailing, propelled by high-speed ocean currents, you have successfully arrived at the Yucatán Peninsula.

After landing on the island and exploring the area, you encounter a girl dressed in primitive attire—although theoretically, she should be from the Mayan civilization.

You were initially mistaken for 'Federals,' but after a brief exchange, they confirmed your identities as 'drifters' and sought your assistance—promising that you would allow her... cough, do whatever she wanted in her village afterward.

That's not very interesting...

Upon entering the village, you discover a group of similarly dressed primitives invading the village's inhabitants. They proclaim themselves "civilized"—but Bianka's fists are anything but civilized.

—Or rather, more civilized than them.

After defeating the enemy, you were warmly received by the village chief, Tasumal. You also learned that the girl who sought your help was the village's priestess, Ikonal.

"Gulp... It's so spicy!"

After taking a bite of the tortilla in her hand, Bianka immediately choked and tears welled up in her eyes.

"An A-rank Valkyrie would never lose to a chili pepper or anything like that!"

"If you change those lines slightly, they'll sound like a defeated female knight..."

Liu Bai complained, "But if you can't handle spicy food, it's best not to try. Generally speaking, if you have this kind of reaction in your mouth, you'll probably have the same reaction in your butt the next day."

"Don't say such disgusting things!"

"... This is heartfelt advice from an elder." Liu Bai sighed.

The girl dressed as a caveman looked at Bianka, whose face was flushed from the spiciness. "Miss Bianka, who are you talking to?"

"Just Rita's and my guardian spirits..." Bianka pouted, glancing casually at the tortilla in her hand. "But this tortilla is really delicious. The lean meat, the fat, and the tomatoes are all grilled to perfection! It's just that I wasn't prepared and suddenly got a burning sensation from the spiciness. It's nothing serious!"

Anyone could see the bravado on Bianka's face.

"Um, I'm serious, if you force yourself to be brave... Miss Bianka, you don't want your butt to be burning hot tomorrow, do you?"

"Gulp... It's just... just a few chili peppers..."

Clearly, Bianka had already given up, but she was still too proud to admit defeat with her tortilla.

"In that case, I'll go ask Grandma Village Chief to cook a pot with extra chili peppers."

Shakespeare remained the same amused person.

"Gurgle..."

"Alright, alright, Rita, could you please go and ask the village chief to save a few pancakes from the next batch without chili peppers?"

Liu Bai couldn't stand it anymore—he hadn't forgotten the grudge Shakespeare had inflicted on him last time!

"Understood."

Bianka compatibility +5%

"But then again, they've already reduced the spiciness to cater to our tastes, haven't they..."

Liu Bai compared the flatbread in Bianka's hand with the flatbread in Ikonal's hand, and the amount of chili peppers was obviously much different.

Upon hearing Liu Bai's words, Bianka's stubbornness flared up again, and she reached out and picked up the cornbread she had just taken a bite of.

"... No, even so, don't stubbornly insist on this... Although I won't stop you if you really want to add an unforgettable memory to your butt, after all, it's good for someone your age to accumulate more life experience."

By the end, Liu Bai's voice had taken on a hint of anticipation, as if he were watching a good show.

"..."

Buttocks, or the "dignity" of A-rank Valkyrie?

... It really is the butt, I guess.

After all, if her buttocks got hurt, her dignity as a young girl would be ruined...

After a short and pleasant meal, you learned from Ikonal that the next ten days would be festivals of the Mayan civilization, and the festivals of primitive civilizations are often inseparable from gods.

Therefore, your Ikonal started talking about Mayan gods, and then the topic turned to "faith".

"Speaking of which, Miss Bianka, the guardian spirit you mentioned earlier... is it a deity?"

The primitive girl asked shyly, her beauty undiminished by her makeup.

"There was indeed a nun who called me a god once..." Liu Bai chuckled nostalgically. "But that was a long time ago. I have nothing to do with gods, after all, I am neither omnipotent nor can I grant wishes."

"More like a friend than a god?"

Bianka for a moment before answering.

"That guy is indeed inexplicable with our current knowledge... although I don't have much knowledge myself."

Bianka unusually acted as if she were a little smarter, but that smartness didn't last more than two seconds.

"In short, I don't think that guy is a god... What do you think, Rita?"

"Guardian Spirit... I also believe he is not a god, and of course, I cannot explain his existence."

"...Why?"

A look of confusion crossed the Mayan girl's face—wasn't this inexplicable, mysterious being a god?

"Hmm... because I think if the Guardian Spirit really were a god, then this world would have been at peace long ago, right?"

Rita gave Ikonal a pure smile that left him speechless.

"... I really envy you guys."

Ikonal bowed to the air with a complicated expression.

"In our view, gods are beings who do whatever they want... Do you remember that general who called himself civilized?... In a way, he wasn't wrong—we are indeed barbaric believers."

Ikonal looked dejected.

"The sun god Kinish Ahawa and the corn god Hunahep both need people to perform blood-shedding rituals to nourish them; the Rain God Chaac needs to consume fresh boys when he is weak; and our village's Guardian Spirit, Ish Tab, also needs us to pierce her tongue with ropes to help her manifest her power."

"..." Bianka fell silent as she listened to Ikonal's account.

"The Mayan civilization was in the Neolithic Age, and they were undoubtedly primitive people... It's perfectly normal for them to have a tradition of human sacrifice," Liu Bai explained calmly.

"... This is absolutely absurd."

"But that's all we can do... pray to the gods so that we can barely survive here."

"..."

Night

"Worried about that girl?"

Looking at Bianka, who was restless in the room, Liu Bai asked softly.

Clearly, Bianka is currently unable to concentrate at all.

"... This reminds me of my first mission, the frustration of waiting in the helicopter for sortie orders."

"Then let's go find them." Liu Bai didn't care about Bianka's irritability. "Bianka —although I don't advocate violence, you need to understand that you are the strongest person on this ship. With my help, even Schrödinger cannot defeat you."

"... But this is someone else's village..."

"Yes, this is a private matter of someone else's village, but you now have the power to trample on the rules—although I must repeat myself, I am not advocating violence, because the unbridled use of violence will only lead people to the abyss of destruction."

Liu Bai said softly, "Actually, Bianka is even more immature now than Hua was back then."

Fu Hua is actually the kind of person who will grit her teeth and carry out the process even if she knows it's wrong, as long as it's necessary, and will only become depressed or bury her feelings in her heart afterward.

Bianka... is too fixated on the absolute correctness of a matter, to the point that despite having extraordinary execution ability, she still appears indecisive in many areas—unless it's an unexpected situation like Jimmy's disappearance.

"But sometimes, old rules can only be overthrown by force—because you can't expect idiots to listen to your reasoning unconditionally."

Liu Bai said softly.

"Learning knowledge is so that idiots can understand your reasoning; exercising is so that idiots are willing to listen to your reasoning."

"... What kind of logic is that?" Bianka frowned, looking puzzled, but her annoyance had subsided considerably.

"Incidentally, the strong also have the power to set the rules—just like Otto."

"Your example really doesn't put anyone at ease."

Having spent so much time with Liu Bai these days, Bianka has become less trusting of Otto.

"... But anyway, this power should still be used with caution... right? After all, I don't want to become... the evil dragon in an RPG game."