lol: After being blessed by the Happy Demon, I became the harem king

Page 24

Looking at Zeli, who was already beginning to deny reality, Faen smacked his lips. It was clear that this social incident had indeed had a significant impact on Zeli. Although she appeared fine, she had actually been broken for a while.

Seeing this, Faen also slightly activated the happiness factor in Zeli's body.

With the activation of the happiness factor, Zeli, who had been muttering to herself like a dazed fool due to intense self-doubt, gradually regained her spirits. After seeing the scene before her clearly, she looked at the helpless-looking Fan, and Salafine, who stood in front of Fan with her small hands clenched, her face full of embarrassment, confusion, and hesitation, but also concern and worry.

"Ahhh!!!" With a scream, Zeli rolled over and buryed her upper body under the covers, instantly transforming into an ostrich to avoid the gaze of Salafine and Fain. At the same time, her chaotic brain began to ponder whether a machine capable of turning back time existed in this world.

As she watched Zeli roll over and bury her head under the covers, her upturned buttocks rising with the movement and the medicine flowing out, Salafine couldn't help but reveal a complicated expression.

Is this quantity real? That's not what my biology textbook says.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. Salafine quickly looked to Fan behind her for help. Seeing this, Fan nodded and then came to the bedside with a hint of helplessness. He first covered Zeli with the blanket, and then forcibly pulled Zeli's little head out from under the covers.

Looking at the pitiful little face, Farn patted her back and comforted her, "Don't be so nervous. We've known each other for a long time. Salafine is our friend. She won't distance herself from you because of something like this."

Upon hearing this, Zeli wrinkled her nose, then asked timidly, "Really?"

This time, Farn didn't speak, but instead looked at Salafine beside him. Seeing this, Salafine immediately nodded and said, "Of course it's true! I... I was just a little surprised, because it was so sudden..."

As she said this, Salafine pursed her lips, then took a deep breath and said, "And it is true that I came to see you in the middle of the night... Although it sounds strange, I still have many things I want to ask you. As for what just happened... I was just a little surprised that Mr. Fane would be here. If I had known, I wouldn't have done it this way."

Sensing the shifts in Zeli's thoughts, Salafine felt a slight tension. Just as Fain had said, Salafine didn't want Zeli to become unlike herself because of this. Now, having calmed down, although witnessing this scene had genuinely shocked Salafine, and even now her mind was still filled with Zeli's infatuated, dreamy expression, and Fain's explosively powerful figure amidst the immense scale...

But upon closer reflection, it's not hard to understand. After all, Zeli and Fain have known each other for so long... and both Fain and Zeli share the same goal, and are both so mature and outstanding. It seems only natural that they would get together...

Thinking this way, under the influence of the happiness factor, she felt a natural fondness and trust for Fain, but she also realized that Fain was already taken. Salafine also felt a bittersweet feeling under the secretion of the happiness factor hormone.

Fortunately, Salafine, who had grown up in a healthy environment, quickly suppressed these emotions and continued talking about things related to the matter.

Zeli wasn't stupid. Although she sometimes got carried away and would throw herself into the enemy team like she did in a game, once she calmed down, Zeli could sense that Seraphine was trying to comfort her and prevent her from giving up. In fact, to help Zeli regain her spirits, Seraphine, who didn't know what else to say, started talking about the good qualities she saw in Zeli, things she needed to learn from her, and various other things she felt about herself.

Listening to Salafine's description, feeling the concern and heartfelt admiration in her words, and then looking at myself in this state...

Sniffling, Zeli burst into tears and jumped off the bed, lunging at Salafine.

"You're such a good person!"

Seeing Zeli rush over and hug her, Salafine was momentarily flustered, but fortunately, as a battle-hardened warrior, Zeli, despite being severely exhausted, could still use magic to strengthen her body, so she quickly regained her balance.

Holding Salafenny in front of her, Zeli wiped away her tears, leaned closer to look at Salafenny's eyes, which were full of concern and embarrassment, and asked nervously, "You really don't think I'm a bad woman?"

“Of course not!” Salafine immediately retorted, “Bad people don’t have Miss Zeli’s vibrant rhythm! What happened just now was a private matter! Outsiders have no right to, and should not, discuss it!”

Seeing Seraphine's earnest response, Zeli blinked, then hugged Seraphine tightly: "We'll be best friends forever!!"

"Okay, okay..."

Salafine responded gently to Zeli, and feeling the joy in Zeli's words and the cheerful melody emanating from her spirit, the girl's expression also showed a touch of joy and relaxation.

Although what happened was somewhat embarrassing, Seraphine didn't want to lose Zelly as a friend... Because she couldn't control her magic as a child, Seraphine had always had very few friends and playmates. Let alone a sunny, lively girl like Zelly, who came from Zaun and also possessed magical powers.

Seeing Zeli resolve her inner conflict and the two girls reconcile, Fain coughed lightly twice, then said candidly, "Now that the problem is solved, perhaps we should hurry up and get some rest?"

Upon hearing this, Zeli made a face at Fain, then grabbed Salafine's hand and said, "I want to sleep with Salafine, not with you, you bad guy!"

“I hope you can still be this sisterly every night~” Faen seemed quite at ease.

42. Meeting with Hilko

Zeli, carrying the medicine, excitedly went to Salafine's room to chat about their best friend matters. Meanwhile, Farn stayed in his original room to clean—or rather, to manipulate the water flow to carry away the grime and discharge it into the sewers and into the sea.

There's no need to worry about pollution—compared to the alchemical pollution of Zaun itself, what impact can some bodily fluids have?

After that, he glanced at the time and saw it was 5:30 a.m., so he simply sat cross-legged and meditated, feeling the fluctuations in his spiritual realm.

Although he seemed to be busy with the winds of change or engaging in intimate acts with Zeli during this period, Faen never actually relaxed his control over the power of Osiris.

Especially after the Reform Movement was established and workers occupied two-thirds of the Zaun underclass, Fain could clearly feel that a radical ideology was spreading among the working class.

This is not the workers' fault.

Farn knew very well that this was because these workers had been oppressed for too long. They had no channel to voice their opinions and fight for their due rights. The emergence of the winds of change filled this gap, but just like the story that unfolded at the evening grievance meetings—many workers wanted to express their inner suffering and gain understanding and tolerance. Unfortunately, the platform was limited.

Beyond simply recounting their suffering, the workers also yearned for revenge, for destruction—the destruction of the alchemist barons and their henchmen. This extreme sentiment is not unlike populism; both can quickly ignite a movement. However, history has repeatedly shown that such extreme ideologies can also manipulate and exploit those who exploit them…

Beyond these social science-related aspects, what's more important is that these ideas will genuinely influence Farn himself.

Nera gained the power of Osiris, and Fane gained the concept of Osiris. However, despite the same concept, Fane did not want to become the next Osiris, the one who, swept away by ecstasy and maddened by lust, launched an attack on the Immortal Celestials.

This is precisely why Farn must better control the ideological shifts in Zaun, Piltover, and other regions in the future. He doesn't need to ensure that every region has the same peaceful ideology, but he must at least guarantee that they maintain a general balance.

Thinking this, a short while later, Faen seemed to sense something and opened his eyes. He looked towards the window to the side. Facing the sea, a gentle breeze was blowing. Along with a few rays of morning light appearing on the sea, the breeze lifted the curtains, and a bluebird was standing on the windowsill, curiously tilting its head and looking at Faen.

Upon sensing the aura emanating from the bluebird, a smile appeared on Faen's lips.

“I will come to visit you now, Janna.”

Upon hearing this, the bluebird did not speak, but simply tilted its head curiously and looked at Faen.

After meditating for a while, Fain got up and began to deal with the current situation in Zaun.

He didn't feel exhausted, because the workers' resistance was driven by hope and joy, which allowed Farn to feel his energy steadily increasing. Especially since Shuona already had a core group of Zaun workers from the Vander era under her command. Regaining hope, combined with the activation brought by trace amounts of happiness factors, and knowing it was only a small part of the city, wasn't particularly difficult to handle.

The same goes for Fan; all he needs to do is manage the overall direction. Most of the details are handled by Shuona... Knowing about Hilko's secret assistance, Shuona is quite ruthless in dealing with those opportunists who betray their cause and leak information.

At 3 PM, after finishing his current business, Fain, along with Zeli, Seraphine, and Shuona, and other key members, used the various pipes in the lower levels of Zaun to reach an underground tunnel.

Similar buildings are common in Zaun, some of which even date back to the Shurima era thousands of years ago.

Janna, the Storm's Fury, is one of the oldest faiths in Runeterra. While not as ancient as Aurelion Sol or the Celestials, her faith existed long before the Shurima Empire rose from the sands.

Because of its geographical location, many people in ancient Zaun pray to the wind. Among them are sailors hoping for good weather, oppressed people praying for change, and many mortals who place their hopes in the howling winds and torrents that sweep across Runeterra.

Sometimes, these storms would respond to the prayers of those who prayed. For example, a strong wind would fill the sails to help cumbersome ships set sail, or a sharp whistle would sound before a storm to alert people to the changing weather. Some even claimed to have seen white-clad elves circling bluebirds. Thus, people called this magical being Garn-Arem, which means "Guardian" in Old Shurima, because she always seemed to appear in the most perilous times.

But gradually, with the rise of the Shurima Empire, religious restrictions forced people to destroy the statues of Janna. Unfortunately, people always valued pragmatism. After all, even celestial warriors couldn't protect ships from storms. So the guardian's name was simplified to Janna. And the object of prayer changed from the massive statue to the small, concealed bluebird amulet.

Of course, in addition to these, the small altars built deep underground in the tunnels have never disappeared. However, most of these small altars are not well known to outsiders, and many have been destroyed due to the changes in Zaun's natural environment and destructive mining.

The altar that appeared when Jinx and Vi were in the Battle of the Two Cities storyline is still the one.

Sure enough, when Fain and the others arrived at the altar, several people also emerged from another tunnel.

Looking at the ancient altar, Hilko's face was full of nostalgia.

“Jana…the ancient guardian of Zaun. Did you arrange for us to meet here to pray to this deity who has been missing for who knows how many years?”

“I hear a lot of resentment in your words.” Upon hearing this, Fain shook his head and said, “But Janna has never wronged you Zaunites.”

“I just want to know if she really exists, and what she did.” Hilko shook his head, his face full of indifference.

The long struggle with Piltover had extinguished all superfluous thoughts in Hilko's mind. She had undoubtedly tried to contact beings like faith or deities more than once. Unfortunately, the Twin Cities region was vastly different from other parts of Runeterra; the number of extraordinary individuals hidden here was extremely limited. Due to cultural and other reasons, all powerful individuals either departed or, like Janna, perished. The only one capable of maintaining their peak fighting strength, in Fain's memory, was a chaotic Darkin.

Now, upon hearing Hilko's words, Farn said unhurriedly, "You should remember this. When the Sun Gate Sea Lock and the canal were built, an entire area along the Pilt River sank below sea level to the west. Before the disaster struck, people prayed in despair."

Farn turned his gaze to Hilko beside him.

The Sun Gate Lock and the canal were built relatively recently, but the benefits they brought far exceeded people's imagination. And since even Shuona, who personally experienced that era, knew this, it's hard to believe that Hilko didn't.

Upon hearing Fane's words, Hilko frowned slightly, then said with a furrowed brow, "You mean, the raging hurricane that blocked that flow of water was brought by Janna?"

Hilcob remembered vividly how, when Zaun sank, a hurricane swept through the city along with the floodwaters, using air barriers to contain the influx. The gale even broke through the thick smoke, guiding people in the direction of escape.

To be honest, Hilko didn't believe this proved Janna's existence. Only a few thousand people had actually witnessed it. This included the submerged cities, most of which were planned for abandonment and had been evacuated beforehand. However, the geological changes were far more dramatic than anticipated, resulting in the deaths of thousands from the aftershocks of the collapse.

And the words of these survivors... at least now, Hilko no longer believes them.

In response, Farn said, "Not only that, there was also the miasma that Piltover leaked to Zaun—the reason that miasma didn't directly cover the entire Zaun was because of Janna's storm protection. She used the storm to blow a path through the sweeping poison gas."

Piltover wasn't always prosperous, nor was Zaun always corrupt. Long ago, before Zaun and Piltover were so divided, or rather, before Zaun had the ability to negotiate for rights related to the Sungate, Piltover's industries developed within its own city.

This was the only time Zaun's environment was better than Piltover's. Later, when the two sides completely broke off relations, Piltover could no longer tolerate any more arcane contamination, so it simply dumped all the pollutants directly into Zaun from top to bottom.

Piltover's location upstream in the city's geography gives it a natural advantage, forcing Zaun to become known as a polluted city.

Farn's words undoubtedly touched on areas where Hilko was unfamiliar with the subject, causing Hilko to involuntarily furrow her brow.

Seeing this, Farn shook his head and said, "This isn't something you're good at. You'll soon find out whether it's true or false. It's like when you discovered the faint light; you don't need to understand the underlying principles, you just need it to work, right?"

Upon hearing this, Hilko fell silent, offering no argument. After a moment, he nodded.

What are your plans?

43. Meeting Janna

A person should have self-awareness—and Hilco was such a person.

Although in the past, Hilcoe made a wrong choice due to misjudging Zaun's power, stripping Vander of his authority and turning Zaun, who were slowly undergoing euthanasia under Vander's rule, into a Zaun that was rapidly and violently annihilated, after realizing the many problems in reality, Hilcoe quickly calmed down and did everything he could to prolong the instantaneous death...

Of all these things, the best thing Hilco did was to develop and utilize the faint light.

This made Zaun overly reliant on the glimmer of light controlled by Hilko to function effectively, and it also prevented the alchemical barons from turning against Zaun, no matter how disloyal they were. The trading families were the same – since Zaun was going to send the goods anyway, there was no need to rush, lest Zaun suffer a devastating defeat, and who knew how much risk those strange alchemical contamination-inducing creatures would pose.

Based on this, Hilcobon is considered the most fearsome King of Zaun. But in reality...

Hilko didn't actually understand the power he possessed.

The reason he was able to control the Glimmer was simply because his roar after breaking with Vander and falling into the poisonous lake, his intense obsession, attracted the attention of the primal Glimmer, allowing Hilko to survive and master the method of producing Glimmer. Beyond that, what other interests the Glimmer possessed, how it strengthened the body, activated the nervous system, and even revived him from near death and drowning… Hilko himself didn't know.

He wasn't a scholar, but rather the initiator of the Zaun resistance movement. Aside from mastering the production method of the Glowing Potion, Hilko's understanding of the properties of Glowing was far inferior to that of the poison master Farn encountered at the concert—who at least possessed the technology related to purifying activated toxic mist from Glowing.

Fortunately, Hilko stopped questioning things like magic and gods and instead asked, "What are you planning to do about Zaun?"

Hilko's words also caught the attention of Shuona and the others nearby—although they were old acquaintances, Shuona clearly had some issues with Hilko. Even now, she remained indifferent and didn't exchange many words with him.

It's no wonder that Shuona would react this way. After all, Shuona genuinely believed that Shirco could change Zaun, preventing it from becoming like the one under Vander's rule, a lackey of Piltover, begging for meager scraps, and instead allowing it to reclaim its rightful rights to the Sungate and truly become independent.

But as it turned out, Van der Leyen was actually right...

If Shuona herself bears some responsibility for knowing this, then later, as Hilko uses the Glimmering Potion to control the lower echelons of Zaun, Hilko becomes a traitor in Shuona's eyes.

However, Faen had little interest in the feuds between these older Zaunians. He simply said calmly, "The future of Zaun will always be in the hands of the Zaunites. I have no time to become the so-called King of Zaun."

"So who do you want to be the new King of Zaun?" Hilko frowned, then asked calmly, "Or rather, after taking over Zaun, how do you plan to establish a new Zaun?"

"The future of Zaun is in the hands of the Zaunites themselves," Fain reiterated, then turned and walked toward Janna's statue. As he walked, he said, "I will only stop and correct the course of Zaun's development when it makes more and more Zaunites feel uneasy and desperate, just like now."

Upon hearing Fan's words, Hilko couldn't help but frown.

Fane's words might seem to suggest he has no ambition for power, but upon closer examination, the power he desires actually far exceeds the combined total of his and Vander's. Even he and Vander haven't truly controlled Zaun, and Fane's words give the impression that he places the entire future of Zaun above his own thoughts and decisions.

One thought is life, the other thought is death.

This is far more power than what it takes to become the King of Zaun.

Just as Hilko was about to say something, Farn raised his palm.

Farn could somewhat sense what Hilko was thinking, but he didn't care. Because for Hilko, no amount of explanation would matter; when the time came, he would naturally make the right choice.

Now, with the spirit constantly being activated, the world in front of Fain's vision began to gradually blur before becoming clear again, only with many ripples that ordinary people could not observe with the naked eye.

This is a scene of magic flowing through the atmosphere—the division between the spiritual and material realms is not as absolute as people imagine. In fact, many people have unexpectedly entered a shallow spiritual realm, also known as 'dreams'.

A surging magic forms a veil between the spiritual and material realms. Some people, during their deep sleep, experience a gradual shift in their consciousness towards the other side of the dream world, accompanied by the slumber of their physical body. However, such dreams often cannot be sustained for long. Once any noise comes from the material world, or any fright occurs in the dream, one's consciousness quickly detaches, and one exclaims, "Thank goodness it was just a dream."

The spiritual realm differs from the material realm. Its structure is incredibly complex, resembling a multiverse in science fiction. Any interest can form an independent spiritual realm, and even an individual can expand their consciousness into a unique spiritual domain.

Different regions, too, have developed different spiritual realms based on the different people living on that land.

In most cases, things in the material realm affect the spirit, which in turn affects the spiritual realm, and then the spiritual realm in turn affects people's spirit, which in turn exacerbates what happens in the material realm—Zu'an is no exception.

However, Zaun is different from other places. The people here do not understand magic as simply arcane arts, but want to analyze it through scientific methods so that mortals can also freely control its power.

The ideal is good, but unfortunately even mass-produced Hextech standard weapons have strict usage requirements for ordinary people.

Life in the spiritual realm is often intertwined with numerous concepts. Just like the demigods of Freljord, after the people there shifted their faith from the original demigods to the Three Sisters of Frost, a significant number of demigods perished or weakened due to the poison of faith. Only a very small number of demigods who recognized the negative effects of this poison from the beginning and did not hastily attempt to master it survived.

As the center of cultural exchange in Runeterra, the Twin Cities experience shifts in thought every so often. They are unable to even conjure a truly spiritual entity, let alone cultivate regional deities.

Especially after the sinking of Zaun, which literally turned Zaun into a 'twin city', even if countless changes in thought gave rise to a certain consciousness, it completely lost its chance of birth due to the fragmentation of the city-state.

For beings in the spiritual realm, such a rapidly changing region is by no means the first choice for their nest—because the trends of thought here change too frequently, and they cannot maintain a stable, long-term, singular extreme emotion here.

Even in such an extremely harsh environment for spiritual beings, a consciousness has always been present and has never been extinguished.

Suddenly, Jinx seemed to sense something and abruptly turned her gaze toward the tunnel on one side.

Noticing Jinx's actions, the others also turned their gazes into the distance. A short while later, accompanied by a rumbling sound, they clearly felt a cool, refreshing sea breeze—one that could never be found inside Zaun—blowing from the tunnel.

Amidst that storm, verdant bluebirds spread their wings and soared.

The Bluebird is Janna's messenger; this is something every Zaunite knows.

Now, watching the birds swarming in, Hilko and the others fell silent, no longer discussing what had just happened. Instead, they stared at the scene before them with curiosity, surprise, or disbelief.