**Slums, Stolen Goods Warehouse**
At the bar counter, Fang Li was idly playing with the insignia resembling a Dragon Seal, but his gaze didn't linger on it; instead, he glanced to the side.
There, Felt and Rom-sama were sitting on the ground together.
Of course, they weren't just sitting there casually.
Both Felt and Rom-sama were tightly bound, with their hands tied behind their backs securely. Unless there was some divine intervention to loosen the bindings, even Rom-sama, a powerful man, couldn't break free.
They were captive.
The bar was now under Fang Li's control.
Therefore, both Felt and Rom-sama wore disgruntled expressions.
"Hey!" Felt finally couldn't help but speak, asking irritably, "What are you doing?"
"Your goal is that insignia, right?" Rom-sama also spoke displeasedly, "If so, then you should let us go, shouldn't you?"
Hearing Felt and Rom-sama's words, Fang Li stopped playing with the insignia and said, "When did I ever say that my goal was this insignia?"
"Huh?" Felt voiced her confusion, "If not for that insignia, then what are you doing here?"
"I said, you owe me a debt," Fang Li raised the insignia in his hand and said to Felt, "As for this insignia, it's just incidental."
"Who are you trying to fool?" Felt said disapprovingly, "You're obviously here only for that insignia. It's embedded with jewels and high-quality ones at that. Its value must be considerable."
Hearing this, Fang Li raised his eyebrows slightly and suddenly laughed.
"You really don't know your place," Fang Li said with a sigh, "You dare to steal something without knowing its background. I have to admire your courage."
"What a pretentious way to put it," Felt wrinkled her nose.
Only Rom-sama seemed to realize something and asked in a deep voice, "What's the background of that insignia?"
Fang Li glanced at Rom-sama and then looked back at Felt, starting his explanation in an indifferent tone.
"This thing is an item related to the next generation heir of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugnica."
- The Dragon Kingdom of Lugnica -
That's the name of this country.
Why is it called the Dragon Kingdom?
The reason is that this country has a covenant with a dragon.
That's right.
A dragon.
In this world, there's a Divine Dragon called Volcanica.
Lugnica once made a covenant with this dragon in the past and thus received the protection of the Divine Dragon. Under the dragon's protection, this prosperous country was built.
In such circumstances, whether it's war, plague, or famine, all crises that befall the Lugnica Kingdom can be avoided under the dragon's protection, making the word "Dragon" almost synonymous with "God" in this country.
However, precisely because of this power's protection, the people in this country became overly reliant on the dragon's power.
In the face of any crisis threatening the nation, people do nothing but seek the dragon's protection, leading to a lack of focus on the country's development. The foundation became extremely fragile, and the country couldn't survive independently.
As a result, even the Emperor in this country is influenced by the Dragon's Will.
**The situation remained unchanged until now.**
"And if my memory serves me correctly," Fang Li glanced at Felt and Rom-sama, smiling as he uttered these words, "the previous King of this country passed away for unknown reasons, and only the five Dragon Miko recognized by the dragon are eligible to participate in the royal election."
"It is said that the symbol of becoming a Dragon Miko is to possess an insignia with a dragon pattern," Fang Li continued.
Upon hearing this, Felt and Rom-sama's complexions instantly turned pale.
"You... are you saying..." Rom-sama's gaze shifted to the insignia, his voice trembling as he spoke, "That insignia is the Royal Selection insignia held by the Dragon Miko?"
"And the person holding this insignia is highly likely to be the next King," Fang Li said with a playful tone, "Think about it. Stealing the Royal Selection insignia, an item that represents the Dragon Miko acknowledged by the dragon. If we were to trace the consequences of such a crime, what would be the fate of the thief?"
Rom-sama was speechless.
As for Felt, she was completely dumbfounded.
Seeing their reactions, Fang Li shrugged and said, "Now you know what you stole, right?"
"I... I had no idea it was something like that!" Felt finally realized and hastily explained, "And besides, it wasn't my idea to steal it. Someone commissioned me to steal it, offering ten Holy Coins in exchange!"
The so-called Holy Coins referred to coins made of rare metals.
Usually, one Holy Coin was equivalent to at least two regular coins in value.
With ten Holy Coins, she could exchange them for at least twenty regular coins outside.
This amount of wealth was enough to lavish for quite some time.
Stealing an insignia in exchange for such a substantial amount of money explained why Felt was willing to go to such lengths, even resorting to stealing Bo Xie in the previous loop and exchanging it with Fang Li here.
"Who would commission someone to steal something so troublesome?" Rom-sama couldn't help but curse, "It's suicidal."
"For ordinary people, yes, but not for those with ambitions," Fang Li said indifferently, "For example, the other Royal Selection candidates might resort to such means to eliminate strong competitors."
Upon hearing this, Felt was somewhat stunned and asked, "You mean..."
"What I mean is that the person who deliberately commissioned you to steal this insignia has ulterior motives," Fang Li said with a smirk, "You've been dragged into the conspiracy among the Royal Selection candidates, and you've become a sacrificial victim."
"...so that's how it is," Rom-sama finally calmed down but smiled bitterly, "Using such methods to eliminate favorable competitors must be kept secret. But by casually commissioning a thief from the slums, even if things go wrong, they can push all the blame onto the thief, right?"
"Of course, if anything goes wrong in this process, you'll only end up as sacrificial victims," Fang Li joked, "Perhaps the so-called commissioner is already planning how to silence everyone involved after achieving their goals."
Rom-sama fell silent.
Felt seemed to finally understand the reason behind it all, lowered her head, and fell silent as well.
The atmosphere became oppressive.
It was at this moment that the door was suddenly knocked on.
...
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