"That's none of our business! Don't think I didn't notice, you didn't listen to your book all day. I've put your headphones here. Listen for two hours after dinner, and I'll test you afterward."
Kal'tsit didn't want to talk to Kanna and threw out a gramophone.
Kanna suffered a fatal attack -99999, Kanna severely damaged.
The next day, Kanna sat in the back row behind Kal'tsit, hugging the gramophone, expressing her dissatisfaction with last night's exhaustive memorization by positioning herself where Kal'tsit couldn't see her.
Following the small path Lapland provided, the car indeed saw Scone Town at the foot of the mountain after crossing it.
The entire journey took a full day less than expected, which Kanna couldn't help but complain about, saying that Terra's infrastructure was indeed too poor.
In the afternoon, before the sun set, the vehicle successfully entered the small town.
Kanna noticed that even though it was already dusk, the streets were still brightly lit, because there were many Sarkaz people on both sides of the road, and all of them were dressed in church attire.
"These should be missionaries from Laterano. From now until we leave Laterano, we will have many interactions with these people. Remember, we are just passing through; do not raise any objections to Laterano's doctrines, and do not provoke any Laterano people, especially the Sarkaz." Kal'tsit was not surprised to encounter Sarkaz missionaries in such a border town. Worried that Kanna might inexplicably provoke Laterano people as she did the Siracusan group, Kal'tsit rarely issued a warning.
"Don't worry, they and Grandma Outcast all have halos, so they must be good people. And I really didn't know back then, hehe…" Kanna didn't fall for Kal'tsit's trick, reiterating that she "didn't know" that was a "forbidden zone" for the Siracusan people.
Seeing a car coming from outside, many people looked over. Kanna, however, was not at all daunted; she opened the car window and stuck her head out.
Seeing a curious child poking her head out of the car, the people around all smiled.
"Sister, are there any good dessert shops nearby!" Kanna waved to the nearest Sarkaz and asked loudly as she got closer.
Upon hearing Kanna's words, everyone burst into laughter. It was well-known that Laterano people loved sweets, so a dessert praised by Laterano people must have its own unique characteristics.
The Sarkaz lady smiled and pointed to a corner of the city, "Grell's Dessert Shop is quite good, and there's a hotel right next to it. You, who have just arrived in Scone Town, can first check into the hotel, then enjoy a hot bath to wash away the fatigue of your journey, and then savor a perfect dessert at Grell's Dessert Shop."
"Thank you!"
After opening the car window, Kal'tsit nodded to the Sarkaz lady in a friendly gesture of thanks.
"You're welcome. May your journey be smooth."
It was clear that the Sarkaz girl was in a good mood during their conversation.
Following the Sarkaz lady's directions, they quickly found the hotel she mentioned.
Kanna spent a sweet night, much to Kal'tsit's exasperation, by eating through almost half of the dessert shop's inventory. It was fortunate that Kanna's constitution was strong enough that she didn't have to worry about cavities from too many sweets; otherwise, with her eating habits, ten out of ten people would get cavities.
The next day, Kal'tsit successfully obtained a pass to Laterano through an application at the local church.
Given that it was already afternoon, they decided to rest for another day before leaving.
Standing on a stool, Kanna looked at the passing Sarkaz people outside with some confusion.
"Didn't they say this was Siracusa territory? Why are there so many Sarkaz? I thought we had already reached Laterano. Doesn't the 'Godfather' here do anything about it?"
Kal'tsit was also somewhat puzzled by this. When she was at the church today, she noticed that the 'Laterano concentration' here was a bit too high; compared to Siracusa, this place seemed more like Laterano territory.
However, just as she had told Kanna, they were merely passersby. The residents of this small town had no opinion on the current situation, so it was not their place to worry about which territory this town belonged to.
Fortunately, the hotel attendant answered their questions when he brought them dinner.
It turned out that when the current 'Godfather' took office, his strength was not the strongest among the several candidates. Although he was the designated successor by the previous 'Godfather' before his death, he could not subdue the other heirs.
In desperation, he chose to make a deal with the Laterano Universal Envoy who had come to mourn the previous Godfather. By agreeing to Laterano's official dispatch of personnel for missionary work, he gained support from Laterano, thereby securing his position as the 'Godfather' here.
Given that Scone Town was Siracusa territory, Laterano only dispatched a large number of missionaries and did not send armed forces, which made the religious belief in this small town very strong, but it did not provoke resistance from the Siracusa authorities.
In the words of the attendant, they actually welcomed the arrival of these Laterano people. Although they were often startled by suddenly appearing bright 'light bulbs' late at night, these Laterano people were very law-abiding, completely unlike those 'family' members who would start a fight by grabbing whatever was nearby if a conversation didn't go their way.
Listening to him, Kal'tsit and Kanna exchanged glances. Well, this was a classic case of inviting a wolf into the house.
If anything were to happen here, this 'Godfather' would surely bear the lifelong infamy of being a Siracusan traitor.
It was fortunate that, for now, the Laterano people seemed to have no ambition, merely wanting to open a missionary front here. Otherwise, this place would have long become the fuse and battlefield for a war between the two nations.
Kal'tsit understood this. No wonder during her application, she saw Sarkaz and Liberi people all the way. It turned out that this place had almost been 'hollowed out' by Laterano.
Early the next morning, Kal'tsit, with Kanna, successfully entered Laterano territory.
Compared to the desolation of the outside world, entering Laterano's territory was like arriving at a paradise. Kal'tsit also spoke, saying,
"For now, the Infected of Laterano are undoubtedly quite fortunate. They are only not allowed to enter various cities and territories, but due to the suitability of the region here, even in the wilderness, as long as there are enough people, they can establish a small living area that is fully capable of sustaining life. Moreover, Laterano's tax burden is very light, and the oppression of the Infected is also very small. It's just that Laterano is very strict about entry, otherwise countless Infected would have already settled here."
Following Kal'tsit's guidance, Kanna saw people diligently cultivating the barren land. From the occasional Originium particles visible on their skin, it was clear that these were Infected residents.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 30 - 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!