His name is "Julius"

After finishing the details of the residence, Yuan Qian walked down the stairs and saw a quiet gray-black roof.

Xiaoman has fallen asleep on the book.

She did overestimate her abilities. Reading these texts similar to experimental records for a long time was a very attention-consuming task. Xiaoman, who had only read storybooks to her bedridden mother, unknowingly succumbed to them.

The lich shook his head and laughed, then snapped his fingers lightly and teleported Xiaoman back to the bedroom on the second floor.

Under the control of magic, Yuan Qian didn't have to do anything herself. The gentle airflow automatically covered her with a quilt, the thick curtains blocked the afterglow, and a cluster of small flames lit up the sleeping incense, creating a perfect resting environment.

Praise the magic. Yuan Qian confirmed that Xiaoman slept well and closed the bedroom door himself.

The actual situation is far more serious than Xiaoman knows. For one thing, during the kidnapping case, Elly Ratna had personally come into contact with Xiaoman.

Knowing the assassin's identity, she couldn't let go of the assassin's companion. And Winchester could tell from the moment he and the woman met that she had some interest in Xiao Man.

So he used special magic to take Xiaoman away from the Bronze City with great fanfare, not only to set up a battle formation, but also to cut off her trace. The lich took action to ensure that Lord Flora and the spellcasters she had befriended could not find Xiaoman's whereabouts.

...In fact, Yuan Qian had thought about personally warning other people on the magic side to think before taking action, in order to support his "disciple". However, after this identity was established, it came with a wanted order from the Holy City. If he really dared to show up arrogantly, he would probably be punished next.

That makes sense, Yuan Qian said. A powerful and unfettered identity has to come with a price, and a lich, now that he looks in the mirror, he doesn't look like a good person.

He went into the basement to prepare for class and do research. Magical knowledge is inherent in the character, and one has to rely on oneself to consolidate it.

A good night's sleep.

When Xiaoman woke up, he saw a warm scene he had never seen before.

There is a fluffy down pillow under my head, warm, new bedding covering my body, and in front of me are gauze curtains that are not very luxurious but are so fine that only a moderate amount of light can pass through.

The small bedroom, which is just the right size for one person to live in, is furnished with several wooden furniture. The bed, table, chairs and bookcase all have simple carvings and are made of ordinary materials, but the edges and corners are polished to be very round.

This is the kind of room that a well-to-do family would have for a growing child.

But it's not Xiaoman's room.

When she lived with her mother, Xiaoman's home was small and she and her mother had to sleep on the same bed because their old house had collapsed for half a year and the family had no money to repair it.

In her home, the window frames were broken and rotten, and even the tables and chairs were not stable. Moreover, when her mother was unwell, she was afraid of disturbing her daughter, so she could only suppress her coughing. She could not sleep well all night long, and she always secretly covered Xiaoman with the warmest quilt.

Xiaoman stroked the smooth surface of the desk with her palm, and then used her fingertips to scrape the neat edges of a stack of smooth, slightly yellow thick paper at the corner of the desk.

She opened the curtains—there was actually a lake view not far away.

At this moment, the lake was sparkling in the morning light. Several furry little animal shadows were fetching water and playing by the lake. After a while, they ran into the cover of the long grass.

Xiaoman stepped into the same pair of furry slippers and slowly walked down the stairs.

In this small building that looked like a normal residence, Lazarus was not on the first floor. Xiaoman felt relieved for some reason.

There was a basket of bread on the dining table, and next to it was a pile of a dozen red and green berries with the note underneath.

"Going out. Will be back tomorrow. Feel free to take anything you want. Take a walk in the woods. Be careful to stay away from the south, as there is a village there. -LS"

...Isn't he worried that I'll rob this place and run away? Xiao Man muttered to himself.

Although she would not do that, she was just curious about where the trust in her came from for the "teacher" whom she had just met for the first time yesterday.

Xiaoman walked to the stove to take a look, then looked out from the small door connecting the kitchen to the outside and confirmed that there was no firewood or flint here.

But there is a magic tip.

Xiaoman found several red crystals and another handwritten note on the plate.

"Fire-making: No spells are needed. Hold the fire crystal tightly as a guide and imagine 'fire', 'ignition' or 'burning'. Just practice more to control the temperature."

The natural elements of the beastmen are the elements of water and wind, wood, stone, and plants, but not fire. That is what Lazarus calls the outer system.

However, Xiaoman has never used any magic, nor has she touched expensive spell props or scrolls prepared for non-casters.

Now, asking her to skip the chanting of the spell and rely entirely on her imagination to cast the spell seemed like a joke.

However, Xiaoman decided to trust Lazarus for once. She picked up a bright red fire crystal that was as hot as a charcoal and held it in her palm. She stared closely at another piece on the plate and tried to use her imagination to guide the flame according to the content on the note.

By imagining the shape of the flame, she remembered a lot.

The green fire that rolled in Lazarus's miserable bony hands, the lifeless fire in the fireplace of the inn that roasted cheap firewood and food scraps, the campfire that guarded her and her companions on the journey, the fire that she worked hard to accumulate firewood to keep her mother warm in the winter.

As his mind focused, heat waves gradually surged between his fingers. Xiaoman felt his cheeks slightly hot, not sure if it was because of using the elements or the excitement of mastering the power for the first time.

The surface of the fire crystal in the plate was indeed covered with a layer of flames, and it quietly raised a small, gently swaying tip, steady and well-behaved.

The next step was the training phase of trying hard to control the temperature and the size of the flame. Xiaoman worked so hard that he seemed to be forgetting to eat and sleep.

Yuan Qian, who was observing secretly, was relieved and took the small props he used to secretly watch the situation back to the basement.

He poked the system: Come out and talk?

The other party pretends to be stupid: [This system self-checks and finds nothing abnormal]

"…I know you're definitely not D-009. Stop pretending."

The other party paused: [Okay then.]

Yuan Qian waited for a while, but there was no follow-up. Just as he was about to take the initiative to attack, he heard a series of "dang dang dang" sounds.

The more it sounded, the more it sounded like... someone was banging on the casing of some small machine with a wrench.

Yuan Qian had a bad feeling.

Then, it was as if a layer of water separating the two spaces was removed, and the voice that spoke was no longer the emotionless mechanical voice characteristic of D-009, but a very pleasant and very young male voice.

The tone seemed normal but also had a subtle sense of antiquity and elegance, as if the same language had been expressed in a sophisticated way by a noble person in earlier years.

Yuan Qian didn't know why he had such a first impression. The other person's words were obviously normal and he was polite, like a friendly salesperson.

"I adjusted the translation plugin. How's it going? Do you understand?"

The unknown person who contacted D-009 asked.

“…I understand.”

Yuan Qian said he decided never to think about the connection between the adjustments the guy mentioned and the knocks just now.

"Very good. Then reintroduce myself. I am Julius."

"As for my identity, to you, I am just someone who will continue to serve you in place of D-009."

The man who called himself Julius said.

"Replace? Are you its designated successor, or are you something else? For example, did you attack it?"

Yuan Qian asked tentatively.

"Anyway, I'm not one of its kind. In fact, I can be said to be its victim," Julius said calmly.

"Victim?" Yuan Qian was stunned.

"Yes. How should I describe it? Let's say, Mr. Actor, that there is no such creature as 'spider' in your world. Then you find that your friend's grave has been robbed, and some spider silk has been left at the scene. From then on, of course, you will follow all the relevant traces to track down her whereabouts. It happens that I have a lot of free time."

"Until this time, I finally caught a 'spider' that had left its nest by following the spider thread, and I also found you, Mr. Actor."

"So we are of course on the same page and suitable for cooperation. I can deceive the Spider Nest and continue to perform the contract with you on behalf of that D-009. I can provide all the functions it can do, so that you can complete all your plans, but more efficiently and at a better price."

"——How's it going? Are you interested?"

Julius asked. He still did not show any indignation when he explained his motives. He spoke so briskly that it seemed like he was narrating someone else's story, which made it strangely believable.

"What if I don't cooperate?"

"That's nothing. I'll take it back, tear it apart for fun, and send you back to where you originally lived." Julius said nonchalantly.

"You can do it? Are you sure you won't let me go back and become a wandering ghost?" Yuan Qian exclaimed that there was such a good thing and he couldn't believe it at all.

"Of course, it's actually very simple. A bunch of conditions are just the system trying to trick you. And there's no point in harming a good person like you."

Yuan Qian hesitated for a long, long time.

He told himself that the protagonist of a comic is still the protagonist after all, and he can move forward without any trouble. He went to great lengths to earn emotional points from acting just to survive, so now that an opportunity to escape his job as a part-time worker has fallen from the sky, why not seize it?

...Yeah, why not catch it?

Yuan Qian couldn't explain it clearly either.

Just like when he signed the contract with D-009, there was always a faint voice or an intuition in his heart, warning him not to abandon this world.

The other end of the rope in his hand was still shrouded in mist, but his instinct told him that it was not something he could let go of easily.

"You're not lying to me, are you?" Yuan Qian asked cautiously.

The other party was completely in the dark. Apart from the two pieces of information that he had squeezed D-009 out of contact for such a long time without giving the latter a chance to recover, and that he was indeed able to complete the character creation function of the previous generation and even the effect was better than before, Yuan Qian knew nothing. Even the name could be fake, not to mention the motives.

"We, the Demon King, never lie!" Julius said righteously.

"…Demon King?"

"You heard me wrong. So which side should you choose? Be a hero who secretly helps save the world, or go back to being a bystander who leaves the mission to the young people?" he asked with a smile.

Yuan Qian remained silent for a long time because of this choice.

He reopened the spoon-shaped observation prop and looked at Xiaoman's serious profile, which was illuminated by the firelight.

"……I stayed."

"Very good. From now on, Julius will take over the throne and become your most trusted lieutenant in conquering cities and territories."

Yuan Qian heard the rustling of clothes - it sounded like expensive fabrics and heavy cloaks were shaking off with the movement. The other party seemed to stand up out of excitement and bowed to him gracefully across the distance of time and space.

"It's a pleasure working with you, Mr. Actor." Julius said softly with respect and seriousness that Yuan Qian found difficult to understand for the time being.

“It’s been a pleasure working with you.”

"Then the first question." The new adjutant of the intrusion system seemed to have returned to his seat. He asked seriously:

"So why are you covering your face? Is it shameful that I designed your appearance based on your temperament and market demand? If you don't want to earn emotional points or create aesthetic conflicts with your face, just say so and we can communicate properly."

"Eh? Sorry..." Yuan Qian was stunned. He quickly explained that he had no complaints and promised to find a chance to show Lazarus's face to readers.

Mr. Adjutant is so strict. Yuan Qian secretly sweated, but when he looked at the comics forum that he could unlock after the price reduction and the props prices that were 50% off and 50% off again, it seemed that his future part-time job life would be much better than working under D-009.