Chapter 1691: Chapter 1689: Is This Really Allowed? (Ben the Cat Begins Evolving Wings, Part 1)

Felt returned soon after, naturally bringing good news. However, Felt looked puzzled.

"It’s hard to believe that Rom agreed so readily."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"In the past, whenever I said I wanted to be an adventurer, Rom would scold me fiercely, saying that dying in the slums is better than dying in the wild, at least he could help bury me."

"Well, that’s true."

Although Fang Zheng didn’t know who "Rom" Felt was referring to, he guessed it must be the person who raised her.

"But this time, when I mentioned that I wanted to avoid the Royal Selection involving the Dragon Witch, Rom agreed very readily and even entrusted you to look after me well."

Felt couldn’t believe it. She knew how much Rom had cared for her, and to be honest, she understood that he wasn’t wrong. Even though the slums were not a great place, they were still better than being an adventurer living in the wild.

Yet this time, after she mentioned wanting to become an adventurer to escape the Royal Selection, the old man agreed right away, more easily than ever before.

"So what about you? Are you ready?"

"Mm... almost there..."

Though somewhat reluctant, Felt nodded.

"I’m ready!"

When it was confirmed that Felt was prepared, Fang Zheng summoned Vimona to bring Felt back to the castle. Like everyone else, Felt showed immense surprise at Vimona’s ability to fly freely in the sky and the luxurious five-star castle. After that, Fang Zheng introduced Felt to the other girls, who welcomed her, especially the Priestess of the Goddess — having a scout thief join was naturally good news for them.

"Whew..."

After a hearty meal in the dining hall, Felt arrived at the entertainment room and sat on the sofa, gazing at the night scene outside while enjoying the soft and comfortable sensation beneath her.

"It’s just like a dream..."

Looking outside, Felt murmured to herself. Just yesterday, she was in a shabby little house in the slums, and now, within a day, she had arrived at a place more luxurious than the royal palace.

But the people here are certainly strange.

At first, Felt thought the residents here were all nobles, but she discovered they were quite diverse, including clerics, mages, adventurers, spirit users, but no nobles. The conversations were casual, without the high-handed demeanor of nobility. Felt even saw a group of children playing in the courtyard — they were orphans who had been adopted.

This place is also an orphanage!

But now, she couldn’t go home, all because of this useless badge!

Felt angrily glared at the badge pulled from her pocket. Honestly, she wanted to throw this thing away, but decided against it thinking about the trouble it would cause if Reinhard asked about it later. Giving it back to him to express her disinterest in the Royal Selection would be best!

"Is this the badge?"

A voice sounded by Felt’s ear, causing her to look up. The Priestess of the Goddess was sitting beside her, curiously looking at the badge in Felt’s hand.

"Yes, this useless thing that’s keeping me from going home."

Felt complained with a hum.

"But it looks really beautiful."

"Yes, it’s indeed pretty..."

As the Priestess of the Goddess noted, the badge in Felt’s hand shone with a golden radiance, indicating it wasn’t ordinary.

"I thought it might be valuable, which is why I wanted to return it quickly. If I knew it would cause this situation, I’d have sold it instead!"

Felt expressed her frustration, recalling how she used to grab and sell shiny objects as a thief without hesitation. But now, having turned to guiding, she refrained from such acts and wanted to return the badge right away.

At that time, Felt was secretly pleased with herself for doing a good deed.

But... in hindsight, selling it would have been better!

"What, what? What are you talking about?"

"This is the badge, it’s really pretty."

Other girls in the entertainment room crowded around, having heard Fang Zheng talk about Felt’s ordeal and didn’t show surprise.

At this moment, Megumin, staring at the badge, had a sudden idea.

"By the way, Mr. Fang Zheng said the badge will glow in the hands of the Dragon Witch chosen by the prophecy. Maybe one of us is chosen too!"

"Eh? Really?"

"Yes, why don’t you give it a try!"

Upon hearing this, Felt became energized and stood up.

"Reinhard said the prophecy board mentions five Dragon Witches. Counting me, there are only four so far, maybe one of you is the last!"

"Which means I might become King too?"

"It sounds interesting."

"Come on, let’s try it, leader you first..."

Saying this, Felt extended the badge towards the Priestess of the Goddess, who seemed a bit flustered.

"Lea-leader?"

"Yes, you’re the leader of our adventuring party, isn’t that right? Or should I call you boss?"

Felt thought that if one of them turns out to be the last Dragon Witch, all she had to do was support her, thus avoiding the need to become King, letting the knight stop bothering her. How great!

"Uh, this..."

"Come on, just pick it up. It’s just a game."

Encouraged by the others, the Priestess of the Goddess hesitated before quietly saying "Excuse me," reaching for the badge just as...

"Wait a minute!"

"Wow."

"What are you doing?"

Looking at Mel who suddenly called out, everyone was startled.

"Cough, cough, sorry, sorry, I just thought of something suddenly..."

Mel coughed lightly, revealing a slightly awkward smile, and then spoke.

"Since it’s a game, why don’t we add an interesting condition?"

"Condition?"

"That’s right, since they say that if this badge lights up, one can become king, why don’t we all say what we would do if we became king before picking up the badge? Like introducing a policy plan? Does that sound fun?"

"I don’t know what Wet Shock Spirit is, but it sounds interesting."

Hearing this, the girls nodded in agreement, so Mel quickly picked up a banana from the fruit basket and handed it to Felt.

"What? I’m already full, I can’t eat anything right now."

"Oh, this is just for show, ahem... Miss Felt, if you became king, what would you want to do?"

"Hmm..."

Faced with Mel’s question, Felt thought for a moment, then seemed to have an idea, smiling with her little pointed canine tooth showing.

"I hate those nobles, I hate those knights even more, and I hate that country, so if I become king, I’d kick them all out! Break it all down! How about that? Sounds great, right?"

"Wow... Felt is so bold..."

"Is that allowed? Can someone like that really be a king candidate?"

Faced with Felt’s bold declaration, everyone was momentarily speechless, unsure of what to say.

"Well, thank you, Miss Felt, everyone applaud!"

Hearing Mel’s words, the girls snapped back to reality and clapped, then Mel passed the banana to the Priestess of the Goddess.

"Okay, it’s your turn."

"Huh? Me? I never thought of becoming king, but if I did, I’d pray for everyone’s peace and bountiful harvests... Oh, right, if I were king, I could dispatch an army to eliminate goblins!"

As she spoke, the Priestess of the Goddess took the badge from Felt’s hand — it did not light up.

"That’s unfortunate, it seems you weren’t chosen."

Mel, who had unbeknownst to everyone taken on the role of host, remarked with a quip, then passed the banana to Ais next to the Priestess of the Goddess.

"Okay, next is Miss Ais... wait! It’s not for you to eat!"

With difficulty, Mel managed to save the banana that Ais almost bit through and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now, Miss Ais, if you became king, what would you do?"

"Me, huh..."

Watching Ais think, the girls all widened their eyes; Ais was the more silent type among them, rarely speaking, so they were eager to hear what she had to say.

"I’d like to hold... a martial arts tournament."

However, what they heard from Ais was a response that left the girls stunned.

"Martial..."

"...tournament?"

"Ah!"

Hearing this, the Priestess of the Goddess clapped her hands lightly.

"The story the knight told before, right!"

"That’s right."

Ais nodded.

"There’s no Mount Hua here, but I could find a taller mountain, host the world’s top martial arts tournament, gather all strong warriors, and select the strongest; that way, I could compete with strong warriors from all over the world."

"That sounds like something Ais would say..."

Hearing Ais’s response, the girls nodded, then watched Ais pick up the badge — it didn’t light up.

"Next up, Megumin!"

"Hehehe... it’s finally my turn."

Hearing this, Megumin stood up proudly, extended her hand, and covered half her face.

"Actually, I always knew this day would come."

"Huh?"

"This is all guided by destiny, an unavoidable fate that I cannot escape; this country, this throne, it’s all connected to the blood flowing through my veins. I believe, as Megumin of the Red Demon Clan and Great Mage, I will surely..."

"Ah, that’s enough, please get to the point."

Knowing that Megumin’s chuunibyou would never end once it started, Mel hurriedly interrupted Megumin’s speech.

"Uh... if I became king, I’d announce a holiday!"

"A holiday?"

"Yes, Burst Magic Day!"

Saying this, Megumin excitedly raised both her hands high.

"On this day, Burst Magic must be cast everywhere in the country! Everyone must learn Burst Magic! I’ll even put Burst Magic on the national flag, and then..."

"Uh..."

Watching the excited Megumin speak non-stop, the girls couldn’t help but shiver.

After all, she really would do it!

"Then, let’s see what destiny chooses!"

Saying this, Megumin reached out and grabbed the badge!

It did not light up.

Seeing this, everyone subconsciously let out a breath of relief.