"Euphemia?" Upon hearing the name, Rulu was momentarily stunned, a pensive expression crossing his face. Nana noticed Rulu's unusual reaction and immediately asked, "What's wrong, Rulu? Do you know this Lord Euphemia?"

  "No… no, I don't." Rulu replied with an uncertain tone. At that moment, someone in the crowd called out loudly, "Tour guide, what does this Lord Euphemia look like? Will we have a chance to meet her?"

  The guide replied, "That's a great question. As far as I know, Lord Euphemia is one of the youngest children of His Majesty the Emperor of the Sanctuary, and may even be younger than some of you here. Lord Euphemia loves interacting with people from the outside world — otherwise, she wouldn't have allowed us to visit her domain. Rest assured, everyone, you will definitely get to meet Lord Euphemia."

  Upon hearing this, excitement spread across the tourists' faces. Someone said, "If this lord is the Emperor's daughter, doesn't that make her a princess of the Sanctuary?"

  "Lord Euphemia allowing us to visit her domain — she must have a kind heart. I imagine Lord Euphemia must be a great beauty."

  "Maybe we'll get lucky this time and even meet His Majesty the Emperor of the Sanctuary himself. If His Majesty is in a good mood, he might let us stay in the Sanctuary permanently — then we'd really be living the dream, hahaha!"

  The travelers' faces were all lit up with smiles as they fantasized about a glorious tomorrow. After a while, the tour group arrived before a rge white stone structure on the open pins that resembled a castle.

  The guide expined that the castle had been prepared specifically as lodging for visitors, and that the tour group would be staying there for the duration of their time in the Sanctuary. The guides then began assigning rooms, and Rulu's group was allocated a rge residence with several rooms, enough to accommodate four people.

  After wandering through the stone rooms, Kallen said, "I never imagined the Sanctuary's houses would be like this. It doesn't even look as nice as the pces we stayed before. There's not even a TV or a radio here — isn't this a bit too shabby?"

  Rulu said, "The Sanctuary has a very unique environment. All resources here — including water and air — are recycled and reused, so environmental preservation is taken extremely seriously. There are no cars, factories, or other products of modern industry, and no guns, cannons, or modern weapons either. Apart from essential communication tools, the Sanctuary uses virtually no electrical equipment. You can think of it as an ancient society from the old days."

  Kallen said, "I see. But if there's no electricity, then how are those lights working?"

  As she said this, Kallen pointed to a rge chandelier hanging in the hall, which was radiating a soft, white glow.

  Rulu said, "Those lights don't require any electrical power. They automatically absorb surrounding radiation energy and air elements to emit light. The air composition in the Sanctuary is very different from the outside world — not only is oxygen more abundant here, but the levels of carbon and hydrogen elements in the air are also very high. In the Sanctuary, many living things don't need to eat at all; they can survive by drawing energy directly from the air."

  Kallen nodded and said, "Rulu, you really know a lot. By the way, Rulu, what did you do when you lived in the Sanctuary before? Do you still have family or friends here?"

  Rulu rubbed his nose, looking visibly uncomfortable. "I was just an ordinary civilian in the Sanctuary. I don't have any friends or family here."

  Kallen's face showed obvious disbelief. "Stop trying to fool me. Someone as talented as you — how could you possibly have been a civilian? I bet you used to have quite a high status in the Sanctuary. Were you some kind of noble or something?"

  Rulu's face stiffened, and he quickly covered his awkwardness with a cough. "No… nothing like that. Kallen, stop making things up."

  Nana smiled and said, "Maybe Rulu is actually a member of the royal family, just like Lord Euphemia."

  Kallen ughed and joined in the teasing: "That's entirely possible. The way Rulu usually talks — that attitude and tone — he never seems to take anyone seriously, just like some great figure, an emperor or a prince."

  Rulu felt that continuing this conversation would lead somewhere unpleasant, and quickly changed the subject. "Alright, stop your wild guessing. Do you want to know the real reason we came to the Sanctuary this time?"

  Nana said, "Of course we do! It's just that you wouldn't tell us before, Rulu."

  Rulu said, "Then I'll tell you now. The truth is, I came to the Sanctuary this time to look for something."

  "Something? What kind of thing?"

  "It's not entirely clear yet. But once I find it, I'll gain tremendous wisdom and power — enough to stand against the Sanctuary."

  Kallen said, "Really? Does something like that actually exist in this world?"

  "Of course it does. Otherwise, I wouldn't have taken such a huge risk to come to the Sanctuary."

  Nana said, "So where is this thing? How are we supposed to find it?"

  "That's a question for C.C." Rulu said, turning his gaze toward C.C.

  C.C. said, "Getting that thing won't be easy. It's under the close watch of the Sanctuary's Emperor, which means you'll have to travel to the Emperor's direct domain to obtain it."

  Upon hearing this, Nana and Kallen were both startled. Kallen said, "So you're saying that if we want to get that thing, we'll have to go up against the Sanctuary's Emperor."

  Nana said with a worried expression, "That… that's far too dangerous. I don't know much about the Sanctuary, but security in a pce like that must be incredibly tight. If we go there, we could very well get caught."

  Rulu took out a bck pen and white paper from his luggage and spread the paper on the stone table in the room. He began drawing on the paper, outlining the shape of what looked like a continent.

  Rulu said, "We are currently located within Lord Euphemia's domain. I've already found out from the guide that Euphemia's domain is roughly situated in the southwestern region of the Sanctuary — right about here."

  As he spoke, Rulu drew a small circle in the lower left area of the paper. He then continued, "And the Emperor of the Sanctuary's direct domain is in the central region of the Sanctuary — approximately here…"

  As he spoke, he drew an X near the center of the map he had sketched. Kallen walked over and gnced at the map Rulu had drawn. "It looks like we're still quite far from the Emperor's direct domain. If we want to get there, we'll need to use some form of transportation — like one of those flying saucers."

  Rulu shook his head. "That won't work. The Emperor's direct domain has extremely tight security, including specialized detection devices for aircraft. If we fly in on a saucer, we'll be spotted immediately."

  Kallen said, "In that case, we could take a saucer to the outer perimeter of the region, then infiltrate from the ground."

  Rulu rubbed his chin and pondered. "That pn doesn't sound bad, but it comes with its own dangers."

  "What dangers?"

  "Kallen, you're not familiar with the Sanctuary's conditions. The Emperor's direct domain is surrounded by vast, untamed forests and towering mountain ranges. Infiltrating from the ground would mean crossing mountain after mountain and pushing through those forests — and those forests are home to ferocious Strange beasts year-round. Going in on foot means we'd have no choice but to face them head on."