Is it because he just got resurrected that his combat power is so weak?
Compared to their last battle, although his aura had strengthened a lot (thanks to the simulated universe's feedback), he still was far from being her equal.
"I understand.
Then I'll stay by your side, and wait until the day you're strong enough to fight me head-on.
This time, in a clash of wills, I won't lose to you again!"
Helena said, uncharacteristically serious.
She said this quite naturally, but...
Night: …
"So you want to freeload off me—eat, drink, and live for free? I don't think our relationship is that close yet."
"Don't say it like that, heehee~ big brother.
We're soul-contract partners, you know? Staying close to me means you can borrow more power, and grow stronger faster.
Mr. Roman Dragon, you don't want to slow down your power-up just because you're far away from your lovely Miss Helena, right?
For a dragon, becoming stronger is in your nature! Going against your nature isn't a good thing."
Night: "..."
Miss mother-dragon from the island nation, please don't say such misleading things.
But what Helena said did make him a bit tempted.
And seeing that she truly had no intention of fighting anymore, Night finally relaxed completely.
Setting aside the danger she posed, her strength and looks were both top-tier.
Having her around wouldn't be shameful at all.
Not to mention—she could help him get stronger.
And as long as she didn't make a move for now, that was good enough for Night.
He ignored Helena and went back to his own business.
Meanwhile, Helena, barefoot, hopped behind him with a cute smile on her face.
This strange pair attracted quite a few gazes in the marketplace.
Whether it was Night or Helena, they each had a charm and aura that attracted the opposite sex, and together, they were even more striking.
Like living aphrodisiacs, they instantly became the center of attention for all Romans in the market, stunning both men and women alike.
And just like that, dragging along this clingy follower, Night quickly completed the verification of his noble status.
Not long after, the Senate held an emergency session due to this matter.
Originally, as just a fallen minor noble, the Senate wouldn't have paid this much attention.
But when they found out the name was—Lisia—
Strabo Pompey, who by now had fully become the patriarch of the Pompey family and was entering middle age—upon hearing this name, immediately grew alert and remembered a very dark era.
Several senators trembled all over.
And this matter quickly reached Marius's ears.
With Sulla off campaigning, Marius's faction had temporarily taken the upper hand in the Senate.
Marius, who was supposed to be accelerating his plan to seize control of the Senate in one move, was shaken deeply upon hearing the name Lista.
Now a middle-aged man himself, Marius also found it hard to keep calm.
Lista? Was it the same Lista family from his memory?
On his way to the Senate council hall, Marius felt somewhat deranged.
He took a deep breath and forced a smile, telling himself he was just being overly sensitive.
After all, that hero had disappeared for so many years.
He probably wouldn't appear again.
Even when the Gracchi brothers died, that man hadn't shown up, he must have completely vanished… or even—
Marius didn't want to believe that the strongest figure in his heart had died out there.
But he also didn't want that man to come back now.
Because this era, this era belonged to Marius…
A single Rome doesn't need two suns.
However, Marius wasn't too worried, just bearing the name Lista, if it wasn't that figure from his memory, then the name itself held no meaning.
However——
Just as Marius calmly began the meeting with the other senators, upon hearing the full name of the new noble announced by the senator in charge of this matter at the assembly——
"Regarding the identity restoration of Lord Lista Night…——I hereby declare——"
Marius: "Wait!! What did you just say? Lista what?!!"
His eyes suddenly widened, staring intensely at the senator, his smile frozen as he rigidly asked the question.
His agitated reaction drew strange looks from many senators who hadn't lived through that dark era.
After all, far too many senators were beheaded by Night that year.
And afterward, when Night left the simulated universe, the Gracchi brothers, who believed his disappearance to be a Senate conspiracy, also joined forces to purge the Senate, to the point that every year the severed heads of noblemen could pile up and cover the sewage grates at the gates of Rome.
So many senators died, naturally replacements had to be made.
Thus, while many were from that era, enough time had passed that, many no longer remembered the name Lista Night clearly.
But some of the older senators were different.
At this moment, just like Marius, they revealed uneasy expressions, some were sweating profusely, their faces suddenly turning pale.
"You said——what was the name? Lista what?"
"It's Lista Night——my lord."
"!!! Oh, sh*t… that really is the name? Impossible, could it be… he's returned?!"
"Maybe it's just the same name, yeah——! Definitely just a coincidence.
Just like back then, with Lord Sempronius Gracchus."
"Hell no, don't even bring up that name again…
Can't you pick a better comparison?"
At this point, some elderly senators were already in a noisy uproar.
In noble families, it's not unusual in Rome for descendants to inherit names—even to have the exact same name as their fathers.
Not to mention surnames, for first names alone, Night already knew four or five men named Gaius.
And amid this clamor, someone suggested they first meet this Lord Lista Night—it might really just be a namesake.
Thus, under the nervous gazes of many senators, some of whom could barely breathe, they heard footsteps echoing from outside the hall, knowing the new noble had arrived.
Some senators even experienced physical discomfort and retched, feeling as if they had returned in a nightmare to those days of darkness, with countless gallows swaying before their eyes.
Was it really that dramatic?
Even the senators who had not lived through the dark times were now scared stiff.
At first, they hadn't thought much of it, but seeing their colleagues fall into such panic and terror before even laying eyes on the man, it made them feel an eerie unease as well.
…gulp… As silence fell over the grand hall, everyone suddenly held their breath, you could hear a pin drop.
No one knew who swallowed first, but the footsteps were already near.
Bang!!
A rough sound of the door being flung open rang out.
A cute girl suddenly appeared before all the senators.
"Ta-daa~!!" Clearly an adorable and cheerful shout, yet it startled the senators so badly they shivered on the spot.
Even Marius suddenly jumped from his seat, his body going stiff.
F*ck——!!
That loud and aggressive door slam just now nearly scared many senators to death, engraved into their DNA-level instincts.
They thought they were back in the days of the guillotine—
And the one who stepped out was—a girl?!
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