Upon hearing the shout, Alexander's expression stiffened instantly.
His gaze immediately followed the sound.
He saw a figure draped in a blue robe, its edges embroidered with gears, and a red dot on the hood, seemingly mimicking Doraemon's red nose.
Beneath the hood was a Macragge-style face.
This made Alexander breathe a deep sigh of relief.
That was close; he thought it was an Ashfordian from the Cadian 184th Regiment.
If it were them, they would recognize Alexander, and he would have to spend time altering his appearance to hide his identity.
Most of these Macragge people were new converts to the Saint Doraemon Sect.
Some were developed by the Cadian 184th Regiment, some spontaneously converted after learning of Sanguinius and Guilliman's return, and others developed faith after being rescued by the Doraemon Legion.
But no matter the reason, these Macragge people had not yet seen Alexander's true appearance, only taking Doraemon's image as a holy icon. To be honest, sometimes Alexander was afraid they might actually pray something into existence.
However, Sanguinius stated that Alexander temporarily didn't need to worry about them praying anything else into being, as long as they didn't directly worship Alexander himself.
He even suggested that Alexander should intentionally guide them to prevent their faith from going astray or being corrupted by other Warp entities.
But for the past month, Alexander has been mostly busy on various battlefields, transporting daemon Engines, corrupted war machines, Black Legion corpses, and other corrupted items to sell for money—oh no, to cleanse the corruption caused by Chaos.
He was diligent and busy, even causing Grand Master Voldus of the Grey Knights to complain that Alexander was stealing their work.
So Alexander hadn't found time to guide these beliefs about him yet. Hmm, should he teach them to eat dorayaki as holy communion?
While thinking, Alexander approached the preaching group.
His gaze shifted slightly, looking towards an area not far away that seemed to be in the blind spot of others' vision.
Alexander could sense a Blind Spot Star there, helping a Space Marine from the Doraemon Legion hide his figure.
The Astartes responsible for monitoring the Saint Doraemon Church noticed Alexander and quickly nodded in greeting.
Alexander nodded back lightly, then listened to the person on the platform preaching.
After listening for a while, Alexander felt a bit bored again.
The Macragge people's imagination was clearly not as rich as that of the hive city dwellers of Ashford; it was still the same old Prime Mover, eternal dragon, and Chosen of the God of Death routine, followed by stories of Alexander's deeds on Ashford, Baal, and Ice Moon Krassus, and then nothing.
These were either things Alexander had personally experienced or content he had heard repeatedly.
The hot wind on Macragge blew, and the sun in the sky became a bit dazzling. The pale marble buildings of Hera Fortress seemed to glow under the sunlight. Coupled with the many times he had heard the sermon, Alexander felt even more weary.
"Are you bored? Coming to listen to others talk about your own deeds?"
A familiar yet slightly different voice sounded behind Alexander.
"The discussions about rituals in the temple are even more boring, with priests humbly protesting every attempt by Guilliman to reduce religious content."
"I even suspect they are deliberately provoking the Primarch to become martyrs or something of the sort."
Alexander turned his head as he spoke.
Then, he paused slightly.
Reyna was standing behind him, which didn't surprise Alexander, as he had just sensed her.
What did surprise Alexander a bit was Reyna's attire.
He had only seen Reyna wear grey-hemp robes and Cadian uniforms before; this was the first time he saw her in other clothing.
Reyna was wearing a light orange outer robe similar to the Ancient Terra Roman stola style. This garment was made of two wide and long pieces of fabric, fastened at the shoulders with a golden pin carved into a double-headed eagle. The light orange fabric flowed down her body like water, appearing almost white in the dazzling sunlight.
Reyna had also braided her dark brown hair, letting it hang over her shoulders to her chest.
If not for the combat scar on her face, Reyna would have looked just like a noble young lady from Macragge.
"..The return of the two Primarchs is a grand ceremony. My uniform is a bit worn out, and I have no other clothes, so I bought a set of Macragge-style clothing."
As she spoke, Reyna moved her body.
She wasn't wearing a belt, so the soft fabric moved gracefully, revealing only her calves and the light gold Roman sandals wrapped around them.
"The merchant who sold me this said it's a style commonly worn by Macragge noblewomen. I thought it would be sufficient as formal wear for me."
Reyna was also invited to the ceremony; in fact, she was arranged in a very prominent position, alongside Archmagos Belisarius Cawl, Grand Master Voldus, Inquisitor Greyfax, and the Captains of the Ultramarines and Blood Angels.
This position was extremely honorable. When she learned of it, she trembled all over and even had thoughts of refusing.
But Roboute Guilliman declared that this invitation and this position were not just for Reyna.
He requested Reyna to attend as the representative of the Cadian 184th Regiment, and indeed, all of Cadia, on Macragge.
When the 184th Regiment was still a gang on Ashford, they participated in the war against the Tyranids.
On Cadia, they fought against the Black Legion and faced Warmaster Abaddon directly.
After the fall of Cadia, the 184th Regiment protected Archmagos Belisarius Cawl all the way.
On Macragge, the 184th Regiment also participated in the battle to reclaim the entire planet.
Adding in their cooperation with the Necron and the Eldar, the 184th Regiment had basically dealt with every named faction in the entire galaxy, except for the Tau.
Moreover, whether on Ashford, Cadia, or Macragge, the 184th Regiment's battles had contributed to the Primarch's resurrection.
Reyna chose to accept the invitation. She might have felt unworthy of such an honor, but she believed the Cadian 184th Regiment and all of Cadia deserved it.
However, looking at Reyna's clothes, Alexander's eyes still twitched slightly.
From Alexander's aesthetic perspective, this outfit was indeed very beautiful, elegant and not vulgar, and would not lose face among Macragge nobles.
But Alexander felt that Reyna's slightly worn Cadian uniform was actually not undignified at all; it even far surpassed the formal wear of Macragge nobles and was no less impressive than a Space Marine's power armor.
She had worn that uniform in the final battle of Cadia.
Alexander hesitated for a moment. He didn't like to preach, so he carefully chose his words and said briefly, "Actually, I think that Cadian uniform would be perfect for the ceremony."
Reyna's expression froze, as if she hadn't considered this point at all before.
"But that's too worn..."
Reyna opened her mouth slightly, but stopped before she could fully speak.
She was silent for less than half a second, then nodded lightly:
"You're right. I'll change back into my Cadian uniform then."
"But..."
Reyna slightly lifted the stola dress she was wearing, revealing her slender ankles, then turned around gracefully, half-turning her head back to look at Alexander, and said with a soft smile:
"But this is my first time wearing clothes like this, so let me wear them for a little longer."
"Will you take a walk with me, please?"
Reyna's eyes reflected the Macragge sun, her deep blue eyes appearing as moist as jade, looking at Alexander with a hint of pleading.
Alexander nodded slightly, not because of Reyna's plea, but mainly because he himself was quite bored.
He casually pulled out a bag of melon seeds from his four-dimensional pocket and placed them in Reyna's hand.
Reyna first froze, then said somewhat indignantly, "You're treating me like a fool again."
Although she complained, Reyna still opened the bag in her hand and began to eat the melon seeds.
The two walked through the Hera Fortress, along its stairs and corridors paved with pale marble. The sun was hot as it approached midday, and when Guilliman designed Hera Fortress, he focused on hiding military practicality beneath a seemingly ornate style, making it dizzying to walk through, like a maze.
Fortunately, Hera Fortress now housed many refugees, and it was crowded everywhere, with stalls visible every few steps.
Alexander and Reyna bought some Macragge specialty foods, and the taste was quite good.
What amazed Reyna most was that many natural foods could be eaten on Macragge.
For example, the two had just bought a kind of fried fish from a small stall, said to be made from small miscellaneous fish common in the flowing waters of Macragge's high mountains, crunchy when chewed.
Of course, besides food stalls, there were also some stalls offering other services, such as...
"Oh, two young sirs, would you like to see the trajectory of fate?"
As the two walked down the street, a voluptuous woman in a deep purple robe at a roadside stall called out to them.
The woman showed a faint smile, gesturing for them to look her way:
"I am one of Macragge's most famous fortune-tellers. Countless young noblemen and noblewomen have found their true love under my guidance."
As she spoke, the woman pulled out a gilded mirror from her robe. The mirror was engraved with a coiled snake pattern, but its surface was blurry as if corroded.
"As long as you drop a drop of blood onto the mirror, the mirror will reflect your destined lover."
Listening to the voluptuous woman's words, Alexander's expression became slightly odd.
"Something seems off," Reyna whispered.
"Of course, it's f***ing off," Alexander couldn't help but retort.
This is too crude, isn't it??? Is this the intelligence level of Slaanesh's followers??? Even Reyna could tell something was off!
"..If it's not the emperor tarot, I won't do it, because it was made by the loyal Emperor."