"In principle, I wouldn't have gone. But since you've put it that way, I guess I can reluctantly agree."
"Oh? Then it's settled. The place is in Romania, on the Balkan Peninsula. Once you arrive at Bucharest Airport, I'll meet you there."
"Alright."
"I'll be waiting, little Rod~"
It was obvious from her tone that Jeanne was quite happy Rod had agreed to her invitation.
…
After hanging up, Rod opened the system map and teleported to a point near the Vatican anchor.
Romania was close to Italy. Flying from Rome only took about four or five hours.
Unlike the quiet, half-tourist version of the Vatican from before Rod's transmigration, the current Vatican, with Heaven backing the Church, saw an enormous flow of people every single day.
What entered Rod's sight was a massive crowd of believers and tourists from all over the world.
After leaving the range of the teleport anchor, he blended into the crowd. When a taxi pulled up, he smoothly opened the door and got in before it had even fully stopped.
"To the airport."
"Sure thing."
The driver's face immediately bloomed into a chrysanthemum-like smile when he saw that Rod was a foreigner.
Looks like today I can fleece someone properly again.
Half an hour later, the driver stopped the taxi in a small alley near the airport.
He pointed at the meter.
The bright number displayed on it read: 800 euros.
"Eight hundred!"
He even held up a few fingers, afraid Rod might not understand.
"Is something wrong with your meter?"
Rod asked.
"What do you mean wrong? Our pricing is honest and clearly marked. Don't tell me you're trying not to pay?"
The driver's expression turned unpleasant.
"If it were real, I'd definitely pay."
Rod leaned forward and directly ripped the meter off the dashboard.
The driver instantly flew into a rage.
"You moth- damn, that's cool!"
His left hand, which had already been resting by the car door, was just about to pull out a metal baton.
When he suddenly felt a dark gun barrel pressed against his forehead.
The cold touch made sweat pour down his face.
If this had been in other country, he might have thought it was just a toy.
But in freedom-loving Europe and America, you always had to be careful about whether some random passerby might pull out something black and hard from their pants.
What he couldn't understand was why this guy had a gun in the first place.
But as he stared at Rod's face, he suddenly felt that this tourist looked familiar.
A nearly buried memory surged back like a tidal wave.
The driver remembered who this man was.
"Oh? Looks like you finally remembered."
Rod whistled.
"Heh… hehe…"
The driver forced out an honest-looking smile.
A few minutes later, he stared tearfully at his taxi, whose engine had been completely ruined, while Rod, the culprit, had already boarded a flight to Romania.
After about four and a half hours, the plane landed smoothly.
Rod followed the signs and left the airport.
When he reached the pickup area, he heard a familiar voice.
"Rod, over here, over here~"
Following the voice, he looked over and saw a pair standing outside the railings, one man and one woman.
The man was just a man.
The woman was Jeanne, whom Rod had previously met in Italy.
But unlike the last time, when she had deliberately dressed like a little punk girl, Jeanne was now wearing a white shirt and jeans suited for movement. They weren't tight-fitting, yet still outlined an excellent figure. Her chest was slightly inferior to Lavinia's, but still impressively developed.
Her features were delicate and attractive, and the light makeup on her face made her even more charming.
Rod's gaze moved up and down.
It lingered mainly around the triangle area and her chest.
These past few days, Lavinia had left him a little too pent up, so his eyes naturally started auto-locking onto things again.
And to avoid being noticed, he had even specially put on a pair of sunglasses.
That way, no one could tell.
"Long time no see, little Rod."
Since she had a deep impression of him, Jeanne recognized Rod at a glance.
After greeting him, the rather familiar Jeanne sized him up from top to bottom.
"Oh-ho, a few days apart and you already feel more solid."
As she said this, she even reached out and pinched his arm, then quickly covered her mouth and laughed after touching what she wanted to touch.
Rod's expression turned strange.
Could it be that this saint girl really was into him?
Westerners tended to be passionate and open, and they weren't especially picky when it came to choosing romantic partners. In real life, Rod would definitely have dismissed this as one of the three great life misconceptions.
But in this world, it wasn't impossible.
"What's that saying again? Three days apart and… well, anyway, something like that."
"Oh right, I should introduce you. This is Siegfried."
Jeanne then lowered her voice and whispered to Rod:
"He's also the vice-captain of our Hero Faction. His strength is second only to Cao Cao."
Only then did Rod look at the other man.
[Character: Siegfried, original name Demon Emperor Sieg.]
[Description: An artificial warrior developed by the Sigurd Institution, formerly the Church's top swordsman, vice-captain of the Hero Faction, Freed-knows-how-many-generations in.]
Seeing that last description, Rod finally understood why this man looked so familiar.
So he was cloned from the same genetic line as the two Freeds he had killed earlier.
No wonder he also had white hair, and his appearance was around seventy to eighty percent similar.
Still, compared to Freed, Siegfried gave Rod a much stronger impression.
Even so… this was the Hero Faction's second strongest after Cao Cao?
Wasn't that way too weak?
Rod remembered that in the original story, Siegfried got soloed by Kiba Yuuto, and Yuuto himself was in the completely unimpressive tier of strength.
At this point, he might as well just leave the group chat.
But this also made Rod relax a little.
If the Hero Faction only had Cao Cao as its real powerhouse, then he had nothing to worry about.
"Hmph."
Siegfried snorted after glancing at Rod.
Clearly, he wasn't very fond of Rod, someone who had joined through the back door.
"Don't mind him, Rod. That's just how Siegfried is. Let's go."
Jeanne didn't care at all and simply grabbed Rod and started walking out of the airport.
Seeing how close Jeanne acted with Rod, Siegfried's expression turned even colder.
Sensing the hostility coming from behind him, Rod felt speechless inside.
Seriously, man? We've only just met and you already hate me this much?
Did I steal your girlfriend or something?
Don't tell me you and that Fate-series Sieg, who picked up all his equipment off the floor, are actually twins from different fathers and mothers?
Still, Rod didn't care.
If Siegfried made a move, Rod would just kill him in return.
Of course, it would be even better if a mission popped up before that happened.
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