Struggle in the Steam Age

Although no matter in his previous life or in this life, Lawrence has always claimed that he is a person who is indifferent to fame and wealth and arrogant to the powerful. But in fact, it was just a quick talk. After all, he had never met anyone with a high status before, so he could just brag about it.

Therefore, when meeting Emperor Joseph I, he wished to have an interview with him. Lawrence looked a little nervous all of a sudden. After all, what was said to be strong before was attributed to being strong in the mouth, but this may not be the case in reality.

"Relax, relax." As an old man who has been an emperor for decades, Joseph naturally saw the tension in Lawrence's heart. So he pressed his hands to signal Lawrence to relax, and said at the same time, "Don't worry, I'm not a dragon who will eat you in one bite, but I just want to talk to you about something. You treat me as one of your elders and you Just talk."

"Okay, I'm fine. What do you need to find me?" Lawrence calmed down after taking a deep breath. After all, he had traveled across planes and had close contact with gods, so It was just that I was a little uncomfortable for a while because I hadn't seen a high-ranking person. Just a simple adjustment will be able to return to normal.

"I remember you are the adopted son of the August family, right?" Emperor Joseph I asked. "I heard that your father picked you up from the train station."

"Yes, it should be like this." Lawrence nodded and said. He was very sure of this. After all, according to the situation he asked before, he was found by a group of people when he was abandoned at the train station, and then he was very emotional at the time. The bad Mr. Lambert took the initiative to adopt, and nothing abnormal happened in the process.

As for abandoned babies, it is not uncommon in this era, and there are various reasons. Among the common reasons are that the family cannot afford to support the child, the child is found to be too weak or sick after birth, or even because the child was born illegally and the parents do not want to raise the child.

According to Mr. Lambert's analysis, Lawrence is most likely to be the first type, because according to his recollection, Lawrence, who was still a baby at that time, was very healthy even though he was crying from the cold. Wrapped in a tattered coat sewn together by a large pile of rags, it was placed in a conspicuous place at the station.

This suggests that his biological parents may have abandoned him because they were too poor to afford to raise a child. At least the embarrassment of the original family can be seen from the tattered clothes and the lack of any souvenirs found on Lawrence's body.

After all, according to tradition, if you put a note or some kind of trinkets on your body, it means that after abandoning the child, the parents still hope to recognize the child someday in the future or even keep a thought. Only the poorest or in serious difficulty. Only those who have a child will not let go of anything when they abandon their children, saying that they will never see their children again in this life.

One advantage of doing this is that the connection between the abandoned baby and the original family has been completely severed. For some people, it is more reassuring to adopt this kind of child.

"I don't think you are shy about discussing this matter?" Just as Lawrence was thinking about this issue, Emperor Joseph I asked curiously. "I have met several people from your background before, but they all seem to be more taboo to talk about their past."

"Of course I'm not taboo, because I grew up as an ordinary person." Lawrence smiled. The type of people Joseph I mentioned are basically the adopted sons of nobles. There are some nobles who really don't have children, and they don't want to be extinct or let those in the family they don't like inherit the title. So they will adopt a child with a background similar to Lawrence's to inherit the family from baby raising.

And these adopted heirs are habitually taboo about their origins. On the one hand, if those nobles have their own children, their status will naturally plummet, and they will even be given a sum of money to let them leave home. On the other hand, even if they successfully survived to inherit the title, their lineage would be criticized privately by the nobles. This makes them always sensitive on this issue.

But Lawrence was different from those who were raised as heirs of nobility, he was raised as an ordinary person. At the same time, everything I have now comes from my own efforts. Therefore, he is not so sensitive about such things. Not to mention that for him now, the title of a simple earl of the court is not very attractive to him.

"Some things may be different from what you think." Joseph I smiled, and then took out a palm-sized golden sign and said. "I heard that you are a warlock, so can you infuse magic power into this brand? Something needs to be checked with you."

Speaking of this, the emperor felt that what he might say would cause misunderstanding. So he explained: "Don't worry, this thing will not detect any of your privacy, I just want to use this thing to confirm certain things."

"—Okay," said Lawrence, taking the sign. He didn't worry about any traps, after all, his status was not worthy of the emperor doing something himself. Besides, Bai Ze's blood didn't think there was any malice in it.

After only inputting the magic power equivalent to a first-level magic, Lawrence felt full on the golden metal card in his hand. Then a light blue light shot out on the sign.

"Huh?" Lawrence's eyes showed doubts. When he injected the magic just now, he could feel a kind of power on this brand touching his soul, but this kind of contact was very slight in an instant. At the same time, there was no malice, so he didn't react before.

"What was the thing that touched my soul just now?" Lawrence asked the emperor in front of him, "When I injected the magic power just now, it felt as if something scanned my soul."

"That's the effect of this magic item." The emperor smiled and said, "You don't have to worry, and now you can see the effect of what I did just now."

"Effect?" Lawrence lowered his head in confusion, only to see that the blue light emitted from the sign just now slowly gathered into a ball of light the size of a fist above the sign, and then changed. It's almost like a slime is out there trying to turn into something else.

After a few seconds, the transformation is over. A vague image made of light appeared on the sign. What surprised Lawrence was that the image on the light turned into Bai Ze.

Of course, this image is also very vague. From a glance, you can only see the single horn in the middle of Bai Ze's forehead, four legs and a long tail. If Lawrence hadn't felt the faintly familiar divine beast breath from it, he felt that it was absolutely impossible for him to associate this thing with the divine beast Bai Ze.

Joseph I, who was sitting opposite Lawrence, also saw what the ball of light had turned into. He first opened his eyes wide and looked at the long horns growing from Bai Ze's head, which was obviously a herbivore, and then he was a little puzzled. He looked at the quadrupeds made of blue light, which were obviously carnivorous claws.

Finally, he closed his eyes and reached into the blue light until all the light was gone. However, His Majesty the Emperor seemed to feel something from the light, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Okay, boy, I think I already know the information I want." The emperor smiled and took the metal plate from Lawrence's hand, and then patted him on the shoulder. "I wish you a good time playing tonight. By the way, you should receive my gift in two days. Don't be too surprised then."