Chapter 103: Lucy’s Quick Fix
Even with all of Cain’s desperate, agonizing attempts to appear unappealing and excessively hideous to the women of Earth—such as walking in a heavy, clumsy manner, making utterly foolish facial expressions, and even picking his nose or belching in a repulsive, sickening fashion right in the middle of the street!
By some miraculous twist of fate... he remained inexplicably, miraculously attractive, stealing the minds and gazes of women and young girls along every corner and sidewalk he traversed!
He wondered to himself with a mixture of bitter irony and mockery: What, pray tell, would transpire if he were to attempt to appear attractive with actual seriousness?! That would undoubtedly mark the inevitable demise of Planet Earth!.. for Lucy would quite literally obliterate it.
Although he was entirely accustomed to this caliber of supreme attention within his home world, the people of Planet Earth naturally remained oblivious to the fact that he was the respected and overwhelmingly influential [Duke Oster]... Thus, virtually no corner was devoid of a young woman whose eyes locked onto him in sheer hypnosis. Cain sensed it with crystal clarity, for the burning aura of scorching jealousy emanating from Lucy was escalating beside him every microsecond like a erratic volcano... To the point where a few dared to wink at him in a devastating, thoroughly provocative manner!
To compound matters, the harvest of hatred and malice directed toward him by the city’s male population surged exponentially... envious gazes, furious murmurs, and explicit contempt... Truthfully, had Cain stood in those men’s shoes, he would have regarded himself with that exact same loathsome gaze!
Yet all of this was hardly the primary catastrophe of their surrounding situation...
The greatest disaster rested within Cain’s arduous, exhausting efforts to grasp Lucy’s hand and soothe her spirit—which was a walking catastrophe in its own right!—lest she explode in fury and proceed to liquidate those young women down to the last soul; for not even the mightiest inhabitants of Earth could endure between her palms for more than a fraction of a microsecond before transmuting into dust.
Cain possessed no trick to ward off the gazes of passersby, nor did he comprehend how to navigate as he stood attempting to soothe Lucy, who was voicing her profound indignation in hushed, burning tones.
Rubbing his forehead with anxious tension, Cain stated: "We are in dire need of locating a place of residence to shelter us tonight... The hotel prices here are something I refrain from even contemplating, for we possess not the price of a single night in the most wretched among them!"
Crossing her arms with a charged tone, Lucy stated: "And the identities... the official identity cards!"
Cain appended: "We are utterly anonymous within the official records... We possess no papers, nor even acquaintances to turn to..."
Narrowing her dark eyes, she stated: "Perhaps they will assume we are illegal immigrants! In this fashion, we cannot even complete a marriage contract here... I reckon the cash we lack is the least of our current dilemmas!"
Exhaling a helpless sigh, she continued: "Did you not inform me previously that marriage was cheap and effortless within this specific city? Absolutely nothing is proceeding smoothly!"
Lucy began to feel gradually disgruntled and lamenting, while the realization seeped into her mind that this entire concept had devolved into something vastly more foolish and the epitome of absurdity... For within her former world, she could have simply spilled the blood of any woman daring to cast a lustful or curious gaze toward Cain. Yet now, she watched him subjected to explicit flirtations in broad daylight, while she stood helpless to enact a thing due to the cursed "Law" to which she had bound herself!
She was Lucy Montgrad!
The woman before whose name and absolute might emperors and commanders trembled... Was she now halted by a collection of frail, useless human laws? Was it not vastly simpler and faster to employ her might to subjugate everyone, threatening the officials to bring them a notarized marriage certificate immediately, whereupon they could depart this miserable planet?
Why must she—possessing power sufficient to annihilate this entire planet without shedding a single drop of sweat—strain her extraordinary mind to contemplate a method to amass a few paper dollars and obtain an identity card?!
What incited her internal wrath and fury most were those ludicrous monetary dilemmas... For she possessed within her vaults unreckonable riches, and Cain held legendary funds and treasures that rendered the emperors of Earth paupers by his side, yet they were shackled by their mutual vow and incapable of utilizing a single grain of gold from their worlds!
Lucy contemplated withdrawing from this childish game for a fleeting moment, yet as she delved deeper into her thoughts... she genuinely craved for this marriage to be extraordinary and distinctive within Cain’s former homeland; thus, she resolved to grit her teeth and endure the hardship.
And as she stood upon the sidewalk, her mind wandering in search of a scheme to gather cash...
She knew not why or how, yet her eyes locked onto a scene along the dark roadside opposite them; there stood a crew of workers and several individuals congregating around a giant, stranded semi-truck, parked as far to the side of the road as possible so as not to obstruct traffic.
The truck workers had illuminated large emergency floodlights to alert oncoming vehicles, while the massive tires lay scattered upon the asphalt, the workers appearing in a state of absolute surrender, on the verge of falling asleep from exhaustion and waiting... Although Lucy possessed not the slightest modicum of expertise in modern truck mechanics, she comprehended with absolute clarity that she possessed physical strength capable of lifting the entire truck with a single finger!
It appeared that the heavy equipment or machinery they had requested to lift the truck had yet to arrive, and it was evident from their agitated movements that they were in an extreme rush to transport their cargo... Even the jack meant for altering the tires lying beside them appeared ancient, shattered, and utterly inefficient.
As Lucy pondered briefly, a spark for a swift, direct resolution flashed within her head; she resolved to march over immediately to assist them in elevating that iron machine, demanding a generous financial reward and immediate cash in exchange for that service! At that juncture, the cash problem would be resolved, if only temporarily!
Turning toward Cain, she stated with crisp, unyielding resolve: "Remain here for a single moment and do not move!"
Cain failed to comprehend what on earth this madwoman was planning to execute, yet she awaited not his response; rather, she abandoned him standing solo upon the sidewalk, taking firm, straight strides toward the stranded giant truck!
Cain gasped in concealed terror: "What on earth are you about to do?!"
Lucy had forged her firm resolution that she would not serve as a useless individual upon this journey; rather, she would act as a capable, efficient woman skilled at resolving dilemmas regardless of their severity...
Yet... within her impulsive pride, she remained entirely oblivious to the fact that with this single stride, she was stepping straight into a trap far vaster and vastly more complex than she could ever imagine!