Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1888 (1860) The Concept of Time
"Hmm, this is indeed... a prayer I've never seen before."

In the Round Table Hall, in Sir Hundred's private library, Gideon Ofnir lay on the table, carefully examining the parchment that the plush ball had handed him. His deep, hoarse, unhurried voice came from the darkness inside his helmet.

"It seems that this is the secret of the Flame Watchers' beliefs."

Sir Hundred Wisdom lifted his head from his hunched-over posture, which was bound to cause neck pain sooner or later, and waved the parchment in his hand that contained the inscription of "Evil God's Flame".

"Can you confirm that this is the original version you got from that thief Adam?"

On the opposite side of the table, the plush ball's two little paws gripped the edge of the table, its chin resting on it, its expression serious.

"If you don't trust us, then don't ask us to do this job in the first place, meow!"

Generally speaking, Palicoes are cute and kind due to their racial nature and would not say such harsh words.

But now that the boss has entrusted him with such an important task, Rongbuqiu feels that he can't show any weakness!

So I kept encouraging myself internally: 'Be serious, meow! Be focused, meow!'

Seemingly thanks to the Palico's earnest appearance, Gideon Ofnir stopped worrying about the authenticity of the prayer in his hand.

This is combined with the evidence brought back by the velvet ball, as well as Lan En's speculation.

With Sir Hundred's wisdom, it didn't take him long to mentally combine the evidence and inferences with the current situation and go through it all again.

And they quickly concluded that it made sense and was highly probable.

“The three demigods who are related to the empress,” Bai Zhi sighed from beneath the helmet adorned with ear outlines, “as relatives of the empress, having already wielded such great power, are they still unwilling to accept it?”

"No, perhaps it is precisely because they have already wielded such great power that they are now unwilling and uneasy?"

A lack of virtue that matches one's position has always been a major cause of social disorder.

This scourge is not only for others, but also for those who have usurped high positions.

If someone obtains a high position without the corresponding qualifications, their heart will naturally become more greedy. After all, that position was not obtained through their own outstanding qualities, so why wouldn't they be lucky enough to take another step forward?

Such wishful thinking will grow like weeds in people's minds, impossible to eradicate, only continuing to grow and flourish.

Another theory suggests that even without greed, doubts and suspicions can arise.

After all, I know I don't have the qualifications, but I was still forced into such a high position, so the person who promoted me must have some important needs from me.

What if I can't meet the requirements or get it done? What will the consequences be?
Before the truth is revealed, the more you think about such a problem, the more uncertain you become, and this uncertainty can drive you to extremes.

Therefore, situations where one's virtue does not match their position usually do not end well.

"But is it merely because of power?"

Sir Hundred-Minded bowed his head again, looking at the legendary prayer that proved the giant's faith in fire, as if he were looking at some hidden truth.

His voice grew softer and softer, as if he were sinking into some kind of deep thought.

"Among the demigods, there are only three divine beings... the law..."

The more she spoke, the lower her voice became, until even the velvet ball across the table couldn't hear her anymore.

Seeing that Sir Hundred Wisdom seemed to be deep in thought, the plush ball anxiously tried to stick out its claws from its little paws and scratch the table.

But it was a cat with a mild temper, so it turned its chin back from where it was resting on the edge of the table.

The velvet ball winked at the Qilin, and the two exchanged a few words through their guardian spirits.

"Xilulu!"

The Qilin was much more unrestrained than the velvet ball, and immediately let out a long neigh.

The voice of the ancient dragon from the New World carried far into the enclosed round-table hall.

This also successfully startled Sir Hundred Wisdom, who was deep in thought.

Looking up, all that could be seen was darkness within, and the Qilin, undeterred, glared back with its red, crystal-like eyes.

In the traditions of the borderlands, both the velvet ball and the qilin are wise beasts attracted by Lan En, representing his potential to become king and, to some extent, his own.

“Oh, I’m very sorry,” Sir Hundred Wisdom said to the Kirin and the Velvet Ball. “It’s my idea that always drifts too far.”

The two triangular ears on the plush ball's head twitched: "So, what's next, meow? You've got the news, what's your plan now?"

“We will present two fingers,” Gideon Ophniel said, his pace still unhurried, “and then we will hand over the evidence and speculation to the Queen. The Queen will then decide how to deal with the rebellious demigods.”

Sir Hundred-Mindedness spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, but the plush ball stared wide-eyed.

"That's it, meow?" The kitten's mouth dropped open. "They're going to start a rebellion, meow! And you guys have the leisure to write reports right now?"

"Actually, we'll also hold a meeting within the Faded Ones to inform everyone about this. Of course, that'll have to wait until everyone returns."

Seeing the velvet ball and the unicorn looking stunned, Gideon Ofnier suddenly realized something.

"Your Excellency Velvet Ball, Your Excellency Qilin," Baizhi addressed the wise beasts with great courtesy, "When you were with Lan En... did time fly by?" This respect for wise beasts was a tradition in the borderlands, after all, in this world, beasts were the first to be enlightened by wisdom, and then humans.

The plush ball seemed a little stumped by the question, but actually the kitten was feeling insecure and was mentally preparing itself not to show any fear.

"We...we're all impatient cats!"

The velvet ball's response made Baizhi nod, as if it were not unexpected.

"With similar personalities, it seems you should be grouped together. But Lord Velvetball, do you know how long it has been since the Flame Watchers descended the mountain?"

"Uh," the plush ball glanced tentatively at the other side, trying to make the number sound bigger, "half...half a year, meow?"

After all, when Sir Hundred-Minded gave out the mission, he had already said that 'the Flame Watchers went down the mountain a long time ago.' Half a year should be...

"Ten years."

"Meow?!"

"Huff?!"

Gideon Ofnier calmly uttered a number, while Velvet Ball and Qilin simultaneously exclaimed in astonishment as if they were hearing something from heaven.

Border troops returned to the dynasty under the pretext of investigating a case... and this has dragged on for ten years?!

But looking back, this situation seems quite normal during the Golden Age.

After all, everyone is immortal, so time is meaningless and infinite for the people of the Golden Tree.

When Lann got off the Dikedas elevator, there was a queue and some people had set up camp to rest nearby.

When he finished his mission and came back up, the people in the original camp had not changed.

In this golden dynasty, immortality and stable reincarnation have completely distorted the Golden Tree people's concept of time.

After all, they were originally destined to die, but the current Golden Age of Law is built on the premise that death has been defeated and sealed away.

It was precisely because of this distorted sense of time that, even in the Phantom Mage Tower, when Lani was assigning tasks to her subordinates, she repeatedly emphasized 'tonight' and 'this very night'.

The point is to make them understand the urgency of the time and that the timeframe is non-negotiable.

It seemed to be giving these two rare, quick-tempered, and wise beasts from the Golden Dynasty time to react.

Sir Hundred Wisdom paused before continuing, "The three demigods who are related to the emperor are not content with their lot, and we, the Faded Ones of the Round Table, have known this for a long time. The reason you have noticed that there are not many people in this Round Table Hall lately is because we have all been busy with these matters."

"I even went to the Volcano official residence myself some time ago and planted a few spies before returning."

"It's just that we haven't found such decisive evidence before."

As he spoke, Baizhi tapped on the page of the prayer book that contained the inscription of the "Evil God's Flame".

“So,” the plush ball said, somewhat incredulously, “you guys actually knew what was going on... right, meow?”

“That’s right.” Sir Hundred Wisdom nodded decisively. “The idea of ​​demigods causing trouble is nothing but a fantasy. Not to mention the Queen Consort, three mere demigods can’t cause any trouble in the hands of Queen Marika’s sworn brother. Not to mention the Queen herself.”

"Wow~"

The kitten sighed, "It seems that this prosperous divine dynasty, in the end, is still about power."

In terms of sheer power... who can compare to Queen Marika's lineage, who brought the Golden Age of Law to the world?

"Thank you both for your hard work," Sir Hundred said, rising politely and extending his hand toward the door. "Please go and rest. Leave the rest to us."

The velvet ball and the unicorn looked at each other, nodded one last time, and went outside.

Gideon Ophniel, hunched over and leaning on his scepter, beckoned to a patrolling Rhodes Knight in the Round Table Hall.

"Who is in the round table hall now?"

“Lord Vic, and Lord Krep,” Sir Rodel replied after a moment’s thought.

“Only two… there’s nothing we can do,” Sir Hundred said in a low voice. “Tell them I have something to announce.”

Soon, in the room where the Round Table Hall got its name—the room with the huge sword-inserted round table that Lan En had seen before—the three Faded Ones who were not on a mission gathered together.

Sir Buddy, adorned with ear and eye shapes all over his body, stood hunched over by the fireplace in the room, leaning on his cane.

The other man, sitting in a chair at the round table with the sword, was dressed in light black leather armor and wore a black hood; he was quite inconspicuous.

However, on the armrest of his chair, there was a specially made heavy crossbow, much longer than a normal crossbow, leaning against the wall. The quiver for the crossbow bolts was placed very carefully at his feet.

They seemed hesitant to sit down with the lightweight crossbow quiver in tow.

The fire crackled and popped in the fireplace, and there was no other sound. Until the sound of footsteps approaching on the wooden planks came from the corridor of the round table hall.

"I'm here!" The newcomer's voice was very high-spirited and energetic. "Gideon, what brings you here? I'm in a hurry and want to take advantage of my rest to go and pray to Lord Lance Sanx."

(End of this chapter)