Me! Cleaner!.

Chapter 1184 Holy Land... Public Toilet?
"Do not misunderstand."

Just as Leon was marveling at the future revealed by the "Lotus Ring," a somewhat familiar voice sounded from behind him. Frederica's grandfather appeared at the back of the canyon, leaning on his cane, and sighed as he looked at the astonished Leon:

"The ring inscription you saw was carved in this fake holy site. It only records what happened within this dream. If you want to know what really happened in the past, you have to go to the real holy site in reality and find the real ring inscription."

Does "circular script" refer to a type of circular script that can be used to make rubbings of images?

After hearing the old man's reminder, Leon removed his hand from the "Lotus Ring," frowned, and looked back.

"You actually knew you were dreaming... um... what's with this outfit of yours?"

"I'm all dressed like this... The Holy Bull called me here; it was just an emergency."

The old man, wearing a white, sheer dress that was clearly the wrong size, his wrinkled face covered with a thick layer of whitewash, explained somewhat awkwardly:

"Only 'Saintesses' are allowed to enter this place, so I could only find a dress that smells of Frederica and then smear my face, arms, and legs white... Or shall we continue talking about the Holy Land?"

"Um... that's fine too..."

The two cross-dressing men, one old and one young, exchanged an awkward glance before simultaneously turning their heads away. The white-bearded old man spoke first:

"Leon... that must be your real name, right?"

"Yes."

Although the white-bearded old man was likely "Number One's" grandfather, he was undeniably human, and had treated him well in their dozens of encounters during their dreams. Therefore, Leon switched to the more favorable "Director of the Cleanup Bureau" persona and politely introduced himself:

“I am not a person in this dream, but a descendant of the thirteen human races who were forced to leave their old lands after being attacked by the Four Pillar Gods. I don’t know exactly how many years have passed, but I should be a descendant of you from a very, very long time ago.”

"I had a pretty good idea of ​​that."

Seeing that Leon's attitude towards him remained gentle, the white-bearded old man nodded in satisfaction, then said with a somewhat wistful expression:
“From the moment you entered this dream, I noticed something unusual about you. Compared to us, who have migrated deep into the old land, you not only have no hope at all, but you are also more proud, more irritable, more greedy, more lazy, and more lustful than us…”

No... can we give some good examples?

Looking at the old man with a white beard, who was scolding him for his "worldly" faults while plaster fell from his face, Leon's lips twitched involuntarily. He regretted being so polite earlier.

Admittedly, due to the hidden effect of [Lord of Demons (Black Heart)], the aura of "original sin" on my body is a bit strong, and I do not give people the feeling of being a good person.

(As a special being who transcends the seven original sins and is even more depraved than the devil, your evil can no longer be concealed, and the more evil an individual is, the more they can feel your unparalleled sin.)

But this old Deng started by listing the seven deadly sins, instead of starting with examples from the six virtues of mercy, justice, courage, and temperance. It was clear that he, like some missing old Deng director, was prejudiced against people in the present world!
"Ah, of course, you have some good points too."

Seeing Leon's somewhat unfriendly expression, the white-bearded old man, realizing he had gone a bit too far, quickly coughed to cover it up, then forcefully steered the conversation back on track:

"At least you... uh... you still know right from wrong and understand that it's wrong to peep at my granddaughter while she's bathing, but you insist on refusing to admit it?"

"..."

You're obviously doing this on purpose! Just because I saw your granddaughter taking a bath, you dressed up as a woman to insult me, right?
Looking at the white-bearded old man who immediately launched into a verbal attack, Leon clicked his tongue and then said irritably:
"What on earth are you going to say?"

"I want to say... could you please help us save Frederica?"

"???"

"Will is the anchor that spans time, and exchange will bring back revelations from the future."

Without immediately explaining why he had asked Leon to rescue the people, the white-bearded old man pointed to the carving knife in the distance and the blood-stained ring on the ground, then sighed:

"Whenever our branch is on the verge of extinction, the current saintess will come to the deepest part of the holy land, and with a death-defying will, plunge that knife into her heart. Her will will then exchange with her future self, and she will receive revelation from the future."

Exchange? Revelation?
Lyon was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, but then he suddenly realized what was going on.

"Rebirth story?"

“Rebirth... that interpretation isn’t entirely wrong.”

Upon hearing this, the white-bearded old man closed his eyes briefly, and explained with a somewhat somber expression:
"However, this ritual of exchanging hope for revelation is less about being reborn after death and returning to the past, and more about an exchange... one person goes to death, and the other receives revelation."

With the resolve to sacrifice everything, the present self uses the [Time-Carving Knife] to pierce their own heart, exchanging with their future self in their final moments before death. They willingly hand over the remaining years of their life to their future selves, and accept death in their place.

The will of the future, carrying its complete memories, will return to its present body and, through the revelations it gains from the future, bring hope to its entire race facing crisis.

One person died... one person was enlightened... So that's how it is!
After listening to the white-bearded old man's explanation, Leon compared the scenes he had seen in countless ring-printed texts and suddenly noticed a detail he hadn't noticed before.

After the confusion in the eyes of those saintesses who were "resurrected" faded, their expressions became more "aged." Even though their bodies remained youthful, their eyes no longer held the innocent and carefree look they once had, and their demeanor was noticeably more weathered than before.

So... the current Holy Maiden sacrificed herself to bring the will of the future, carrying memories, to the present. Is this the true power of the "Holy Land" of the Hope lineage?

Glancing at the blood-stained floor not far away, and recalling the figures trembling and prone on the ground, their blood staining the circles, Leon couldn't help but frown:

"The real Frederica is already..."

"Um……"

The white-bearded old man said with a somber expression:
"At that time, the magnetic plane we migrated to was on the verge of collapse. The revelations left by the previous generation of saintess had been used up, and we urgently needed to migrate to a new plane that was suitable for survival and could avoid the attacks of the Four Pillar Gods, so..."

So the real "historical" her entered the holy land and voluntarily sacrificed herself to gain enlightenment!

With the white-bearded old man's explanation, after successfully piecing together the last piece of the puzzle, a large part of the series of unsolved mysteries in Leon's mind were instantly solved.

The Taurus director and the Pisces director were not mistaken; the dream was indeed related to Frederica's "origin," but their position and timing in entering the dream were slightly off.

While he was wandering aimlessly up the mountain with the old ox, the Frederica in his dream had already completed the ritual, become his future self, and was clutching her chest as she descended the mountain to wash the bloodstains from her body in the pool. "So, everything I experienced in this dream, from the moment I stumbled upon her bathing, was fake?"

Leon frowned and asked:
"Is everything I've seen these past few days what she wants me to see? It's completely different from the real past?"

Not entirely, but pretty much.

The white-bearded old man nodded and said:

"Just as you don't trust Frederica, she also lacks trust in you, so naturally she won't let you see everything that happened in the past as it is, and will try her best to cover it up in front of you."

Besides, you were forced into this dream in the first place. In your past, there was no lecherous ghost who dared to trespass into the sacred place to peep at her bathing. Therefore, from the moment you entered this dream, it was impossible for it to be exactly the same as your past.

"..."

Are you never going to let this go? I already told you I didn't mean to peek, that cow pulled me down. Why are you still holding this grudge?
After taking a deep breath, eager to obtain more information, Leon ignored the white-bearded old man's barbed remarks and asked expressionlessly:
"Aren't you Frederica's grandfather? If she doesn't trust me, you can't trust me either, right? Why do you still want me to save her? Besides, didn't the real her already die in the ritual? How can I save her? And..."

"Slow down, slow down..."

Faced with Lyon's rapid-fire questions, the white-bearded old man quickly waved his hand and said:

"You're asking too many questions. Take it one at a time. As for why I'm looking for you... Although you don't look like a good person at all, and you're a lecher, you inexplicably seem trustworthy. I can also see a glimmer of hope in you, so I choose to believe in hope."

The taste of hope? That's nonsense, isn't it?

Upon hearing this, Lyon raised an eyebrow, then asked in return with a look of suspicion:
"If I truly possess any scent of hope, shouldn't Frederica, as a saint, be able to detect it? Why doesn't she seem to have noticed any scent of hope?"

"That's because she has no hope left."

The white-bearded old man took a deep breath, then replied with a slightly sad expression:
"If she were a saint, she would naturally be closer to hope than I am a priest, but the one who can see hope has already exchanged all her own hope for the revelation of the future."

She, who returned from the future, was brought back at the very last moment before her life ended. Therefore, having received this revelation, all hope within her had been exhausted. And a person without hope naturally cannot see the hope within you.

"..."

It's a bit abstract... but the general idea is that Frederica will lose the ability to feel hope after completing the ritual, right?
After reluctantly accepting the old man's explanation, Leon continued to press for answers:

"If you say she's already dead, then why did you ask me to save her?"

"Because she might not be dead yet."

"???"

No... Do you want to listen to what you're actually saying?
“I know this is strange, but Frederica might really not be dead…”

Faced with Lyon's look of utter disbelief, the white-bearded old man said helplessly:

“Logically speaking, Frederica, who used the [Time-Carving Blade], should have died. No saintess has ever been an exception. But I don’t know why, the real Frederica is indeed not dead.”

"Then why didn't she die?"

"Didn't I say? I don't know why she didn't die!"

"Yes, but how do you know she's not dead?"

"Didn't I tell you? I don't know!"

"..."

Do you have Alzheimer's disease?!
Faced with the seemingly mentally challenged white-bearded old man, Leon, who had been rendered speechless, remained silent for a while before clenching his fists involuntarily.

However, just as he was hesitating whether to use a powerful memory restoration technique to help the white-bearded old man who had suddenly started acting foolishly to wake up, he suddenly heard a clear mooing of a cow behind him.

"Moo! (I know why!)"

"?!!!"

To the astonishment of Lyon and the white-bearded old man, an old yellow ox, dressed in an oversized white dress and with its face smeared with white wall ash, hopped in on its front hooves, stopped in front of the two men, and then explained with a serious expression:
"Moo! (Because we are all people in Frederica's dream. Although she gave us different memories and personalities according to her own memories, we are ultimately a part of her memories.)

So compared to the real us, we 'dream people' know a lot of things we shouldn't know, things that only Frederica herself knows, including that the real her is actually still alive.

However, while she remains in our dreams, we are suppressed by her will and unable to express these feelings. But after she leaves on her own initiative, we are freed from her control, and the longer she is gone, the more 'free' we become.

The old man knows Frederica isn't dead because he has some of Frederica's memories, but he's not as quick to detach from those memories as I am, so he's not able to say these things yet.

"..."

Oh my... how did you manage to convey such a long meaning with just one moo from a cow?

And is this holy site fucking stupid? Does it mean that anyone, regardless of gender, human, or even a cow, can just enter by changing into a white dress and rubbing their face and arms white? Does it only recognize clothes and not people?

Oh no, you are "dream people" evolved from her memories, so in a sense you really are a part of her. So letting you into this holy place isn't so bad.
"That's how it is!" x13
Just as Lyon was trying to understand what the old ox was saying, another series of sounds came from afar.

Under Leon's extremely tense gaze, Frederica's thirteen muscular brothers, now dressed in fitted white dresses and with their faces and arms smeared with whitewash, turned in and stood in unison behind the old ox. They cast earnest glances at Leon and pleaded in unison:
"You lecher! Please save our sister!"

"..."

Is this how you beg for help?!

　Two in one, haha... Or2-Orz-Or2-Orz-Or2-Orz-Or2
　　
　
(End of this chapter)