Why would I join the army if I can’t drive a Gundam!

Chapter 227 Faith
"Mr. Clini?"

"Ah, Flaubert, how have you been lately?"

When Florber returned home from school, he saw Markarius, dressed in military uniform with his peaked cap tucked under his arm, squatting by the flower bed eating a plate of tacos, looking nothing like a pillar of the Federation Army.

Beside him, two tall and pretty older women were vying with him for a fairly generous portion of chocolate tortilla chips.

"Sorry, I got a little hungry while waiting for you. Would you like something?"

Marcarius mumbled as he chewed, then handed the girl the corn chips that the three of them had snatched up in a mess.

"Hmm, Mom doesn't let me eat too many snacks, but I just bought the ingredients, so can we have steak for dinner?"

Florber shook her head. She liked the tortilla chips with chocolate sauce, but it was obvious that these people were just there to freeload. So, she decided to skip the snack time and fast forward to dinner!
"That's great! Let me help you with your things!"

Marcarius was quite self-aware. Since he was there to freeload, he consciously urged the two girls to take on the chores, while he sat on the sofa like an old man, drinking tea, eating fruit, and turning on the TV.

"Does this guy always do this when he comes?"

Sera, who was helping Florber, asked curiously.

"Pretty much. He used to make Amuro do chores, and if he didn't obey, he'd fight with him!"

Florber wasn't displeased at all. Although she didn't say anything, she knew that Macarius took good care of her and Amuro's friends, especially Macarius. He would send them money, snacks, and professional engineering books, and even gave Kay a small, multi-functional camera.

Unlike Amro, who just boasts in his letters about how many enemies he's killed, Mr. Klinney encourages everyone to study hard and serve the country in the future!

With the help of the three of them, a sumptuous dinner was served hot. Then, as if by magic, Makarius brought out a large bucket of juice from the door. This was freshly squeezed juice that he had ordered from the side7 agricultural module, and it was delivered to his door by a delivery guy on his electric scooter.

Once everything was ready, everyone sat down to eat. Florber's superb cooking skills immediately won over Sera and Nagase Hotaru. The two of them were also quite good at cooking, but their skills were limited to home-style dishes, unlike Florber, who had done a lot of research on dishes in order to persuade Amuro.

"By the way, Mr. Kline, isn't Amuro coming back to school?"

"What, you still can't forget that guy?"

Makarius joked.

"No, I'm just worried about him!"

"He probably won't be coming back to school. He's been sent by Dr. Timree for further studies, which will take about six months!"

"That's it!"

"Don't worry about that guy. You have so many good young men around you. Xiao Lin is pretty good, much more reliable than Amuro!"

"Mr. Clini!"

Florber blushed immediately; clearly, there was more to the story!

The atmosphere at the dinner table became lively, especially as the three girls chattered away about many topics, and Makarius would occasionally chime in, making everyone laugh heartily.

However, as they were eating, Makarius suddenly stopped talking and turned his attention to the television next to him.

At this moment, the entertainment program that was playing on the TV screen has been replaced by the news. On the screen, a large crowd of people are packed together in a square, all to worship a large Buddha statue on the inner side of the square. At the foot of the Buddha, a large number of monks are chanting scriptures.

The square was filled with the smoke of incense and the sound of chanting, making it a truly magnificent sight.

Is this a Buddhist ceremony?

Nagase Hotaru also noticed the situation on the show and saw that Makarius had changed his expression, so she asked him about it.

“It looks like it!”

Marcarius put a piece of beef into his mouth and chewed it slowly.

Faith is an unavoidable topic in any era. Primitive societies have primitive religions, future societies have future religions, and in the Earth Federation at this moment, there are naturally all kinds of religions.

Moreover, these religions have appeared in every corner of the Earth Sphere along with the migration. The Earth Federation has not imposed any restrictions on the spread of these religions, after all, religion is an important part of maintaining social stability.

Therefore, the three women found the Dharma assembly on TV to be normal, and even somewhat novel, except for Markarius, who frowned as he ate.

At this moment, the Dharma assembly in the square had reached its climax. Escorted by a group of monks carrying staffs, a tall and somewhat handsome monk appeared before the believers.

The next second, the crowd that had been sincerely worshipping suddenly surged forward as if possessed, wanting to catch a glimpse of the monk and receive his blessing.

As the crowd descended into chaos, the monks raised their staffs in an attempt to maintain order, but to no avail. Just as a disaster seemed imminent, the monk who had been surrounded by guards suddenly pushed aside the guards and appeared in front of the believers.

As if by magic, the believers who had just been frenzied immediately quieted down upon seeing the other party appear and knelt down before him once again.

Then, the scene of the Dharma assembly disappeared, and it reverted to the familiar television host, who then began to explain what had just happened.

This is another Dharma assembly with a scale of over 100,000 people recently held by the Nanyang Alliance. The Nanyang Alliance, a national organization composed of multiple South Asian countries under the Earth Federation, has held such Dharma assemblies many times.

Every Dharma assembly is like this one, with huge crowds and a grand scale. As for the monk who was surrounded by monk soldiers, his identity is also extraordinary. He is Lei Fanhu, the leader of the Nanyang Alliance and a Buddhist monk!

Although he was young, he already had immense prestige and numerous followers within the Nanyang Buddhist Association. Countless people were drawn to his charisma and joined the Buddhist community. His influence was so great that it even attracted the attention of many media outlets.

"Mr. Klinney, is there something wrong with this religious ceremony?"

Seeing Makarius's brow furrow and relax in turn, Florbert became curious.

"There's nothing wrong with it, but it's best to avoid getting involved. That guy doesn't seem like a good person!"

Marcarius took another bite of beef and then replied.

"Are you talking about that monk named Lei Fan, the Taoist priest?"

"Yes!"

Sera shook her head and then said.

"To be honest, I really thought that guy was a bit strange just now. So many people were about to cause trouble, and the guards couldn't calm them down, but he calmed them down with a wave of his hand?"

"It's probably because of his high prestige. I remember when I was a child, the Pope in Rome celebrated Mass in the same way!"

Nagase Hotaru also began to ponder. "However, it's only been half a year since the war ended, and so many ceremonies have already been held. This Lei Fanhu must have some skills!"

"Yes, as you saw in the footage just now, besides Asians, there were also a large number of whites and Africans. I don't recall Buddhism being so popular among them!"

"Perhaps it's because the Nanyang Alliance also undertook part of the task of clearing away the war ruins!"

"For those who have suffered trauma, religious faith is a powerful remedy that offers solace to their souls!"

Markarius, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.

"After all, when people are desperate, don't they all hope that someone can save them?"

“That’s right!”

"But it's not right for an entire country to become devout!"

Marcarius didn't know much about Revanhu. He only knew that this so-called monk was not a good person, and even the legendary sorcerer Rasputin was not as evil as this guy.

All he knew was that the other person was a research subject at the Federal New Human Research Institute, also a New Human, and possessed very powerful New Human abilities. Due to brain damage caused by an injury sustained during the research, he lost his language function, but could still communicate with others through the New Human's sensory abilities.

Relying on this ability, he changed the previous style of the Nanyang Alliance and seemed to have the intention of making the Nanyang Alliance independent from the Federation.

Under his guidance, he even decisively started from scratch!

"However, you can't always tell when it comes to religion. Look how enthusiastically those people participate in the Dharma assembly; they might forget all about it as soon as they get home in a couple of days!"

Marcarius also sensed that the atmosphere in the room was a bit off, so he immediately changed the subject and tried to liven things up again, even telling jokes.

"Did you know that in the past, a certain religion liked to proselytize to the elderly, but the elderly couldn't understand it!"

"What happens after that?"

"After that, they would attract the elderly by giving away free eggs. As long as the elderly were willing to come, they could receive free eggs, and there was even a free buffet!"

"Then will these elderly people convert to religion?"

"Of course, before they get the eggs, they are the most devout believers, but once they get the eggs, nobody cares anymore!"

"Why don't we just give them free eggs?"

"Then shouldn't we change the name to Egg Cult?"

Marcarius's joke successfully turned the atmosphere in the room from which it had just cooled down. Then, he simply turned off the TV, and everyone finished the meal chatting and laughing. After helping Flore clean up, the three of them said goodbye. Before leaving, he didn't forget to leave an envelope containing Hett as payment for their meal.

Of course, the envelope was placed quite discreetly, otherwise, given Flore's temperament, she would definitely have chased after him and stuffed the contents back into Markarius's hands!

On the way back to the base, Nagase Hotaru asked the question that everyone was so concerned about.

"So, the Nanyang Alliance might run into trouble, is that right?"

"Yes, otherwise why would a religious leader like Lei Fanhu build an army? Does he intend to launch a distant expedition to Jerusalem and fight God and Allah to the death?"

"The Federation won't just stand by and do nothing, will it?"

Sera asked curiously.

"It would have been hard to say in the past, but now, I think both the Military Intelligence Bureau and the Central Intelligence Agency should be paying close attention and on guard!"

"So, everything is under control, right?"

"Of course! Don't underestimate Santa Claus!"

"Does Lord Rebil know that you like to call him by that nickname behind his back?"

"So what if he knows? His mouth is on my body!"

With Makarius's banter, Sera and Nagase Hotaru quickly put the matter of the Nanyang Alliance out of their minds. However, after returning to the base, Makarius immediately logged onto the Federation's internal network and used his privileges to check recent intelligence about the Nanyang Alliance.

However, there is not much publicly available intelligence information. Makarius only found some fragments, such as the South Pacific Alliance recovering the wreckage of the mobile suits and repairing and reassembling them, or the South Pacific Alliance personnel unfortunately sacrificing their lives while cleaning up the battlefield.

After reading all this, Makarius scratched his head. He knew that something was going to happen to the South Pacific Alliance, and the Federation probably knew it too. But the problem was that the Federation couldn't take the initiative right now. After all, the South Pacific Alliance was a member state of the Federation. The One Year War had finally turned around the Federation's image, and it couldn't afford to damage it further, at least not now!
After thinking for a while, Makarius picked up the communicator.

"Connect me to North American Command. I need Captain Robert Leckie!"

"Ah, Colonel Klinney! Long time no see! What's up, is something the matter?"

Then, the Federation intelligence officer who had previously confiscated Dozru's safe with Makarius appeared on camera. After the One Year War ended, he was promoted and transferred to another unit.

"Long time no see, Captain. I need all the information about the Nanyang Alliance. Can you get it?"

"I don't have much access to these things, but I'll send them all to you!"

"Oh, and remember to delete after reading; these things are rather sensitive!"

Leckie didn't ask Makarius what he was planning, after all, their intelligence department also paid close attention to sensitive information.

At this critical juncture, if Makarius comes to him asking for something, then there is naturally only one answer.

The Red Dragon is studying its next opponent!
Of course, such unauthorized misappropriation of classified information is a violation of the Federation Army's regulations. If caught, one would be subject to a military court. If it were someone else, Leckie would certainly deny it, but Leckie had complete trust in Markarius.

"So remember to delete after reading, or else, you know what will happen!"

After sending the documents to Makarius via the intranet, Leckie immediately reiterated the point.

Makarius nodded, indicating that he understood.

"So, bye!"

"ciao!"

(End of this chapter)