Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

"Well, are there any examples?"

"Yep."

"That is……"

"The great sword in Sister Sestine's hand, 'Vessor of Sin: The World-Worshiper'."

"—!"

——The Bureau of Scriptures and Literature is responsible for recording and researching history, and authenticating ancient books and cultural relics.

It sounds like a very important position, but in fact, it is often quite leisurely. The daily work is basically to interpret ancient books and organize and preserve them. All the historical materials and cultural relics excavated related to the Temple of God will generally be checked by the Sealing Bureau first. If they are confirmed to be harmful, they will be sealed. If they are confirmed to be harmless, they will be sent to the Scripture Bureau for research. In other words, as long as no new relics are discovered and no new historical remains are unearthed, the Scripture Bureau can basically be regarded as "without work."

Most of the staff of the Bureau of Literature are scholars who are interested in studying church history, or some are just lazy people who want a job without any work. Considering that the basic salary of the Bureau of Literature is not low, but the benefits are not very high, this level of laziness is still within the tolerable range. In addition, the Bureau of Literature is the only department that Lunisia does not know of any subordinate troops.

"sound……"

"Um……"

"Why are you two reacting like this?"

"That is to say, I'm afraid that Ashlee Lin unfortunately has the same thought as I did."

"A leaf floats on top, a piece of seaweed floats on the bottom."

"If the Bureau of Rites is the least suspicious department, then the Bureau of Scriptures is probably the second least suspicious department... Unless there is evidence that they have discovered something from history, and that thing indicates that they are against Lady Luna - but this possibility is too bizarre."

"That makes sense."

"It has no subordinate troops, but judging from the relationship, the Scripture Bureau's 'armed' is actually the 'Sealing Bureau' - if they really want to harm Luna for this reason, then Luna must be prepared to fight against both the Scripture Bureau and the Sealing Bureau at the same time."

"So it's better not to let that happen... As long as we seek the protection of Father Sieli, no matter which department it is, it will be impossible to mess around, unless they plan to establish a new supreme leader."

"Don't be careless..."

"It's just like what Luna said, then it will be a total war."

"Total war... huh?"

"Hey, ladies." The man lifted the tent curtain and looked inside. "How about it? Have you decided what to do next?"

That was Roy von Ivanov.

The last survivor of the Ivanov family, and now - at least in theory - the leader of the Principality of Mariai.

"Ah, I'm almost there..." Lunicia stood up and bowed slightly to him, "This is Mr. Roy's side, is there any problem?"

"As for whether there is a problem or not, it is impossible to say there is no problem."

Roy smiled wryly and pointed to the seat next to him, looking like he wanted to have one last chat.

The big tent was a bit messy, with footprints everywhere on the ground, cigarette butts and scattered charcoal blocks. Just looking at this scene, one could feel an unspeakable irritation - the people in the meeting seemed to have just left, and few of them were even figures who had once belonged to the political arena of Twick. At most, they were soldiers and guards of the city walls. Now they were asked to replace those nobles and officials who no longer existed to discuss the future direction of this country and this city. It was too depressing and distressing.

"…How should I put it? I'm angry and frustrated, but I know these feelings are useless, so I don't want to show them." Sitting in his own chair, Roy spoke before the three women, "The only thing is that I feel awkward facing the three of you. I can't just brush off these feelings. I should thank you and apologize. This was originally an internal affair of Mariie, but in the end, you, as travelers, have to put in so much effort."

He bowed to each of the three people with an extremely sincere attitude.

"Persuading the 'Iron Leviathan' to form a united front, defeating the Archlich Alexis, saving my life in the Rafkai Forest... these are all favors that I can never repay. Therefore, at least now, please accept my gratitude. Thank you, even if there is not much left, this last bit of Tweck was preserved because of you."

"Mr. Roy..."

Lunicia had no idea what to say at this moment.

Do I really deserve this gratitude? —— Fighting against the undead with my companions, saving Roy von Ivanov's life, and beheading the great lich Alexis with a sword, these are facts, but these are obviously not all the credit of Lunisia and her group. Obviously, these do not help to change the fact that Twek was destroyed. The entire population of the city died and the political center collapsed. Obviously, this nearly fatal and unhealable wound is just here. The eldest son of the Ivanov family still did not put any negative emotions on the group. He not only expressed gratitude, but also apologized.

"Because these are not related to you at all." Roy smiled bitterly and waved his hands. He seemed to have seen through what Lunicia was thinking. "Whether it's saving people or saving Tweek, these are the obligations and responsibilities of us soldiers of the Principality Army. You are just travelers. We have no right to ask you to do anything. Even if you just pretend not to see it and run away, we should not have any complaints against you. We should only blame ourselves for our inability.

It was the enemy who wanted to destroy the city, and it was us who failed to prevent the destruction of the city. As for you, no matter how much or how little help you provided... I should express my gratitude to you. "

"Even if I don't do anything, I still..."

Can I accept thanks just because it was an act done out of a pure sense of justice?

Even this premise can be removed.

Even if you ask for compensation afterwards, even if you owe someone a favor and wait for it to be repaid, can you accept thanks for helping out in a situation that has nothing to do with you?

“—I can’t answer on behalf of every Twek person, especially those who died, I can’t speak for them.

But at least, I, Roy, will thank you for this.”

Chapter 42 The Day of Departure (Part 2)

"Thanks to Clermont, I learned a lot about the history of Mariai... about the secrets of my family history."

"Isn't Clement the one..."

"Ahh, the traitor who opened the city gate."

Roy von Ivanov couldn't help rubbing his brows. It seemed that the intense discussion before still made him quite exhausted. However, he obviously didn't intend to go back to rest for this reason and give up the opportunity to communicate with Lunixia and her group. I'm afraid that in his opinion, making some things clearer is not only responsible for Lunixia and her group, but also relieves his own pressure - the more people know, the less pressure he can bear.

"His full name is Clement Ephaberil. He claims to be a descendant of the historian of the Kingdom of Nasaran."

“…I see. Now I understand.”

Sitting next to Lunicia, Ella Hepper immediately understood the cause and effect relationship.

"Hmm."

Lunicia shook her head, obviously not yet reacting. It seemed that she would inevitably need Ella to give her extra lessons later.

"According to him, my ancestors...rebelled and killed the last king and his family. After that, they did not take over the government of Twek in an orderly manner, but allowed chaos to occur and spread. The entire capital was soon turned into a ruined city with deliberate incitement. I'm afraid it's not much better than it is now.

My ancestor began to operate in secret before the kingdom collapsed, and thus gained a lot of benefits and power from the chaos. Soon, he and his accomplices used the abandoned capital as their base, plundered the remaining wealth there, and established their own country. After the complete disintegration of the Kingdom of Nasarlan, they quickly suppressed and took over a large area of ​​territory with Twick as the center. This is the origin of the Principality of Marie."

"Why would you spread this kind of thing...Wouldn't it be very disadvantageous to the Principality?"

Even though Lunicia had no experience in this area, she could clearly hear what this history meant to the Principality: murder of the monarch, usurpation of the throne, and these actions were not based on any kind of justice or righteousness, but simply for their own power and wealth - if all this were really made public, it would undoubtedly be very bad for the Principality of Mariai, especially given its current miserable situation.

As for why "Natya's Legacy" did not spread this information - first of all, they are a very famous terrorist group in the surrounding area, and the remarks made by them would probably be laughed off and treated as some kind of crazy talk; secondly, their relationship with Myurand, who is most likely to cause trouble because of this historical fact, is only worse than their relationship with the Principality of Mariai. Even if they try to provoke conflicts between the two countries for the purpose of playing the snipe and the clam, if they are discovered, they will probably be immediately attacked by both sides at the same time. This kind of alliance does not require any tacit understanding and open cooperation. Everyone can slowly resolve the conflicts between each other after cleaning up "Natya's Legacy".

"Of course, it's because I trust your character. Actually, there's no need to hide anything, especially since you've done me a favor. This conversation is meant to help you understand the situation better."

"No need, is that right?"

Ashlee tilted her head.

"I'm afraid the Principality of Marie will no longer exist."

"Ugh?!"

"Don't get so excited. Listen to me and you'll understand what's going on."

After sighing, Roy continued, "Later, the four major families in the north established Muirand. They quickly began to suppress the chaos after retaining considerable strength. This is why Muirand's territory has expanded to its current size. Some areas were annexed, while others gave up some of their dominance in exchange for their own position. Marie was one of them, so Marie has actually always been a vassal of Muirand, and our family is only a hereditary grand duke, not a king."

"You also look a bit like a northerner. Was the Ivanov family a northern family?"

Roy nodded to Ella and said, "That's right. Our family was a powerful family in Muirand a long time ago. Because of this, our family had some influence on the political situation in Muirand several generations ago."

"I see. Thank you for your explanation."

"Nothing - I'm afraid you are all familiar with what happened afterwards. Apart from consolidating power and status, the Ivanov family rarely took the initiative to do anything. Amassing wealth was an unnecessary act. The wealth obtained from the Nasaran turmoil could make a lot of money with just a little management. Just imagine, in this situation, spending a lot of effort thinking about how to govern the country would be stupid - so for several generations, the Ivanov family has been a ruler who is quite lazy in political affairs.

At that time, the Principality of Mariai recovered quickly from the war, and the economy and people's livelihood were improving year by year. At that time, "Legacy of Natya" was not as popular as it is now, so this lazy governance did not cause any problems. Even if it was left alone, the inertia left over from the Nasaran period could still allow the country to operate normally. As long as tribute was paid to Myulander on time and in full, there would be no trouble. "

“It doesn’t look like this good thing will last long.”

"It's not that short. With that laissez-faire attitude, Marie has not had any major problems for hundreds of years. Even I don't understand it... Anyway, you all know about the Hyperborean War, right?"

"roughly understand."

"..."

"Ashe isn't sure."

"One agreed, one abstained. It looked like one agreed, one vetoed. Two to one, majority vote. Just take it as an indication. After the Hyperborean War, it seemed that the environment all over the world deteriorated drastically. This deterioration spread from the Hyperborean continent and finally reached Mariai. The Principality of Lanmen helped block a wave in the northeast corner, but the whole country was turned into an ice sculpture by the ice storm. If not for this, Mariai would be the one turned into an ice sculpture now."

"The Principality of Lanmen..."

Lunicia chewed on this word that she had some impression of.

The Logorides family, who suffered misfortune in the Nosavi riots, were refugees from the Principality of Lanmen, and most of the people who participated in the riots were refugees.

"Natural disasters and environmental degradation have led to an economic downturn, and the people are living in poverty. In addition, as 'Nathia's Legacy' has grown, the Principality of Mariai has actually been on a downward slope after a long period of lax governance. Although life in the palace has not been affected, and the rebels cannot directly enter the capital, after the economic downturn, tax revenue soon cannot keep up, which also made the Muirand side directly aware of our family's dereliction of duty."

Obviously, this topic frustrates Roy, but he doesn't stop.

If you don't speak clearly enough, you can't call it responsible, at least that's what he thinks.

"Wouldn't that be bad?"

"It's more than bad." Hearing Lunicia's surprised voice, Roy smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Mariai, the former core area of ​​the Kingdom of Nasaran, provides benefits that cannot be underestimated for Myuland. It is also the most important among many principalities. Of course, the turmoil in Mariai will not lead to turmoil in Myuland. Even so, if there is a problem with the income in Mariai, it is almost impossible for the senior management of Myuland to ignore it.

The four major families bypassed the Marie government and investigated the situation here. Originally, we were not allowed to know about this. Fortunately, our family's long-term operation in the Muirand political arena played a role at this time. The results of the investigation were obviously unsatisfactory. Taking this as an opportunity, the Howard family began to lobby everywhere, intending to reduce our family's power and increase Muirand's direct control over the Marie region, and finally achieve the goal of merging vassals and making Marie completely under the jurisdiction of Muirand. "

"The Howard family?"

Ashlee tilted her head once again.

"The Howard family is one of the four major families. They have always been the 'Mulland Centralists'. Compared to handing over such key locations to outsiders for trusteeship and then collecting taxes, they prefer to let Muirand directly control these areas. That's about the idea. This voice actually reached my father's ears very quickly. At that time, my father was expanding the army and reforming taxes in an attempt to control the chaos in Mariai. This kind of news must have been very stimulating to him..."

Carida von Ivanov - when this name flashed through her mind, what came to her mind at the same time was not the figure of any person, but a mountain of flesh and blood.

According to Sestine, those pieces of meat that were entangled with an ominous aura and still had a terrifying oppressive force even after death were none other than Grand Duke Ivanov himself. This was also a major mystery in the battle of Twek - given the horror displayed by the corpse, even if Sestine could win by relying solely on himself, it would definitely not take such a short time. In addition, the surging magic power that erupted in the city before Lunisia and her group arrived, there was no doubt that someone had fought a desperate battle with the owner of the pile of meat before Lunisia.

——Is it Alexis…?

Lunicia remained silent and just continued to listen to Roy's story.

"Well, I have heard of my father's ideas. Although I left Twek as an adult, I still have some relatives and friends there. My father probably analyzed the ideas of the four major families and therefore did not trust them at all: on the one hand, it is obvious that the four major families do not trust the combat capabilities of the Principality Army. Compared with the fall of Marie and becoming a springboard for the Legacy of Natya to attack Muirand, it is better to strike first and fight a decisive battle with the Legacy of Natya in the territory after entering Marie; on the other hand, the four major families do not trust the management capabilities of our Ivanov family as an agent. After directly controlling the Marie area, no matter how the four major families divide it among each other, the final benefits will be higher than now.

In other words, if the four major families come this time, they will definitely not give in. My father will definitely be forced to step down, and my father himself will probably not accept such an outcome. "

"It sounds like you don't think so?"

Ella suddenly asked.

In response, Roy showed an expression that said, "I've been seen through."

"That's right. After I left home at the age of eighteen, I have been traveling around other cities and rural areas in Mariai, being a playboy who goes in and out of taverns. Of course, this is a way to paralyze the surveillance sent by my father. In fact, I have been investigating and studying the lower classes of Mariai. The town office is my first point of attack, and the tavern and slums are my second base. The actual result of the investigation is that our Ivanov family alone is not enough to change the status quo in the short term. Whether it is poverty or chaos, the scale of 'Natya's Legacy' is beyond our ability to deal with.

My father called my idea "forgetting my roots", "being ashamed of my ancestors", and "capitulationism". I personally think it is better to give up the title of Grand Duke of Marie and hand over this land to Myulander. Using Myulander's purpose as a stepping stone, handing over the chaos in Marie to the four more capable families to deal with first, while returning to the core political circle of Myulander that I have been operating for a long time, and acting as a "Myulander noble" with considerable influence, is much better than continuing to hold power in Marie, which is harmful and useless. "

"Hey, this is a bit too bold..."

Even Lunicia seemed very surprised after hearing Roy von Ivanov's plan.

"Bold?" Roy didn't think so either. "Returning to the political arena of Muirand with a large amount of cash will not make the four major families overly alert. This amount is not enough to shake their position. The nobles under the four major families have long heard about the Ivanov family's 'lazy governance' and 'absurdity'. In addition to the long-term operation before, how could they feel repulsive to this? The Ivanov family's return to Muirand will basically not be greatly hindered.

For the people in Mariai, this decision will not cause much harm. The concept of "Ivanov family rule" is very vague to them. Even if a group of people are replaced, it will not cause too much turmoil. The key issue is how to deal with "Natya's legacy". In this regard, I am very confident in Muirand's military strength. Even if the rebels can produce three or five more liches, I am afraid they will not be able to succeed.

As for us, we are closer to Marie than the nobles of Myuland or the four great families. If we really want to return to the land of Marie one day in the future, as long as we work towards this direction, we will definitely be able to do it even if we have become Myuland nobles. This is my confidence in this land and in myself. "

"..."

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

Ashlee seemed to understand this political topic, while Lunicia and Ella seemed to be thinking about something.

He left home at the age of 18 and only recently returned to Twick. This man, who is over 30 and can no longer be called a young man, has spent 12 years traveling around the lower classes of the Principality. He has never been married and has no one he can call a partner. He has devoted all his energy to understanding this land. In the end, he came to this conclusion, and whether this conclusion is right or wrong, I am afraid that only time or people who have put in more effort than him can verify it.

"……only……"

Ella said softly.

She didn't finish, but everyone could understand what she wanted to say.

"It's just that there is no possibility of doing so anymore."

Roy himself completed her words.

How much bitterness, how much helplessness, how much grief, how much resentment, all drifted away with these words, shattered in the howling winter wind. A few snowflakes began to fall outside, and it looked like another heavy snow was about to fall.

"The Mariai government has collapsed, and the Legacy of Natya has collapsed. This news will soon reach Myuland. All I can consider next is to do more for this land on this basis. That's all."

He took out a cigarette, but hesitated to light it, and finally threw the whole cigarette into the fire.

"This is a tribute to my father, to my brother, to everyone who has died."

Chapter 3: Ending and Departure Day (Part 3)

"The great lich...Alexis, what happened to it in the end?"

Lifting the curtain and looking outside the tent, Lunisia did not see the morning light. Those things that were so common in the Central Cathedral of Zerhal seemed to not exist in the outside world at all. Those things in the greenhouse, the colorful flowers, birds and animals, seemed so rare. The world was quieter than Lunisia had imagined.