Does the mechanical girl dream of the Messiah?

In a world where there is a huge gap between extraordinary people and ordinary people, many major events are often determined by the thoughts, wishes, and actions of individual strong people, but the final results do not necessarily depend solely on these.

Everyone, see you next month, or the month after next...bye, from now on, the author will continue to worry about moving and finding a job!

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Chapter 25: Night Banquet (Part 1)

Galeazzo de Barbacro couldn't help but pull at his collar. He looked uncomfortable. It was unclear whether this discomfort was due to the scene in front of him or the straight military uniform on his body. This tall Lobarde with short blond hair was strong and sturdy, even among the military nobles, which made him quite eye-catching in the meeting. Of course, no one would cast a surprised look at him, after all, everyone present knew him.

It is “know him” rather than “know him”, and this difference is worth noting.

The characters on this scene were not ordinary citizens, they were all the leading figures in the upper class of Muirand. There were members of the four major families, old nobles who belonged to the House of Lords, the chief justice of the Alexandria Court, and of course, representatives of the Grand Council and some young people - most of these young people had just returned from the military camp to add another military honor to their family.

The dinner was served buffet style, with many delicacies on the table, including a whole grilled Finnish pheasant, fatty beef cut into chunks and stewed with beetroot and potato cubes, fish skewers with yellow peppers and vegetables, freshly picked winter mushrooms from the mountains, soup with gravy and cream, and the most precious ingredients: farmed sturgeon roe, which only the aristocracy had the opportunity to enjoy and whose unit price far exceeded gold. Of course, raw pickled pork with salt and black pepper was also indispensable. The staple food was also rich in variety, with three kinds of rice and countless types of bread.

The wines served at the banquet were all top-quality wines from famous cellars. Compared to the foods that were considered delicacies to ordinary citizens, these wines were obviously more popular.

This is only relative. Compared with food and wine, there is undoubtedly something that can attract the guests at the table, and that thing is called "conversation". Sharing information is not a difficult thing in this city. Even so, for everyone present, face-to-face interviews are better than other forms. This is a consensus. Even if it is just aimless chat, the amount of information that can be revealed is enough to make people feel satisfied.

This kind of satisfaction on the information level cannot be given by any delicacies from land or sea.

What's more, there is no real aimless chat among them - soldiers discuss the situation in the South, businessmen study the market situation, nobles discuss the secrets of the North, and ladies also have enough topics to talk about. Those little rumors that emerge from the streets and alleys, whether true or false, can only be found out by those who are most proficient in intelligence work.

This desire already existed, and now, the unstable situation has intensified this desire. The spacious banquet hall is full of conversations, making this mansion designed specifically for banquets noisy and making it more difficult to eavesdrop on other people's conversations.

"Excuse me, do you need any assistance, sir?"

A nearby waiter seemed to notice something was wrong with him, so he walked over and asked, but Galeazzo just gave him a friendly smile and waved his hand.

"Oh - it's okay. I'm fine."

He thought about it and added.

"Could you please get me a cocktail, the 'South Island Sun' would be fine."

Soon, he got what he wanted. The orange wine was bubbling, a green lemon with carved skin was inserted on the edge of the glass, and a small umbrella was inserted between the ice cubes. When the waiter bowed and left, he couldn't wait to drink the liquid in the glass, not even leaving the ice cubes.

He tugged at his collar again. Apart from that, Galezo de Barbacro did not talk to anyone, get food, or find a place to sit down. It seemed that he had not yet thought about what he should do.

It was not summer, and even in summer, this city built on a mountain and facing the cold wind from the north all day long was not hot. The windows of the venue were always open, and even if the scented candles that added to the atmosphere continued to burn, the banquet would not become stuffy and annoying. This did not prevent Galezo de Barbacro's thoughts from diverging, rising, and then becoming a mess.

"Oh, Mr. Gallezo?"

The familiar voice brought Galezo's thoughts back to the venue, back to this paradise filled with illusions and incense. Holding the empty wine glass, he turned around and saw the face that was so familiar to him.

"Leopold!"

The black-haired young man was stocky, with two crisscrossing scars on his right cheek. He had no beard, so it was easy to tell his gender - not much different from Galeazzo, both were young men in their thirties.

Leopold de Liario raised his glass, and like Galeazzo, he looked surprised.

"You still look so healthy. Well... Cheers to your health!"

Galeazzo raised his glass and clinked it with Leopold's glass, the empty glass with only a few pieces of crushed ice left.

"You haven't changed a bit."

Shrugging his shoulders, Leopold drank the mead in his cup. This golden liquor with a nutty aroma and the sweetness of honey looked and smelled like a drink enjoyed by children and girls, but in fact it was a strong liquor that could make people drunk with just one glass. When Leopold drank this extremely strong golden liquid, it looked no different from drinking water.

"you do not say."

"Hmph." This was not polite at all. It was obvious that the young master of the Liario family did not mind being a little unruly in front of Galeazzo. "You just had a cocktail. What kind was it? 'Kumquat Light'?"

"Kumquat Light" is a low-strength cocktail. Compared to wine, it is more like a lemon and orange mixed juice. In the eyes of these soldiers who drink alcohol like water, this thing is not worthy of being called a cocktail and can only be regarded as a mouthwash.

Hearing this, Galezo curled his lips and shook the glass in his hand which only had ice cubes left.

"How could that be! That's the 'South Island Blazing Sun'."

"That's more like it. It seems that after not seeing you for a while, you haven't turned into a serious city policeman, otherwise you would get drunk by drinking a glass of foot washing water."

Leopold did not give up using honorifics, but his speech became more unpleasant to the ear - it seemed that the alcohol was not completely without effect on him, but the direction was a little wrong.

"Nonsense! I remember the incident at Hill 301 very clearly. You were drunk by the reserve team and had to lie in bed until the next day. Now, the reserve team members are all working in the guard team with me..."

"Stop, stop, why don't I remember this?"

"Probably because you vomited your brains out along with your dinner the next day."

"what!"

"Sir, if you don't believe me, we'll take a few bottles of wine with us after the show and go to the garrison camp—"

"Well, I have an appointment after the show..."

"You don't dare."

"That's really unpleasant to hear. If I didn't have an appointment..."

"Oh, so what is the agreement? You don't have to treat me as an outsider. Tell me about it."

"A date with Miss Henrietta."

Upon hearing this, Galezo's face immediately darkened, while Leopold showed a smile that only belongs to a winner.

"Let's not talk about that. Mr. Gallezo, your uniform doesn't look right to you. I wasn't sure who this colleague standing here was before, and I wondered if he had worked with me in some highland, some coast, or some town. But then I saw you constantly pulling at your collar, and it seemed like this uniform was really restricting you."

"As you can see. You should know that the uniforms of the town guards are different from those of the army."

"Navy blue, lifeless."

"Whatever you say, although I am currently serving in the garrison, I am still an army officer. As an army officer, I still have to wear the garrison uniform when I go to work every day..."

"Is this in accordance with procedure?"

"Procedurally speaking, I am now seconded to the Guard Corps, but my name is still under the Army's First Division."

Leopold frowned.

"Mr. Manuelan has no comment on this?"

"The lieutenant general and my father... have never expressed their opinions publicly." After hesitating, Galezo continued, "If you want to ask about my personal opinion, then I will tell you that at least my father does not seem as indifferent as he appears in public. It's just that the 'Abandoned City'... the 'Northeast District' does need more manpower, and in my father's opinion, I meet the requirements very well."

"You don't mind."

"If you want to ask me what I think about the secondment, then yes, I don't mind."

Galeazzo de Barbacro spread his hands.

Leopold could not help but look at him a few more times. The latter looked normal, and looked no different from when he was at Hill 301 - he had the same indifferent expression when he carried the flag in the artillery fire and led the troops in the charge as the flag bearer. Even though he tried his best to pretend to be "selfless" and "righteous", as his contemporary friend, Leopold could still accurately grasp the indifference between his brows.

Leopold has always been curious about the circumstances under which his good friend would give up his indifference and instead choose concern, anxiety and anger... Even the threat of death could not scare him, so what could do this?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shake the wine glass again.

"So, Mr. Indifferent Galezo, why are you here tonight?"

"Just like you."

"Not quite the same, I think."

"It's a little different." Galeazzo de Barbacro chuckled. "The situation in the Northeast has forced me to spend more time on it, so I'm standing here now... chatting with you."

"You should just be seconded there temporarily."

"If something happens there again, it won't be a 'temporary secondment' anymore."

"Whichever headquarters it is, they all seem to have confidence in your abilities."

“No one wants to be on the wall of honor with me.”

"Oh, is this considered bragging?"

"You can also understand this as how much I value my life and property."

They imitated their fathers, speaking in aristocratic accents and honorifics. This behavior was not uncommon not only in Muland, Plossi, Marie, Lanmen, Croix, the Sisiso Autonomous Region, but also in all the lands once ruled by the Cobalt Crown King. This contradiction had a classical atmosphere, as if it was continuing the tradition of the Kingdom of Nasaland in another form, continuing the dynasty that had come to an abrupt end. The "King of Sin" Partica XI had been watching over the corpse of this dynasty all his life, and the soul of the dynasty had long since left its coffin in Twick and shrouded the land in the southeast of the continent.

"...The Executive Committee has no comment on the Northeast Region issue? The impact of the previous incidents was not small, and it seems that no one on the committee intends to resign."

Galeazzo glanced at Leopold, considered for a moment, and then replied slowly:

"You shouldn't ask me this question. Or rather, this is one of the things I want to figure out today, but I just haven't found the opportunity."

"Almost all the main members of the four major families are present today, including those on the Executive Committee. This is indeed a great opportunity."

"Yes."

"so……"

"Look there."

Leopold followed Galeazzo's gaze and saw a familiar figure talking to another familiar figure near the center of the hall.

Giovanni de Stock is a man with a broad nose and a mustache. One of his eyes is cloudy and gray due to illness, while the other eye shines with a sharp light. He has retired long ago, but he still wears the military green winter uniform of the Army. The golden brad lace on the uniform fills the collar and sleeves, and the collar and chest are covered with medals, including a striking and dazzling Four-Flower Cross of Honor. The gold raspberry rose, oleander, iris and purple pansy shine brightly under the light together with the Libra-like cross. However, whether it is a military uniform, medals, shawl or belt, it can't cover his somewhat fat body, which is enough to prove his estrangement from the military career and emphasize his current identity as Secretary of State.

He was not a man who was good at talking big, and this time was no exception. It was called a conversation, but in fact, Giovanni de Stock was just listening to the other person casually.

"……Who is that?"

It was not Leopold who asked the question, but Galeazzo.

Of course he knew Secretary Giovanni, but he suddenly realized that he didn't know the plump middle-aged man who was talking to the Secretary of State at all.

"Don't you know him? He's Christopher Nonay, the Minister of Finance."

"Oh, the Treasury!"

Galeazzo paced for a moment, then grabbed a bottle of jackfruit wine from the table, filled his glass, and raised it in the direction of Secretary Giovanni and Minister Christopher, ignoring the fact that they didn't see him at all.

“Cheers to the Treasury!”

"cheers."

Leopold's reaction was not strong. He just raised his glass perfunctorily and drank the wine together with Galeazzo.

Chapter 26: Night Banquet (Part 2)

"I really hope that my subordinates from the Guard Corps and my colleagues from the First Army Division can gather here together so that I can - oh, wait, Mr. Leopold, answer me a question first."

"You say."

"Christopher Nonnet - is this gentleman in charge of logistics?"

"Logistics? I think logistics should be managed by the Logistics Command... The Ministry of Finance is definitely not responsible for this."

"Oh..." Galeazzo groaned in distress, and then said, "It doesn't matter! The logistics headquarters brought us everything we used, our uniforms, the ribbons on our medals, the copper strips on our shoulder straps, the sabers and bullets we used on the front line, our kettles, our bedding, the big pots on our kitchen cars, and the tinplate for canning.

Do you know where our victories on the eastern coast and in the northern mountains, our glorious victories at Kornoborg and Nisliai, come from? Our enemies, those abominations under the black tide, those fish-headed monsters, those barbaric races from the hills, those beings from beyond the North, if they had intelligence and could answer, they would surely give the conclusion without hesitation, and attribute our victory to those primitive and superficial factors.

It is true that you, I, and our soldiers are all brave, strong, and highly skilled, but this is not the most important thing. Those enemies from the hills, the enemies from the wind and snow, the enemies from the tides, are generally more than two meters tall, wearing incomprehensible things, possessing weird and terrifying techniques, and the belief in evil gods is imprinted in their brains. Can't they be called brave, strong, and highly skilled?

Having said that, I'm sure you've come to the same conclusion as I have. That's right, our victory stems from the superiority of our system and our advanced system. It is because of our army's strong logistics system that we ensure that the soldiers will not fall ill in the cold wind and sewage, and that they can use thick bedding and eat nutritionally balanced meals every day. Otherwise, no matter how strong and healthy the soldiers are, they will soon be defeated by the harsh environment on the border and battlefield, and their morale will be low, and their abilities will be reduced to one tenth of what they have. Look at those fish-faced bastards! They must have no smelly dried fish to eat in the trenches, while our soldiers can take three hot meals from the kitchen truck every day - this is an advanced system, and it is our country's strong financial strength that allows us to maintain this advanced logistics system."

"An advanced system! You are not talking about consumption tax, I suppose."

"What, consumption tax?"

"Don't you know? According to a notice issued at the end of last month, the consumption tax will be increased by another three percentage points in the first half of next year."

"Then I'm definitely not talking about consumption tax. Consumption tax is undoubtedly a fallacy, and it's as abominable as murlocs. The soul of the person who proposed this concept will never be able to rest in peace and will return to the realm of the goddess of death. He can only become a lonely ghost and wander on the ice field forever."

"That's what you said."

"Of course I would say that—"

"Well, it seems that you really don't like the consumption tax." Leopold de Liario shrugged and continued, "I think I have guessed what the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury are talking about. What about you?"

"Oh, I didn't even know who the Secretary of the Treasury was. And I've never dealt with the Secretary of State."

"Then listen to me, our Treasury Secretary is probably working hard to introduce the excellence of our financial system to our Secretary of State."

Although there were some deviations in the facts, they were generally not wrong - Christopher Nonay was tirelessly telling Giovanni de Stock about the importance of auditing in financial work, and it was obvious that the latter was bored, but it was inconvenient for him to interrupt, so he could only listen and daydream.

"The Secretary of State must be very familiar with this kind of thing."

"Hmm...it seems you don't know the Secretary of State very well."

"is it?"

"I think so."

"You are right, Captain Leopold."

Our Master Babacro curled his lips.