An enemy heretic...the Mother of the Earth Mother Church, Roland, intends to engage in dialogue with the High Council on the 'humanitarian issues of the Highlands War'?"
The report was so outrageous that Klein read it aloud without thinking.
"What is this? The Pope of the Church of the Earth Mother is going to visit the Empire?"
"At this time?"
Jerry Zarathustra, who had just put down the tray, craned his neck and almost thought he had misheard. It seemed that the news of the possible visit of the Earth Mother Pope was not common knowledge within the Second Empire.
He picked up a piece of stewed meat, swallowed it with milk, and mumbled incoherently.
"Are the Feneporters kidding me? They weren't here when Rune and Intis were fighting for the high ground, so why are they shouting about 'humanitarianism' as soon as we arrive?"
"It's just a political signal, or perhaps just a propaganda tactic employed by the Fenneport government and the Church of Mother Earth against their own country."
"But it's really not a good idea to show weakness."
Jerry Zarathustra agreed with Klein's views.
"Logically speaking, Rune, Intis, and Fursac are under far more pressure than Fenneport. Even Fursac, which relies most heavily on food imports, has not tried to relieve the pressure by writing articles or making up lies. How bad could Fenneport be?"
"If others see this, they will only think that the Castilian royal family has bowed down to the Creator and His Majesty. They believe that they can no longer bear the losses that will be incurred if the Highland War continues, and they hope to withdraw from the competition for the future ownership of the West Bairan and Star Plateau regions as soon as possible."
At the dinner table, Jerry Zarathustra talked animatedly, his little fingertip dabbing milk from his teacup as he drew on the light-colored wooden table.
"Feneport's colonies in the southern continent were never many to begin with. Most of them were divided up by Rune and Fussac over the past hundred years. The radicals in their country have always been dissatisfied with the weak attitude of the Castilian royal family. They have proposed several times to suppress the neighboring country by banning grain exports, forcing Augustus and Einhorn to bow down, and bringing the issue of the division of the colonies back to the negotiating table for redistribution."
"Under pressure, Castile adopted the proposal of the domestic radicals. Although Rune ignored it, the concessions made by the Church of War on the issue of maritime tariffs in Fussac and Fenneport showed that this method was feasible. As a result, the radicals, who had been neglected, successfully came to power and gained some seats in the parliament."
"Now that we are at war, the voices of the radicals within Fenneport should be louder, and they shouldn't suddenly show weakness."
Chewing on the soft white bread, Klein first glanced at the only untouched breakfast on the table, its heat gradually waning, before turning his attention to the simple map that Jerry Zarathustra had drawn on the table.
"If the radicals hadn't made a big show of it and persuaded some wealthy merchants and farmers who had only acquired noble titles in the last decade or so, but had been ostracized by the old-school nobles and were politically unsuccessful, and who wanted to run for seats in the Kingdom of Fenneport's council, no rational Fenneporter would have agreed to their proposal."
"The world is no longer what it was before the Roselle Revolution. After Rune vigorously supported industry, the original landed aristocracy gradually declined. Many provinces in Rune rely on cheap grain imported from Fenneport to keep up with Backlund and Conston in order to resist the loss of resources and capital in their own provinces."
"The food blockade proposed by the radicals in Fenneport just happened to be what the Augustus family wanted, and helped to bring the Food Bill, which George III had been trying to put forward but had been hindered by internal parliamentary and public opinion obstacles, to the forefront."
"The Food Act not only cut off an important channel for Feneport's grain exports, but also allowed George III to take advantage of the strong attitude of the Feneport radicals to distort his meaning into the idea that the people of Feneport were going their own way and forcing Rune to give up its cheap and high-quality grain."
"This not only gave the landed nobles in Rune, whose resentment was about to reach its breaking point, a breather, but also stirred up the anger of the industrial nobles who were struggling to obtain the land necessary to build new factories due to the increased demand for grain production. Like many of the common people in Rune who were experiencing rising living costs, they also developed a kind of anger towards foreign countries that George III had hoped to see."
He was no longer the naive newcomer he once was. Back in Tingen, he would be easily swayed by Jerry Zaratul's views, but now he could point out problems that Jerry Zaratul had overlooked.
Of course, broadly speaking, Jerry Zarathustra is far superior to me, a college student with a lot of empty promises. The reason I can easily rattle off such a long list is because I know more secrets than Jerry… Klein is very self-aware and not complacent.
He knew very well that if the "Black Emperor" hadn't exposed so many sordid things about the Ruen royal family, he would never have been able to figure out the connection.
However, it seems that Feneport's deliberately published meeting proposal might just be another smokescreen, just like what George III did before...
He was about to speak to Mr. A and Jerry Zarathustra when he suddenly turned his head as if he had a premonition.
Sharon, who had been hiding, sat down at the table at some point. The doll-like, quiet lady held a silver spoon and stirred the almost cold milk idly.
"Fenneport's missionary work on the plateau was the most successful."
Snap.
Jerry Zarathustra dropped the stew from his fork into his plate with an untimely thud.
He exchanged a glance with Mr. A, who remained silent and focused on his food, his emerald green eyes carrying an unmistakable undercurrent of mockery.
See? The "experts" have arrived.
This is not mockery, but rather a form of affirmation.
Even someone as proud as Jerry Zarathustra had to admire Sharon's understanding of the Starry Highlands and her clear perspective on various issues.
He had assumed that this girl, who had enjoyed aristocratic treatment in the High Kingdom and had grown up in seclusion after escaping to Intis, would live the life of an angel, just like the noble ladies most commonly seen in Trier, and indeed she was as naive as an angel.
On the contrary, even after being away from her hometown for so many years, Sharon is still familiar with every blade of grass and every tree in the Highlands.
"Missionary work?"
After advancing to demigod status, Klein's most direct experience was that his perception, in terms of both range and precision, had improved by several levels.
In the past, he would never have noticed Jerry Zarathustra and Mr. A's underhanded tactics.
The atmosphere at the dinner table suddenly became subtle. Klein breathed in the complex air, his fingers, connected by several spiritual threads, twitched slightly, and then he took the initiative to start a conversation.
"The teachings of the Earth Mother Goddess are easier to accept, and Her missionaries are not as extreme as those of the 'Sun' and the 'Tyrant'."
Sharon's azure eyes flickered slightly, her empty pupils seemingly gazing into the far distance, but everyone at the table knew that this young lady's gaze was indeed fixed on each and every one of them.
"The Church of the Earth Mother promotes the theory of the cycle of life. They hope to see the land under their rule have a bountiful harvest year after year, and in doing so, they will please the Earth Mother. This is also what the people of the highlands they occupy hope to see."
"A bountiful harvest and an equal attitude towards life, as long as it is in the pastoral area of the Church of Mother Earth, even people from the highlands will not be treated harshly, and at least their basic needs will be met."
Miss Sharon rarely spoke so much in one breath... Klein couldn't help but recall the time he and Sharon visited the Russell exhibition.
That time too, it seemed that only when the topic of the Highlands came up would Sharon's doll mask be broken, revealing her true emotions, like other girls her age, expressing anger and sighs.
"So, the so-called meeting and visit is very likely just a unilateral decision by the Church of the Earth Mother, and has nothing to do with the Fenneport government?"
Considering the respectful attitude Father Utravsky showed when addressing the true creator as "Father of All Beings," Father Utravsky's possible identity as a chosen one of the Earth Mother, and the vampires' reaction to Emlyn's ordeal, Klein couldn't help but have some doubts.
After all, there is the precedent of the "God of Steam and Machinery" whose identity is still uncertain. Could the two remaining churches, the Church of the God of War and the Church of the Earth Mother, with their ambiguous attitudes, also have some unwritten understanding with the Creator in private?
If three traitors emerge from among the Seven Gods of the Northern Continent, what's the point of fighting this war?
Is it a double bet?
"If the Church of the Earth Mother is only trying to prevent the faith already established in the colonies from being destroyed, then the High Council might actually agree to Matriarch Roland's... Oh, right, let's get another drink..."
Disguised as a waiter, the secret puppet Ludwell silently approached the dining table, like a ghost.
Under Sharon's slightly surprised gaze, the former pirate general, with the standard manners of a servant, took a cup of warm milk from the tray in his hand and replaced the cold milk in front of Sharon that she hadn't drunk a drop of and that had gone completely cold. At the same time, he handed Mr. A, who was eating bread with broth, a plate of cold cut beef.
"Oh, right, if it's just about protecting the faith that has already spread, the High Council might actually agree to meet with Roland."
Watching Ludwell return to the kitchen under his control, Klein turned around and looked at Jerry Zarathustra, who was staring at him in shock. His brows furrowed, but he still insisted on finishing his guess.
But when he shifted his gaze from Jerry Zarathustra's face and saw that even Mr. A had stopped what he was doing, silently holding a piece of bread in his hand, a momentary distortion appeared in the corner of his eye.
Feeling a little guilty, he glanced at Sharon sitting next to him out of the corner of his eye.
Fortunately, the doll didn't react dramatically; she just stared blankly at the steaming milk.
"Where did you get this beef? I don't remember having it in the kitchen..."
Jerry Zarathustra took a small piece of beef from Mr. A's plate and looked it over several times.
"I saw they were selling them at the port when I disembarked last night," Klein quickly replied. "After my advancement, the radius of my puppet manipulation increased nearly tenfold, so I just had my puppet go and buy them."
Recalling the "lesson" he received last night, Jerry Zaratul thought for a moment, said nothing more, ate the piece of beef, and finding it tasted alright, took a little more from Mr. A's plate.
I must say, this beef tastes really good.
"V, when are you planning to report to the Ministry of Military Affairs?"
Watching Jerry pick out pieces of beef one by one, Mr. A silently shook his head, breaking the awkward atmosphere.
"A little while?" Klein gave an ambiguous response.
Upon hearing Mr. A's question, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of task the Ministry of Military Affairs would assign to him, a "chosen one." The relaxed feeling he had finally found returned to his gloomy state.
If he could be allowed to operate freely with Mr. A's team and continue the hunt for Gostars, settling the score with Backlund would undoubtedly be the best option.
"Alright," Mr. A nodded.
Jerry Zarathustra, who had just finished his fifth piece of beef, suddenly looked up and made a suggestion.
"The heads of the temporary military affairs department are the company commander of the 'Red of War' Second Company and a vampire count. You are on the same level as them."
"V, why don't you go and talk to them and ask the military affairs department to give you a liaison officer so we can act on our own?"
"Anyway, the war isn't too intense right now, and we weren't originally part of the plan."
"May I?"
Sensing the eagerness in Klein's words, Jerry Zarathustra's lips curled into a slight smile.
"All regulations are meant to maintain order, but there are always some people who don't need to be considered, right?"
"In the Empire, demigods always have some privileges. As long as you don't interfere with the main force or do anything that disrupts stability, no one will care what a demigod who happens to be free does."
"Besides, we are acting freely, and our target is the 'Rose School,' so they have no reason to disagree."
As he spoke, Jerry Zarathustra glanced at the quiet Mr. A and Sharon, and seeing that neither of them interrupted his thoughts, he complained slightly.
"Before you arrived, you were busy with matters concerning the Rothschild Islands, and the Ministry of Military Affairs had already called off our operations in Gostars due to security concerns."
"Their reasoning was that no extra demigods could spare the energy to focus on us, and if we were ambushed while searching for Gostass's trail, it would only put unnecessary pressure on the main force."
"Although A tried to persuade them in the name of Lord Kesma, and the young lady directly invoked the name of the head of the family and even wrote a letter to the head of the family, they all received the head of the family's support, the Ministry of Military Affairs still rejected it."
"Now if you go and talk about your identity and demigod status, I can't think of any reason they can come up with."
Zarathustra expressed his approval, so why was it rejected by the Ministry of Military Affairs?
Klein sensed something was amiss, and Mr. A, as if sensing his suspicion, provided the answer before he could even ask.
"It was His Highness the 'Red Angel' who personally vetoed it."
"His Highness has ordered us to remain where we are."
"What?"
Jerry Zarathustra was surprised. Judging from his reaction, this must have been information that Mr. A had obtained alone, and only Mr. A, the team leader, knew about it.
It's hard to imagine that the "Red Angel" would pay attention to a small team composed of Sequence 5 members... waiting in place... Could it be that His subtext is that He's waiting for me to reach the highlands?
Klein suddenly felt an inexplicable resistance to his upcoming visit to the Ministry of Military Affairs.
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