I will be crowned king

With disbelief, Lieutenant Colonel Crown grabbed Major Russell and drove to the Truth Seeking Order on Frederick Street, preparing to start with the inquisitors to prevent someone who might have dug up the "dark side" of the War Department. the traitor.

To be honest, Crown, who had fallen into a completely pessimistic state at this time, did not think that the judges would be willing to help him, even if they agreed in front of him.

But even so, there is still a need to give it a try. For the adults in the War Department, there is only one thing that falls short of the standard between incompetence and disloyalty.

Lieutenant Colonel Crown, who had already proven himself incompetent, had to prove his loyalty even though he knew it was useless.

So Major Russell, who was robbed and pulled up and didn't know what was going on, saw that his usually shrewd and capable colleague kept his head lowered along the way, muttering "One hundred thousand, one hundred thousand, one hundred thousand" as if he was cursed. Ten thousand……"

If he hadn't finally returned to normal before getting off the car and started warning himself over and over again not to be impulsive as he had in the past, Major Russell would have even had the urge to jump out of the car and run away.

As for the process of negotiating with the Truth-Seeking Cult...it was still exactly what Crown had guessed - Cole Dorian, as the chief inquisitor, didn't even bother to see them, and sent the female inquisitor who was said to be a black mage to be in charge. and their handover work.

Faced with the doubts and warnings from the Ministry of War, the other party not only denied them completely, but also had no idea about questions like "Where is Anson?" and directly stated that the Truth Seeking Order had no need to cooperate with their work, and at most they only answered religious questions. .

He went to the trial court to ask questions about religion...Crown felt that even if he was crazy, he would never be able to commit such a behavior that was comparable to suicide. If after asking questions, he found out that he was a false believer, he would definitely not be judged. The officials provided kind and selfless guidance and advice.

Of course, this level of "non-cooperation" was still expected by Crown, but what happened next was slightly beyond his expectations.

"...You say it again? Regulation, what kind of regulation?"

"To put it simply, the church is worried that the Kingdom of Clovis may be infiltrated by the forces of the Old Gods." Sera Vergil said expressionlessly:

"Judging from the intelligence we have received, the only possibility for the currently wanted 'Whispers' to be able to flee from the inner city while brutally killing the informants in the trial is to have them on Whitehall Street with the War Department. Eyeliner."

"Of course, you two will definitely disagree when I say this, so I must ask you to explain why the last blockade of fugitives ended in failure."

"We warned you a full week in advance that there would be a major operation and asked for your cooperation. We gave the general scope three days in advance, and the precise location and final core intelligence one day in advance. As a result... the other party just happened to avoid everything. cordoned off area."

The female judge paused deliberately. Her shifting eyes and ups and downs in her tone fully explained what yin and yang is: "It is conceivable that if someone is not collaborating with the enemy, then it can only be... dereliction of duty."

"malfeasance?!"

Major Russell, who looked furious, stood up suddenly: "Can I think that this is your accusation against my Ministry of War?!"

"Of course not. The accusation is a clear act of interference. The Inquisition is affiliated with the church and has no right to interfere in secular affairs. That is within your scope of power."

The female judge once again had a cold face, completely unmoved: "I am just stating the facts. This is not affected by the second public order meeting in the 47th year of the Saints."

"you……?!"

What was about to break out was that before Major Russell could make any move, Crown held his shoulder firmly.

The next second, a biting cold suddenly came from his chest, as if there were hordes of hungry wolves staring at him, ready to pounce on him at any time and cut his body into pieces.

No, no no no... not a hungry wolf, but...

Feeling the vague and absent gazes of the judges around him, Major Russell finally remembered that he had arrived at the headquarters of the trial. His anger immediately dissipated, and he did not even dare to meet Sera Vigil's gaze again.

"What do you want to say?" The female judge suddenly showed a flashing smile:

"If it's coffee, I can make a pot for you two now."

"No...it's not coffee, it's..." Clown, who was holding on to Russell's shoulders and sweating profusely, still had to stay calm and quickly thought of a solution in his mind that would not lead to a quarrel:

"Ah! We are about to leave. Judge Serra, your reminder just now is very important. There may be gang spies within the Army Department. Among the soldiers working below...maybe someone has been bribed by the evil Old Gods! "

"This is very critical information! We should set off immediately, report the situation to the superiors, and investigate this possibility as soon as possible. We cannot stay long."

"real?"

Sera blinked: "I won't stay a little longer. I have entrusted my colleagues to go to the Chief Inquisitor and ask him to allow you to meet the suspect Anson."

"No, no need! It's really no need. We absolutely believe in your... all your decisions!" Crown has already begun to speak eloquently: "Really, we can't stay any longer... I'm sorry! "

After saying that, he dragged the weak Russell out of the Truth-Seeking Club as quickly as possible. While cursing how he came up with such a bad idea of ​​visiting the trial court, he drove and disappeared from Frederick Street.

The female judge was still sitting there, looking out the window expressionlessly. She didn't silently pick up the coffee and take a sip until she confirmed that the other party had really left.

The judges who saw her actions also breathed a sigh of relief. Some continued to chat, while some stood up and left... doing whatever they needed to do.

When the coffee cup was put back on the table, the dark-faced Cole Dorian happened to be sitting opposite her - where the two clerks were just now.

"Do you think they will come back?"

"This possibility cannot be ruled out." Sierra replied expressionlessly: "But next time, they will definitely not come so unprepared, and they will be much more difficult to deal with."

"Yeah..." Cole said with a sullen face, "I didn't expect that 'Whisper' actually has contact with the Ministry of War. This is too arrogant. Are they really not afraid of something happening?!"

"Afraid?" Sierra narrowed her eyes slightly:

"If you are talking about the authority of the church, please forgive me for reminding you. This is Clovis, the place that most disobeys the authority of the church. Even the so-called...obedience in the past was just the result of compromises concealed by both parties."

"To put it more bluntly, we have known about the existence of the Luen family for a long time. We know better that there must be spellcasters close to the Osteria royal family. We all know it...but we will not expose it, and neither will they. ."

"We maintain the secular order, but this real world... has another set of real rules, and we are just a part of it."

"Damn, of course I know this kind of thing - otherwise why would I cooperate with that... damn guy Anson now?!"

Cole was very depressed: "So I shouldn't have intervened in this matter from the beginning, right?!"

"Of course not. We are judges and the last wall of order. If they want to break the rules, they must be stopped." The female judge denied again:

"We live in the post-dark age. Customs, traditions, culture, morals... everything is based on the denial of the Old Gods. If spellcasters become popular again, it... will be turned upside down."

"And now, some people within the War Department already know that their little thoughts have been discovered by the trial. Unless they are fools, it is in their best interest to minimize the big issue."

"So, 'Whisper's' source of income will be temporarily cut off, and he will lose the capital to continue to bribe the poor. The poor who cannot live a sustainable life will riot, which is sufficient reason for the city of Clovis to send troops to suppress the outer city... Just like Anson planned.”

Serra pushed the coffee cup to Cole: "The police on Whitehall Street will try to stop it, but with Archbishop Luther's arrangement, it shouldn't be difficult to let the Storm Legion enter the city, but the consequence is that the War Department will definitely protest, leading to more troops Enter the outer city.”

"Ten thousand or even tens of thousands of soldiers enter the city. These people should not know the thoughts of some people in the Army Department. No matter how they cope with the work, they will greatly squeeze the living space of 'whispers'. In addition, there is no Without the income, his gang... would soon implode on itself and disintegrate."

“Then it’s time for the church, and it’s time for us to step up.”

"It sounds like that." Cole had no interest in coffee and rolled his eyes gloomily: "But why can't I get excited at all?"

"Probably because...this perfect plan was proposed by Anson?" the female judge asked knowingly:

"Someone has worked hard for two or three months, but the result is not as good as the other person's work in a week. I remember that there is a special vocabulary to express this kind of emotion. It seems to be called, it is called self-ashamed...Xing...Xing... "

"Even if it's sarcasm, could you please be a little more roundabout?"

"Of course, but what level is more appropriate?"

"...I don't understand it." Cole rolled his eyes:

"Anyway, all we have to do now is wait patiently, right?"

"It can only be half." Sierra gently closed the curtains:

"We must judge the movements of the 'Whisper' gangsters through some tiny details without making too big moves to avoid missing the opportunity to hunt them."

"And this... requires an excellent analytical expert to give the answer, His Excellency William Gottfried."

Sitting in the shadow of the curtain, the female judge looked at the person making coffee in the corner of the bar:

"Remember...we pretended not to see your existence, allowed you to continue your research on ancient runes, and even helped you get written materials from St. Isaac's College for your reference. It was not without cost."

Facing the judge's warning, the young man with purple-black eye circles showed a faint, somewhat disdainful smile.

"Yes, yes, I know that in your opinion, this result is a gift to me. I really understand, so you can rest assured that I will not take the initiative to destroy this situation that is beneficial to me...at least for now. so."

"I can analyze intelligence for you, but the premise is that the steam difference engine under Clovis Cathedral must be given to me for use. The amount of information you require is too much, and it is not an order of magnitude that can be completed by manpower."

"Yes." Without waiting for Cole to speak, the female inquisitor agreed directly: "But all your research materials must be handed over to us for verification and inspection. At the same time, you must provide no less than three pieces of information every day, and you need to provide countermeasures. suggestions and references.”

"This kind of workload may be heavy for ordinary people, but for a genius like you, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"No problem!" William agreed very simply:

"But the person who gave the information is not your judge. It must be Mr. Anson's secretary, Alan Dawn, who is in charge. No one else has the right to get any information from me."

"As long as you can convince Anson to release him, we all agree." Sierra nodded slightly:

"The question now is, how accurate can the intelligence you provide be guaranteed?"

"It all depends on whether the materials and information you gave us are correct, and whether the quantity can support it."

William looked indifferent: "After all, people may lie, but numbers don't - as long as the premise is accurate, then the answer is inevitable."

"You are very confident."

Cole Dorian looked at him with disgust: "Then you really believe that we won't arrest you and send you to the Inquisition, where you will stay in the Holy See's prison for the rest of your life?"

"I'm not sure, because it's really possible for you to do that." William shrugged:

"To be honest, when I arrived in the new world, I just didn't plan to come back. After all, I had offended too many people. If I wanted to study it, there was enough stuff there for me to study. I really didn't think of any reason to come back. "

"Oh, what's that for?"

"I don't know... maybe it's because it's dangerous here." William poured himself a cup of coffee:

"The more dangerous the place, the more opportunities there are... Research requires materials. If you always stay in an absolute comfort zone, it is impossible to have any research results; if you want to see the appearance of the abyss clearly, the only way The way to do that is to look directly at it.”

"I saw things in the new world that I had not been able to see in the past ten or twenty years, and that I might not even be able to see even if I lived to death. At that time, I was closest to the abyss. If I were not careful, I would die without warning. Burial place.”

"I was so scared, so scared. I suddenly realized that my knowledge was useless except for making me realize more clearly that I had no power to resist. I was even more scared than those ignorant guys."

"But when I left there and returned to a safe place, able to do research in the place farthest from danger, I suddenly realized..." The corner of William's mouth rose slightly:

"I... like it there."