Ice Vapor Goddess

Chapter 56 The Missed Script

“I remember we initially planned to have a meeting,” Siren said helplessly, sitting at the corner of the table.

Aldridge shrugged: "Just had an itch to do it."

Kyle raised his hands to show his innocence: "I didn't want to play! I was dragged into it! I just learned how!"

Mathilde sat sullenly in her chair, while Fafnir silently hid the gold pounds he had just won on the table into his pocket.

Logan regained consciousness in the afternoon—his heart, brain, and other core organs were fine, and the injuries to his internal organs had been repaired. Only his broken bones needed to slowly grow back, and Siren would use half of his divine sense to heal him every day.

So the church's core members gathered to celebrate, and Siron wanted to hold a meeting, but Aldridge pulled out a deck of Whist cards and suggested they play a few rounds to warm up first.

Siron can play, but if the bishop plays, no one dares to beat him, so he can only watch from the sidelines.

To express his remorse, Joseph also said he did not want to participate in the games and stood quietly to the side.

Kyle, a knight who grew up in the church and was a purebred who avoided all entertainment and vices, had absolutely no fighting skills. But unfortunately, he was one player short at the table, so he was forced to learn for a while.

Mathilde learned superb card-playing and cheating skills from the working-class community from a young age, but unfortunately, she became dependent on Kyle, a rookie teammate, and repeatedly lost in the brutal battles of one against three.

“It’s already one o’clock!” Xiren sighed, “I just wanted to talk about going back to the train crash site—if we have time, we’ll leave tomorrow.”

Aldridge was the first to sit up straight, as if he hadn't been the one who suggested playing cards.

“Ryan is seriously injured and can’t interfere with us now, so this is the best time to bring in those supplies,” Siren said in a deep voice. “I don’t know how badly he is injured, or how long it will take for him to recover, so we must hurry.”

Everyone nodded, indicating that they had no objections.

“Aldridge,” Siren said, “are the tractors all modified?”

Aldridge casually placed his hands on the table: "All done, five in total, all rune versions, and each has been fitted with a small red mercury reactor. Once we get there, we can convert them to red mercury power."

“Very good.” Siren nodded. “Regarding the delivery… I’d like to know the detailed cargo list and estimated weight of the goods in the truck. Does anyone know?”

"Uh...you didn't know?" Aldridge asked, somewhat surprised.

Xiren paused awkwardly for a moment, then explained, "I had to leave right after receiving the appointment, and I only glanced at the checklist in the car. By the time I wanted to check it the next day, it was too late..."

Aldridge's eyes began to look strange, then filled with pity: "I see... I see... I thought you had such a good attitude..."

"What?" Xilun asked, bewildered.

"Cough cough!" Kyle coughed heavily.

“…Those things…” Aldridge hesitated for a long time before turning to Kyle, “Why don’t you go first and tell me about the guards?”

Kyle's eyes widened: "Hey! Why should I speak! The bishop was clearly asking about supplies! What does it have to do with our guard!"

Aldridge turned his head: "Tell me the worst first, then it will be easier to accept."

Xiren looked left and right, becoming increasingly confused, so he directly called on Kyle: "Then you tell me first, what happened?"

“Uh…I…this…” Kyle looked around, then glanced at the sleeping Logan, and finally sighed resignedly.

“It was… your mentor, Agostino de la Paz, you remember him?”

Xilun nodded.

“He transferred us directly from the Holy Knights training camp in Lundinia, using a lot of connections,” Kyle said in a low voice. “We are the ‘Holy Guard Class,’ which you can think of as a class of geniuses. We are specially trained to serve as the Archbishop’s guard.”

The archbishop is a third-rank clergyman. Although not as prestigious as the cardinal, he is the most powerful regional official, in charge of multiple dioceses, and can easily influence the affairs of a country.

More than a hundred years ago, archbishops could even run for emperor in some empires on the main continent.

Xilun's eyes widened.

“Wait a minute… I remember Captain Obo is a regular knight? He doesn’t even have a single royal knight. How can he be the archbishop’s guard?” he asked in surprise.

Kyle sat up straight: "Because a royal knight must be loyal to someone. Do you really need a knight who is loyal to another bishop?"

Silen paused for a moment. Indeed, if a knight was loyal to another bishop, even if he dared to use him, he probably wouldn't consider him a confidant.

“But there are forty people in our class, half of whom have already reached the peak of being a regular knight. As long as one of the bestowers recognizes us, twenty-one of them can instantly become royal knights,” Kyle said softly.

Xilun's hand trembled slightly.

"Moreover, all of our talents and abilities have been carefully selected."

"For example, my ability is [Precision Shooting], and I am a member of the gunnery team. Logan's ability is [Persistence], and no matter how much damage or pain he suffers, he will force himself to complete the current action, which is why he became the leader of the assault team."

"Captain Aobo possesses a once-in-a-century talent, [Life Link], which allows him to take damage for others. Once you become a Royal Knight or even a Legendary Knight, you will essentially share the survival abilities of a high-ranking knight, making you virtually invincible."

"To cope with a possible extreme cold apocalypse, we also have the [Corona] which generates a constant temperature field of 30°C, the [Blazing Eyes] which emits intense light and heat, the [Burning] which can ignite most non-flammable materials, and the [Shelter] which can summon a small wooden house anytime, anywhere."

"There are even professionals who can deal with Governor Rennes—talents that your mentor specifically wrote to other bishops to request—whose ability is [Insulating Hand], which can turn any object they touch into an insulator, making them immune to lightning and toxins, and greatly increasing their resistance to cold and heat and their skin's toughness."

"Uh... there seems to be another apprentice mage? But they were added temporarily, I don't really know them..."

Xilun's hands were trembling like leaves, and he kept his head down without saying a word.

What did I miss?!

The mentor arranged such a large guard team, such a large guard team! How could it all be gone!?

"Uh... Actually, your mentor wasn't satisfied with this, so the military support he arranged for you was actually your senior brother Anthony. That Archangel was reserved for him—but he's still undergoing the assessment for the Iron Angel Commander position, so he won't arrive until autumn, a month from now."

Kyle stabbed him again.

“Once he passes through, he will bring twelve Iron Angels to Speyer, so what’s left for him is the Archangel, who is good at commanding, rather than other armored units that are good at fighting—because he really does have a squad of Iron Angels.”

Aldridge added coldly, "Not only that, there are also mechanics, engineers, rune masters, doctors, writers, blacksmiths, leatherworkers, and repairmen on board to ensure you won't be held back in Speyside by a lack of manpower in any field."

"There are also three experienced old priests to ensure that even if you want to stay at home and sleep with your mistress every day, someone will take care of every Mass for you."

"Oh right, three cartloads of mercury are enough for you to squander for a whole year. This amount exceeds the church's usual quota and requires the Pope's personal approval. It should also be a favor from your mentor."

"In addition, all kinds of supplies were over-allocated. You saw the gold too; it was taken directly from the vault of the Florence Bank in Lundin. Theoretically, it was the reserves of the Speyside branch, but the banker also died on the train..."

The scene fell silent for a moment.

“In other words…” Xiren looked at them with a trembling voice.

"I could have swaggered around with a specially trained, genius-level Royal Knights Guard, capable of handling extreme cold and the governor's duties. I'd also have a squad of legendary knights piloting archangels with twelve steel angels, warehouses overflowing with supplies and enough mercury to burn for a year. I'd have experts in every field, and if I didn't want to preside over Mass, there were old priests to help. I could have easily secured this position by doing absolutely nothing and just coasting along… Is that what you mean?" "…"

"..."

Everyone fell silent, then Aldridge nodded sadly: "Yes, this was your mentor's original plan."

Xilun slammed his head on the table, then slammed it twice more.

“It’s all the weather’s fault…” Kyle tried to console him, mainly because he was afraid the bishop would look up and stab him in anger. “If the apocalypse had come a day later… a month later would have been even better. With your senior brother around, we could definitely have crushed Renn.”

But that attempt to comfort her was completely useless. Xilun banged her head on the table, tears welling up in her eyes.

So my script was originally supposed to be invincible, right?! Who stole my script? Give it back!!

Aldridge looked at Siron with pity, thinking to himself that the bishop didn't know. He had always acted as if nothing was wrong, so he thought the bishop had accepted the fact.

After a long while, Xilun raised his head with red eyes and looked at everyone.

People watched him nervously, fearing that he might do something irrational due to his grief and anger.

But Siren simply took a deep breath and then forced a smile—

“It’s alright. If everything had gone according to the mentor’s plan… we probably wouldn’t be so close, and Fafnir wouldn’t be my subordinate, right?” he said gently.

Everyone nodded in agreement. That was indeed the case. They were beneficiaries of the train accident. If everyone had arrived safely, even if they had been appointed, they would not have been able to get promoted so quickly and wield so much power as they do now.

Fafnir may have been just an enemy soldier who was humiliated or even killed by Siren.

Eldridge will most likely work insincerely, or even be turned against him by Schneider.

Logan and Kyle were just insignificant members of the guard, overshadowed by the Iron Angels' force.

Joseph was probably driven away by the three old priests on the first day, so he didn't have the opportunity to preside over Mass for Siron.

“And I… may never have the chance to understand you so well, or care so much about the happiness of ordinary people,” Xiren said earnestly.

His eyes were still slightly red, but he no longer had any regrets—at least not in front of people.

“I have no army, no intellectuals, and those administrators and nobles won’t listen to me, so I have to win over the people, because they are the only ones I can win over.”

Xiren smiled and said, "So I was forced into this. The army doesn't follow me, the middle class doesn't follow me, and the ruling class doesn't follow me. If no one follows me, I will be killed by Renn. So I can only go to the bottom—they only need four eggs and a greeting."

"But this is also very good, isn't it? If it weren't for that accident, I wouldn't know about Selena and Ethel's lives, I wouldn't know about Tess's sadness, and I wouldn't know about the helplessness and pain of so many people. I would just be enjoying the pig-raising life that my mentor arranged for me in my luxurious residence."

Mathilde looked at him, her eyes shining.

Yes, if you were like that, we would pass each other by, or even fight to the death.

Aldridge lowered his head, a smile playing on his lips.

Despite the obvious regret, they quickly regained their composure and recounted the catastrophic event as an opportunity to meet them.

“My leader…” the Rune Master murmured to himself.

“People always have all sorts of expectations and regrets about the paths they’ve missed.” Xiren looked at them. “But with you all by my side, I don’t think it’s so bad.”

“We will start step by step and rebuild everything. Wasn’t the original church built by just a few people?”

"We will encounter many setbacks, some people will leave, some people will fall, and even I will fail and suffer."

"But in any case, I will never regret sitting here today and meeting you all."

He looked at people sincerely, his eyes shining, as if expecting their response.

“Of course I won’t regret it,” Mathilde smiled.

“If it weren’t for you, I would still be doing the dirtiest jobs for the governor.” Fafnir bowed his head.

“I will keep a close eye on you to prevent you from breaking your oath,” Aldridge said.

“You have always been my salvation,” Joseph said humbly, standing to the side.

Finally, Kyle was left alone. He thought for a moment and asked softly, "I am your guard, and protecting you is my duty, but I have another question—"

"Which path do you want to lead us down? What kind of thing do you want to do?"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone looked at Xilun expectantly.

Yes, a leader should always provide guidance.

Xilun pondered for a long time, then said seriously, "I don't know."

"Actually, I also want to promise a bright future, an alluring ideal world, but I don't know what it is like, nor do I know how to get there."

"I have seen many visions, many theories, and many people have given their lives for them. They have risen on the ground, but they are hard to sustain."

“I do not know what that thousand-year kingdom (Note 1) is like, but I know that when someone suffers, we must save them; when someone is sick, we must heal them; when someone is grieving, we must comfort them; wherever there is evil, we must demonstrate the Lord’s justice; wherever there is oppression, we must deliver the Lord’s people.”

"If we do all these things well, perhaps we'll be closer to that thousand-year-old kingdom?"

Xilun asked earnestly, but no one could answer.

“What a cunning answer…” Kyle smiled.

“But you didn’t lie to us, so—I accept the path you’ve chosen, and if one day you find the answer to that future, I will also resolutely wield my sword for that ideal.”

He left his seat and knelt on one knee.

Xilun suddenly realized what was happening and pressed the shepherd's staff onto his shoulder.

"I accept your allegiance, my knight."

This is how the Second Knight was appointed.
-
Note 1: The "Millennial Kingdom" originates from Revelation Chapter 20, which mentions that Satan will be sealed away for a thousand years, and believers will be resurrected and reign with Christ for a thousand years, also known as the "Millennial," generally considered the happiest kingdom and era. Müntzer interpreted this concept as utopian socialism and launched large-scale peasant uprisings and religious reformations.

　The book title has been changed! Here's a chapter from the saved draft to share the good news.

　　Also, thank you to reader 20250622224221001 for the 5000 points and to Sad Stone for the 1500 points.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)