Old days, dice and investigator's manual

Isaac put the spoon back on the rim of the bowl, pondering the meaning of those words.

With the support of the newly rich, the repeal of the Grain Act should garner widespread public support, as lower food prices are a tangible benefit for most ordinary people.

But if the Grand Duke truly wanted to preserve the Grain Act, he had countless ways to silence the newly rich. The fact that this debate has continued to escalate suggests that he doesn't intend to preserve it.

Rumors of repealing the Grain Act were growing, the new aristocracy was allowed to build momentum in public opinion, and even the FBI's cafeteria was taken over by potatoes... all these signals combined point to one conclusion.

"The repeal of the Grain Act, on the surface, appears to be a power struggle between the new and old nobles, but in reality, it was the Grand Duke who pushed for it from behind the scenes," Isaac said.

"Hmm." Carlo put a piece of potato into his mouth.

"What about the old nobles...?"

"What can they do?" Carlo chewed on a potato. "Should they go and tell the Grand Duke, 'Please, you can't do this,' or say, 'If you do this, we'll rebel'? The Grand Duke of today doesn't need the support of the nobles to maintain his position."

Isaac was somewhat surprised: "But isn't the Ogilvy family itself a noble family, and the largest one among the noble families of the West?"

"Precisely because he is the most powerful noble in the West," Carlo swallowed a potato. "As the current supreme ruler of the West, and without an emperor above him, his interests have long since diverged from those of the ordinary nobles."

"The privileges held by the old aristocracy are not just about food, but also taxes, postal services, household registration... they are being gradually squeezed out. Including what I mentioned before, the FBI is not only taking away authority from the church, but also from the city police department."

"Many of the high-ranking officers in the Vista City Police Department are aristocrats. When a case is reported, whether to investigate it, how to investigate it, and whether to report it all depends on the city police department's decision. If the victim is an ordinary citizen and the murderer is an aristocrat, the case will most likely be dropped; if the victim is an aristocrat and the murderer is an ordinary citizen, the speed at which the case is solved can be unbelievable."

"Once the FBI gets involved, the NYPD can only assist in cases involving unusual events. Even in ordinary cases... who knows if it involves cultic rituals? The FBI can also request the NYPD to transfer the case."

Isak listened, stunned. Carlo put down his fork and suddenly asked, "After hearing all this, what's your impression of Vesta?"

When asked a question again, Isaac thought for a while, sorting through the scattered pieces of information, piecing them together, and trying to see the whole picture.

The establishment of the FBI broke the church's monopoly on abnormal events and the aristocratic interests of the city police force. The railroad plan changed the transportation pattern between cities. The debate over the repeal of the Grain Act involved the reorganization of interests between the old and new aristocrats. The Grand Duke was driving all of this behind the scenes, and the Golden Bough Church cooperated with this change...

"It feels very complicated. I've heard about the infighting among nobles in Palmer, but it's mostly just a few families fighting each other." Isaac paused. "But in Vista, it feels like a completely different level. The old rules are being broken, and new rules are being established, forming a new order that's different from the past..."

"The New Order—the fact that you even mentioned that term shows you've truly grasped the current trends in Vesta." Carlo rested his chin on his hand, clicked his tongue, and said, "Do you know why people call this era the 'Age of the Last Days'?"

Isaac recalled the explanation in historical records: "Because the order of the ancient empire collapsed, but its afterglow remained?"

"More or less. Many people believe that the order of the ancient empires was like the sun, shining on the earth from sunrise in the east to sunset in the west, from the ocean in the south to the ice fields in the north, and that everyone lived under the same order, as if living under the same sun... But that sun has set."

"The Great Sunset" refers to the shattering and sinking of the sun that illuminated all things. However, the world did not immediately fall into darkness. The system left behind by the ancient empire continued to exert its remaining influence, just as the sky would remain bright for a while after the sun sets. The world was left with a lingering twilight, which is called "the remnant of day".

"The war between the religions almost extinguished the last glimmer of hope. Demigods clashed in the wilderness, cities were cut off from each other, and civilization retreated into its walls. If the fighting had continued, the world would probably have truly been plunged into darkness... But in the end, all sides stopped fighting."

The signing of the Covenant between the Churches meant that everyone realized that continuing to fight would not benefit anyone, so it was better to maintain the status quo. From then on, the nobles and the churches tacitly maintained the lingering glow of the old order, and no one wanted to let this light go out completely.

"This is the era of waning daylight. The afterglow of the old order still lingers, preventing people from falling completely into darkness, but the new day that shines upon all living beings has not yet appeared, and people can only eke out a living by relying on the afterglow."

Isaac nodded. He had heard these stories from his adoptive father and at school, though the emphasis differed slightly, but they were generally consistent with what Carlo was saying.

"But Vesta, or rather, the Ogilvy family and the Golden Bough Church, do not want to be mere lamplighters, clinging to the last vestiges of light." Carlo looked out the window, "Before the old light completely fades, a new sun will rise, an order belonging to this era, with the old and new suns directly alternating, preventing the night from falling."

"It sounds like a very grand ideal," Isaac exclaimed.

"How could it be called 'The Sun Never Sets' if it wasn't grand?" Carlo shrugged.

As dusk settled outside, the gaslights in the canteen came on, and people began to enter, probably having just finished their work and rushing to eat dinner. Some nodded to Carlo, while others pretended not to see him and hurried past as if nothing had happened.

Isaac was drawn to the commotion of those people, and then he heard Carlo's voice.

"But I've never experienced the night..."

Isaac paused, looking at Carlo, but Carlo simply pushed the empty plate aside: "It's nothing, just a sigh. Let's go."

Isaac stood up and left the cafeteria. As he walked beside Carlo, the words from earlier were still on his mind.

He had never experienced the darkness of night... He wasn't sure if Carlo was implying something, but based on his understanding of the boss, this man wouldn't make such a remark for no reason.

He didn't press further. Since Carlo had only made a casual remark, he figured he wouldn't get any more information by asking, and now wasn't the time.

As Isaac stepped out of the FBI, the streetlights came on. He looked up and saw the dim yellow light stretching along the street, the last rays of the setting sun fading on the horizon.

"Come on, don't just stand there daydreaming." Carlo had already walked a few steps away, calling out without turning back.

Isaac withdrew his gaze and quickly followed.