2077: V really knows how awesome he is

At 10:00 AM, President Emhyr Enris of the Democratic Republic of Nilfgaard received Chairman V of the Human Federation with a grand national ceremony in front of People's Square.

To embody tradition, the national honor guard, clad in polished black steel armor, stood in neat rows around the square, while court sorcerers in black robes stood silently chanting, causing magic to shimmer in the air, quietly protecting this grand event.

Meanwhile, to welcome distinguished guests from this technologically advanced city, the Democratic Republic of Nilfgaard also demonstrated its inclusiveness and progressiveness. They temporarily installed holographic projection equipment on the spires and flying buttresses, intertwining classical stone carvings with dazzling digital images; Royal Air Cavalry piloted well-trained armed griffins circling at low altitudes, creating a striking contrast with the small drone formations flying the Nilfgaardian flag in the air.

This unique scenery, transcending time and space, broadened the horizons of the people who came to witness the ceremony, and they all exclaimed that the trip was worthwhile.

Indeed, the over 130-year-old Emhyr never forgot the people and their power. Despite opposition, and while maintaining necessary security measures, he granted permission for the citizens of the capital to observe this grand event in designated areas. The crowd included curious onlookers, souvenir vendors, as well as businesspeople and scholars from around the world. Dressed in festive attire, they showed great curiosity and interest in President V's arrival.

When V and the Knights of the Threaded Steel appeared, the crowd stood on tiptoe and cheered enthusiastically. The scene of V and Princess Ciri riding side by side and waving to the crowd was faithfully and completely recorded by the cameras in the crowd's hands. The spotlights emitted by the cameras mixed with the medieval-style robes and felt hats to create a strange yet harmonious picture that left a deep impression.

V and Emhyr shook hands warmly amidst the attention of the crowd. At this moment, tradition and future, magic and technology converged perfectly. The national mage team guided the energy at the right time, and magical fireworks that blended golden sunlight and blue circuit patterns bloomed in the sky, once again eliciting praise and cheers from the people.

President Emshil then delivered a warm welcome address, stating, “The Nilfgaardian Empire has always viewed the world’s development with an open mind. The innovative spirit and vitality represented by the Human Federation are an indispensable force and guide for many worlds. Today’s meeting is not merely a courtesy visit; it foreshadows the possibility of broad and in-depth cooperation between two powerful entities, based on mutual respect and shared interests. The Democratic Republic of Nilfgaard, with its vast market, abundant resources, and stable order, deeply hopes to engage in extensive cooperation with the Human Alliance in areas such as technology, finance, and talent development, together ushering in a new era of glory.”

President V conveyed the greetings of the entire Human Federation to President Emhyr and expressed gratitude for the warm reception from the Democratic Republic of Nilfgaard. She stated, “The Human Federation has taken note of Nilfgaard’s development and stability under President Emhyr’s leadership. I firmly believe that sincere dialogue and pragmatic cooperation are key to addressing future challenges. Whether it’s the construction of emerging networks, the exploration of magical energy and the application of C-particles, or exchanges in the economic, trade, and cultural fields, there is enormous potential for cooperation between the two sides. I eagerly anticipate the outcome of this meeting.”

After the ceremony, both sides went inside the Great Hall of the People for a closed-door meeting to further exchange views on specific issues of common concern.

This visit is considered a highly symbolic and substantive diplomatic event, building a bridge of communication between two very different but equally powerful worlds, and is expected to inject new and strong momentum into the future development of bilateral relations.

The talks concluded successfully in a harmonious and amicable atmosphere, with Princess Hiri in attendance.

Even after the welcoming ceremony had ended, people lingered, still enthusiastically discussing the grand event, their faces reflecting pride in their country's prosperity and anticipation for a brighter future.

But the reality is...

"My God, this is so tiring!" V couldn't help but exclaim, rubbing his military-grade lower back.

If this is the case for a cyborg with a full body of prosthetics, then Emhyr, who is over 130 years old, is even more so.

He was panting heavily and covered in sweat. Many court sorcerers and doctors were busy around him, either explaining magic to him or feeding him bowls of dark, murky medicine.

After struggling for a while, the old man finally recovered.

He has already achieved great success and his name will be remembered in history. The reason he keeps pushing himself is more out of a stubbornness and a sense of responsibility that he can never let go of.

“This country is like my child, and I want to see how far it can go. Unfortunately, my doctor told me that I only have three years left, and before I die, I have to do something more for it.”

V, now over 100 years old, couldn't help but feel a little sad upon hearing this: "Trust the young people, give up your positions and let them perform. You should just enjoy these three years and have a good retirement."

Emhyr shook his head: "I'd like to, but it won't work. I've been training young people, but they're always... unreliable. I don't feel comfortable entrusting the country to them."

V advised, "There's nothing we can do about it. Young people haven't experienced the hardships we went through, so they naturally can't develop enough courage and boldness. It's the environment that's causing this. You can't expect your descendants to be as wise and brave as you are."

“Yes, you’re right. It’s probably because each generation of descendants is worse than the last that a country will eventually perish.” Emhyr said with a wry smile, “I heard that Roche is in the same boat, also having a headache over who will be his successor.”

V asked curiously, "You two are in contact?"

"We corresponded, but we're both getting on in years, and the journeys were too tiring. But it's precisely because of our age that former rivals have suddenly become old friends, which is quite touching."

"I remember Roche's side is implementing an imperial system, right? How does he plan to solve the succession problem?"

"He had 32 children and planned to choose the best one as the heir to the Northern Empire. Unfortunately, just like me, all 32 of his children were hopeless, which infuriated Roche."

"Then what can be done? He's trying to establish an imperial system and become emperor. He can't just bring in someone from another family to inherit the throne, can he? That wouldn't fit with his administrative system."

Emhyr laughed, “He’s been my enemy his whole life, but now he’s trying to emulate me. He plans to adopt the same system as the Federation of Humans, just as I turned Nilfgaard into a democratic republic.”

V was stunned: "He's also going to reform the Northern Empire?"

"No, he intends to have the prime minister take over the administration of the government."

V frowned: "This is too reckless; the ministers won't agree."

“Of course I disagree, especially his 32 children, who are making a huge fuss right now.” Emhyr said with a hint of schadenfreude.

V frowned: "I remember the prime minister was..."

“Dragon God, Alhammis,” Emhyr replied, “one of the three gods you created.”

V's expression was complicated. Finally, he sighed and said, "Fine, I'll go to the Northern Empire later and see what those two guys are up to."

Emhyr nodded. That was all he meant. As he had said before, old rivals of many years had unknowingly become old friends, and that was all he could do.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Emhyr got down to business, ordering someone to bring out a stack of documents and saying, "This is all the information I've collected over the years about the 'Master of Mirrors'."

V picked it up and quickly flipped through it, then suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. The price he paid for controlling time was a 'contract'."

Time is like a balance scale; if you want to move one side, you have to put the corresponding weight on the other side.

V's time experiment accidentally opened up the world of 2077, at the cost of space. The space barrier in 2157 became virtually useless. Although jumps were easier, some strange invasions were inevitable.

The Master of Mirrors controls time, but the price he pays is a contract.

Simply put, he must abide by certain rules. If someone makes a bet with him or drafts a contract, he must act in accordance with the terms of the bet and the contract.

For example, if someone asks the Master of Mirrors for a ton of gold, promising to return it on the moon, then as long as he is "not on the moon," the Master of Mirrors cannot demand the debt from him.

Of course, the moon doesn't have to be the moon itself; a moon reflected in water or a moon pattern drawn on the ground would work. But this kind of wordplay requires the Master of Mirrors to use his own brain, which is the price he has to pay for controlling time.

It's a bit awkward, but it can be used to our advantage, and it's a big step forward in defeating the 100,000 demons.

V put down the documents and thanked Emhyr: "Thank you, these were very helpful to me."

“It’s my pleasure to help you.” Emhyr glanced at Ciri and said to V, “I have arranged a dinner party, please do me the honor of attending. If it is too late to travel, that’s alright, I have prepared rooms for you, just check in.”

Ciri secretly tugged at V's sleeve, meaning, "Don't eat, let's go."

V nodded to indicate that he understood, and then said to Emhyr, "Then we'll take our leave."

Emhyr was overjoyed and immediately ordered a banquet to be prepared. Ciri, however, was furious and ate five candies that very night, inflicting extremely cruel punishment on V!

"What a pity," Emhyr sighed. "If the two of them could have had children, they would have been the best heirs."

The attendant's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he whispered, "I've heard that the Human Federation's technology allows same-sex couples to have children. Why don't you tell Chairman V about it..."

“Impossible.” Emhyr shook his head with a smile: “If V wanted to, she would have had children long ago, but she hasn’t. Don’t you understand what that means?”

The attendant looked puzzled: "Forgive my ignorance."

“You are indeed foolish. Think about it, the decision-making level of the Human Federation has been completely replaced by AI. If V has offspring, it will inevitably cause conflict. Putting aside what the child himself thinks, there will definitely be many ambitious people who want to take the throne by virtue of their merits. V can’t possibly not see this possibility, which is why she has never mentioned the matter of offspring all these years. If I were to bring it up, I would only be asking for trouble.”

The attendant then realized, but was still somewhat puzzled: "Does she really want to hand over power to a cold machine?"

"Yes, how many people are willing to give up power once they have it? But V is willing, and Roche is willing, which is why they are admired and respected."

The attendant quickly replied, "You are also revered and respected."

“Haha.” Emhir laughed and shook his head: “I am far inferior to them. They have the people in their hearts, while I only have the country in my heart.”

Emhyr didn't actually care about the people; he was a self-interested individual from beginning to end. He only promoted democracy because he believed that liberating the people from their constraints would help the country develop.

On the contrary, Roche cared about the people and was concerned about their welfare. In order to better protect the people, he built a highly centralized empire so that he could concentrate his power to change the world.

Outsiders have many opinions on who is right and who is wrong, who is good and who is bad, but those involved know perfectly well. Emhyr knows that he was only pretending, and Roche is the king that the people truly expect. It's just a pity...

V and Ciri bid farewell to Emhyr and left Nilfgaard.

This time, they didn't ride horses; instead, they teleported directly.

The elderly Roche was discussing the matter of conscripting laborers to build a canal with the dragon god Alhammis when the latter suddenly paused, startled.

"What's wrong?" Roche asked.

"My lord has arrived." Alkhamis bowed towards a corner of the empty room.

The next second, V and Ciri emerged from the white light, and Roche immediately got up to greet them.

“Sit down.” V looked at Roche and sighed softly. “You’re younger than Emhyr, but compared to him, you look more like an old man on his deathbed. He can live for another three years, how much longer can you live?”

Roche smiled and replied, "Two months."

Chapter 160 Four Wine Glasses

The once spirited rebel leader was now a dying man, his magnificent dragon robe making him look like a skeleton draped in a cloth. Luo Qi was horribly thin, his hair completely gone, his eyes sunken, and his forehead dark; it was clear to everyone that his days were numbered.

V couldn't help but sigh: "Can't we just take a proper rest for the last two months?"

“No, I still have a lot of work to do.” Roche shook his head: “The canal, the tunnel, the hydroelectric power station, the new economic zone, the urbanization transformation… I have to arrange all of these before I die, otherwise I won’t feel at ease.”

“But you only have two months left, and these are all massive projects that cannot be completed in a short time!” Ciri, who had been living in the Northern Empire, suddenly spoke up: “I admit that your decisions are not wrong, but you are too hasty. Do you know that your nationwide conscription of workers has caused great dissatisfaction, and your forced conscription order has indeed hurt many people!”

Roche sighed softly, "I know, Ciri, I know everything."

Ciri was somewhat displeased: "You knew and you still did it?"

“He did it on purpose,” V said. “The old king creates discontent, and the new king cleans up the mess. That’s how he wins people’s hearts and secures his throne.”

Roche did not deny it.

But not denying it is a form of acknowledgment.

Ciri finally understood and retorted angrily, "You and that guy who sells aphrodisiacs must have a lot in common!"

Roche: ?

The story of Arasaka Yoriyuki is a long one, and with only two months left in the Loki race, there's clearly no time for that.

Although V did not agree with Roche's approach, he understood his good intentions.

"At least find some people to help you share the burden," V advised. "What about Weiss? Isn't she your assistant?"

“Weis resigned from her post a long time ago, as did many of my partners and friends. They all say I changed after becoming emperor, that I became cold-blooded, but I did it all for the sake of this country. Without a strong and prosperous nation, how can the people live a happy and peaceful life?” Roche slammed his hand heavily on the dragon throne, then, as if deflated, said weakly, “Now I know why Alhammis wanted me to be a lonely emperor. It’s because the emperor is truly lonely.”

V looked at one of the three little ones, Alhammis, who was known to the world as the Dragon God.

The great dragon god remained kneeling on one knee.

V had told him not to be so polite, but Alkhamis always insisted that "etiquette should not be disregarded" and continued to do as he pleased.

The Dragon God is overly rigid, the Mermaid is so stupid that she can't even speak clearly after decades, and V can't understand why there's such a big difference between the nanoclusters that he "gave birth to".

To be honest, she was a little curious about the performance of the other "Rock God" among the three little ones, but that guy was incredibly low-key. Not only did he remain inconspicuous among the common people, but he also quietly protected the working class. Even his reports to V were always brief and to the point, either "normal" or "everything is normal".

But these are all trivial matters; let's get down to business now.

"Alkhamis."

"I'm here."

"You want to become the next emperor of the Northern Empire?"

“No, just a regent.” Alhammis replied seriously, “The cultural environment of the Northern Empire is not yet conducive to the people accepting an AI leader, even if I don the cloak of a god.”

“You’re quite self-aware,” V asked. “Then why do you do it?”

“It was I who asked him to do this,” Roche said. “It has not been easy for this country to develop to where it is today, and the people’s good days have only just begun. But my descendants are not qualified to manage this empire. If the country were handed over to them, the current good situation would surely be lost. So I asked Alhammis to take over the empire after my death.”

V sighed softly, "That will be difficult."

“I am ready,” Alkhamis said calmly. “During my regency, I will continue to nurture the third generation of the royal family. This time, I will implement a closed education system to prevent them from being influenced by the outside world, and strive to cultivate an outstanding emperor.”

V frowned: "Will it work?"

Alkhamis hesitated for a moment before replying, "It's better to do it than not at all."

"If you know it's impossible, why do it anyway?"

Alkhamis did not hesitate this time: "Because I promised Roche."

V couldn't help but sigh, "You stupid AIs, one day you'll be played to death by humans!"

Roche and Alkhamis exchanged a glance and laughed simultaneously.

“Thank you, V,” Roche said sincerely.

V retorted irritably, "Thank me for what?"

"Thank you for indulging my willfulness."

"Don't be so arrogant, Roche. I said before that I wouldn't interfere in the politics of this world, and I still will. Our role has always been that of observers. Successful and failed social systems are all experiences. No matter how this world changes, it's just sociology plus 3 for us."

V accompanied Roche to dinner, and afterwards they played a few rounds of Gwent. Back then, Roche was just a rebel leader, but his card skills were quite remarkable. Now, Roche is an emperor, ruling over the vast north, and his overall strength is far superior to that of the southern Nilfgaardian Democratic Republic. However, he unknowingly fell asleep during the second round of the game.

This is probably what is meant by a hero's decline.

V and Ciri returned to Vangelburg together.

On the way, Ciri finally couldn't help but ask, "Are you really not going to do anything about it? If this continues, once Roche dies, the Northern Empire will definitely be in chaos."

V still shook his head: "I don't care."

"Why? Is our world really just an experimental field for you, and you're just doing this for sociology +3?"

"Don't think of me as so evil." V smiled wryly: "The reason I don't care is because I don't know how to care."