People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

This statement doesn't require much analysis; it basically means that one or two Queens of Letania agree with this idea.

However, Letania had more than just an empress; it also had an electorate whose divisions were no less severe than those of the Duke of Victoria. Ivangelista XI did not mention them, and Ernst could not guess whether he did it on purpose or genuinely forgot.

But at least, the country's nominal top leader has agreed. This progress is welcome news for Ernst.

But that wasn't all. As he spoke, Ivangelista XI opened the cabinet again, hesitated for a moment, and then took out a box of pastries and gave it to Ernst.

"This is a specialty of Yan Kingdom, a royal tribute. It was sent back by my messenger from all over the world. It tastes good. I originally planned to keep it to study its ingredients, but I came up with nothing."

That's a rather cryptic statement.

The fact that this was a special tribute from the royal family, brought back by messengers from all over the world, indicates that the Yan royal family was interested in this idea.

But the phrase "the ingredients are unknown" is rather intriguing.

Is it unclear which member of the royal family agreed, or is the Great Yan currently in a state of flux, showing goodwill but not yet confirming its participation?

Ernst pondered for a moment, then nodded and accepted the box of pastries.

Under the expectant gaze of Ivangelist XI, he cautiously stated, following his own standard manner of conduct:

"Please let me think about it."

“Of course.” King Ivangelista XI understood the principle that “national affairs are not to be taken lightly” and did not urge him. Instead, he said warmly, “Your views are quite similar. Why don’t we stay in Laterando for a few days? I will arrange Mostima and the others to be our guides. What do you say?”

"Then I thank Your Holiness for your kindness," Ernst readily agreed.

Chapter 221 The Struggle for First Strike

Lateran, Stygwang District.

The Stiveland district is some distance from the Papal Palace at the heart of Lateran, and given the protocol for a head of state receiving the highest level of hospitality, King Ivangelista XI shouldn't have arranged for Ernst and his entourage to stay there. But what could he do when Mostima was the one responsible for guiding their subsequent tour?

Ernst noticed Mostima's difference from their first meeting. From what he knew, the Sakota race was actually very averse to wearing hats or other ornaments between their heads and their halo. The reason for this custom was unknown, but it certainly existed. Unless specially trained, few could tolerate the feeling of being out of place.

But Mostima always wore a hood, whether in Colombia or back in Lateran. The messenger of nations never took off her hat in front of Ernst, nor did she show any discomfort.

Furthermore, Ernst had never heard of any messenger from all nations having a "guardian." Mostima's unusual nature meant there must be a reason behind her wearing leather trousers over cotton ones. As such a special individual, it wasn't surprising that she enjoyed some privileges within Laterano.

After leaving behind the irresponsible parting declaration, "I'm going to the central hospital in the Stiveng district first, I'll be back in a bit," Ernst watched as the messenger who had forcefully dragged them from the core area to the Stiveng district disappeared down the street with a helpless-looking Fiameta.

What could Ernst say?

This rather impolite behavior, in the social climate of Victoria, would have been considered dereliction of duty. But in Laterano, Ernst felt it was alright; at least she had indeed taken him to the hotel.

It's no wonder he's called Sarkaz; Ernst smiles with relief whenever he thinks about being in Laterano.

Moreover, it must be said that Mostima's departure was timely. Ernst had spent more than three hours talking with the Pope, and he also had a lot of intelligence to process.

As soon as Ernst returned to his bedroom at the hotel and closed the door, he felt the questioning gazes of Vina and Defien.

Vina spoke first: "Ernst, why didn't you agree to the Pope's proposal?"

This is also a question that Daphne has.

Hinterlea is a very sharing person. When she's not being pressured or working overtime, she's far from the aloof and inflexible person she seems. Her experiences traveling with Ernst... ahem, recruitment experiences, are also among her topics of conversation. Vina had heard Hinterlea mention their experiences at Siesta before.

Ernst clearly aspired to form such an organization, but when the Pope proposed this idea, which was similar to his own, Ernst's face did not show the joy of "finding like-minded friends." Instead, he was quite serious, even solemn.

This puzzled Vina.

Defiance, however, thought more simply; she genuinely felt that King Evangelista XI made a lot of sense. Establishing such an organization seemed indeed conducive to promoting peace on Terra.

Based on her understanding of Ernst, he should have been a supporter of the project.

In fact, Ernst was.

Faced with Vina's question, Ernst shrugged frankly and explained, "I didn't agree, but I didn't refuse either, did I?"

“Vina, this suggestion is definitely a good one, but even a good suggestion depends on who makes it, who makes it first, and who takes the lead.”

Vina frowned thoughtfully, not responding immediately. But Daphne felt somewhat puzzled:

"Why? What's the difference?"

In her view, Ernst and Ivangelista XI were not much different. Their statuses were similar; one was a holy son, and the other a saint. Although they were secular rulers, they both held a divine office. Their territories were also roughly the same, both being small countries. If there was any difference, it might be that Ernst did not have a long, white beard.

Defien imagined a bearded version of Ernst in his mind, and then shuddered.

I've heard that most men grow facial hair to some extent. If you find that Ernst has grown facial hair, just secretly shave it off while he's sleeping!

She doesn't like having her face pricked by a beard.

Unaware that Defien's thoughts, assimilated by Sakorta, had already wandered to her non-existent beard, Ernst smiled at her and affirmed:

"Of course there are, and the differences are significant."

"Let me give you an example. If one day I suddenly suggested that all the Grand Dukes voluntarily reduce their military spending in order to maintain peace and stability in Victoria, what do you think of that suggestion?"

Daphne paused for a moment, then replied after a brief thought, "If all the Grand Dukes are reduced, it's not unacceptable."

Like her mother, the Duke of Windermere, she was a proponent of the Dukes' checks and balances and was not so opposed to the idea of ​​balancing the power of the various dukes.

Although reducing military spending is certainly not as easy as it sounds in real life, and involves many factors, if it is just a suggestion, in truth, she is not someone who cannot agree to it.

But Ernst changed the subject: "What if the suggestion had come from the Duke of Caesar, not me?"

Dai Feien immediately frowned and shook her head without hesitation, saying, "Impossible! That old woman is definitely suspicious! Mother won't agree!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she let out a drawn-out "Oh~" sound, as if she had just realized something.

Ernst patted his head and laughed:

"Your stance determines how you look at things; to put it simply, your position determines your perspective."

If the UN's idea had been proposed by a powerful duke like the Duke of Windermere, or a head of state of a major power like the President of Colombia, Ernst's answer would certainly have been swift and firm—support! Because their strength is enough to truly influence the situation in Terra.

However, since this suggestion was made by Pope Ivangelist XI of Lateran, it didn't carry enough weight, so Ernst had to think about it and ask around.

He did indeed obtain some intelligence: if Ivangelista XI hadn't engaged in political credibility fraud, Letania had been persuaded, and Yan Kingdom seemed to be interested.

If these two countries are persuaded, then Ernst could make a further effort to win over the Duke of Caesar, the Duke of Wellington, and Colombia, while ensuring the Duke of Windermere's participation. With these parties combined, they could indeed form a highly influential and appealing international alliance.

However, this still involves a problem, namely, the issue of "who brought it up first," which Ernst emphasized.

Both Shelag and Lateran are small countries, and in order to ensure the legitimacy and appeal of this established organization, the power of this organization will eventually fall into the hands of a few major powers. After all, you can only get people to join if you offer them benefits.

This also means that once this international organization is established in the future, both Sherag and Lateran will only play supporting roles.

Even supporting characters have their own definition. A character who appears once, shows their face, or is killed by a single shot without even showing their face is a supporting character. A character who is just there to accompany the limited-time gacha pulls throughout the entire event, or a character who can speak to the big shots or even be a friendly teammate, is also a supporting character.

Due to the limited influence, there are bound to be few supporting roles available. It is highly likely that only one supporting role can receive this treatment, which will require Laterano, Sherag, and other quirky little countries to compete for.

Whoever is the first to launch a "United Nations call" will have a head start, gaining the greatest international attention and prestige, and most importantly—security!

Once this international organization was established, its founding countries enjoyed absolute security in the international environment. Until the organization's demise, no country, especially a major power, would allow its founders to be attacked.

This isn't slapping a small country on the backside, it's slapping a big country in the face!

With this security guarantee, it means that the dire geopolitical problems of Shelagna that Enciodes has always worried about will be completely and perfectly resolved.

At the turn of the Three Kingdoms, a strategically vital location fought over by military strategists, it didn't necessarily have to be Jingzhou, where fierce battles raged. Our dear ancestors also provided us with a second, definitive answer—the location for alliances among the feudal lords.

Ernst could see this, so the Pope, who proposed the idea, couldn't have been unaware of it. This is why neither of them truly revealed their true intentions during their conversation.

Ernst made no mention of his personal relationship with the Vice President of Colombia, nor of having a "private secretary" who could establish connections with the Melander Foundation, nor of the Duke of Caesar's distant relatives, nor of Abrahina's connections with the Duke of Wellington. Evangelista XI, too, adopted a symbolic approach, leaving it to be understood rather than explicitly stated.

If he were truly shameless, he could easily deny any special meaning behind his and Ernst's revelations about the "Leytanian phonograph" and the "Yan Kingdom pastries." After all, it was all Ernst's own imagination; no one could prove it, and it could simply be dismissed as "you're overthinking it."

But Ernst wouldn't say any of this, at least not in front of Defiance.

It's not that this thing is dirty; after Daphne becomes a duke, she'll likely have to deal with far dirtier things. It's just that this matter does have a bit of a "taking advantage of the Duke of Windermere" aspect to it. Given Daphne's current "partner of justice" nature, she might not be able to distinguish between work and life, and telling her might affect their pure private relationship.

I'll talk to Vina alone when I get back.

Ernst organized his thoughts and said:

"Therefore, our current goal is to come up with a more convincing plan than Lateran's, and to be the first to make this call, forcing Lateran to follow suit."

There are two problems to deal with here. First, how to defeat Laterano. The other side now has Letania, which has been confirmed to be captured, so Ernst can temporarily abandon this country—given the size and influence of Sherag, he really doesn't have the ability to use Minotaur magic against Laterano.

Of the remaining major powers in Terra, besides Columbia, which has a relatively high chance of winning, Ernst needs to secure the support of at least one of the three major powers—Ussus, Casimir, and Yan—and prevent the other two from siding with Laterano in order to suppress his opponents 2-1 in this competition.

As for winning over smaller countries, although it may seem cruel, it's acceptable to add to their existing success, but the chances of providing assistance in times of need are slim.

The second question is how to get Lateran to willingly follow Sherag as a co-initiator.

Ernst has not yet found a solution to this problem and needs to think about it further.

However, he wasn't in a hurry. He had no solution, and neither did Lateran. Otherwise, King Ivangelista XI wouldn't have been in such a rush to bring him to Lateran.

The other party clearly also valued his influence and wanted to get Ernst for free.

Unexpectedly, the impassioned propaganda met Ernst, who had seen the real thing. Based on the principle of relying on the actual product, Ivangelista XI was not fooled and instead revealed some of his own intentions and information.

This is politics.

Both sides are clearly thinking about their own countries, their ideas coincide, and the final result could theoretically benefit the people of Terra. However, they still have to talk about competition first, and then cooperation.

"Anyway, since things have come to this, let's eat first!"

"How about we go out for barbecue tonight?"

Chapter 222 Fiameta triggered PTSD!

Lateran, St. John's District, Central Hospital.

As the only hospital in the entire Stiveland district, the Stiveland Central Hospital is always packed with patients. This might sound a bit abstract; Sakorta lives in Laterano, which is supposed to be very safe, so why are people getting sick or injured so often?

Well, it's not a problem for ordinary people to think that way. But this is Laterano, where any common sense you have is highly likely to fail when you're dealing with a group of people who are purely there for enjoyment.

The St. John's Central Hospital does indeed have a lot of "customers," most of whom do not suffer from serious illnesses. More often, they are people who violated the Papal Court's decrees by setting off fireworks, firecrackers, bombs, and grenades without prior notification, or innocent neighbors who were injured due to improper handling.

To put it simply, most of it was self-inflicted.

However, the vast majority does not represent the whole, and Sakorta is not absolutely safe. In one ward of the St. Vincent District Central Hospital, there is a comatose "Sleeping Beauty" who is a regular patient.

"Remienne, we've come to see you."

Holding a bouquet of flowers, Mostima and Fiameta stood outside the intensive care unit, looking through the viewing window on the door at the thin figure on the hospital bed inside.

Remien, Mostima's former teammate, the older sister of Remien Exusiai whom Ernst recognized, a renowned sniper in the Papal Palace Operations Squad, the silent Remien. These are all the deeds Remien left behind in this world.

But now she is just a patient lying in a hospital bed, barely out of danger, but not knowing when she will wake up.

Mostima's attempt to ask the nurse to bring flowers into the room and place them on Remi's bedside table was ruthlessly rejected by the doctor. Mostima shrugged helplessly and joked to the dejected Fiame:

"I told you before, don't waste this money. Flowers can't be sent to the intensive care unit."

Fiameta ignored Mostima, her gaze never leaving Remian.

"If you really want to cheer her up, why don't you treat her to cake after she wakes up?"

“But when will she wake up?” Fiameta shouted angrily, interrupting Mostima and drawing sidelong glances from the doctors and nurses in the corridor.

Mostima quickly apologized with an apologetic expression, while Fiameta took a deep breath, barely suppressing the anger surging within him, her expression somewhat ferocious with gritted teeth:

"Andorn, that rude Lateran slang! Don't let me catch him. If I do, I'll strip him of his aura, tear off his wings, and slap him in the face!"

Mostima bared his teeth and couldn't help but hiss.

She noticed that when Fiameta said those words, her fist was so hard that you could see the veins bulging out.

She means it.

Thinking of the scene where Andorn's face was blasted into the sky by Fiameta's cannons, Mostima was interested, but also somewhat awe-inspiring.

Sarkaz may have wings, but he can't actually fly. Not to mention, Fiameta has declared he's going to dissect Andorn like a butcher carving up an ox; even if Andorn isn't killed by Fiameta's hand cannon, he'll probably fall to his death, right?

After seriously analyzing in his mind a thousand ways Andorn could die after encountering Fiameta, Mostima in reality wisely chose to change the subject:

“Fiameta, regarding the ‘Pioneer’ you mentioned, I asked a few old men in the Seventh Hall for you, and they take this news very seriously.”

The so-called Seventh Office, officially the Seventh Office of the Lateran Papal Court, is mainly responsible for Lateran's defense, intelligence, and diplomatic work. The special profession of messenger of nations is now nominally under the Seventh Office, but in reality, it is personally led by Pope Ivangelist XI.

Once Mostima said that, Fiameta understood.

What does it mean to say "they take this news very seriously"? It means they didn't have any relevant information before.

This is both good and bad news. It's good because Fiameta has uncovered just the tip of the iceberg of this mysterious organization spreading rumors within Lateran, a definite achievement that will likely place her name among the top names when the organization is eradicated and rewards are distributed.