People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

As a result, even though the people of Cavalegliaki have entered a stage of hedonistic and decadent entertainment, social power has not yet been truly manipulated and monopolized by "big capitalist oligarchs".

To some extent, the reason why capitalists vigorously promote the concept of knightly competitions and hype up the trend is not only because knighthood is one of the characteristics of Kazimierz, but also because they want to use this, and can only use this, as a basis to use the "knighthood" defined by capital to shake and corrupt the foundation of another group of knights who represent tradition, in order to achieve the goal of "seizing power".

This power, representing traditional knights, is probably the only force currently capable of deterring these capitalists and their "Unarmored Alliance."

"You mean the Council of Supervisors?"

Hinterlea replied thoughtfully.

Without a doubt, she was also an unwitting but active participant in this invisible wave of change, and she was the one who could best feel what external forces were opposing her when she was a competitive knight.

They refused to issue honorary certificates to certain knights with bad records, regularly reviewed and investigated the qualifications of certain knightly order members, rejected the holding of certain highly controversial competitive matches, and obstructed the approval of the application submitted by the Commercial Federation to the National Assembly for the development of a new arena.

These seemingly ordinary examples, which Hinterlanda had previously criticized as "stubborn old-fashioned," immediately flashed through Hinterlanda's mind after Ernst's prompting.

She stated definitively, "If any organization dares to oppose the Commercial Federation and the Unarmored Alliance in Kazimierz, it would only be the Supervisory Council! Because they are composed of old-guard knightly nobles like Nearl, and because the violent organization they control is the army, the war knights!"

Ernst nodded with satisfaction, revealing an expression that showed he knew the boy well.

The Supervisory Council—if it weren't mentioned, it wouldn't be a problem, but now that it's brought up, a figure suddenly flashed through Ernst's mind.

As we all know, Ernst recognizes Ark characters almost entirely through memes, but there is one character who can be considered one of the most meme-worthy characters since the game's launch.

The Winged Dragon of Ra from the new Three Kingdoms, Humble Office Worker, My Ranger Uncle, Newspaper-Reading Zombie, and Ma Bao Man!

"Old man, old man!"

"It's up to you!"

Chapter Thirty-Two: What you love is your life.

“Mr. Marner, there is a letter for you.”

The messenger rang the courtyard doorbell and spoke into the pager.

A slightly tired male voice came from within:

"So early? A letter? Wait a moment."

A moment later, a blond man wearing a wrinkled leather trench coat opened the door, came to the courtyard gate, and took the letter:

"Thank you."

He was about to turn and leave when the messenger called him back:

"You're welcome. Um, Mr. Marner, the postage is payable upon delivery."

Marna paused, glanced at the envelope in her hand, and then at the postman.

If he remembers correctly, the postage for such a letter, even if it's international mail, should be less than a few dozen yuan, right?

Who would send themselves a letter, and even choose cash on delivery?

Confused, Marna frowned. After confirming there were no advertisements on the envelope, she took out her wallet and paid the postman. Three Kasimir rupees, the price for same-city delivery.

Holding the mail, he returned home, sat on the sofa, glanced at the clock on the wall—it was already eight o'clock—placed the letter on the table, turned and went upstairs to Maria's bedroom door.

"Time to get up, Maria. Eat breakfast and get ready for school."

A long, drawn-out murmur and pleading sound came from the room, but Marna ignored it. After a long while, Maria's language system finally restarted successfully at a speed exceeding that of 1% of children nationwide, and she answered:

"Okay, Uncle, I'm getting up."

Marna then went downstairs, heated up the sausage and bacon, and placed them on a plate along with the freshly baked bread and warm milk from the kitchen. He then brought the plate to the table, where Maria, who had already changed into her school uniform, was sitting down. She greeted Marna with a "Good morning, Uncle."

“Hmm.” Marna nodded, returned to the sofa, and was about to pick up the newspaper when she remembered the letters on the coffee table.

Three rupees is not expensive, but it's enough to make an impression on a quiet morning.

"There's no writer or address, only my name. Is it someone I know?"

A series of old friends flashed through her mind without her noticing. For a moment, she couldn't think of anyone who would do something so tasteless. So she took off her keychain and used the vintage-looking folding scissors on it to open the envelope.

The envelope contained nothing superfluous, just a thin sheet of paper and a brief message.

[To Marna Linguang]

[I understand you've been searching for your elder brother, Snitz Nearl, and his wife, Yolanta Nearl. I have some leads, and I'm honored to share them with you. If you're interested, please meet me at McCaswick Café, 10 Oak Avenue, on the afternoon you receive this letter. The code word is, 'What you love is your life; when will the lemons turn sour?']

[Your loyal fan – Sherag Top Lane]

After scanning the contents of the letter, Marner's first reaction was, "What is this?"

Without a doubt, this was indeed his first reaction. Anyone who received such a cryptic letter early in the morning would be somewhat perplexed, especially by the strange code at the end.

Their code words are things like "cobra, oyster shell", "heavenly king covers the earth tiger, chicken stew with mushrooms", "find 0, I'm 1" and so on.

What is this code you're using?

And the signature is bizarre too. "Sherragh Top Laner"? Isn't Sherragh a small, underdeveloped country bordering Kazimir? What's a "top laner" anyway?

But after his initial confusion, he still managed to extract some useful information from the letter, such as the fact that they knew his secret.

Marner never gave up searching for his elder brother, Snitz Nearl, who disappeared during a secret operation. This was not only because he was Margaret and Maria's father, but also because he refused to believe that these two rising military stars of the new generation in Kazimierz could simply vanish without a trace!

But this has always been his secret, known to almost no outsiders. To outsiders, Marner Nearl has accepted reality, becoming a lowly, single, unmarried woman with two children, constantly being yelled at by her boss and clients over the phone. Even if a few people remain wary or hopeful of him, they will never know his true thoughts.

But the person who wrote this letter, [Sherag Top Laner], knew about it and was even certain that he would use it as a request to meet with him.

What does he, or they, want to do?

Marna hesitated for a moment, then carefully folded the letter again and put it back in the envelope. After a brief pause, she looked up at Maria, who was slowly sipping her milk, and said:

"Maria, I have some things to do this afternoon and I might not be able to pick you up. You can go home by yourself after class."

"Are we going to have to work overtime again?" Maria looked up and asked, pouting.

Marner hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "It's related to what I've been doing."

Maria, being sensible, didn't ask any more questions: "Okay, could you bring me an HFC meal when you come back?"

Marna frowned, initially wanting to say that girls should eat less high-calorie food, but after thinking about it, she agreed, "Okay."

Maria immediately finished the milk that usually takes her ages to finish, beaming with joy, and then cheerfully slung her backpack over her shoulder.

"Will you still drop me off in the morning?"

“Hmm.” Marna nodded and put the envelope into her purse.

I'll ask for leave this afternoon. I don't have many days off left, and I hope the person who wrote the letter won't disappoint me.

...........

In the afternoon, at 10 Oak Avenue, McCaswell Cafe.

With bandages still wrapped around her thigh, Hinterlea sat alone at a table in a cafe overlooking the street, gazing out at the bustling street through the glass wall.

Her outfit was somewhat eye-catching in the coffee shop. Even passersby outside the coffee shop would unconsciously cast curious glances at this beautiful girl who looked a little sickly after noticing her.

Fortunately, Kazimierz is not a conservative Sherag. Nowadays, the social atmosphere is exceptionally open. Although such an outfit is novel, it is not too abstract or unconventional. Although it can attract attention, it will not draw excessive attention.

Of course, Hintley herself had no interest in returning the gaze of the passersby. Holding her already warm coffee cup, she was quietly communicating with Ernst on the other end of her earpiece.

"Mr. Ernst, is Marner really coming? He's a big shot in the Nearl family."

She asked somewhat uncertainly. If the fact that Prime Minister Sherag was still a foreign leader felt somewhat unreal to her, then the Linguang family was a truly prestigious family in Kazimierz!

Although this prominent family seems to have encountered some economic problems recently, everyone knows that a family that can be written into history textbooks, no matter how poor it becomes within three generations, can it really fall to such an extent?

They still live in large villas with courtyards, and the same fences that keep strangers out are placed outside the courtyards. Those few steel bars and sheets are so much more luxurious than those in rental houses!

Would someone like that really be willing to show up and lend a hand?

On the other end of the headset, Ernst replied with considerable confidence, "Yes."

This confidence wasn't for himself, but for Marner.

This ruthless person, who would use all of her savings from the past three years and her annual leave to search for her brother and sister-in-law, would certainly not let go of any clue.

Even if his letter was highly suspicious, he would definitely come once he opened it and read its contents!

Therefore, Ernst specifically arranged for the mail to be sent via cash on delivery.

Nothing is more memorable than spending money on something!

"Don't worry, just wait a little longer."

Ernst reassured her, but before he could finish speaking, a soft gasp came from Hinterlea's side.

"he came!"

Outside the Letanian-style café, a tall, thin figure in a wrinkled leather trench coat pushed open the glass door and stepped inside.

Marna glanced around the café, making sure she didn't see anyone she recognized, before turning to the approaching waiter and saying:

“What you love is your life.”

The waiter nodded knowingly and led him to the table at the Centre.

The silver-haired girl tilted her head slightly, calming her excitement at Ernst's successful prediction, and slowly spoke in the most solemn tone of her life:

"When do lemons turn sour?"

Chapter Thirty-Three: When you step through this door, my purpose has already been achieved.

Putting aside the inexplicable discomfort caused by the confusing code words, Marna pulled out a chair and sat opposite Hinterlea. Her pale golden eyes reflected the silver-haired girl's pale face, which was full of scrutiny.

After a moment, he spoke, asking the question that mattered most to him:

"who are you?"

"You all, not you." Even though Hintleya's long, white hair obscured her ears and the wireless earpiece embedded within them, Marna still asked this question.

This is an easy conclusion to draw—compared to the battered and bruised Hinterlea, he is more convinced that the young girl is merely a mouthpiece, relaying information about the deal to some powerful, shady figure behind him.

What Marner wanted to know was the identity of this important figure in order to assess the feasibility of the deal and to guess the price he might have to pay.

The leave should not be less than the cost of taking this leave, nor more than the annual leave and salary you have painstakingly saved.

A wage slave has a clear price tag in his heart.

At the same time, sound also came through the headphones of the Psyche.

Ernst was not surprised that Marner could see through the clues; he calmly asked Hintleya to relay his words:

"My identity and purpose have been written down in great detail in the letter I sent to you."

In the letter?

Marner frowned. The contents of the letter flashed through Marner's mind again in the leather bag that was currently sitting on the coffee table, leaning against the glass wall.

Middle-aged people's memories are not very good, but fortunately, the abstract and strange nature of the letter allowed Marner to recall its entire contents without having to read it a second time.

He caught the only word that could possibly represent his identity and asked incredulously, "Top laner, Sherag?"

“In Victorian, TOP also means the summit. The summit of a mountain, the pinnacle of power.”

Ernst laughed, and the voice of will was spoken by Hinterlea, who also revealed her identity.

At the summit of Kjerag stands the Matterhorn, the great god Jeragund, and also the embodiment of their will—Prime Minister and Holy Son, Ernst Shivaesh.

Marner looked shocked, his expression thoughtful as if he were pondering something. After a long pause, he asked hesitantly:

"Who?"

Using a little trick to reveal one's identity is a very cool thing. If Ernst's identity were something like Prince Victoria, Elector of Letania, or Vice President of Colombia, perhaps Marner's surprise would be much more normal.

Unfortunately, the politics of peculiar little countries have never been of much interest. Just as you might not know who the president of a country of upright people is today, whether he is a scoundrel or a benevolent ruler, Marner was indeed not very clear about the fact that Sherag had produced a prime minister.

On the other end of the headset, Ernst remained silent for a long time, looking quite hurt. Hinterlea seemed to hear him pounding on the wall or the pillow.

After a moment, he said:

“I am Ernst Shivaesh, the Prime Minister of Shelag, and the young lady in front of you is my employee.”

"The reason we found you is because she was inexplicably hunted down by the Unarmored Alliance. I believe the Linguang family wouldn't simply think the Unarmored Alliance is just an urban legend."

Marner nodded knowingly. The other party's openness was clearly beneficial to the transaction. He replied:

"So, Mr. Prime Minister, what is your purpose?"

"I am just an ordinary company employee. If you are hoping that I can help this young lady escape the pursuit of the Unarmored Alliance, then you are probably going to be disappointed. I do not have the ability to do such a thing."

“Marna doesn’t have it.” Ernst nodded in agreement, then changed the subject, “But Nearl does.”