People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Those who are rejected by Jeragand are not worthy to continue living on the land of Shelag.

This is something that needs no embellishment and cannot be embellished; it is the absolute bottom line in the hearts of all Sherag people.

"Do you dare?" she asked.

Ernst nodded: "I dare."

Chapter Fourteen: Preparations, the Rescue from the Execution Ground!

Manju Academy, Elder's Hall.

When Enya stormed into the Grand Elder's office, he was quietly sipping tea. Seeing the Holy Maiden's furious expression, he casually put down his teacup and asked curiously:

"Your Holiness, what has happened?"

Enya took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and questioned:

"Ernst is in trouble! Why haven't I heard anything about it?!"

"I don't quite understand what you mean, Your Grace." The Grand Elder looked confused. "Prime Minister Ernst is in trouble, but what exactly do you mean?"

"He was to prove his identity with the sacred stone in the Holy Mountain Square, or he would be exiled. Why was no one informed of this beforehand?!"

Enya said, and the Grand Elder immediately shook his head, looking as if he had just realized something:

"So you didn't know about this?"

"Nobody told me, how would I know!" Enya was amused and exasperated by the Elder's surprised expression. "Isn't it said that as a saintess, I have the right to know about everything related to Jeragund? Doesn't the self-evident proof of the Holy Stone count as a matter involving Jeragund?"

“Oh, indeed.” The Grand Elder nodded in affirmation, but immediately added, “Oh, I didn’t mean that the Sacred Stone itself proves it doesn’t belong to you. In fact, Your Holiness, you do have the right to know. Perhaps the maid who was responsible for informing the Holy Maiden’s Palace at the time thought it wasn’t something you needed to know.”

"But I need to know!" Enya gritted her teeth. "You're judging my brother!"

The Elder said, “But before this happened, the servants were unaware that you needed to know about it. After all, the servants are stupid and cannot possibly know in advance that the one who will be proving himself is the Holy Maiden’s own brother.”

"Is this why you kept it from me?"

"No, Your Holiness, no one is hiding anything from you," the Grand Elder denied righteously. "It's just that no one has decided to tell you."

Enya's lips twitched, and she almost couldn't hold back her anger and blurted out a curse:

"Does that make any difference?"

“Of course there is a difference, Your Grace. You are the agent of Jeragund, and no one can bear the responsibility of concealing things about Jeragund from you. But not reporting certain things to you is just a long-standing practice. You are very busy and do not necessarily need to do everything personally.”

“But I need to know everything!” Enya clenched her fist.

"Everything?" the elder asked calmly, confirming the question. After seeing the hint of hatred in Enya's eyes, he straightened his aged body, rose from his reclining chair, and walked into the temple. He took out a small ledger and read aloud, "Today, Manju Temple purchased 30 sets of incense and candles..."

Enya finally lost her temper and interrupted the Grand Elder's obviously feigned ignorance words:

"Elder, stop! You can't possibly misunderstand me. I need to know everything that's important!"

But the Grand Elder slightly raised his eyelids, looking up at the Holy Maiden before him, and said indifferently:

"I know, but who gets to define what's important?"

"Your Grace, is the land created by the oracle of Jeragand and the millions of Sherag citizens living on it more important, or is your unorthodox brother, who has only been in office for a short time and is already selling out the country?"

Enya's anger suddenly felt like a cork had been forcibly inserted into her throat, all of which got stuck there.

The elder put down the account book in his hand, leaned on his cane, and walked to Enya's side. His hunched figure exuded the intimidating pressure of someone who had long held a high position, and he slowly spoke:

“Your Grace, from the moment you were chosen to serve Jeragand, the name Shivaish has become irrelevant to you. You’d better think this through as soon as possible.”

"Don't even mention the unorthodox Ernst, even your brother, Ensiodis, if he dared to cross Sherag's bottom line, dared to disrespect Jeragand, or dared to be disrespectful to Manjusin, he would suffer the same fate!"

"God will punish them!"

He slammed his cane heavily on the ground, like a yamen runner wielding a stern rod, or an executioner holding a butcher's knife.

Tears welled up in Enya's eyes.

Admittedly, even she found it difficult to understand why Ernst would mortgage the land of Sherag to the Colombians, and why Enciodis not only did not stop him, but instead helped Ernst.

This is something that challenges the traditional values ​​of every Sherag person, something that is unacceptable to society.

But even though she didn't understand, she still supported Ernst.

This could be trust, indulgence, or guilt.

It was she who, on Ernst's first day in office, handed over the Sherag ledgers kept at the Manjusaka Institute to Ernst and expressed her support for him.

Since she has said so, the Holy Maiden will not go back on her word.

She stormed off to the Grand Elder, firstly to accuse Manju-in of deceiving her, and secondly to clarify Manju-in's stance on the matter. Now that the Grand Elder, representing Manju-in, had confirmed their position with no room for retreat, Enya felt there was no need to waste any more time there.

Let me think things through, let me turn back before it's too late?

"If I were that kind of person, I wouldn't have impulsively climbed this mountain and participated in that trial!"

She sniffed, her nose feeling stuffy, glared fiercely at the elder with a dark expression, and then turned and ran outside.

The fact that the Grand Elder doesn't support her doesn't mean she has no one she can trust in the Manju Academy! At least, Ya'er, who relayed Ernst's plight to her, is someone she can trust!

"Ya'er!"

Pushing open the doors of the Saintess's Palace, Enya looked at Ya'er, who was standing by the window in the room, seemingly deep in thought, and shouted loudly, her tone more resolute than ever before.

"The Grand Elder also wants to harm Ernst!"

Ya'er snapped out of her reverie, looked at Enya, and asked:

"What about you? What do you think?"

“Am I a saint? Can I represent Jeragand?” Enya asked.

Ya'er paused for a moment, but still nodded.

Enya immediately revealed a resolute smile:

“Then I will declare Ernst innocent on behalf of Jeragand during the Holy Stone Ceremony!”

Ya'er was stunned.

..............

"This is a serious crime!"

Nohis Edwis warned,

"Sending the Snow Demon army to attack the Holy Stone Ceremony? Is this really a plan you could come up with, Ensiodis! Wake up!"

"The training of the Snow Demons is far from complete, and we still need the intermediary of Karan Trade to continue developing in Shelag, expanding Tukarim's scale, and attracting more immigrants. Is it worth exposing our trump card for Ernst, and risking our expulsion from Shelag?"

Noxis Edwis's analysis was undeniably rational. In the past, such advice would often have been accepted by Enciodes. But this time, Enciodes merely gave him a cold glance before turning away:

“Nohis, you’d better think carefully about what you’re saying. If what you’re saying is true, then I also need to reconsider whether it’s ‘worth’ for you to stay in Karan Trading.”

As a child of the family suspected of murdering the former patriarch and patriarch of the Shivaesh family, namely the parents of Ensiodis and Ernst, Nosis receives a lot of cold stares wherever he goes, and it's not just because of his habit of speaking without regard to the occasion or his feelings.

If everything were analyzed according to his absolute rationality, then the person sitting next to Enthyodes offering advice would definitely not be called "Noxis Edwis".

Despite opposition, this is the most significant thing Enciodes did for Nosis.

This time, however, it was he himself who was being overruled by public opinion.

"Security, escort Mr. Nosis home. He is currently suspended and has no authority to participate in confidential meetings of the company's senior management."

Ignoring Nosis, who still wanted to say something, Ensiodis waved his hand, and two tall, burly security guards, one on each side, easily carried the much weaker Nosis out of the door.

Having dealt with this unexpected troublemaker, Enciodes turned his attention back to the people who had participated in the meeting.

Matthon, with his bronze skin and square face, is practically a standard burly man; Weiss, who also has healthy wheat-colored skin but is more like a cheerful messenger than a serious bodyguard; and Ensiodis' other trump card, the three-time consecutive champion knight hired from Kazimierz at great expense—Black Knight Mace.

Aside from Nosis, who was kicked out for questioning his boss's decision, almost all of Ensiodis's confidants had gathered here.

Their goal is quite simple.

"Command the mountain snow demons, who have not yet completed all their training, to surround Holy Stone Square and rescue Ernst."

"To put it in more colloquial terms, it was like—rescuing someone from the execution ground!"

Ensiodis said, his gaze sweeping over the three of them.

Who has that confidence?

“I can be responsible for scouting the defenses and confirming the evacuation routes,” Weiss said immediately.

“I can take command of the Mountain Snow Demon forces and deal with the Perroch family. I will not allow any of their reinforcements to enter Holy Stone Square,” Horned Matthon Yek promised steadily.

Ensiodis's gaze finally fell on the Black Knight Mace.

The blond knight in the black suit smiled slightly: "I never expected that my first task since being hired would be to do something like this."

Her expression turned serious, and she solemnly promised Enciodes:

"I will take responsibility for entering Holy Stone Square and rescuing Mr. Ernst. Rest assured, he will appear before you unharmed, I swear on my name!"

Enthiotis nodded.

Although it came earlier than he had expected, and his preparations were clearly insufficient, the die was cast and he had no choice but to proceed!

Ernst, I only hope that you won't let me down after I've gone to such great lengths to save you.

That was my initial investment in you!

Chapter Fifteen: That's the woman who could become my mother.

Ernst didn't have many supporters, which is already a very mild way of putting it.

Although he was not shackled, tortured, or even restricted in his personal freedom, Ernst experienced feelings that even prisoners rarely understand.

Sherag is a small place, and the concentration of human settlements in the lake area and woodlands greatly accelerates the flow of information, especially such earth-shattering events, which spread like wildfire, increasing at an abnormally rapid pace.

Soon, Ernst found himself living a life where he was gossiped about at home, cursed with pictures on his bungalow when he went to work, and would be pelted with feathered beast eggs and vegetables if he dared to go out without any bodyguards.

Feathered beast eggs and vegetables are very valuable in Sherag. As food for the winter, they can be used for purposes other than eating, which makes Ernst feel flattered.

Even so, Ernst still insisted on clocking in to work the day before the Holy Stone Trial began.

Ernst hung his winter coat on the coat rack, glanced around the otherwise empty, shabby office, and finally focused his gaze on the figure who shouldn't be there.

Good morning, Hugh Ruth.

With the same almond-colored hair as Latatos, the matriarch of the Brantau family, but possessing a more youthful vitality than the gloomy-faced lady, Hugh Ruth Brantau, the second-in-command of the Brantau family and one of Ernst's childhood friends, clasped her hands tightly on her lap, her bright glasses fixed on the boy walking towards the desk, and couldn't help but stomp her foot:

"You still have the mood to say good morning? Why don't you refuse?"

"Refuse what?" Ernst settled into his chair, looking helplessly at the girl on the sofa. "Does Yucatan know you've come here? Aren't you worried about getting him into trouble?"

"He's the one who sent me!" Hugh Ruth said irritably, then forcefully steered the conversation back on track: "Of course, it's to refuse the Holy Stone Judgment! How could my sister, that pregnant woman, treat you like this! You should have firmly rejected her, and then slapped her face, no, slapped her stomach!"

Ernst's lips twitched, thinking to himself, "What kind of brand new way of playing is this?"

But he shook his head: "It's no use. What good would it do if I refused? Does Yucatan have any other way to convince them that what I'm doing is right?"

Hugh Ruth's voice faltered; clearly, Yucatan hadn't told her about this method. But Hugh Ruth had always been a stubborn person; even though she'd never argued with anyone her entire life—she'd always won an argument with Ernst—she remained relentless.

"Even so... you still can't accept it! Everyone knows what the Holy Stone Judgment is all about! How long has it been since the great god Yeragand manifested? Isn't the Judgment decided by the Manju Institute?"

"Yes." Ernst nodded.

Hugh Ruth knew this, Yucatan knew this, and naturally, he knew it too.

Jeragand's last appearance was hundreds of years ago. If it weren't for the fact that Sherag still enjoys His protection and has never suffered from natural disasters, people might have already begun to question His existence.

Even so, the long-term disappearance of the gods caused a series of problems for Manjuin, who was the god's representative.

The Grand Elder's lust for worldly power is just a small example; there are many more issues, manifested in finance, culture, and even the military.

The reason for all this is very simple: absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Judicial trials are one of the many powers that the Manju Institute holds that should belong to the current Sherag government.

The principle of the Holy Stone Trial is to send those who are highly suspected, suspected of being guilty but difficult to execute, to the miracle left by Jeragand, to confess their deeds, and to await Jeragand's oracle for judgment.

This may seem like handing over the power of judgment to the gods, but in practice, there are simply too many details that can be "manipulated".

For example, it could involve making a suspected guilty person publicly confess their crimes before the Sacred Stone. If someone is qualified to go to the Sacred Stone Square to receive divine judgment, their social standing is already quite high. By doing so, even if the oracle ultimately acquits them, their political reputation and public standing have already plummeted.