Let go of that monster girl!

"The Countess did not question this statement at all; she probably didn't even consider whether the rats could survive."

-----------------

Aishan North Market.

The foreman rat, holding a large brass megaphone, stood amidst a group of female rats, squeaking and shouting:

"Look at the big blackboard! Look at the big blackboard, creak!"

The surrounding mouse girls whispered among themselves, discussing the matter quietly:

"I heard they're recruiting security rats?"

"What is that? Is it like the militia rat?"

"It should be different, squeak. Militia rats need to be trained for a long time."

The blackboard depicts the treatment of security guard rats, which is much lower than that of militia rats, but still higher than that of bricklayers. Next to them is a female rat holding a small stick, looking particularly cool.

The foreman rat banged on the blackboard with a large copper megaphone, making a loud clanging sound to get the rats' attention.

There was a piece of paper pasted on the blackboard. There were no words written on the paper, but a cute cartoon of a mouse girl was drawn on it, which clearly expressed the content of the question.

She pointed to the cartoon mouse girl on the left, who was eating candy, and the cartoon mouse girl on the right, who was raising her hand to report, and read out the first question on the blackboard:

"Squeak! First question! A vendor is selling unregistered desserts in the market. What should the security mouse do?"

Option 1: Confiscate it on the spot and stuff it into your mouth.

Option two: Record the vendor information, report it to the market management office, and hand it over to Boss Jimmy for processing.

"Those who choose the left side, stand on the left; those who choose the right side, stand on the right."

The mouse girls scratched their round ears, frowned, and looked troubled. Suddenly, one of the mouse girls in the pile raised her little hand.

"I know!"

Several militia mouse girls nearby immediately reached out their little hands to cover her mouth.

"Don't you dare say it out loud!"

The mouse girls quickly split into two groups, one on the left and one on the right, with a few in the middle looking back and forth, squeaking anxiously in place, before finally gritting their teeth and running to one side.

The question was quite simple. Most of the mice had seen how the cats were managed, so most of them got it right. The foreman mouse then announced the answer.

"Choose the mouse on the right to stay, and choose the mouse on the left to go back and study. Come back tomorrow."

"Ugh."

The mouse girls who were eliminated in the first round walked out with drooping ears and tails, looking back every few steps, full of regret.

The mice that had successfully passed the discussion test all turned to look at the blackboard. The foreman mouse reached out and tore off the paper, revealing the second question below.

"Two carts went out of control at the same time in the market. One was heading towards three female dogs, and the other was heading towards a female rat. The security guard only had time to stop one of them. Which one should he stop?"

The cartoon on the blackboard was drawn with exceptional detail. The dog girl on the left was drawn very small and looked quite frightened, while the mouse girl on the right was drawn very large and looked particularly fierce.

The mice stared at it for a long time, then frowned again, their tails curling into small circles, looking troubled.

"How do I choose?"

Neither of them is good.

"But we have to choose one that squeaks."

The mice chattered and paced back and forth in confusion, and this round indeed eliminated many female mice.

After four or five rounds, there were still more than ten rat girls left. They successfully became the first wave of security rats in the Dwarf Mountain Market.

The newly minted security mice have changed into their handsome little clothes and put on round, flat little hats with brims.

Each mouse was given a small stick and led by a security squad leader who had been transferred from the militia mice, they patrolled the market with great pride and swagger.

"Security! Security! The market is safe!"

The beast girls in the caravan were amused by the mice's earnest yet adorable appearance when they saw the small group approaching.

Then their gazes fell on the unusually colored short stick in the security team leader's hand, and they all gasped in shock.

The rat has a gun!

How can we make the rat girls as bold as big dogs, and the caravans as timid as little rat girls?

The answer is to give the mouse girl a gun.

The gun in the squad leader's hand was painted a very conspicuous red, double-barreled, with thick cast iron pipes, the diameter of which was so large that anyone who saw it would calm down.

This gun is exactly the same as the acid guns equipped by the militia rats, but it does not fire acid fireballs; its ammunition is currently hanging on the squad leader's waist.

A paper bullet, the warhead of which was a whole bag of lead pellets.

Beanbag bomb.

The entire mushroom bag was launched directly, causing no harm whatsoever, but even a dog girl would roll on the ground and howl if she was hit on the leg.

The newly appointed security rats followed behind their squad leader, whispering among themselves:

"What if someone steals the gun?"

"Then she'll have to eat a real sour shot."

The security rat squad continued its advance down the street, and the caravans all cast respectful glances at the short red stick.

The mice have candy coupons and guns, so there's no need for big banners or slogans. The shop counters automatically lowered to a height that the mouse girl could see clearly, and no one dared to deceive her anymore by saying that the mice couldn't read.

The abundance of candy coupons held by the mouse girls quickly attracted the attention of merchants, and various dessert shops sprang up like mushrooms after rain these days.

The Snake Girl's dessert shop displays layers of crispy honey cakes and nut rolls, with a rich aroma and exquisite style.

The dog girls' shop sells large portions, one of which is equivalent to two of others' portions. The dog girls themselves buy the most from them, and they also sell meat pies that the rats have never seen before.

The mouse girls also opened several small shops of their own. The stalls were clumsily set up and the words on the signs were often written incorrectly, but the prices were really cheap, which attracted the mouse girls a lot, and the business was booming.

The cat merchants sensed a crisis, but fortunately, Lord Moren had already given them guidance on another new line of business.

Cat Breakfast Shop, now open for business!

The breakfast stall is located next to the cat-themed dessert shop, extending out as a small stand with steamers and frying pans. Steaming hot food and fragrant aromas waft out on the wind, enticing every mouse girl who passes by.

The mouse girls, who were on their way to work, stopped in their tracks as they passed by, their mouths practically watering.

Two long queues quickly formed in front of the breakfast stall, with the rat girls standing on tiptoe, craning their necks, and anxiously peering ahead.

"Hurry up, hurry up, we're going to be late!"

"Hurry up, you rat in front!"

The cat merchant, wearing an apron, lifted the lid of the steamer, and steam billowed out. Inside, a beautifully arranged tray of steamed flower cakes was displayed, shaped by the cats into adorable forms that would please the mice, with round ears and round heads—clearly mouse girls.

Different types of lava fillings have different prices, and pastries without lava fillings are slightly cheaper.

On the other side of the line, the mouse at the very front was struggling to order:

"We want two rat biscuits, one with nuts and one without, and um, the other with dried fish."

The cat merchant spread the batter on the frying pan, and the rat-shaped cakes sizzled. There were all kinds of seasonings to choose from in the jars next to him.

The other beast girls were also attracted by the fragrance, and soon several tall, pointed ones appeared in the short group.

Mouse-shaped flower cakes taste better when they're hot, so let's eat them hot.

Fox Daifuku only dominated the market for a day or two before reverting to being just one of the best-selling flower cakes.

In the breakfast stall, one of the breakfast cats leaned close to the ear of the cat next to it and whispered mysteriously:

"We heard a secret from the cat manager, but don't tell the other cats, meow."

Chapter 156 School and Guerrilla

The first school built with aid in the southernmost part of Aishan, Tianluobo, has opened.

As the de facto sponsor, Molen was naturally invited to the opening ceremony.

The simple school was set up in a village at the end of the railway tracks, and it didn't take much effort to get there.

Sunlight shone through the village, which was dilapidated and run-down – that was Moren's first impression of it.

The village, like the rural market next to it, was in a state of disarray, and like the rural market next to it, it was rapidly changing because of the arrival of the railway.

The dilapidated church is being expanded, with wooden scaffolding erected around it, and local rat girls, temporarily recruited, are climbing up and down it carrying bricks and timber.

The school buildings were rented from several surrounding bungalows. The exterior walls were painted with lime, the windows were replaced with new wooden frames, and simple wooden signs and holy emblems were hung at the entrances.

The ragged farmer rat girls huddled together, with the tiny little rats hiding behind them, their round eyes fixed on the short mountain rat girls who were piling supplies onto the open ground.

In this era, there was naturally no formal concept of school semesters. School started almost always in late autumn or early winter, since children didn't have to stay home to help out during the off-season for farming.

The local rat-girl nun stood excitedly beside the pile of supplies, looking up at the church that was being renovated, down at the boxes and boxes of mushroom cakes, and then turning to look at Morren.

He must be an angel sent by the goddess!

They almost wished they could bestow upon him the title of saint on the spot.

News of the opening mass and Baron Moren's presence had already spread far and wide, and nearby caravans were eager to take this opportunity to pay homage to this legendary figure from the South.

Several local merchants gathered around Morren, with the round-faced beastwoman merchant rubbing her hands and flattering him:

"The Baron is so generous; the mouse girls of Sweet Radish Territory are truly blessed now."

“Nobles as devout and generous as the Baron are becoming increasingly rare.”

"Your care for the mouse girls will surely spread throughout the entire Sweet Radish Territory!"

The horse-woman knight secretly glanced at Morren and whispered to the merchant beside her:

"I heard that the Baron is still unmarried?"

"You'd better not even think about it. Look at those rat girls around him."

Molen didn't pay much attention to the chatter. He stretched out his hand, looking through his fingers at the bright sun in the center of the sky, enjoying the sunlight bathing him.

Ah, the sun!

Staying in a dark area for too long can make you forget that there is sunshine outside.

The brilliant sunlight pierced through the snow clouds, casting dappled beams of light onto the snow-covered rooftops.

So bright, so dazzling, it hangs eternally in the center of the heavens.

In Morren's eyes, the sun overhead overlapped with the giant, luminous sphere from his past life memories—so similar, yet so vastly different.

It hangs forever in the very center of the sky.

When Moran first discovered this as a child, he was so shocked that he couldn't eat for a whole day, but compared to many other strange things in the world, a sun that doesn't move isn't too strange.

Young Master Morren had considered various theories, such as tidal locking, artificial celestial bodies, dimensional portals, and even the flat Earth theory, but he had no way to verify them.

At least it's not some complicated and bizarre anomaly 001; it's probably just a lazy sun.

Molen squinted, recalling the square suns the mice had drawn.

The mice born in the dark zone have almost no idea what the sun looks like. I should take them out to see the world when I have the chance.

While Morren was staring blankly at the sky, the local ratwomen had already built an altar out of wooden crates and placed flowers and simple handmade decorations on it.

The mouse nun raised her little hands, trying to climb up, but she was too short and it took her several attempts to finally get up.

Finally standing on the box, the mouse-girl nun dusted herself off, steadied herself, unfolded a thick holy book, and began to read aloud in a clear voice:

"Cough cough."

"Praise the Goddess of Creation, for she gave life to all things."

"Praise be to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, whose reign brought prosperity to the kingdom."

"Praise be to Countess Carrot for her kindness, and for the people of her land who live in peace and prosperity."

"Praise be to Lord Morren for his generosity; his good deeds have provided sustenance for the poor mouse girls."

"The sacred texts record that the goddess said, 'Whoever gives bread to the hungry will be blessed forever, and whoever treats the weak with kindness will be favored by the light.'"

"May the goddess's glory shine upon us, may the queen's grace protect us, and may the earl and baron's kindness nourish us!"

Sister Mouse closed the holy book and solemnly raised her little hand:

"Squeak!"