When the first rest day of summer arrived, it rained all night in the Sorin area, and the haze lasted until the next day.
The towering Sorin tree stood proudly on this revived land. Its huge, fortress-like canopy covered the sky and the sun, covering one-third of Sorin Castle in the distance and the vast plains outside the castle. The giant tree blocked the rain all night, but a few streams formed after the rain flowed from the area covered by the giant tree. Along the low-lying areas between various research, storage, and industrial facilities, the streams meandered and gathered next to the newly built Druil Research Institute at the base of the tree trunk. Here, they gathered into a small pond, and finally flowed into the nearby holes formed by the tree roots that led to the depths of the ground, becoming part of the underground river.
Connected streetlights stood on both sides of the road, and a large number of high-power lighting equipment hung at the base of the giant tree's canopy. These artificial lights dispelled the large area of 'darkness' caused by the giant plant. Marguarita came from the sunny plains outside to the area covered by the tree canopy. She saw soldiers standing guard under the streetlights, and many people poking their heads out to look at the path between the houses.
Marguarita ignored them. She went through the sentry post, passed by the guards who saluted her, and came near the roots of the giant tree. A large number of vines and wooden structures separated from the trunk ingeniously 'grew' here into a small house. The vines connected to the roof wriggled slightly in the air like blood vessels. Two tall, green-eyed Ents stood in front of the house. They were almost taller than the spire of the house. In their thick and powerful hands, they held a group of railgun called the 'Gorgon Cannon'. Their trunks were covered with thick bark and wooden knots, and long steel nails fixed the magic net device that powered the cannon.
This small railgun, named after the Empire's most important life river, the 'Gorgon River', was a variant of the Persuader railgun. It was usually used on light mobile vehicles, but with a little modification, it could be used to arm large summoned creatures with great strength. Currently, this modification was only used on a small scale. One day, when the technical experts solved the problem of the summoned creatures' spell model, this type of weapon would be very useful.
The Ents did not react much to Marguarita's appearance. They just took a small step to the side, and there was a sound of wood and leaves rubbing against each other. Marguarita walked past their thick legs, and the door of the wooden house in front of her had already opened before she got close.
A group of wriggling vines' walked 'out of the house, and Bertilla appeared in front of Marguarita.
"How is Minister Noris?" The young female Knight immediately asked.
"She was unconscious for a while. She has just woken up, but it won't be long," Bertilla said calmly. "… today, Miss Marguarita.."
Marguarita's eyebrows were covered with a layer of dark clouds, and her voice subconsciously lowered. "Is there really no other way?"
"We have moved him here. I tried my best to use the power of the Solin Tree to keep him alive, but aging itself is the most difficult natural law to defy. Besides, Noris's situation is not as simple as aging," Bertilla said slowly. "In the past few decades, his body has been on the road of overdraft. This is normal for the poor, but his overdraft is so serious that it has reached the point where magic and miracles can't save him. In fact, it is a miracle that he is still alive today. He should have died last winter. "
Marguarita was silent for a moment, and then she took a light breath. "I want to go in and have a look."
Bertila looked at the female knight in front of him. Because of his inhuman mutation, it was difficult for him to show any expression. In the end, a hint of helplessness appeared on his face. "It's best for us to avoid all visits now, but … at this point, these measures are meaningless. And if it's you, Noris should be willing to meet you. "
Marguarita followed behind the former pope of All Things's Demise and stepped into the "Hut of Life" created by miraculous magic.
Under the illumination of some kind of luminous plant, the hut was maintained with just the right amount of light. A soft couch made of wood, vines, and leaves was placed in the middle of the hut. Marguarita saw Noris lying there, covered with a blanket, and several thin vines spread out from the blanket all the way to the ceiling.
Marguarita came to Noris and bowed slightly. "Minister Noris, it's me."
Noris saw the woman in front of him, and a smile slowly appeared on his wrinkled face. "Miss Marguarita … Thank you for taking care of me these days."
"Please don't say that. You are the most important person in the reconstruction area," Marguarita immediately said. "Without you, this land would not have recovered so quickly …"
"Everyone here is important." Noris' voice was very soft, but every word was still clear. "Miss Marguarita, I'm sorry, but I may not be able to finish some of the work."
"No, you still …" Margarita immediately blurted out, but when she looked at Norris's calm face, she swallowed the rest of her words.
Deep in the deep wrinkles and the dried flesh, the vitality had begun to flow out of the old man's body.
Noris just smiled. His eyes moved, and he slowly looked up, sweeping across the few furnishings in the small hut. Some specimens, some seeds, some manuscripts, and a crystal clear glass tube. A stalk of wheat that still maintained its green color stood quietly in the container, soaking in an almost transparent alchemy solvent.
"Actually, I don't have any regrets …" The old man said in a low voice. "If there are no major accidents, this year's harvest is guaranteed. We have avoided a terrible famine … The manuscripts on agriculture that His Majesty asked me to finish, but unfortunately, I don't have the energy to do the final sorting. But my apprentices and assistants have grown up, and they are very reliable … The government office has always been prepared. Even if I leave, there will be someone to replace me immediately …"
"Don't say too much at once," Bertilla's slightly stiff voice suddenly came from the side. "This will further weaken your strength."
"At this time, let me say a few more words." Noris shook his head very slowly and said with relief. "I know my situation … I have known for many years that I will probably die early. I have read books, and I have seen the world with the priests in the city. I know what will happen to a person who squeezes out all his strength in the field …"
Marguarita looked at the old man in front of her and slowly reached out to hold his hand.
She knew that the old man's final consciousness was coming to an end.
She heard a low and slightly muffled voice coming into her ears.
"… My family used to owe a lot of money, a lot of money … About the same as Knight's sword, or a small gem on a missionary's glove. Miss Marguarita, it was a lot, and we needed several carts of wheat to pay it back.
"That money allowed me to learn how to read, but at that time, learning how to read wasn't of much use. My father and mother died very early in order to pay off the debt, and I … spent most of my life working in the fields or doing hard labor for others. So I know how my body became like this, and I prepared for it very early.
"But at that time, there were many people like me, serfs and freedmen — poor freedmen, but they did not know. They only knew that the commoners would die very early, and the nobles could live for a century … The priests said that this was decided by God, and because the poor were lowly, they had a natural shortcoming in their lifespan, while the nobles could live for a century, which was the proof of their noble blood … Most people believed this saying.
"I can read, I have read books, I know what is going on, but it was useless at that time. The only thing I gained from being able to read was that I knew clearly what would happen to me in the future, but I could only keep my head down in the fields to dig potatoes and plant perilla, because if not, my family would starve to death.
"Miss Marguarita, you can't imagine that kind of life. I know you are a very good Knight, but there are some things that you really can't imagine."
Marguarita subconsciously held the old man's hand. Her lips quivered a few times, but in the end, she could only nod gently. "Yes, Minister Norris, I … I'm sorry."
"No, don't be sorry," Norris's eyelids drooped even lower than before. "Because it's not your fault. And the best thing is that those days are over, Miss Marguarita. Those days are over.
"Commoners don't have to do hard labor like my parents and I did in order to barely fill our stomachs. No one will take away two-thirds of our grain to pay taxes. We have the right to eat the fish we catch at any time, we have the right to eat white bread and sugar on a normal day, we don't have to kneel to the nobles on the roadside, and we don't have to kiss the shoes and footprints of the priests … Miss Marguarita, thank our King, and thank the many people like you who are willing to follow His Majesty. Those days are over.
"I just want to say, don't let those days come back.
"Miss Bertilla, I know that you've always had doubts about what we're doing. I know that you don't understand some of my 'paranoia', but I want to say … at any time, no matter what kind of situation we're in, feeding more people so that more people can live is the most important thing.
"I took the people in the agricultural department to do a large-scale calculation. We calculated the population and land, the consumption of grain and the current production of staple grains … and also the consumption and production after the population growth. We have some numbers, which are in the hands of my assistant. Please give them to His Majesty … You must give them to him. Hunger is the most terrible thing in the world, and no one should starve to death … No matter what happens, whether it is industry or business, there are some farmland that must not be touched, and we must not rashly change the staple grains …
"In addition, there is too little food suitable for planting in the north. Although the Sacred Plains is very fertile, our population will definitely increase greatly because almost all the babies will survive. We need the land in the south to feed these people, especially around the Gloom Mountain Range. There are many places that can be reclaimed …"
He suddenly coughed violently, interrupting what he wanted to say. Bertilla raised her hand almost instantly, and a powerful healing power, which was considered excessive for ordinary people, was released on Norris. Marguarita immediately moved closer to the old man's ear and said, "His Majesty is already on his way. He will be here soon, you can …"
Before she could finish her words, Norris shook his head and interrupted her.
The old man, who had already lowered his eyelids, looked up again. After a few seconds of silence and reminiscing, a smile suddenly appeared on his face.
"Ah, maybe … He didn't lie to me …" Norris's eyes lit up briefly, and he said with joy, "He didn't lie to me …"
"Minister Norris," Marguarita held the old man's hand and lowered her body to ask, "Who are you talking about? Who didn't lie to you? "
"The missionary … the missionary …" Norris murmured.
Noris murmured in a low voice. He felt his heavy body finally lighten a little, and in the blurry light and shadow, he saw his parents standing beside him. They were wearing the tattered clothes from his memory, standing barefoot on the ground. They had humble and slow smiles on their faces, because a man wearing the priest robe of the Goddess of Harvest was standing in front of them.
There were also some children and their parents standing nearby, and the elders of the village were standing behind the priest.
Everyone's faces were blurred.
The priest's face was also blurred, but Norris could hear his voice. The priest reached out his hand and rubbed the head of the child Norris. He seemed to smile and said casually, "This child is blessed by the land.
"This child is blessed to be with the land. He is blessed by the Goddess of Bumper Harvest."
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