When Sandora and I rushed to Sylvia's dessert shop, she was busy tidying up the counter. It seemed like a batch of customers had just been sent away. I could even see Sylvia's homemade dessert-making tools on the counter. The tools hadn't been cleaned in time, so they were covered in bright jelly.
Sylvia's shop was only surrounded by a tranquil atmosphere, but it wasn't completely deserted. The Mass Produced Bubbles in the military camp, Osaka's sisters who were a few streets away, and with the development of the macro world, there were more and more naughty kids from other worlds in the Imperial Army Military Academy. These were all loyal customers who frequented the shop. Even though their numbers weren't large, they still brought a bit of fame and popularity to this magical 'forbidden shop', so Sylvia didn't need to rely on subsistence to eat. Usually, around 10 am was the time when the Mass Produced Bubbles in the military camp changed shifts. At this time, Sylvia's shop would always welcome and send a few batches of Schilling Main Systems. Those Main Systems with strange behavior lived simple lives. Even though they had a completely different hobby than normal Mass Produced Systems, they would only come here to pick the cheapest desserts or candies. There were a few times when I saw Mass Produced Systems lying in front of the counter, waiting for Sylvia to wrap them a few pieces of the most ordinary white cream cake. However, the situation today seemed a little different. On Sylvia's counter were the homemade tools used to make desserts, and she even used the best jelly. It was obvious that she had just finished a huge project.
As for how I determined that it was the best jelly, it was because if I hadn't held it tight, Sandora would have already rushed up to the counter and gnawed it clean.
"Yo, business seems to be good today?"
Originally, when I came here, I was filled with the idea of calling Belavilla out to discuss some matters. However, the moment I came to this small shop, my impatient mood instantly calmed down. Apart from Shadora, who seemed to have been reincarnated as a hungry ghost, I calmly greeted Sylvia. 'What a magical girl. A large area around her is covered in a Halo of Tranquility that's almost at the level of a natural law. I have sufficient reason to believe that if this girl stands on the Pacific Ocean, the entire world's monsoon of the next year might stop …
"Just so-so. A few batches of mass produced mainframes just arrived and asked for the best carved cakes. They even used jam to write some words on them. It took me half a day to get them." The silver-haired girl swiftly cleaned up the counter and put the small tools into her dimensional pocket. Her mouth rattled like popcorn as she spoke. Then, she poured herself a glass of water and smiled brightly at us. "I'm Belavilla. It's not like you don't know Sylvia. By the time she's done making 20 servings of exquisite cakes, half of those mass produced mainframes would have starved to death. She asked me for help the moment the customers arrived. "
Sandora, who was grinding her teeth and slurping her saliva a second ago, immediately adjusted her expression and sat upright. Her expression was as solemn as a female diplomat who was about to meet with the ambassadors of hundreds of countries. She sat on her usual seat and nodded slightly at Belavilla. "I can't stand it anymore. Do you dare to move your eyes away from the counter?"
"That's enough." Belavilla quickly took out a large pile of ready-made pastries from behind the counter as if she had practiced this hundreds of times. She used teleportation to pile them directly in front of Sandora. "I saw everything when you came in just now. Besides, why are you still pretending at this time? The three of us are emperors … Yeah, although I am retired."
"To be honest, if you are willing, Sandora and I will immediately give you an army and a bunch of colonies. Right now, the Empire is short on manpower. We can't wait to have a skilled worker like you to share the burden."
I said very sincerely, without the slightest hint of falsehood in my words. The leadership of the Empire has always been in a state of overstretched. The colonies are getting bigger and bigger, and the worlds under the direct jurisdiction of the Empire are slowly increasing to nearly double digits. (Excluding the highly developed worlds like the Civilization Community, there are also a few new universes that have been scanned by the command. Because they are rich in resources and the overall level of civilization is relatively low, they have already been listed as the direct jurisdiction of the Empire.) Moreover, when the Empire recovers, there are still a lot of troublesome matters to deal with. Me and Sandora can only be counted as one and a half labor force. Sandora's extraordinary performance is counted as one and a half, and I can round it off …
In this kind of situation, if there is a former Emperor who is familiar with the affairs of the Empire and has ample experience in governing the Empire, it would be a great help. Belavilla seems to fit the requirements. Although she was once a Fallen Apostle, I am not worried about that. Sandora is still half an Abyss creature. I am very confident in my aura.
"Don't. It is not easy for me to live such an easy life. It is quite interesting to open a shop next to the military camp and sell snacks and sweets." Belavilla quickly waved her hand as I expected. "Besides, between you and Sandora, who can accept an Emperor who gives himself six days off every week? Don't forget that my current master is Sylvia. She wants to wield great power … "
I thought about it and couldn't help but shiver. "Perhaps the effect is similar to Shallow Shallow's Time Stop."
"Alright, alright. I don't want to continue this topic. You must have something important to discuss with me at this time, right?" Belavilla looked at Sandora with a burning gaze. "After all, there is still some time before lunch."
Sandora instantly glared at Belavilla, who dares to ridicule anyone. The latter stared back fearlessly. I realized that as my soul gradually recovered, Belavilla's temper and personality were becoming more and more vivid. She must have been a black-bellied and provocative person back then. So, I quickly reached out and persuaded, "You two don't have to argue on this topic. Sandora, you don't have to worry about your appetite. Think about your contributions to the economy of Earth and the cleanliness of our kitchen. Belavilla, you too, this shop was specially approved by us. Aren't you afraid that Sandora will raise the rent and electricity bills?"
In the end, Belavilla wilted in an instant. "You are ruthless. I don't think there will be another person who can threaten the former Queen of the Empire with rent. What are you trying to do?"
Seeing that the joke was over, Sandora and I quickly told her about our conjecture about the 'timetable'. It was mainly about the history of the Fallen Apostles after the collapse of the Old Empire. Of course, it would be even better if she knew why the Fallen Apostles woke up at the same time as me.
"Timetable … After connecting all these things together, it seems that there really is such a pattern." Belavilla lazily leaned against the small rattan chair by the window and glanced at me with a smile. "After the collapse of the Old Empire, many things were in a mess. My memory isn't very clear either. There is only one main thread that I can be sure of. The Shiring Apostles who were infected at the beginning were in an extremely chaotic state. The group of old fellows and I who built the Archive Hall were able to maintain our consciousness for the first few decades due to our powerful individual strength. When the last surviving leader level Apostles built the Holy Church, the uncontrollable Imperial Army was attacking our own territory. After that, the Archive Hall project failed. Our group of leader level Apostles gradually fell into madness. After that, I don't have any clear memories. When we woke up as the Fallen Apostles, it should already be the end of the thousand year pursuit that you just mentioned. In other words, the reason why the fleet of exile escaped from the pursuit of the Fallen Apostles was because the Fallen Apostles who were in a frenzied state were gradually regaining their ability to think."
"From a group of lunatics who couldn't think, to a group of calm and cruel lunatics."
Sandora said calmly.
"That's a pretty accurate summary." Belavilla nodded in agreement. "That's right."
"After that, what were you guys doing?" Sandora looked at Belavilla with a serious expression. "If you guys regained your consciousness as the Fallen Apostles a thousand to two thousand years after the collapse of the Old Empire, there would still be a long period of time before the revival of the New Empire. Did you guys not take any action during that period of time?"
Belavilla's expression slowly changed. She was trying hard to recall that period of time when she wasn't very clear-headed. Then, she slowly said, "It was a strange state. We were conscious, but we didn't have the desire to take action. It was as though something was obstructing the thinking of all the Fallen Apostles. We were still active, but we rarely left the huge chaotic area left behind after the collapse of the Old Empire. Occasionally, we would be ordered to send out some small fleets with unclear mission objectives. They would just wander aimlessly in the void for a while before hurrying back … It was as though …"
"It was as though the entire race was sleepwalking." Sandora used a single word to accurately summarize the strange state that Belavilla was talking about. The latter immediately nodded repeatedly. "Yes, sleepwalking! We seemed to be very clear-headed, but we just didn't know what we were doing. This state was extremely serious at the start, as though the entire race had stiffened before slowly becoming 'normal'. As for the current state, the time when all the Fallen Apostles began to carry out all kinds of large-scale missions, as well as the start of the great cause that they were mumbling about, was one to two hundred years before the awakening of the New Empire … In other words, it was almost the same time that Chen became the Emperor. "
… I really can't accept this group of people who don't take a few hundred years seriously. Don't treat a hundred years as nothing!
Even though I don't have the qualifications to criticize them anymore.
"I suddenly thought of an extremely important question." Sandora took a light breath. "When did the 'Lord' you mentioned before, who is the mastermind behind the entire Fallen Apostle camp, appear?"
My gaze immediately sharpened. Damn it, why didn't I think of this question?
Then, my body turned cold. A certain terrible conjecture suddenly emerged in my mind. I thought to myself, It can't be that melodramatic, right? If that so-called Lord just happened to appear one to two hundred years before my awakening, then this matter would instantly cause me to scratch my heart.
Belavilla seemed to have guessed what I was thinking. She swept her provocative gaze over to me. She swept her gaze over to me until I was about to double her rent for this month. Only then did she slowly speak, "In my memory, the first time that voice appeared was after we recovered our consciousness in the state of the Fallen Apostles. In other words, it has already been several tens of thousands of years since then."
Alright, I heaved a sigh of relief in my heart. It seems that the deceiving Lord has nothing to do with me … Err, theoretically speaking, that's the case. Speaking of which, I should be relieved. What's with this uncomfortable feeling?
"Specifically waiting for the Fallen Apostles to recover their consciousness before taking over the authority of the Empire. Or could it be —" Sandora and I looked at each other. "That so-called 'Lord' is the reason why the Fallen Apostles recovered their consciousness from their frenzied state?"
"Who knows? 'It' just happened to be stuck at that time. Either situation is possible," Belavilla said and suddenly dozed off. "Hurry up, I'm going to go over soon. When Sylvia wakes up, she will be worried to death. I have three minutes at most. I have to go over after three minutes."
Sandora and I exchanged glances. We felt that there was nothing more to ask, so we replied in unison, "Go to hell!"
Belavilla exploded, intending to protest. However, because she suddenly lost all of her strength, her eyes blurred halfway through her body. By the time she leaned half of her body over the table, she had already closed her eyes. Then, she smashed her head down with Sylvia's identity. Sandora quickly took away her cake and drink. The unlucky Silver-Haired Mole slammed onto the table with a 'dong' sound.
The magical Sylvia lay there for a full five to six seconds. Just as I was considering whether she had fainted from the impact and was about to pour cold water on her, she slowly woke up. The previously shrewd silver-haired girl had already turned into a sluggish and sleepy expression. When she saw the large pile of plates next to Sandora, she immediately clasped her hands together and said pitifully, "You guys still haven't eaten your fill?"
The last time I brought Sandora here for a meal, Sylvia didn't open her shop for an entire week …
In the end, Sandora and I were sent out by Sylvia with tears in her eyes. Before we left, Sandora successfully swept away the shop's last remaining stock of finished pastries. If it wasn't for me pulling her back, Her Majesty the Queen probably wouldn't even let go of the raw flour and egg paste in the kitchen. When she left, Sylvia's face had an obvious expression of joy from surviving a disaster — because her counter was finally saved.
Just as the two of us were preparing to take a stroll in a small park to digest, we bumped into an old friend we hadn't seen for a long time at the corner of the street. It was a clear and shiny silver-white metal ball.
The large ball floated in mid-air. On its surface were written the words' Front ',' Top ',' Keep away from moisture ',' Don't press too hard 'and' Stack level: 5 'in red paint. I was stunned when I saw it. Then, with a dark expression, I said to the large metal ball, "Bibolu, who wrote this on your body?"
The large metal ball floated up and down in mid-air, as if it was greeting me and Sandora. Then, it replied in a muffled voice, "Archbishop Liliana said that these things can help me survive among other races, but I still feel that something is wrong."
I should have thought of it earlier …
"Are you used to living in the City of Shadows?"
I hadn't seen Bibolu for a while. Although he had been living in the City of Shadows recently, he was very busy with his daily affairs. Ever since Fina stepped down from her position as Queen, Bibolu, the former Prime Minister of the Kingdom, became the Archon of the Civilization Community (70% of the Archons of the Civilization Community were originally the leaders of the various races. The remaining 30% were replaced by the second-in-command of the various races because the leaders of some races died in the battle of the Great Nebula or abdicated like Fina). Fina, who had once made a huge sacrifice for the freedom of the Kingdom, was now living a rural life in Avalon that she had been dreaming of for a long time.
"It's alright." Bibolu gently swayed his body. "I just watched a horror movie a few days ago, and I'm still a little uneasy. Maybe this is the reason for the difference in culture. I really can't understand why people would have an appreciation and love for horror."
I was very curious. "Horror movie? What did you watch? "
I burst out laughing the moment he opened his mouth. He had watched a snooker tournament the entire night.
Of course, in Bibolu's words, the essence of the match was two people using a stick to hit twenty-two balls. He was extremely frightened by it. I was very glad that he didn't watch the World Cup. That was even more ruthless, twenty-two people kicking one ball …
"Speaking of which, I might have a mission that is more suitable for you." Perhaps it was due to my recent tendency to worry about the country and its people, I didn't chat much with the other party before I suddenly switched to proper business. Looking at Bibru's clear and shiny outer shell, I felt that the other party met my requirements from all aspects. "Are you interested in serving as a special foreign affairs officer for a period of time?"
"Foreign affairs officer?" Bibolu trembled on the spot. "Does the Empire have such an establishment?"
I thought for a moment and nodded. "I just did. It's mainly about the recent matters regarding the exile fleet. You should have already received the news."
The information regarding the exile fleet was classified as B grade in the Empire's information system. In other words, other than the Shiring Apostles, the leaders of the other vassal races also had the authority to read it. Bibolu was also a special lifeform. He could be on the Empire's network at any time, so he should know about the exile fleet.
After receiving Bibolu's confirmation, I told him my plan. "You should also know that the exile fleet is a very sensitive issue in the Empire. The Shiring Apostles can't directly contact them from their standpoint. Of course, they are also unwilling to have any deep contact with the Empire. At the very least, they won't be able to communicate normally for at least one or two generations. So, I hope to choose some people from the vassal races to be responsible for this matter. It would be equivalent to a buffer and a middleman."
Bibolu was indeed someone who used to be a prime minister. He immediately understood what I meant.
"Your task is very simple. Help them build a home, familiarize themselves with the new environment, and then subtly convey the situation of the New Empire to them," I explained. "I hope to at least let the exile fleet have a more accurate understanding of the New Empire in the next few years. At the same time, let them have good communication with the 'brother civilizations' of the Macro World."
This process sounded very simple. Since the exile fleet was unwilling to come into direct contact with the Imperial Army, I would let them come into contact with the vassal races of the New Empire. Since a portion of the exile fleet was originally a vassal race of the old Empire, it should be easier for them to accept the latter. Furthermore, the vassal races of the New Empire had a culture of helping each other from the very beginning. This culture was something that I had accidentally started, and now it had become a part of the scenery of the New Empire. I believed that this kind of atmosphere would greatly soothe the nerves of the exile fleet. At the very least, they would be able to cross out the idea of "Down with the Xiling Empire" from their elementary school textbooks …
Bibolu readily agreed to my request. After obtaining authorization from me and Sandora, he began to arrange for the necessary manpower. Just as I was about to return, I suddenly received an urgent message from Icetis in our mental connection.
"Chen! Hurry home! The highest and most invincible emergency star-marked express delivery in the God Realm — A letter personally written by God Father! There's also a troublesome fellow. Hurry up and help out … "
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