Attending formal occasions has never been Cheese's forte, and he hated all kinds of etiquette classes as early as his time in the Grey Tower. That's not to say that he thinks these etiquettes are useless, on the contrary, cheese knows that elaborate rituals and elegant conversation are extremely important to its users. But he never thought he would be one of them, he never thought he would be a man in power. Because he is a spellcaster, he only wants to explore the unknown side of this world, not waste energy and time on the known side.

So, when Gloria offered to have Cheese say something to the rat people at the beginning of the festivities, the mage was in a rather awkward position. Especially when the Nezumi Baroness had already spoken a near-perfect opening sentence before him. Although the nezumi's facial expression was difficult to guess, Cheese had plenty of reason to believe that Gloria's smile was not all ceremonial smiles, and she must have felt heartfelt pleasure in taking a small revenge on her closed mentor in this way.

Cheese looked at the rat men gathered in the underground plaza, their eyes reflecting the light from the torches. This scene will make people who don't know anything about the nezumi feel creepy, but the few people standing higher in the square know that they are not facing a bunch of hairy monsters, they are also living humans like themselves. Coupled with the information that Gloria had just told him, Cheese already knew very well why the Lady had brought herself to the scene of this festival at the expense of getting rid of Elsa this time. So, he cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Today is the fifth celebration. At this time five years ago, Ms. Gloria suggested to me a celebration to rejuvenate the depressed people. I agreed. Today, it seems that her advice has paid off. Look around us, my friends, for in five years you have turned the den into a castle, a feat I never expected. ”

Cheese's words drew a chorus of cheers from the rat people, and indeed every valley rat deserved the praise that each of the valley rat people had spent all their time building and renovating their homes during the last five years. The others standing behind Cheese also applauded along with the rats, the underground city had something to offer.

"You cut rocks, you build farmland, you channel flowing water, and after all this, no one can say that the nezumi are beasts. No matter how your appearance changes, it turns out that I didn't look away at the time, and you are still the descendants of this land. Instead of using the word human, Cheese uses the vague term "children of the land" to describe the rat people. The nezumi were no longer human, and as a witness who had personally participated in the entire nezumi plague, the mage knew this.

However, not all nezumi can accept this fact, especially the rat people who were rescued by the cheese potion in time, and they still have vivid memories of their time as humans, and some of them even have uninfected relatives living in other parts of the kingdom. Therefore, there are still some nezumi in Vale who consider themselves to be human in their hearts, no, it should be said that the vast majority of nezumi think so. But here's the problem, the valley has rarely interacted with the outside world for the past five years, because Marcus is maneuvering inside the lion, and Cheese is a powerful wizard outside, and the rat has been able to buy this precious time to consolidate itself. But this kind of self-containment will not last long, and Cheese has no intention of making the rat people a kind of hidden race to live here forever. Therefore, if he does not try to make nezumi and humans understand and communicate with each other, when the nezumi who regard themselves as humans and the humans who regard nezumi as monsters meet again, sooner or later the flames of war will be ignited again between the two races, and then he may not be able to protect them as he did five years ago. Especially, if the nezumi side starts the war first.

That's what Gloria asked for Cheese. As the de facto leader of the rat people, Gloria saw the possible dangers of the race but could not explain it directly, because she did not have such a position, because she was also a rat people. Cheese is different, he is not a nezumi, and the nezumi do not think of him as a human being, because he is a wizard and his identity is beyond the race. In this way, he can say the things that Gloria can't say as a nezumi mentor and avoid certain situations from happening.

"I don't know how many of you have left the valley in recent years, not much, because I can imagine their hostility towards us without having to go outside. But is that wrong? If it wasn't you who were infected five years ago, it would be them who are hiding underground now. Humans fear nezumi, so it is natural to hate nezumen. It is only natural that the nezumi are rejected by humans, killed by humans, and turn their heads against humans. But what is the result of these two natural things? Are you spending all your precious lives surviving the plague to build this magnificent underground city just to be a murderer? That is so sad. ”

Cheese's words silenced the rats, who were still cheering. Some of the nezumi lowered their heads, some looked at him and waited for an answer, and some of them began to show boredom and dissatisfaction in their eyes. He saw it all. That's why mages don't like to be leaders, and every gaze on the scene, whether good or evil, right or wrong, is like a chain that wraps around the cheese, making it impossible for him to break free, pulling him into the endless mire of the world. But can he escape? Gray Tower, there is only one in the world. If he escaped, he would have to hide in the only tower outside the world, and he would not be poking his head out until he died. Because that's what the outside world is.

"I saw that some of you were pregnant, some were carrying children, and that's good. This means that we have a future, that you are not the undead left over from a plague, that you are nezumi, and that your descendants will also be nezumi. So, I want you to think about the children born in this city, even if you have experienced the malice of the outside, they should not be unaware of what the sun looks like for the rest of their lives. It's too heavy to say such a thing on a day like this, but it's been five years, and it's time to think about it. ”

"Then you will tell us the answer no, just as you tell us how to plan the city, will you tell us what we should do not do, and we will act exactly as you are told, even if we do not understand, even if we are dissatisfied, we trust you completely!" said one of the nezumi boldly, the same minister who had asked Gloria Cheese if he would attend the ceremony.

Cheese looked at the nezumi and then at the others, "I asked the Raging Lion a question five years ago, and his answer made me decide to side with the nezumi. Today, I want to ask you this question, but I don't want your answer, because this question is no longer mine. You have to ask yourself, nezumi, are they humans or monsters?"

With that, the mage turned around and left the underground plaza. He whispered as he walked past Gloria, "So I said, I'm not good at this. ”