Short Story 1_The Knights of the Holy Shield (Part I)
God said, "You give me a vacation. γ
God sat behind a desk near the window, red hair messy. He has a resolute and upright facial line, but with some evil eyes, with a bit of cold-blooded aura. He is not the exalted creator of shijie and the original human beings in those foreign religions, requiring human beings to have the moral integrity that he requires, especially the belief that he created the god of shijie.
He is not the elusive inhuman thing that the Etheric people usually say, those who do not obey the rules of human beings, and are incomprehensible.
This god is the god of the younger knights of the Royal Order of Holiness Shield, the leader of the all, Bannatu.
He was a little shorter than Seren, and he crossed his legs and said to Seren: "That's it. γ
Seren's desk was next to Bannatu. The papers and office supplies on his desk are neat, but there are several packets of cat treats thrown on it. One of the pen holders was knocked over, and the pen inside ran under the table. Seren's back to get the papers. He cleaned up the cat's knocked over pen holder, and then heard Banner's decree.
Serian picks up the cat snack and finds that the cat has made a hole in the package by itself, and the contents have been eaten. He turned to Banatu and said, "Did I miss a sentence? You said that you were running out of manpower lately. γ
"yes. However, the shortage of manpower is not because there are not enough people, but because "external forces" intervene in manpower scheduling and force us to use people improperly, so we become understaffed. I found out that you have accumulated a bunch of fakes that you haven't made up. Banato is a managerial position, so the Kumon Mountain on the table is particularly high. There were also paperwork sorted by various colorful folders, crammed into three large cabinets around his desk. Seren, looking at the scene, felt that it seemed a bit like some kind of "airframe", which was built around the fighter jets to prevent the explosion of the airframe from damaging the airframe. Bannato's temperament is also really a bit like a fighter.
"There's a lot of important work going on. Serene said, "It's likeβ"
Before Seren's words could be spoken, Banatu said while burying his head in his work, "The murder of the five corpses of Mosma is not your specialty, and you have no understanding of coward-type criminals. The Boom Sea Survey Project launched with the Staff of Light, you don't have the ability to parse data, so you can't help at all. I asked you to help me go abroad to recover economic prisoners, and I had to worry that you didn't understand international treaties. If you want to be a public relations, your words are too nonsensical, and if you can't meet reporters, it's better not to meet them. γ
"What I said is obviously very organized!" Serian let out a cry of injustice. There is a thinking behind what he says.
"What only you know is not organized. Organization exists only to communicate with others, and it is useless to only exist in your head. Banato replied unceremoniously, "You have too few times when you can be useful. γ
Deciding to enlist the support of his other companions, Serenian turned to another partner behind his desk. It was a young knight with dyed green hair. Like most knights, he didn't have a single trace of fat on his body, but his skeleton lacked edges and muscles. If he weren't wearing a knight's uniform, others might mistake him for a civil official.
Seren insisted, "Tyro, we need manpower. γ
The green-haired Tairuo raised her head and smiled slightly, "Whatever Banatu says, you can do. γ
"Tsk, I forgot that Bamboo Shoots is a believer in Bannatu. γ
Serian turned to one of Zuihou's partners for support. One of Zuihou's companions stood next to the door, his eyes facing the hallway. The young man didn't know what he was observing, but no one cared what he was doing. The people around him were used to him doing this. He has a darker complexion, which makes his big eyes brighter. He wears a high ponytail and a hair ornament with beads made of wood and glass.
Serene said to him, "Do you think Banato is right, Akor?"
It took a second for Akoel to turn to look at Seren, and asked with a blank face, "Did he say anything?"
Tauro buried her face in the papers.
"That's it, you give me a vacation here. Banatou pulled out a drawer and pulled out a map, pointing to a resort at the southern end of Sarafayido, where the date was written, and shortly after: "Don't be late. γ
Serense walked over to Bannertu and looked at the map. The map was an appendage to a schedule. Serian picked up the plan and looked at it, and he finally knew what Banato was going to do: "The princess is going to this place for a vacation. γ
"You're going on vacation. Bannato laughed.
Seren's smile resembled that of a creature called a jackal.
β»
Serenians packs his bags and goes on a vacation mission assigned by Banatu.
Although the resort is in the southernmost part of Sarafayido, it is still quite cool. Born in the cold mountains, Seren, after dropping down his luggage, he went out on the street in short sleeves.
None of the houses in this place are more than three floors, and you can see a large blue sky when you look up. The walls and roof tiles are brightly coloured, showing the so-called "exotic atmosphere". There are hotels, swimming pools, pubs, restaurants, and much more.
Seren was sure he smelled the casino, and the whole country was not allowed to open casinos. Since he was on "vacation", he would leave it alone for the time being. He walked along the colorful bricked roads and watched rickshaws run by tourists. Children ride bantam horses and let adults lead them around.
A peaceful view.
Selian first bought five skewers of barbecue, a whole grilled fish, two roasted flower branches, and then bought a large cup of freshly beaten juice, a pack of scallion pancakes with eggs, a cage of xiaolongbao, and two servings of beef short ribs, all of which he would eat alone.
As he walked, his food was gone, and he thought about buying some more food, and when he looked around to find a food stall he liked, he saw two strange little girls on the side of the road. Looks like he's not even fifteen years old.
This is a high-end resort, the cost of living is much higher than the average residential area, and there are only people here who have enough money to go on vacation, or who usually have the money to go on vacation every day.
It is unlikely that the two little girls would have saved their own money for a vacation. They wore fashionable styles, but with poor cuts, and they didn't look like people who were on vacation every day. Not only that, but people who come on vacation (regardless of the source of the money) will not be as hostile to the adults around them as they are. When they look at others, it is not because they are wary of others that they may be bad people, but because they look at adults with a hostile gaze towards adults, "as long as they are adults, they may interfere with me."
Two runaway girls.
Drink a bottle of juice here, the price is four times that of the capital, and the runaway girl will not survive long in this kind of place. Serencipe decided to intervene.
β»
The rest of the game turned out exactly as Sellian had expected. Faced with a long list of "perverts", "stinky uncles" and all sorts of new or traditional swear words, he completes the process of showing the knight's badge under the girl's push and nail grabbing, and then sends the two of them to the police station. On the way, well-meaning adults kept coming to be concerned and confirm whether Seren's was a kidnapper. Zuihou finished escorting the girl to the police station and handing it over to the uniformed police officer under the watchful eyes of a crowd of people.
The two girls clasped hands in the police station, showing an attitude of unity against the evil Liliang of adults, and roared at Seren and the police, "What a good person! Adults are just more likely to make money, because this will be lame, as long as we can make money-"
"Not only are adults better at making money, but they also know better how to avoid ruining themselves for money. Serian searched one of them for a small card with a magic number written on it, which read: "Easy money, 300,000 yuan a month, the best way for young cuties to be financially independent." Serian handed the card to the police: "It's an agent who sells X prostitution." γ
When Serian found the card, the two little girls suddenly stopped talking. They knew exactly what it was, but apparently not as well as adults.
Serense sighed and said, "Let me tell you what will happen next. Before you can make your first money, you'll be raped first. Then they will restrict your movements and make you continue to provide sexual services to old men who are several times more stinky than me every day. Ten people a day is just the basic number, and I've heard of people asking for more than twice the performance. Before the number of people arrived, you didn't even have anything to eat. You don't even have to try to contact someone to save you, you can't even see the sun. Those people will burn your body with cigarette butts, and they will also pass you on sexually transmitted diseases. Whether you can use contraception or not depends on the mood of those people. You're all going to serve the boss for freeβ"
"As long as you have money!" one of the little girls replied sharply.
"There will be no money. Serian said, "The income written on it is just a bait to trick you into leaving the protective net of adults and entering their hands. As long as you don't pick up customers for a day, the boss will take advantage of this to deduct all your money. How long can you pick up a dozen guests a day, and how long can you live like this in a row? You can't rest during menstruation, you can't rest when you have a baby, let alone get sick. Even if you are desperate to support your "work", he can still find other reasons to withhold your money. The smile isn't bright enough, the underwear isn't sexy enough, the squatting posture is not right β they'll also drug you, so you can't escape if you want to. Do you know what that is?"
The two little girls flinched. The government should have taught them not to touch that thing, and countless people have already had their lives ruined by that thing, but they showed an attitude that this was just a senseless intimidation of adults.
Seren glared at them and said, "As long as you have beaten them, you will not be like this if you don't fight often, and if you don't fight, you will feel that your whole body is full of ants biting you and burrowing your skin. The amount of money you need to do will increase more and more, and the cost of that thing, which will triple the salaries of these uncles, will sooner or later not be enough. No matter how much money you make, your body will deteriorate because of this, and the beauty you use to "make money" will soon be even more unsightly than that of a leprosy dog. In fact, this description is too mild, and people who have been taking drugs for a few years seem to be able to act in zombie movies without makeup. "At that time, not only will you not have money, but you will also owe a lot of money to your boss, because of prostitution and drug abuse, it is impossible for you to return to your old life. γ
"At leastβ" one of the little girls cried, "somebody will love me. γ
Serian sighed deeply, he couldn't see where there was true love in this whole process.
β»
After the social worker took over, Serian stayed at the police station and ate bento boxes with his counterparts from different systems.
One of the police officers said, "I can guarantee that in less than half a month, they will show up on another street with another card of agent selling X prostitution. They will try again and again until we don't have time to stop it. If you're unlucky enough to be sold abroad, you'll never see them again. γ
Another policeman said, half-chanting, "Young people can't imagine their own death. It seems impossible to let young people know that they are on the road to destruction. They always think that they will not die without any evidence, and they also think that they will not get sick, they will not be robbed, and they will not be targeted and devoured by those evil adults who see the lack of vision of young people.
Serian filled his mouth with braised pork and rice.
First of all, regardless of whether it is illegal to sell X prostitution, no matter what country it is, it is illegal to prostitute young people. Since minors are easier to deceive and control than adults, those who will target minors must have the intention of taking advantage of this, and there is no such thing as prostitution of minors without exploitation. Adults who can mediate minors into prostitution are 100% bad people. Although I want to put an end to this problem, it is now the social climate that creates children who want to be deceived by bad people, and the police are just the gatekeepers of Zuihou and cannot do anything about it.
I heard that in the so-called "advanced countries" of another continent, the situation is even more serious than that of Saxon.
"Xiexie hospitality. Seren ate all the bento and sent it to a pile with his stomach full of grumbling.
β»
After he had eaten his fill, Serian continued to buy food along the street. As he shopped, he headed towards the princess's hotel. The name of the hotel is "Aibana". It is an outright "exotic" hotel opened by a large foreign group in the country, and it is almost impossible to forget that you are in Sarafayi, but you may not feel that you are in a particular foreign country. When I first heard that the princess was going to stay in this hotel, there was a lot of scolding in the group. There are a bunch of foreign managers and jishu personnel here, and their identities are unknown. No one wanted the princess's task of preservation to become an international issue.
Obviously, there is a domestic hotel with a high degree of security cooperation, and this princess will live in a foreign-style hotel even if she dies, and she must see that it is a foreign face who introduces the room to her.
At the time when Banatu scolded repeatedly, Akorle did have a word for the princess: "She is not the heir to the throne, it makes no difference if she dies, there is no need to tie her to the royal rules, so she is also very painful." This princess is very, very late in line of succession, and the chances of the throne falling to her are about the same as the chance of a meteorite hitting her. Originally, they didn't have to come forward to protect her, it was all requested by "that guy".
At that time, Banato's response was: "She was born into the royal family, and she was obligated to support the local industry. And if something happens to her, it's us who will be questioned!"
It sounded like both of them had a point, so Serian decided not to think about it.
He walked to the door of the Epana Hotel and looked at the glittering, opulent and vulgar building. The roof seems to have been made up of several well-known architectural styles, and the proportions of the ornaments are so large that they appear heavy. There are two well-known representatives of exotic scenery at the door, pure white "angel" statues. Of course, these winged humans are all foreign faces.
He walked between the two angelic statues and found his first companion there. Tai Ruo was there, wearing a plaid shirt and dark suit trousers, which was normal casual clothes. But his green hair was already very eye-catching, and he still stood upright like a gendarme in the posture of standing guard at the entrance of the palace. Everyone who passed by was watching him.
Serenian stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I was forced to work as a plainclothes guard at the door to hide my identity. Tairuo said expressionlessly.
"I've never seen plainclothes so suspicious. Serenne said.
Tairuo was still expressionless: "I feel like I'm wearing a sandwich advertising board with the words 'I'm a knight' written on it. γ
"I can see it. Serenne said. See it with your heart. "Don't you squat down and smoke and chew gum or anything like that?"
"I tried. As a result, "the fellow" said, "What are you doing when you don't stand at the door as a guard?" But civilians won't stand like this, and Tauro has given up hiding his identity completely.
"Annoying guys. Serenne said. There is a large group of laymen in power who love to get in the way of other people's work. The more comprehensive the layman is to the point of not being good at all at all, the more he likes to "instruct" others in detail how to do it after coming to power.
Teruo knew exactly who Serian was talking about: "Yes. The Ministry of Defense has fallen. If we can't stop the Knights' Reform Bill, I'm afraid we'll lose even the right to conduct an independent investigation. γ
"That needs the old men in the regiment to move and actively stop it. Seren lowered his voice and shrugged. But when so many people are paying attention to them, it doesn't seem to make much sense to lower your voice.
Tyroy whispered to Seren, "They are still in the same way as the previous generation, and they don't want to get involved in political games, but we can't do anything about it. Knightly duty does not include giving power to a group of people who are intended only to use it for improper purposes, so that we can do nothing when the people need us. γ
Seren nodded in agreement and asked, "So it's Ako'er in charge of the internal staff now?"
Tyro said, "Yes. What a terrible "assignment". Akor's and Taruo's positions should be exchanged.
As if he were on a mission, he said, "I'm going to see him. γ
"Please. Based on his knowledge of his comrades, Taruo could imagine that Akor's must be in a state where she needed to call for backup.
β»
Seren, passing through the checkpoint, greets his companions along the way. Everyone looked at each other sympathetically when they mentioned Akor, but they themselves were in a lot of trouble and couldn't come and help.
Serian made his way to the dispatch room. It was originally a double room for guests, but the Knights requisitioned the place, set up several large tables, and hung a large row of tinkling magic bells. There are documents everywhere in the room, and Seren must be careful not to step on them when she walks.
Seren had not seen anyone for a while when he first entered, and based on what he knew about Akor, he began to search the mountain of documents on the ground. After searching for a while, I finally saw a pair of legs sticking out from under the mountain of documents. The mountain of papers looked like they had been piled up into ten three-meter-high pillars of paper and then knocked down.
Serense removed the papers, and Akor, lying there, said indifferently, "It's terrible. γ
"I think so, too. Serian helped stack the papers. If Tai Ruo was in this position, this would never have happened. Tairuo can keep this place in order, and easily find what you need, without the risk of a document landslide. Serian pointed to a stack of papers and said, "What is this stack?" This stack of things can be stacked so well because no one has touched it. But it is stamped with a big red badge of "very important". The chapter was a rectangular red frame with those two words. On the upper edge of the red frame is an eagle totem with wings spread. There are no "very important" chapters in the group, only the "important" chapters of the rose totem, and they rarely appear, and once they appear, they must be extremely important.
"The special watch out for the object information provided by 'that guy' requires everyone involved in this mission to read it carefully. Akoel said. Considering that these things were casually packed in large cardboard boxes, and were rudely thrown on the floor of the room by the delivery man, and even knocked down several document columns, causing the flooding of documents on the ground to be even more serious, it was polite for Akouer to open the cardboard box and take it out and fold it. "The guys" probably thought that as long as they gave it, the knights should accept it with a thousand gratitudes and treat it as a family heirloom.
Serian started looking through the first one to see what it was, and after only three of them, he decided to use the jump. Such a two-meter-high document pillar actually only tells the information of one person, that is, the princess's husband Erta, who is getting a divorce.
This large stack of information is a record of all the details of the life of Erta. God knows how much they abused their looted rights to get these things. From a postcard to a friend, to what to eat for dinner every day. From the time he went to kindergarten to the time he went to the district office where he registered when he got married, it was all written on it. Serian didn't understand the point of showing them a photo of Erta with her classmates when she graduated from kindergarten, and telling them that Erta had a late credit card payment because she forgot to have enough money in her account. Write down in a row what brand of toilet paper and water hose he bought on the way home, and why is this kind of thing necessary?
This explosive collection of useless and trivial materials is so much that it is impossible to read it at all, and it is impossible to grasp the main point. This kind of unfiltered raw material is of no use to the frontline personnel who need to respond quickly.
Serian fixed the file column with the holy sword, carefully pulled out the bottom one, and finally found the basis for the report "why this person needs to be on special alert". There is only one line: "It is well known that a man has a grudge against his wife who abandoned him, so he will definitely want to kill Princess Miroca." γ
Seren, with a deep feeling, felt that it was good that the other companions hadn't taken the time to read the column. He placed the piece of paper on top to make sure that anyone trying to get a little bit of information from the column would immediately understand that it was a waste of time. In order to prevent the paper from being blown away, he pressed a steel cup on top as a paperweight.
Akor's futile attempts to sort the files into categories were unnatural, but he was not born with the ability to organize the area beyond the bedroom, especially the files that were his cover, and the result was that the files were stacked more and more without any indexing system.
"Go see Banatou. I think he'll have some instructions for you. Akoel said.
Serian helped Akor's way through the room before leaving. I wonder if Akoel can stay in a state of not being buried for a few minutes?
β»
Serene continued to greet his companions along the way, each of them angry at the mention of Banato, but they also had a lot of angry things of their own that they couldn't help.
Serense finds Banatou, the best commander of them all, in the kitchen.
Banatou was assigned the job of "monitoring the plaster to see if the servant was hiding something in the plate or smuggling the kitchen knife to the dining room." γ
"That guy was going to send me to test for poison. Dressed in a chef's suit, Banatou said to Seren, "But we have a professional drug tester, and he doesn't do anything else. Banato gestured to the tall, lanky mage standing next to the stainless steel cooking table. He ate a little of each dish and checked it with a magic weapon and a staff that was only ten centimeters long. "The guy sent me to inspect 'under the plate,' and I couldn't get out of the kitchen anyway," Banato said. γ
Seren nodded, "So what can I do?"
"Go to the restaurant and watch the princess. Banatu said, "The whole system is messed up, and you can't fill up so many holes in other places except for the personal guards. γ
Serian nodded knowingly. I'm afraid it's not a hole anymore, but the door is wide open.
β»
Seren, greeting his companions along the way, everyone shaking their heads and sighing at the mention of Princess Miroca.
The restaurant attached to the hotel has a red carpet, cream-colored decorative columns with no supporting function are wrapped in gold edges, and a total of 36 walls are full of painted murals of foreign myths. Princess Miroca, who the Knights were to protect, was dining inside.
Serian looked in through the doorway and saw that "the guys" had surrounded Princess Miroca. The "fellows" include the darling of the palace chief (the "artificial hereditary system", a hereditary position that is not legally but turns out to be), who wants Banato to stick to the kitchen, the beloved son of a certain minister, who now seems to be some kind of inspector, who is anyway not doing anything but picking faults, and the more he accuses others, the more great the position he looks like, that is, he sends to the door Tairuo, who can ensure that the internal affairs are in order, and the local councillor, who also has a powerful "promoter" in the government , he is the culprit of Akouer's tragic burial by the mountain of documents. In addition to these few, there were other people, all gathered in a group, pretending to be elegant and drinking drinks, showing off business cards, and complimenting each other. The restaurant was chartered by this group of foxes and fake tigers, and there were no humans.
Seren, wearing her knightly insignia, stood in an inconspicuous corner of the dining room.
Princess Miroca, about thirty years old, wore a long lilac gown with round arms and shared the table with some of the "guys". On a square table covered with a white scarf, she was eating what looked like fish, with a yellow, yellow, green, and green sauce on it. Strangely, the fish is less than the size of a girl's palm, but it is placed on a plate twice as large as the face, leaving a lot of space even with the carved vegetables for decoration. The Etharo people like to fill their plates and can't understand this deliberate way of leaving them empty. Of course, there will be no Etello signature cutlery and chopsticks on this table. She eats with a knife and fork very gracefully.
Serense stood in the corner for a long time. Silently listening to "those guys" constantly boasting about their strong executive skills and how good they are at management, the people below all admired their judgment and did not dare to say a second word.
Miroka only occasionally responded with an "um", and Seren even suspected that she wasn't listening. But the "guys" were more satisfied with it than Miroka had discussed with them. The illusion that they were capable of silencing the royal family seemed to give them a sense of superiority that they were a superior person, and they became more and more energetic.
They began to talk about public welfare policies that they had not been exposed to at all, and who had apparently not done any homework. They argue that the money burned each year is enough to build a city from flat ground by implementing one of them, while insisting that these are all "absolutely necessary", but not once do they mention where the money will come from. It is as if the money in the treasury does not come from the people's taxes and fines, but from the sky, and when it is insufficient, the sky will continue to drop money, but it will not be inflationary.
As Seren's head began to empty, a very formal man in a fancy suit and tie, holding a large bag wrapped in shiny wrapping paper, entered through the checkpoint at the door. Serenia recognized the shiny and timid man as the Assassin "the guys" feared most: the princess's husband, Erta.
Serian did not rush forward, and neither did the knights on the scene, and they all saw their companions at the door calling them "the search has been completed". Since Erta had no dangerous objects on her, and the princess did not apply for a protective order to prohibit Erta from approaching, she did not even order her subordinates to block Erta, so there was no reason to prohibit the husband and wife from meeting.
But the "guys" apparently thought they were right, and they began screaming, "Assassins!
Erta frowned and scolded in a low voice, "Nonsense!"
Seren's reaction was closely watched. She stopped eating, leaned her hand on the edge of the table with her knife and fork, and smiled at Erta. Although it was not a friendly smile, it was more like testing the other party's reaction, but she obviously didn't think Erta was dangerous, and besides, she was the one with the knife.
"The guys" began to curse rather inappropriate swear words for high society, not to the Assassins, but to the knights, "How could you let him in! He's the most dangerous man, do you have common sense?"
Of course, the knights had common sense, especially the ones who had just been in charge of searching Erta, and they smiled expectantly as they watched Erta approach Miroka.
Erta grabbed the wrapping paper and ripped it off, revealing the contents of it.
"Those guys" screamed for cover, "Help!"
The special fragrance of roses, which can make women happy, spreads in the restaurant. Inside the wrapper was a bouquet of nine hundred and ninety-nine large red roses! So many roses stretched out into a nearly hemispherical flower ball, wrapped in golden ribbons and silver paper, elegant and imposing.
Erta said to Miroka, "I love you. γ
However, the knights with common sense saw Miroca's expression and suddenly felt that something was wrong.
Still smiling unkindly, Miroka put down her knife and fork (the knights breathed a sigh of relief) and stepped forward to take the bouquet with both hands. Erta's eyes widened slightly, and a look of anticipation was about to emerge when Miroka raised her right hand and smashed Erta's head with a bouquet of roses!
The petals are flying, and there are also whole flowers flying, and the fragrance of the flowers is strong. Mirocca raised her hand again, slammed Erta again, and scolded, "Do you think I'll forgive you if you spend a lot of money?"
Fortunately, the thorns of these roses have been removed, otherwise there might be blood. Mirocca smashed Erta again and again, and Erta could only hurriedly block it with her hands. Miroka smashed harder and harder, and Erta had no choice but to turn around and flee outside the restaurant.
With a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a skirt in the other, Mirocca strode after the man in the flat shoes with a pair of stiletto heels. She chased after Erta with great vigour, causing both the waiter and the guest to flee in both directions.
As a knight whose mission is to protect the lives and property of others, Serense wants to save the unfortunate man, but the screaming and scurrying of "those guys" in the dining room makes it difficult for him to move an inch, and he is afraid that he will not be able to get out unless he knocks them all out.
He could only watch as Miroka and Erta left his field of vision.