The news of the addition of a stowaway on board was spread everywhere during the day immediately after the night, and both sailors and passengers were enthusiastic about it, wanting to hear all kinds of gossip. The reason why the atmosphere is so relaxed is partly related to their nature, and partly because the most dangerous route is already behind them.

There are no inhabitable islands in this ocean that takes about seven days from Kirishima to the mainland of the Moonland, so most of the pirates who are equipped with short-distance small clippers and return to their nests after plundering them are naturally not on a large scale.

Similar to the port of Marina in Suao in the far west, whaling ships account for more than seventy or eighty percent of the ships that will haunt the Northland during the winter. Although piracy was not completely extinct, it was mostly a small ship based on the coast of the mainland. Without a certain number of people and equipment such as grappling hooks and rope ladders, they couldn't even climb the tall side of the Oriental Moon.

These pirate ships mainly lived by plundering coastal populations and were not adept at attacking merchant ships on the sea. This is the same as the pirates of Dan Lasso, after all, no matter how different the cultures, there are only a few ways for humans to make a living in similar terrains.

All in all, the real threat to the Eastern Moon will not increase until further south.

There are more than 300 large and small islands scattered around the narrow continental plate called "Crescent Island", where the Moon Country is located, from the central part to the south, especially in the southern seas. These scattered islands are so difficult to manage that even a full-scale navy of local officers and soldiers—or "trolls," as the locals call them, would not be able to enter without circumstances.

In the past, the Oriental Moon relied on its speed to get rid of the pirates and then enter the bustling central port. The reason for landing here is partly because, as in other parts of the world, the further north you go, the more barren the land becomes. With the exception of a few small villages for whaling and fishing, the northern part of the Lunar Land has nothing to do with the sea.

Another reason has to do with the political situation on the ground.

The entire continent of Crescent Island is a country. And this country has lasted for more than 4000 years. According to the founding myth of the Land of the Moon, their royal family has been the same family since 4,000 years ago - no nobles rebelled and the royal family was replaced by another family, as is the case in Rigal. Since 4,000 years ago, it has been in a state of absolute unity.

They proudly call this "one lineage", believing that their country has absolute stability and long-term cultural accumulation. But its attitude towards the outside world is just like the meaning of the country's name - like the moon in the night sky, second only to the sun, but gentle and restrained, emitting a soft light.

The Moon Country's contact with the continent of Rigal is very cautious. Coupled with the oceanic barrier, the vast majority of Rigalis still do not know about them, despite the fact that they had a relatively developed civilization many years ago.

It even feels like the continent of Rigal is the only world.

This is not the result of the unilateral prudence of the Moon Country, as they have been able to accumulate a considerable wealth of culture and knowledge due to their 4,000 years of peace. The fact that this civilization is unique and has nothing to do with the White Church is a surprise to the people of Rigal, whose history is almost inseparable from religion.

And such a distinct and powerful civilization that has nothing to do with the influence of the White Church would be known to the general public.

It is bound to do even more damage to the already declining influence of the white church.

While deliberately blocking the news from the public in the Rigal world, the high-level personnel have not actually given up the pursuit of the Moon Country.

Three hundred years ago, merchants from the south who sailed with great difficulty on old sailing ships arrived by chance and recorded this place as "the land of gold" in their nautical diaries. And their longing for the mainland of Crescent Island prompted future generations to work hard, and finally formed a solid business exchange. But even after three centuries, the footprints of these outsiders are still confined to a small area.

There are quite a few harbors in the Land of Moon, from the north, the central part to the south, which are scattered along the edge of the continent. But because of the lockdown policy, only the ports in the central part can land-

Or rather, it was able to land.

Captain Francisco was silent for a long, long time, and the ship's main operators, as well as Henry, Mira, Caleva, and the scholar Lisa and her mentor, were in the captain's room.

The small intruder girl sat at the table, and most of the others were standing, frowning. The news that had just passed through the first officer, who knew the local language, had plunged them into this long silence.

What happened last night was finally resolved without any danger, and the crew on duty woke up the captain and the sage after the crew on duty found out about the situation. After confiscating the girl's weapon, they gave her some warm clothes and a quilt. It was agreed that she would be temporarily locked in a utility room for the night and wait until daylight for further verification.

The girl's identity and first name are eventually confirmed, and she has no surname, or at least does not want to say it, and only calls herself "Lulu". And her identity is very special, she is not the descendants of those Raman descendants of Kirishima but she is not the mainstream group of the Moon Country, but belongs to the minority of the north.

As the mainstream of the Moon Country, they are roughly pronounced "Emicikin" in the local language, a word similar to the "Vislan" of the Padrossi people, both meaning "barbarian, barbarian" - obviously not a good word, but they lived in peace and had no conflict for a long time before.

It's just that two months before the departure of the Eastern Moon, the Moonland Mainland, which was in autumn, broke out in chaos that had never been seen before.

And because of this war, their group has unknowingly become the least welcome guests in the Moon Country now.

"It's caused by outsiders like you, people in white robes. Lulu spoke in the language of mainstream society, the kind of language that she and Mila used before that the girl of Luo'an thought was Luo'an, which was actually the dialect of the ethnic minority. Although some words seem to have the same pronunciation and meaning because they come from Luo'an, because of the difference in grammar and language habits, the efficiency of dialogue is extremely low, and they have to use their hands and feet to add various descriptions and analogies just to find out the exact meaning of what the other party is saying.

Fortunately, Lulu herself can speak the dominant mainstream social language, and the outsider in the white robe she is talking about can be known by everyone with their toes.

Accompanied by the Lamani civilization, as long as the tentacles of the Lamanites extended, they would move forward, with white as the representative color of the organization.

Church.

From the first contact three hundred years ago, the missionaries learned about such a foreign land full of culture through the stories that were handed down, and they always wanted to find it and spread the light of the gods.

However, the Moon Country, which has been cultured for thousands of years, is not as easy to interfere and take root as the countries of the Rigal continent, and the local rulers are very afraid of this aggressive religion, and they have not been able to expand their influence in the region for more than 180 years after finding and establishing a stable route.

Naturally, this situation was not what the missionaries wanted, and at the end of August of 1331 in the Divine Calendar, that is, more than three months ago.

They shifted their gaze and their way of thinking, shifting the target group for expanding the faith of the White Church from the broad masses to the powerful feudal lords in the region.

This move was extremely effective, as the stable social structure of 4,000 years has made the concept of superiority and superiority in the Land of the Moon far more profound than that of the Continent of Rigal. The subordinates were not allowed to disobey their superiors, so they only needed the consent of a feudal lord to order all the lower nobles and commoners in his realm to convert to the White Church.

It took 180 years, and even the ocean-going fleet sent by Padrosi 150 years ago may not have been without the intentions of the White Church. But these "traditional" methods are not suitable in a foreign land, and the Rigalese way of thinking is ultimately Rigalese, when they change their minds and begin to rearrange according to the social structure of the Moon Country.

What was not possible before has suddenly become much easier.

The long history of civilization and the stable social structure meant that ambitious people had nowhere to play, and the White Church's contact with some feudal lords hit it off.

They provided an opportunity to overthrow the government and the opposition through years of intrigue among the Lamanites, and even smuggled weapons and armor through merchant ships to finance the local aristocracy.

However, this practice of digging into the wall was quickly brought to light due to the strict social structure and the ubiquity of people loyal to the royal family. Thus, at the beginning of December of the year 1331 A.D., a battle between the local armed forces and the central army united with the White Church began.

Then in just half a month, the rebellious feudal lords were all suppressed.

The power of one nation and one lord is far beyond the imagination of any Rigalian, and the missionaries of the White Church have set off the smallest ripples. It didn't even develop into a truly lethal wave, and it was nipped in the bud.

Instead of really shaking the ruling class of the Land of the Moon, they made the situation extremely embarrassing for themselves and all the strangers.

Although the representative of the royal family claimed that "no punishment should be imposed on the merchants who keep to themselves", because that would be "unfair, and it appears that the emperor is narrow-minded, and it is absolutely not true." But in fact, it is an indisputable fact that many merchants who secretly wander in the gray area, and even collude with the pirates on the small islands, inexplicably "return home" and do not appear again.

The position of the missionaries at the center of the incident was even more awkward, with many of the churches they had worked so hard to build burned down, and officers and soldiers patrolling day and night to find and execute those wearing white clergy robes. In order to protect themselves, the missionaries had to disguise themselves as merchants or laborers and go into hiding in Tibet, and this rejection and hostility towards dissidents eventually turned into a large-scale hunt, and even Lulu's ethnic minority in the far north was drawn into the dispute.

Those who are not of my race will have different hearts.

If you refuse to obey the orders of the great emperor, then there is no need to continue to exist.

Peace and tolerance, which had been maintained for thousands of years, were completely shattered by the "tireless efforts" of foreigners arriving on the mainland of Rigal.

And the aftermath of this hostility against foreigners has not dissipated. Lulu was also separated from her clan in the process of fleeing, and was plundered by the pirates of Kirishima, and finally heard the news of a foreign merchant ship before secretly hiding in a box and successfully escaped.

Her identity can basically be confirmed after a series of things, and this personal experience also made the expressions of the people on the ship who learned the news much more solemn.

The tolerant trade atmosphere is gone, and as foreigners, they are now undesirable here.

"It's getting hard. Captain Francisco touched the kitten's chin and made it make a pleasant "purr" sound while repeating it.

"It's getting hard. ”