"- I see. ”

Walking on the green grass beyond the tent, Valrhona let out a melancholy murmur.

"Is it counterproductive to be too aggressive? The timing was just right...... I'm still too innocent. ”

Roland and Minerva often set up silent enchantments when they are in love, but for adolescent girls who are curious, who are making their own strategy plans, and even have the same physical needs, it is a piece of cake to eavesdrop on the movements in a room with specialized techniques. The girls who have slowly adapted to the shyness and excitement at the beginning are almost used to it. It's just that they couldn't have imagined that Roland would actually put Valrhona and Gloria aside, and chose to hug the spider instead. I was also surprised by the spider's reasonable and unexpected audacity.

"Would you rather give me a scar...... Whether it's a confession or a courtship, it's impeccable.,If there's a chance.,I'll try to talk about it.。 It's just that...... In the same way, I am afraid that the second time will not have the same effect. ”

Looking up at the starry sky, Valrhona sighed lightly, and asked towards the darkness on one side:

"Are you going to report all these words and the rest of the story?"

“...... I don't understand. ”

The illusion was lifted, and Diana emerged from the shadows.

"What's the point of this kind of thing?"

"Meaning...... Is it?"

Chewing on Diana's question, Valrhona looked at the twinkling stars in the night sky, shook her head and asked:

"For you, it has to be meaningful—'meaningful' that conforms to the values of the church and Sister Ling in order to exist?"

"This ......"

- And rightfully so.

Just as she was about to say this, Diana suddenly choked.

Only things that conform to the values of the Church are allowed to exist—Diana and Gielle were taught to do so from an early age, and everyone around them said so, and everything around them evolved accordingly. For Diana, this has long been the "truth" that water will flow from high to low, and that night will inevitably come after the sun sets.

And yet—

Is this really the "truth" of course?

Isn't the so-called truth supposed to be unshakable and unchangeable regardless of the passage of time? Why is it that first in front of Alfheim and then in front of a teenager is constantly shaken and cracked?

Biting her lip lightly and being silent for a moment, Diana, who raised her head again, asked rhetorically:

"Her Royal Highness the princess of the ancient species. ”

"What's the matter?"

"Why did you help him, even at the cost of abandoning your identity and betraying your own people?"

“...... You really like to hit people off guard. ”

"At that time—"

A bewildered ripple appeared on Diana's expressionless face.

"You didn't ask for anything from him, did you?"

What she was referring to was that Valrhona had never asked for anything from Roland as a price for her loyalty.

With the dragon's usual miser temperament, this is really a rare behavior.

"Neither are you...... Oh, yes, you're because of Sister Ling and the Pope's orders, that's your position and duty. From your point of view, my behavior is certainly unclear and unreasonable. ”

Valrhona shrugged and smiled wryly.

"Why...... Is it time to say that he is just obsessed with him? This may be easier to understand, but I think it is too general to say that it is correct. ”

“......”

"Don't think too much about it, let's put it simply, I think Roland Dahlke is a funny person...... In the words you can understand, it's valuable. You must know that whether it is the dragon race, the church, or the countries of the world, there has never been a person like him. To be honest, after observing the intelligent society for hundreds of years, I can't help but feel that the world has come to an end. ”

"That kind of thing—"

Just opened her mouth to refute, but Diana was stuck again.

The world that has been in operation for thousands of years since the beginning of the world, the ancient species that have been observing the development of intelligent beings from the side since the primeval times, and the church that has been secretly governing the world from the chaos of the collapse of the old kingdom of Gilmania.

Either side is essentially an existence that has been conceived under the rule of an extremely closed and conservative set of values. In this inward-looking and closed world, where any idea of change and improvement is stifled, extreme values and ideas are bound to breed. And it is precisely because of the extreme that there is a hidden risk of collapse at any time.

Regardless of the world and the dragons, the Church alone has gone through a long period of time from setting the goal of "killing the gods" and "taking the whole world from the hands of the gods", and finally mastered the means to achieve the goal, that is, the weapons of miracle reproduction such as priesthood vestments. From that moment on, cracks and strife began to appear little by little within the whole church.

Budget allocation, division of powers and responsibilities, field competition, personnel arrangement, ...... Various small competitions have always existed, but recently they have been increasing and worsening at an undisturbing rate.

The person who set the original goal is long gone, and the church today is simply following a blueprint that has been drawn up to move towards the end goal that has been set. All they have to do is follow the goals and rules set by their predecessors, unite wholeheartedly, and faithfully fulfill the responsibilities they have been given. However, with the completion of the priesthood vestment and the rise of Alfheim, the church began to gradually lose its way. Mastering the ultimate means to achieve your goals and the enemies you've never seen before – this makes the future blueprint blurry like never before. Whether to continue to accomplish the goals set by the predecessors and achieve a "world completely dominated by mankind", or to surrender to the absolute power that has never been greater, or to hibernate for a while, revise the plan and blueprint and start anew—in order to choose the right path from the countless differences in the future, different opinions and thoughts are turning into strife and tears, the cohesion of the Church itself is gradually declining, and the various factions are beginning to tear each other apart under the table. If it weren't for the current enemy, I am afraid that the internal strife of the church would have escalated into the establishment of various factions and the bloody civil war in the name of "crusading against heresy".

Moreover, the church itself has the problem of organizational decay.

If any organization—religion, political party, or state—ignores the changes in the surrounding situation, culture, technology, values, and ideas for hundreds of years, and does not make any corresponding adjustments and modifications to the organization's philosophy, it will inevitably lead to the emergence of dogmatic ideological rigidity and the disconnection of the entire organization from the times. Eventually, the rigid dogma loses its cohesion and appeal, causing the organization to dissipate on its own, or it is swept up in the tide of the times and ends in a bloody way.

"The appearance of Li Lin has brought some changes to the world and eased the rigidity of the whole world. But that's a foreshadowing to drag everything into a more rigid cycle. To be honest, his so-called ideal world is no longer a question of whether it is stiff or not, but of turning the whole world into a slowly decaying corpse. ”

"Do you think Roland can change that?"

"Maybe, maybe not. The so-called possibility, the so-called hope, is inherently ethereal and uncertain. However, I think Roland may be able to change. ”

“...... It's simply irresponsible. ”

"Perhaps, yes. But if you don't see even the slightest hope or possibility, then it will really become a hell from which you will never recover. ”

Legend has it that the gates of hell are inscribed with the words: Whoever enters this gate must give up all hope.

What is the difference between a world without hope and a hell that never sees the light of day?

"I was indeed once the princess of the dragon clan, but I am only a small person compared to the whole world, to the Mother Goddess, and to the current Divine Will Agent. ”

Valrhona smiled wryly and self-deprecatingly, eavesdropping the pent-up gasps of the tent into her ears.

"Maybe you humans have a longer lifespan, more sight, hearing and experience than you, and much more physical strength, physical strength, and mana sensing ability. But that's about it. 'Change this immutable world', 'break the curse of fate' - although I have thought of this, I have never had the courage to raise the flag against Roland, Minerva, Gloria, and Vinia, and say 'no' to the fate that others have decided for them. So even if I'm dissatisfied with the things around me, I'm helpless. That's what makes me worse than them, and that's what attracts me. Looking at Roland, I can't help but think that I am going to be the first to be around them to witness the change, to witness the change of a country – or the whole world. ”

Family members are not enemies, not spies, not objects of vigilance;

"People" are not chess pieces, and citizens are not tools, numbers, or symbols;

Happiness is not a table full of itineraries given to you by others, but a struggle and hard work for yourself, and then in your own hands;

If there is such a world, I want to see it, I want to walk into that world.

"What do you say...... I can understand it, and I can't understand it. ”

Diana lowered her gaze.

"First of all, before you defeated Li Lin, all of this was just your simple thoughts. Secondly...... Even if you change the world, you may not always get good results. ”

Change doesn't always lead to good results. It is not uncommon in history to have reforms that have high ambitions and are expected by everyone, but in the end they are cursed by others, or even pushed to the guillotine, and end in tragedy.

Even if there is expectation, even if there is hope, the result may not be as expected.

"If the changes you bring in the end do not produce the desired results, and everyone spurns you, curses you, and shouts, 'It is better to let Li Lin build an ideal country,' and you are asked to take all the responsibilities, how should you deal with yourself? Do you want to sacrifice your head to the people who have lost their minds?"

"If that's the case, we'll hand over power and let someone else who is more capable solve the problem we can't solve. ”

"What?!...... How can there be such a thing, the so-called state, the so-called royal responsibility is ......!!"

Valrhona smiled at the flustered Diana and said fearlessly:

"The so-called democracy, that's what it's all about. ”