339:
“There’s actually a large-scale famine…”
“Has the outside world become like this?”
After drinking two glasses of wheat wine in a row, Gus finally let out a long sigh of relief. He asked, a little hoarsely, “Why haven’t we felt it at all?”
The previous travelers were not very willing to talk about these things. Even if they mentioned it, they would just brush it over. But their envy and longing for his village and villagers had always made Gus very proud.
But he had not expected… that the outside world had actually become such a tragic and unbearable state.
The man patted Gus’s shoulder, a little unaccustomed, and then whispered, “There have actually been these natural disasters in the territory of Fente, but they were all quickly resolved.”
“Shelley, he, hmm… your Prince Shelley has always paid great attention to this aspect of things.”
“The common people who are affected by natural disasters will be exempted from taxes, and will even be provided with a part of the relief funds.”
“Any country that dares to start a war will be directly eliminated by him. The number of royal families that have perished at his hands has already exceeded five.”
“He has also sent out a special guard team to clear the monsters on the roads between the various cities and to drive them back to the wilderness.”
“And because there are many churches in the territory of Fente, it is very difficult for the followers of the evil gods to extend their hands here.”
A divine church may find it difficult to manage a country’s faith in all aspects, and there may be omissions in dealing with the rat-like evil god churches… but what if there are five? Ten?
In fact, there were a total of twenty different divine churches in the territory of Fente. They were intricately entrenched in every corner of Fente.
They couldn’t even finish fighting among themselves. Where would there be any spare space to hand over to the evil gods to manage?
After Gus had finished listening, his heart was full of pride. He was very glad to be able to live in such a country. And he was also very glad that his queen would be Her Majesty Elena. She was able to look at that former noble illegitimate son with a different eye and to entrust him with a heavy responsibility, so that his talent could be displayed.
And he was even more glad that His Highness Shelley was such a generous and benevolent ruler.
“Praise Her Majesty Elena! Praise His Highness Shelley.”
Gus, under the pretext of drinking, quietly wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.
The dinner ended because of his daughter’s sleepiness. His wife carried their daughter back to the room to sleep.
Gus, on the other hand, after arranging for the couple to rest in the guest room, came to the warehouse in the basement alone. He looked at the armor, which, although it had not been worn for three or four years, was still as bright as new, and was lost in thought.
This was his own small room. Whenever he was in a bad mood, he would come here to maintain his equipment and weapons, just as he had once done in the Temple of Justice.
He drew that plain-looking knight’s longsword and slowly swung it twice. He held the sword with one hand, and with the other, he stroked the sword marks on the armor and said slowly, “…The people and justice need me.”
“They need us.”
The dim candlelight in the basement flickered, reflecting on his gradually firming face.
…
The couple’s departure was earlier than Gus had imagined. He had thought that they would stay for a few more days.
On the morning of the second day, the two of them had put on their traveling clothes and had come to his room to say goodbye.
“You two, be careful on the road.”
Although Gus knew that the two of them’s strength might be even stronger than he had imagined, after hearing the news about the outside world, he still couldn’t help but be a little worried.
The couple looked at each other and shook their heads. Then the woman said with a smile, “Mr. Gus, don’t worry. He won’t let anything happen to me.”
“By the way…”
“Trish is very talented. She might be a great person in the future.”
With that, she spread her arms wide, as if to say how great her future achievements would be.
Gus laughed with some pride, smiling as he watched the woman’s exaggerated gestures.
The man shook his head with some helplessness, was silent for a moment, and then looked at Gus’s eyes and said, “Gus, I have something to say to you…”
Sensing her husband’s seriousness, the woman stopped talking, but just gently held his arm and leaned against him.
“Don’t think about going on an adventure.”
“You have something more important to protect.”
With that, his gaze turned to behind Gus.
Gus’s expression froze. He turned his head with some difficulty and looked at his sleeping wife and daughter on the bed. His expression gradually became gentle. He kept looking at the mother and daughter, and said without turning his head, “I thought I had hidden it quite well.”
“Is it that obvious?”
The man’s voice became gentle for the first time, no longer that slightly stiff tone. He said softly, “I have seen too many people walk down the path of sacrifice with that kind of expression.”
“Protecting the majority is justice, and protecting one’s family is also.”
After a pause, there was a hint of gentleness in the man’s voice. He said, “Shelley once told me this…”
“Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.”
“He said that some people have already paid their dues once. The future should be left to the people of the future.”
“This world is not yet dangerous enough to need you.”
“With him here, you don’t have to die in vain.”
Gus suddenly turned his head, wanting to say something, but he found that the two of them were already gone from behind him.
He was silent for a long while, gently closed the door, and walked to his basement.
Gus took out the packed luggage one by one and gently put them back in their original places. He returned to the side of the mother and daughter, gently kissed their cheeks, and looked at the smile on their faces in a daze.
Gus whispered almost inaudibly in the warm room, “May justice forever bless you.”
…
“My dear, how great do you think that little girl’s achievements will be in the future?”
The two of them were holding hands and walking easily in the forest. All around them were terrified, scattered wild beasts and monsters.
After thinking for a moment, Rice remembered Trish’s pure eyes and talent. He said, a little uncertainly, “If she can grow up safely, at least she’ll be a legendary…”
“She could be the future backbone of this country, or even a hero.”
“And the premise of all of this is that she can grow up safely.”
Megan gently squeezed Rice’s palm, and then let go, and lay on his back from behind.
“Then we still have to work hard together.”
“To let more children grow up freely.”
A smile appeared on Rice’s face. He said softly, “Yes, let’s work hard together.”
Reaching out to support Megan’s butt, he strode forward with firm steps, one step at a time.
…
“Shelley, here are the materials on the various gods you wanted.”
Lydia pushed up the frameless glasses on her face, placed the documents in her hand beside Shelley, and then sat on his lap.
“Inside is the God of the Hunt, Malar, that you’re most interested in.”
Reaching out to wrap his arm around Lydia’s slender waist, feeling the softness on his lap, Shelley chuckled softly, “How could it be?”
“What I’m most interested in now…”
“Is of course Miss Lydia.”
