Part Two: The Human World Chapter Fifty-Second: Choice
There is a small and very old chapel in the corner of the Magic Academy. It is an old building that has been abandoned for a long time. Almost no one comes here usually.
An old priest hurriedly came over. When he got here, he looked inside and immediately walked in.
"Priest, are you going too far?" The old priest, who was over sixty years old, found the person he was looking for and asked cautiously.
"It's not too much. I just want to be quiet for a while." Asa sighed, not expecting that someone could find him here.
"But at least you should change your place." The old man is always more particular about details and rules.
"No need, the atmosphere here is very good."
"The Assistant Secretary of Finance is looking for you..."
"Assistant Minister? I don't know him. What is he looking for me for? If he wants to look for me, just ask him to come himself."
The gray eyebrows, beard, and wrinkles on the old pastor's face squirmed helplessly for a while. Looking at the young superior in front of him, he understood that it was useless to say anything, so he turned around and walked out, shaking his head.
Asa changed his position with difficulty. He was not sitting comfortably. There was no way. The carpenters made this thing to place holy books, holy objects and the hands of the bishop, not to place the buttocks. The surrounding murals
Some of the gods on the reliefs were doing their own postures, some were squinting, some were glaring angrily, and some were gazing tenderly, watching the man who should serve them sitting and lying on the altar.
A very familiar sound of footsteps came slowly from the door of the cathedral. Asa still didn't look back. He just sighed and said, "So it's you? Who did I think it was."
"Although this chapel is no longer in use, is it too much for you to sit on the altar?" the assistant minister said in a steady and solemn voice.
Asa smiled and replied: "How can it be too much? Just now a pious old cleric just said that I was a little too much."
"Originally the old pastor wouldn't let me in, but I insisted on coming, so he told me not to be offended, because you've always been like this." The assistant minister's voice had a hint of laughter. "It seems you are.
It seems like he does this kind of thing often."
"What to do? I don't think I did anything. I just drank some wine and ate some meat. Last time I finally found a one-eyed lizard in the grass outside. I roasted it and ate it. In the end, it was eaten by the bishop.
I scolded him for a long time."
"Oh? Is it that kind of one-eyed lizard called Southern Glass Bead? I remember you always said you wanted to taste what it tastes like." Because he recalled the past, the Assistant Minister's voice became livelier. "The Bishop reprimanded you.
Shouldn’t we kill animals indiscriminately?”
Asa scratched his head and sighed and said: "No, it was raining outside at that time. I was roasting lizards here and grabbed a book to use as fuel. I didn't know it was an original copy of some theological classic."
"Haha, you are still the same, you haven't changed."
"You have changed. Your voice seems much calmer and more sophisticated than before. As expected of the Assistant Secretary of Finance, you are now the only female minister in the empire."
"Really? I'm a little aware of it too." The assistant minister took a few steps forward and said a little self-deprecatingly. "Maybe it's because of his old age."
Asa turned around, and what he saw was still the slightly round and delicate face, with the slender eyes, straight nose, and thin lips, but the youthful, lively and lively temperament in his memory
It is no longer there, replaced by maturity and composure. With the official uniform that fits her well, she actually has a bit of majesty in her delicate beauty.
"I'm not old. I've become more mature and beautiful." Asa smiled at her. Looking at her appearance and temperament that he had never seen before, he felt strange in his heart for no reason. This feeling happened when he met Rodhart.
It happened when I was young. He sighed and said: "I find that once a person becomes an official or has a career, he quickly changes his appearance, becomes mature and sophisticated."
Xiaoyi smiled faintly and said, "I have seen a lot about the world and gained a lot of experience. I put my energy and thoughts on my own career, and naturally I am not as frivolous as before."
"But why am I still the same?" Asa sighed.
"It should be that your personality is not suitable for doing these things." Xiaoyi smiled. "Actually, even I don't really believe that you can become a priest or a great hero in the future. You...you don't look like that."
"Yes. I'm not suitable. I just found out now and yesterday that this place is really not suitable for me." Asa sighed longly, and tried his best to push all the air in his lungs and the feeling of depression and helplessness towards his body.
"I would rather survive alone in the swamp and desert, facing wild beasts and monsters, than stay here any longer. I am too stupid. I am too stupid. I can't see clearly anything about the people and things around me."
, I don’t understand anything. Even if I try to do something, I can’t control anything. So I’m very annoyed and want to be alone in this place. Then I think..." He did not continue at this point.
Go on.
"No matter how vigorous an eagle is, it cannot live in the sea." Xiaoyi's voice became gentle. "You are not stupid. You are probably not suitable for such an environment."
The gentleness in this tone was just a little bit, but it made the empty and helpless heart feel full. Suddenly those things that had been silent for a long time and had almost been forgotten jumped out again. Asa was silent for a moment and asked: "What are you still doing?"
Remember what I told you before? I want to travel all over the continent and around the world."
"Remember, you often told me about it before." Xiaoyi's voice became softer when mentioning the past.
Asa looked at those slender eyes. The hazy smile in them seemed to be less pure than before, but the gentleness still filled every space in his heart. He thought for a while,
Said: "...Actually, I had a question I wanted to ask you before, but I never asked it..."
"what is the problem?"
"I want to travel freely. Are you willing to go with me?" After asking this question, Asa turned his head and looked at the dusty statue. He did not dare to look at her again.
There was no answer, only the two people's breaths alternated with each other in this old chapel. This dusty place is full of traces of history, as if time can be easily pulled back by memory.
"Are you still thinking about traveling now? What should you do with the things that the bishop has arranged for you?" Xiaoyi's voice returned to a calm and mature tone. "Although you are not used to such an environment now, the things you should face are
We should face it, we should shoulder the responsibilities that we should bear, and there is no use in escaping." She paused, her voice became calmer, but she seemed a little lonely. "We have all grown up."
Asa smiled bitterly and said no more.
The two fell into silence again. After a while, Asa asked: "Why did you come to me?"
Xiaoyi took out a letter and handed it to him. "My sister entrusted me to give this to you, and then asked you to pass it on to your friend Rodhart."
"Why doesn't she go by herself? Do you want you to hand it over to me and then hand it over to me? Is it fun?"
"I'm probably sorry. There may be something difficult to express in the letter. If there are two people in the middle to deliver it, the feeling will not be so strong." Xiaoyi's tone actually sounded like someone who has been there before. "A girl's worries are all there.
It’s like this, it’s hard to grasp.”
Asa reached out and took the letter, shook his head and sighed: "It's really hard to figure out..."
"Okay. My mission is completed. There are still a lot of official duties waiting for me. You'd better work hard and do your job." The female assistant minister turned and walked out.
It wasn't until she walked out of the gate of the Magic Academy that she looked back at the dilapidated chapel and sighed: "Why didn't you ask me then..." She stretched out her hand to wipe the corners of her eyes and slowly boarded the carriage.
.
"Work hard to do my thing? Do you know what I want to do?" In the chapel, Asa also sighed. He took out the scroll in his arms and slowly looked at both ends of the scroll.
The little skeleton glowed slightly. As long as he grabbed these two little things and pulled them, all the troubles in the world would no longer have anything to do with him.
The feeling of relaxation and relief is really pleasant, but at the same time there is also the pain of loss. I wonder if the part just now is a farewell?
The next day, the troops who went to Airy to suppress the pagan rebellion set out.
Asa looked at the mighty troops, frowned and asked Rodhart: "Do we need so many people?"
Rodhart rode a tall snow-white horse, wearing a shining silver knight's armor and a purple cape. He looked completely consistent with his identity as a commander. He walked majestically at the front of the team side by side with Asa.
He shook his head and said: "Not many, only five thousand people. I am very familiar with the situation in Airi. The right time and place will definitely not be a disadvantage. According to the reported situation, the pagan group is probably only five or six thousand, but they are all
It’s just a ragtag group of people without formal equipment. It’ll be no problem to deal with them.”
Asa took out the letter from his arms and handed it to him. "This is what Chris asked her sister to give to me and then me to give it to you."
Rodhart frowned, took the letter and opened it.
"What does it say?" Asa asked.
"Nothing. She told me that the emperor has proposed marriage to the Duke." Rodhart replied calmly.
"What?" Asa was a little surprised, and then looked at Rodhart's calm expression. "It seems like you already knew?"
"Of course." Rodhart nodded. "When I heard Chris mention the matter between her and the emperor, she probably didn't even realize it, so I guessed that things would develop to this point.
.But because of the impact of the last hunting incident, it came faster than I expected."
"You and Chris should always have a good relationship."
"Of course." Rodhart still nodded. "Duke Mrak sometimes deliberately arranges it that way."
Asa recalled the judgment made by Mr. Porugan, who had a big head and was very useful. For a talent like Rodhart, Chris was an important bargaining chip that the Duke ensured that he could receive him under his command. But now this bargaining chip is very small.
It obviously has a more important purpose.
"Don't the Duke know that the Emperor likes Chris?"
"He doesn't know. This matter is actually very secret. No one seems to know except Chris and I, and the emperor himself. The Duke pays too much attention to national political affairs, so naturally he doesn't care about these little children.
It’s all about the details.”
"Then you didn't tell the Duke the news?"
"Because there is no need to let him know." Rodhart smiled, it seemed to be a bitter smile, it seemed to be a sneer, and it was a bit unpredictable.
Asa frowned and asked, "Is this all what was written in the letter?" If it was just these words, there seemed to be no need to ask two people to forward it in the middle.
Rodhart's expression was slightly unnatural, and he said calmly: "She also said that she was confused and didn't know what to do. She will wait for me at the tavern we often go to at noon today. If I go,
Come with me and leave the royal capital." His tone was very calm, and his description was very simple and clear, as if it was not a very important matter.
Asa smiled bitterly. It was another such marriage, another stillborn elopement. However, Rodhart looked very different from himself at the time. He seemed to have made the decision without much effort.
He wondered what he should do. She was waiting for him there, but he was already busy with his own tasks, his own work, and gave up neatly without any sloppiness.
Asa looked at Rodhart. The lines on his face were not very clear. It was a kind of soft beauty that blended handsomeness and kindness. It was originally not associated with temperaments such as fortitude and bravery, but no matter what,
The same calmness and rationality at all times and everywhere has already shown the strength that any courage can represent. This is a person who is perfectly integrated with this environment, and he will eventually become a truly strong person in this environment.
But this was none of his business anymore. Asa touched his waist, it was hard, and he could feel the magic power flowing on the scroll through his clothes. It smelled of freedom and abandonment.
After leaving the Royal Capital, he could leave quietly at any time, travel freely, hide, and pull this scroll when he was hunted down by the church and had no way to go. He really didn't want to stay in the Royal Capital anymore.
Face those things you don’t want to face in the endless plans and tasks. It’s really like Sandro said, your feelings and efforts there will be inferior to nothing.
Asa glanced at Rodhart. Everyone should live in their own suitable environment. Big things should be done by those who can do them.
"Actually, I'm an orphan." Rodhart suddenly said while walking silently. "I don't know who my parents are. I'm just an abandoned baby picked by my grandfather."
Asa looked at him and didn't understand why he suddenly mentioned this.
"Despite this, my grandfather has always loved me. He put all his thoughts on educating me. He hoped that I could become the best person one day, and spent all his family property to let me go to the knight school. Those
The folks also believed that I could become a great knight and hero. So I made up my mind since I was a child that I would not disappoint their expectations and become a hero who upholds light and justice like the protagonist in the story. But later on
Only then did I realize...I was too naive. I didn't become a hero, I was just a kid who didn't understand anything and was the culprit who killed them." Rodhart still looked ahead, his tone as calm as telling a story.
A long-lasting story, the hazy light in those eyes seemed ethereal and firm at the same time. "Later, I finally saw the reality clearly, finally recognized the world clearly, and finally seized the opportunity. I will no longer be naive.
Now, I want to be strong, I want to rely on my own efforts to become a master..." He looked at Asa and smiled miserably. This expression suddenly broke his original calmness and strength. It was a complete
It was a smile of pain and helplessness. "So even if I like her very much, this is my only choice."
Looking at this awkward smile, Asa suddenly felt pity for him. Then he inexplicably remembered what Duke Mrak said to him in his bedroom.
For those who are able to bravely move forward in this world and strive to climb the peak, their strong motivation mostly comes from unforgettable pain and helplessness.
"Everything I have now was given to me by you. You saved me and gave me the opportunity to get to where I am today. You are the person I am most grateful to in my life." Rodhart looked at
Looking at Asa. Asa could see in his expression the last traces of the innocent young man left in Ai. "I will go on well and help you go better. As long as we are in Ai
If I successfully complete this mission, I will be further recognized by the church and my status will be more stable. At that time, I will no longer be the Duke's pawn, but someone who can negotiate terms and cooperation with him. I
We will definitely be able to go higher and further.”
Rodhart's eyes have been cast in the direction of Airy, where he has his past and his future.
Asa decided. It was better to visit Airi and help him complete this mission before leaving.