RNP Page 48
Page 48
Of course, among these nobles and ministers, there were also those loyal to Cocolia. Upon seeing this situation, their first instinct was to report it to Cocolia and then take control of the area.
However, after Jepard explained that this place was created by Angelica and that she had the authority to enter and exit, the remaining nobles and ministers very understandingly shut these pro-Cocolia people up.
For those who don't want to be dignified, there are many ways to help them be dignified.
They were all nobles and ministers, and their interests were not aligned with those of the Great Guardian. Faced with such a place, the supreme leader would definitely choose to control it; they did not want to offend Angelica because of Cocolia.
After all, putting everything else aside, if one could get even a small spot from Bai Zhi to build some houses, one would benefit greatly, right?
"That's strange... why are they all saying they're building a Magic Fairy Castle??"
At this moment, Cocolia was standing in front of the opera house, looking utterly bewildered. At first, she thought the old man was some kind of lunatic.
However, after asking some more people, they naturally assumed that they were building the Magic Fairy Castle, and even confirmed that the Magic Fairy Castle was the home of magical girls, a mysterious place created by the great creator of magical girls, the Dragon Girl Bai Zhi of the Divine Capital.
"What are you talking about? Magical Girl Creator and Dragon Girl from the Divine Capital? Are you writing a fantasy story?"
Cocolia angrily threw the scarf that had been covering her face to the ground. She was completely baffled by the situation today. She even began to wonder if she was dreaming, otherwise, how could there be such a bizarre story?
She even overheard passersby discussing whether they should steal the cloak of the previous Great Guardian from the Belleburg Museum, put it on that Dragon Girl from the Divine Capital, and then elect her as the new Great Guardian, so that maybe everyone could enter the Fairy Castle.
"A hallucination, it must be a hallucination! It must be the star core's doing; it's corrupting me too deeply!"
Cocolia muttered to herself, then dropped her scarf and, amidst the astonished expressions of the passing citizens and Silvermane Guards, returned somewhat dazed to Kripper Castle. She found her bed, flopped down, closed her eyes, and began to sleep.
97. Minister Belloberg: Let's make Angelica the Great Guardian.
While Cocolia was sleeping, Bai Zhi had already arrived in the lower city.
Of course, Bai Zhi wasn't the only one who came here; there was also a group of people following behind, including Pera, Jepard, some ministers and nobles from Beloborg, and a guard composed of some Silvermane Iron Guards.
Is it really necessary to go to such lengths?
Bai Zhi said helplessly to Jepard that she actually only wanted to go to the lower city by herself, after all, Bronya and Seele were there, and she hadn't seen the Azure Sea Group since she came to this world.
Furthermore, if she could make Bronya a magical girl, she would at least have to provide her with an office lady outfit.
“You can’t go alone. You know, you’re the most important person in Bellberg right now. What if something goes wrong?”
A minister wearing glasses quickly stepped forward and explained their thoughts to Bai Zhi, while the other Silver Mane Iron Guards and nobles nodded in agreement.
After learning about the situation inside the cave, they had been plotting for quite some time before finally making an important decision.
Once the time is right, they will raise an army and then elect someone to power.
If Bai Zhi becomes the Great Guardian, then... creating another existence like the Magic Fairy Castle wouldn't be a problem, right?
Of course, they had considered explaining the pros and cons to Cocolia and then peacefully relinquishing power.
However, through a series of assessments, they discovered that, given Cocolia's personality, she might not agree to such a thing; instead, she would likely become extremely angry and reject the storm.
Therefore, it's better to do this after everything is prepared.
The news blackout and the magical girl tests conducted throughout Belloberg were also their doing.
After all, Belleburg is not a large area, especially since this only involves the upper city. In just two or three days, they spread the news and developed a feasible plan, which was incredibly efficient.
"Alright, if you're willing, I don't mind..."
Bai Zhi shook her head speechlessly. She couldn't really drive these people away, since they didn't seem to have any ill intentions towards her. In fact, their attitude towards her was almost fawning. She felt that if she made a request, they would definitely do it without hesitation.
"Tsk... It seems I underestimated the allure of grotto-heavens for lower-level civilizations."
As Bai Zhi walked, she pondered silently. At first, she hadn't thought so much about it. Creating a grotto-heaven was mainly just a way to play with the Little Fairy reference.
She had also anticipated that this thing might have some impact on Belloberg.
However, she did not expect that the impact would be so great. After seeing the cave, these nobles and ministers all went crazy and believed whatever she said.
She felt that if she said she wanted to become the Great Protector of Belloborg, these guys would just push her into the position.
However... that should be impossible. Even if these guys have no morals, they wouldn't just kick Cocolia away like that.
Moreover, she had no interest in becoming the Great Guardian.
After all, while 10 billion credits might not be enough to buy the city of Belloborg, it would be more than enough to buy some less developed feudal civilization planets.
Want to experience the thrill of being an emperor? That's incredibly easy.
It's just that this kind of thing is meaningless. Just like how, under normal circumstances, a Chinese person wouldn't go to Africa to become the chief of a small tribe of a few people. In fact, Bai Zhi's situation is even more different. She is now the Dragon Maiden of Wisdom, the future Dragon Lord, whose status far surpasses that of the highest leader of the native planet.
Even in other interstellar civilizations, he would be considered a very high-level guest. Except for some obviously chaotic forces, such as those affiliated with or worshipping Nanuk, other forces would generally give him face and preferential treatment.
"Are those measures ready?"
As Bai Zhi walked ahead, the chief minister of Beloborg quietly inquired of some nobles.
"Of course, don't you know the situation in the lower city?"
The nobleman smiled slightly, "If we want to successfully promote this person to the position, the upper city is no problem, and the lower city naturally needs to be handled well as well. I have specially prepared a lot of supplies, which will be pulled down through the passage later."
"With these supplies, and if we spread the word, this person will have a basic reputation, and the change of power will not cause any trouble."
Although there were no Silvermane Iron Guards in the lower city, these nobles and ministers were not naive. They might not have legitimate channels, but they were always receiving information through gray and black channels.
Therefore, they are very familiar with the situation in the lower district.
Based on this situation, they have also developed a detailed plan to strive to promote the reputation of Angelica dahurica effectively.
I believe that the vast majority of people will not resent the gratitude of the public.
"What if Lady Baizhi doesn't agree to be the Great Guardian? She's an extraterrestrial visitor. I heard from Garrison Commander Jepard that she's also a dragon maiden from the Celestial Ship, with an extraordinary status. She's not someone we, Belloborg, can mess with, can we?"
Another nobleman hesitated for a moment and said that he was very familiar with the minister's words, but he also knew that a large gap in status and conditions could cause some problems in the development of things.
The gap between this interstellar civilization and the city of Beloborg is so vast that it can be described as a universe at your fingertips.
After listening, the minister shook his head slightly, "You still don't understand. Whether you want it or not is one thing, and expressing your attitude is another. Even if Lady Baizhi doesn't want to do it herself, it doesn't matter. She can be the Honorary Guardian and then appoint the First Cabinet Minister to be a hands-off manager."
"Having only titles and power, but no responsibility, I believe few people could refuse that, right?"
"Hmm...that seems to make sense." After a moment's thought, the nobleman understood the logic put forward by the minister.
These people are very shrewd. They don't need you to do anything; they just need you to accept an honor and power from them. Under normal circumstances, they won't refuse such a request. Even if they do refuse, they can put someone close to Bai Zhi in a position of power.
Given these complex relationships, even if we don't expect Bai Zhi to create another grotto-heaven, we can at least borrow some of Bai Zhi's identity and gain some benefits.
For example, the protection of the Celestial Ship, or some face-saving from other interstellar civilizations.
Moreover, putting everything else aside, that cave alone was enough for them to do these things.
98. Make a contract with me and become a magical girl!
"Huh, why is it so lively here all of a sudden? Are those people... Silvermane Iron Guards, and also Beloborg's ministers and nobles?"
At the goods exchange point in the lower city, a hooded girl looked up with some surprise at a group of people walking out of the subway line connecting the upper and lower city areas.
"These guys came here to squeeze even more out of us, right?"
Beside the hooded girl, the blue-haired girl holding a scythe looked at the group of people who had appeared with some disdain.
“Bronya, these past few days, you should have completely seen through your mother Cocolia’s true colors. She’s a tyrant who does whatever she wants and brings suffering to the people of the lower city. What we need to do is collect these cards, overthrow that tyrant, and create a truly better future!”
As the blue-haired girl spoke, she took out a rectangular box. In the dim light, it was clear that the box was filled with a stack of cards, and powerful energy fluctuations emanated from it.
That's right, the two of them are Seele and Bronya.
In the past few days, Bronya covered her gorgeous dress with a tattered robe and met Seele, a girl she felt an instant connection with (or was destined for her). After learning about Bronya's identity and her dissatisfaction and pity for the people of the lower city, Seele decisively chose to help her.
During this time, she heard that the group of outsiders had gone to find the robot named Schwarz in the depths of the mine, and with the help of Seele and many other children, she obtained these cards.
Hearing Seele's words, Bronya sighed slightly. Although Seele's language was very vulgar, she had to admit that what she said was true.
Having served as the commander of the Silver Mane Iron Guard for so many years, how could she not understand the shady dealings among the ministers and nobles? Most of these people were here for no good reason.
But... do I really want to use these cards to overthrow my own mother?
Perhaps she was just momentarily oblivious?
But the people of the lower city have suffered for so long, how could they not know, given their mother's intelligence?
Looking at those cards, Bronya was caught in a dilemma.
However, her dilemma didn't last long before she was immediately pulled back to reality by Seele's scream.
"Holy crap, what are those people doing? Are they distributing food??"
"what?"
Upon hearing Seele's words, Bronya quickly looked over and saw the Silvermane Iron Guards carrying out sacks of food and distributing them to the people around them. At the same time, some men who were clearly civil officials were talking to the people after distributing the food.
"What's going on? Has the sun risen in the west?"
Bronya was clearly a bit bewildered. She knew these guys all too well; they could certainly get things done, but it was practically impossible for them to come out and distribute food so kindly.
There's definitely something fishy going on inside.
Is it to win people's hearts? Or is there another motive?
"Bronya, how about we get closer and take a closer look?"
Seele noticed Bronya's curiosity about this matter and made a suggestion.
"...Okay, let's take a closer look."
Bronya thought for a second and then readily agreed to the idea. At the same time, she put on a pair of miner's glasses and a gray mask to cover her face.
As the leader of the Silvermane Iron Guard and the next Great Guardian, her appearance was all too familiar to the people of the Upper City.
If they recognize me, who knows what kind of trouble they might cause.
As Bronya approached the group distributing food, she gradually began to hear what the civil officials were saying.
“Citizen of Belloberg, this is your food allowance. It is also a gift from Lady Angelica, who brought these things.”
"Lady Baizhi?"
Bronya frowned upon hearing this. Who exactly is this?
This name doesn't sound like something a typical Beloborg would use; it sounds more like... the name format of that outsider, Danheng.
Could it be that there was another outsider who stayed in the upper city and then colluded with these ministers and nobles?
"Young man, wasn't this ordered by Lady Cocolia?"
Bronya lowered her voice and asked one of the Silvermane Iron Guards in a slightly hoarse tone.
She keenly noticed something amiss: the reason these people were giving the flyers was actually to promote that Angelica dahurica.
Just how much power does this Bai Zhi have that she can command these guys to do these things personally? This piqued her curiosity.
Moreover, she could almost immediately tell what the purpose was of sending such a large amount of food and muttering these things.
The urge to win people over was palpable.
However, was this grain collected by nobles and ministers, or was it distributed by Cocolia and then used by this group to win people's hearts?
If it was sent by Cocolia, and she was doing a favor, she could understand. But if it was purchased and sent by nobles and ministers, then the problem would be much bigger.
"This is of course a gift from Lady Baizhi. Although the Great Guardian is kind, the front lines are currently under pressure, so there is no budget to purchase more food."
The silver-maned guard glanced at Bronya's exposed silver hair with some surprise, but didn't think much of it and answered directly.
"How has Lady Cocolia been lately?"
The Silvermane Iron Guards were even more suspicious now. It was almost unbelievable that someone in the lower city would care so much about Cocolia.
Could this guy be some kind of Cocolia spy?
Just remembering the instructions from above to maintain a friendly attitude, and even if there were Cocolia's spies, so what? The intelligence simply wouldn't get through.
So he could only suppress his doubts and answer politely:
"Lady Cocolia is naturally very busy, but the battle lines are stretched thin, and she is trying to take command personally. We, the Silvermane Iron Guards, are of course very 'grateful' for her doing this."
As he spoke, the Silvermane Iron Guard's tone became somewhat resentful.
Bronya understood, of course, the reason for the Silvermane Iron Guard's emotions. It was because Cocolia's command was so terrible that it caused huge casualties. If she hadn't been the commander of the Iron Guard at the time, this matter probably wouldn't have been so easy to suppress.
Even so, there were still many criticisms of Cocolia within the Silvermane Iron Guard, who believed that she did not understand tactics and gave bad commands.
If he were to personally take command at the front lines, would the Silver Mane Iron Guards still be any better?