Chapter 227: Conflict between Father and Son

A patch of bright sunlight, in this already humid and hot summer day, made people’s spirits feel a bit drowsy! Shining through the window into the room and spilling onto the ground, it was that kind of golden yellow, warm color, somewhat dazzling. Such bright afternoon sunlight made people feel a trace of languor in this season.

In the early summer afternoon, the sunlight was still so dazzling. Carrying a slight dry heat, the wind gently blew the branches that had already turned green. Occasionally, birds streaked across the vast sky, leaving behind strings of crisp cries. But what was heard more often was the tireless chirping of insects.

The sky was still azure blue, and floating white clouds drifted leisurely, slowly drifting towards the distance, towards the end of the sky. Looking at that sky, one could not help but feel an impulse to stay far away from the noise of the mortal world. A person hiding in a silent high tower standing at the peak of the mountains, silently admiring the sweet and dazzling sunlight, quietly feeling loneliness, and savoring a different kind of beauty in life.

Due to the design for defensive fortifications, the Castle did not have any open-air balconies, and even today, many years later, there was still no change. Because in the eyes of the Knights, a Castle should be like this; only serious and thick fortresses could be worthy of being called a Castle. Of course, perhaps someone would mention the famous Neuschwanstein Castle, but unfortunately, in the world before the transmigration, it could only be said to be a temporary palace with the style of a Castle. During construction, the main function a Castle should have was not considered, because the development of firearms at that time had caused this function to lose its original value.

However, in order to make the originally cold and gloomy Castle look a bit more lively. George placed a few pots of green ivy and a pot of pure and elegant perfume lilies in rooms with large windows like the study, and a few pots of hanging spider plants were hung on the edge of the windowsill. In the center of the study was placed a small rattan coffee table and a few square light purple soft couches. A person quietly hid inside, silently, as if able to achieve isolation from the world.

George had never thought that on such a busy day today, he would actually pay attention to this warm sunlight. The sunlight refracted through the tender new leaves, leaving mottled spots, like listening to music quietly flowing.

It was also as if after all the prosperity and noise, it would eventually return to calm, and then, plain as water, just like this light tea, faint, carrying a slight fragrance, making people savor it for a long time.

Heh! This lazy afternoon! It made people feel tired like a lazy cat that had enough sun. The exchange between father and son was like a casual chat, yet also like conducting official business. But interspersed during it were memories and family trivialities. It was like quietly staying in the sunlight to enjoy a beam of its warmth, thinking about some past events, thinking about some thoughts gone with the wind, thinking about some philosophies of life, thinking about some things that could not be expressed in words and only oneself understood.

Thus, the feeling was that this afternoon sunlight and the thinker it illuminated had a tacit understanding, like soulmates who had been together for many years, needing to say or do nothing, yet everything was clear in their hearts. This afternoon sunlight seemed to understand the unspeakable mood of others, understand the grievances others could not explain, and understand some moods deep in others’ hearts that no one knew.

Good or evil, happiness or sorrow, pain or joy. In the study on this summer afternoon, they all seemed meaningless. Just like from spring to winter, it was just an instant; the changing of seasons, the flowing of time; in a rush, the years rolled past like advancing wheels. Only this moment would be frozen forever in eternity.

Unfortunately, no matter how beautiful the environment and atmosphere were, they were accidental products of the unity of nature and man. Whether it was the people immersed in it or the changes in the objects forming the environment, it was possible to break this fragile dynamic balance.

And George was the one who spoiled the scenery first. Sitting in the soft couch with his back still straight, not long after falling into the role of father-son conversation, he broke the previously relatively harmonious atmosphere. Frowning, he raised his question: “Father, are the Adventurers hired to carry out the mission you ordered reliable?”

Any action had different requirements for reliability. And the plan carried out previously could more or less be counted as part of a secret front. The requirements in this aspect were even higher.

George had only proposed to publish a mission at the Adventurer’s Home to add some trouble to those new moles from the Kingdom of Lucia, thereby increasing the other party’s cost of infiltration. But unexpectedly, in the hands of Viscount Bolerum, the other party, together with His Grace the Duke, had created such a big scene.

If the former was just small trouble, the Adventurers performing the mission had no direct contact or connection with the Duchy government as the employer. Not knowing any internal news, they were just cheap thugs contacted through middlemen. There was no need to spend any energy on these people. Of course, the tasks they performed would not be too dangerous; although they were cannon fodder in the hands of these superiors, their personal safety was not too low.

But the current method, even if it didn’t count as training human bombs like the “Donkey” faith organizations before transmigration, was considered training ordinary members of the “Base” organization. In this, after preliminary screening, the Duchy government actually bypassed the Adventurer’s Home to contact those guys directly. They even gave the other party certain guidance and help; of course, the risk of the tasks they were to perform in the future would also multiply.

Similarly, the impact of this rising risk was two-sided. The more they contacted the government, the more information they would obtain through their own channels and conjectures. If someone among them defected, the impact on the entire Duchy of Nohan might still be somewhat significant.

“Reliable? The initial screening action was random to begin with. Moreover, those selected were guys with the blood of those spies from the Kingdom of Lucia on their hands. And among this batch of people, there were also casualties among their companions, so they would be considered first after the first mission.” Viscount Bolerum paused for a while, then stroked his beard and said, “If spies from the Kingdom of Lucia still mixed in, then we can only consider ourselves unlucky. Because the other party is more ruthless than us, ruthless enough to treat their own people as a pledge of allegiance. And once their hands are stained with the other party’s blood, given the consistent style of the Kingdom of Lucia, no one would think that their subsequent surrender would be forgiven by those Barbarian Bears.”

Regarding Viscount Bolerum’s statement, after pondering for a while, George found that it still had some effect. The key here was not what the Kingdom of Lucia would do, but making others think what the Kingdom of Lucia would do. However, the prerequisite for this to be effective was the Kingdom of Lucia’s domineering style of action and insatiable diplomatic strategy over the past 100 years.

But George still had another layer of worry: “But what if someone among those Adventurers falls into the other party’s hands? First of all, I don’t think those guys who take money to do things can grit their teeth and keep their mouths shut. Moreover, under the effect of Magic, they have almost no ability to resist! The will level of those guys can be said to be not only uneven, but even if you pick the tall ones among the short, they won’t be much taller.”

“Anyway, those guys themselves won’t know any news. Of course, this is also thanks to those Cultists cooperating with the Kingdom of Lucia. With them acting as a shield in front, those little brats among the Adventurers with overflowing sense of justice rushed faster than anyone else.” Knight Val said, picking up a long-necked cup on the coffee table and drinking the bright red watermelon juice in one go.

“Rushed faster than anyone else? They probably died faster than anyone else!” George said angrily. Even after so many years, he still couldn’t treat human life as lightly as grass.

“From the second stage onwards, that’s a full bounty of 500 Gold Coins! This large sum of money is not so easy to take. Since they want to obtain gains superior to others, how can they not pay the corresponding price! With the strength of those inexperienced little brats, wanting to earn this large sum of money. Even with employers every day, it would take a full two years! Moreover, it would be considered good if those guys were employed for half a year in a year. When they saw such high mission rewards, wouldn’t they think of the danger represented behind it?” Viscount Bolerum appeared quite frank in front of George, as if this was just a very ordinary business deal.

Of course, in Viscount Bolerum’s eyes, anyone should pay the price for their previous actions! Even if the other party underestimated this price, it was also the other party’s own fault. It was like some people throwing stones on the highway, originally just thinking it was fun, not thinking about what consequences it would cause. But the result! That stone shattered the windshield, knocked the driver inside unconscious, and caused a serious traffic accident. Finally, they were sentenced to 10 years in prison for negligent homicide. However, George, who had his own outlook on life and values, still couldn’t equate the two.

“That is to say, those Adventurers don’t even know what enemy they will face in the future, right!” As he spoke, George himself felt a little unnatural. Because he felt that this approach already had the suspicion of tricking people into dying.

Viscount Bolerum said with a bitter smile: “In fact, we have explained it very clearly to them. What they need to face are those Cultists who are destroying the beautiful lives of Commoners! As for what is behind those Cultists? We are currently only guessing; don’t we have no decisive evidence in hand yet? So we didn’t deceive those Adventurers, because we ourselves can’t determine what enemy we will ultimately face. If you want to talk about deception, it is us who were deceived by those Cultists and the cunning Kingdom of Lucia, isn’t it?”

Hearing his old father’s explanation, George finally understood why the vast majority of foreign politicians in the world before transmigration were lawyers by origin. Without this kind of thinking and logic, I’m afraid doing things would be like George now, always entangled in this and that! Unfortunately, understanding was understanding, this didn’t mean George would agree with this practice and logic.

“Then I hope your approach can ultimately achieve a complete result! I can’t accept this kind of method, or way, yet.” George put down the cup in his hand and shook his head.

“That’s right, this seems too cruel for you now. Although you have always performed very rationally and maturely, you are still a child after all! This kind of thing that might cause a guilty conscience should be left to us adults! But you will eventually grow up, and by then you will understand the trade-offs in this. Compared with those foreign Adventurers, we still think that compatriots who have lived on this land for a long time are more important. If we must choose to sacrifice, we naturally chose the former.” Viscount Bolerum’s words revealed the helplessness and persistence of a superior. On both ends of the balance were placed responsibility and compassion; clearly, the former defeated the latter.

“Now let me be quiet for a while! Father.” George said as he adjusted his somewhat agitated thoughts.

Viscount Bolerum also knew that their previous practices were not very decent in the eyes of some people. Although this practice did not conflict with his philosophy, it still caused his own realm to have almost no progress for so many years. As a parent, the Viscount was conflicted, whether he hoped his child would embark on the same path as himself, or could have a broader sky: “Then you should go back to your room and think it over! No matter what choice you make, I will support you. Who told you to be my only relative!”

Saying that, Bolerum reached out and touched George’s head again.

But at this time, George, whose mind was messed up by the entanglement, patted his face and shook his head: “Okay Father, see you at dinner.”

Leaving the study, George gave up the routine sparring in the afternoon and lay alone in his room. In his head, he always recalled the contradictions and conflicts.

For those rookie Adventurers full of their own ideals and yearning for the cause of justice. Because they were severely pitted by the plan he proposed, George didn’t know what kind of emotion to use to face it.

Some people said: It is not a bad thing for an eighteen-year-old boy to insist on being a friend of justice and saving the world. It is not a good thing for a thirty-year-old adult with a wife and daughter to still not see his own limitations and go to extremes in everything.

It can be said that most people in their childhood fantasized about being a “friend of justice”; after all, those born bad are a very small minority. But with the increase of age and the increase of seeing the darkness of society, the vast majority of people gave up and compromised.

The scripture of the Three Character Classic, “Men at their birth are naturally good. Their natures are much the same; their habits become widely different,” was really quite apt!

But precisely because there were also people among them who did not compromise, even if they were bumped and bruised by reality, they did not change their belief in justice. Even after experiencing cruel battles, tortuous conspiracies, and future tragedies, his belief did not waver. His belief was like a sharp sword; setbacks made it tough, and love gave it a sheath, but this sharp weapon named “Sword of Justice” never dimmed.

Like this kind of person, even if he couldn’t become a hero, George felt he was worthy of being looked at squarely by others. Because experience can be accumulated, and experience can grow, but this persistence of belief was what the vast majority of people couldn’t do.

However, in the world before George, some people called this “Chuunibyou”. Just because the other party could say such childish declarations so righteously, and really fight for it.

Most people, because they couldn’t do it, felt a sting deep in their hearts. They loudly cursed his childishness, his Chuunibyou, his bias, but dared not look squarely at his courage, his determination, and those things he possessed that they had long discarded.

This was the angry howl emitted by the already rotting heart after being irradiated by too intense sunlight. That hot sunlight, using an opportunity named “being moved”, shone into the dark corners deep in the heart, causing the wretched existence hiding in it to have nowhere to hide and counterattack in despair.

The justice of children belongs to that age when most children still fantasize about being “friends of justice”. So they only need simple and melodramatic plots. But once facing teenagers or even adults, deeper blades and blood were needed to cut and shock the complex hearts of these audiences.

This was like that Lei Feng in school propaganda materials in the 1980s. It seemed that “Lei Feng” had become a synonym for a sucker in the mid-1990s… A dedicated role placed after 2000, if it didn’t have a scheming or conspiracy theory background, would either be mocked as a hypocrite by real villains, or become “Lei Feng”…

“I can’t do what they do, but I will never maliciously speculate about them because of this. Perhaps I will still use them when necessary, but when I need to come out to bear the responsibility, I will never shrink back. Moreover, who hasn’t been young! Some people say that without that kind of courage, you will never succeed; the fact is that those who don’t calculate the probability of success and only know how to bury their heads in making the choice that is ‘most regret-free for themselves’ and ‘worthy of their conscience’. If they succeed, they are possessed by the protagonist and become a big hero; if they fail, they may immediately become a martyr. I don’t expect myself to become a big hero, but when needed, I will never regret becoming a martyr. Since I can’t become the best choice, then become the least bad one!” Finally, George made such a decision.

In this instant, his confusion was swept away, and his mind gained absolute peace. Even the mental fatigue brought by handling government affairs for many days disappeared completely. At the same time, that “Doumu Yuanjun Visualization Method” seemed to have a slight breakthrough. It looked like it wouldn’t be long before the second star could be condensed. From another aspect, George’s realm once again surpassed his current level of strength.

The accumulation originally consumed by the breakthrough just now was replenished at least on the spiritual level. Of course, George also had to face the problem he had been fighting against all along: material accumulation was always insufficient.

‘Although I didn’t consciously strive for that aspect this time, the effect is still passable! At most by this time next year, I will be able to advance another rank!’ George smiled self-deprecatingly.

What was expressed most of the time here was just: Heroes can only fully display their grand talents and strategies in chaotic times without being subject to too many restrictions. In prosperous times, people are often very comfortable, unwilling to innovate, don’t want new things, and have weak acceptance ability, because they live “very well”. So a true hero should appear in chaotic times, and only heroes in chaotic times are true heroes.

In chaotic times, variables are large, opportunities and challenges coexist, so talented people are easy to stand out; in prosperous times, it is peaceful and comfortable, and order is orderly, so it is not so easy for talented people to stand out, because they are restricted by things like seniority.

But there was another point, which was that in chaotic times, people faced more sudden situations and unprecedented challenges. Only by experiencing such hardships and tempering could one blow away the sand to find the gold!