At another intersection, Chiba got off the car and bought some newspapers and magazines with Hesta's face on them, then got in the car and handed them to her.
Hestad flipped through page after page - in these newspaper and magazine articles, a "Jane Hestad" who was extremely unfamiliar to her appeared.
This girl not only had the same name as her, but also entered the convent at the same time. She was gentle, pious, and was born with a heart like a virgin.
The article is filled with a lot of details and depicts the life of the monastery very vividly and realistically. It seems that the reporter interviewed the surviving children of St. Anne's monastery. However, everything related to Hesta has a lot of publicity - such as Mrs. Lasan once discovered a squirrel with a bloody hole on its body on the day of the incident, which became the first discovery by Hesta in the article. Not only that, Hesta, who has always been gentle, courteous and thrifty, also took the initiative to find a squirrel without the presence of the nun. , organized other children to pray for the dead animals.
Hestad didn't understand, "Why are they scribbling?"
Chiba's car passed the Civic Square at this moment, and the sudden noise not far away made Hesta couldn't help but turn his head to look.
In front of a towering monument, countless people stood there, waving flags or holding homemade corrugated cards. As the angle changed, Hestad saw many people holding her portraits or photos— —It’s the one that appears on countless magazine covers today.
On waving flags and playing cards, people wrote thickly in red or black paint: Set her free!
Under the monument, someone was giving an impassioned speech, but because he was too far away, Hestad could not hear what the person was saying. Not far from the crowd, she saw many policemen holding their arms silently, watching the demonstration from a distance. crowd.
Perhaps because the speech was about to end, people standing high up suddenly began to raise their arms and shout, and the crowd in the square instantly erupted into a heaven-shaking voice: "Let her be free——" "Let her be free——" "Let her—— -free!!!"
Hesta looked at Chiba, "What are they doing?"
"We are asking the coalition government to come forward and engage with the AHgAs."
"Negotiation...what?"
"They hope that AHgAs will let you go and let you return to a livable place and live like an ordinary person, so as to avoid becoming a combat tool against chelates in the future." Chiba replied, while standing up and looking at the road ahead, seeing the distance There seemed to be a traffic jam, so she started looking for opportunities to turn around.
Hesta asked, "Why would they do this?"
"Who are you referring to as 'them'?"
"...those people in the square." Hesta said softly, "I don't know any of the people there."
"Ha," Chiba replied meaningfully, "Of course it's because 'someone' wants 'them' to do that."
Hesta thought for a moment, "Coalition government?"
"Uh-huh." Chiba responded. "Although AHgAs is a completely autonomous and independent institution, a considerable part of our funding sources still come from financial allocations from the regional coalition government and private donations... The public image of the region will directly It affects our budget for the coming year. Whoever takes advantage of this can put pressure on us."
Through the car window, Hesta looked back at the crowd in the square again. The crowd in the distance was shouting more intensely. These sounds became smaller and smaller as Chiba's speed continued to increase, and there was a brief silence on both sides of the road.
After entering the old city, everything in the city began to become lively again.
Hesta saw a succession of taverns, bakeries, mini-markets, and window displays of new clothes. There are brown or dark blue tables and chairs in the open space facing the street. People sit around and chat under huge parasols. There are various cups and snacks on their tables, and they laugh from time to time.
Due to the strict speed limit in the old city, the speed of cars in Chiba has become very slow, which gives Hesta more opportunities to observe this beautiful old city. Different from the bright fairy-tale townhouses in the past, the buildings here are more solemn and the colors are more sober.
Bronze statues can be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys, with their names and dates of birth and death engraved on the bronze bases. Eroded by rain and wind, the surface of the statue is mottled, showing a darkness and coldness that has gone through the years.
Chiba stopped in front of a bakery. She unbuckled her seatbelt and said, "Let's go and eat something first."
"I already had it at the base this morning -"
"I haven't yet." Chiba said as he got out of the car, "The food in the base is so delicious."
Hesta followed Chiba out of the car. She raised her head and saw the words "White Ship" engraved on the wooden sign above her head, and there was a string of characters Hesta didn't recognize next to it - presumably it was another store name. Language translation.
As soon as he opened the door, Hesta could smell the sweet smell of butter. The smell was so rich and mixed with the fragrance of coffee, making people suddenly think that they were in heaven.
She followed Qianye in silence, looking at the dazzling array of breads and cakes in the glass showcase. Under the light yellow light strips, the clotted cream and frosting looked particularly charming. She couldn't help but lift her sunglasses to take a closer look. , until the breath casts a layer of moisture on the glass.
After ordering three croissants and a cup of coffee, Chiba turned around and asked, "What do you want to eat?"
Hesta was startled at first, and then became a little confused. She raised her finger and hesitated for a long time, and finally pointed to a small cake with both strawberries and raspberries on the top layer, "This... this."
Chiba turned around and said to the sales lady, "One strawberry fruit tart, plus two Kanalei."
The two quickly took their seats against the wall of the store. One side was a stone wall, and the other faced the street. The side facing the street was embedded with a huge piece of stained frosted glass. Through the glass window, everyone on the street became a shadow. Blurred marks of shadows.
Soon, Hesta's fruit tart and Chiba's coffee were served first.
"Eat. Don't wait for me." Chiba said.
Hesta held her breath and picked up the knife and fork on the side. Her knife cut through the center of the cake twice, carving out a small triangular piece of about sixty degrees.
"Who taught you how to use your knife and fork?"
Hestad paused and said, "Sister Gerding of St. Anne's Convent."
"Not bad." Chiba tilted her face to watch Hesta eat, "I've been here for more than five years, and I'm still not used to using a knife and fork."
Just as he was talking, the waiter came over with a large white round plate with three Chiba croissants on it. She took out a napkin from the wooden folder next to her and took the bread directly.
Neither of them spoke anymore.
It started to rain outside, and raindrops pattered on the stained glass wall beside Hestad's hand.
The wind chime at the door of the bakery rang, and a mother and daughter pushed open the door and came in. After stopping briefly at the ordering counter, they quickly sat down here.
The mother held her daughter's hand and carefully placed a dark piano case on a chair nearby.
