After Perturabo left Lokos, Morse finally decided how to complete the left hand of his statue, the one missing the relic's mark.
He used a zigzag solid wall to form a notched circle similar to a theatre, with gears, hammers and mountains carved in the middle. This was undoubtedly inspired by Perturabo.
As for the face, he just wants to carve a mask and put it on in the future, even if he has completed this work.
In this way, he would later give it to Perturabo as a gift, so as not to annoy him further with the statue that took up too much space in the room. He could also tell the child inscrutably that the mask symbolized the change in his image due to observation. It changes depending on the person, so you can treat it like anyone.
During this period, he met with Andos and Callifon respectively. During the meeting, while chatting and greetings, he silently searched the souls of the two people with the attitude that politeness is social morality and morality is clay in the hand. situation.
Their minds were as clean as ever, so much so that Morse had to wonder if he himself was being overly paranoid.
The next moment this thought occurred, Morse denied his hesitation.
It was not that he had not seen the evil and ignorant people behind the curtain. After witnessing the fire-stealing madman entering the highest sky and returning home with a full load, he knew very well that a moment of negligence would not lead to a big mistake.
Human civil war is the most ridiculous manifestation of human beings choosing their own evolutionary path. Even so, it is still an internal matter for the development of human civilization.
However, if it involves malicious manipulation of external creatures or even the will, Morse does not think it would be wise to stay out of it at that time.
"Did we do anything wrong?" Andos sat down at the other end of his desk uneasily, watching Morse flip through the paper documents of the entire naming ceremony process.
On the left hand side of the man in black is the documentary summary and graphic description of the royal naming ceremony in the past years in the Lokos collection album. The entire pile of documents several inches high has been memorized in his mind for the process of this ceremony. Detailed comparison.
"In the past, the priestesses of the cult presided over the naming ceremony?" Morse asked.
"Yes, Mr. Morse. But Lokos's relationship with the cult fell to a freezing point a few years ago. They even threatened us with the selection of the ceremony master. Califon proposed to directly use the local people of our country. The Priestess takes the place of the Priestess... everyone agrees." Andos replied respectfully.
"The right choice, no one cares who is hosting the ceremony, as long as they are elegant enough."
Morse turned over a page of information, and the thin paper made a clear rustling sound. He accurately found the corresponding description from the pile of ancient parchment next to him.
"In the past, this kind of ceremony was held in the inner hall of the palace. Why should it be open to more people and held in the public theater this time?"
"This is what Perturabo requested..."
"Okay, next question." Morse said without much expression, "Is there any reference to the old model of the Golden Mask of the Honorable Officer?"
"The information is all at your fingertips...Except for a few documents that are poorly preserved and difficult to read due to moisture or insect bites, we have brought all the relevant information."
"No one recorded what the mask looks like?"
"The cult believes that the golden mask of the priestess is equivalent to the face of the goddess Hephoni, so it cannot be desecrated or recorded." Andos sighed.
"The drawings of this batch of masks... were made according to the golden masks I had in mind during my brother's naming ceremony. I also took into account the opinions of many courtiers and chamberlains who had gone through the naming ceremony. They should not be too different from before. Make a difference."
Morse raised his eyes and scanned his expression, "The expression and details of the mask have not changed?"
Andos thought carefully about it, which helped the gentle prince regain a little confidence.
"No," he said firmly, "I try my best."
After saying that, his momentum became weaker again, he folded his two large hands together, and asked doubtfully: "May I know...what went wrong with the ceremony we arranged?"
"I'm looking for a problem." Morse turned the document to the next page. "I also hope that any problems this time have nothing to do with you. Of course, it is best that there is no problem at all."
As all the members of the Lokos royal family, including Harkon, have emphasized, they treat the naming of Perturabo with an extremely solemn attitude, without a trace of neglect. The record of this ceremony is also the most detailed one in history.
From the overall scene layout, catering, band, sound effects, admission, etc., to the names of all personnel in each position, as well as the corresponding relationship between personnel and venue effects, all are recorded one by one, forming several thick volumes of paper. book.
As for the six female officiants who presided over the ceremony, they wrote down all the records from their ages, life stories, family relationships, and interpersonal interactions, without omitting anything. They even included the following information: Perturabo has started from a port of the industrial chain in recent years, and has grown from scratch. There are morphological photos taken by an artificial camera.
Yes, Perturabo invented the camera again, and emphasized to Morse more than once that his camera had better image reproduction capabilities and was far more efficient in shooting than Morse's daguerreotype.
Morse declined a request to return the original photo of him to the owner of the image rights.
He checked the information of the six female ritual officers one by one, but still found no problem, and the entire ritual process, such as bleeding, worshiping gods, etc., was also very different from the process in previous years.
The difference is not that there is no difference. In the past, the priestess used a knife to draw blood from the palm of the named person. This time, she offered a silver blade and asked Perturabo to do it by himself. It is not difficult to guess that this is also Perturabo's own request.
"Then let's move on to the penultimate question, Prince Andos. Why are there six ceremonial officials for this ceremony?" Morse leaned back and pulled the back of the new adjustable wicker chair. A little higher.
"The number of people in previous ceremonies seems to have changed according to the religion's own set of rules... My father used to have seven priests, my brother had five, and I was the same. After discussion, we followed the suggestions... and decided to take the middle number. .”
Morse closed the book and tapped his fingertips lightly on the surface of the book cover printed with the royal coat of arms, making the coat of arms seem to flow from his fingertips covered with black cloth.
"My guess, then, is that our last two questions are merging into one." Morse found himself neglecting to disguise the long-established icy quality of his words.
"After you, and before Callifon, there was a strange naming ceremony recorded."
"Similarly, there are no errors or ambiguities in the record of the entire ceremony, and the identities of the guests invited are also reasonable. There is only one point that is full of doubts."
He read a tangled escape from Andos' eyes looking down.
"Who is the named one?" Morse asked, "Who is the person named Cruz? His naming ceremony was so pitiful that the only guests were Damex, Harkon, Andos, and the Cult. Branch chief priest, and the five young Callifon?"
"What's interesting is that the number of female priests assigned to him by the cult is actually six."
Andos's face wrinkled with pain and guilt. The prince grabbed the robe on his knees and took a deep breath of air to ease his hesitation that could hardly speak: "Cruz is the younger brother of me and Harcon. Callifon’s third brother, the son whose father was removed from the royal family, is a disgrace we cannot speak out.”
He turned his face to the side, letting the shadow of the light cover his pain: "He is a madman."
"He is deep in the palace. I will visit him occasionally and talk to him about outside things..."
“Who came up with the suggestion of six female deacons?”
"It's him." After telling the secret of the royal family, Andos's mentality was no longer tense.
The prince disclosed his melancholy: "He said that maybe everyone would remember him. I think... six people won't affect anything."
After saying that, he hesitated again: "Is it really not affected? Have we done something wrong?"
Morse smiled and reached out to pat Andos on the shoulder easily.
"It doesn't matter. If any perfect number can induce laughter as depraved as the first cry, then some guys will be too busy all year round."
He immediately stopped smiling. "I need to see Cruz."
