The news that there was an extra stowaway on the ship spread throughout the night and during the day. Both sailors and passengers were very interested in it and wanted to hear all kinds of gossip. The reason why the atmosphere is so relaxed is related to their nature, and also because the most dangerous route is already behind them.
There are no habitable islands on this stretch of ocean, which is almost a seven-day journey from Kirishima to the mainland of Moon Country. Therefore, most of the pirates are equipped with short-distance small speedboats and return to their home bases after plundering. Naturally, they cannot become large-scale here. .
Similar to the Suao Marina Port in the far west, whalers account for more than 70 to 80 percent of the ships that come and go in the winter in the Northland. Although pirates are not completely extinct, they are basically small ships based on the coast of the mainland. Without a certain number of people and equipment such as grappling hooks and rope ladders, they could not even climb onto the tall side of the Oriental Moon.
These pirate ships mainly make a living by robbing coastal residents and are not good at attacking merchant ships on the sea. This is exactly the same as the pirates of Danlasso. After all, no matter how different the cultures are, there are only a few ways of making a living for humans in similar terrain.
All in all, the real threats to the Oriental Moon do not increase until further south.
There are more than 300 large and small islands scattered around the long and narrow continental plate called "Crescent Continent" where the Moon Kingdom is located, from the center to the south, especially in the southern seas. It is extremely difficult to manage these scattered islands. Even a large-scale navy of local officers and soldiers - or "navy" as the locals call it - will not easily enter unless there is no situation.
The Oriental Moon used to rely on its own speed to get rid of the pirates and then enter the bustling central port. The reason why we chose to land here is that, like other areas in the world, the farther north we go, the more barren the land becomes due to the cold weather. Except for some small whaling and fishing villages, there is nothing related to the ocean in the northern part of the Moon Country.
Another reason is related to the local political situation.
The entire Crescent Continent is one country. And this country has continued to exist for more than 4,000 years. According to the founding myth of the Moon Kingdom, their royal family has always been the same family from 4,000 years ago to the present - no nobles rebelled, leading to the royal family stepping down and being replaced by other families, which is a common occurrence in Rigar. Since 4,000 years ago, it has always been in a state of absolute unity.
They proudly call this the "Eternal Lineage" and believe that their country has absolute stability and long-term cultural accumulation. But its attitude towards the outside world is just like the meaning of the country's name - like the moon in the night sky, second only to the sun, but gentle and restrained, emitting a soft light.
The Moon Country’s contact with the Rigal continent is very cautious. Coupled with the ocean barrier, even though they had a relatively developed civilization many years ago, the vast majority of Rigar people still know nothing about them.
I even feel that Rigal Continent is the only world.
This matter is not caused by the Moon Kingdom's unilateral caution, because they have been able to accumulate quite a wealth of culture and knowledge due to their 4,000 years of peace. The civilization formed in this way is unique, because it has no relationship with the White Church, which makes the Rigar people whose history is almost inseparable from religion find it very incredible.
And if such a different and powerful civilization, which has nothing to do with the influence of the White Church, was known to the public.
It is bound to cause greater damage to the already declining influence of the White Church.
While deliberately blocking the news from the public in the world of Rigar, the senior officials have actually never given up the pursuit of the Moon Kingdom.
Three hundred years ago, merchants from the South made a difficult voyage on an old sailing ship. After arriving by chance, they recorded this place as the "Land of Gold" in their sailing diary. The longing for the Crescent Continent they aroused prompted future generations to work hard, and eventually formed a stable business exchange. But even after three centuries, the footprints of these outsiders are still limited to a small area.
There are quite a few seaports in the Kingdom of the Moon, spread across the edge of the continent from the north to the center to the south. However, due to the country's lock-down policy, only ports in the central part of the country can land -
In other words, I was able to log in once.
Captain Francisco was silent for a long, long time. The main operators on the ship, as well as Henry, Mira, Galeva, scholar Lisa and her mentor and other people related to the incident were all staying in the captain's cabin at this moment.
The small intruder girl sat in front of the table, and most of the others stood with their brows furrowed. The news just passed through the first mate's translator who knew the local language caused them to fall into this long silence.
What happened last night was finally resolved without any danger. After the night watch crew discovered the situation, they woke up the captain and the sage. After confiscating the weapons from the girl, they gave her some warm clothes and a separate quilt. It was negotiated that she would be temporarily locked in a utility room to rest overnight, and further verification would be conducted during the day.
The girl's identity and name were finally confirmed. She had no surname, or at least was unwilling to say it, so she only called herself "Lulu". And her identity is very special. She is not a descendant of the Lamanites in Kirishima, but she is not a mainstream group in the Kingdom of the Moon, but a minority in the north.
As the mainstream society in the Kingdom of the Moon, their name in the local language is roughly pronounced as "Amisigin". This word has a similar meaning to the Padrosi people's "Vislan", both referring to The meaning of "barbarian, barbarian" - obviously is not a good word, but in the long time before, they had lived in peace and had no conflicts.
Just two months before the Oriental Moon departed, unprecedented chaos broke out in the Moon Country itself during the autumn season.
And because of this war, their group has unknowingly become the most unwelcome guests in the Moon Kingdom.
"It was caused by outsiders like you, people in white robes." Lulu said in the language of mainstream society. The language she and Mira used before that Luoan girls thought was Luoan language was actually a minority language. national dialect. Although some words seem to have basically the same pronunciation and meaning because they come from the Luoan language, due to differences in grammar and language habits, the efficiency of the conversation is extremely low. Just to figure out the exact meaning of the other party, the two of them have to use their hands and feet. Use it together with various descriptions and gestures.
Fortunately, Lulu herself can speak the prevailing mainstream social language, and when she talks about the outsider in a white robe, everyone can use their toes to figure out what character she is referring to.
Living side by side with the Lamanite civilization, as long as the Lamanites' tentacles are extended, they will move forward, with white as the representative color of the organization.
church.
Since their first contact three hundred years ago, when the missionaries learned about such a foreign land full of culture from the stories passed down, they have always wanted to find it and spread the glory of the gods. idea.
However, the Moon Country, which has its own cultural heritage for thousands of years, is not as easy to interfere and take root as the countries on the Rigal continent. In addition, the local rulers are very afraid of this aggressive religion. They are trying to find and establish stable routes. More than 180 years have passed, but it has never been able to expand its influence locally.
This situation was naturally not what the missionaries wanted, but it happened at the end of August in the year 1331 of the Divine Calendar, which was more than three months ago.
They shifted their focus and changed their way of thinking, shifting the target group for expanding the White Church's faith from the masses to the powerful local feudal lords.
This move has achieved extremely high results, because the stable social structure of 4,000 years has made the concept of superiors and subordinates in the Moon Country far deeper than that on the Rigar continent. Subordinates were not allowed to disobey their superiors, so they only needed to obtain the approval of a feudal lord, and he would order all lower-level nobles and commoners in his territory to switch to the White Church.
It took a full 180 years, and even the ocean-going fleet sent by Padrosi 150 years ago may not actually have the intention of the White Church in it. But these "traditional" methods are not suitable in a foreign country. The way of thinking of the Rigar people is ultimately that of the Rigar people. When they changed their thinking, they began to put themselves in their shoes and re-plan according to the social structure of the Moon Country.
Things that were previously unachievable suddenly became much easier.
The long civilization and stable social structure meant that ambitious people had nowhere to flourish, and the White Church hit it off with some feudal lords.
They provided an opportunity to work with the Lamanites and summarized a set of methods to subvert the government and opposition for many years. They even secretly transported weapons and armor through merchant ships to support the local nobles.
However, this poaching practice was quickly exposed due to the strict social structure and the presence of people loyal to the royal family everywhere. So in early December of the year 1331 of the Divine Calendar, a battle began between the local armed forces united with the White Church and the central army.
Then in just half a month, all the rebellious feudal lords were suppressed.
The powerful commander-in-chief of one country and one lord is far beyond the imagination of any Rigarian. The missionaries of the White Church have only made extremely small ripples. It was nipped in the bud before it even developed into a truly lethal wave.
They failed to truly shake the ruling class of the Moon Country. Instead, they made the situation of themselves and all the foreigners extremely embarrassing after this battle.
Although the representatives of the royal family claim that they "will not impose any punishment on businessmen who keep their peace of mind" because that is "unfair and shows that our emperor is narrow-minded, which is absolutely not true." But in fact, many are secretly walking in the gray area, and even It is an indisputable fact that the merchants who colluded with the pirates on the small island group "returned home" for no apparent reason and no longer appear.
The position of the missionaries at the center of the incident was even more embarrassing. Many of the churches they worked hard to build were burned to the ground. Officers and soldiers patrolled day and night looking for those wearing white priest robes and executed them. In order to protect themselves, the missionaries had to disguise themselves as businessmen or laborers and hide in Tibet. This rejection and hostility towards dissidents eventually turned into a large-scale hunt, even for Lulu’s ethnic minority in the far north. was involved in this dispute.
Non-my family, its heart must be different.
If it refuses to obey the orders of the great emperor, then there is no need to continue to exist.
The peace and tolerance that had been maintained for thousands of years were completely broken due to the "remitting efforts" of the foreigners who arrived from the Rigal continent.
And the aftermath of this hostility against foreigners has not dissipated. Lulu was also separated from her tribe during the escape process and was robbed by the pirates of Kirishima. Finally, she heard the news about a foreign merchant ship and successfully escaped by hiding in a box.
Her identity can basically be confirmed through a series of things, and this personal experience also made the expressions of those on the ship who learned the news become much more solemn.
The originally tolerant trade atmosphere is gone, and as foreigners they are now unwelcome here.
"Things are getting difficult." Captain Francisco stroked the kitten Kuro's chin, causing it to make a comfortable "purr" sound, and muttered repeatedly at the same time.
"It's getting difficult."
