Just when Velez almost put his face next to Soshyan's ear, a soft hum came from the distance. Velez immediately turned his head and saw his assistant, Sister Seid, standing outside the door.
"Then I won't bother you any more."
Soshyan also turned around at this time, and he saw the nun. For a moment, he felt that the person looked inexplicably familiar, but this feeling passed by in a flash, and he really had no impression at all.
After Velez left, Soshyan opened his palm, looked at the porcelain cup in his hand, and then looked at the emperor's statue.
"Confused, if you could hear—"
The next moment, he was already in a dark little old church, sitting on a small wooden stool that seemed to be crushed by him at any time. Not far away, a figure in a simple white priest's robe was bending down and using The match lit the candle on the steps. When Soshyan stood up in shock, the other party also straightened up, blew out the match, and turned to look at him.
A gentle male voice came from under the metal mask that was neither sad nor happy.
"We meet again, Soshyan Alexei."
"The Bewilderr!"
Soshyan looked at the object in his hand in disbelief, then turned and looked at Thunderstone Church. He was indeed in the right place.
"Why did I come here suddenly?"
The confused man chuckled.
"You are a guest, shouldn't you answer this yourself?"
"I...I can't understand. Is it psychic power? Or some kind of teleportation-"
The confused man shook his head.
"No, neither."
"That is--"
"Just because you wanted to be here."
Soshyan blinked.
"Can I be here as soon as I want?"
"Ha, there's no sign on the door saying "No entry for idlers, right?"
"Confused, you still haven't answered me."
"Shouldn't it be up to you to decide where to go and where to come from? You are your own master. If you want to come here, you will come. Isn't this a matter of course?"
】
Soshiyang looked at this mysterious bewitcher, remained silent for a moment, and then whispered:
"Confused, I always feel that every word you say has another meaning."
"Maybe your thoughts are too complicated. I never hide my opinions. Now that I'm here, let's have another drink."
Soshiyang nodded and followed the bewitcher towards the back hall. As he passed the corridor, he noticed that a door was gently closing the last crack.
"The Bewitcher, Thunder Stone...anyone else?"
The confused man did not answer immediately, but took Soshiyang to the teahouse with the same pot of tea and two exquisite porcelain cups.
"yes."
Until then, he didn't answer Soshyan's question in the corridor. He took a sip from the cup and Soshyan frowned slightly.
"It's...much more painful than last time."
Then he looked at the Bewitcher.
"Who is it?"
"A mother who has caused irreparable harm to her children for various reasons and still regrets it to this day."
"Is this so..."
Soshiyang took another sip silently, but his whole face almost wrinkled, and then he put down the cup.
"It's getting more and more painful..."
The confused man also put down his cup and filled two more cups.
"You must have been working very hard during this period."
Soshiyang sighed, but did not pick up the cup. Instead, he looked at the Bewitcher, as if he wanted to see through the mask.
But the other party was still calmly drinking tea through the mask in that unique way.
I don’t know how long it took, but Soshiyang suddenly asked:
"Confused, are you...the emperor?"
The confused man put the empty cup back on the table, then filled it up, tilting his head and looking back at Soshiyang.
"So, are you Soshyan Alexey?"
"Of course I-"
Soshyan hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice.
"of course."
"That's right. If you think it is, then it is the same for you and for me. If you think you are Soshyan Alexei, you are. If you think I am the emperor, then I will yes."
"Confused, I just hope you can tell me directly whether you are the emperor or not."
"Is this important to you?"
"Very important."
Soshyan nodded very seriously.
The Bewitcher fell silent. He seemed to have sunk into the old leather sofa. His fingers wearing white gloves gently rubbed the filled tea cup, but not a drop of tea was exposed.
After a long time, he replied slowly:
"Unfortunately, I am not the Emperor you thought."
A wry smile appeared on Soshyan's face.
"Confused, you are still unwilling to answer my question directly."
"I never hide my opinions. If you really can't understand it, then it's okay to treat me as the emperor. I won't have any objections."
Soshiyang pursed his lips, suddenly feeling a little thirsty, and then picked up the tea cup, but after a sip, it was not only bitter, but also unspeakably spicy, and a little sour.
"Why is it getting weirder and weirder..."
Putting down the cup, filled with bitterness, Soshyan said to the bewildered person:
"Emperor...Emperor, I am getting more and more confused now."
"what?"
"The Empire, there's... too much, too much."
Then Soshiyang poured out everything he had encountered since the expedition, as well as all the obstacles, obstacles, and the miserable plight of the empire's civilians, while the confused person just listened silently and said not a word.
"...Emperor, do you know what worries me the most right now? It is that in the current Empire, a person no matter how upright can be persuaded to do the most terrible and evil things, as long as the motivation is right, and Everyone is accustomed to this and doesn’t take it seriously. After ten thousand years of war, how different are we now from the enemy we have been fighting against for ten thousand years?”
After Soshyan finished speaking, the confused man took the last sip of tea in the cup and put it on the coffee table.
"You are complaining about the empire, or that 'I' have given you too much responsibility and pressure."
"No, I just..."
"Hope is dead. This sentence has been narrated from the moment the empire was founded. Do you believe it?"
"No, of course not. Hope still exists. I still see many upright and brave people. They..."
"So, instead of waiting for hope, let yourself be the hope. Some responsibilities may be too heavy for you, but you are not alone. I believe there must be people around you who are worthy of your trust and can share the heavy responsibilities for you. People, sometimes you just put too much responsibility on yourself. This kind of character has already led to a tragedy. Don't let it happen again."
"tragedy?"
Soshyan narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Who did it happen to?"
"A man who tried his best and failed to make things better."
Soshiyang fell silent, and the two sat facing each other quietly, with only the occasional slight crackling sound when the candle on the candlestick burned.
"Emperor..."
Gently groping the smooth teacup with his fingers, Soshyan's voice was as soft as a whisper.
"Why do you keep watching this happen...can't you hear the countless prayers."
"Soshiyan, have you ever thought about what the world would be like if a person could solve all the problems in front of him just by praying?"
Soshyan was immediately speechless.
