Light in the Sky

"The road ahead is clear!"

Someone is shouting.

It was like the bugle call of an army marching out, the roar of the steel behemoth growing louder and louder. A little dust swirled up at the feet of the behemoth, and this dust glittered in the sunlight.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar figure sitting on the ground.

The Kuranta boy shouted, "Doctor! Don't stand there! Rhodes Island has already set off!"

The young woman's paper presents a viewpoint that is far too clear... It's too dangerous for an article that could be easily turned into a political weapon!

There's no need to make her a scapegoat; let's change it again...

The silver-haired figure was focused on the tablet in his hands, with earphones plugged into his ears.

The boy dropped his hoe and rushed over, a smile playing on his lips as he expressed his anxiety for Oute: "If you keep sitting like this, you'll be stuck in our village!"

"Specter, stop!"

Before the boy could even realize it, Oute immediately gave the order.

The Abyssal Hunters's pale hand changed its trajectory, grazing the Kuranta boy's cheek, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

This is the two-in-one Kamen Rider, "Specter & Shark"!

The Specter stood quietly to Oute's left.

"Sorry, Specter is a bit overreacting to my safety." Oute stood up, handing the tablet to Specter with one hand and extending his index finger with the other.

Golden lightning flashed at his fingertips, and the wound on Kuranta's cheek quickly scabbed over and fell off, leaving only a faint white mark.

A blush rose on the "boy's" cheeks, and his healthy, androgynous body surprisingly revealed a touch of femininity—it turned out he was a tomboy.

She stammered, "Doctor... the ship's gone..."

"She just went to Tsvonnek to rest and recuperate."

"Then what?"

"Then we will travel north along the shipping route to the 'Great Knight Territory'."

"But we still have to leave..."

Oute shook his head. "Only the main ship will leave. We will leave an office in the city and hold free clinics periodically."

"Like a market?" A villager boldly stepped forward and pressed down on the tomboy's shoulder.

"Like a market."

The villagers were somewhat excited. "How many days exactly is it one episode?"

"This will be decided in consultation with your local office."

"Let me go!" The tomboy broke free from the villager's grasp and brushed her medium-length hair behind her ear.

She asked expectantly, "Will I be able to see you, Doctor, then?"

Specter raised its head, and only after a sly smile appeared in its eyes did it slowly gaze at the tomboy.

Laurentina said, "You're infatuated with him?"

Poor Kuranta, her face flushed red, shouted at everyone, "I didn't!"

The Campaign Knight, mimicking their commander, kept their hands near the hilt of their swords, never letting their guard down.

He watched quietly as Oute and the others bid farewell at Dangerous Shoal Village before saying briefly, "It's time to get on the bus!"

Ordinary vehicles can reach the city faster than our ship.

Outside the car window, a transport ship bearing the emblem of Meshko Industries was finally freed from its temporary work. The barn, previously stockpiled for beer, reluctantly left its silo and, along with the henchmen of capital, headed to "Great Knight Territory."

Marek held back for half the journey, but finally couldn't help but exclaim, "Radiant Knight, that move you made yesterday was absolutely awesome!"

The effort was ultimately thwarted.

"It's just a perfectly timed Originium Arts!" Nearl wasn't particularly good at dealing with fans, so she quickly pulled Oute aside and asked, "What's with that transport truck?"

Marek mistakenly thought this was a question from the Radiant Knight, and casually blurted out, "Kawalerielki has already mobilized food from all over Kazimierz, and even the grain that villages in various places have to hand over has been increased—probably for the sake of the Great Knight Territory."

The name of Kawalerielki, the capital of Kazimierz, can be broken down into two parts: "Kavaleli" and "Yaki". The former means "cavalry", while the latter is a coined suffix.

Generally speaking, Kawalerielki can be translated as "Knight's Territory," but this creates ambiguity with the various large and small knight's territories within Kazimierz.

During the regularly held "Kazimierz Special Knight Championship," Kawalerielki will select three cities throughout Kazimierz and merge them with Kawalerielki to form a "Great Knight Territory."

Obviously, most of the selected cities are also large, densely populated cities.

The Kinki region's farmland, which was already highly profit-driven and focused on growing cash crops, clearly couldn't support the food needs of the Great Knight Territory. Therefore, it wasn't surprising that they would deliberately store food in advance.

Looking at this alone, there's nothing strange about it.

But things went wrong because of this "single".

Due to a series of unforeseen factors, the over-cultivation of cash crops is no longer limited to the Kinki region. The entire Mobile City of Kazimierz and its surrounding areas have fallen into a frenzied financial game!

Nearl recalled Oute's judgment, and the transport truck that had devoured the wheat seemed like a prelude to disaster.

Oute placed his hand over Nearl's.

"It's not our place to worry about that yet; this is a problem for the Grand Knight Council and the Commercial Union."

"Doc Otter ..." Nearl turned around and grasped Oute's hand.

The loading trucks were left behind, and soon after, Marek left the alfalfa fields behind as well.

As the wheels spun and the sun moved on, and the sky glowed red, the ship's tracks had already left the port.

"Doc Otter!" Nearl came onto the deck, panting.

No one could stop the returning Radiant Knight anymore. In just one day, she had thoroughly investigated the agricultural land in Tsvonnek.

There was almost no staple food.

If this is the case in Tsvonnek, what about the other cities surrounding the Great Knight Territory?

The capital city is the most obsessed with financial games, and the land affected by its influence is far more extensive than Tsvonnek!

"Has it been investigated?"

Nearl declared firmly, "I must stop it from turning into a famine!"

Whether it's corporations manipulating financial games or bureaucrats living in a daze, they seem rather indifferent to this point:

At worst, we can buy it in Leithanien, in Ursus, in Siracusa, or in Yan. Which Mobile City doesn't grow staple crops?

Tsvonnek had been a trading city for too long, so long that it had completely forgotten the danger. Yet its time as a trading city had also been too short, so short that the Knights still remembered their past glory and could be easily swayed by Qiesibo's burning rage.

"No," Oute said. "Companies have already discovered weapons more powerful than musical chairs."

He paused. "Or rather, excavation."

"After all, this tactic is not new in history."

Chapter 313 Light in the Sky

Under the moonlight, the steel behemoth silently and resolutely drove towards the Great Knight Territory. But its master had already slipped into the cracks of the world.

The blonde girl tossed and turned in bed.

The rain clouds over my hometown pressed lower and lower, then let out a continuous drizzle. It could not stop a determined reformer, nor could it stop a powerful figure clinging to power, much less stop workers eager to return home.

Thus, the rotting raindrops awakened the stench of Laterano.

Moss covered the stones, the beams were rotten and about to break, and the smell of fish and sweat clung tightly to the clothes on the bare chests.

"Wake up."

Vina (Note ①) sprang up from the soft, warm bed, and as she tried to find the hammer, she finally realized that the person in front of her was Oute.

"Where am I...?" Vina, somewhat bewildered.

Oute opened the window, and the thriving Hamlet Town came into Vina's view.

She also saw several Engineering Department staff members who spent their days sleeping in their rooms.

It's strange, even though the Engineering Department has been on holiday every day since Oute returned, those people look as haggard as the dead during the day and go to bed early at night.

"Welcome to my world," Oute said.

Vina remained silent and pinched her cheek.

Am I dreaming?

"Do you remember your request?" Oute said, "I wanted to truly integrate into Rhodes Island —not just as a hired operator, but as a part of Rhodes Island."

"...I remember." Vina somewhat awkwardly.

That's a sales script.

Rhodes Island and Vina share similar goals.

Regardless of what she ultimately wants to do, Vina cannot do without Rhodes Island's help when it comes to returning to Laterano.

This afternoon, Gawain, who had been out of the public eye for a long time, suddenly reappeared and taught Vina this sales pitch. He said it could help Vina fulfill her wish.

But... what exactly is my wish?

Vina only had vague impulses and was unable to formulate a concise outline or even a logically complete appeal.

During her time in Chernobog, she heard Oute's lectures on "blood price" and, not long ago, personally protected the villagers of Kazimierz from bloodshed.

Is this what Victoria needs?

Maybe.

But does Victoria need me?

Have no idea.

"Snap out of it," Oute interrupted the "King of Sedimentation," saying, "We still have work to do."

He opened the gate and led Vina toward the town center.

"Where? How many should we kill?" Vina quickly followed.

After experiencing it firsthand, Vina discovered that this small town, though small, was surprisingly well-equipped. She not only found a library but also a bank!