How can a retired savior be considered retired if his price drops to 40,000?

Chapter 375 The Imperial Saint Delivers an Important Speech
It was difficult for a mortal who appeared almost out of nowhere to insert himself into the conversation of the Primarch, but Digris did it. This naturally involved a lot of complex and sophisticated politics, social skills, and the use of power to bully Sigismund who stood aside silently, but for a good Ultramarines, this was nothing.

The Chief Think Tank knew very well that the real challenge had just begun: the concerns expressed by Fujimaru Ritsuka before, such as "being thrown out halfway through the speech" or "having an extra hole in the body", were not unreasonable - on the one hand, he did feel that he could not predict how the Son of Dorne would react, and on the other hand, Fujimaru Ritsuka's own performance could not be said to be... 100% stable.

He also knew that it was not right for him to unconsciously blame Fujimaru Ritsuka for Asclepius's behavior, but the fact was that Digris's inertial thinking made it impossible for him to restrain this idea. The psychological shadow left by that anesthesia (psychic energy) might be greater than facing the will of the hive directly. But even after excluding this point, Fujimaru Ritsuka himself did sometimes make some shocking remarks in various senses.

Digris admitted that when he brought Fujimaru Ritsuka into the audience hall, he was more or less desperate, just like when he decided to intercept Sigismund on the Storm Boundary. But this time, when he saw Fujimaru Ritsuka looking up at Rogal Dorn's face in a manner that might seem very rude to others, the Chief Librarian began to regret it without anyone reminding him.

He wondered if he had made a wrong decision in a hurry again, but Fujimaru Ritsuka did not leave him time to correct the problem - she quickly found an opportunity to speak:

"Lord Dorne, please forgive me for interrupting so suddenly, but it sounds to me like you want to order the dismissal of the Inquisition." Because the pitch was significantly higher, the young girl's voice was particularly clear and obvious when it echoed between the marble columns of the audience hall.

This sudden voice made Dorn look down at the source. The Primarch obviously didn't understand why this girl, who looked like a child to him, was here, but he still answered, "Yes. But this is not a topic you should be involved in."

There was no doubt that the next move of the Primarch would be to order someone to take away the little girl who had "accidentally" entered the center of the battlefield, but Fujimaru Ritsuka had already made up her mind about this. She responded even faster, not leaving Dorn any chance to issue any orders.

"I think this is great. I agree. The Inquisition has harbored too much filth over the years. Someone should take care of it." Fujimaru Ritsuka completely ignored the original body's words "this is not a topic you should be involved in" and naturally expressed his attitude with confidence. Even though Diglis already knew the opinions of the parties involved and realized that this agreement was just a specific application of a negotiation strategy, the chief think tank couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

After hearing this, Dorn's eyes became a little surprised, but he obviously still did not change his first evaluation of Fujimaru Ritsuka: this child should not talk nonsense here. He nodded seriously to the little girl, as a thank you for her affirmation of his point of view, and then quickly moved his eyes to Digris and Sigismund who were poking at Fujimaru Ritsuka -

"But Lord Dorne, have you ever thought about the problems that will arise next?" Before the Primarch could speak, Fujimaru Ritsuka asked directly.

This sudden question made Dorne pause for a moment. The Primarch's gaze returned to the little girl, and this time, there was a little more scrutiny in his gaze. Perhaps it was because she was a newborn calf that was not afraid of a tiger, or perhaps there were other reasons behind these remarks, but in any case, Dorne could confirm that this was a mortal who was extremely bold. She might have been pampered, educated, well-educated, but not very tactful. Considering her age, this was not completely unforgivable - but she was still a mortal.

Under normal circumstances, the Primarch would have reprimanded her and dismissed her. She did express her opinions clearly and raised some relevant questions, but given the weak and slow brain functions and mental weaknesses of mortals, Dorn, as the Primarch, did not expect the opinions of a strange mortal to be constructive on such a complex issue. However, this time, there was an almost insignificant feeling urging Dorn to listen to what the other party wanted to say. This feeling was very slight, and even Dorn himself did not realize it. Under normal circumstances, he would not have made such a decision - as if this little girl was not just any ordinary mortal, but a dragon among people who had been proven to be qualified to enter the Primarch's room.

"It's too early to think about this question now." Dorn answered, and then he was a little surprised that he was explaining this question that he didn't need to answer. "The order to eliminate the Inquisition hasn't even left this room yet. It's too ambitious to think about 'what will happen next' now."

"Is that so?" Fujimaru Ritsuka's voice revealed a genuine bewilderment, "But, excuse me, you are the original body?"

"What do you want to say?" Dawn frowned. "Just say it."

"You are a Primarch." Fujimaru Ritsuka continued the topic smoothly. It was obvious that the previous confusion was also part of the negotiation strategy. "Even if we don't mention the blood relationship between you and the glorious and great Lord of Humanity, and the status this identity symbolizes in the current empire, you still naturally have the power and armed groups to implement any of your thoughts and ideas in the empire. Your orders seem to be blocked in this audience hall of the Hera Fortress today, but even if the Ultramarines try their best, how long can they stop it? In my humble opinion, as long as you are determined, you will succeed in whatever you do. Since you want to abolish the Inquisition, the demise of the Inquisition is only a matter of time - so I can't help but worry, what should I do next?"

Perhaps most other primarchs would interpret this as flattery or fawning, but Dorn would not, because he did have the confidence that matched this statement. After a brief silence, he judged that the little girl was just expressing some facts that did not need to be corrected, so he did not reprimand her, but instead began to ask a question that he should have cared about earlier: "Who are you?"

"I am a commissioner of the Astronomical Hall, sir." Fujimaru Ritsuka randomly picked a less embarrassing title from her long list and answered, "My identity is not that important in this matter, and I have no close interest in the Inquisition. I am just a loyal resident who must live in the Empire for the foreseeable future of my life. I have to ask nervously: Do you have any plans for what will happen after the Inquisition disappears completely?"

Dorn was a little stumped by the question, because he really hadn't thought about it yet. But the Primarch's thinking speed was fast enough to enable him to deduce his plan to that point within a second:
"This is not something you should be concerned about." After a brief deduction, the Primarch said with certainty, "Rather than worrying about a distant and uncertain future, you should focus on the work you are assigned to." "Okay, sir, if you wish so." Fujimaru Ritsuka's attitude was very submissive, "Then please allow me to express some mercenary concerns: Although I do not have any close interests with the Inquisition, a large part of my actual work must rely on the ability and authority of the Inquisitor to run smoothly. Of course, this is not so irreplaceable, but if you are going to disband the entire Inquisition soon and declare that all the powers of the Rose Knot are invalid from now on, where can I find this efficiency guarantee that can ensure that my engineering plan can be delivered on time?"

This sounded completely unreasonable to Dorn, and he got a little angry: "Isn't this something you should think about yourself?"

"Yes. So I'm lucky." Fujimaru Ritsuka suddenly made a conclusion that seemed to be incoherent, and then immediately began to discuss it. "You see, before the incident actually happened, I had already realized what kind of obstacles this incident would cause to my work, and began to think about what I would have to pay to find a similar substitute. It is undoubtedly a kind of luck to be able to think in advance and make plans before facing the problem, but do you know what makes me feel even luckier? I am lucky that the losses I may encounter because of this incident are not serious for me personally, and there are still ways to think about it - and what about those imperial people who passively rely on the protection of the Inquisitor? Indeed, they will no longer become unwitting baits and be sacrificed because of the Inquisitor's momentary thoughts, or even be destroyed by the extermination order along with their entire homes. But when they were ravaged and killed by aliens and heretics, and when they were eaten alive by the conspiracy of the betrayers, they didn't even know what they had lost, and there was a small possibility that these could be avoided."

Dorne realized that this was another lobbyist trying to persuade him. Perhaps he should not have ignored him from the beginning and started this conversation, but it was too late to realize it now: "I admit that the negative impact you mentioned does exist and will inevitably be serious. But should we allow a group of termites in the Inquisition who are fattened by excessive power to use their arrogant fantasies to harm loyal people and constantly erode the foundation of the empire while dominating and arrogant?"

"Of course not, sir." Fujimaru Ritsuka's overly submissive attitude in his response made Dorn feel subtly powerless. "Ten thousand years ago, it was you who approved the establishment of the Inquisition. You must know that this organization was not what it is now at the beginning, and no one wanted it to become what it is now. Neither you nor Lord Malcador."

"But it has become like this now, and this is the reality ten thousand years later!" Dorn almost roared, "The Inquisition has strayed far from its original function and cannot function normally! Now, this institution may still have some positive effects on the Empire, but the negative impact it causes is also real!"

The Primarch's sudden burst of rage caused the entire audience hall to be silent for a moment, but it did not scare Fujimaru Ritsuka. At this moment when most of the Astartes were silent, the little girl who was the lowest in the room remained calm. She just waited quietly for a few seconds, and when the echo in the room dissipated to the point where it would not cover her voice, she spoke again:
"What are you angry about?" She asked in a calm tone, as if the room had not been ravaged by the wrath of the Son of God that was enough to make mortals tremble. "If you are just suffering from your old Wuchen illness, you will not be so angry about an institution that is destined to be abolished. Then you must be angry about something else: Is it because of the abuse of power by the Inquisition? Or is it because such an abusive institution appeared in the Empire built by the Emperor that you are so angry?"

Dorn rose suddenly from his chair.

He didn't yell, didn't speak, didn't make any sound. Perhaps he wanted to do so, but in the end, he just stood up suddenly. Even so, the emotions of shock and anger of a Primarch, under the premise that the person concerned did not conceal it, still naturally filled the entire audience hall.

When he heard this, Dorn instinctively wanted to get angry - he knew that the last reason the girl calmly stated was correct, even though he hadn't figured out the details before hearing this. But then, the Primarch's quick thinking made him restrain his instinctive reaction: this was indeed a fact, and the girl shouldn't be punished for pointing out a fact.

Dorn was unaware of the specific problem due to his personality and way of thinking, but his instinct as a war machine made him realize that he had undoubtedly fallen behind in a fight. A sense of urgency similar to when a tactical key point had been changed urged him to do something, but before that, Fujimaru Ritsuka spoke again:

"I understand your feelings. The huge gap between ideals and reality always makes people feel uncomfortable." Miraculously, after the other party said this, the sense of urgency in Dorn's heart suddenly eased. "Ten thousand years ago, who didn't hope that the empire could recover from the pain and get better and better as time went by?"

This made Dorn angry in another way: "You don't understand."

Fujimaru Ritsuka knew that the Dorne in front of her naturally thought that she had not experienced the glorious era of the Great Crusade, and that the so-called "understanding" she could feel was just a mirage on paper. This was a reasonable inference, and whether she decided to explain it or not, it was not something worth getting angry about - but she did start to get angry uncontrollably because of this sentence.

"I understand." She repeated clearly. She was very sure that she didn't even need to go through the Great Crusade in the illusion, and she was more qualified than anyone else present to say this. "Of course I understand! Look at the empire now - everyone can understand it easily! It's just that no one says it!"

"Ma'am," Sigismund warned in a useless tone, realizing that something was wrong, "don't be so metaphorical—"

Dorn realized something because of the tone of these words. But when he turned his head and fixed his doubtful eyes on the power armor of the Black Templar, Fujimaru Ritsuka's next words had already come out:
"The whole empire is (Nostramo particle) a shithole!"

(End of this chapter)