Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 686: Can humans become aliens?
Pancras, the bell ringer of St. Annville Cross Church, was a Moruyan. He was disliked by his own people because of his ugly appearance and was forced to leave the tribe and wander alone. He was also hated and unaccepted by the general public because of his Moruyan identity. Such a person would eventually become a thief or be crushed into the soil like dust and disappear. No one would notice his presence, and no one would know when he died.

But he chose neither path, because although he was born ugly, he had a kind and gentle heart, and even when he was the poorest, he was unwilling to cross the bottom line of being a human being; and after experiencing the ups and downs in the first half of his life, he seemed to be finally favored by fate. On the road of wandering, he met an ascetic monk of the Spiritual Prayer Society, who sympathized with and pitied his situation, so he gave him some food and a token, and pointed him in the direction.

With this token in his arms, the helpless Pancras walked thousands of miles on foot, and finally arrived at Lengwittin a hundred years ago. At that time, the "Religious Decree" had not yet been promulgated, and animism still enjoyed a high reputation in the minds of the people. St. Anvil Cross Church stood tall in the Seven Stars Pan area, and tens of thousands of believers came every day to pay homage to the saint's great deeds. Some of the most devout among these believers even did not wear socks or drive horses, but only walked through mountains and rivers, considering this self-abuse behavior as a true pilgrimage, and the ragged Pancras seemed to be considered one of them.

Because he had proven his piety and had the ascetic's token, the believers of St. Anvil's Cross accepted him and made him a bell ringer in the church, responsible for ringing the bells for daily morning and evening services and weekly high prayers.

After wandering for half his life, the Moriah finally found his home. He abandoned his original name and called himself Pancras. He held the position of bell ringer for nearly 30 years without missing a single day. Later, both the believers in the church and the pilgrims gradually got used to his presence, but also gradually ignored it, considering the punctual bell ringing as an ordinary thing in the world, which did not need to be paid special attention to and would never disappear.

"Until 1778, when the Religious Decree was promulgated," Linger said to Alice, who was listening intently, "As a landmark building of the Spiritual Prayer Society, the St. Annville Cross Church was required to be forcibly closed, and the animists refused to carry out this unreasonable request, so a fierce conflict broke out between the city guards and the believers, which was the famous '1778 Incident'. This conflict caused more than a hundred deaths and thousands of injuries. When the conflict broke out, Pancras, as the bell ringer, neither participated in the riot nor fled. Instead, he ignored the danger and actively rescued the wounded. Whether it was the innocent people involved in the conflict, the fanatical believers who did not care about life and death, or even the soldiers who participated in the suppression, they were all properly rescued in his bell tower, and were inspired by him to temporarily give up their conflicts and live in peace. That should be the only place in the whole incident where people can feel a little warmth."

"However, he still couldn't do anything with his own strength. So in the end, when he saw a girl involved in the conflict fell in front of him and he was powerless, the bell ringer Pancras realized that all his previous persistence was meaningless and could not change anything. In despair, after the conflict subsided briefly, he left this church that once gave him peace and tranquility but now only bloodshed and sacrifice. Just like many years ago, he embarked on the road of wandering again, leaving everyone with only a lonely back."

"Later, Victor Hugo, a great writer of the White City Republic, wrote the book "White Mountain Abbey" based on this real example. He described the Cross Church of St. Anvil as a glamorous place on the surface but a filthy place behind the scenes. The believers of the prayer meeting were hypocrites who seemed pious but were actually greedy and used the name of faith to seek personal gain. The image of the city guards was rude, brutal, and indiscriminately created this tragic bloodshed... In the whole book, only the bell ringer Quasimodo is a positive image. He is praised as the embodiment of goodness and the glory of human nature. Master Hugo believes that his actions perfectly meet the standards of the "righteous man" in religious allusions, and frankly admits that the bell ringer Quasimodo was created based on Pancras."

As he spoke, Alice slowly opened her mouth: "Ah, this..."

Where should I start to complain? Is it really okay that the plot of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" has been changed like this? And, Master Victor Hugo, you must be a philosopher of the Witch Society, right? No wonder you blasted the Spiritual Prayer Society and Animism as bad guys in the book, and AOEed the city guards who were just following orders, but didn't mention a certain decree that was the culprit. What a hidden agenda!
So it is really important to have the right to speak, and a cultural victory is also a victory...

"So he had such an experience." Olvera, curled up on the sofa with her knees hugged, couldn't help but show a fascinated expression: "I have also read Hugo's "The Monastery of the White Mountain". I didn't expect that the prototype of the bell ringer Quasimodo is still alive, and I even met him. He is just like what is written in the book, a kind and gentle elder. I still remember some sentences in the book, such as: All civilizations begin with theocracy and end with democracy, and, ugly people are born wrong, and beauty only loves beauty..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" Seeing her start reciting famous quotes again, Alice felt a headache and interrupted her quickly: "Now I know where he came from. His personal experience is indeed legendary. It is also a great thing to be written into a book by a great writer. But even so, there is no need to say that he has a great background, especially since you, Nevelle, are saying this." If Nevelle was a human being and was willing to make her great achievements public, many dogs would have stood up to sing her praises as early as the Metosh Empire. Not to mention writing a book "The Abbey of the Port of Desolate Rain", even writing a book "My Struggle" would not be a big deal...

"Haha, is that really the case?" Upon hearing this, Nevile smiled mysteriously, "You don't seem to have noticed one thing, Alice. The story that Linger told happened about a hundred years ago. When the Religious Decree was promulgated, Lord Pancras was already an old man, but now he still looks like this. What does this mean?"

"Huh?" Alice scratched her cheek. "Does that mean he lives longer?"

This conclusion cannot be said to be completely wrong, it can only be said to be irrelevant.

"Let me give you another hint, Alice." The Countess said meaningfully, "The Evangelical Convent is a shelter for aliens, so why is it managed by a human? Will those aliens who are hunted by humans and have a blood feud with humans really obey Lord Pancras from the bottom of their hearts? If you want to make them sincerely convinced, you must not only show tolerance and generosity, but most importantly, you must make these aliens regard you as one of them. Is it possible for a human to do this?"

With every word she said, Alice's eyes widened. "Wait, do you mean..."

"That's what it means."

The Countess smiled slightly and said, "Lord Pancras used to be a human, but not anymore. He has become an alien, and a member of the most mysterious demon spirit clan among the aliens."

"He is no longer Pancras the bell ringer. Perhaps you could call him: Pancras the bell ringer?"

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)