Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 845: Will the oath date always exist?

"Before the ancestors of the Godafu family led the pioneering team to come here and build a new home, the aliens were the original inhabitants of the land of Grangenia. Among them were the Blue Boots tribe from which Blaze came, as well as other aliens, such as water fairies, the Magicil tribe, wind fairies, and Capells. At that time, the "Pioneering Decree" had not yet been promulgated, and human footprints had never set foot in those dangerous and desolate canyons, swamps, or forests. Therefore, they generally lived and worked in peace and contentment, leading a life without conflict with the world."

"But the arrival of our ancestors changed the situation. Once the Gustaf family opened up the wilderness and built villages, towns and cities, it would inevitably attract more people to flow in, promoting the prosperity of agriculture, animal husbandry and commerce. This is a good thing for humans, but not necessarily for the aliens. Therefore, at first, there were several conflicts between the two sides. One side wanted to open up their homeland, and the other side wanted to protect their homeland. The contradiction seemed irreconcilable."

At this point, Shino paused for a moment and glanced at Blaze under the tree. The latter, who was sneaking and making faces at Alice, immediately stood up straight and didn't dare to do it again. The girl then retracted her gaze and continued to tell everyone about that long history so that they could have a basic understanding of the land they were standing on: "But the ancestor soon realized that if this situation continued, it would not be good for both sides. So, he went deep into the forest of Loser alone and found the leaders of the most powerful alien races at that time. He had a frank talk with them, and the final result was that both sides reached an oath."

Hearing this, everyone had already vaguely guessed the content of the oath. Linger asked directly: "The aliens will no longer prevent the Gustaf family from developing here, and the Gustaf family must also protect the interests of the aliens from being infringed?"

"That's more or less the case."

Shino nodded and said, "After the oath was signed, humans obtained the plains, hillsides, river valleys and other areas with flat terrain and fertile soil to grow the food they needed and build cities. The aliens retreated into the forests, deep mountains or canyons where few people go, and continued to live in seclusion. The people who drew the line between the two and also guarded the fence for both sides were the Gustaf family represented by our ancestors."

"We strictly restrict the residents in villages, towns and cities. Except for a small number of farmers or hunters who have survival needs, we prohibit them from entering the deep mountains and old forests where the aliens live. At the same time, we also silently guard the aliens' territories. As long as they don't harm innocent people, we will not interfere with their lives. Sometimes we also act as a bridge for communication between the two sides, helping them resolve misunderstandings and even negotiate cooperation."

When Metien heard this, he couldn't help but say to Shemy above him: "This sounds similar to what the traveler elves do."

Because of their wide range of friends and kind nature, traveling fairies often serve as a bridge of communication between different races, and everyone trusts their fairness and selflessness. Even the most despicable nightmares and the most cunning night demons have to admit this. This is the credibility that the fairy race has gradually accumulated over the long years.

Linger didn't mean to belittle himself, but it was the nature of the human race. Deception and betrayal seemed to have become an instinct that flowed into their bones. From a scientific point of view, this was because in ancient times, the human race was too weak and had to use all kinds of means to survive. Deception and betrayal happened to be the lowest cost but highest benefit of these means, so they were passed down. Over time, it evolved into a stereotype of other races towards humans, and even humans themselves.

When this matter was mentioned, Blue Boots' expression suddenly froze. It thought it had gotten away with it, but it didn't expect that Shino just wanted to settle the score later. It was so sad that it lowered its head and was in sorrow. It didn't have time to find trouble with Lingge. Avella, who had just thought that it was hateful for teasing people, saw this aggrieved little expression and suddenly felt distressed again, while Alice laughed strangely, not hiding the mockery in her tone.

Even Shemi didn't bother to pay attention to them, let alone Lingge and Xino. The two of them looked away at the same time, and then the girl smiled at the young man: "To say that it is just an empty oath is not entirely true. The ancestors did pay something to gain the trust of those aliens."

“Gah!?”

As soon as I heard it, I knew it was strange words learned from Alice.

If humans and aliens had reached such an agreement in other places, such as the Sikilia Peninsula, both sides would have laughed at it in their hearts and not taken it seriously. They might even have been thinking about how to break it when they reached an agreement verbally. But are the aliens living in Grindelwald Field - the former Grangenia Land - so naive?

Rather than trusting in human character, young people would rather believe that the ancestors of the Gustaf family paid a certain price to reach this agreement with the aliens.

As for the aliens, they can certainly deceive and betray, and the best ones, such as the nightmares and night demons mentioned above, are even more treacherous than the opportunists or careerists among humans. However, due to the existence of the kind-hearted branch of spirits, and the fact that many folk tales and fairy tales mention spirits that help humans, people tend to have a friendly first impression of them. The most typical example is the attitude of the crowd towards Blue Boots. They knew it was a spirit but did not raise their guard. Instead, they were easily teased because of its cute appearance. Isn't this also a stereotype?

"Okay, Blaze, don't be so angry." Xino quickly calmed it down: "Be nice to the guests, and don't forget that I haven't settled the score with you for the prank you played on them just now."

As if he had heard the hidden meaning in Ling's words, Xino smiled and was about to say something, but the blue boots under the tree got angry first and shifted the blame from Alice to Ling, making a "ga-ga-ga" sound, as if to express his dissatisfaction.

Xie Mi sat on his friend's head, crossed his arms, and nodded seriously: "This is what we call win-win cooperation!"

It's even more childish than a child getting angry.

Linger frowned slightly: "It does sound fair, but are those aliens really willing to believe in the oaths of humans?"

This was expected, so Linger asked, "What is it?"

"The honor of the Gustave family." Xino gave an answer that the young man had never considered: "The ancestors swore on the family's honor that unless one day the Gustave family no longer exists, they will never break this oath."

The young man looked surprised: "So they believed it?" Not based on the oath, but based on trust in the Gustave family?

Xinuo smiled and said, "My grandfather told me this. As for whether there is a deeper story, it is not something that people of our time can know."

This is true.

History is always obscure, and many past events are buried under the dust and are difficult to touch. If you can't go back in time and witness them with your own eyes, you can only believe these specious statements, which are better than nothing. As a university student majoring in history, Ling often has such feelings.

"The oath made on the basis of the reputation of the Godafu family did a good job of maintaining order in the land of Grangenia for the first three hundred years, allowing humans and aliens to live in harmony and not offend each other. However, by the time of the White Knight Hiberton, the oath was broken, and it was not due to human factors, but out of necessity."

Linger quickly thought of the legend of the White Knight Hiberton: "Because the White Knight voluntarily gave up his family fiefdom and chose to join Joan of Arc's Holy Alliance Army, the Gostave family existed in name only, and the oath established on this basis naturally no longer existed?"

"Yes." Shino nodded gently: "When the ancestor of Hiberton decided to join the rebels, he already knew that this oath could not continue. If it was forcibly maintained, it would not only be of no benefit to the Gostave family, but also a bondage to those aliens and the people of this land. So he chose to cancel the oath in this way, hoping that after he left, the aliens of Grangenia would be able to freely choose their own path and pursue their own future."

Before this, the oath was only maintained by the reputation of the Godafu family and the abilities of the patriarchs of the past generations, but the White Knight knew that if he left Grangenia and the oath still existed, the aliens on this land would sooner or later be unable to endure this constraint, and eventually intensify the conflict with humans.

That was why he had to give up his family fiefdom and join the Holy Alliance with only a white thorn flower flag. The two were not in conflict in themselves, but he not only needed to be responsible for his own people, but also for those aliens who trusted the Gustaf family.

"As expected of a noble and pure White Knight." After understanding the deep meaning, Ling Ge couldn't help but sigh: "What a great man."

Shino pursed his lips and smiled, accepting the compliment on behalf of his ancestor, then shook his head and said, "However, the development of the situation is far from as good as the ancestor Hiberton expected, or rather, the changes of the times are unpredictable. Shortly after the war ended and the White City entered the Republican era, the countries of the Western Continent unanimously promulgated the "Exploration Decree" to encourage adventurers to explore those wilderness and dangerous places that few people had set foot on before. The Loser Mountains and Loser Forest adjacent to the Grindelwald Plains also became their targets. Affected by this, the aliens on this land did not live more freely than before. On the contrary, their living space was constantly compressed, and the border with human civilization was shortened year by year, until the two sides collided head-on and a fierce conflict broke out, and the final result was often the defeat of the aliens."

"As for the situation of modern aliens, I think I don't need to say more, you should all be very clear, right?" Xinuo glanced at the group of people behind Ling Ge and saw quite a few aliens. In addition to the traveler goblins, there were also vampires, light elves, silver elves and other races. It was because of this that she did not regard Ling Ge and others who trespassed into the forest as malicious invaders. In addition to the traveler goblins being famous for their peace-loving spirits, humans who can live in harmony with so many aliens must not be bad people. This is the truth her grandfather taught her.

The Night's Watch and the Scales of Order.

Shino didn't say it explicitly, but everyone knew what she meant. If the "Development Decree" only reduced the living space of the aliens, the existence of these two secret forces was a butcher's knife to kill them all. Of course, the deeper reason may be traced back to the Eden Plan formulated by the Witch Society, which was the culprit that pushed the aliens into the abyss of destruction.

Unfortunately, no one can fight against the Witch Society, and it is even difficult to fight against the Night Watch and the Scales of Order. The former Goddess of Creation couldn't do it, the Thirteen Hermits founded by Solomon couldn't do it, and the Metosh Empire, which was once ruled by aliens, couldn't do it. Then, the Godafu family, which only has a little reputation in the land of Grangenia, can't do it.

To this end, they could only take a more circuitous approach to help these oppressed and hunted aliens. Redeeming the Forest of Lothal from the Republic government was a specific way, and it would be more legitimate for them to do so, because this forest and even the entire Grindelwald Plain were originally the fiefdom of the Godstave family.

Ironically, the White Knight Hibden was willing to break his oath with the aliens and participate in the Republic War in order to establish his ideal country of freedom and equality. However, the Joan of Arc he followed was actually a philosopher of the Society. The real purpose of overthrowing the monarchy and establishing a republic was probably to promote the follow-up content of the Eden Project. In this way, the noble and innocent White Knight, the pure and righteous Whitethorn Flower, may have been running counter to his ideals all his life?

People who know the truth, such as Lingge, will feel regretful about this, but as a descendant of the White Knight, Xino doesn't seem to think so.

"My great-grandfather once said that although the oath has been broken once, it still exists in our hearts. Therefore, as long as the Gustaf family exists, we must not forget those alien friends who trust us." Xino said softly: "For this reason, he and my great-grandfather and grandfather have gone through three generations of efforts to achieve this goal. In fact, it also includes part of my father's hard work, but..."

There seemed to be something unspeakable in it. She hesitated for a moment and did not speak out. She just raised her head and showed everyone a gentle and kind smile: "After buying back the Loser Forest, my grandfather sealed it in the name of the Gustaf family and prohibited outsiders from entering and leaving at will. In fact, it was to protect the aliens living here. Like Blaze, he is my good friend. He grew up with me since childhood and cherishes his home very much. That's why he suspected that you were invaders and did something offensive to you. Although there are reasons for it, it is also very impolite. I apologize to everyone and hope you can forgive him."

The girl once again performed an ancient standard knight's salute, her back always straight only slightly bent at this moment, to convey her sincere apology to the travelers. But in fact, according to her, the people who really needed to apologize were these uninvited guests in front of her.

Lingge was in a trance, as if he saw the shadow of the White Knight Hibernton in the white-haired girl, or rather, the shadow of the ancestor of the Godafu family who came here long ago with a white thorn flower flag and three thousand followers to turn a barren land into a paradise.

Brave and kind, courageous and humble, this is probably what the so-called chivalry is, right?

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)