Compared to Vanna's current helplessness, Pope Helena's attitude was always calm. She had a smile on her face, and that smile even seemed a little happy.
However, Vanna was not happy at all—and it was not "reasonable" at all!
"I think... this happened too suddenly," the young judge racked her brains to think. She had no idea why the topic suddenly turned to this weird direction. At this moment, she was trying her best to make her logic keep up with the speed of the car. "I understand the necessity of establishing communication with the Lost Hometown, but I think it should be done step by step, and
If it is just for communication, we already have a communication channel, Captain Duncan..."
"He will visit you in your dreams or talk to you through the mirror, right?" Helena interrupted Vanna in a gentle voice, "I know. You mentioned it in your report."
"That.… "
"That's not enough," Helena smiled and shook her head. "That was just a 'conversation', a private conversation between Captain Duncan and you. This communication channel is neither special nor binding. It is far from being an official channel between the Deep Sea Church and the Lost Homeland. Vanna, you should understand the difference."
Vanna's lips moved a few times, and thousands of words surged in her throat, but in the end, she said nothing.
She has confirmed that this is not a joke, nor is it a spur-of-the-moment arrangement by the "Spokesperson of God" in front of her. From Helena's attitude and eyes, Vanna sensed something well-thought-out, and... some emotions that she cannot understand for the time being.
After a while, I suddenly asked, "What is the will of the goddess?"
"You can't understand that - maybe that will make you feel better."
The mirror seemed to turn into a vortex in the field of vision. The starlight giant in the mirror completely lost its shape. All Helena could see was endless starlight. The fragmented light and shadows exploded in her mind, but the next second, gentle waves sounded in her mind, reshaping her mind that was on the verge of disintegration.
"Go take a rest first," Vanna nodded gently, "There are still many things to do tomorrow."
"You've paid a lot of attention to me and helped me before. From the intentions you've shown, I'm also very interested in today's civilized world," Helena said. "You've regained your sanity and humanity, so you need to rebuild your connection with the civilized world. In my opinion, Duncan is very suitable for that role. Or would you trust the 'familiar messenger' carefully selected by the Deep Sea Church?"
Helena raised her eyes and looked at Vanna's figure in the mirror.
"Many shadows are approaching our reality. The abnormality of Anomaly 001 may be just the beginning. The sabotage actions of the End Preacher in Plande may also be just part of another big conspiracy. In the north, some city-states have sent disturbing news. At the border, this 'veil' is becoming increasingly unstable. Border collapses are happening more and more frequently within the civilized territory. Among all those changes, the Lost Homeland may be the only one that has hope of communicating through rational means.
After a long time, I looked away.
Vanna frowned. "So, we confidently arranged for Duncan to be the bridge - it's a good idea, but how do you know he will agree?"
Vanna bowed her head again and accepted the order, then turned and left the room.
She tried to speak in a formal and dignified manner to make the matter seem businesslike.
"I understand," Helena nodded slowly, "Then, the deal is done."
The creeping starlight in the mirror overflowed, a flowing light and shadow extended and agitated in the air, swaying slowly in front of Helena, as if observing prey, or as if sniffing the breath in the room. The light and shadow formed by the creeping starlight came to within less than half a meter behind Duan Leping, and its tiny spots of light seemed to be filled with countless eyes.
Helena did not turn around. Even when she heard the music in front of her, she still stared out the window quietly: "Ah, you are watching."
Helena was silent for a few seconds, then slowly turned around and stared at the mirror with green flames floating on it.
But in fact, I was so happy that I couldn’t help it.
The Deep Sea Church needs a formal communication channel to understand the intentions of the Lost Homeland, which can alleviate our anxiety. The Lost Homeland also needs a bridge to communicate with the church forces in the civilized world, which will be helpful for our future activities. This is a win-win situation for everyone.
"I can hear your voice, which is full of fierce rationality. She suspects that you have not yet regained your humanity. That humanity is not proof that you are on the side of civilized order."
Vanna carefully observed the expression on Helena's face through the mirror, trying to analyze the deep-sea pope's true intentions from the details of his words and deeds. Finally, she found that there was only calmness and honesty in his eyes.
"... Indeed, Duncan is at least an acquaintance of mine. From our perspective, sending him here can ensure the safety of the messenger to the greatest extent," Vanna said slowly, "But even so, aren't you really worried that sending Duncan to the Lost Homeland will be like a lamb walking into a tiger's mouth? Given the bad reputation that my ship and I have in the civilized world, it would be more reasonable for his behavior to be made public and regarded as a bloody sacrifice."
I have been thinking about the connection between Duncan and the Lost Homeland since a long time ago. At that time, I was planning how to trick that high-ranking priest onto the ship as a thug, but I had no suitable opportunity or reason. I never expected that this opportunity would fall from the sky.
In front of the full-length mirror in the corner of the room, the flames on several candlesticks suddenly turned dark green. The faint firelight illuminated the mirror surface, which was dark and deep. In the middle of the rapidly spreading illusory flames, Duncan's figure walked out from the depths of the darkness, quietly staring at Helena who was standing in the room.
"I can't help it. Your abacus is so loud that the beads are flying on your face."
.…..…What is an abacus?”
"So, that matter will not be made public. After all, apart from the Pland people, most people in the world right now cannot talk about the Lost Homeland without changing their expressions. Duncan will become a secret envoy, and the people who know about that matter will be limited to the top leaders of the Deep Sea Church and a few city-state rulers - or those who know when the situation requires."
"As for what you said about 'a sheep falling into the tiger's mouth'... I'm not worried." The shaking and distorted bright starlight filled her vision.
"Vanna Abnomer, the captain of the Lost Homeland," Vanna said casually, "She likes to communicate frankly, so let you be frank - what is your purpose, or in other words, what does the Deep Sea Church want to do?"
Helena wisely did not ask further questions. She still did not turn around and suppressed her emotional changes. Her tone was unchanged, and she said, "Although you should not need to, I will introduce myself. Helena, a servant of the storm goddess Gemona, is very happy to talk to you."
Indescribable flowing starlight kept agitating on the surface of the mirror, appearing to expand and contract and wriggle as if trying to break free from this layer of strong glass. Dense white cracks spread from the edge of the mirror, filling the entire room. Low and chaotic roars filled the mind, and every roar seemed to be mixed with infinite knowledge from the subspace.
"The agreement has been reached. We will reserve a place for Vanna on the Lost Homeland. But in return, she will become one of your crew members on the Lost Homeland. She will abide by the rules and regulations, which will even take precedence over her status in the church. I hope you understand this."
Watching the tall figure of the young judge disappear through the door, Helena took a long time to look away. Then she suddenly smiled and shook her head helplessly: "This kid... didn't even ask him how he was going to send you to this ship, and he pretended to be calm..."
Anyway, especially when you say anything to people from that world, they will make random assumptions.
"You are friendly and reliable. My god has given me guidance, and I believe in my god unconditionally. He has ordered me to cooperate with you, so I will do so."
A calm and majestic voice sounded at this moment, with the crackling of flames in between: "I am also curious, how are you going to send her to the Lost Homeland."
"We hope to establish a stable and effective communication with you, just like you want to know about the Deep Sea Church.
We also want to know about the Lost Hometown. So why not build a bridge?"
"... I understand," Vanna took a deep breath and finally calmed down. He returned to his usual serious look and lowered his head with a serious face, "Then everyone obeys the arrangement."
"We are only focused on maintaining order in the civilized world and responding to all disturbing changes in the world," Helena replied calmly, "I should have heard what you said to Duncan just now. The world is undergoing some changes - in fact, the situation is far more serious than what he told you.
"This is a subspace joke." Vanna said seriously. After such a long time, I have long been accustomed to the rhythm of making up nonsense when talking to people. Observing other people's confused reactions is my greatest joy in the process. As for how the other party will make up their minds afterwards...