Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 441 - Chapter 441 Chapter 442 Documents

Chapter 441: Chapter 442 Documents Chapter 441: Chapter 442 Documents Tirian raised his head, his one eye staring intently at the secretary for special tasks before him, his face full of an expression that read “Are you f**king kidding me?”

The biggest pirate of Chill Sea had only shown such an utterly shocked expression in the presence of his own father.

He didn’t touch the few pages of paper the other had pushed over. Instead, after collecting himself slightly, he turned to look at General Lister sitting opposite him.

The look of astonishment in the eyes of the Frost General seemed no less than his own.

“It seems this really is an ‘unexpected message’,” Tirian let out a soft sigh, calmly saying, “Even this ‘General’ before me was unaware of this arrangement.”

“Because this is not an ‘arrangement’–it’s merely a suggestion, and it’s a new one at that,” said the secretary for special tasks, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses, his face serious as he spoke to Tirian, “Currently, the situation in Frost is complex, and we do not have much time to discuss and properly carry out each and every task. Therefore, I took the liberty of bringing the ‘suggestion’ directly here, so under the witness of General Lister, we can discuss the feasibility of this matter together.”

“Feasibility? You actually believe this has feasibility?” Tirian almost laughed out loud, his look towards the secretary as if he was regarding a madman, “Me, the leader of the Mist Fleet, the most vicious and evil pirate chief on the Chill Sea, nearly all the various horror stories used by Frostfolk to scare children in the past fifty years have been adapted from me–now you’re telling me, you want me to become the Governor of this city… Sir, we’ve merely fought side by side for a bit, you must be misunderstanding our relationship, right?”

“Fought side by side and together faced a crisis that could have led to the City-State’s destruction. Now many people know that it was the Mist Fleet that stepped up at the last moment, defending the city alongside the navy. And by this time tomorrow, this news will spread to every corner of Frost, City Hall will tell people–Mist Fleet’s departure half a century ago was only a divergence in paths, and the Steel Commodore who left in indignation had never completely abandoned the duty to protect the City-State.”

The secretary paused here for a moment, and after confirming that Tirian had no intention of interrupting him, he continued, “Everything can have a new explanation, every Transition can be given a fitting reason. You might think that this Reshape is unacceptable to the Frostfolk, but in reality… the vast majority of ordinary people are not so capable of retaining their ‘original intentions’ when faced with constant and uniform propaganda; a stable life and tangible improvement of order will quickly override everything else. People’s views can be ‘customized’, it just takes a little time.”

Tirian listened patiently to all of this, calmly looking into the secretary’s eyes, “It seems you are quite skilled at this.”

“Every City-State is skilled–at this, including Frost in the Queen’s era,” the secretary replied expressionlessly, “Crafting a set of views for the public that is adapted to the current social environment and can reduce the psychological burden for most is not a dirty deed. It is dirtier to spout beautiful words but be unable to maintain social order or ensure the safe life of most.”

“Captain Tirian, the duty of City Hall has never been justice–its duty is to let as many people survive as possible.”

“…To let as many people survive as possible, she said the same thing once.”

“Yes, that sentence is still carved on the door of the domed office–we only overthrew the Queen, not the things that were correct in themselves.”

Tirian was silent for a while, contemplating quietly, and after a while, he began to speak slowly: “Why do you think I would be suitable for this position?”

“It was initially Miss Agatha’s suggestion, but she only mentioned that you and your Mist Fleet might help the City-State to restore order–the further decision was the result of urgent discussions within City Hall,” the secretary explained, “Personally, I am actually not sure whether you are the right person for the job. In fact, I even have my doubts. However, others believe… before you were a ‘pirate’, first and foremost, you were a General of Frost City-State, and throughout the city’s history, one-third of its rulers or Governors have come from a military background.”

“You are all over-simplifying things,” Tirian shook his head, “It’s not a matter of whether the candidate is suitable or not, but a sum of various ‘historical legacies.’ Even if, as you say, people’s views can be customized, you also said that takes time–Frost doesn’t have that time. The city must restore order quickly, so you’d better find someone else…”

“Captain Tirian,” the secretary suddenly interrupted him, “Before outright rejecting the offer, take a look at what I have brought first. This might give you a new perspective on the ‘feasibility’ of the matter.”

Tirian paused, then for the first time seriously examined the few documents that had been placed on the table earlier.

The documents lacked ornate titles and fancy covers, just a simple folder that upon opening contained austere, fact-like written series of “suggestions.”

Tirian swept his gaze across the document twice, and his expression visibly changed.

He flipped hastily to the end, snapped the document shut with a “thwack”, and lifted his gaze to the confidential secretary before him.

The latter, however, still maintained a calm demeanor, nodding gently even before Tirian could speak.

“First,” the Frost City-State’s anomalous disaster was caused by the Cult of Oblivion’s instigation, but its root lies in the unsafe mining operations deep beneath the city by the old municipal hall for the past several decades. The lack of sufficient safety measures in the darkness and the negligence or even concealment of abnormal warnings are the main reasons for the worsening situation.

“Second,” all previous Governors had knowledge of this matter and chose to conceal it for the sake of their interests.

“Third,” the Mist Fleet chose to leave Frost fifty years ago due to a divergence in their course, which is related to such ‘unregulated mining’ and different attitudes towards predictable anomalous disasters.

“Fourth,” successive Governors conducted planned and sustained smear campaigns and concealed the truth about the Mist Fleet. They covered up the real divergence between the two parties and directed public hatred towards General Tirian himself, thereby diverting attention from the mine issue.

“Fifth,” there is substantial suspicion that Governor Winston was colluding with the Cult of Oblivion. He had received information prior to the disaster but took no effective action. Instead, he chose to defect. He will become a public enemy of the city-state. We believe that he has become a member of the Cult of Oblivion and will be eternally pursued by Frost.

“Sixth,” the new Governor will reshape the order of the City-State. A mining investigation will commence immediately, and the reckoning of those responsible who are still alive will also begin without delay.”

Tirian didn’t speak; he simply sat there like an imposing statue of ice, fixing the secretary with a gaze so heavy it was nearly suffocating.

Yet the secretary merely took a soft breath, then pulled another stack of documents from the briefcase he carried.

This file was thicker, containing more content.

“This is the list,” he lifted his head to meet Tirian’s heavy scrutiny, “the first part includes evidence needed for the reckoning, including partial records of unregulated mining in the mines, evidence of cover-ups regarding abnormal alarms, and directives for the smear campaign against the Mist Fleet. Currently, only the index for this section exists, but within three days, all the evidence will be complete.

“The second part mainly consists of a list of those who can be captured and tried, along with their corresponding ‘incriminating evidence’. Rest assured, these are not innocents; they simply have different charges–though that doesn’t matter anymore, as their real crimes are no longer significant. The city-state now needs them to be ‘colluding with the Cult of Oblivion’. These individuals can be considered ‘criminal reserves’ for the municipal hall.

“Finally, there are letters and parts of diaries that serve as evidence of Governor Winston’s collusion with the Cult of Oblivion, some of which bear his signature.”

Tirian did not look at the second stack of documents passed to him.

Cold mist slowly materialized around him, a thin layer of ice crystals gradually formed over the coffee table, and the breath of every breathing being in the room condensed into white fog.

“…Who prepared these things?”

“Successive Governors,” the secretary spoke calmly, “Each administration prepares one, along with many ‘alternative plans’. They’re not necessarily made for you, they could also be for other Successors, like the next ‘rebellion’. The last piece of information in front of you was left by Governor Winston. Coincidentally, he also listed the Mist Fleet as one of his ‘alternative plans’, which happens to coincide with the ‘suggestions’ brought by Lady Agatha.”

Tirian slowly rested his hand on the document; fine ice crystals almost froze it into an ice sculpture. He lifted his head to stare into the secretary’s eyes: “So, this can now define Winston.”

“There is a saying in Frost, ‘The dead must give way to the living,'” the secretary slowly said, “General Tirian, you may not have been born and raised in Frostfolk, but you must understand this saying very well. If labeling Governor Winston and the previous municipal halls can quickly restore order to the City-State, then surely he and the other Governors would have no objections.”