553 Discussion in the Study
"Thank you."
The moment Vaan stepped back inside the study room, Astoria expressed her sincere appreciation. Some swollen redness could still be seen around her eyes, but her emotions have mostly stabilized.
Astoria was originally a strong, independent woman, not to mention she was much older than Vaan. As such, she still had some pride and wouldn't want to weep pathetically in Vaan's arms, showing him her most vulnerable side.
Although she would have still accepted Vaan's shoulder to lean on anyway if he offered it to her, she was also glad that he didn't.
Vaan acknowledged Astoria's thank you with a nod.
"It seems like you two have become good friends," Vaan casually commented, glancing at Topaz perched on Astoria's head.
The two appeared quite buddy-buddy.
However, shortly after his comment, Topaz immediately took off, returning to Vaan's head. She took turns rubbing both her cheeks against him affectionately, showing him he was still her favorite person.
"Aren't you a little too quick to return to your master, Tia?" Astoria asked ruefully with a hint of helplessness.
Bleh!
Topaz poked out her tongue in response.
Astoria could only shake her head helplessly. Shortly after, she adjusted her mood and focused on the main topic with Vaan.
"Alot of vital information was revealed in my father's diary. I didn't expect my Braveheart family to be the one who founded the Sun God Temple," Astoria mentioned before saying with concern, "But, the method my father recorded... I don't think it will work on the Sun God Temple"
"The Sun God Temple was left to their own devices and has grown into a completely independent and heavily influential force. It won't be easy to control them," Astoria added seriously.
However, Vaan casually smiled.
"You don't have to worry about this issue with the Sun God Temple. I have already resolved it," Vaan calmly assured before adding, "Once I give them the command, they will follow the Braveheart family wholeheartedly again as they did in the past"
"This..." Astoria was stunned before her gaze softened with a sigh.
Before she could address the issue, the problem had already been resolved. She felt fortunate to have Vaan around. She couldn't express how blessed she felt in her current stage of life.
She was shaken and sad by her parent's sacrifice, but she was not the little girl she was three hundred years ago.
As such, although she went back in time for a little while, she was ready to move forward again.
"What would I do without you?" Astoria uttered, glancing at Vaan tenderly.
"But although we control the Sun God Temple, it can't be the Braveheart imperial family's public power, and neither can the Imperial Legion be. You will need to introduce a third force that will be fully under your Braveheart imperial family's control," Vaan stated.
"That way, there will be a balance in the powers of this country, and the people won't think little of your authority," Vaan added.
"But with you by my side, would the people really think little of my authority? Do we really need to introduce a third force?" Astoria asked, not to oppose the idea but to seek further explanation for her understanding.
"Naturally, the people won't as long as I am around. But this is my authority, not yours. Problems will appear if I disappear from this country for too long. As such, introducing a third force is necessary" Vaan calmly explained before adding, "However, doing this isn't just about balancing the forces in this country or reinforcing your authority; it's about uniting the people."
"There's a serious imbalance in the social standings between Darkans and Solarans, men and witches. Only by putting both Darkans and Solarans into equal positions of power in your new order will the Darkans in your country truly feel like they belong to this country, and the Solarans will stop looking down on them."
"This country can't be truly strong if there's a fundamental problem in the discrimination of races, whether they are Darkans or Solarans, men or witches. Thus, you must have at least one representative from each of the four groups in your new order," Vaan firmly stated.
Shortly after, he took out the package of papers and handed it to Astoria.
"This should help you manage the country and resolve everything faster," Vaan claimed.
Astoria didn't even need to read the papers to believe him. Since he said so, it must be true. She trusted him that much.
"Still, the issues in this country can be considered small problems in Pangea. There are more concerning matters mentioned in my father's final messages," Astoria mentioned with a frown, adding, "My father's words seem to imply Pangea's enemies have descended and are living among us."
"I don't think we will stand against Gehenna if this hidden danger stabs us in the back when the time for the decisive battle arrives," Astoria added, feeling deeply concerned.
"You're right about that, Astoria," Vaan acknowledged with a nod before saying, "However, there was too little information in your father's final messages. He did not explain who the enemies were or if they were even humans."
"Most likely, even your father had no idea who these enemies of Pangea are. Whether they are humans or a completely different race, we have zero leads to draw any conclusion," Vaan stated solemnly.
However, if he had to make a wild guess, he could say the remnants of the advanced civilization were humanoids.
The ruins of the moon colony revealed that much, at the very least.
"What a headache" Astoria rubbed her forehead with a frown before saying, "It would be best if it were an entirely different race. Humans have enough trouble among themselves."
"But if there is an entirely different race out there, humanity will be in trouble. After all, it would imply that we haven't caught a single sight of their appearance despite sharing the same planet for so long"
"They must be very good at hiding themselves," Astoria added, deeply frowning.
"Or humans simply never looked hard enough for them. Most aren't aware of their existence
or even entertained the thought," Vaan casually added.
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