Chapter 117 Truth

Agatha didn't hide anything. Before this benevolent being who had already saved Frost from the brink of destruction, she laid out all the information she currently possessed.

Some of this information she had observed and summarized herself during the Mirror Frost operation. The rest she had gleaned from various priests and her trusted subordinates after returning to the Cathedral—all things that had happened while she was trapped in that mirrored city.

Things that "the other her" had experienced.

The boiling gold mines upon which Frost relied held a huge secret. The so-called boiling gold ore had been exhausted since the time of the Frost Queen. The successive magistrates probably held a great secret. Magistrate Winston and "the other Agatha" had disappeared together into the depths of the mine, and before their disappearance, "the other Agatha" seemed to have discovered some shocking truth, the intense fluctuations of her will even reaching the real Agatha...

Duncan listened quietly, only occasionally confirming details, until Agatha had finished speaking, then he sighed softly.

"You've told me Frost's biggest secrets—aren't you worried I'm a malicious being?"

"After seeing the methods you used to destroy that mirrored city, I think it's pointless to speculate about your intentions," Agatha said frankly. "If you really had malicious intent towards this city, we would all be dead before sunset."

"...Do you city-state protectors always compliment people in such unique ways?" Duncan muttered, subtly glancing at Vanna beside him.

Vanna immediately turned her gaze away, pretending not to hear.

Maurice, sitting across the table, couldn't help but lean forward. After learning the shocking fact that the boiling gold mines had long been exhausted, the old scholar's curiosity had clearly exploded: "What's the situation in the boiling gold mine now? Can you still find raw ore? The things you've been digging out all these years... is it really boiling gold?"

"The mine is still sealed off. After the mirror invasion subsided, there were loud noises and tremors from the mine. For safety reasons, and due to a lack of manpower, we haven't confirmed the situation inside," Agatha confessed honestly. "But according to reports from the mine transport station and the smelting plant... at least the boiling gold that was transported out of the mine before is still the same."

"The mirrored city has been destroyed... but the boiling gold, which is theoretically an 'anomalous product,' hasn't disappeared? This is interesting..." Maurice subconsciously stroked his chin. "You know, those fake monsters in the city turned into piles of mud as soon as the mirrored city collapsed... so the boiling gold is real? What's the principle behind this? Can the power of the Gloom Lord create real boiling gold?"

"Now is not the time for academic research," Vanna couldn't help but mutter, then turned to Agatha. "When do you plan to confirm the situation in the mine?"

Agatha hesitated, and said uncertainly, "I think... at least after the city's order has initially stabilized, and the tremors and loud noises in the mine have stopped, and... at least we have to safely pass the first night after the disaster."

As she spoke, she raised her head and subconsciously glanced out the window.

Snow was still falling. It was still daytime, but the sun behind the clouds was gradually setting, the hazy ball of light about to touch the spire of the distant Cathedral.

"In two hours, the sun will set, and that will be the first test we face after the disaster..."

"Excuse me, I'll interrupt," Vanna suddenly raised her hand, interrupting Agatha's slightly worried sigh. "I think... you don't actually need to worry about nightfall. Compared to the various troubles you're facing, 'night' may become the least of this city-state's worries from now on."

Agatha was stunned: "Why do you say that?"

"...Experience," Vanna said, then turned slightly to look at Duncan. After seeing him nod slightly to her, she turned back to Agatha and continued, "The experience of Pland."

"Plan..." Agatha was a little dazed for a moment, but the next second, she suddenly remembered the information she had received before, the news that had come from afar—the large-scale anomaly encountered by Pland, the crisis of the Black Sun's descent, the history restored in the flames, and...

A "rumor" that had spread from various channels in Pland.

That chilling ghost captain, the mobile catastrophe on the boundless sea, the terrifying shadow of the subspace, Duncan Abernathy—had regained his humanity.

The expression on the young gatekeeper and temporary acting Archbishop's face instantly became a little colorful, and she stood up with a creak of her chair.

All the suspicious clues suddenly had an explanation, all the uneasy guesses were suddenly confirmed, and the loose and disordered information was strung together.

"I admit, the situation is a bit awkward right now." Duncan shrugged, his tone somewhat helpless.

Agatha remained frozen in place, staring motionless at Duncan—no one could see the "look" in her eyes at this moment, but the expression on this gatekeeper's face was clearly more than just awkward.

After a long time, she finally broke the silence: "No wonder... your followers call you 'Captain'... I should have thought of it sooner, which 'Captain' on the boundless sea would be as special as you..."

"I regret the events on the Thirteen Islands of Visenya," Duncan said. "I have no memory of it at all, but the evidence seems conclusive."

He tried to make his tone sound as kind and reliable as possible when he spoke, but given his illustrious "reputation" and the methods he had just displayed in front of Frost City a few hours ago, this gentleness in tone was obviously of limited effect—visibly, Agatha's body had been tense since just now.

It took a long time before this stiff and awkward state was broken by Agatha herself: "I... well, I frankly confess, from the day we were promoted to Saints, the Church has been constantly emphasizing to us that once we discover clues about the 'subspace shadow' Captain Duncan, we must immediately report it to the highest Death Sanctum—the priority is higher than any natural disaster, on par with subspace invasion. I don't know if you can understand what this concept means."

"Oh, I understand," Duncan didn't speak, but Vanna took the initiative to say, and even communicated with her colleague in front of her in a nonchalant manner, "We actually have annual reminders about this on our side, and even special disaster prevention plans, although they weren't used later."

Duncan looked at Vanna with a strange expression: "You're saying this in front of me?"

Vanna suddenly realized, and quickly straightened her face: "Ah, sorry, Captain..."

Agatha was a little belatedly aware, perhaps because the impact Duncan had on her was too great, and she suddenly focused her attention on the surprisingly tall woman in front of her: "Wait, so you are..."

"Pland City-State Inquisitor... in a sense, we are colleagues," Vanna said with a somewhat embarrassed expression. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hide it."

One after another, the information bombarded her brain, and Agatha felt dazed. She then realized that the end of a disaster was indeed just the beginning—and the complex situation after the disaster pressed down on her in an angle she had never imagined.

She hesitantly sat back down on the chair, then looked at Vanna with an incomprehensible expression: "But why are you with Captain Duncan? You should be one of the highest representatives of the Deep Sea Church in Pland... Does Pland no longer need Inquisitors?"

"This is exactly the Church's arrangement. The specific situation is not convenient to explain for the time being. I can only say... this matter cannot be made public for the time being. If your identity didn't meet the conditions for knowing, I wouldn't have told you," Vanna said with a serious expression, then paused slightly. "As for Pland... yes, just like you said, it doesn't need Inquisitors anymore, at least not the kind of Inquisitors and guardian system it used to have."

Agatha couldn't help but rub her forehead. Other pieces of information that had recently come from afar, which she hadn't had time to distinguish the truth from, emerged from her mind. She hesitated and said, "So... just like the information mentioned, Pland really has peaceful and quiet nights?"

Vanna looked a little surprised: "Has the news spread to Frost already?"

"We're just remote, not closed off," Agatha said, then couldn't help but continue to ask, "Please tell me, is Pland really no longer afraid of the night?"

"...At least for now, Pland's nights are even safer than the days of many city-states. My uncle is even considering opening a night market to accommodate the recent changes in the city-state, but this matter still needs careful discussion and testing," Vanna nodded. "Since you already know this information, then you must have heard about another thing—after the Black Sun descended, Pland had a new identity."

"Anomaly-Pland, the first unnumbered anomaly in history," Agatha said subconsciously, her eyes involuntarily falling on Duncan. Now, she finally understood the deeper meaning of Vanna's words just now. "So... the same changes will happen in Frost now?"

Feeling the invisible but very real "gaze", Duncan just smiled and nodded: "Perhaps."

(End of this chapter)