Chapter 195: Times Have Changed
Theresa gazed at The Doctor. "...That future is worth us taking a risk."
"Doctor, as you've seen, Kazdel has been mired in the bog of war for a long time."
Theresa spoke slowly: "At the very least, for now, I want to use this capability of Originium to carve out a homeland for Kazdel that is free from foreign intrusion. A place where people can stay and live in peace, without having to make the battlefield their home."
"And in the more distant future... if one day we can fully control Originium, the very face of this vast land will be changed. Imagine if, when a Catastrophe occurs, what falls from the sky isn't Originium Shards, but soft, fluffy clouds."
"Imagine if stones no longer grew upon the bodies of the Infected..."
Theresa smiled as she reached this point. "Probably no one would have such an absurd dream..."
"As a Sarkaz, you are indeed unique, Theresa."
The Doctor's voice sounded very strange. "Why... is it a flower like this?"
Theresa paused, then replied: "Ah... no particular reason. These flowers grow outside the canyon. I just saw them when I was searching for a suitable experimental site for the first time."
"It was just unintentional."
"Kal'tsit says this flower once had a name: Snow-on-the-mountain," Theresa looked at the petals in her hand. "But after so many years of environmental changes, it has been adapting. Perhaps it can have a new name."
"What do you think, Doctor?"
But The Doctor didn't answer directly. "Flowers blooming across the land..."
"That would be a scene full of vitality."
"Full of vitality?" Hearing this, Xia Yu reached out and patted her waist—ah, dammit, this body really is too short.
"More like full of death. After all," she said gloomily, "a bunch of decompressed 'tombstones' swaying in the wind across the land... ugh~ don't you find that terrifying?"
Hearing this, Theresa blinked, then looked thoughtfully at the petite girl before her.
"Let me ask you a question, Doctor," Xia Yu ignored her, continuing to look at The Doctor with a beaming smile. "When you saw this sea of flowers, what did you feel toward Theresa in your heart?"
"Was it being moved? Relief? Acceptance? Or... the urge to kill her?"
"You really do know me well," The Doctor gave Xia Yu a deep look.
"Just simple clairvoyance—a little past-sight, a little future-sight," Xia Yu fabricated casually. "After all, one can never have too much intelligence, right?"
"Intent to kill... intent to kill..." Upon hearing this shocking news, Theresa didn't show any great change in expression. Instead, she looked thoughtfully at The Doctor. "This intent to kill... sigh."
"I finally know what Kal'tsit was worried about."
"So Kal'tsit really does care about you, my dear Demon King," Xia Yu turned to look at her, then patted The Doctor's waist again. "Look, for the sake of your wish, she even dug out the person she hadn't managed to find despite two thousand years of hardships and dead-ends—uh, Papa? Mama? Hmm, let's go with Mama."
"She dug out her own 'Mama' to help you. Although her kindness might lead to a bad outcome, she's certainly been a true friend."
Xia Yu sighed. "Kal'tsit has no idea what she's actually done. The Originium Project... heh. She thought The Doctor would definitely stand with her, but..."
"The Prophet was still one move behind, because her path has already been checkmated by the Priestess."
Xia Yu said solemnly: "Theresa, I have seen the future."
"You will die in the hands of the Sarkaz Centric while holding Amiya, and the ones who plotted it all are the Doctor before you and your brother."
She prodded with great interest: "How about it? Do you feel an impulse to root out the problem right now?"
The Doctor remained unmoved, showing no sign of feeling threatened, and even gave Xia Yu a sidelong glance.
As for Theresa, she tilted her head in thought. "Hmm, it's a hard choice. After all, it involves life and death."
"Then, my dear little prophet, can you give me a reference answer? For example, in the future you saw, what did that Theresa do in the end?"
"She shattered the memories in the Doctor's head," Xia Yu answered briskly. "She let her start from a blank state to get to know this vast land all over again, and then handed the right to choose over to her."
"Yes, that really sounds like something I would do," Theresa put her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly. "Then let's do that."
She drawled, "Hmm, on the day I die, I must take the Doctor's memories with me."
"And while you're at it, take the hatred the Sarkaz have accumulated for ten thousand years with you, too, right?" Xia Yu smiled. "Those old fossils... have been churning in the Internalized Universe for far, far too long."
"They..." Theresa's eyes lit up. "You mean, in the future, I can take away the ancient hatred that has imprisoned the Sarkaz?!"
"That's how it goes, yes," Xia Yu looked at her excited expression. "But why do you look so impatient?"
"Because I feel it's a great bargain," Theresa leaned down and picked a flower. "Really, it's a bargain."
To use one life to untie the hatred that has trapped the Sarkaz for ten thousand years—Theresa felt she was coming out ahead.
"Does your brother think so too?"
"He definitely thinks so."
"You two siblings really are something," Xia Yu shook her head. "Let me ask you: how did you feel just now when I said the future was a conspiracy between the Doctor and your brother to assassinate you?"
"...It must have been very difficult," Theresa looked tenderly at The Doctor. "Doctor, and brother... you must have made that choice while carrying an immense burden, right?"
"Don't ask me," The Doctor threw up her hands. "I haven't 'defected' yet."
"True," Theresa's smile grew even more brilliant. "It's good to know the Sarkaz still have a future."
"Then, Miss Bailu, since we've said so much, may I have the honor of knowing your identity?"
"How much did Kal'tsit tell you about Prehistory?" Xia Yu asked.
"A lot," Theresa nodded.
"And the starry sky?"
"Prehistory came from within the starry sky."
"Well, so do I," Xia Yu smiled. "After the apocalypse, it wasn't just civilization on Terra that began to flourish again."
"I come from the Xianzhou Luofu. I am the current Vidyadhara Dragon Mascot, currently traveling."
"Phew, this guest's identity is certainly beyond expectations," Theresa blinked. When The Doctor first said this was one of their own, she thought she was someone The Doctor had dug up from somewhere.
Just like Kal'tsit had dug her up.
But it turned out to be like this? From above the starry sky...
"Well, since the identities are out in the open, I have a small question," Xia Yu clapped her hands. "Miss Theresa, does Kazdel have any of those poverty alleviation policies?"
"Specifically, systemic assistance for underdeveloped areas, such as help with medical care, education, and food?"
"Of course we do," Theresa's eyes grew brighter as she spoke. she understood perfectly that someone on equal footing with The Doctor wouldn't be joking with her at a time like this.
"We provide cheap seeds to various tribes, as well as various education subsidies and food policies..." she said excitedly. "It's just... after Babel left the city of Kazdel, those policies..."
"In other words, the actual controller of Kazdel right now is your brother, right?" Xia Yu nodded and continued asking: "So, do they still recognize you, the Demon King, as the supreme ruler?"
"There's no dispute about that," Theresa gave a helpless smile.
In this time before the Civil War has fully broken out, even the Military Commission doesn't dare to openly oppose the Demon King.
After all, over these two hundred years, Theresa's achievements have been obvious to all. Since she took the throne, Kazdel has changed from an immobile stone city ravaged by war into a Mobile City that can at least move.
The originally barren plains have been gradually reclaimed, and the Sarkaz population has slowly recovered. The last time the Sarkaz had a population of ten million was before the Great War against the Elder Overlords.
Of course, it was precisely because of this saturated population and the overly barren land that internal conflicts among the Sarkaz have become increasingly intense.
If the Sarkaz want to escape their current predicament and catch up with the times, they only have one choice: complete industrialization.
"Well, I have an assistance plan here. Do you want to sign it?" Xia Yu said with a beaming smile. "The first batch consists of enough supplies to feed thirty million people for a year. With these, you can at least feed your starving subjects."
"...Then, may I ask what the Sarkaz need to pay?" Theresa asked very cautiously.
"As you know, our team travels around under the name of the Interstellar Post-Disaster Reconstruction Assistance Group," Xia Yu shrugged. "Regardless of the situation, the report needs to look good."
"You want this assistance? Fine. We don't ask for much. After taking our stuff, honestly develop your industry and agriculture, research technology, and advance your civilization."
"If anyone tries to use our subsidies as military funds to start wars everywhere," she narrowed her eyes, "and someone comes to inspect the results of the work only to see the recipient of our aid spreading the flames of war across the land... that wouldn't make for a good report."
"After all, our group hasn't produced any results for so many years, and the department's year-end summaries are always blank. The boss has had a headache for years. This time we finally managed to produce a result, so if it ends up like that..."
"It just wouldn't be acceptable, right?"
"In other words, war is forbidden, right?" Theresa sighed.
"To be precise, initiating wars of aggression is forbidden," Xia Yu corrected. "If someone actually comes looking for death, we aren't so rigid that we'd tell you to just stretch out your neck for the blade."
"But for the current Sarkaz... this is truly too difficult," Theresa sighed. "Miss Bailu, do you understand the Sarkaz?"
"The Kazdel region isn't that large," Xia Yu nodded, then said, "The land is barren, there are few minerals, and even farming yields little. Otherwise, it wouldn't be famous for producing mercenaries. If people could make a living, who would want to spend every day living on the edge of a blade?"
"Especially under your reign—two hundred years of recovery. The Sarkaz, with a population of over ten million, have spread to every corner of this wasteland that can sustain life."
"The barren land can no longer support more people, but the continuous stream of new population is rapidly compressing the per capita available resources. Soon, Kazdel will not be able to feed this many Sarkaz."
Xia Yu looked at Theresa and said: "In my view, the only correct path is to develop industry. But for the current Sarkaz, it is still too difficult."
"Yes," Theresa sighed. "How could I not want that as well?"
"Kazdel's agricultural resources are already extremely tight. If we were to divert people to develop industry on a large scale, I'm afraid before it even got off the ground, the plummeting agricultural output would starve countless people."
Xia Yu continued her analysis: "Furthermore, to develop even the most basic industry, you need enough talent. With the literacy rate in Kazdel... tsk tsk tsk."
She shook her head and continued: "And Kazdel has another major problem. You have an infamous reputation internationally. Even if your industry develops, how many people would be willing to use products from 'Demons' as they call them?"
"So, even if you are a Demon King respected by all, in the end, the majority of people still side with the Military Commission."
Even in the original timeline, without the Doctor's "cheats," Babel would never have been able to hold out for long against the Military Commission's strikes. In the end, Babel was only able to take the walls of Kazdel because Theresis had taken the elite of the Military Commission to Londinium.
"The Sarkaz, compared to Babel's vision of universal harmony, are more accustomed to succumbing to inertia. They have collectively chosen another path."
"War," Theresa said softly. "As long as we start a war, everything will be fine—that's what they say."
"Go outside to plunder, to kill and to steal. As long as enough people die, there's no need to worry about distribution problems, and we can make a fortune."
"And while they're at it, settle that ten-thousand-year-old grudge."
"But I know that if this cycle continues, what awaits the Sarkaz is only a slow death," the first trace of sorrow since their meeting appeared on Theresa's face. "The world outside is developing too fast. This is no longer the era where everyone lines up for a big battle like in the past."
"Those High-speed Warships, those new tactics and new weapons have completely changed the landscape of war. Those rapidly evolving technologies are leaving the Sarkaz far behind."
Hearing this, Xia Yu sighed and summarized: "Times have changed."
Theresa nodded in agreement. "Yes, times have changed."
★ ★ ★
T/N: If you spot mistranslation, do tell me.
★ ★ ★
Shilling time!
Members of my [email protected]/quickinquickout can read advanced chapters on quick-tl(dot)com—and even customize translated terms to match their preferred names and terminology!