(Two chapters in one)

 …

Lugo, Baixa, Paladin, Nico, and Emmo were all in the hall. When they saw that Kino had finally recovered, they all came up to express their condolences.

Paladin asked with concern: "My lord, are you feeling better?"

“Hmm.” Kino subconsciously touched his cheek and muttered, “I just don’t know why, my face hurts and my nose bleeds all the time.”

 Everyone looks at Lugo.

Lugo pretended to look at the scenery.

Kino was a little suspicious, but didn’t take it too seriously.

 Except for the period of unconsciousness, Kino's memory has basically been restored.

This is inseparable from Bai's help. Without her injecting the Phoenix serum to repair the cranial nerves and activate his memory, it would be difficult to open all the subsequent memory nodes.

 Because Bai is a very special existence to Kino. The memory of her existing in both the past life and the reincarnation world at the same time made him think of both things.

 Furthermore, Kino actually didn’t leave much to remember in Eleven’s spiritual world, it was just pain, pain, pain - of course, this feeling has disappeared as he returned to reality.

 Not having too many memories means that it does not occupy too much brain capacity and will not crowd out previously remembered things.

With the combination of these two factors, Kino has no memory errors now or before.

Chino looked at everyone and said calmly: "Come to the conference hall, everyone. There is a lot of mess to clean up."

 In the conference hall, the eight officials took their seats in order, the "commoner" Paladin sat at the last seat, and the close guard Nico stood behind Kino.

Chino: "Lord Aimo, have you compiled the reports on the seven plagues and handed them to the Governor's Mansion?"

Aimo: "Not yet. I think this matter should be handled with caution and I am going to discuss it with you first."

Chino: "It's a very wise decision. We had a lot of violations in this incident. Once word gets out, it will have a negative impact on Twilight City's reputation. After the meeting, I will personally write a report, the central content of which is

so......"

As for the topic of the report, Kino emphasized the importance of avoiding the most important thing and hiding all the intrigues. The story was described as follows: The aliens used some kind of special weapon to cause the illusion of seven plagues in the Twilight City, severely injuring the administrator Kino Van Helsing.

In the end, thanks to the united efforts of the army and the people, the alien visitors were repelled, and the administrator's health also improved.

Going to the Governor's Palace in this way not only avoids violations, but also Lugo has guided public opinion well before. Thousands of versions of the story are out there. Even if the Governor's Palace wants to investigate, the details of the incident are already true or false.

I can only believe it.

 Besides, that’s just how things happened. Is there anything wrong with it?

 There is not a single sentence in the report that is false, it is just that it does not say everything.

After hearing this, everyone expressed their approval one after another. They also wanted to reduce big things to small things, not wanting to cause any obstacles to their official careers.

 Don’t think that you’ll be fine if you haven’t violated the rules. If something happens to the first and second leaders at the top, how can the people below escape the reckoning? It’s impossible. They are all grasshoppers on a rope.

"Administrative Officer." At this time, Aimo suddenly spoke. His eyes were a little doubtful. After thinking for a moment, he said in a deep voice, "I have no objection to the report. But there are three questions. I think you need to give everyone an answer.

answer."

Kino's expression was calm: "You ask."

Aimo's eyes narrowed slightly, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyebrows deepened: "First question. On the 1st of Huayu, you were trapped by the formation of an alien from outside. Later, you obviously suffered from mental problems, and it took a full month to recover.

But the interval from entering the formation to breaking it was less than twenty minutes. Why did it take you so long to recover? What exactly did you go through at that time?"

"I didn't experience anything. I just felt a buzzing in my head. My eyes went dark and I fainted. I have been in a daze ever since. It was only yesterday that I fully woke up." Chino did not intend to elaborate on his experience and directly put the ball in his head.

Throwing it to Aimo, "In my opinion, you are the one who should figure out the problem. Lord Aimo, as a kingdom soul master, you should pay more attention to this type of onmyoji and beware of it in the future. This is your responsibility."

Responsibilities.”

Ai Mo was speechless by the reply, and he didn't dwell too much on the matter, so he changed the subject: "Then, the second question. When you were trapped by the formation, the alien visitor said something...

Smiling devil, you were arrested... It seemed like this sentence... Then he took out a piece of paper and said a bunch of things... You have the right to remain silent and so on... What are these?

mean?"

This question is very fatal and directly involves Kino's true identity. He expected to be asked after he woke up yesterday, so he spent the whole night thinking about how to answer.

In Kino's idea, instead of being secretive and using inferior excuses, it is better to completely assume the identity of the local residents and continue speaking openly and honestly.

"The Smiling Devil must be what they call me. You also know that the corners of my lips are naturally raised. Many times, even if I don't want to smile, it looks like I am smiling." Kino pointed to his smile.

The corner of his lips curled up, and he continued, "As for why I am a devil... Think about it, we call the aliens from the outside as 'blasphemers' in the history books, so if we think about it from another person's perspective, what good will he do to us?

What’s the name?”

“I really can’t answer the part about keeping silent afterwards. Maybe it was some kind of spell? Maybe it was some kind of ritual? Just like you have to recite a spell to release soul magic and onmyoji? I won’t speculate on this.”

The second question was still full of doubts, but seeing that Kino looked calm, everyone still had doubts, but they didn't say anything for the time being, and just squinted their eyes secretly to look at him.

Emmo observed every expression change on Kino's face, and his voice became deeper and deeper: "Then, the third question is also the most important question - when you fell into a coma and did not respond to the outside world, a female extraterrestrial visitor

We kidnapped you. But when we found you, we found that you were not injured and the aliens were gone. Why is this?"

Kino let out a short sneer and asked casually: "Your question really made me laugh. You said it yourself. I fell into a coma and had no response to the outside world. How could I know what was going on? Why? I must be missing

Do you think you are normal if you have missing arms and legs, or are killed by aliens?"

 Emo shook his head: "No, no, no, I didn't mean that..."

Kino took the initiative to ask: "Or do you think I am in the same group with the aliens? I am also a blasphemer?"

Emo was obviously stunned and hurriedly explained: "I just think this matter is very strange, and there is absolutely no malice!"

Financial envoy Liszt also immediately came out to smooth things over: "We all know that since taking office, the Kino administrator has always been on the front line against aliens. It is the pride of Doguland. We will never have any malicious speculations.

"

"I think Master Aimo may not have expressed his meaning clearly. He just wants to know where the extraterrestrial visitor went. If she is still in this world, there may be follow-up attacks. We must be on guard in advance."

Kino shrugged: "I said, I was completely unconscious at the time and couldn't answer this question. But since she hasn't appeared for nearly a month, I guess she is no longer here, maybe just like what is written in the history books -

—The flying light is invisible, just like burning up in a spark of fire."

This guess is well-founded and can be accepted.

"We still don't know where they came from or where they went..." Emmo glanced at Kino subconsciously and said in a low voice, "Including their purpose."

Chino: "At least we have figured out part of the pattern. For some unknown reason, I am their target of attack - just like the Sun King back then."

"Twilight City will definitely be attacked in the future. If anyone is scared, he can submit his resignation to me now, and I will recommend him to continue his job in another city."

"Don't feel ashamed. You have all fought alongside me and are heroes of the kingdom. I am grateful to you. You all have the right to pursue a peaceful life."

Aimo smiled: "I am already an old man. I have been confused all my life, and I can barely become a "soul ferry". Being able to be on the front line against aliens in my later years can leave some stories and pride for my descendants.

"

Liszt also said respectfully: "We failed to catch up with the "War of the Eclipse" 2,700 years ago. Now visitors from outer space have reappeared. If I can do my part on behalf of the Hutch family, it will be an honor."

Lugobaissa Palatine, let alone Lugobassa Paladin, could not even think of retiring.

 Other officials also expressed their intentions and were willing to stay here.

How sincere these people's words are is difficult to judge, but it must be public or private.

It is one thing that it is an honor to fight against aliens, and it is definitely another reason why we do not want to hand over power.

If you work in another city, your position will definitely be downgraded instead of holding the eighth position.

Eight-level officials are the core power holders of a city. Once you have enjoyed this feeling of superiority, it will be difficult to become a low-level official again.

This is also one of the weaknesses of human nature. There are countless people who are brave enough to advance, but there are very few people who are willing to retreat bravely.

Chino: "Since everyone is willing to stay, I am very happy. For those things that cannot be answered, let us stop here.

"This seven plagues incident has exposed many problems, which need to be solved today." Kino looked forward and said without any emotion, "Security Captain Lugo, military commander Baixa, Paladin, stand up."

 The three giants of Xilin Town stood up.

 “What’s wrong?” Lugo was very nervous and confused, not knowing what was going on.

Paladin and Baisa secretly glanced at Neeko behind Kino. They probably guessed it and lowered their heads without daring to speak.

Kino said lukewarmly: "I learned from the military report that on the 27th of Dettol, which is the day when the "storm" among the seven plagues came, you and Neeko had a conflict."

“Nicole told you at that time that in her eyes, there was nothing unusual about Twilight City. You didn’t believe her, and you even worked together to beat her down and lock her up.”

Baisa shrank his head and said: "At that time, everyone in the city fell into the illusion, but she did not, so she was the most abnormal. We thought she was secretly plotting chaos... so... we beat her.

..”

 Paladin also quickly supported his good brother: "Sir, just like Baisa said, we are not malicious and we are willing to apologize to Neeko!"

Kino: "This is not a question of whether it is evil or not. If something like this happens during the war, what you have to do is report it to me immediately instead of overstepping your authority and making your own decisions. This is a serious mistake of principle. If you had not made it

By making this mistake, I would have been able to see through the tricks of the aliens earlier, and maybe what happened next would not have happened."

Kino looked at the three of them expressionlessly, and his voice slowly turned cold: "Furthermore, Neeko is my personal bodyguard. Her name has been Neeko Hircine since the first day she came to Twilight City from the Royal City.

Swinging your sword at her is equivalent to swinging your sword at me, and hitting her is equivalent to hitting me. Do you still think this can be solved by apologizing?"

 The atmosphere quickly fell into silence and became oppressive.
To be continued...