It's so painful! So hard! So difficult!

Forget it. Why think about this? You don’t really want to get along well with this genius lady, do you? Her affairs are not your business to worry about.

Thinking so, Bai Lin continued to swing the sword in his hand.

After everything was done, Bai Lin and Yamashita Kanon were taken to a nearby village by several pre-arranged soldiers. After all, this was a fake war, so there was no problem with withdrawing some personnel. Otherwise, Bai Lin might have just taken a souvenir and taken Yamashita Kanon with him.

After discussing with the senior elders, she also came out of the house. Yamashita Kanon leaned against the door and asked lightly,

"How about it?"

Bai Lin frowned and took Yamashita Kanon to the small room that had been arranged for them in advance. After entering the private space, he replied,

"It's not ideal. They're unwilling to give up their pride of independence, and they feel they won't return to peace until their feud is completely extinguished. Most of the higher-ups there are similar people. Blood and scars have marked them too many times, and it's impossible for them to return to normal life."

Compared to his former master, these people have experienced longer wars and generations of hatred, which is even more terrifying.

"However, they haven't failed to consider the reality of the situation. Under my persuasion, they did consider it. They simply can't outmaneuver those powerful alien races. Years of war and chaos have made it difficult for many of them to lead normal lives."

At this point, Bai Lin suddenly paused, coughed twice and said in a low voice,

"We old bones are fine. But the women and children... we can't let them suffer any longer. If this continues, they will surely lose their freedom. So, if the war reaches that point, we will choose to give up and join you, Camitran."

"Why do you want to imitate him?"

"I feel like this will lighten the heavy atmosphere a bit, haha."

Bai Lin ignored Yamashita Kanon's questioning look and continued to speak.

"So, if the situation was really the same as before, I'm sure our mission would have been a complete success. But now it seems unlikely. After all, the battle line over there is... very stable, I should say."

Chapter 674 Do you want the one you passed through?

"But for those young people, it's a good thing that these old people have given up. After all, they no longer want to fight. They pray for peace and are taking action..."

At this point, Bai Lin frowned, changed the subject, and asked,

"Action? Maybe that's not the right word."

Isn't it a little too easy? This so-called peace.

Yamashita Kanon certainly didn't understand what Bai Lin was thinking, but like Bai Lin, she felt very strange, so she asked,

"What's wrong? You suddenly stopped talking mid-sentence."

"No, it's nothing. You should have finished your shower by now, right? I didn't bring you a change of clothes this time, so just make do with this for now."

Bai Lin didn't intend to bring up her own seemingly overly worried question, so she turned around and asked. Yamashita Kanon was stunned for a moment, her face slightly red, and she turned her face away and said,

"I'm not good at communicating with them, you know. I'm only good at giving orders, not talking."

Before the meeting, Bai Lin had already instructed Yamashita Kanon to rent an empty house and bathing facilities from the women in the village, and to fetch water and boil water for them, and Yamashita Kanon would pay the corresponding fees. I thought Bai Lin would wait for the little girl to bathe for a while after the meeting, but now, you tell me it hasn't started yet?

"Uh, that's not right. Even though you're a little imposing, you should still be able to have a conversation... Oh, what's the matter? Are you worried about scaring me?"

Bai Lin quickly figured out what Yamashita Kanon's expression meant, but she figured it out a little too late. There's a big difference between saying these words out loud and keeping them in your heart. Yamashita Kanon quickly glared at Bai Lin and replied,

"What are you talking about? And you didn't even tell me there wouldn't be any change of clothes. Don't you even prepare some?"

"Who would bring underwear with them when going on an adventure? You don't think you'll have enough time to wash them during a long adventure, do you? Extra luggage will probably get dirty along with them. Although I have ways to bring more useful things, the underwear I bring can't be worn by you. Do you want the underwear I've worn?"

Bai Lin quickly retorted. Even if Yamashita Kanon didn't have mysophobia, Bai Lin's size would definitely be different. Although she sometimes wasn't very smart, Bai Lin was always very quick to respond when fighting back. Yamashita Kanon was immediately speechless and could only glare at Bai Lin fiercely.

After Bai Lin thought about it for a while, he sighed and said,

"There's definitely no underwear for you, but I do have plenty of disposable bandages. You should know how to use them, so they're enough to prevent friction. Take them if you can, but if not, there's no other choice. There's definitely not much underwear available in a village like this; most of it is woven."

After hearing Bai Lin's words, Yamashita Kanon's expression softened a bit. She put away her gaze, but still refused to give in. She replied,

"Do I have any other choice but to accept it?"

"You can choose not to wear it. You can wear the old one or not wear it at all."

Although Yamashita Kanon was in a bad mood, she knew that she couldn't win the argument with Bai Lin, so she didn't refute him on this point. So, she simply ignored Bai Lin's words and said,

"That's it, the rest is up to you to arrange."

"If you could politely say thank you to me, I'd work harder. Could it be that the Prime Minister of Sakura hasn't been taught etiquette?"

After saying this, Bai Lin got up and walked towards the next room. Yamashita Kanon followed behind Bai Lin and replied,

"It's amazing that you can even bring up the word etiquette."

"Of course. If you're not strict with others and lenient with yourself, how can you survive in this world?"

The matter was handled quickly, after all, it was not a big deal. Although Yamashita Kanon lived in an expensive place, she had enough time to arrange commissions, so her daily expenses were still very rich. Moreover, in such a remote place, she would definitely spend freely.

Moreover, since Bai Lin, a better laborer, was here, things like boiling water and fetching water were all left to Bai Lin. As for why Yamashita Kanon didn't do it herself, it was probably because...

Try wearing a bandage outfit.

While Bai Lin was fetching water, Yamashita Kanon took the bandages. Although she was smart and had no doubt learned how to treat wounds and use hand guards, this was definitely her first time using them to tie a bra. The Prime Minister certainly couldn't bring himself to ask Bai Lin how to do it, and even if he did, he wouldn't get anything out of it, so he went back to studying on his own.

Bai Lin was also very aware of this, so she didn't ask what Yamashita Kanon was doing.

After a long time, Bai Lin, who was practicing sword in an open space outside the house, saw Yamashita Kanon, with her hair half-dried, coming out in neat clothes. She put away her weapon and replied,

"Everything is packed. Did you forget anything? Then let's go back."

"Going back? Don't you want to dry your hair first?"

Yamashita Kanon asked with a puzzled look on her face, which made Bai Lin stunned for a moment. Then Bai Lin shook his head and said,

"That's enough. Just dry it off and go. You don't have so many options out there. I can't perform such delicate magic anyway."

Most of the time, Bai Lin didn't even bother to dry her hair, after all, her hairstyle rarely got out of shape. Perhaps this was the treatment of being a protagonist.

Seeing the gloomy face of Yamashita Kanon, Bai Lin certainly didn't want to indulge her bad habits and walked away. Natural air drying is easy to catch a cold, but Yamashita Kanon is a person, so air drying is definitely understandable.

Just like that, the matter of settling the spoiled but not so spoiled eldest daughter was arranged.

For lunch, Bai Lin pulled out a large batch of traveler's bread from his inventory. After all, it tasted pretty good, wasn't greasy, and was a great energy booster. At least it wasn't like the monster meat she usually ate, which had a strong flavor that Yamashita Kanon couldn't get used to.

After dinner, the two briefly discussed their plans for the surveillance period. First, Yamashita Kanon stayed behind to monitor the situation, while Bai Lin headed directly to the Periya tribe to see if he could gather any information. Then, Bai Lin would return to take charge, and the two of them would go and survey public opinion, including their opinions on Camitlan and the Periya tribe. Intelligence, no matter where you are, is always crucial.

Chapter 675 Tasting

As for why Bai Lin had more work to do, the reason was simple: after all, Yamashita Kanon would suffer if she went to the Periya tribe. There was no need to bring another person with her, so she shouldn't be tortured.

Soon, half an afternoon passed. Bai Lin breathed heavily as he walked along the experimental corridor of the vast sea, sighing involuntarily.

"You guys are really amazing. You feel exhausted after spending every day doing this kind of work."

"No, we all have our own strengths. The way the Holy Son does things basically requires hands-on practice, and that's something we really can't imitate."

Perpogate also answered very rationally and practically. After finishing this sentence, it seemed to remember something and replied,

"By the way, Master Saint, we will go to your front line this afternoon or evening."

"Hmm? Can you guys just show up? Let me make it clear that while no one wants to fight, it's impossible for everyone to be neutral towards you. If a conflict arises between you, I will definitely not stand on your side."

Bai Lin made his position very clear. After all, he was also the Holy Son of mankind. The correct approach was to show a bad face to the outside world and then to the inside. There was no need to be a reasonable person in such a self-inflicted matter. But the Periya tribe did not seem to take Bai Lin's words to heart, and just continued,

"Don't worry, we're fully aware of this. We can definitely be there. We've already agreed in advance and received the necessary permission. You're right. Even if some people agree, conflicts could still arise. But, to be honest..."

"This little conflict will not affect us at all."

We don't take this kind of conflict seriously at all, that's roughly how it feels. Bai Lin reacted instantly after hearing this. Indeed, with the technological level of the Periya tribe, there's no way they don't have some combat-related tech tree. How could they possibly be worried about being injured by these humans wielding homemade weapons?

Thinking of this, Bai Lin couldn't help but become wary of the Periya people. Her divine power could see through the flow of magic, but the same couldn't be said for their technology. Besides magic power, they had a plethora of other things going on. There might be something she hadn't seen or perceived yet. If the Periya people suddenly turned against her, she wouldn't be able to handle it.

"I think there's actually no problem. After all, they've already agreed to it, but..."

Bai Lin first agreed to it, and then seriously proposed the second half of his sentence.

"I have a few requests. First, you can only bring a certain number of people with you, and you must be under our surveillance. You cannot leave our sight at will. You can come quickly and leave quickly, but you can stay longer. Is that okay? If not, then don't come."

After hearing Bai Lin's words, Perpoget tapped his cane, turned his gaze calmly towards Bai Lin, and said,

"How cautious, Lord Saint Son. However, there's really nothing wrong with your request. The probability of two species being caught off guard during their first contact is approximately 0.03%, and we completely understand that. We can certainly agree to your request."

Bai Lin also casually glanced at the other party and replied,

"That's fine. We're all smart people, so it's easy to talk to. By the way, what are you going to do there? I want to ask you this for both public and private reasons. Can you answer me?"

"Being able to observe the situation with our own eyes and interact with the local people firsthand is also an important part of our research. However, the most important thing about this trip is... this!"

As he spoke, Perpoget took a tray from a member of the tribe next to him. Although Bai Lin was curious about how their round hands could pick up the tray, he was still attracted by the things on the tray.

"This is……"

Small, black, with lace and a little steam, it looks like it's just out of the oven, wrapped in a layer of paper shell. Isn't this a chocolate cake? Bai Lin took a look and sniffed unconsciously. The aroma of baking instantly invaded her mind.

Yes, it is indeed chocolate cake.

"The cakes we make shouldn't be so unrecognizable that normal humans can't recognize them, right? If you can't even recognize them, then it's best not to bring them on this trip..."

Perpoget seemed a little disappointed and was about to take it back, but Bai Lin quickly spoke up and cleared up the misunderstanding.

After a few simple conversations, Perpoget's understanding of human personality seemed to have deepened a little. It tilted its head and continued to talk about business.

"Simply put, we'll be bringing our simulated human remains to the locals for tasting. While we have specialized tasting machines and AI, we're more concerned with the locals' own opinions."

AI itself is primarily about learning and imitation, so achieving full self-awareness is difficult. While the elves' magic can achieve this, they prefer learning methods, as autonomous individuals can be quite problematic in some ways.

Bai Lin had no idea whether the Polia tribe lacked the technology or what. She only knew that the Polia tribe wanted to explore the flavors of various races, and it would be a very troublesome task to build a useful AI for each race.

Back to the point, after understanding the other party's intentions, Bai Lin naturally felt more at ease. She smiled slightly and replied,

"That's great. Food is the most important thing for people. If you bring them food, they'll be less hostile. If you conquer someone's stomach, you basically conquer their heart."

"Your Excellency the Holy Son seems very happy. Are you also looking forward to the food tasting?"

"Of course, who doesn't want to eat delicious food for free?"

Bai Lin had no intention of hiding or putting on airs, and quickly gave his correct answer. Although the Periya people were such a mechanized race, the atmosphere became slightly more harmonious after this exchange.

And so, the day's exploration ended here. It was time to return to human affairs. Bai Lin once again utilized her greatest athletic ability, whizzing across the land like a superconducting maglev train, dashing back to the village. She took out a bottle of water and sat down next to Yamashita Kanon, who looked like she was about to grow mushrooms.

Chapter 676 Evil Spirit

"You seem really anxious. Is there something you need to hurry up for a minute or two?"

Yamashita Kanon looked at Bai Lin and felt very strange, because to be honest, the two of them should have a lot of free time. Just monitoring and gathering information, for people like them, is no different from a vacation.

You don't need to use your brain too much, and you don't need to do anything with your hands. Just observe the situation.

Bai Lin reached out and wiped the water stains from the corner of his mouth, closed the bottle cap, put it back to his waist and said,

"You don't understand this, don't you? If we finish our work quickly, we'll be better prepared to deal with various emergencies. When dealing with aliens like this, nothing can be explained by common sense. It's best to be able to prepare for any situation."

While Bai Lin's words were correct, she couldn't actually follow them completely. People tend to blindly follow their intuition. Common sense, which they've been immersed in daily for decades, can't be overturned simply by self-awareness. Furthermore, events beyond their normal understanding can't be fully predicted, and problems can easily arise.

All she could do was keep a close eye on the situation with the Periya tribe, preventing them from taking advantage of the situation, and warn the surrounding humans about whether they'd been brainwashed or coerced, to prevent internal problems. Beyond that, there was nothing else she could do. If the Periya tribe had a device that could control an entire village with a single click, she probably wouldn't have any way to prevent it.

You can't just draw all of them first, right?

After hearing Bai Lin's words, Yamashita Kanon thought for a moment, then nodded and replied simply,

"I really don't understand. After all, even if we're doing serious work, if there's an emergency, we should be able to handle it normally. However, that does make me feel a little depressed... Anyone would feel annoyed if their work was interrupted in the middle of something."

"Right, it's really annoying, so let's solve it quickly."

Bai Lin didn't argue with Yamashita Kanon to understand the meaning of this. He just followed her words and talked nonsense without any logic. The perfunctory meaning was overflowing, which made the other party stare at Bai Lin in silence for a while.

"Actually, I still think... forget it, just pretend I didn't say anything."

Yamashita Kanon opened her mouth to speak, as if she wanted to say something to Bai Lin, but then she took it back. This must have made Bai Lin very concerned, and she quickly asked Yamashita Kanon,

"It's really bad manners to leave your words half-sentenced like that. Hurry up and finish what you're saying. Even I'm sure I'll take it seriously."

"You're still talking about quality with others? Just get down to business and stop talking about useless things."

Yamashita Kanon glanced at Bai Lin, then stood up and walked towards the crowd. Bai Lin had originally wanted to just sit there and watch Yamashita Kanon awkwardly negotiate with the villagers in her blunt tone, but then she realized she hadn't done so before because she didn't want to scare them, so she decided not to ruin someone's kindness over such a small incident. So, she followed.

Negotiations soon commenced. After all, everyone had a lot of free time without having to fight, so finding conversation samples was quick and easy. The conversation itself went smoothly. While Yamashita Kanon did adopt a rather blunt tone, her sheer forcefulness was irresistible, leaving everyone in awe of her rather than disapproval.

When asked why she didn't speak like this to the villagers, but treated the soldiers this way, she replied that soldiers didn't need mercy, and that this harshness in her words was nothing in itself. It seemed the former Prime Minister was also very harsh towards those who had to shoulder minor responsibilities.

The soldiers' attitudes toward the Periyas could be roughly divided into two camps. One group held the view that "it's better not to fight them. Why bother living in harmony with them? Since they're a foreign race, who knows what trouble they might cause, which would be very troublesome. We should draw a clear line between them and them." This group comprised the majority.

The other group is not much different, but they are a little friendlier, or more "indifferent." Since the other party has shown a friendly attitude, completely rejecting it may cause more trouble, so it doesn't matter if you accept it.

Basically, it's a fear of trouble, and both sides share the same sentiment. They don't want to stir up more trouble, they don't want any more conflict. That's probably the feeling.

Bai Lin completely understood this. When she was seven, she'd thought that adults who gave up early on were unmotivated, and she'd never be like that again. A life spent improving oneself, reaching the pinnacle, was the most enjoyable and rewarding.

Now, she just wants to be alone and live a peaceful life farming. Although she hasn't figured out what she will do after saving the world and returning to her original world, she must find a stable and reassuring job and live a simple and happy life.

I don’t want any more conflicts, I don’t want to work so hard anymore.