Chapter 917: Chapter 917: Life at Home, and a Long Talk About Life With a Certain Wise-But-Seemingly-Foolish Female Hooligan
A day at home usually begins like this: half-awake, feeling the dazzling sunlight, I habitually dodge to the side, and then, with a bang, the big box of the Mercury Lamp crashes onto the bed. This little doll never succeeds, yet she persistently uses this method to wake me up. It has become a habit now. Even in her sleep, she would leap up and crash down every morning at six-thirty. Then I open my eyes, daze for a bit, and after three minutes, knock on the box beside me, pulling out the equally muddled Mercury Lamp, brushing the little doll’s hair and checking her teeth while she tries to bite me. Then I head to the bathroom to brush my teeth, watching Dingdang trying to eat toothpaste with cold water instead of brushing. Sometimes, Little Baobao would float out from an unexpected place asking for a hug. Once I’ve served all the little ancestors, I’m usually fully awake, and then I go downstairs to eat…
The routine is so peaceful, without the smoke of war, the ear-piercing air-raid alarms, or the snow-like reports of battle damages and casualty estimates. Although it seems there’s nothing to do because of this, it’s still the life I like the most. Even soldiers like Sandora, accustomed to the battlefield, are incredibly satisfied with such a life.
Of course, perhaps Pandora and Visca are exceptions. Their daily routine of idle eating and waiting for death makes the sisters feel extremely uneasy, as if their gun barrels will break if not fired for forty-eight hours straight.
Today marks the third day back at home, and everything has returned to normal. A month outside doesn’t seem to change the solid habits of the First Family. We’re like stubborn mistletoe, persistently clinging to our daily routines despite the wind and rain…
Of course, the unfinished business from the former world still needs to be dealt with: the ancient shipwrecks snatched from the battlefield, the strange world barrier of the Ruins World, the battle methods and basic strength exhibited by the Fallen Apostle Fleet, the mostly repaired War Song, as well as the new round of tests and adjustments for the Revenge Fleet… The work never ends; it seems to have piled up endlessly. Sandora and I review reports and applications every day, which seems endless, to be honest, this goes completely against my principle of idling my life away. But compared to fighting, reviewing such things every day is already a great choice.
Actually, those documents aren’t hard to review because we have a group of assistants better than anyone else: officers from the Command Center, governors from the Time-Space Administration Bureau, advanced governors from the Military Integration Department, and the chief scientist team from the Research Center. They basically handle all the matters that need careful judgment and are of importance. All complicated affairs can be delegated to expert think tanks or decision-makers to handle. Ultimately, after Sivis’s collation, what reaches Sandora and me are always completed reports or grand military plans that require the Emperor’s attention. The former are the execution results of established plans, which Sandora and I only need to be aware of, and only the latter needs serious approval. In most cases, Sandora takes care of these matters personally, and I end up just being a seal-stamping “machine”.
Of course, this is how I feel now that I’m somewhat familiar with the things I deal with daily. When I first encountered these, I was really at a loss, completely unable to understand the terminology from top to bottom. Even when expressing agreement, I didn’t know what I was agreeing to. If it weren’t for Sandora helping to take over nearly all the work back then, I might have made a mess of everything.
Even now, though I seem to be properly handling these imperial daily affairs, I’m fully aware that I’m actually an outsider, a pseudo-otaku from Earth who spent the first twenty years of his life idling away, suddenly asked to manage an empire. It’s essentially a fairy tale. So even now, the ones truly shouldering the work are only Sandora and the officers below. I spent three years getting familiar with these things, and all I can do now is find a place to stamp seals…
Leaving all the enormous work to Sandora makes me consistently feel a bit guilty, but Sandora herself doesn’t mind it at all. According to her, the territory of the New Empire is smaller than a Sky Zone of the Old Empire. Managing such a land, according to her, is much easier than before. However, I think she mostly says this to reassure me: managing a revitalizing nation versus a stable developing one is obviously different. If her work were truly as easy as she claims, it would indeed be strange.
However, one of my best traits is the self-awareness of my abilities. I clearly understand my own capabilities. Outsider leading insiders can only make things more chaotic. If you don’t understand, don’t meddle arbitrarily. Speak when you’ve understood—there’s a widely known saying in the Empire: Even the Emperor shouldn’t touch things on the experiment table carelessly. This saying explains the rationale. Also, it’s worth mentioning that this famous saying was made by Sandora on the thousandth anniversary of her ascension…
“Honestly, I do think if I understood more about this stuff, it would be better.”
I said to a certain rogue goddess beside me who was using care liquid to maintain her feathers.
After breakfast, I was, as usual, sunbathing on the balcony, since there usually aren’t any tasks to handle in the morning. I usually use this leisure time to take a nap and chat with whoever randomly wanders over to the balcony. This time it was Bingdisi. Since the weather was nice, Bingdisi decided to sun her wings. Besides the roof, the balcony was the most suitable place in the house for sunning wings—it’s said that the summer sun is good for feather maintenance, though who knows if that’s true.
Feeling somewhat bored, I spoke to Bingdisi about my usual dilemma, which is that I always seem unable to help Sandora with managing the Empire. I don’t know if this female hooligan was listening; anyway, she’s been fussing with her feathers since just now, showing no intention of paying attention to me.
Oh, I take that back—she was listening after all. But is it necessary for her to express her presence with a bear hug in any situation?
Bingdisi casually tossed the care liquid into her Personal Space and lunged over. I watched those 36Ds instantly enlarge, and then it’s like being hit head-on by a meteorite, my upper body went “creak!”
Do you believe it almost squeezed out even the gastric acid?
“Cough cough… I say, you have no sense of moderation!”
I frantically pushed this bouncing Lady Goddess aside. While the 36D is indeed soft and fragrant, but when two tons of pressure are added to this 36D, you won’t think so. After finally breaking free from Bingdisi’s bear hug, I immediately guardedly watched this character, afraid she might whimsically turn me into a laying satellite outside the stratosphere. She could do it, if she wanted to!
Bingdisi didn’t seem embarrassed at all—as if she didn’t even realize there was a difference between genders—just standing imposingly with her arms on her hips saying, “Nothing, you looked gloomy. I thought I’d heal you a bit——based on a man’s living habits, this should work.”
Screw you! Anyone healed by you would almost need rescue!
“In simple terms, are you just depressed like this?” Bingdisi poked my arm, forcibly made a place for herself, and sat on the armrest of the chair. Probably thinking it was habitual, she forgot she hadn’t put away her three-meter wingspan, unintentionally pushing me to the side, so I fetched a stool to sit beside her. “Chen, what do you think an emperor should do ordinarily to be considered doing their job?”
I was startled when I found out she was actually being serious, but then I slowly organized my thoughts and replied, “Handle national affairs? Think about the country’s livelihood? Formulate diplomatic policies… Hmm, although when it comes to diplomacy, Gods’ delayed temperament leaves much to be desired.”
Bingdisi casually plucked a feather from her wing and handed it to me. “Here, this feather might work,” she said languidly.
“What does this mean?” I asked confusedly, taking the long feather in my hand. Meanwhile, I felt a bit uneasy, wondering what this female hooligan had planned. However, considering she wouldn’t harm me, I took the feather.
Completely unsure why Bingdisi wanted me to do this, I still followed her instructions, thinking she wouldn’t harm me. However, I was overwhelmed and nearly fainted when endless pictures and information suddenly flooded my mind!
Endless information traverses through my mind, indistinguishable whispers endlessly overlapping like thunderous roars in the spiritual domain. This barrage of countless things nearly overwhelmed my thinking ability to the point where Bingdisi’s words became gibberish in my ears…
“How are you feeling?”
After hastily concentrating to suppress the chaotic information, I finally felt a bit clearer, and immediately heard the slightly schadenfreude inquiry from a certain female hooligan.
“If I could beat you, I would have done it already—do you never know to moderate yourself?”
“Tch, would you really hit a girl like me?”
I was instantly dumbfounded: the female hooligan conveniently brandishing her ‘girl’ identity at this moment. And my dear sister, don’t you think squatting like a thug on the armrest of a chair while claiming to be a girl lacks conviction? Try to find someone from Earth who exudes more masculinity than you!
But reason never works with Bingdisi, an oddball who would dare to fling bricks at people in the Pantheon, utterly capricious even her father can’t control her. Thus, I straightforwardly got to the point: “What was that just now?”
Saying that, I raised the feather in my hand. The feeling was clear; the endless influx of information wasn’t from this feather, yet it seemed like a key or a bridge that connected my spirit world to something else. However, those things were too overwhelming, impossible to discern any contents among a vast consciousness that nearly led one astray.
Bingdisi smiled mysteriously: “Work, it’s my work.”
I: “?”
“Just something a God has to bear.” Bingdisi laughed, “Currently, I’m the God of twenty-one worlds, the guardian of hundreds of billions of believers. As their spiritual pillar, I must listen to their voices, which may come from a bishop, a farmer, or even a world itself among those twenty-one worlds. Every minute, every second, billions of voices are praying or talking, and eventually, all these things must converge on us—that’s what a God has to bear. This feather is part of my body, the countless voices you heard just now…”
I was dumbstruck.
“Actually, you should have encountered something similar, right? I heard from Little One that she often invites you to play in the Life Tree temple. Inside the temple, you should be able to access similar prayer information, which is ultimately meant to converge on that Little One…”
“No, apparently Dingdang clears her collection every seven days because she can’t handle it…”
Bingdisi: “…Wow, even fiercer than me back then?”
Hmm? Did I just hear something incredible?
“Ahem, let’s not dwell on the details,” Bingdisi realized she misspoke, and effortlessly changed the topic, even too lazy to use a clever method, a simple cough sufficed, “I want to ask: Chen, do you think these nearly endless voices could really be solved one by one personally?”
I pondered: “Given the leisure habits of you Tiaozi Five, I doubt you’ve solved even one.”
Bingdisi was instantly furious, reaching out to scratch me: “If not for fearing you won’t feed me lunch, I’d challenge you today!”
I reckon if I were her mother, I’d have strangled her during childbirth for rebirth, ever seen such a folly?
“Forget it, Sandora was right, taking you seriously would eventually anger myself to death, a saint in the realm of bickering. I’m just trying to tell you one thing: the greater the ability, the more you need to strategize (why does this sound awkward?). Hundreds of billions praying, I can’t respond to each as a God, nor should you, as the King of Mankind, concern yourself with every trivial matter—though Sandora might have the energy and ability, you don’t, nor should you force it. You’ve been somewhat wrong in positioning yourself, always wanting to solve too many trivial matters, hoping to consider everyone. While I love your kind-hearted nature, I do not agree with applying this mindset to your role as the King of Mankind. Remember, you are a leader, the one leading the way for everyone, your only responsibility is to lead. Decide where those who follow should go; whether someone falls behind, or gets sick on the way, or wishes to stop halfway, leave it to others. Since they’ve decided to follow you, they should have the ability to keep pace, otherwise, can you carry everyone along?
This rare long monologue from Bingdisi was very straightforward, but every word compelled solemn reflection because suddenly I realized this female hooligan might have accumulated more than just a rowdy demeanor and bricks over eons, she might possess profound wisdom in her idiocy.
“I forgot who said this, though quite extreme, at times it’s very reasonable: we don’t need a leader, we merely need someone in the leader’s seat.”
A successful King should be like this: never concerning themselves with kingdom trifles or worrying about their territory and wealth. What he does is progress, deciding the kingdom’s direction, conveying desired results to his subordinates, instead of instructing how to achieve it. Just like a God: we receive billions of prayers every moment, but how many can we respond to individually? A God’s task is to manage the world and ensure prosperity for their Race, at most, reflect some strength in response to prayers for believers to resolve issues themselves. If you understand this, you’ll become a mature King of Mankind.
Bingdisi’s speech was illuminating, perhaps marking the first clear understanding of my role as Emperor since assuming it. Though seemingly doing similar things previously, now I know why I must proceed this way.
“Because you’re reshaping the strongest Void Mortal Civilization with your ideas, perhaps even creating a new Divine Race,” Bingdisi looked into my eyes, without a hint of jest in her expression, “Don’t let trivialities blind you, King of Mankind, you’ve done well so far, shouldn’t regress going forward. You haven’t experienced the Old Empire, hence you don’t realize the revolutionary change brought to this civilization, but I can clearly tell you, you have begun to reshape it. What follows is to let it continue forward by your vision. Confidently entrust matters you can’t handle to Sandora, as her close friend, I can responsibly tell you, she understands your role and position well… didn’t you realize Sandora has positioned herself as a wife rather than another emperor long ago? Rather than jointly governing the land, she’s wholly assisting you… with this fact, thinking you can’t help her seems valid…”
“Alright, alright, I think I’ve completely understood now.”
This lengthy conversation with Bingdisi clarified many things I had previously overlooked. Though they seemed simple and straightforward, they troubled me for quite a while. But now, with all the puzzles solved, I relaxed and sincerely thanked Bingdisi, “Thank you, your words have helped me greatly.”
“Oh wow, don’t be so serious,” Bingdisi flapped her hand repeatedly, looking around as if unable to withstand it, “you look far too severe, doesn’t match your style… Hey, wait, is that Anwina? What’s she doing?” (To be continued. If you enjoyed this work, you are welcome to vote on , your support is my greatest motivation.)