After Sophia Gallanord departed, Charlot Mecklenburg found it difficult to calm his emotions for a long time. He spent some time alone at the Mecklenburg Manor before heading out at noon to pick up Annie for lunch.
Annie, working in the Central Government Office, particularly in the pivotal Department of Law Enforcement, had access to a wealth of internal information. As they ate, Annie remarked, “The naval battle in the Giant Whale Sea cost us dearly. I’ve heard they’re planning to transfer some army personnel to the navy.”
Charlot was surprised. “Has it gotten to the point where the army needs to be reassigned to the navy?”
Annie took a small bite of bread and replied, “The empire is preparing for an even larger naval campaign, aiming to completely blockade Byron’s navy in their ports, preventing them from protecting maritime trade routes.”
“The war has been raging for nearly a year now, and everyone is running out of supplies. Maritime trade routes have become more crucial than ever. I’ve even heard that some families in Strasbourg are beginning to face food shortages.”
Charlot understood that this was an inevitable consequence of war. Wars consumed resources—population, wealth, minerals, grain, weapons—all of it was expended ruthlessly.
Charlot wasn’t particularly keen on discussing war. As Annie spoke about her work, he occasionally interjected to lighten the mood. When their meal was almost finished, Annie lowered her voice and said, “I’ve taken over your investigation case!”
“They wanted to keep you tied up in Strasbourg for six months! After I took over, I managed to extend that to a year and a half.”
“By the time the war ends, you likely won’t have to set foot on the battlefield.”
Charlot was deeply moved but also curious. He asked, “Who are ‘they’? Why don’t they want me on the battlefield?”
Annie hesitated before replying, “Some are political opponents of my father, while others might be interested in meddling with the post-war situation in South Seraph and Behemoth. There are also those fishing in troubled waters. If you were to return to the battlefield, an entire region—a duchy—would practically be in your pocket.”
“And that clown? He’s just a jester, not a significant factor.”
...
At that very moment, Alence Cook had just arrived at the front lines and was immediately assigned to a charge unit.
In the Department of Law Enforcement, he had wielded significant resources to make life difficult for Charlot, seemingly able to manipulate his fate at will. But in the blink of an eye, he himself had become a pawn of fate, unceremoniously sent to the front lines, serving in the vanguard.
Charlot still remembered Alence Cook. He had once considered sending the Golden Ram Herolf to deal with this “somewhat troublesome” adversary. However, to Charlot’s surprise, Alence had somehow “preemptively” sensed the danger, causing Herolf’s attempt to fail.
Charlot had a hunch that Alence would be a fated enemy, and the two of them were likely destined to cross paths again.
...
After lunch, Charlot escorted Annie back to the Central Government Office. Feeling aimless, he decided to find something to occupy his time: eradicating the cult of the God of Joy to harvest some of the Joy of Fate. Charlot wasn’t entirely sure what these Joys of Fate were for, but since they were rewards from the Serpent of Fate, they had to have some value.
More importantly, Charlot had promised to pay ten units of Joy of Fate to ensure Sophia Gallanord’s safe return. Yet, he hadn’t managed to collect even one unit thus far!
The Serpent of Fate wasn’t in the business of granting “loans.”
Fate was fair—if someone rejoiced, someone else had to suffer.
Charlot reasoned that neither he nor Sophia Gallanord should face misfortune. Thus, the God of Joy would have to bear the brunt of it.
As a deity of joy, it wasn’t bestowing happiness upon its followers but rather stealing joy from the mortal world. Such an evil god deserved to suffer.
Across both the Old Continent and the New Continent, there were countless evil gods, and not all of them were particularly powerful. Many beings ascended to divinity in an incomplete state. For instance, the two divine entities of Saint Michael Island were both flawed. One had been manipulated by the old king and became a Holy Spirit, now reduced to the murmurs of fate. The other had been transformed into the Radiant Holy Kingdom, a semi-disabled relic incapable of functioning as intended.
Charlot began by researching the God of Joy in the library. There was a surprising amount of information about this evil god. It had once been a high priest under the Radiant Lord, renowned for its virtue and profound cultivation. However, it had discovered a sinister secret art that allowed it to steal faith belonging to the Radiant Lord. As its life neared its end, this once-flawless high priest succumbed to temptation, used the secret art, and… vanished.
Records indicated that this so-called evil god existed only in legend and could not manifest in the real world. It was an inherently “incomplete” entity.
The legend claimed that by spreading stories of this “evil god,” one could gain a peculiar ability—the power to make others unhappy.
At first, Charlot dismissed this as a trivial skill. But then he thought, “If I had this bizarre ability and used it relentlessly on those I hate, ensuring they’re never happy no matter what they do… wouldn’t that make me the God of Depression?”
“This evil god might actually be onto something!”
“Eliminating the God of Joy is my inescapable duty! To rid the world of despair—what greater merit could there be?”
Charlot initially planned to target the God of Joy’s followers but then paused to consider: “If this evil god exists only in legend, what happens if the legend disappears? Or if it changes? Would the god change as well?”
Annie had once proposed a serialized version of the Serpent of Fate’s mythology, incorporating a new character into every story to promote a specific custom regarding the Serpent of Fate.
Inspired by this idea, Charlot began crafting a “God of Joy Edition” of The Chronicles of Charlot. He removed all references to the God of Joy’s past as a high priest of the Radiant Lord and reimagined it as a loyal pet of the Serpent of Fate, dedicated to promoting a peculiar custom: playing Snake Tiles—a game inspired by mahjong!
The God of Joy Edition of The Chronicles of Charlot incorporated every legend about the God of Joy, nearly doubling the book’s length. Charlot sent the revised manuscript to Annie’s publishing house and left the matter alone.
...
In the days that followed, the Fars Empire launched another round of conscription, transferring large numbers of army personnel to the navy and planning the construction of five more magical alchemy warships. Life in Strasbourg grew increasingly difficult. Even on Elysée Avenue, shops began shutting down. Coffee, ale, and fruit wines were no longer available for purchase, leaving Charlot reliant on his trade consortium for supplies.
Meanwhile, the fleets of Ingrima, Fars, Byron, and even the Black Phoenix Dynasty engaged in dozens of skirmishes across the Giant Whale Sea. Both sides experienced victories and losses, each seeking to accumulate an advantage as the looming great battle drew ever closer.