CH 363

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What Is A Snake?

“Ah, but I am getting off topic. Let’s get back to what’s important. I’m sure you have a lot more questions for me.”

“True. Then, back to the point.” Lorenz’s comment made Mia straighten up and get back on track. “Starting with the Chaos Serpents. I want you to tell us everything about them that you know. What kind of organisation are they?”

“Hm,” Lorenz said, and then he fell into quiet thought.

“Oh? Did I say something strange?”

“…No. But I’m not sure if it’s fair to call the Chaos Serpents a ‘organization.’”

Mia frowned and asked, “Then…they’re not an organization?”

Lorenz also frowned. “I guess it depends on how you define it, but at the very least, they have nothing in common with the heretical groups we know. I’m sure you already know this, but the Serpents don’t work as a single unit like cults do. Each Serpent has its own goals and plans for how to reach them. They might work with other Serpents sometimes, but not in a way that is based on rank or power. They all move on their own, following their own compass, which happen to all point in the same direction.”

Lorenz took a moment to catch his breath, then continued, “That’s why I think of the Chaos Serpents as more of a trend than an organization.”

“A trend?”

“Yes. It’s not the reed in the water that moves it, but the current. A stream that flows through history as a whole and tries to destroy order.”

Mia pictured herself trying to stop a river, which helped her understand the image. No matter how hard she tried to stop it or how much water she scooped out, she couldn’t. If Barbara and Jem were just small parts of that big river, stopping them might not matter in the end. The water would keep moving along.

“Pardon. I’m getting more and more general. Let me give some specific examples. The Chaos Serpents are mostly made up of four types of people,” Lorenz said as he took a cookie from nearby and put it on the big plate in front of him. The cookie was round, and in the middle was a small piece of fruit.

Whoa, where did that come from? I must have missed it because I was so interested in the tart. Mmm, it looks good…

All of this serious talk had used up all of the sugar she had gotten from the tart, and she was back to running on fumes. Anyway.

“First, there are people like me. People who didn’t want to help but did because they were forced to. Next, people who are willing to help. Those who are trying to get what they want by using the Chaos Serpents. For example, the first emperor would be in this group, in my view. From what I could tell, he didn’t seem to agree with the Serpents’ ideas. Either he used their theory for his own purposes or he saw that their goals were similar to his, so it made sense for them to work together. Anyway, there are people who help the Serpents on their own,” he said as he put a second cookie on the plate.”

“Hmm…” Mia nodded while keeping her arms crossed. She couldn’t take her eyes off the new cookie. It was also round, but it had a crisscross design on it.

What beautiful job. Was it also baked here? If that’s the case, the Yellowmoons must have a pretty good baker on staff.

Know that her brain is to blame if her ideas seem a little scattered. It wanted sweets, but couldn’t get them. If the brain wasn’t getting enough fuel, it would lose attention. Brains just worked that way.

“Then there are those who agree with what the Serpents believe and actively work to help them reach their goals. We call these people ‘adherents.’ Most likely, the three guys Barbara brought were adherents.”

Lorenz brought out a third cookie. This one was covered in white powder, and it almost looked like snow was on it. Mia had never seen anything like it before, so it caught her attention right away.

Interesting — Oops. Okay, think. I need to pay attention to the talk… Where did we leave off? Right, followers of the Serpent!

“Finally…” Lorenz took a fourth cookie, but he didn’t put it down right away. It was big and looked like a leaf.

My… It looks like that cookie is delicious. Both my eyes and my tongue will enjoy it. A work of art that was made by a real artist, without a doubt… That makes me think. I wonder if they could make a cookie that looks like a horse. Or maybe a cookie in the shape of a mushroom. Oh! What if the bottom of the mushroom is a plain cookie, but the cap is topped with chocolate or jam? I think I’m on the right track…

Her thought, even though it was about a very, very long time from now, was surprisingly accurate, but she shook her head and told it to go away.

Oh, come on, pay attention! Right now, we’re talking about the Serpents. Focus… Focus… Okay. So, there you have it. What are they doing again?

Lorenz kept talking about what was going on in front of him, which was a fierce fight between a brain and the allure of sweets.

“There are some people who preach about the Serpents’ ideas. They go from place to place teaching what The Book of Those Who Crawl the Earth says. These people are called ‘Serpent Shamans.’”

Lorenz put the cookie in the shape of a leaf on the plate.

Then, as Mia looked at the four tasty treats, he grabbed them all at once and stuffed them all into his mouth. As he ate them, his face lit up with pure happiness, and his cheeks got even bigger than Mia’s had.

“Mmmm… One thing I’ve always thought about cookies is that nibbling on them isn’t good for them,” he said after finishing one. “Nothing feels better than biting into a big piece of doughy goodness.”

Spoken like a true foodie. Lorenz had been living the F.A.T. way of life for a long time.

“I… I see…”Mia could only give a short answer before hanging her head in quiet. The sad truth that those cookies would never be hers broke her heart.

They looked so good too… I wish I had been able to try them…

“Serpent shamans… Would it be right to think of these people as the Chaos Serpents’ main body? Their real nature, if you will?” Ludwig asked who took over the talk when Mia went off to think quietly and didn’t say much.

“No, not really, Ludwig-dono. This is just my view, but I think the true nature of the Serpents is something that flows in the deepest part of people’s hearts. It joins them together.”

“What do you mean by…”

“By which I mean…the Book of Those Who Crawl the Earth, which is the Serpents’ holy book.”