In the empty corridor.
Lola wore her red robes, with a golden chain on each temple of her gold-rimmed glasses, encircling the girl's neck.
Now that she had taken over the position of bishop of the Kingdom of the Moon, coordinating the nation and holding the reins of power, she was no different from a Prime Minister.
Beside Lola stood a young girl dressed in a white robe and scarlet hakama, wearing round-toed wooden clogs.
Her long, smooth black hair draped behind her, her eyes were closed, and her expression was gentle.
This was none other than the Saintess of the Sun, Momoka.
When the young nuns saw the two approaching, they all bowed their heads in succession.
After they left, the young nuns quickly returned to their posts.
Cleaning what needed to be cleaned and tidying what needed to be tidied.
"You say Luo Li likes to hide a secret stash? She's a Saintess, why would she need a secret stash?"
Momoka turned toward Lola in surprise, seemingly unable to believe what she was hearing.
"Forgive the embarrassment, my Highness is... a bit strange."
Lola thought for a long while and could only give that helpless answer.
Well, it was true.
Among the Seven Saintesses of the Eight Nations of the Holy Church, which Saintess was the most eccentric?
Likely only their own could make that list.
She had never heard of a Saintess needing to hide a secret stash before.
"Heh~ how unexpected."
Momoka smiled, recalling Luo Li's appearance; it was hard to imagine she would want to hide a secret stash.
But what use would it be to hide it?
For the Temple's expenses, other countries had fixed quotas, but the Kingdom of the Moon did not.
Because the Temple and the Royal Palace in the Kingdom of the Moon were one and the same, the King and the Saintess were the same person.
Therefore, the money in the national treasury was essentially her own, wasn't it?
Under these circumstances, why hide a secret treasury?
Was the national treasury not enough?
Thinking of this, Momoka couldn't help but recall what happened yesterday.
"Lola, is Luo Li... always like that?"
"Hmm?"
"I mean, does she always take out document tablets to use as trade items? Doesn't she know how precious a document tablet is?"
Although this trade had brought in two dragons and fifty million gold coins.
Strictly speaking, document tablets were priceless; their value could not be measured by money alone.
"Her Highness knows, of course, but it was a necessary move."
Lola shook her head helplessly and turned to face Momoka.
"Your Highness Momoka, although you have only been here for a few days, you already know many of the high-level secrets of my Kingdom of the Moon, including the dragon race and my Highness's abilities."
Momoka paused her steps and turned to face Lola.
"Is Bishop Lola afraid that I will leak these matters?"
"No."
Lola shook her head slightly and looked up at the girl with closed eyes.
"I only want to say that my Highness trusts you very much. As a bishop, I have no right to say these things to you."
Pausing, the glasses-wearing girl's smile vanished, replaced by solemnity.
"But I still ask you, please do not betray my Highness's trust."
Momoka was stunned for a moment, instinctively narrowing her eyes slightly as she scrutinized the Lola before her.
After a long while, she withdrew her gaze.
"Bishop Lola, everyone knows the current situation of the Kingdom of the Sun. At a time like this, Luo Li was willing to take in my people and even promised to return the Kingdom of the Sun to me in the future."
"That alone is enough for me."
Momoka turned her head toward the distance, toward her homeland.
"Furthermore, I understand Luo Li's thoughts. You can rest assured; I will not betray her trust."
"However, I'm actually a bit jealous of her right now."
"Hmm?" Lola was slightly startled, not expecting such a random comment.
While Lola was puzzled, Momoka showed a hint of a smile.
"Because Luo Li has a loyal right-hand person like you by her side. Perhaps that is also a reason for her success."
At this, Lola shook her head instead.
"No, Her Highness's success comes from her own strength. If you had investigated me, you would know that I was only favored by Her Highness after that night."
"Therefore, the one who truly made Her Highness successful is Her Highness herself. It was she who chose me and gave me the opportunity."
Momoka smiled and did not argue, simply facing Lola.
"With a subordinate like you, Luo Li can be considered fortunate."
"Your Highness Momoka is joking."
"Speaking of which, I am technically an official now. Bishop, you surely don't intend to let me be the leader of an empty office, do you?"
"Of course not."
Lola took a dossier out of her bag.
"Your Highness Momoka, this dossier contains talents I have reviewed recently who are suitable for the Ministry of Justice. Their backgrounds are clean. you can select fifty of them to serve as the initial legal staff to build the Ministry of Justice."
Ever since Luo Li announced the Recruitment Order, although Luo Li herself no longer had time to attend to it.
As the bishop, Lola personally interviewed every person who dared to apply for the Recruitment Order.
Those who were truly capable were kept, while those without talent were given a small fee for their trouble and travel expenses.
As a result, in just a few short months, Brilliant City's good reputation had spread far and wide.
Of course, there were those who came specifically to commit fraud, but after investigation, they were all severely punished.
"So many people? Speaking of which, what exactly does the Ministry of Justice do? Although I know it likely involves the law, Luo Li hasn't given me the full picture."
Momoka took the dossier and flipped through it.
The first three pages had no introductions, only names and corresponding dossier numbers.
A total of two hundred and sixty-seven people.
She randomly opened one person's dossier.
From three generations back to neighbors and acquaintances, almost everyone had their own testimonies and related information.
It included assets, age, preferences, criminal records, gender, and a series of other details.
Each person's information spanned at least five pages of A4 paper.
It was hard to imagine that all this information had been compiled by her alone.
Momoka suppressed the surprise in her heart and looked at Lola.
"Is this just for my department, or for everyone?"
"Naturally, these are only the people suitable for the Ministry of Justice. Others have their own dossiers."
Lola replied calmly.
"Hiss! Was all this organized by you alone?"
"Of course. After all, the current Kingdom of the Moon is essentially being rebuilt. Talent is extremely scarce, and there are even fewer people who can be trusted. Therefore, I can only feel at ease with those I have screened myself."
Lola was quite self-aware on this point.
The current Kingdom of the Moon had gone through the passing of the previous Saintess and the chaos of the prior year.
The entire system of Brilliant City had been almost completely destroyed. Although a few rules were still maintained to some extent.
Many things were actually in disarray.
This was why the infantry were assisting in maintaining the city's security.
Previously, Brilliant City had its own City Defense Force.
However, a year ago, the power in the hands of the City Defense Force gradually vanished, and by now, it had completely merged with the infantry.
"Oh right, Your Highness Momoka, there is also this dossier. You can look through it as well and select a few people to keep by your side as confidants."
Lola produced another dossier, but Momoka shook her head.
"There's no need. I have Izumi by my side, and the two Guardian Knights, including Yanagi Musashi, who is leading the army outside. Having those two is enough."
"Is that so? Very well."
Lola nodded and withdrew the dossier.
The two walked to the side room of the front hall.
By now, this place had become Lola's permanent office.
The room had been completely converted into an office layout.
The side rooms of the Temple were quite large; there were about a dozen of them.
Now, each room's door was hung with a corresponding sign.
This was the integration center for information from various departments.
From today onward, this place would become the hub of the nation.
Lola entered the room, took off her bishop's hat, and placed it on the desk.
Momoka followed her in and sat casually on the sofa opposite the desk.
The fire in the fireplace brought a hint of warmth to the empty room.
"Your Highness Momoka asked what the Ministry of Justice does, right?"
Lola walked to the bookshelf and efficiently took out two books.
She placed them on the coffee table in front of Momoka.
"These two books are the old law of the Kingdom of the Moon and the new law I compiled according to Her Highness's wishes."
She casually opened the thinner, newer book.
"Inside, there are five hundred and seventy-seven articles completely different from the old law, one thousand two hundred and twenty articles improved based on the old law, and three hundred and thirty-six articles directly deleted from the old law."
"As far as I know, the laws of the Kingdom of the Sun are very similar to those of the Kingdom of the Moon. You should take a general look. You will likely need to memorize all of them later, as you will be the one managing the laws from now on."
"I see..."
Momoka nodded, picked up the old law, and flipped through it carefully.
She knew most of the laws.
The Kingdom of the Sun and the Kingdom of the Moon were neighbors; although their customs differed, their systems were broadly similar.
And strictly speaking, the laws of the Eight Nations of the Holy Church were all branches of the Papal Canon, with only minor differences.
"Bishop Lola, you still haven't answered me. What are the main responsibilities of the Ministry of Justice?"
Lola did not answer immediately. She first brewed a cup of tea, placed it before Momoka, and then sat back in her seat.
"It is very simple: conduct judgments on criminals according to the law. Your responsibility is to oversee the justice of the law."
"Is it really that simple?"
"It is that simple."
Momoka set down the old law and fell into thought for a moment.
"Then... what about arrests?"
"You won't need to worry about that. Arrests will be handled by the Security Department, and prosecution by the Ministry of Supervision. Your responsibility is to maintain the fairness of the law."
"Hmm, I think I understand."
Momoka nodded. Her task was to produce a large number of judges.
However, making sure the judges were clean and honest was no easy feat.
Speaking of which, Momoka couldn't help but admire Luo Li from the bottom of her heart.
Those eyes of hers made such things a piece of cake.
Although she couldn't completely read others' inner thoughts, she could read their emotions.
That ability alone was enough to make her a qualified leader.
"Arrest, prosecution, and judgment—three parts that do not interfere with each other. This can indeed greatly reduce various miscarriages of justice. Was this method your idea?"
Lola shook her head.
"No, it was Her Highness's idea. I only recorded what Her Highness said and then executed it."
"As expected of Luo Li, to think of such a good idea."
"I think so too."
The two looked at each other and smiled, the atmosphere in the room becoming relaxed and cozy.
After all, the Kingdom of the Moon had only just begun. Although there were many things to do, they couldn't be rushed.
Just like the selection Momoka had to do today.
She had to personally interview all two hundred-plus people and screen for the best ones.
"Speaking of which, out of these two hundred-plus people, can only fifty remain? Or is it up to me?"
"You are now the Minister of Justice, so it is naturally up to you. However, I still suggest keeping a portion of them. That portion will eventually become supervisors and work for the Ministry of Supervision."
Momoka nodded.
"The Ministry of Supervision and the Security Department are also managed by two different people?"
"Yes. The one slated for the Ministry of Supervision is Dean. As for the Security Department, we still need to select a person from among the knights."
Momoka picked up her teacup and took a light sip.
"Dean? That person doesn't seem to have shown his face at the meetings yet?"
"No, he is currently still in the review period. Only after passing the review will he be given the corresponding position."
"Reviewed by you personally again? You really have it hard. Hasn't Luo Li given you a vacation or something?"
"For Her Highness, this bit of work is nothing. I don't need rest."
Lola's answer made Momoka admire this newly appointed bishop even more.
Before coming to the Kingdom of the Moon, she had indeed heard many rumors about Lola.
The most famous one was that the former head of the Garnet family was demoted because of Lola.
As for others, there didn't seem to be anything special.
"To be honest, I used to think that Luo Li did everything in the Kingdom of the Moon by herself. I didn't expect her to have a right-hand person like you."
"I heard rumors about you before, but they weren't good. Looking at it now, the one the Kingdom of the Moon can least afford to lose should be you?"
Lola calmly adjusted her glasses, showing no arrogance.
"The person the Kingdom of the Moon can least afford to lose is Her Highness."
"Speaking of which... what's with your glasses? Is it some kind of curse? Or is your eyesight bad? Why don't I see any lenses?"
"About that, heh~ come to think of it, that was also Her Highness's command..."
The fire in the fireplace continued to burn. A young nun added some wood to the fireplace, then turned and left the room.
In the conversation between the two girls, another person was always brought up. Occasional light laughter drifted through the room, as if they were having a very pleasant talk.
...
Leaving the room and looking down upon Brilliant City.
At this moment, to the west of the city.
In Xilin Town, which bordered the Holy See, it was early morning—a time when the town should have been at its most lively.
However, today, the town was unusually quiet.
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