Chapter 454 Welcome home
Sitting in a wheelchair, turning the leather-wrapped wheels, Shilov did not let Afu push her, but wandered around the garden aimlessly by herself.

The flowers in the scorching sun reflected the crystal light, and the restored bronze statue of the little angel continued to spin around and spray water mist to water the flowers.

In the garden square of the Machinery Palace, led by several veteran instructors, twenty or so teenagers aged between twelve and seventeen were running in neat rows.

Ever since Horn left, perhaps because he was afraid that Shilov would be lonely, he transferred a lot of child soldiers in the name of servants to keep Shilov company.

With so many people joining, although most of them are teenagers, the entire garden of the Mechanical Palace is managed by them in an orderly manner.

All the broken bricks and weeds were cleaned up.

The peeling bronze statues were repainted, the mottled walls were painted with stone mortar, not to mention the broken and chipped flower beds were filled in with mortar bricks by the child soldiers.

These child soldiers were specially selected by Horn. They were loyal orphans with the physique of saints, intelligence and perseverance.

In return, they received mathematics, history, philosophy and logic taught by Shilov herself.

Especially natural theology, which also contains a lot of knowledge of mechanics, namely Galar's three laws of mechanics.

The geniuses of the empire seem to have the ability to reverse-engineer the fragments and deduce on their own.

Horn told Witt about Yunlai's knowledge of architecture and urban planning concepts, and he invented the "Ten Books on New Architecture".

After Horn taught Shilov the remnants of high school physics and mathematics, she also reversed the process and wrote the first draft of "Mathematical Principles of Natural Theology".

Unlike the historical "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy", this book does not contain so many complex philosophical reasoning and mathematical arguments.

Because many useful mathematical tools have not yet been invented, it is definitely not enough to force them into a book.

Therefore, Shilov may need to write a few basic books such as "Algebraic Methods" and "Geometric Methods" in the future.

Although there are still many mistakes and omissions, it is enough to teach these eleven or twelve-year-old children. Let's first synchronize the culture with the middle school students on Earth.

If Frick High School is the key to the door of the Salvation Army government, then Shilov's small seminar is the door to the Salvation Army's Royal Conference and the Senate.

The lectures here are attended by heavyweights, such as the two nominal leaders of the Boys' Army, Night Watch Chief Duvalon and Gendarmerie Captain Rafael, who should theoretically be taking classes here.

Not to mention the other child soldiers, big and small, who have high status but no real power.

"Dean," said Rafael, who did not follow the expedition but stayed in the Mechanical Palace for a month to take classes, helplessly, "Your Majesty said that we will arrive in the afternoon, but it is not certain. We may encounter giant spiders on the road, so we may be delayed."

"Who said I was waiting for Horn?" Shilov, with a frosty face, turned her head, and stared at Rafael with her beautiful green pupils, which scared him.

You have to know that Shilov adopted classical education, and these child soldiers were often slapped on the palm by Shilov.

"I'm just hanging out, okay?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Shilov suddenly straightened her back, and her tail, which had been drooping and fluttering, suddenly stood up. She stared at the gate of the Mechanical Palace, and her pointed wolf ears stood up as if she heard something.

As a wolf girl, Shilov can hear things that humans cannot hear.

The next second she suddenly came to her senses, quickly turned the handle of her wheelchair, and sprinted towards the door. The propeller-like tail seemed to be pushing the wind to speed up.

Before Shilov could get close, the iron-encrusted gate of the mechanical palace opened to both sides with a creaking sound and the sound of gears turning.

In the gap between the slowly opened doors, Horn, wearing the old papal robes, yawned lazily.

Shilov's tail turned and made a sound of breaking through the air.

She turned the handle and was about to sprint towards Horn, but suddenly she stopped and even her wagging tail stopped abruptly.

She pricked up her ears alertly and stared intently at the door that was not yet fully opened.

On the one hand it was out of modesty, and on the other hand she smelled a strange scent.

Sure enough, as the door opened completely, Horn walked in, followed by two women wearing nuns' hats.

In fact, this is not a nun's uniform, but a saint's dress customized by Madame Isolde.

The appearance is adapted from the black nun's uniform, but the upper arms are changed to looser puff sleeves, while the forearms are close-fitting armbands.

But Isolde added a lot of slits to reveal the white lining and lace inside.

In addition, Isolde cut the long skirt into a short skirt that only covered the hips, and underneath the short skirt was a pair of black shorts.

She even wore white spider silk stockings instead of trousers. The stockings were worn from the soles of her feet all the way to the top of her thighs and tied with a thigh strap.

The golden brooch was made in the shape of a wax seal, and underneath the wax seal was a piece of yellow paper with densely written scriptures.

Because it is tailored to fit, and the animal tendon belt is embedded in the waistline, the thin belt and gear only serve as a weapon belt.

In the middle of the belt are two pure black knee-length guards with gold embroidery on the front and back, which is a design similar to an apron.

This knee-covering is not a product of this world, but an ornament used by the ancient princes and emperors in Horn's hometown.

The reason why Katherine and Jeanne were dressed like this was not because Horn was a super conservative woman who didn't want to show even a trace of skin, but because of the characteristics of witches. In principle, nun clothes are the most suitable for witches because they don't show too much skin, reducing the possibility of spreading witch diseases.

However, if you are in the Mechanical Palace, you can be more casual. Only those favored by the Saint can enter the Mechanical Palace, and there will be no secondary infection.

After putting on the clothes, Shilov could hardly recognize Jeanna, but she still knew the smell. But who was the other woman with the scent of a witch?
Looking at that mature and bright face, Shilov's gaze gradually moved to the left, aiming at Horn who was walking towards her with a smile.

As Horn got closer, Shilov's tail stood straight up.

There was no expression on her face, her ears fluttered, and her hands were crossed quietly on her thighs, maintaining a dignified and elegant posture until Horn walked within two or three meters of her.

Shilov opened her mouth and was about to speak, but saw a dark shadow rushing over from the side and hugging Shilov.

Smelling a familiar scent, Shilov patted Jeanna's arm helplessly: "Long time no see, Jeanna."

"Shilov, I missed you so much." Seeing someone close to her, Jeanna grinned and leaned close to him, "I'm telling you, you don't know that I have been..."

As Jeanne's first real female friend besides Sissi, Jeanne had a lot to say to Shilov.

Even though she would bother Horn for more than half an hour every night, it was clear that this did not satisfy her chatterbox desire.

There are some little thoughts and secrets that cannot be told to Horn.

Hugging Shilov, Jeanne started talking incessantly without even giving Horn a chance to say hello or introduce Catherine.

Watching her pressing down on Shilov's wolf ears and leaning on them, she glanced at Catherine and Horn while making a threatening gesture.

Without having to listen, Horn could guess what she and her bestie were talking about.

Instead of going over to her and making things boring, he turned around and looked at Catherine beside him.

But Catherine is also very busy now. A group of White Mountain Priory astrologers led by Robert have been waiting on the side.

At this moment, Catherine strolled over to the astrologers and extended her gloved right hand.

Robert introduced Catherine to the side, while the astrologers walked up one by one to introduce themselves and kissed their middle finger knuckles.

At present, Catherine is very likely to concurrently serve as the head of the White Mountain Priory. Although the city was captured in the battle of Rapids City, half of the Imperial Order Company was wiped out. This performance has won the support of many party elders.

Horn couldn't be disturbed either, as he was still hoping that Catherine could find him a group of qualified astrologers.

The charging of the Ether Spire is calculated by Shilov, a half-baked astrologer. If there is a group of elite astrologers to help, perhaps the charging frequency of the Ether Spire can be increased.

Jeanne and Shilov wanted to reminisce about the past, and Catherine wanted to meet with the members of the White Mountain Hermitage. Standing at the gate of the garden, Horn suddenly found himself an outsider.

However, the awkwardness did not last long. After Shilov and Jeanna said a few words to each other, they turned their wheelchairs and came to Horn.

"How long do you plan to stay here?" Looking up, Shilov stared into Horn's eyes.

"Why don't you ask me if I'm sick or injured? If I'm eating well? If I'm sleeping well?"

"Jeanna told me all that. You are full of energy." Shilov smiled and glanced at Catherine.

With a slight smile, Horn sleekly changed the subject: "I plan to stay for half a month, give myself a few days off, and then I may spend the winter festival in Zhendark Castle."

"Not on Autumn Dusk Island?" Shilov's wolf ears drooped.

"After all, Fort Jeanne has just fallen into our hands. I must celebrate this important festival with the citizens of Fort Jeanne, or should we celebrate it on Autumn Dusk Island next year?"

"I can already extend my right elbow." Shilov answered irrelevantly, stretching out her hands like a little zombie. "Next year, I will be able to see the Ibe River and the Nauan River you mentioned. Also, I want to see the sea."

"I promise you'll see it." Laughing, Horn reached out and stroked Shilov's furry wolf ears.

The sunlight shining on the gray-purple fur actually has the texture of translucent ruby.

Although Horn touched Shilov's wolf ears, her human ears were half red as if they were on fire.

With her body stiff, Shiloh pretended to be angry and tucked her limp tail between her legs: "I've told you not to touch my ears... and my tail without my consent."

"Okay." Horn agreed immediately.

Shilov knew that he would not listen, so she just held her breath and turned the handle of the wheelchair hard towards the main hall of the Mechanical Palace.

However, after walking a few meters, she did not turn around again, but suddenly stopped.

"what happened?"

"I almost forgot, I have something else to say to you."

Turning the wheelchair, Shilov swayed her body slightly, sprinted a short distance, drifted, and with superb wheelchair manipulation skills, turned to face Horn.

Putting two index fingers on the corners of her mouth, Shilov tried to open her chin and made a stiff but brilliant smile: "Welcome home."

(End of this chapter)