According to Norman mythology, millions of years ago, God created the world during the day the moon converged. Therefore, the Normans believed that God would descend upon them on that day and bless everyone.
The Single Moon Festival felt like Christmas or the Spring Festival on Earth, but the difference was that the moons did not converge on a regular basis, and would usually only happen every four or five years. The natives viewed the festival as very important, and was not an event that could be simply cancelled. Even the colonists, who set up various stores within the city, would use various discounts to earn a killing from the natives during this time.
New Washington had only known peace and prosperity. It was even well-known amongst the natives. If they actually cancelled festival celebrations, it would be a very big hit to various parties. After all, colonizing was not just about war; economy and profit were also things everyone was fighting for.
That was why Judge Academy was currently in a precarious situation. More and more evidence pointed toward an unknown and mysterious presence in the city that could very possibly perform some destructive activities in the city. It would put the Americans in a very tough spot if chaos were to happen during that important festival.
Various checkpoints had been set up within the city for the curfew, and there were a lot more stringent measures being taken at the city entrances. Everyone who entered would need to give proof of identity and records of an address, especially natives from the outside. Any resistance or suspicious activity would be detained on the spot.
Xiao Lin managed to learn quite a lot thanks to Department Head Song, and Song Junlang’s news was much more detailed than Lolander’s.
For instance, upon detailed inspection, the suspicious detainees were mere risk takers who tried to enter for illegal trade, or even smugglers and traffickers attempting to profit from the Single Moon Festival. Those were all normal occurrences, but the Judge Academy usually turned a blind eye to them. However, to say that those activities could be linked to rebellion would be quite a stretch.
“The Americans will probably need to allow the Single Moon Festival to carry on. It’s very hard to just cancel the festival,” Song Junlang said. “The inspections in the city have been getting increasingly stricter lately. Judge Academy is probably trying to ensure everything goes well on that day.”
Xiao Lin said, “That’s all fine and dandy, but to be honest, it’s hard to tie all this to the stone plates and say that everything was orchestrated by the high priest who is still alive. However, surely he wasn’t just carving all those stone plates to vent his feelings?”
Department Head Song shook his head. “Let the Americans worry about this. Just focus on doing everything Professor Brown asks of you, and don’t cause any trouble. To be honest, the best thing for us would be to leave New Washington by the Single Moon Festival, but it’s not possible anymore. After some investigation, I found out that the teleportation platform would be temporarily closed.”
“Closed?” Xiao Lin gaped, and then he said in realization, “Are they taking precautions against the other academies?”
“Of course!” Song Junlang coldly smiled. “Even if the colonists are considered a single body, we still have our conflicts when it comes to individual interests, so basic precautions are a must.”
There were two fundamental structures that were needed in every colonist academy city: a resurrection tower and a wormhole. A resurrection tower tied into the lives of the colonists. The Law of Immortality was the most important factor for them in overcoming the advantage in numbers the natives had.
The wormholes were the foundations of all the academies. It ensured that resources and new recruits from Earth or the academies could arrive on the planet. Even though there was more than one wormhole in the world, if the Americans lost their wormhole, it could signal the end of Judge Academy.
No matter what happened, the Americans could not lose either of them.
That was why Judge Academy’s greatest defensive strength, the dragon-eagle knights, were all garrisoned in those two locations as of late. The wormhole was even closed off temporarily. The Americans seemed to place more importance on those than the contents of the stone plates.
At the end of the third week, Xiao Lin noticed that all the dragon-eagle knights stationed in the palace had been dismissed, which was how he made that guess. Of course, the castle district was still the heart of the city, so the necessary defenses were still there.
“There shouldn’t be any problems with so many defenses!” After work that day, Lolander casually said that to everyone. He had returned to his usual chatty self after the hall guards were sent away.
It was actually awkward for them those few days thanks to the tensions within the city. The wormhole’s temporary closure did nothing to assuage their moods either. The students of the western academies were particularly sensitive to things like terrorism, so they were constantly worried of being attacked by natives on the streets.
“The Americans are quite good at handling these problems,” Lolander said, but it was unclear if he was consoling himself or everyone else.
“I heard yesterday that the wormholes would be reopened after the Single Moon Festival. When the time comes, I’m getting out of here. I don’t even care about my remaining wages!”
“Xiao! What do you think?” The few Europeans looked at Xiao Lin after voicing their opinions.
“The stone plates seem to be about finished. If we pick up the pace, we’ll definitely be finished by the end of the month.” Xiao Lin agreed with them as well. He was only a new student who was not even at the Black Iron-rank; he absolutely had to stay out of conflicts. The best way to do that was to ensure he could leave early, but he still wanted the remainder of his wages, especially after he saw the value of New Dollars in the trade district a few days ago. That sum of money was quite big for the broke Xiao Lin.
The rest of them thought for a while, and felt like Xiao Lin made sense. It was best if they finished up the stone plates. Otherwise, they might not even get permission to use the wormhole, especially if Professor Brown decided to stop them.
At the time, the Single Moon Festival was three days away. Other than the increase in guards and patrols, a celebratory atmosphere spread throughout the streets, especially in the commoner district where Normans were more prevalent. The streets got increasingly more colorful as the holiday spirit increased. Even the outskirts of the city saw Normans building various platforms and transporting various foods.
A large bonfire gathering would be held during the night of the festival. The traditional way of celebrating the festival was even grander, with the king or some other individual with high status performing various rituals to offer prayer and thanks to the gods while accepting the coming of the future.
Those traditions consumed time and resources, and the Americans felt it had the potential to foster rebellious sentiment, so they cancelled it. However, the Normans could still hold small scale prayers in their own homes, which were regarded as fine.
