Establishing True Authority!

When Karen stepped down from the sparring ring, he could see a distinct change in the way everyone looked at him and how they treated him. After all, true respect was earned through one's own strength. By comparison, Marlo was an exception. First, during the last mission, although he hadn't witnessed it with his own eyes, he had sensed it clearly through the array he had erected. Second, after browsing the notebook Karen had given him containing array records, his mind was still immersed in a purely academic atmosphere. "Karen, about this array, I have a conjecture. Could you take a look at it for me?" "I'm not very familiar with arrays," Karen replied somewhat apologetically. This was indeed the truth. A person's energy was always limited. Although Mr. Hoffen had left him a wealth of array notes, Karen had only gone as far as reading through them; he hadn't had much time for hands-on practice. Alfred, on the other hand, had remained deeply absorbed in the study of arrays. As things stood, Mr. Hoffen had gifted the array notes to Karen, but Alfred was the most suitable successor. However, after the two sparring matches in the ring just now, Karen's "honesty" was subconsciously taken by the listener as a virtue of modesty. "I'll set it up, and you just take a look for me, all right?" Marlo pleaded. Leaving no other choice, Karen could only nod, thinking to himself that while he lacked practical experience, he had at least spent time reading many of Mr. Hoffen's theoretical records on arrays. Offering Marlo a few pointers based on the situation should be enough. After all, they would all be sound theoretical statements anyway. "Then let's go next door." Marlo enthusiastically led Karen toward the side door. The ground floor of the warehouse was a combined facility for the combat club and the shooting club. Half of the basement level belonged to Peige and Fanny as a private training and activity space, which also served as a venue for the rest of the team to interact, so their space requirements weren't that large. In other words, a little under half of the basement remained undecorated and unfurnished. Marlo led Karen here and immediately began laying out an array on the ground. Karen stood by his side and asked, "Want anything to drink?" Squatting on the floor drawing the array, Marlo looked up and said, "Oh, there's plenty of liquor and drinks over there." "I don't want liquor, I want soda." Karen smiled, shaking his head. "Keep drawing. I'll go check the ground floor; I remember seeing a shop there." "Soda? Don't worry, I'll go get it," Marlo offered. "No need, no need. You keep drawing the array, I'll go." Karen headed up the nearest staircase. There were two flights of stairs connecting the warehouse to the basement; usually only one was used, while the other saw almost no foot traffic. As Karen went up this staircase, Neo happened to be leading Richard down the other one. The captain's appearance brought an immediate silence to the previously rowdy room. Neo spoke, "Although we have the new Church Affairs Building, our office hasn't been set up yet, so we have to hold our meeting here. Everyone, get ready." "Yes, Captain." "Yes, Captain." Everyone began moving chairs. Following tradition, the seats were arranged in an oval. Richard proactively stepped up to help, warmly greeting everyone with "Hello," "Hello," though he received mostly indifferent responses in return. "Captain, should we prepare food?" Fanny asked. "No need. We'll eat out for dinner; this place is only for the meeting." "All right, Captain, then I'll go upstairs and bring down some red wine." "I'll help you!" Richard immediately chimed in, stepping forward. Fanny glanced at him. The captain hadn't formally introduced him yet, but she had a rough idea of who he was, so she nodded and said, "Go tell the people upstairs that the boss wants the wine she stored here brought down. They'll carry it down themselves." "Right, understood." Eager and desperate to fit into the team, Richard trotted upstairs and found a squad leader, repeating Fanny's words. "Yes, understood. I'll have it brought down right away," the leader agreed at once, before taking his men to fetch the wine. Richard rubbed his face. Even someone as socially adept as him had felt awkward during his brief interaction with his new teammates just now. *This is a different atmosphere. I need to get the hang of it quickly, learn it, and blend in.* Richard pumped himself up, clenching his fist and giving it a little punch in the air. "Watch out." Richard turned around to find Karen standing behind him holding a crate of soda. His fist had nearly struck the soda bottles. "Karen? What are you doing here?" Richard asked. "I was called over," Karen replied with a shrug. "Let me carry that for you." Richard reached out eagerly. Karen didn't hold back, depositing the entire crate of soda into Richard's hands and placing a small bucket of ice on top of it for good measure. After all, who could pass up the chance to boss around their own cousin? "Oof..." Richard nearly buckled under the weight. The two headed down together. With his view blocked by what he was carrying, Richard walked down very slowly, but he still asked, "Did you join Neo's squad too?" "Yeah. I was recommended." Recommended by Mr. Pavaro. Richard grinned. "Then you must be riding on my grandfather's coattails, huh?" "Heh." It was only natural for Richard to think this way. Although he had initially assumed Karen had a prominent background like himself—since Karen had treated him as a complete equal without the slightest hint of flattery—Karen's demeanor when facing his father and grandfather at his house had made it clear that Karen had no notable background. Someone might conceal their family status from him, but they shouldn't conceal it from his father and grandfather; doing so would be a major sign of disrespect. Anyone from a distinguished family would understand that etiquette. Therefore, Richard could only assume Karen was just an interesting, personable God's Servant on the roster of Pavaro's inquisition office. For a God's Servant like that, getting into any Whip of Order squad was already a stroke of immense luck; getting into Neo's squad was practically impossible. Thus, the only explanations in Richard's eyes were either that Neo had seen Karen at their house and decided to do a favor by taking Karen on as an external member, or that his grandfather had put in a word. Yesterday, after all, when Richard saw his grandfather off, the old man had specifically told him: *That friend of yours is quite good. You should spend more time with him.* His grandfather rarely praised people. "Are you an external member?" Richard probed further. "Yeah, that's right." *Well, looks like I guessed right.* Counting himself, Captain Neo had recruited two external members this time. "They seem pretty hard to get along with," Richard said. "Yeah, a bit." "Still, it's great that you're here too. We can look out for each other. At least when things get awkward and quiet, I know who I can talk to, and when I feel out of place, I know whose eye I can catch to share a smile." "Right, exactly." "Don't worry, I've got your back," Richard said. Karen nodded. "That's great. Thanks." He could sense that his cousin didn't mean to look down on anyone, and was genuinely happy that Karen was on the team as well. "By the way, do they know who I am?" Richard asked. "Has the captain not formally introduced you yet?" "No, but the meeting is starting soon, so he'll probably introduce me then. But I don't want my family background mentioned—not because I want to hide who I am, but because I'm worried it'll keep me from fitting in and create a barrier." "Mm, very thoughtful of you." "So you have to keep it a secret for me too." "I will." "Haha, wonderful! Karen, if I'd known you were brought in too, I wouldn't have been tossing and turning half the night. You have no idea—driving over today, just thinking about meeting the team had my heart pounding with nervous excitement." "Everyone's actually pretty easy to get along with." "They're not easy. They're very cliquish. There's an atmosphere in their squad—well, you can't really call it cliquish; it's more like a pack of hounds sniffing out whether you're one of their own based on your scent. This is a social circle I've never dealt with before, and I'm learning how to blend in. But I'd advise you to tone down your aloofness a bit, like how you acted toward me yesterday." "Me?" "Yeah. But you probably get it too—look, weren't you sent upstairs to haul things? The two of us are new recruits and external members. Legwork like this naturally falls to us. We need to be sharp and know our place." Karen really wondered how his cousin's brain was wired. Coming from an illustrious, highly respected family of Jurists, Richard nonetheless had a crystal-clear grasp of such worldly social dynamics. It seemed all the social skills his uncle lacked had truly been passed on to his son. As soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, they saw Fanny standing there. "The meeting's starting, hurry up," Fanny said in a teasing, familiar tone. "Right away, right away! They said the wine will be brought down shortly." With his vision blocked by the soda bottles and ice bucket in front of him, Richard couldn't see whom Fanny was speaking to. When they walked inside, Karen found the others already seated. Although this meeting area had been hastily arranged, careful attention had still been paid to the details. For instance, Neo sat at the head of the arrangement. Diagonally to his left was an empty chair, followed by Gray. Opposite Gray sat Wende, with everyone else arranged downward from there. Karen set down the ice bucket he had taken off the crate. Richard placed the crate of soda on the floor and called out enthusiastically to the room: "Anyone want soda? We've got ice!" And nobody responded. Neo sat with his head down, resting his eyes. The captain had always been like this—when he was in a talkative mood, he would ramble incessantly, but when he went quiet, he was dead silent. As for the others... they simply couldn't be bothered to engage with the newcomer. Karen suddenly recalled the scene of his first formal meeting with the group in the suite at the Ankara Hotel. Back then, he had thought this squad was warm and welcoming. Oh, it seemed he had been mistaken. The only reason everyone had been so enthusiastic back then was that he had just "confessed" his love to Ophelia, pioneering the Church of Order's first-ever "confession-style" security operation since the church's founding. Without that misunderstanding, he might very well have received the exact same "collective cold shoulder" Richard was experiencing right now. "Nobody wants soda?" Richard asked, slightly baffled. "I do," Karen said. "They all drink alcohol." Every single one of them was an alcoholic and a chain-smoker. It probably had to do with their environment; they were used to killing the mental emptiness between missions with alcohol and nicotine. Especially Fanny and Peige, who drank brandy like milk tea. "You brought down a whole crate just for yourself?" Richard asked. "Aren't you here too?" Karen remembered that when his cousin went to the Church Affairs Building, he had carried an insulated flask filled with iced soda. "I want to fit in, so I'll stick with red wine," Richard said. "You should have some red wine too." "I don't like alcohol." Karen shook his head. At that moment, a squad leader came down with two subordinates carrying the red wine, along with cleanly washed wine glasses, though he didn't dare enter the room. Richard took the initiative to fetch the items, then eagerly went around pouring wine for everyone. Meanwhile, Karen quietly took out four bottles of soda, hollowed out four notches in the ice bucket, and set the bottles inside to chill. Just then, Marlo returned from next door for the meeting. Spotting Karen, he squatted down and chatted with him for a moment. "Want a soda?" Karen asked. "I'd rather have wine," Marlo replied honestly. "All right." Karen nodded and lifted the ice bucket holding the soda bottles. The nimble Richard had already poured drinks for everyone. Setting down the wine bottle, he glanced around at the remaining empty seats. There were two left: one next to the captain, and one at the far end. Richard had intended to take the seat at the end, but Marlo arrived and sat right down there. Now, only the empty chair beside the captain remained. Richard nervously wiped his palms on his clothes, thinking: *Even though everyone seems aloof, deep down they actually value me quite a bit.* With that, Richard walked over to the empty chair beside Neo and sat down somewhat stiffly. Then, as he lifted his head to look around the table, he found everyone present staring at him in unison, their expressions tinged with slight confusion. Richard immediately stood up, bowed to everyone, and said: "Hello, everyone! I'm the new external member, Richard. I've always admired Captain Neo and looked up to this squad. Today is the day a lifelong dream comes true, as I'm finally able to join this team. I am deeply honored and proud to be here today!" With that, Richard bowed once more. Then, with an aptly bashful and thrilled smile, he sat back down. His expression wasn't an act or an exaggeration; it genuinely mirrored what he felt inside. But when he sat down and looked back at everyone, he noticed that the confusion on their faces hadn't dissipated at all. *Did I not introduce myself thoroughly enough?* Richard began to question himself. Just then, Karen walked over carrying the ice bucket. Seeing no empty chairs left, he set the bucket down and turned to grab another one. "Karen, your seat is over there," Peige said, pointing directly at where Richard was sitting. Fanny looked at Richard. "We forgot to get a chair for the newcomer. Go fetch one yourself, okay?" "Huh?" Dazed, Richard stood up and stepped aside. Gray patted the chair Richard had just vacated. "Karen, sit here." In a pack of hounds, status was earned through strength, and seating order was no different. After easily defeating Gray and Wende, Karen's standing had leaped past both of them, placing him second only to the captain. When arranging the seats, everyone had naturally taken this for granted. Karen glanced at his little cousin, didn't decline, and walked over with the ice bucket to sit down. Richard felt slightly embarrassed and even more bewildered, but his mental resilience was truly formidable. He dashed out immediately, hauled back another chair, and sat down at the very end of the table. Karen picked up two bottles of soda, popped the caps, and offered one toward his cousin sitting far away at the foot of the table. Starting with Gray, hands naturally passed it down the line, one after another, until it finally reached Richard's hands. Richard looked at the soda bottle in his hands, then looked at Karen seated right below the captain. He finally realized that his entire understanding of Karen had been completely wrong! The guy had been a member of this squad all along, and held a remarkably high standing! Good heavens, earlier he had actually claimed Karen got in through his own family's connections! After this sudden revelation, far from being angry, Richard thought this was even better. Compared to both of them being green rookies, having Karen as an experienced veteran hound would be of much greater help to him. Being sheltered by someone was definitely much better than huddling together and shivering in the cold. Such was the biased treatment born of a good first impression: when you were favorably disposed toward someone, any unexpected development could be rationalized in the most positive light. Neo spoke: "Now, the meeting is officially called to order." Everyone straightened up a bit, and Richard snapped his back rigid as a board. Neo pointed at Richard sitting at the very end. "First, let's introduce our newcomer." Richard had no choice but to stand up again. "Hello, everyone..." "All right, since you've already introduced yourself, let's get straight to business." "..." Richard. "Thanks to the newcomer's family connections, I just secured a security mission. The general procedure will be the same as protecting the Dark Moon Island delegation last time, but the rewards are much higher—more than double—and in addition to point coupons, there are material rewards." Pleasantly surprised looks appeared on everyone's faces. Security missions were simple with low risk, offered free food and drink, and most importantly, came with high rewards. What squad wouldn't love a mission like that? Fanny asked, "Captain, who are we protecting this time?" Neo answered, "The Church of Pamires." Hearing this answer, Karen froze for a moment. Evidently, many present knew about the church's recent hostility toward the Church of Pamires, including the incident at the Church Affairs Building, which some claimed was retaliation by the Church of Pamires. The entire ecclesiastical circle seemed convinced that the Church of Pamires was only a single divine decree away from total destruction by the Church of Order, and that this divine decree was already being processed. Because the Church of Order needed a display of authority to re-establish its hegemonic image. Peige spoke up, "But I heard that the Church of Pamires delegation was already expelled from the Ankara Hotel by the church." "The contemporary Holy Child of the Church of Pamires will arrive at the Port of York tomorrow evening. He will represent the true core of the Church of Pamires in talks with our church. If the talks succeed, the god Pamires will become a subordinate deity in our Church of Order's mythological pantheon." The corner of Neo's mouth curled into a smile. His gaze swept across everyone present, and he continued: "The Church of Pamires will be integrated into our Church of Order!"