Surrendered!

This sleep was very short. Karen felt as if his head had barely touched the pillow when he was awoken by Alfred knocking at the door. A call had come in: squad assemble at the Ankara Hotel to continue security duties. Sitting on the bed, Karen turned to glance at the wall clock: a quarter to nine. So, subtracting time for a shower, he had only slept two hours. Compared to how eventful yesterday had been, a mere two hours of sleep was clearly not enough. After freshening up and changing into clean clothes, Karen got into Alfred's car and headed for the Ankara Hotel. On the way, Alfred handed Karen the breakfast Xili had prepared. Looking at the meat pies and milk inside, Karen shook his head. "You eat it later. I don't have the appetite." When a person hadn't slept well, their appetite was terrible too. "Very well, Young Master." At ten o'clock sharp, Alfred pulled up before the entrance of the Ankara Hotel. "Phew..." Alfred gazed up at the magnificent, solemn grand hotel ahead, his eyes practically gleaming. Seeing him like this, Karen smiled. "When there's a chance in the future, we'll open one too." Alfred smiled as well. "Yes, Young Master." After getting out of the car, Karen walked up to the hotel entrance carrying his sword case on his back and wheeling a small suitcase. Had he known he would be returning today, he wouldn't have packed up and taken his things away yesterday. After presenting his credentials, Karen was granted entry. The number of guards at the gate booth was unchanged, but as he walked inside, he could clearly sense that the security personnel within had tripled compared to yesterday. Solemn expressions marked everyone's face. Although the Senate would not officially circulate the divine decree of war to all churches until noon today, news that Order had declared war on Samsara had clearly spread. Everyone was nervous about this war, but more than that, excited. Karen remembered the captain mentioning yesterday that the earlier their side reconvened, the better the war was going. However, not even *Order Weekly* could publish updates on the war's progress this early; an unavoidable delay affected everything. Entering the hotel building, Karen renewed his identity verification at the front desk before heading to the elevator bank and pressing the call button. Shortly after, the elevator doors slid open. To Karen's surprise, Richard was already standing inside. What surprised Karen even more was that upon seeing him, Richard lunged forward with open arms and wrapped him in a fierce hug. Richard rubbed his hands vigorously against Karen's back, eyes welling with tears. Fortunately, there was no one else around the elevator area, or it would have been truly awkward. "All right, all right," Karen consoled him. "Thank you, Karen. Thank you, thank you so much." "All right, all right. Help me with my luggage." "Sure, sure!" Richard reached out to take Karen's sword case, but Karen turned aside to avoid it. Richard chuckled, picked up Karen's suitcase, and the two stepped into the elevator. The elevator doors closed and began ascending. "Mother said that if you hadn't arrived in time last night, she and Father probably wouldn't be here anymore. Thank you, Karen." "It was my duty." "Grandfather said that once the war is over, he wants to invite you to our home as a guest. My grandmother will cook personally to host you. You're our family's benefactor." "There's no need to be so courteous." "Please don't decline, really." "All right." Karen gently rolled his neck. He supposed he could treat it as meeting his maternal grandmother. He felt no real attachment to the original "Karen"; after all, by the time he arrived, "Karen" was already dead, or Diss wouldn't have resorted to the transcendent god descent ritual. Yet toward the woman who had once protected him, he harbored enduring gratitude. He would go see her mother. "The war is progressing very smoothly. Three sacred grounds of the Church of Samsara have already fallen, and another two have surrendered. That's what Grandfather told me when I received the mission notification and left home. "I think the knight orders might already be gathering right now, preparing to attack Samsara Valley." Karen shook his head. The smoother the war went, the more likely the Church of Order would quit while ahead. As things stood, church leadership had no intention of utterly eradicating Samsara; otherwise, people like them would have been mobilized long ago, and yesterday the personnel in the Church of Samsara's Affairs Building wouldn't have been allowed to surrender. The elevator doors opened. Karen waved to Richard, then walked into his own room. Setting down his luggage and sword case, Karen yawned. He noticed fresh cigarette butts in the coffee table's ashtray, which meant Peige and Fanny had already arrived, though neither was currently in the room. Karen leaned back on the bed and closed his eyes. After catching up on some sleep, the telephone rang. Getting out of bed, he picked up the receiver. Fanny's voice came through: "Come down to the first floor. Get ready to receive the targets." "Understood." Karen rubbed his neck, left the room, and took the elevator down to the first floor. Fanny and Peige stood by the entrance. Seeing Karen approach, they greeted him—especially Fanny, who looked quite spirited today despite coughing up blood after Karen's blow yesterday. "Didn't sleep well?" Fanny asked. "Yeah." Karen nodded. "Then get some good sleep this afternoon." "Mhm, will do." Karen rubbed his eyes, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he yawned again. Just then, a fleet of buses rolled through the hotel gates. Groups of Church of Pamires members, previously seized as prisoners of war by the garrison, were being released. A separate sedan pulled up directly in front of Karen and the two women. Gathering his energy, Karen stepped forward and opened the car door. The first to step out was not Derius, but Bishop Bern from the passenger seat. Derius emerged after him. On his face, Karen saw a reflection of himself—both utterly exhausted. "Thank you for your hard work," Karen greeted. Derius smiled and shook his head. Karen had assumed that after releasing them today, they'd at least be given a day of rest, allowing him to catch up on his sleep. But when they boarded the elevator, he realized it was headed for the conference hall floor. Well, work was work; sleep was sleep no matter where it happened. Entering the conference hall, the negotiation tables that had previously faced each other had been rearranged at an angle, presenting a united front outward. After sitting down, Karen was patted by Peige, who gestured that he could rest his head on her shoulder and sleep. Karen shook his head. "Wait a bit." This wasn't a refusal, but rather because there were simply too few people present. Down below sat only the three of them, while Bishop Bern and Derius, father and son, sat on the dais. Soon, more and more people filed into the hall, all previous attendees of the conference. Both at the negotiation tables and below, seats gradually filled up. Yet Karen noticed two rows of garrison troops standing at the entrance. Just as Karen felt the timing was right to borrow Peige's shoulder for a nap, he saw Leon and Laure signaling him with glances, gesturing for him to come out. Karen sorely wanted to ignore them, but brushing off two young masters just for the sake of sleep hardly seemed worth it. Resigned, he stood up, exited the conference hall, splashed water on his face at the sinks outside the restroom, and stepped into the storage room. Leon and Laure were sitting there eating bread and drinking milk. Karen sat down, bit open a corner of a milk pouch, and drank. "What a mess," Laure grumbled. "Yet it's already happened," Leon replied, shaking his head. "Did your grandfather know?" Laure asked. "He put on a very composed front, but I don't think he knew." "Same with my grandfather. Last night in front of me and my father, he acted as if everything was under control, but the old man didn't do a very convincing job of it." "So this was orchestrated entirely by the Senate." "Yeah, for secrecy's sake." Karen merely sipped his milk, listening to the two scions chat. "Still, I heard the fighting is going very smoothly." Laure cleared his throat. "Those guys from the Church of Samsara can't take a beating at all." "Yeah, they've lived in peace for too long; they've probably forgotten the horror of war. At this rate, with some redeployment and massing of troops, an assault on Samsara Valley could officially begin." "Yeah, feels like it won't be long. Too bad we didn't get the chance to go to the front lines." Leon glanced at Karen. "Even if we were sent to the battlefield, he'd be ahead of us." Active knight orders, local garrisons, followed by the Whip of Order, and only behind the Whip were personnel from various church departments. Laure looked at Karen. "Do you find it a shame you didn't get to go to the front?" Karen chuckled. "Not really, because this war will be over soon." "Over soon?" Laure frowned slightly. "How so?" "Just a guess. I think the objective of this war has already been achieved. Barring any surprises, a request from the Church of Samsara for surrender negotiations will arrive shortly." "They're not hitting Samsara Valley?" Laure said, annoyed. "I'm sick to death of these negotiations. Sigh." Leon asked Karen, "What's your basis for that?" "My basis is that we're still sitting here eating bread and drinking milk. If this war were escalating to breach Samsara Valley, I don't know where you two would be, but I would already be preparing to march out as reserves alongside my captain and squad." "That does make sense." Leon nodded and looked at Laure. "And haven't you noticed? After both sides took their seats, they didn't resume negotiations right away; they're just sitting there waiting. I bet the communications room will receive the latest frontline dispatches any minute now." Laure curled his lip. "I'm going to ask my grandfather to transfer me to a knight order." Leon quipped, "The First Knight Order?" "Piss off!" Seeing that they had finished eating, all three stood up and walked out of the storage room. Karen knew they had simply made a habit of calling him along to eat—a way of reliving their prison camaraderie. Sitting back in his seat, Karen found his drowsiness less oppressive than before, though his head remained somewhat groggy. Scanning the room, he noticed he wasn't the only dazed one, though the others weren't tired. Rather, just yesterday in this very room, one side had strutted about while the other hung their heads; yet gathered today, they were somehow united against an outside party. The higher-ups had long reached a tacit understanding; in the end, it was the pawns down below who had been dragged along on an emotional rollercoaster. While being toyed with like this felt unpleasant, no one dared voice dissatisfaction. Karen noticed numerous servers bringing in trays of tea. This time, the representatives from both negotiation delegations sitting below were treated to tea and refreshments. This wasn't because the leaders on the dais had developed a sudden prick of conscience, but because the meeting's security classification had been downgraded. As tea was being poured, some people were bypassed. A server whispered something into their ears, leaving them no choice but to stand up with terrified faces and walk to the conference hall entrance. Soldiers clad in black armor standing by the door cuffed them. Almost all of them were personnel from the Church of Order; every member of the Church of Pamires delegation received tea. They were purging traitors. Soon, over a dozen priests from the Church of Order had missed out on tea and been "escorted" out. Throughout the process, no one argued or resisted, knowing full well the terrifying price of defiance. When the server reached Karen's row, tea was served to Karen, Peige, and Fanny alike. Careless of the heat, Peige took a big gulp, then excitedly rubbed her hand against Karen's leg over and over. Had Karen not struck her yesterday, she probably would have been walking out the door right now. Karen smiled. "Cut back on side gigs like that in the future." "No more, definitely no more! It's not worth risking my neck for a little hush money. I really never expected the church would suddenly crack down on this." Fanny chimed in, "From now on, it will only get stricter." "Yeah," Karen agreed. "The easygoing, slack days are gone for good." Karen checked the time; it was already eleven-fifty. "Bzz... bzz..." The speakers mounted on the conference hall walls emitted static, followed by the sound of footsteps. It signaled that the official divine decree of war was about to be broadcast—a sensation akin to the representative of a supreme governing body delivering a nationwide radio address. Certain matters could be handled loosely, but others strictly required following due process. Otherwise, no matter how much leaked out or how widely known it became, without proper procedure, it remained illegitimate. For instance, the divine decree of war against the Church of Pamires announced here yesterday—Karen believed Leon's grandfather had certainly thought it genuine when reciting it. In fact, it probably was genuine, legitimately originating from the Senate, and everyone present had believed it. That declaration of war had been leaked as soon as the meeting concluded. Yet its true effect was meant to begin only when the Senate officially broadcast it at noon today. Of course, what would be broadcast today would certainly not be a declaration against the Church of Pamires. It was rather amusing in retrospect: whoever formulated this operational plan had even weaponized internal traitors, proving how keenly aware the leadership was of the extent of their own infiltration. Had everyone at yesterday's meeting been fiercely loyal to Order, this smokescreen never could have succeeded. Karen took a sip of tea and waited patiently. Everyone present, whether on the dais or below, waited as well. Seated on the dais, Chief Bishop Worflen of the York City Region spoke up: "Quiet, everyone. Next, His Eminence the High Priest of our Church of Order will proclaim our church's divine decree to all churches across the world." The High Priest? Rasma? Had he stepped out of the church on Mink Street? Karen turned to Fanny and asked, "Is the High Priest of our church Lord Rasma?" "Didn't you know Lord Rasma stepped down months ago? The current High Priest is Lord Norton. The reason for Lord Rasma's retirement was covered in *Order Weekly* back then: Lord Rasma perceived the summons of the God of Order and is making final preparations to enter the Temple of Order as a Temple Elder." "Oh, so that's how it is." Rasma was really going all out to condense his godhead fragment, even giving up the seat of High Priest. Just then, two communication priests hurried into the conference hall holding dispatches. Everyone in the room immediately craned their necks; a message delivered at this moment undoubtedly concerned the front lines. Bishop Worflen opened the dispatch. After reading it, he passed it to the person beside him while smiling gently and pressing his hands down toward the crowd below, who had all stretched their necks like giraffes. Karen heard a collective sigh of relief. Clearly, everyone drew positive reassurance from the chief bishop: the war was going well, with no mishaps. At this moment, the people of the Church of Pamires and the Church of Order shared the same sentiment. They already knew their leadership had forged an agreement with the Church of Order, leaving them no choice but to pray for Order's success. To the Church of Pamires, if the Church of Order was a majestic lion, wasn't the Church of Samsara an equally ferocious wolf? Either way, the Church of Pamires was forever the little white rabbit—pitiful and helpless. "Whew..." From the speakers came a rush of brisk footsteps, followed by the rustling of turning parchment. Everyone held their breath. Karen was certain that at this very moment, the entire ecclesial sphere was waiting for the noon declaration of the Church of Order's divine decree. Though the war had already begun ahead of schedule, an ecclesial world long steeped in peace still felt a sense of unreality about an outbreak of conflict between two orthodox churches. Even Laure and Leon earlier—Karen could tell they had been somewhat bewildered as well. Finally, noon arrived. Bishop Worflen produced a black gemstone the size of a pebble and tossed it forward. The gem levitated, projecting the towering figure of a man clad in black priestly robes. Oh, not just a radio broadcast. Apparently, venues with the right setup could display a projection as well. Immediately after, an identical, overlapping voice echoed from both speakers and projection: "I am Norton, High Priest of the Church of Order." Inside the conference hall, all the bishops on the dais rose to their feet, followed by the Order and Pamires personnel seated below. The Order contingent placed both hands over their chests, while the Pamires delegation made a gesture across their chests. In unison, everyone declared: "Greetings, Lord High Priest!" Though the High Priest could neither hear nor see them here, in public settings, proper respect had to be observed. Karen figured that the High Priest pausing for a full minute after introducing himself was meant to give believers time to pay their respects. So Rasma's past pomp and circumstance had been this grandiose. Back when Karen was around his grandfather, he really hadn't seen it. At last, High Priest Norton spoke his second sentence: "News from the front lines has just arrived. Before proclaiming the divine decree, I have a preliminary announcement to make: "The Church of Samsara has submitted an instrument of defeat to our frontline knight orders, requesting negotiations for surrender." Samsara surrendered? In just a single day, Samsara had surrendered. Astoundment swept across the entire conference hall, including the bishops on the dais. Below, members of both delegations erupted into cheers. Regardless of procedure or righteousness, people always delighted in military victory. Peige and Fanny cheered alongside Karen, celebrating the victory. Karen, having anticipated this, appeared far calmer. Nevertheless, this news had surely spread across the entire ecclesial world by now: in just one day, the Church of Order had battered the Church of Samsara into choosing surrender. "Ahem..." High Priest Norton cleared his throat. The conference hall fell silent instantly, everyone resuming postures of respectful listening. In the projection, High Priest Norton's gaze was solemn and majestic: "I hereby announce the divine decree of Order originally scheduled for broadcast at noon today: "Because the existence of the Church of Samsara disrupts the order that rightly belongs between life and death, our Church of Order declares war on Samsara!"