Declaration of War!

The celebratory banquet began in the afternoon. Evidently, not even the hotel had expected the negotiations to conclude so quickly, lacking the time even to prepare enough ingredients. Consequently, the spread at the banquet was rather meager. This also indirectly demonstrated that, in certain respects, these negotiations had caught a great many people off guard. In short, this was by no means an outcome that could be derailed by an assassination attempt. What surprised Karen was that, although Salayina's body was clearly nearing its breaking point and desperately in need of rest, she still held a wine glass in her left hand while resting her right hand naturally against a nearby table, conversing smoothly with the high-ranking Order officials attending the event. Reporters not only from the Order Weekly, but from numerous other ecclesiastical media outlets, were permitted into the banquet to take photographs. The flavor of political theater was thick enough to condense into dew. At four in the afternoon, the banquet came to an end. Karen led his squad to escort Salayina into the elevator. As soon as they were inside, Salayina closed her eyes and murmured, "I can't stand anymore." Karen took a step back, and Ophelia, understanding immediately, stepped forward to let Salayina lean against her shoulder. With her eyes still closed, Salayina said, "A warrior's shoulder is still a bit too stiff. Little Dark Moon, you're not feminine or tender enough yet. How are you going to capture a man's heart like that?" Ophelia pretended not to hear. The elevator reached its floor, and Karen and Ophelia helped Salayina into her room. Ophelia laid Salayina on the bed, while Sains, standing nearby, hurriedly urged, "Gently, gently." Karen pulled up the quilt and covered Salayina with it, saying, "Lady Holy Child, you need a good rest now." "Oh, yes," Salayina replied, eyes still shut. "There is another matter I must inform you of. My mission only lasts until the conclusion of negotiations. I do not know how much longer you need to remain in York City, but going forward, I may no longer be responsible for your security." According to standard procedure, Karen's squad was only responsible for Salayina's safety from the moment she came ashore until the talks concluded. Of course, had she chosen to depart immediately after the talks, Karen's squad would have escorted her off the coast as well. Evidently, however, she seemed in no hurry to leave, and her physical condition hardly permitted it either. If she remained in York City, the security assignment would be downgraded and handed over to another Whip of Order squad. "Oh? Captain Karen means the security details will be passed on to another squad? You aren't extending your mission?" "My apologies. I have other matters to attend to." "Feels like a bit of a loss on that tea money, then." At this remark, Karen offered a polite smile. To be honest, taking those hundred thousand point coupons felt a little embarrassing. Salayina had killed the assassins, yet he had taken the credit; during private questioning, he had still reported the truth; and all told, he had only worked this mission for a single day and night. Even so, Karen wouldn't dream of saying, "Let me return that card to you." He knew Salayina didn't care about a measly amount like that, and more importantly, he knew he couldn't bear to part with coupons once they were in his pocket. "I will remember your generosity." "And I'll remember you too, Captain Karen. Please take good care of our Little Dark Moon." After the final pleasantries, Karen and his companions returned to their room. He tapped the seashell at his ear. "Hey, Muri. Submit the mission completion report. Choose not to extend." "Understood, Captain." Having given the order, Karen said to the three girls before him, "All right. We'll wait a little longer. Another squad should arrive shortly to take over." Ophelia spoke up. "Can I go back as well?" "Not staying for dinner?" Karen asked. "By our squad's tradition, we usually have a team meal tonight." Ophelia shook her head. "I won't join you. I need to return to my own region. There's still work waiting for me there." Seeing that she was eager to depart, Karen didn't insist. "Looking forward to our next meeting." Karen opened his arms. Ophelia stepped forward and gave Karen a polite hug. Karen whispered in her ear, "Stay safe once you're there. They'll keep their eyes on you if they can't find their real target." "You're the one who needs to watch out. I sense something is deeply wrong with her body. She's desperate." "Don't worry about me. Take care." "You take care too. On my next holiday, I might come back to York City. By then, Eunice should have returned to normal. But don't worry, before I visit Allen Manor next time, I'll give you advance notice so I don't give you any fright or embarrassment." "When you come next time, Eunice probably won't be at Allen Manor." "Where would she be, then? By your side? Perhaps you could spend more time trying to understand her, instead of merely treating her like an ornamental vase." "All right, I accept your criticism." Watching the two conversing in their embrace, Ashley and Blanche shrugged at each other. Ophelia returned to her room, and Karen sat down on the sofa, gazing out the French windows and falling into deep thought. Half an hour later, the telephone rang, and Karen received a message from Muri through the seashell. Having taken the call, Ashley reported, "Captain, the replacement squad will be here in half an hour to take over our duties." Missions of different ranks were competed for by squads of corresponding tiers. For instance, the security assignment during these negotiations had certainly been contested among the region's finest squads. The lower-tier follow-up assignment would also be contested by other squads; after all, squads capable of feasting on meat were in the minority, while most survived merely on the purines dissolved in the broth. "Yes, Muri just informed me. Pack your things." "Where are we eating tonight?" Ashley asked, nudging Blanche with her elbow. Blanche played along. "Let's keep it simple. Eating at home sounds nice." Karen's culinary skills were universally acknowledged by everyone in the squad. But Karen was in no mood to cook. His earlier mention of a squad meal to Ophelia had merely been a polite pleasantry after she announced her departure. For he still had a far more troublesome issue to face... "Muri and the others have been keeping watch in the shadows without much rest. Let's move the dinner to tomorrow evening, and I'll cook personally." "Yay, Captain!" "Then we'll go pack our things first." Karen silently picked up the receiver, flipped open the nearby phone directory, and found the number for the church hospital... Hesitating for a moment, he dialed his home instead. "Hello, meow." "It's me, Karen." "Oh, it's my esteemed Young Master Karen." "My assignment is done. I'll be back tonight." "All right, got it." "Has the fridge been emptied?" "Of course!" "Good." Hanging up the phone, Karen rested his forehead in his hand. "What should I do..." ... The handover went swiftly. Once the mission rewards were issued, Alfred would visit the Church Affairs Building on Karen's behalf to collect them. Meanwhile, Alfred drove Karen to the church hospital. "Phew..." Sitting in the passenger seat, Karen let out a long breath and quietly lit a cigarette. He had smoked twice today—the first time to distract himself and keep his "hunger addiction" from flaring up, and this time because Karen was at a loss for how to face what was coming. Because he and Neo knew each other far too well! At times, they could skip countless explanations, knowing what had happened to each other without even making eye contact. "Young Master?" Alfred asked, somewhat concerned about Karen's state of mind. "I'm fine. Wait for me here." Karen stepped out of the car. He considered buying some fruit, only to find that the fruit shop—having been smashed up by Muri that day—had not yet reopened. Entering the inpatient building, as he climbed the stairs, Karen suddenly wondered why the hospital's steps had been built so steep. Could patients even manage them easily? Yet in the end, he still reached the top. He arrived in front of the ward, pushed the door open, and walked inside. Inside Neo's ward, only Linham sat in a wheelchair, puffing on a cigarette. The old man dared not smoke in his own room, so for convenience, he was blowing clouds of smoke in Neo's. Seeing Karen enter, Linham coughed with a chuckle. "You're here, eh? My secret stash of money is gone." "I'm sorry." Karen understood what had happened the moment he heard that. "No matter, I'm used to it. In this game, the more 'professional' you are, the easier it is to lose money." "Where's my squadron leader?" "Oh, him? He hasn't come down yet." "Come down?" Linham pointed toward the window. "Down through here. I haven't seen him drop past yet." "The squadron leader..." "I merely lost my secret stash. He, on the other hand, not only lost everything, but went into debt." "Is the squadron leader on the roof?" "Yeah." "All right, thank you." "Don't mention it." Karen climbed the stairs to the top floor and pushed open the slightly rusted iron door. He saw Neo sitting in his wheelchair right at the roof's edge; even without anyone pushing him, a strong gust of wind might blow him over. "Squadron Leader." Neo turned his head and gave Karen a glance. "About what happened..." Karen began to explain as he walked over. He wasn't truly worried that Neo would throw himself off the roof—firstly, Neo wasn't that fragile, and secondly... his bloodthirsty aberrant demon bloodline made dying from a fall virtually impossible. Neo propped his elbow on the wheelchair armrest, resting his cheek in his palm and leaning slightly to the side. Karen walked up to him and saw that Neo's expression was calm. "You truly are more resilient than I imagined, Squadron Leader." Neo nodded. "When you lose too much and owe too much debt, you actually stop panicking." "How much did you lose?" "You should ask how much I owe." Karen took out the anonymous black market bank card Salayina had given him that morning and handed it toward Neo. "Captain, there are one hundred thousand Order coupons here. Why don't you use this to pay off some debt first?" Neo glanced at the card in Karen's hand and replied, "That's only enough to cover the interest." Karen: "..." "The silver lining is, I probably won't be the only one on the roof today." "Indeed. I even noticed several bishops at the negotiating table looking astonished." "Pegging the Moon Wheel coupon to the Order coupon... how could they pull a move like that?" Karen said, "The value of the Moon Wheel coupon will slide a bit, and then it will become more stable." That was simply objective economic reality. Backed by the Church of Order's supreme status, pegging between the two orthodox churches would make currency values more stable, though naturally, the Church of Order gained the lion's share of the benefit. However, discussing this now was meaningless. Had Neo traded normally, he would only have lost a portion of his coupons, and if Order coupons appreciated later, he might have recouped his losses. The trouble was that he had used leverage. "I'm not asking about the economics." Neo crossed his hands over his chest. "Are there any other details you can share with me?" "The detail is that after Salayina was attacked, her injuries were severe and her body was frail, yet she insisted on seeing through every public engagement. It defied common sense, almost as if she deliberately intended to broadcast a message to the outside world." "Oh, is that so?" Neo nodded thoughtfully. "Looks like I can't stay in York City anytime soon. I need to get out to dodge my debts, or figure out a way to haul back some coupons from outside to plug this hole. I've already had Fanny pawn my modified VIP car; I have to redeem it." Karen knew that the modified VIP car was Neo's pride and joy; it could drive straight into the knight order's garrison without being inspected. "Captain, things haven't reached such a dire point, have they?" "Perhaps. By the way, do you know Bernie?" "The head of logistics for our region's Whip of Order? I've met his sister; she works at the research institute." "Mm, that's him. He mentioned you." "You're in contact with him?" "Yes. He said he wants to run for regional Whip-Holder. I always thought he was daydreaming. You know, even though he runs the Whip of Order logistics department for this region, his kickback income is far lower than mine... After all, there isn't much grease to squeeze from document copying fees and printing ink." "Then why bring him up?" "He'll be here in a moment." Neo drew a black crow from inside his coat. "He sent me a message. I've been waiting for him here. In fact, I came up here at one o'clock, took half an hour to compose myself, and have spent the rest of the time waiting for him. He's late; something must have delayed him." "You rarely spend this long waiting for someone who seems so useless." "You know, he came to me a week ago, wanting me to join his camp." "How did you respond?" "I agreed, of course. After all, I—and you too—belong to his department anyway. Although in practice all Whip of Order personnel in this region answer to the regional administrative office, nominally, we're all his subordinates." "And then?" "He brought up an idea to form an observation delegation from our region's Whip of Order to visit other orthodox churches on an inspection tour." "A junket at public expense?" "Mm, essentially." "Did you accept?" "No. Because travel expenses aren't covered—all they give you is an official letter. You even have to pay your own coupons for the teleportation formations. I'd have to be out of my mind to agree to an observation tour like that." "And now?" "Well, it turns out I really am out of my mind." Neo pursed his lips and smiled faintly. "Do you know which church he proposed for the inspection tour?" "The Church of the Moon God?" "A guess?" "Because right now, guessing the Church of the Moon God seems like the only thing that makes any sense." "Correct. The Church of the Moon God. There are twelve spots in the delegation, with no restrictions on the scope of the inspection, and the host church will handle reception." Karen looked toward the distant sunset. He suddenly had a premonition that something momentous was about to occur. "Karen, you and I are both like fish in a stream right now. We only realize what's happening when the net descends; before that, all we can see are the soles of the boots walking along the riverbank." "I've indeed had similar thoughts lately." "As for the assassination attempt at the Ankara Hotel, I doubt anyone will ever figure out who truly did it." "Yes, I think so too." Just then, a plume of black mist drifted over from the distance, coming to a stop on the roof to reveal the figure of a middle-aged man. His face was somewhat pale and soft. He wasn't particularly fat, yet he was nowhere near slender either, and despite only being middle-aged, his head was already balding. "Neo." "Lord Bernie." Neo turned his wheelchair and bowed his head toward him. Karen also bowed. "Lord Bernie." "Karen?" Bernie smiled. "This is our first time meeting." "Yes, my Lord." "I liked the gift you sent very much." A gift? When did I ever send you a gift? At home, Alfred indeed handled holiday gifts among friends and family, but Alfred wouldn't have gone so far as to add a new recipient without consulting him. "Very thoughtful, truly. Do you know? Over the past six months, Neo, you're the only one who has consistently sent me gifts on holidays." Neo smiled. "You're too kind, my Lord. Just some worthless trinkets." "I know, of course. Ordinary gifts that can be bought with riels." Neo licked his lips. "Later, after you became a squad leader, Karen—well, it hasn't been long—you sent me gifts on the last two holidays as well. Since I took office here, you two are the only subordinates who have ever sent me presents." Karen understood. Neo had sent those on his behalf. Bernie walked to the edge of the roof, gazed at the scenery below, and continued, "For a long time, I've doubted myself—wondering if I'm even a mid-level leader in the Whip of Order. Only from the two of you have I found a shred of what it feels like to be a superior." Then Bernie placed a hand on Neo's shoulder. "I know you wasted many years in Sangpu City. Frankly, so did I. But now, our opportunity has arrived. Together, we can take back all that lost time. "I was delayed because I went this morning to submit the roster for the observation delegation, and then kept pressing them for a swift reply. This afternoon, right after the joint communique was released, the response finally arrived. Unprecedented efficiency—they approved it. "You, Neo, will represent the York City Region's Whip of Order department to form a twelve-person observation delegation to visit the Church of the Moon God for exchange and inspection. "Of course, you can refuse right now, and I can pick someone else. Tell me now: will you refuse?" Neo responded immediately, "Of course not! Wield the Whip—for Order!" Bernie nodded. "Time is short. You'd better hurry; the sooner you get there, the better." With that, Bernie's form dissolved into black mist and departed. Karen looked down at Neo and asked, "Did you two arrange all this beforehand?" Neo replied, "No, but my intuition told me not to refuse." "I dislike riddles." "What a coincidence. Neither do I." "Let me wheel you down. Mr. Linham has been worrying that you'd jump." "He's just projecting himself onto me. I don't believe for a second that he didn't sneak some of his wife's money to speculate on coupons." Karen wheeled Neo down from the roof. When they reached the nurses' station, they found the nurses, doctors, and patients all buzzing with discussion over a momentous event that had just broken out. "Excuse me, what happened?" Karen asked a nurse. "A news bulletin just came over the radio! The Church of the Moon God has declared war on the Church of Samsara!"