13 Mink Street

Karon had originally thought the negotiations would end for the day in the evening, but to his surprise, neither side at the table showed any indication of cooling down. The argument simply continued.

Then, food carts were rolled in. Attendants served simple meals to both sides of the negotiating table, and the various representatives began eating while continuing to argue.

What had started as spittle flying through the air became a collision of food scraps sprayed from their mouths. The forks and spoons in their hands were wielded like knives and swords, slashing furiously across the space between them and the people across from them. Their flushed faces, combined with the savage motion of chewing, made it look as if they were devouring each other’s flesh and blood raw.

This continuation made things miserable for Karon and the others, because no one brought them food. They had only eaten breakfast that day, and no matter how large that breakfast might have been, it could not possibly hold them over until nightfall.

With an empty stomach, even the liveliest quarrel lost its appeal. Karon could clearly feel the agitation coming off the two women beside him. But there was nothing to be done. The moment they had arrived, they had discovered that the entire floor was sealed off. It was not possible to call out for food on their own, nor could anyone leave the floor at this time to find something to eat.

Duty, rules, and the mission itself, there were too many constraints in place. The only excuse to step out at all was to use the restroom.

Still, Karon noticed something unusual; Quite a few of the people around him had started going to the bathroom much greater frequency.

It was not only Karon, Fannie, and Paige sitting below the negotiating tables. Both churches had also sent support staff, including people taking notes, offering suggestions, and providing documents.

When the passenger ship had been bombed, Delius had rescued the dozen or so people traveling with him and had taken them all ashore, but the Church of Pamireth had also sent a delegation to York City before that, and those people had also been incorporated into the negotiating team.

Yet the strangest thing among the current oddities was that almost all of the people who were making frequent restroom trips were the priests who were the Church of Order’s support staff.

Karon stood up and signaled to Fannie and Paige that he was going to the restroom.

The restroom was just around the corner to the right of the conference hall. When Karon walked over, he found people at the entrance handing out bread and bags of milk. There were quite a few people standing there, wolfing the food down, as they needed to hurry back.

Being away too long would look bad. If one of the higher-ups from their side suddenly needed an answer while someone was absent, that would be a serious fault.

However, judging from the situation, the people handing out the bread and milk likely knew the recipients personally.

Karon did not know anyone present, because he was present because of an assignment. His social circle did not extend this far. In fact, he and the people present did not even belong to the same system.

The food was likely rationed as well, and they were probably only sharing with people they recognized.

Even so, Karon still intended to go up and ask for some himself. After all, what did it matter that they were from different departments and systems? Were they not all loyal believers of the God of Order? Believers everywhere were one family.

Going hungry just to preserve a bit of pride and restraint was the truly foolish choice, especially since Karon also had to think about taking something back for the two women beside him, whose stomachs had already begun growling.

Yet before Karon could even open his mouth, a hand from beside him held out a large piece of bread and a bag of milk.

Karon reached out and took them, and then turned to look at who they came from. It was Leon, grandson of the Archbishop of the York City district.

Him? For that instant, Karon felt a bit awkward, but only for an instant. The next moment, he was already taking huge bites of bread, and then tearing a small opening in the milk bag with his teeth so he could suck down a big mouthful to help swallow.

“Hm, I don’t know you.” Leon looked at Karon with a smile. “Which department are you from?”

“Whip of Order.”

“Oh? A member of the Whip’s personal security detail?”

Obviously, Leon was familiar with Whip of Order’s operating procedures. At times like this, only the close personal security detail would appear openly. Everyone else in the squad could only stay hidden in the shadows to provide protection from there.

“Yes.”

“Leon, I heard the squad handling security this time is still Nio’s squad.” A young priest standing nearby spoke while washing his hands. From the way he spoke to Leon, it was clear that while the man’s position might not be high, his background definitely was.

The other priests, after taking milk and bread from Leon, all immediately thanked him and then moved to stand to the side, swallowing their food and drink as fast as they could without initiating conversation. One reason was the lack of time, but another was that everyone clearly understood the gap in their status.

“Larry, so what if it’s Nio’s squad?” Leon asked in return.

“Hah, hasn’t everyone outside been saying it already? That Miss Ophelia boarded the return ship heavy with child.” As he spoke, Larry pulled out a paper towel from the side, wiped his hands, and looked at Karon, who was still eating. “This one’s quite handsome, isn’t he? Heh, was it you?”

Only the members of the close protection detail would have direct contact with the squad’s target, and each squad only had so many members, so the personnel configuration of the close protection details did not generally change.

More importantly, Karon was very handsome, to the point that even another man thought so. Just as men liked beautiful women, women naturally tended to prefer handsome men, and love at first sight, especially in a short span of time, was often built on the foundation of attractive appearance.

At those words, Leon stepped sideways and more seriously observed Karon. Karon swallowed the bread in his mouth and replied with a smile, “I also don’t know how the rumor got out.”

“Heh, who else could have spread it except your own squad? Otherwise, who would have known?” Larry said with a sneer.

In truth, he was not wrong. Even Karon himself felt that the rumor had most likely been deliberately spread by his captain and the other squad members, all to build up their squad’s reputation so they could continue monopolizing this sort of well-paid, low-risk security mission.

From the upper ranks’ point of view, as long as visiting envoys could be received safely and comfortably, their desired outcome would be achieved. If even romance blossomed, then that was comfort taken to its peak.

“So, Leon, what do you say, want to have a duel with him? Hahaha,” Larry teased.

Everyone in their circle knew that Leon, as the grandson of the Archbishop of York City, had originally been a possible representative of the Church of Order in a marriage alliance with Darkmoon Island. At the time, the wind had definitely been blowing in that direction.

And one reason the rumor had become so powerful and spread so widely was that after Ophelia returned to Darkmoon Island, the island had taken a noticeably cool attitude toward the marriage alliance. That reaction was almost the strongest proof possible of the rumor’s authenticity.

Perhaps even the captain and the others, who had started the rumor, had never expected things to develop in that direction. On one hand, they were only trying to stir up a scandal and ride the attention, while on the other side, the other party was somehow going along with it.

To a certain extent, Karon and Leon really did stand in natural opposition. Although Karon knew that the rumors weren’t true, these sort of things never cared about facts. Once everyone believed you had been made a cuckold, the truth no longer mattered.

Larry wore the look of a man enjoying a show and was clearly stirring the pot on purpose. Karon felt that either he and Leon were very close, or their relationship was very bad and there was already some contradiction between them.

Leon suddenly placed a hand on Karon’s shoulder and asked, “So, was it you?”

Karon sighed inwardly and again stated, “It isn’t true.”

Leon said, “Whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter anymore.”

Karon took another bite of bread and said nothing.

“In any case, I have to thank you.”

“Hm?”

Leon abruptly threw an arm around Karon’s shoulders. “Thank you for helping me get rid of a huge problem!”

“Haha!” Larry laughed too, completely changing the tone he had used before. “You have no idea how panicked he was when he found out he might get married off! Even when Darkmoon Island didn’t seem all that enthusiastic anymore, if these rumors hadn’t spread so fiercely, his grandfather was really planning to make him visit Darkmoon Island in person.”

Leon spoke as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, “Of course. Who would willingly accept that kind of arranged political marriage?”

“It really is just a rumor,” Karon said.

But it also wasn’t something he could claim to have nothing to do with. To some extent, his existence as a “member” of the Darkmoon family had indeed changed Darkmoon Island’s expectations for a marriage alliance.

“Forget it. Real or fake, I don’t care. Compared to some rumor or gossip, I care more about my own marital happiness. The married life I dream of isn’t sharing the same bed with a wife who represents interests different from mine.

“Then, when she gets pregnant, we’d still have to consider whether the child taking my surname or hers would maximize political advantage.”

Larry laughed. “Leon wants to pursue his own happiness, just like in a romance novel.”

“By the way, what’s your name?” Leon asked.

“Karon. Karon Silva.”

“All right, Karon. Let’s hang out sometime if there’s a chance.”

“Sure.” Karon nodded, ate the last bit of bread in his hand, then asked Leon, “Um, is there any more bread?”

“Oh, of course. You’re still not full?”

“I still have two companions sitting inside.”

“Haha, looks like you people really don’t have experience with this.” Leon took several more pieces of bread and a few bags of milk from the box beside him and handed them over. Karon stuffed them into his clothes.

“I’m heading back to the conference hall now. Thank you for the bread and milk.”

“No need to be so polite.”

Karon returned to the conference hall and sat down. He then secretly passed the bread and milk to the two women beside him. They both froze for a moment, then tucked the milk and bread into their clothes and left under the pretense of going to the restroom.

Up above, the negotiations continued. Several people’s throats had already gone hoarse, but those rasping roars somehow felt even more forceful.

Karon’s attention was no longer on the table. He had noticed that Leon and Larry had still not returned to the conference room. Clearly, these young masters, though arranged to be a part of the negotiating delegation, enjoyed a greater degree of autonomy. They were not like the others, who had to worry about how being gone or too long would reflect poorly on them.

So Leon really is staying by the restroom entrance handing out bread and milk like some volunteer worker?

Fortunately, the worst-case scenario had not come to pass. Karon did not think Leon’s earlier attitude had been an act. Given his status, if he truly wanted revenge against an attached member of a Whip of Order squad, there would be no need to make things complicated. It seemed that this young master genuinely despised the idea of this political marriage.

Did the captain already know about that? Karon felt that was very possible, because Nio often knew information that a squad captain of Whip of Order logically should not be privy to.

Fannie and Paige came back. Having eaten, both women were in much better spirits. When they sat back down, there were even smiles on their faces.

But the torment continued. The meeting dragged on until one in the morning. When it ended, the negotiating representatives from both sides had to be supported down by their own people. Two had even fainted.

Karon’s group escorted Delius into the elevator. When the elevator reached their floor and the doors opened, they found two food carts waiting in the hallway.

“You arranged this?” Karon asked Richard, the elevator attendant.

“Yes. I noticed that you still hadn’t come up, so I prepared this in advance and left it here for you, though it’s probably cold by now.”

“It’s fine. You did very well,” Fannie said.

“Yes,” Paige added, licking her lips.

The elevator doors closed, and Paige and Fannie pushed one cart into their own room, while Karon took the other and followed Delius into his suite. “Sir, please enjoy.”

“Eat with me. I can’t finish all this by myself.”

Again? Karon looked at the cart before him. Did they drug the food again today?

Still, since the man had asked, and duty was duty, Karon could not refuse. He could only carry food over to the tea table and sit down across from Delius to eat with him.

Although Delius had eaten a simple meal midway through the day, he had consumed far more energy and was currently starving. As for Karon, pure hunger had already reached the point where he no longer cared whether the food was drugged or not. In any case, it was harmless.

Neither man spoke. They simply concentrated on eating.

At last, Karon was full, but Delius continued eating by himself for a while longer before finally setting down his fork.

“You truly worked hard today,” Delius said.

“The one who worked hard was you. We were all right.” Karon smiled in reply. “I’ll clean this up for you. Please rest early.”

The meeting was to resume at eight in the morning.

Delius shook his head. “Tomorrow won’t be this agonizing.”

Karon continued clearing the dishes without pause, and he certainly did not ask why.

Delius said nothing further either and simply went straight to the washroom to bathe. After cleaning up, Karon returned to his own room. Paige and Fannie had long since finished eating, and Paige had even stripped naked once again and was asleep on the bed.

Fannie, sitting on the sofa, said, “Hurry and rest. Paige will relieve me on watch later. Tomorrow morning, we’ll shower together before heading out.”

“Oh, all right. By the way, later remind Paige to ask for extra breakfasts when she orders. We’ll pack some and take it with us.”

“Of course. The two of us will wear trench coats tomorrow. Damn it, these people are literally negotiating with their lives.”

Karon lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

In the morning, he was woken up and sat in bed. He had slept for only a little more than four hours. It was nowhere near enough, so he would have to doze in the conference hall later.

Both women were indeed wearing trench coats; Paige’s was red, Fannie’s was black. Their clothes were bulging all over, stuffed with all kinds of food, which made them look extremely full-bodied.

“Should I bring food too?” Karon asked, pointing at himself.

Paige shook her head. “No need. Between the two of us, we’ve brought enough for three people to eat for more than three meals.”

As on the previous day, once it was time, Karon’s group escorted Delius downstairs and into the conference hall. Once everyone from both sides was in place, the meeting began.

However, the atmosphere today was completely different from yesterday. First, a representative from the Church of Order stood up holding a gold-edged letter and read aloud, “At six this morning, standard Veyn time, Elder Sithe led Order’s Seventh Knight Regiment to descend outside the Herald’s Domain and establish a teleportation array.”

For a moment, the entire room fell dead silent.

This news meant that the Church of Order had already pressed a blade against the chest of the Church of Pamireth. No, to be more precise, the tip had already pierced flesh and stopped only when it neared the heart.

As for the Church of Pamireth’s worldly mission chapels, strongholds, industries, and workshops, they had long been under the watch of Order’s powers. All that remained was for a divine decree to be issued before action could begin.

As for Karon, one thought arose in his mind. Elder Sithe? Why does that name sound so familiar?

Very quickly, he remembered. Pu’er had once had a grievance with Elder Sithe, and that same elder had once been hung on a cross by Tiz.

At that moment, one representative of the Church of Pamireth stood up and shouted, “Impossible! How could you possibly have located the Herald’s Domain?”

Another representative also stood up and cried out, “Yes, that’s impossible! Spatial distortions were laid around the Herald’s Domain. Even an Elder of the Temple of Order, even a knight regiment of the Church of Order, cannot ignore those terrifying distortions!”

Wolfram Delgar, Archbishop of the York City district and Leon’s grandfather, smiled faintly as he spoke, “Our Church of Order disdains using deception during negotiations. Your communication with your church has not been cut off. I trust you will receive confirmation soon enough. Order’s stance is this: the progress of these negotiations has been much too slow. We believe it is necessary to give a gentle push to accelerate the process.

“Now, we have made our position clear. It is time for you to show the attitude expected of you.”

Delius spoke up and asked, “So this is the attitude of the Church of Order? To act before the negotiations are even finished?”

Wolfram lifted his teacup, took a sip, then set the lid back in place and slowly replied, “Divine Progeny, let me remind you that Order has not acted. At this stage, it has merely prepared to act. As for attitude, from the perspective of strength, I see nothing wrong with ours.”

The conference hall fell silent once more.

Karon could clearly see that the negotiators from the Church of Pamireth seated up at the tables had visibly lost their edge, while the members of the Pamireth delegation down below all appeared quite downcast as well.

In contrast, the Church of Order representatives seated at the negotiating tables were all calm and composed. The Order priests seated below wore restrained smiles that tugged at the corners of their mouths. Quite a few were idly twirling their steel pens between their fingers.

Karon remembered what Delius had told him the previous night: Tomorrow will not be this agonizing.

Of course, when even your Divine Progeny belongs to Order, can it really be difficult to bypass the spatial distortions and obtain the coordinates of the Herald’s Domain directly?

Paige whispered, “Looks like I brought food for nothing today.”

Karon, however, noticed that the priests from the Church of Order did not seem to have brought any food. That meant they had known about this even earlier than his own people. Otherwise, after yesterday’s experience, any normal person would have chosen to bring extra food along.

At that moment, a member of the Church of Pamireth in a blue priest’s robes entered the conference hall carrying a letter that was handed over to Delius. During the negotiations, members of both sides were not allowed to go out, but communication itself was permitted, because the final result of these talks still had to be approved by the true upper ranks of both churches before it could really take effect.

Delius opened the letter. A faint sphere of light wrapped around it. It was a tiny barrier ritual array, so small as to be nearly insignificant. It existed not for secrecy, but as a warning. If anyone tried to investigate its contents, the fragile barrier would crack, making the act obvious.

After reading the letter, Delius’s expression did not change in the slightest. He folded it back up and did not even pass it to any of the people beside him.

Archbishop Wolfram said, “You’ve confirmed it, then. In that case, we can begin today’s talks. I expect today’s agenda will yield some meaningful results.”

But Delius raised a hand. “No hurry. Wait a bit longer.”

Archbishop Wolfram’s gaze instinctively drifted toward Bishop Byrne, who sat at the farthest edge of the negotiating table.

Not long after, a priest in black divine robes entered carrying another letter and submitted it. Wolfram opened the letter, read it, then passed it to the people beside him to be circulated around.

“Something seems wrong,” Fannie said. “Did something happen with Elder Sithe’s people?”

“Given that woman’s temperament, it would be perfectly normal if something happened,” Karon said.

Fannie looked at Karon in confusion. “How do you know Elder Sithe is a woman? None of us knows anything about the Temple Elders.”

“I could tell from the name.”

“Then how do you know what her temperament is like?”

“You’re the one who first guessed that something might have happened to her. I merely inferred her temperament from your guess.”

Paige said, “Comrades, I’m starting to feel like maybe the food I brought today wasn’t useless after all.”

The strange atmosphere around the negotiating table caused the people seated below on both sides to begin whispering among themselves.

Then Delius said, “You should have received the news by now. That Temple Elder of yours and your Seventh Knight Regiment have both lost contact, haven’t they?”

Wolfram replied, “We still need a little time to verify that this information is true.”

“I don’t think that should be necessary, because the coordinates for the Herald’s Domain that Elder Sithe obtained were false all along. What she and the Order’s Seventh Knight Regiment entered was a spatial prison opened up by our church, and a highly unstable one at that. To put it simply, if two bricks are pulled, that space will collapse.”

The moment those words were spoken, the expressions of the priests seated below all changed. One of the Church of Order negotiators stood up and said, “Are you threatening us?”

Delius smiled, and then said, “From the perspective of strength, I am not qualified to threaten the great Church of Order, and even if Order were to lose a Temple Elder and a knight regiment, it would still remain a behemoth our Church of Pamireth could not resist. Our Church’s destruction would still remain a matter of Order’s single thought.

“But our church does not mind tearing off a chunk of Order’s flesh before it is destroyed, so that the entire ecclesiastical world may smell the blood from Order’s wound.

“I came here to negotiate in sincerity. I hope Order will show me sincerity of equal measure.”

Wolfram looked at Delius and said, “Do you understand that if these negotiations fail, you, the people beside you, and all these Pamireth believers seated down below will not leave this hotel alive.”

Delius tapped his knuckles lightly against the table, producing a few crisp knocks. He spoke slowly, “All I know is that when news of these negotiations reached our church, many believers began preparing their own funerals.”