Chapter 140

"Grandpa, and Sister Eileen are both gone!"

"... Calm down... Are you sure? They're not the kind of people who would just disappear like that, are they?"

As she spoke, Rosemary hung Medic's belongings aside, then picked up the two young fake kittens from the snow and used the horizontal Tactical Unit as a stool for them to sit on and hold onto.

Seeing that everyone else had gathered around, Rosemary helped the two take off their soaking wet sneakers and then asked:

"Have you really not found the three neighbors, the wine shop, and the abandoned umbrella?"

"... Miranda, Aunt Athena, and the others have searched the car thoroughly, but they can't find them anywhere..."

"So Auntie said she'll come out and let you know as soon as Rosemary Sister's battle is over... They'll come out if they find any clues in the car... But..."

Seeing the blonde girl looking in the direction of 'home,' the garage, which should have been manned by many people, was now deserted. Su Sulo opened her Terminal tablet and saw the Sarkaz frantically whispering among themselves and searching around.

Immediately afterwards, Yato's communication was connected with everyone:

[Sorry, I can't reach the minister by phone... Ah, minister, you're alright, that's great... There's something going on in the car...]

"Ah Fu and Eileen are missing, aren't they?"

[Yes, we directed the search again, but we didn't find them... But, given our current level of alert, even the Inner Guards shouldn't be able to take anything from our vehicle... But the surveillance footage...]

"They left on their own... The Welfare Department is responsible for maintaining the PRTS Terminal monitors. Knowing the location of all the monitors, it's possible to deliberately create blind spots by using the Welfare Department's authority."

Coughing twice, ignoring the almost-spoken words "I can do it too," Medic looked at the two young girls holding hands, their eyes filled with worry.

"Are you usually with Ah Fu and the others? Don't you feel comfortable?"

Nodding, nodding... but Aili, adorned in red, remained choked up and unable to speak. Then, her younger sister Xia, in her green uniform, spoke up:

"But... after Grandpa puts us to sleep at night... he leaves us..."

"That's not what I meant... Anyway, you were the last people they had contact with after they disappeared, weren't you?"

After having Yato question the remaining members of the Welfare Department, Medic received an affirmative answer.

PS:... I... never mind... let's just continue.

Woof woof kitty

4th Crimson Warm Winter: 148 Eileen Assault

The Kitty Killer first sighed and patted the two little ones on the head, then reached out and began searching the young girls' pockets.

If someone leaves a message voluntarily... aside from their own room, it would be on the last person they came into contact with. Strange.

As expected, there were two letters in the inside pockets of the two little ones' coats, a place they rarely used. This surprised the little ones greatly, as they hadn't noticed they had these extra items at all.

Medic wasn't surprised at all, because he knew from the pattern on the envelope that old man Ah Fu had actually drawn secret runes on those pages with blood to hide them.

No wonder no one noticed and no one thought to search the two little ones' pockets. (Mio)

This kind of interference at the level of consciousness can only be avoided by sorcerers who are also skilled in Originium Arts at the level of consciousness.

Medic patiently read through the opening text, "[I'm very sorry, I caused everyone worry by doing this to buy time...]", without having time to carefully discern whether there were any possible coded messages. Medic put his headphones back on, looked at the now bright sky, and then connected with Yato's communication:

"The crew is preparing to depart as planned. Liskarm and Franka, go check if there are any dyed airdrops near the checkpoint. After retrieving them with the Welfare Department members, the entire crew will proceed to checkpoint Number Three... Also, is there any Sarkaz skilled in combat on board? I mean, those capable of spatial teleportation. Get ready, we're going to capture Ah Fu and Eileen." (Qi)

"Um... Medic, this letter only seems to mention Ah Fu himself saying he wanted to stop the pursuers... it didn't mention Eileen. Did Eileen chase after them herself?" Shan

Hearing Huang's reminder from behind, Medic nodded, but was immediately grabbed by the neck by Huang... Although the warm breath behind her felt nice, Huang was holding her too tightly, and Medic had to slap her arm to make her let go.

"Besides, this isn't over yet... You're completely melted into a pool of liquid, and you call that safe?! I'd be an idiot to let you run around like this again!"

Using foul language detrimental to the growth of teenagers, Huang had previously said, "If you relapse, don't blame me for overstepping my authority," and in fact, she did just that.

"Folinic! Take the Little Cat with you. She's a hostage. If this guy and I don't come back on time, take the Little Cat to Kal'tsit and make sure Kal'tsit gets full marks in all her subjects before she's allowed to leave! During that time, she's only allowed to eat nutritional meals, her credit card is frozen, Amiya isn't allowed to lend her money, and no one else is allowed to feed her! Do you understand?!"

"I know you just want me to have something to look forward to in a safe place... but aren't you going a bit too far?"

Medic reached out to soothe the flustered Rosemary, then looked at Folinic was both amused and exasperated.

"Anyway, everyone worked hard on this night shift, but the car really needs Rosemary's escort. She's still young... and sometimes she doesn't think things through completely. While I'm not around, please take care of her."

Seeing that Medic seemed to be trying to slip away, Huang quickly pulled her back with his arm:

"Wait a minute, your requirement for Sarkaz team... it shouldn't have to be Sarkaz, right? Otherwise, how many Sarkaz capable of fighting are we on board? You want to just take W to rescue people? I think you'd be better off just giving Old Fu a quick death than relying on that explosive maniac."

"... Um... I can do that too..."

Hearing a gentle yet deep female voice that they had never heard before suddenly appear beside them, Huang and Medic, the two cats with their tails tied in knots, turned around together and saw the tall operator known as 'Mudrock'.

Steadfast, resolute... and rarely smiling—this is the impression Reunion Movement members have of her, and also the impression Rhodes Island has of this person who never shows her face, because her illness doesn't affect her life and she even deliberately prioritizes her treatment...

Although he was dressed entirely in Mercenaries attire, Mudrock, the Mudrock cadre, was an honest man, or so everyone thought.

As the other person removed their helmet, a large pile of black clods of dirt fell out of their heavy protective suit, revealing a white-haired Sarkaz girl surrounded by mud but without a speck of dirt.

Hearing the gasps of surprise around him, Huang looked curiously at the Reunion Movement around him:

"No, why are you so surprised by your own people?"

"... I'm sorry, I never took off my helmet in front of anyone, and the protective suit isn't mine... I just had my 'friends' hold it up for me..."

Ignoring the gasps of others, Medic tilted his head as he looked at the Witchcraft markings on the soil:

"You are... the Child of Soil? From the Gargoyle Court...?"

Shaking his head, Mudrock gripped his warhammer, black Originium Arts swirling around him, and did not respond to Medic's question.

"Weren't we going to rescue people? Let's hurry..."

"Hey, aren't you waiting for me? I have to admit I have a chance to give that old geezer a piece of my mind... but he's not the target, and it won't be now..."

As she spoke, W jumped to Medic's side, and at the same time, she quickly picked up the various odds and ends the Little Cat had gathered, shook out Medic's clothes, and put them on the person who was still only wearing FrostNova's coat.

"You'd better hurry up and get ready. That old guy is one of the few kind-hearted people I can remember. Don't let him go and throw his life away."

"... To die..."

As Medic dressed, he murmured these words, and then everyone... especially the Sarkaz, realized what was happening:

"He (the old man, the teacher) wants to use himself as a bargaining chip to make the committee withdraw!?"

"That's roughly the demand. I wonder... if my head is enough for you, Little Fu, to get by?"

In the darkness before dawn, the old man and the young Sarkaz, who were enemies, stood side by side, looking at the pale white sky, as if they were not enemies chasing each other, but teacher and student from decades ago.

"... I understand the Regent's thoughts: survival comes first, then everything else. The Sarkaz have long lifespans; their past suffering and glory seem like yesterday. To 'forget' the past is to betray, and His Majesty has never denied this..."

Watching the old man's rambling, seemingly complaining words, Manfred stroked the artifact in his hand that could wield the Carrion Eaters. Although emotionally he wanted to let the old man pass away peacefully, perhaps due to physical habits, or perhaps because his doubts were too strong, even as a Sarkaz colonel... at the pinnacle of high-ranking military officers, he uttered the same question he had decades ago:

"Then why did that person rebel... even though..."

"We clearly fell into those foreign traps. We no longer need them to attack Kazdel; this time, we destroyed the very ground we stand on... Is that what you're asking about...?"

With a sigh, the old man habitually reached into his pocket but found nothing; he hadn't taken anything from the car... Manfred, however, remembered his teacher's old habit: he took out the cigarettes his men had 'offered'—cigarettes looted from the corpses of Ursus soldiers—and lit them for the old man with a small flame flickering from his fingertips.

Paper cigarettes with filters are considered a luxury in Kazdel, but the technique of roasting tobacco dates back to the ancient times when Kazdel was first affected by Originium and many Teekaz began to take human form.

Of course, the old man wasn't such an ancient being. But his life essentially spanned the entire process of Kazdel's transformation from the highest point of the land's rulers to a mere city-state on the map... Answering Manfred's question was no problem, of course.

The old man took his final lesson very seriously. After indulging in the smoking habit he had developed on the battlefield, he squinted at the dawn sky and said:

"I have always said that history is a very important subject, but it is different from what some the Court nobles believe in history as learning about the bloody past and making all living beings on earth feel and remember what 'Kazdel' is... We can determine the problems we face now through the analysis of history, especially world history."

"The Regent and His Highness's views are essentially the same. Their ultimate goal is to normalize the development of Kazdel as a nation on this land. After all, the ruling methods of the Teekaz era have been proven by the Elders to be unsuitable for today's era of great development of Originium technology."

"Even though the monarchs of the Teekaz the Court each possess the strength to fight against a thousand or even ten thousand men, when faced with mass-produced Landship and war machines operated by mortals, the contest of war is no longer the simple contest of individuals as it used to be."

"But now, the Sarkaz are bound hand and foot by those past 'battlefield forces'... They still yearn for the afterglow of the Ticas era, unwilling to acknowledge our present appearance, nor to truly see the changes on earth. They want to maintain the Court's ancient special status, and the hatred written in their blood, and the war that seems like yesterday, are the invisible hand tearing our nation and our bloodline apart."

Glancing at the cigarette butt, now reduced to its last bit, the old man smiled and declined the young man's offer to light another one. After silently watching the embers disappear, he tucked the cigarette into his pocket. Beneath his feet, on this pristine white Snowfield, he felt even the falling ash was a desecration.

The land, once belonging to the Sarkaz, is now given various names and fought over by all kinds of life for various reasons... Countless lives are born, grow, and die on the same land... Countless Teekaz have claimed to be the masters of the land, but who has ever asked the land's opinion?

They value tradition, have a high opinion of themselves, but lack practical considerations.

They value honor, only mention hatred without explaining the reasons.

During the reign of the Elders, the Elders rebelled against the Teekaz; now, in the age of humans, humans are rebelling against the Sarkaz...

All the Sarkaz felt innocent, their beautiful homeland destroyed and trampled upon... But while everyone reminisced about the Teekaz era, no one spoke of how the ancestors of the Teekaz era treated the Elders and ordinary people whose bloodline power was inferior to that of the Elders.

Why is the Bloodfiend called a 'demon'? How did the gargoyle become a 'ghost'? How was the Witchcraft that connected the entire land maintained in the past? Even the Elders who once ruled the land were merely second-class citizens used to assist in border governance in the distant past. Tracing this hatred to its source, the 'White Emperor' was ultimately born.

Theresa was not the first ruler of Kazdel to want to normalize relations with the Sarkaz. The former 'Demon King' also has a history of cooperating with the creatures of the earth, which is said to be the origin of the Sarkaz Mercenaries.

But, just like the Demon King who erupted in azure fury, the White Emperor ultimately met the same end... It's a sad story, but the old man wasn't surprised.

"... The desire for normalization clashes with the rigidity of long-standing memories mixed with selfish desires. It is only natural that the stronger individual side will prevail. His Majesty once said that the liberation of the Sarkaz is the liberation of the mind. If the Court does not understand this, then the civil war will continue in this generation and in the next."

"Fortunately, His Highness and the Regent ultimately reached a consensus. Although the replacement of members in the Court is slow, it is still a process of changing people one by one... So let's fight until one side is completely eliminated, leaving only the opinion of the other side, which is the opinion of 'Sarkaz'..."

"... Now that His Highness has failed, Teacher, you can simply surrender... You only need to state your position, and His Majesty won't..."

Seeing the old man shake his head, Manfred's words caught in his throat. He then realized what he was saying... he was talking about something that offered absolutely no guarantee.

The Sarkaz Civil War was not a violent conflict over a struggle for power; it was a war between two completely different Sarkaz futures based on ideologies, diplomatic strategies, and even internal development.

This means that even if the Sarkaz people knew of another option, they could only follow the path of the victors... It didn't matter if there was no news about the 'Bloodfiend' in public; the absence of the 'White Emperor' was the most important thing for the victors.

"Don't make that face. I've said it before, Your Highness and the Regent have an understanding... Although their paths and methods differ, their goals are the same... So, it doesn't matter who wins or loses... If Your Highness wins, there will probably be a process where your fellow brat from the same period hunts you down... Hmm, Black Emperor White Emperor doesn't matter. In the end, only one of these two voices can be heard, and that's what's most important to Sarkaz."

As he spoke, the old man stretched his body, as if he were waking up for the last time on this last morning. Then, he gestured and straightened his clothes. Very good, the new clothes were still crisp and elegant.

"This is the last lesson, Manfred... His Highness the Regent has also served as a guest teacher. I've attended his classes. Although many of them are based on pragmatism, theoretically he and his sisters are actually on the same level, so if there's anything you don't understand, he can teach you well... Don't be bound by methods and forms in the future. Since you have a greater goal, then go for it steadfastly."

Seeing the young officer behind him still looking complicated, the old man smiled and said:

"Furthermore, I must remind you that Rhodes Island, as a company founded by Kal'tsit, has no ordinary people working for it... You must kill me and take my head back to settle the feud between the two factions. Those old guys might be able to handle me, but they probably wouldn't be so shameless as to deal with a young person like Eileen... Do you remember? That time you came back from the army and Eileen mistook you for her new teacher, grabbing your belt and asking you all sorts of questions~ I remember your face was very embarrassed at the time... Was it because you rarely had a young girl get so close to you? Ah... What a pity, I originally thought you two could be a couple..."

"Please stop talking..."

Manfred closed his eyes in anguish. He did remember the girl, and with the old man's reminder, a memory flashed through his mind of the young officer and the female student walking side by side on campus. The next time was when the Committee's army attacked the Babel, and the girl saw himself with a bewildered and sorrowful expression.

Please stop talking.

Raising the ritual implement in his hand, Manfred thought he was already used to executing one familiar face after another, but when it came to his teacher, who was like a father to him, he hesitated.

This hesitation gave the girl hiding nearby an opportunity.

The sudden sound of a sharp blade cutting through the air struck the shield constructed from the magical artifact. As Manfred instinctively retreated, a smoke bomb was thrown from the darkness, but it was immediately detonated by a spell activated by Manfred.

A maid-dressed girl, wielding a Rhodes Island standard-issue sword, struggled against the blizzard-swept winds. Then, with tears streaming down her face, Eileen pulled four hastily sharpened dinner knives from her handbag and stood between Manfred and old Ah Fu.

"I will never let you hurt the teacher... you... traitor!"

PS: No more IV drips needed, and the air conditioner has been reinstalled!

Typing!!

PS2: Meow Meow Cat

4th Crimson Warm Winter: 149 What are you fighting against? And what is your enemy?

Manfred was already used to the names he used to call Eileen... traitor, lackey, executioner...

'Whatever contempt the Court used to address them, they responded with equal hatred,' as Regent Theresis privately told Manfred. He had long been accustomed to the various ways friends turned enemies. Classmates, comrades, compatriots, and fellow countrymen who were quite close just over a decade ago... after a civil war, they were each serving their own masters.

He understands, he respects.

Just as his teacher now takes a detached view of the Sarkaz Civil War and his own death, Manfred believes he is ready to move on.

But... is that really the case?

Seeing the smiling girl from his memories now staring at him with hatred, Manfred narrowed his eyes slightly.

He even began to suspect that his teacher's intention in mentioning Eileen was to undermine him.

Just as he was thinking this, the old man, who had been silent until now, suddenly stood up and chopped at Eileen's neck with a hand chop, but Eileen blocked it steadily with the back of her sword... Although she was just a servant, Eileen was still someone who could become a maid in the reception room and had received a complete course in Sarkaz guards.

Having overheard her teacher's foolish plan, how could she not be on guard?

"Teacher, you only thought about how your own life could end the aftermath of the civil war! Have you ever considered the impact your departure would have on us?! As His Majesty's... Speaker's advisor, if even you no longer insist on resisting, how can others believe in and uphold the future His Highness has envisioned?!"

"... You are all very strong children, but that's precisely why... Once Sarkaz becomes someone who insists on doing something, it becomes extremely dangerous... Your insistence is what worries me most... Go and find a new life. Lord Kal'tsit is His Highness's good friend, and Medic is also a very reliable person. You can... rely on them even more."

She changed her moves several times, but each time she blocked them steadily. Eileen didn't even let the blade cut the old man's hand. As a disciple, Eileen was indeed excellent in inheriting her martial arts skills. While resisting Alfred, she even threw a kitchen knife with her other hand to collide with the magic bullets coming from the air and detonate them.

However, Eileen was, after all, just a person, and a girl whose physical strength and explosiveness were far inferior to those of men... Under the attack from both sides, although she had specifically trained her endurance, she was quickly defeated and had to retreat.