Chapter 222: Old Saman's Funeral

Chapter 222: Old Saman's Funeral

This was a proclamation of divine decree destined to be written into the annals of history.

First, a temporary announcement was made with the latest news from the front lines, informing all the forces in the world watching this war:

Samsara had already been beaten to the ground by Order.

After the temporary announcement concluded, following the established release procedure, the divine decree of war, which was originally supposed to be released at noon sharp today, was read out conscientiously and meticulously.

This was a procedural error; logically speaking, since the Church of Samsara had already surrendered, the subsequent divine decree of war no longer needed to be proclaimed, for the war was already over.

Under the premise that the war had already ended, reading the divine decree of war was completely unnecessary, a redundant gesture entirely.

Yet it was precisely such a procedural error that vividly demonstrated the immense might of the Church of Order to the world.

Though no head-on conflicts had erupted among the orthodox churches for a thousand years since the demise of Light, the barbs upon the Whip of Order had not yet rusted.

It remained the most powerful church in this world—not one of them, but the only one.

To those who thought the Church of Order was failing, those who thought the Church of Order was weakening, those who thought the God of Order had forsaken the Church of Order...

Please open your eyes wide and take a good look at who exactly is the one holding the whip in this world of churches.

A millennium of time seemed to have caused many to forget certain things, leading them to take for granted how the "Regulations of Order"—a law that could constrain all churches in the world—had actually come into being.

In the Emperor's New Clothes, the only one who mocked the emperor for wearing no clothes was an ignorant child.

No one would mock this kind of error at the press conference, nor would anyone find it amusing; as a dignified orthodox church, Samsara had actually failed to last until the formal declaration of war at noon the next day under the assault of Order.

Having finished reading the divine decree, High Priest Norton stood there, his voice streaming through the loudspeakers.

Before ending the press conference, before both his voice and projection faded away, he let out a laugh:

"Heh."

This laugh represented Order, sending out ridicule and disdain to the world.

Even Karen, who had always maintained the perspective of a "bystander," could not help but feel his heart surge upon hearing this laugh.

No one would reject a powerful collective; everyone would feel proud to belong to a powerful collective, let alone when this collective was writing its dominance with its very character!

Karen recalled a passage Dis had once spoken to him:

"Under the radiance of Order, all are treated equally. This means that no matter who it is, no one possesses the qualification to make my Church of Order look upon them differently."

From beginning to end, Grandfather had resisted the God of Order, but Grandfather had never resisted the Church of Order.

In that battle at the Mink Street Church, Grandfather had merely blown up the Temple of Order but had not killed a single divine official of Order; even Elder Cyndi had only been hung upon the cross by Grandfather to catch the wind for a while.

Although the Church of Order possessed all kinds of problems, it could never be denied that in this era, the Church of Order had constrained the forces of the churches and brought about a situation that allowed for development in this world.

After High Priest Norton's figure faded away,

Within the conference hall, all the divine officials of Order placed both hands over their chests, bowing their heads and crying out with sincere voices:

"Praise Order!"

"Praise Order!"

Standing upon the stage, the Son of God of the Pamires Religion also altered his ritualistic gesture, placing both hands over his chest.

Seeing this, the Pamires divine officials below looked at one another, likewise altered their gestures, and called out along with them:

"Praise Order!"

In any case, these people could be said to have experienced too many bumps and tossings during these days; now, since they had resolved to cling to a powerful thigh, and had clung to it long ago, their hearts felt much more settled indeed.

Now, they only hoped that in the true negotiations, Order could grant greater magnanimity in consideration of the Pamires Religion's assistance.

The reality was indeed so.

The ensuing negotiations proceeded exceedingly smoothly—so smoothly that both sides merely held the clauses in their respective hands and read them through line by line; Karen even felt that the treaties held by both parties were identical, word for word.

Order displayed its broad mind to the Pamires Religion.

The treaty could broadly be divided into three major points;

The first point: The mythological narratives of the Church of Order and the Pamires Religion would merge; however, after the merger, the Pamires God would not be a subordinate to the God of Order, but rather a friend of the God of Order, following the God of Order.

This treatment was far, far better than the earliest version of a "branch god"; at the very least, upon a divine status of equivalent persona, the Pamires God stood equal to the God of Order.

Sitting below and listening to the progress of the negotiations, Karen once again deeply experienced the true meaning of the phrase "history is a little girl waiting to be dressed up by others."

The so-called mythological narrative structure was equivalent to a falsification of history.

In the previous era, two gods who originally had little interaction might, in the mythological narratives of their respective churches in the next era, become intimate friends who shared everything.

Yet this feeling did not strike one as absurd because, under the belief system of the churches, the god each believed in was supreme to them; thus, if the relationship between the gods was not handled well, there would be no way to manipulate the relationship between the people.

For instance, if some evil god suddenly rose and eventually grew strong again amidst the encirclement and suppression of all parties, then the church that had once condemned him as an evil god would likely have to revise its own mythological narrative, changing the evil god condemned by their own god into a scenario where the two sides had merely had a bit of a dispute and played a joke.

In short, if one wished to get things done, one must first resolve the ideological issues; if this remained unresolved, it would only leave chaos for later, and trouble would arise again sooner or later.

The second major point of the treaty: The Church of Order respected all autonomy of the Pamires Religion, including diplomacy, economy, missionary work, and other aspects; not only that, but the Church of Order would also strengthen its cooperation with the Pamires Religion in these areas.

If the first major point gave face, then the second major point gave substance.

Karen knew clearly that the spatial gemstone vouchers he had purchased at a low price yesterday would welcome a violent surge immediately after this meeting ended, perhaps rising back to their original market value; this turnaround of his should earn him several tens of thousands of Order vouchers.

However, his own actions were merely small-time play; the Captain's was the truly grand gesture. Starting this morning, Samsara vouchers would certainly plummet due to the war, and after the surrender, they would surely continue to decline for a period depending on the surrender negotiations.

He wondered just how many points the Captain's total savings in his second card actually amounted to.

The third major point: The Church of Order formed an alliance with the Pamires Religion; between the two sides, regardless of who was declared war upon or against whom war was declared, their paces would be aligned.

This could be considered the Church of Order taking the Pamires Religion under the protection of its wings; for a medium-sized church, this kind of treatment was something they would literally wake up laughing from their dreams for.

Amidst the warm atmosphere where members of both negotiating teams stood up and applauded, the negotiations concluded smoothly.

The three of them escorted Delius back to his room, and after arranging lunch, Karen returned to his own room as well; the moment he entered, he saw Peige and Fanni packing clothes.

"What's wrong?" Karen asked, "Are we checking out?"

Fanni smiled and said, "We are vacating the room for the next team."

"What do you mean?" Karen asked in confusion.

"It means that our security mission for this negotiation is already complete, while that Son of God requested to delay his return journey; it looks like he needs to attend a few more activities and sign some treaties regarding detailed aspects.

Therefore, the fattest and most delicious mission has already been settled by us, and we are just waiting for the Church to issue our rewards for completing the mission.

Next up is the protection of ordinary dignitaries; the mission rank will drop significantly, the rewards will drop drastically as well, and there will still be quite a lot of matters. After all, the Son of God can leave the hotel to visit and interview all over the place, which is too tossing and too exhausting, so the Captain rejected this subsequent mission and handed it over to Gendi's team."

The meat had already been eaten, so the remaining bones were left for others to gnaw on; Karen knew that this team of Gendi's had almost become the secondary team of their own Hound team.

"Then we can disband now?" Karen asked.

"Yeah, disbanded, but according to tradition, there must be a team meal; we'll gather outside the hotel and have a good meal."

According to the team tradition, after every mission ended, everyone would have a meal together.

"I'll go bid farewell to the Son of God."

"Go on, go on," Fanni waved her hand, "Shall Peige and I carry your suitcase and sword box down for you first?"

"Alright."

"This sword box of yours is so large; it's a wonder you don't find it troublesome to carry it back and forth every time."

"Isn't your rifle quite long as well?"

"My rifle can be disassembled. Can your sword be taken apart?"

"It won't be such a hassle in the future."

The earnings this time were substantial, enough to consider indulging in the luxury of summoning the Sword of Arius with three thousand Order Vouchers.

Karen walked to Delius's door and knocked before entering, finding Delius sitting there enjoying a rather late lunch.

"Your Highness, our security mission has concluded. Another squad will take over your protection from here on; I came to bid you farewell."

"Ah, very well. Thank you all for your hard work during this time," Delius said with a gentle smile to Karen.

"The hard work was yours, Your Highness. I wish you a smooth and pleasant remainder of your stay in York City."

"I wish you a pleasant life as well. Oh, by the way, is there a place you might know of?"

"Where might that be, Your Highness?"

"The Ivy Cemetery."

"I am afraid I do not know it. I suppose you could have the oncoming squad look into it for you; wherever you wish to go, they will plan and arrange everything for you in advance."

"Very well, thank you."

"You are most welcome."

Karen stepped out of the room. The door opposite was wide open, and Fanny and Paige had already gone downstairs with their luggage.

Arriving at the elevator, the doors slid open to reveal Richard standing inside, twisting his body toward Karen in a spontaneous tango.

"The mission is over, the very first mission of my life is over. What pure bliss."

"Next up is the celebratory dinner," Karen remarked.

"Yes, I've already been notified. Fanny mentioned that, according to tradition, the newcomer is supposed to treat. I plan to take everyone to the hotel restaurant for a splendid feast."

Every expense and consumption within the Ankara Hotel was paid for in points vouchers.

Karen couldn't help but feel that his foolish cousin had been hoodwinked by Fanny and the others; he himself had never heard of any tradition where the newcomer foots the bill—wasn't it always the captain's treat?

Then again, when the captain treated, it was usually nothing more than a simple barbecue or a roadside stall...

Yet, seeing Richard so utterly thrilled and excited, Karen chose not to reveal the truth to him. Perhaps the boy knew he was being fleeced as a scapegoat but was willing to use this method to grow closer to everyone anyway; after all, he was hardly lacking in points vouchers.

Stepping out of the elevator, Richard led Karen toward the restaurant situated diagonally in front of the hotel building, entering a private dining room under the guidance of a waiter.

Aside from the captain, the entire gang was present.

The two adjacent seats at the far end were empty; Richard gave Karen a gentle shove to guide him inside, while he himself took the seat near the door where the dishes would be served, asking everyone enthusiastically:

"Have you all finished ordering?"

"We've ordered. Just don't get upset in a moment."

"Not at all, treating my teammates is exactly as it should be."

"Where is the captain?" Richard inquired.

"The captain went to report on the mission. He told us to start eating first, and he'll be along shortly."

Just then, the first dish arrived—a massive platter of roasted firebird meat.

This firebird... was a creature that genuinely burst into flames while alive; now that it was prepared as a dish, it naturally failed to spark.

The platter was enormous, and as Karen helped arrange it, some juices splattered onto the back of his hand and his cuff. Karen stood up and said, "I'll use the restroom."

Leaving the private room, Karen entered the restroom, and once finished washing, he skipped the paper towels, walking back toward the dining room while shaking the water from his hands.

As fate would have it, he encountered a group of young people along the way, with the leading pair surrounded by the others, none other than Leon and Laurel.

Karen offered them a polite smile; Leon nodded back to him, while Laurel simply ignored Karen entirely.

As expected, the bond between cellmates only lasted until they stepped outside the prison walls.

It was much like a bathhouse; when both parties were stripped entirely bare and facing one another in complete honesty, they seemed equal, but once they put their clothes back on, the sense of boundaries reasserted itself instantly.

"What is it, feeling disappointed?" The captain's voice materialized beside Karen.

"There is nothing to feel disappointed about. We were always from two different worlds to begin with."

"Yes, indeed, two entirely different worlds."

Karen and Neo returned to the private room, where the table was already laden with delicacies, and everyone was eagerly feasting.

By the time the dinner concluded, it was nearly five in the afternoon, and the other team members dispersed one after another. Before leaving, Richard made a point of walking over to Karen:

"Karen, this Saturday, come over to my house for dinner. My grandmother is cooking personally."

Which meant three days from now.

"Alright, I understand."

Generally, when lunch or dinner wasn't specified, dinner was the default assumption.

"No need to bring any gifts, our family doesn't care for that sort of etiquette. You can already tell just by looking at my father."

"Yes, I know."

"Sigh, my mother wants me to find a psychotherapist for my father."

"I happen to know an exceptional psychotherapist."

"Really?"

"Yes, the captain went to him for psychological counseling before, and his evaluation was that he finally believed not all psychotherapists are charlatans."

"Who is it? Where can I find him?"

"Let me arrange it for you. I will bring him along to pay a visit to your home."

"Excellent, excellent, that couldn't be better. As for the compensation, you can arrange it as you see fit, money is no issue for our family."

"I understand."

"Thank you, Karen. I've realized that ever since I first met you, I've been on a continuous streak of good luck."

"Don't mention it, it's only right."

After all, they were relatives.

"Shall I head back first then?"

"Yes, goodbye."

The captain was the last to leave. He spotted a secondhand black Ponce sedan parked not far away, with Karen's manservant sitting inside.

"I'm heading to the black market bank to handle some business. Give me your card, and I'll cash it out for you while I'm at it."

"Captain, are you pulling out so soon?"

"One mustn't be too greedy, otherwise you end up with nothing at all. You can never predict just how hideous the eating habits of those people up top can get. At any rate, what we made this time is enough to last us a good while."

Karen handed the anonymous card issued by the black market bank to Neo. After Neo drove away, Alfred brought the car over and placed Karen's luggage and sword box inside.

"Master, are we heading home?"

"No, to the Ivy Cemetery. Drive slowly, I want to doze a bit longer."

"Very well, young master."

Alfred switched on the radio, letting a country ballad drift through the air.

...

By the time they reached the Ivy Cemetery, the sky had already deepened into dusk.

Old Samaan was just about to lock the gates, but seeing the familiar car arrive, he pushed them open once more.

Karen stepped out of the vehicle and stretched. He had slept for a brief spell during the drive, and the sleep he had lost was now mostly retrieved through today's intermittent rest.

"Is the mission over?" Old Samaan inquired.

"Yes, it is finished." Karen looked at the old man and smiled. "The Pamires Cult and the Church of Order have signed a treaty. There will be no annexation. The Pamires Cult remains the Pamires Cult."

"Heh." A smile creased Old Samaan's face. "So, in other words, my funeral is canceled?"

"Indeed. What a pity, you no longer have a reason to hold a funeral."

"He..." Old Samaan gestured toward Alfred. "...came by at noon and told me a few things. This time, it was a collaboration between the two churches, wasn't it?"

"Yes. It was Samsara that met with misfortune."

"Not necessarily misfortune. Some grievances will not dissipate even after a millennium, let alone an era. It is simply that what must come will eventually come. What puzzles me this time, however, is why the Church of Order has shown such benevolence to the Pamires Cult."

"Having just brought Samsara to its knees, they must choose another target to display their kindness. They cannot afford to drive every other church into opposition, as the Church of Light did in its day."

"That makes sense." Old Samaan scratched his head. "But the problem is, since the funeral cannot be held, what about my refrigerator..."

"Don't you have a new refrigerator now?"

"But I am a sentimental man. Using new things just doesn't suit my disposition."

"The Viennese do not have a custom of reclaiming gifts once given."

"That was my funeral expense. Since the funeral is canceled, it must be refunded to me."

"Oh, then there is no issue, because I never intended to charge you a funeral fee in the first place, so there is nothing to refund."

Old Samaan looked at Karen, amused to the point of exasperation, and remarked, "You rascal."

"Very well, let us see what ingredients are left in your refrigerator. I shall prepare one final meal for you tonight.

The next time you crave a taste, come to the funeral parlor and dine with us."

"Alright, I shall go take a look. Oh, by the way, I seem to have forgotten to give you the instruction manual for that old refrigerator."

"It is merely an old refrigerator. You speak as if someone wouldn't know how to operate it."

Upon hearing this, Old Samaan looked at Karen and nodded with profound meaning, while Karen returned the smile.

Just as they were about to enter the house to cook, a car pulled up outside, and a succession of silhouettes swiftly darted into the cemetery grounds.

Alfred immediately stepped in front of Karen, lowering his voice:

"Young master, four remain in the car, four are on the perimeter, and six have already entered."

Karen placed a hand on Alfred’s shoulder, signaling him to step down, for he had already discerned the identity of the newcomers.

The first to alight from the vehicle was Gendi, followed by the Divine Son of the Pamires Cult, Delius.

Delius walked to the foot of the steps, looked up at Old Samaan standing above, and offered a greeting according to the etiquette of the Pamires Cult:

"I have long heard tales concerning Mr. Samaan within the Cult, and now, at last, I behold you in person.

Permit me to offer you my deepest reverence. Praise be to Pamires."

"You..." Old Samaan stared with a look of utter perplexity at the man paying him homage.

"I am the contemporary Divine Son of the Pamires Cult, Delius. I have come this time in the hope of inviting Mr. Samaan back to the Cult to preside over the development of our new sacred artifact."

Old Samaan descended the steps, pace by deliberate pace.

Gendi stepped forward, intending to intervene, but Delius gently brushed him aside with a serene smile.

Old Samaan stood before Delius, measuring him up and down with his gaze. Finally, he laughed:

"You are the contemporary Divine Son of my Pamires Cult?"

"Yes," Gendi interjected, "he is your Lord Divine Son."

"I am," Delius replied.

Old Samaan tilted his face and asked, "Then do you know that you bear a striking resemblance to someone?"

A look of sudden shock swept across Delius’s countenance.

Old Samaan’s face wore a half-smiling, half-mocking expression. "It seems I have not mistaken you. Are you that person's son?"

"I..." Delius turned to look at Karen in sheer consternation.

Karen shook his head, signaling that he had not been the one to disclose this secret.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

Old Samaan burst into a fit of laughter, tears streaming from his eyes.

"The son of that man has actually become the Divine Son of my Pamires Cult."

"Mr. Samaan, perhaps there is some misunderstanding..."

Old Samaan’s gaze flared with ferocious intensity, and he spat directly onto Delius’s face.

"Ptooh!"

Gendi surged forward instantly, but in the next heartbeat, a blue barrier manifested before Old Samaan, and Captain Gendi was sent flying backward by the recoil.

Old Samaan clutched his head,

and murmured in utter disbelief:

"I thought I was on the verge of death, but in truth, I should have been dead long ago."