Chapter 261: Laughing Out Loud!

Chapter 261: A Great Laugh!

“How could I possibly do such a thing? I merely went to gather intelligence ahead of time, simply to ensure we are aware of the conspiracies being hatched by those fellows lurking in the shadows, nothing more.”

Karen frowned, looking at the captain.

“What, you don’t believe me? Hey, you are doubting my loyalty to Order.”

“Captain, I have never doubted your loyalty to Order.”

“Then that is as it should be.”

“But I have ample past experience to suspect that you will, within the bounds of not violating your loyalty to Order, fish for as much merit and Order coupons as possible, and additionally... have as much fun for yourself as you can.”

“Faith is faith, work is work, and life is life.”

“But...”

“No more 'buts.' You have always drawn the line more clearly than I have, yet you have the nerve to lecture me.”

“Captain, that is slander.”

“Oh, the dappled dark moon, the silhouette of the dark moon, the outline of the dark moon—how did those few lines of poetry go again? I forgot.”

“That was an accident.”

“Yes, an accident, of course, an accident. Managing to charm the heart of a princess during a security mission—you are far more capable than I am, for you live a life adorned by faith through your work.”

“Captain, I only ask one thing: if there is anything happening on your end, I do not wish to be kept in the dark.”

“Of course, of course. After all, we know each other's secrets.”

The captain walked to the doorway, pushed the door open, and shouted toward the courtyard: “Assemble!”

All the team members walked out of their rooms and began to form a line. After Karen changed his clothes and put on his mask, he also walked out and joined the queue.

“Where were you all day yesterday?” Richard asked in a low voice.

“Just a few things to attend to.”

“Did you sleep at Her Highness Ophelia's place?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Then conjure up a relative for me on Dark Moon Island, and I'll believe you.”

“I actually do have a relative on the island now.”

“See, you're starting to talk nonsense.”

“Fine, I slept at another theater last night.”

“Oh, as expected! Where is it located?”

“Right next to the Mermaid Theater, you'll find it if you look. You can take the newcomer, Memphis, to try it out tomorrow.”

“He’s a bit shy, seems unwilling.”

“Then you need all the more to move him with affection. You know how it is—once that door is successfully opened, places like that are either visited zero times or countless times. The introverted newcomer Memphis will surely be grateful to you in the future.”

“You are completely right, Karen, I will. This is my mission!”

“Yes, keep it up.”

Chief Bishop Warfolon stepped into the carriage, and his grandson Leon, along with the secretary Laure, followed him inside.

The carriage drove out of the courtyard, and the captain led all the team members to form two rows, following behind the carriage.

This was supposed to be the main task for everyone here: acting as a guard of honor to hold up the prestige of the York City region.

Once inside the conference hall, only two people would be allowed to follow and accompany them, while the rest could move about freely.

The contingent departed from their residential courtyard, and soon encountered other groups along the road. Within the Church of Order, everyone was quite amiable with one another, so no friction arose from vying for precedence.

After all, Order was the victorious side, and against such a jubilant backdrop, everyone was bound to be in a very good mood.

However, the atmosphere underwent a shift upon reaching the plaza in front of the conference hall.

Because the people of the Church of Samsara had also appeared on the opposite side, and every single one of them appeared incomparably solemn and rigorous.

At this moment, Neo gave the command: “Relax.”

Everyone in Neo’s squad deliberately became careless and loose. They broke their formation, some massaging their legs, others rubbing their necks.

Seeing this, the captains of the other Whip of Order squads nearby promptly issued similar commands.

Before long, all the clergymen clad in the sacred robes of Order began to act very casual, free, and indolent, chatting randomly among themselves and laughing merrily, forming an extremely stark contrast with the Church of Samsara opposite them.

Bishop Warfolon stepped out of the carriage, and seeing this scene, a smile could not help but touch the corners of his mouth.

The victors rightfully possessed composure; this was the best mockery against the losers.

The bishops and relevant representatives emerged from their carriages one after another, beginning to form lines with their respective secretaries. Behind each bishop stood two members of the Whip of Order squads to help carry the items to be brought into the venue.

In truth, there wasn't much—mostly just a clean spare sacred robe and a few documents.

For instance, Karen held a file in his hands. This document was very thin, easily pinched between two fingers, but for the sake of solemnity, he held it with both hands, while Mr. Memphis carried a clean sacred robe.

The time arrived, and the negotiating representatives from both sides entered the conference hall through their respective entrances.

The interior space of the conference hall was immense. The few times Karen had entered conference halls to observe missions in the past were at the Ankara Hotel, which leaned toward a modern style and was designed from a practical standpoint. The conference hall inside the Bernard Hotel on Dark Moon Island, however, went purely for a grand and magnificent aesthetic.

Of course, the negotiations between the two orthodox churches regarding the outcome of their war certainly merited such a luxurious conference hall.

The interior was structured like a theater, with the seats for the negotiating representatives of both sides situated at the center, while the observer stands rose from low to high all around.

As the secretary, Laure took the documents from Karen and followed Bishop Warfolon toward the central area. Bishop Warfolon sat behind the negotiating table, while Laure, like the other secretaries, could only stand behind his respective bishop, responsible for offering advice and taking notes at a moment's notice.

Karen, Memphis, and Leon sat down in the observer section below belonging to the Church of Order. As Bishop Warfolon's biological grandson, Leon possessed the extra qualification to come in and observe, but wanting to go to the front was out of the question; he lacked the status.

For at this moment, even Bishop Warfolon was merely an ordinary member within the negotiating delegation.

The head of the Church of Order's negotiating delegation this time was not the new Grand Priest, Norton, who had replaced Rasma, but rather one of the three Cardinal Bishops beneath Norton, Clered.

Originally, during Rasma's era, there were no positions for Cardinal Bishops beneath him. However, with Rasma's stepping down and Norton's ascension, the upper echelons underwent changes and reforms, re-establishing the positions of three Cardinal Bishops, each responsible for three aspects of church affairs: War, Development, and Oversight.

Clered was in charge of "War" affairs, so it was only natural for him to serve as the head of the delegation this time.

However, considering that the head of the Church of Samsara's delegation was the contemporary Gatekeeper of the Church of Samsara, Romir Simonsen, while the Church of Order had only dispatched one of its Cardinal Bishops, this arrangement inherently carried the arrogance of a victor.

Due to the defeat in the war, the previous Gatekeeper of the Church of Samsara had stepped down to take the blame, and the newly appointed Romir was a lady nearly sixty years old.

Her surname was a notable point, for the Simonsen family in the Church of Samsara was just like the Philias family in the Church of Light—because they had produced multiple "Gatekeepers" and "Popes," they were known as the "Imperial Family" within their respective churches.

After the catastrophic defeat in the war, the Church of Samsara immediately elected a member of the Simonsen family to take office as Gatekeeper once more, likely out of consideration for quickly rallying the people's hearts and stabilizing the internal situation.

Sitting in the observer stands, Karen looked at that dignified old lady, wondering in his heart whether Talina—who had died by his hands that night and whose corpse had been incinerated without a trace by the captain—had any familial relationship with this old lady.

A waiter arranged by Dark Moon Island walked over and asked politely what they required.

Leon replied: “Black tea.”

Karen replied: “Ice water.”

Memphis replied: “Ice water.”

Before long, the drinks were served, accompanied by a small side table laden with exquisite pastries.

The three of them sat together, and since the space between the front and back rows of the observer stands was very large, sitting here eating and drinking was even more comfortable than watching a movie in a cinema.

Naturally, such a grand spectacle would never be screened in a common theater.

"This is the most comfortable meeting I have ever eavesdropped on," Leon remarked, breaking the silence.

As the grandson of Wofuren, he had been dragged along to various conferences since coming of age at sixteen; during the previous gathering with the Pamireth Cult, he had already known to prepare food in advance, a clear sign that he had been thoroughly battered by years of tedious assemblies.

Karen nodded in agreement, concurring with Leon’s sentiment.

If all future meetings of the Church of Order could be arranged here, it would truly be the most delightful thing imaginable, yet it was an obvious impossibility; only a summit of this magnitude would ever be hosted in such a place, for the mere cost of teleportation represented a staggering fortune.

Memphis sat nearby, quietly sipping his ice water, remaining completely silent.

Just then, Karen noticed a middle-aged man stepping onto the rostrum; he was the moderator of this conference, Vina, the Patriarch of the Dark Moon Clan.

Standing beside Vina were his three sons and one daughter.

Ophelia had already exchanged her armor for the traditional formal attire of Dark Moon Island, appearing exceedingly regal; moreover, she stood alone in the first row behind her father, while her three older brothers were positioned entirely behind her, a clear manifestation of the hierarchy of status.

She was already an exceptionally brilliant and outstanding candidate for succession, and with her uncle, who commanded Dark Moon Island’s most formidable military force, giving her his full support, she would undoubtedly become the next Matriarch, barring any unforeseen accidents.

Watching Ophelia standing there under the gaze of thousands, Karen subconsciously took another sip of ice water, as the wound on his chest, which had not yet fully healed, throbbed with a faint ache.

The opening remarks were concise; Patriarch Vina first declared the neutral stance of Dark Moon Island—though, in truth, everyone present knew exactly which side Dark Moon Island leaned toward.

Subsequently, Patriarch Vina expressed his hopes for "peace," which was another platitude, because although the Church of Samsara had theoretically surrendered, Karen knew that the Knights of Order had not yet withdrawn from the occupied sacred lands, and intense, small-scale skirmishes were still occurring between the two sides at the front.

Finally, Patriarch Vina expressed his hope that this conference would yield results satisfying to both parties.

With his three pieces of nonsense concluded, Patriarch Vina stepped down from the rostrum.

Cardinal Crede took the lead in applauding, and Romire, the Gatekeeper from the opposing side, followed suit; with the two grand figures from both sides leading, everyone in the hall joined in the applause.

This was considered a gesture of respect toward the Dark Moon Island authorities who had arranged and managed this conference.

Next, each delegation sent forward a representative to deliver an address.

First, the Church of Samsara sent forward a senior male priest, who walked up to the speaker’s podium and stood straight; with his handsome features, he indeed possessed a mature, restrained, and sophisticated temperament.

"Is this a beauty pageant?" Leon teased.

"His surname is Simonsen," Karen said.

Leon nodded and smiled, "Heh, another royal."

As he spoke, Leon stuffed a pastry into his mouth and continued, "The Church of Samsara has been suppressing the status of traditional families represented by the Simonsen family for the past few decades, pushing them out of their positions under the slogan of making the Church of Samsara purer—not a Samsara of one clan or a few families, but a Samsara of all believers.

It seems that following this defeat, the previous policy has been overturned, or perhaps the internal family factions that were suppressed for decades have staged a comeback, reclaiming the reins of power in the Church of Samsara.

A Simonsen has become the Gatekeeper again, and the spokesperson is also named Simonsen; I suspect there are quite a few others from the Simonsen family and other old families in their delegation."

Karen looked at Leon.

"Why are you looking at me?" Leon asked.

"I am hesitating on how exactly I should respond to that statement."

"Our Del family doesn't count as an old family; I don't have a great-great-grandfather in the Temple of Order."

"Then what is your view?" Karen asked.

"It has its pros and cons; the development of family factions within a church naturally possesses inherent advantages, but based on this, the advancement channels for non-family factions must be guaranteed, a point where our Church has done quite well. Neither the former High Priest Lasma nor the current High Priest Norton came from family factions.

In truth, either way matters little; it is a system like the Church of Samsara, which undergoes a reshuffling at every turn, that causes the greatest disruption to a faction's stability."

By this time, the representative from the Church of Samsara had finished speaking; he had said a great deal, yet it felt as though he had said nothing at all.

On the side of the Church of Order, a bishop sitting closest to the podium rose and walked up; he offered no self-introduction, nor did he launch into a lengthy discourse, but instead casually reached out and lightly tapped the array-powered microphone on the podium, saying:

"Let the meeting begin."

With that, he stepped down and took his seat.

A man stood up from the Church of Samsara delegation and spoke, "Before the formal meeting commences, I wish to admit some new observers, representatives from the major churches within the ecclesiastical circle; I believe they are qualified to witness this conference."

To this request, the Church of Order delegation showed not the slightest hint of surprise.

After all, Dark Moon Island belonged to Order's sphere of influence; how could the Church of Order not know which factions had landed on the island and checked into the hotels.

Immediately, a bishop from the Church of Order rose and said, "Our side agrees."

A side door of the conference hall opened, and a group of priests dressed in the divine robes of various churches filed in, virtually all of them of bishop rank.

Representatives from the Orthodox Churches such as the Church of Night, the Church of the Abyss, the Church of Principle, the Church of the Thunder God, the Church of the Goddess of Wind, and the Church of the Moon God, along with those from other major churches, entered the venue one after another.

Their seats had long been arranged, situated closest to the center of the negotiation zone.

Clearly, the Church of Samsara hoped to use this method to add some leverage to their negotiations; after all, under pressure from the entire ecclesiastical circle, the Church of Order would likely refrain from being too voracious in its demands.

Karen noticed that the female representative from the Church of the Moon God amiably pulled Ophelia over to her seat to converse; the two might have known each other previously.

However, Karen knew that their closeness was merely superficial, and the true situation was certainly not like this.

With the continuous growth and strengthening of Dark Moon Island, the intention of the Church of the Moon God, as an Orthodox Church, to annex Dark Moon Island had long been perfectly clear; they hoped to reach this consensus through negotiations, altering the contents of their own *Whispers of the Moon* mythological narrative to link the Dark Moon with the Goddess of the Moon, thereby creating a legal alignment between both sides.

For instance, stating that what the Goddess of the Moon cherished most was the Dark Moon Crown.

Once such words were written into the mythological narrative system, it would be equivalent to the Dark Moon becoming a branch deity under the system of the Moon God Church.

But evidently, Dark Moon Island had not accepted this proposal; otherwise, there would be no cooperation between Dark Moon Island and the Church of Order.

When facing the threat of annexation by an Orthodox Church, the only way to break the deadlock was to find an even more powerful Orthodox Church to serve as a backer.

With the protection of Order, the Church of the Moon God clearly dared not proceed with its annexation plans.

Yet this did not hinder their apparent closeness on the surface; after all, the entities they believed in were very similar.

The representative from the Church of Principle took the initiative to greet the bishops at the negotiation table of the Church of Order, and several bishops from Order even left their seats voluntarily to welcome their arrival.

Indeed, the relationship between the Church of Principle and the Church of Order had always been quite good; in fact, during this era, the Church of Principle, which had never been adept at combat, was able to continue growing and thriving largely by riding the coattails of the Church of Order, and the exchange between the two churches had always been very close.

Take Grandfather Diss and his good friend Mr. Hoffen, for example; the two were close enough to jointly perform a transcendent deity descent ritual, and after their deaths, they could be reawakened to help seal an evil god.

According to tradition, every prominent priest of Order would have a close friend from the Church of Principle; it was almost a fixed pairing.

Moreover, the two churches regularly held social gatherings—not the kind for matchmaking, but for forming partnerships.

One needed to find a scholar, and the other needed to find an enforcer; each obtained what they required, making them an impeccable match.

There were those showing closeness to Dark Moon Island, and those showing closeness to the Church of Order, but not a single representative took the initiative to show closeness to the Church of Samsara, which did not mean the Church of Samsara had a poor reputation in the ecclesiastical circle.

Rather, it was because each envoy represented their own church to observe the meeting, and any superfluous movement could easily be perceived as their church taking a stand; even if they were to take a stand, they would not choose to step to the side of the defeated party at this moment, which would amount to openly defying the Church of Order.

Sitting to the side and exerting some collective pressure on Order was fine, but no one wanted to be the bird that sticks its head out.

Once everyone was seated, the meeting finally commenced.

The first to speak was the side of the Church of Samsara; the handsome priest who had previously delivered the opening remarks stood up and spoke:

"Our Church of Samsara submitted a ceasefire document to your side twelve days ago, which is the sincerity of our Church of Samsara toward peace; yet now, your side's Knights are still stationed in several of our sacred lands.

To express sincerity for peace and respect for these negotiations, I propose that your side first unconditionally withdraw your troops from our sacred lands."

Bishop Wofuren spoke up, "And if we don't?"

The handsome priest looked toward Bishop Wofuren and replied, "Otherwise, our Church of Samsara will deem that your side lacks sincerity for these negotiations, and our Church of Samsara will reserve all means of counter-retaliation."

For a moment, the entire hall fell into a dead silence.

Until,

"Heh heh..."

Cardinal Klede, seated behind the central negotiating table on his own side, let out a soft chuckle.

"Heh heh heh..."

The various bishops of the Church of Order around the negotiating table also failed to suppress their snickers.

Finally,

all the Order clergymen seated in the gallery behind them broke into collective, roaring laughter:

"Hahahahahahaha..."