While back in Lungn, Felix began catching up on Anthony's reports. He also t with Nine — now the head of the rcenary division. After years on the front lines, Felix felt she should move to the command seat; she was better suited to directing from behind than slogging at the tip of the spear.
Beyond Nine, the Transport Departnt under Emperor had expanded rapidly. Transport work didn't require top-tier combat skill, so it was the second most popular place among players. The departnt had even attracted bounty hunters looking to hang up their blades and do steady work. Felix was pleased to learn that Emperor had found "Croissant," who'd been job-hunting in Lungn, and had contacted "Monster Siren Record" — reuniting the idol nicknad "Sora" who'd been affected by racial backlash.
At Felix's request the four of them ford a small squad — the old Penguin Logistics crew reassembled in this life too. It was almost moving. Tears, really.
Other posts ran smoothly. Tomorrow's Developnt had quietly shifted its center of gravity to Kazdel; Anthony understood this and would manage Lungn's affairs and keep regular contact with Wei Yenwu. The organization under Felix's banner was now overflowing with talent — and yet Felix's appetite kept growing. If possible, he wanted to recruit the whole world, plaster hiring notices across every street and alley.
Evenings beca a test: sotis one visit, sotis two, sotis three — the worst nights even four or five. There was an eighty- to ninety-percent chance these nights were coordinated "retribution" stunts.
Senomi, Mandragora, and Little Susie still had a few years before university graduation, but they'd already learned enough to be useful. Felix waved his hand and had them join Tomorrow's Developnt in Lungn. Kazdel was off-limits for now — too dangerous. They recomnded classmates, too; Felix passed resus to HR and let the personnel team handle the gossip.
At the end of September he ran into Mostima after a while. Dusty from travel, she showered and plopped onto Felix's bed with news.
"The Pope knows," she said. "I didn't expect otherwise."
"Then, who's the one giving him headaches?" Felix asked.
"Arturia," Mostima answered, amused. When she'd ntioned Felix's actions in Kazdel to the Pope, the Pope hadn't shown anger so much as concern — and when Arturia ca up, the Pope had stated plainly how dangerous Arturia was.
"What's the Pope's stance?" Felix asked.
"For now… laissez-faire." Mostima relaxed against his chest, fingers tracing his skin as she listened to his heartbeat. "I think the Pope understands what you're doing. He's not alard. At least right now, only he knows the full picture; the cardinals don't."
"I thought I was already on Laterano's blacklist," Felix snorted, self-deprecating.
Mostima smiled and passed along a ssage from the Pope: "I cannot judge whether what you do is right or wrong. Be at peace with your conscience. As long as your halo still shines and your creed still guides you, you need not fear the future."
Felix understood. For now, the Church would watch — an experint in restraint. Previous Popes had been iron-fisted warmongers; conflicts with Kazdel had erupted dozens of tis. Under the current Pope, however, war had beco rarer; these years were unusually peaceful. That didn't an Laterano was monolithic. Sankta are not saints; cardinals split into hawks and purists. So, like the "pure-blood" faction, believed Laterano's supremacy demanded harsh correction of other races — especially the "filthy, fallen" Sarkaz. Their dream was to seize Kazdel and purge all Sarkaz.
Felix's plan was simpler: stabilize Kazdel, let it recover, give its people a chance to choose their future. If he could make that work, the rest — the critics, the slanders — would collapse on their own.
Damn! General Theresis himself would be proud of him!
"Felix," Mostima asked, eyes fixed on her lover, "what are you planning to do next?"
"For now," Felix said calmly, "we maintain relations with Laterano. Laterano needs to preserve its transcendent status — its legitimacy and divinity on Terra depend on that. Kazdel can go to war with Laterano, but peace or alliance? Impossible. That would shatter Laterano's prestige completely."
Mostima nodded slowly. "No wonder the Pope looked like he wanted nothing to do with it."
"The terran heart is unpredictable," Felix murmured.
Currently, Mostima served not only as a ssenger but also as a Catastrophe ssenger. After discussing matters with Lemuen, Lemuel, and the newly renad "One-Ard Chainsaw" Fiamtta, she and Fiamtta decided to head to the Frontier District to handle reconnaissance and reporting, while Lemuen would travel between Lungn and the new developnt sectors.
———
October approached — the ti of the annual Kazimierz Major. Rhodes Island's business negotiations in Lungn were wrapping up, so Felix took Amiya's hand and declared he would bring her to watch the tournant — sothing "all children love."
ACE gave him a look of pure disbelief. Children love it? More like you do, Felix.
Kal'tsit's expression remained cool, until Amiya reached out a small hand to her. With a sigh of surrender, Kal'tsit agreed to co along — though she insisted she wouldn't go inside the arena.
As if Felix would ever lack the money for tickets. In fact, he was already a Platinum Supre Premium VIP of the Kazimierz Chamber of Comrce. Every four years he returned to spend a fortune there — though this ti, after another four-year absence, people were beginning to wonder if he'd vanished.
Then, just like that — he arrived. That very night, Felix, Amiya, and two others landed in the Kawalerielki. The Chamber of Comrce's reception staff bead so wide their smiles nearly split their faces. They whisked the group into the most luxurious suite atop the city's grandest hotel — even booking a presidential suite for Felix and Kal'tsit. My, my! When did Boss Felix start traveling with such a beautiful maid?
You people— don't make it weird!
Seeing Kal'tsit's face darken by the second, Felix quickly waved his hands. "I can stay with the adorable Amiya! Kal'tsit, you and ACE can each have your own room."
Unfortunately, fate — and Kal'tsit — had other plans. After two rounds of rock-paper-scissors, which Felix lost spectacularly, Amiya ended up rooming with Kal'tsit. Felix, true to form, was left sharing a room with ACE.
Truly, the luck of an E-rank…
Kal'tsit, as Amiya's guardian, watched her closely — not to the point of stifling her, but she insisted on accompanying her in anything remotely dangerous or adventurous.
After the New Year, Tomorrow's Developnt had established a small liaison branch here in the Kawalerielki. The player who spent the most ti stationed there was none other than MagicZX.
The local NPC staff included knights who had once fought alongside Tomorrow's Developnt. Many knight associations had been purged by the Chamber of Comrce after that chaotic rainy night years ago, and so of their surviving mbers had turned to Felix's organization for direction.
The Chamber of Comrce knew Felix's temperant well — a golden patron, returning every four years to lavishly throw money around, and a self-professed knight enthusiast. So rchants even began considering whether to "train" beautiful young female knights as marketable idols — not just for Felix, but for the many wealthy nobles who might take interest.
When this year's Major began, organizers were unsettled not to have heard word of the "Pioneer's" arrival. But the mont Felix's aircraft descended from the sky, relief swept through them like a storm. The patron has arrived! they cheered inwardly. Thank the heavens!
Instead of heading straight to business talks with the Chamber of Comrce executives, Felix first made for the Nearl family estate.
The old pegasus knight had passed away. Margaret, the eldest sister, was traveling across Kazdel with her fellow followers. Young Maria was likely with her aunt, Zofia. Now, the Nearl estate stood silent — only the family's knights remained at their posts, loyal and solemn.
"At this hour, uncle's probably still working…" Felix sighed. "A true corporate slave."
Finding no one ho, he decided against traveling all the way to Zofia's residence. Instead, he hailed a cab to Goldenfeather Avenue, to a familiar street corner and a familiar bar.
"I thought you weren't coming this year," said Bald Martin, sliding a freshly mixed martini across the counter. "This year's Major's… quite different."
"Oh?" Felix asked. "How so?"
"Out of the forty-eight knights who qualified this ti, five are Infected."
Felix raised a brow. "I recall the Infected weren't allowed to compete before, weren't they?"
"Seems the higher-ups changed their minds," Martin said dryly. "After all, Infected fights are… bloodier."
He smirked faintly — the kind of smirk that said it's all for the spectacle.
The old knight let out a couple of low grunts. "They're just trying to whet the crowd's appetite. Infected knights might be able to use Originium Arts without external casting units, but their stamina burns out fast. If the match drags on, they'll just end up as bleeding targets."
"The arena's going to be bloodier than ever," Felix added.
The old craftsman clapped Felix on the shoulder. "That's exactly the point — the bloodier it gets, the crazier the tourists get for tickets."
"So then," the knight asked with a grin, "which knight's caught your eye this year? I heard from Zofia that last ti you didn't just leave with Margaret, but also ran off with Foam and Verdant, those two tournant darlings?"
"Naturally," Felix replied, smiling faintly. "I ca this year for a full-scale recruitnt drive. Tomorrow's Developnt needs manpower — desperately."
At that, Bald Martin handed him the event booklet for this year's tournant. Felix flipped through it briefly. Every na and face was new. He didn't bother morizing them — instead, he decided he'd just buy out the top three winners directly. Money talks, and it speaks loudest when you're rich enough to skip the gas entirely.
Then, one photo made him pause. A towering, red-armored man, his entire form radiating a crushing intensity — even the still image seed to carry weight.
"The Blood Knight…" Felix murmured, tapping the picture with a finger. "Looks strong. Hm… I like him already."
The others leaned in, making appreciative noises.
"Oh, I rember him," said Martin. "The Blood Knight — an Infected competitor."
"Then I like him even more."
"…Right, I forgot your Tomorrow's Developnt recruits Infected folk," the knight said with a helpless chuckle.
As Felix continued browsing, his eyes landed on another photo — a female knight this ti. Her expression was gentle, almost timid, without a hint of battle lust.
"And who's this?" Felix frowned. "I don't recall seeing her in past tournants. A newcor?"
"No idea," the old knight and craftsman replied at once, both shaking their heads. "Na's Viviana. Never heard of her before. Sure, she's pretty — but the Chamber of Comrce has more than enough decorative knights. Tourists don't co to the Kawalerielki just to look at pretty faces. They co to see those sa pretty faces punch each other senseless! That's what sells tickets!"
Even so, Felix found sothing familiar about her. Not attraction — recognition. He couldn't place where he'd seen her before. Maybe she joined Rhodes Island later in his previous life? Or maybe she had a story that intersected his own sowhere along the line.
Still, he decided he'd let fate decide. Forcing things never ended well. If this young knight was standing at a turning point in her life, barging in now could ruin that mont entirely.
"It's been a while," Martin said, raising a glass. "Drink?"
"Drink," Felix grinned. "Tonight's on . We don't go ho sober."
"Now that's what I like to hear!"
Martin downed a shot himself, then gave Felix a mischievous look. "So… how's it going with your lovely little sister?"
"Which one?"
"—!"
"You sly bastard," the old knight barked a laugh. "You've gone and done what most n wouldn't even dare to think!"
A pause later, he grew mock-serious. "But you're being too restrained."
"...What?"
"Think about it! You're not short on money. The slave markets here are thriving. If you wanted, you could buy an entire manor staffed with servants."
He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Didn't you already buy one before?"
Felix waved his hand dismissively. "That's not . I'm a man of pure love — pure love, you hear ?"
"Yeah, yeah," the others scoffed in unison, clearly unconvinced.
They drank on — from five in the evening to seven at night — two straight hours, yet all four of them looked perfectly fine by the end. Truly, the iron-livered n of Sigma.
"Ah," Martin sighed, "I envy you. A man with a sister who doesn't nag you. I've got a friend — got married and now he's completely whipped."
"I've got one too," Felix said, his breath heavy with alcohol. "Every ti he drinks, his wife makes him stand outside till he sobers up."
The old knight and craftsman exchanged a look of mutual relief. Thank goodness we never married.
Then, without warning, the door creaked open.
A small rabbit-eared girl stood in the doorway — bright-eyed, almost glowing with energy. Behind her stood a green-haired feline woman, mature and composed — a wife, unmistakably.
Bald Martin's eyes sharpened like an eagle's. "Well, well… whose wife and kid have co looking for their man this ti?"
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