Chapter 21
Our Father in Heaven
* * *
“Here’s my business card.”
Next to Kairus’s coffee cup, which was still steaming, a business card was placed.
“You can call Daniel.”
The first to introduce himself was the middle-aged man who had just argued over rights and wrongs.
On the card he handed to Kairus, the word [Dattamacta] was written alongside a picture of a padlock. It was imdiately clear what he did for a living.
“So you’re in charge of opening doors?”
He looked exactly like a locksmith. To Kairus’s remark, the middle-aged man answered briefly.
“When I was young in the Aylan Republic, I had an exclusive contract with the court enforcent officers.”
Enforcent officers of the Aylan Republic.
They were governnt officials who confiscated the property of debtors who couldn’t repay their debts, sold it off to raise cash, and distributed the money to creditors.
Given the nature of the work, they often had to force open doors or safes. When soone ca to seize everything you owned, no fool would just open the door politely.
“I’m different from those other petty locksmiths in the quantity and quality of locks I’ve broken.”
You think he got picked just because of connections?
Enforcent officers took a commission from the sale of seized assets and served five-year terms.
On top of that, it was customary for court officials who completed their term as enforcent officers to retire honorably. What that custom ant was obvious.
[You’ve worked hard all this ti. Before you retire, go ahead and rake in one big haul as an enforcent officer.]
In other words, to the enforcent officer, it was a job that could make or break their retirent fund.
There was no way they would bring along soone unreliable for sothing this important.
Having been under contract with enforcent officers, Daniel’s skill at opening locks was beyond question.
“Even after coming to Bennett City, I’ve opened about twenty major locks.”
“A locksmith who cos uninvited to open locks. Touching.”
It was no different from a restaurant that brought you food you didn’t order and demanded paynt for it. There was a word for that kind of cri: coercive sales.
“I’m Erickson. The lover of the woman you killed.”
His words, laced with nace, tickled Kairus’s ear.
“Not your lover. She was your lover. She’s dead now.”
Kairus replied to Erickson’s introduction, drawing his thumb across his neck in a slitting gesture.
From inside Erickson’s mouth, there ca a faint grinding sound. He didn’t seem pleased with Kairus’s answer.
With a sharp bang, Kairus’s figure vanished for an instant, then reappeared right in front of Erickson’s nose.
“If you want to drape your arm around your dead ex and burn in hell together, co at .”
Kairus spoke in a low voice, aiming the tip of his blade at Erickson’s Adam’s apple.
“I’ll kill you so you won’t even know you’re dead.”
Silence fell again.
“Still, it’d be a bit of a waste for you to die right now. How about trying to live a little longer? Life has a way of changing when you least expect it.”
While the others were reeling in shock at Kairus’s sudden movent, his gaze was fixed on Erickson’s hand.
Erickson had managed to grab a pair of awls hidden up his sleeve. But with his level of skill, that was as far as he could get.
“Shut up.”
Before Erickson could finish speaking, Kairus slapped him hard across the face.
“If you’re weaker than , don’t give orders. I have no intention of listening.”
In this society, there was a quaint custom of answering unpleasant words from soone weaker than you with a punch.
Erickson didn’t have the skills to stand against a distinguished knight, but against the other knights in the tax transport unit, he would be more than capable.
If Kairus had insisted on using that shabby battle gear, whatever it was, instead of Stained Glass, he would have had a good chance of losing.
Cecilia hadn’t quoted that price for nothing.
Just getting hold of one good piece of battle gear changed so many things.
That was why, whenever word spread that a quality battle gear was on the market, everyone lost their minds and pounced by any ans necessary.
Next to introduce herself was a woman with dark brown bobbed hair, wearing a gray coat over a black dress.
“I’m Tanya Lysand. May this eting be blessed.”
Tanya abruptly stretched out both hands, and Kairus instinctively stepped back.
“I was going to offer you a laying-on of hands prayer. You don’t often get this kind of chance.”
Seeing Kairus’s reaction, Tanya snapped back with a slightly irritated look.
Kairus prided himself on having been through every kind of situation, but in this mont, he couldn’t help being bewildered.
A laying-on of hands prayer? Was that the thing church priests sotis did?
— She believes she is the only daughter of Itera, born into a human body.
Itera.
The god worshipped by the Ascension Church, the state religion of the Valorn Empire and the most popular faith in the Aylan Republic.
Hearing an explanation about Tanya Lysand over the receiver, Kairus closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath.
A person who believed herself to be Itera’s daughter.
“I don’t know since when raiding the Valorn Empire’s tax convoys beca child’s play.”
At Kairus’s remark, Spring Parsley hastily replied.
— I know what you’re trying to say… But she did serve as an army dic before she was discharged, and afterward she worked as a team leader in the Platinum rcy Brigade. Her main base of operations was in the Sarief conflict zone.
The Platinum rcy Brigade was a dical volunteer organization. They mainly treated patients in war zones and conflict areas, without regard for nationality, status, or past deeds.
She wasn’t just a volunteer if she had been a team leader, that ant her skills and experience in dicine, especially ergency care, were top tier.
When Kairus looked anew at Tanya, she clasped her hands and spoke.
“Father, I earnestly ask that you allow to save just one more soul.”
No sooner had she finished her short prayer than Tanya Lysand took issue with Spring Parsley’s earlier remark.
“Miss Spring Parsley, please watch your words. I am indeed Father’s daughter. Salvation does not co to those who lack faith.”
Hearing that claim, Kairus asked a question.
“So you’re saying the daughter of Itera, who’s also a forr army dic and a Platinum rcy Brigade team leader, plans to commit a cri?”
Tanya answered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“I don’t commit cris. In fact, I cannot.”
“What are you talking about?”
Tanya bent her waist slightly, touching the ground with her left hand, and answered.
“Every action I take of my own will is, in fact, the will of the Holy Father. Therefore, it cannot be a sin.”
She ant that her acts of robbery were permitted by God, so it was fine.
By the sa logic, if she killed soone, she’d say it was a murder sanctioned by the High God, so that was also fine.
Kairus finally reached that conclusion and clicked his tongue.
“You’re completely insane.”
At Kairus’s remark, Tanya touched each of her eyebrows once with her right index finger, then brushed her lips with her thumb.
“I have forgiven his words. Father, please do not hold his sin against him.”
“This is so delightful already I feel like I’m going to lose my mind.”
Muttering that, Kairus turned to look at the last person. She was wearing a hood pulled low.
“Zandara.”
It was a woman’s voice. Kairus seed to think for a mont, then spoke.
“Dutel tribe accent?”
They were the indigenous people who had lived in this area since ancient tis.
During the escalation of territorial disputes between the Empire and the Republic, nearly all of them had been forcibly relocated to protected zones, save for a few exceptions.
Since studying history was part of any Imperial noble’s education, it would have been stranger if Kairus didn’t know about the Dutel.
“Are you mixed-blood?”
Kairus asked Zandara. Most of the few who left the protected zones were of mixed blood with Imperial or Republican lineage.
Zandara, still wearing her hood, lifted it just enough to reveal her forehead and t Kairus’s gaze.
Purple irises and brown skin ca into view. Hallmarks of the Dutel tribe.
“You know much, but you are not wise.”
“Is that so? You, who make so many judgnts from such a brief look, can’t be wise either.”
For a mont, the two of them locked eyes. Kairus looked at Zandara briefly, then spoke.
“Seems this will turn into a long conversation. Should we replace it with blood?”
It was a proverb representing the Dutel tribe’s belligerent culture. It ant, if you still had sothing more to say, draw your weapon.
Because of that temperant, a tradition of speaking as briefly as possible had taken hold, leading to their blunt manner of speech.
Zandara turned her gaze aside. It ant she wouldn’t fight.
“Anyway, is this everyone? Only five people?”
For a group gathered to raid the Empire’s tax transport convoy, the scale seed far too small.
— Six people. Why are you leaving out?
Spring Parsley imdiately corrected Kairus’s remark. Kairus thought he finally understood why other criminals didn’t much care for architects.
When soone who didn’t risk themselves on the ground still demanded their share, it naturally grated on those who did the work.
“With our one honored mber, it’s six. The Father is always with , watching over our great undertaking. All who stand with are truly blessed.”
At Tanya’s words, Kairus’s expression turned sullen again.
“You… You’re not seriously asking for two shares, are you?”
At his question, Zandara turned to Tanya and spoke in a rather nacing tone.
“If you say sothing like that, I’ll split you in two myself and make you into two people.”
Despite Zandara’s threat, Tanya just smiled as though nothing were amiss and replied.
“The Father has no interest in anything of this world apart from , His only daughter. So one share is enough for .”
“God isn’t interested in us? That’s not what I heard from the sermons of the church priests.”
At Erickson’s objection, Tanya wore a look of pity.
“In truth, it isn’t the Father who pities you all. It’s . Because I care about you, the Father sotis shows you His attention.”
Hearing Tanya’s words, everyone felt a headache coming on, but no one bothered to argue.
What was clear was that the reason Tanya Lysand had co to Bennett City must have sothing to do with the Ascension Church’s Inquisitors.
“Anyway, the point is that the ones working on site are just five people.”
Fortunately, everything Kairus had seen and experienced over the years helped him pinpoint the essence even in this chaotic situation.
— When there are more people, everyone’s share shrinks. And five are enough, so only five were gathered.
Spring Parsley wouldn’t say sothing so confidently without a solid plan. She continued speaking over the receiver.
— From the start, train robbery isn’t sothing you succeed at just by throwing numbers at it.
Even though they were planning to raid the Valorn Empire’s national tax convoy, the transport of taxes their group was after would all take place by train anyway.
— The procedure for looting a train is already fairly established.
You check the train schedule check the route pick the most deserted stretch of track — destroy the tracks before the train arrives.
Finally…
You kill anyone who resists, grab everything of value, and escape.
— The main difference from ordinary train robberies is you don’t have to go car by car extorting money from passengers.
At Spring Parsley’s words, Daniel imdiately replied.
“That’s true. The mont they see the tracks wrecked, every Valorn Imperial soldier waiting inside the train will go on full alert.”
There would be no need to hunt down passengers. They would all be coming for them, weapons in hand.
Whether that was a good thing, honestly, none of the five gathered here were sure.
The Imperial Army had a mindset like: “If the enemy is worth a hundred, throw in a hundred soldiers. If they’re worth a thousand, throw in a thousand more!”
But that also ant that even if the soldiers Kairus and his collaborators had to face were individually unimpressive, their numbers would be absurd.
And in the end, the real threat they would encounter during the raid wouldn’t be the Imperial soldiers at all.
“Valorn Empire knights don’t rely on sheer numbers.”
They’d throw the soldiers in as at shields, and in that ti, knights in battle gear would sweep the battlefield and seize victory. That was the basic principle of Valorn Empire strategy.
Therefore, the Imperial knights possessed skill worthy of their station.
In general, the combat power and morale of soldiers were considered much higher in the Aylan Republic’s forces.
But evaluations of the knight orders were different.
“The Imperial knights are usually considered superior in skill compared to the Republic’s.”
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