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The hotel doors opened.
The Adjudicator walked straight to the counter and placed a blue-and-black coin-slightly larger than a standard gold coin-on the surface in front of Charon.
This was her symbol as an Adjudicator.
The previous one... had been stolen by Morin.
"What do you need?" Charon asked politely.
Although he was a loyal subordinate, he already knew that Winston-and the entire New York Continental Hotel-had shifted allegiance to the Templar Knights.
For now, however, nothing had been made public.
"I want to see Winston," the Adjudicator said coldly.
"Of course," Charon nodded. "Please follow me."
He led her to the conference room.
However-
The scene inside was not what the Adjudicator expected.
She had assumed Winston would be waiting formally, prepared to accept her judgment.
Instead-
"Mr. Winston," the Adjudicator said, looking at the drunken man slumped in the room.
"You need to sober up."
"I need to sober up?" Winston squinted at her.
"Who are you?"
"I am the Adjudicator."
"...And?"
"...Please remember your position, Mr. Winston," the Adjudicator frowned.
"Do you still pledge allegiance to the High Table?"
"Me?" Winston thought for a moment.
"I guess... maybe... hmm... yes? Or no?"
"You-"
"I apologize, Adjudicator," Charon stepped in smoothly, blocking her view.
"Mr. Winston is not in a suitable condition to speak."
"Please understand. This isn't an appropriate time for discussion."
"Perhaps you could come back another day."
"The New York Continental Hotel must immediately expel Morin and issue a bounty on him," the Adjudicator said sharply.
"I'm very sorry, ma'am," Charon replied.
"Mr. Winston is intoxicated and unable to make decisions. Please return tomorrow."
"...Very well."
The Adjudicator stared at him for a long moment.
Seeing that Charon would not move, she turned and left.
"When he wakes up, notify me immediately."
She did not have the authority to override Winston directly.
Even as an Adjudicator, she still had to follow the rules.
And Winston's drunken state... was not covered by them.
So despite her anger, she had no choice but to withdraw.
"Sir?" Charon asked quietly after she left.
"She's gone?" Winston instantly "sobered up."
"Good. Finally fooled her."
"Sir, how long can this last?" Charon asked.
"Three days. Just three days," Winston rubbed his neck and sniffed his alcohol-soaked clothes.
"After that, there'll be no need to hide."
"I need a shower..."
-
The next day, when the Adjudicator returned, Winston was still drunk.
"What is going on?" Her anger was barely restrained.
"The casualty report is out," Charon said solemnly.
"The hotel has lost over a quarter of its assassins."
"And?" The Adjudicator's face darkened.
She hadn't been idle.
In that time, she had already located and punished Hawkeye.
Now, only the New York Continental Hotel remained.
"So Mr. Winston is grieving," Charon said gravely.
"He's drinking to cope."
"Heh."
The Adjudicator sneered.
Did he really think she was stupid?
She had suspected it before.
Now, she was certain.
An Adjudicator's position was honored.
If she was being treated like this, there was only one explanation.
Her expression froze.
If that was true...
"...I have other matters to attend to," the Adjudicator said.
"Tell Mr. Winston I'll return tomorrow."
"He had better be sober then."
"This is my final warning."
Her tone was flawless.
She turned to leave.
But her steps were slightly hurried.
Slightly unsteady.
If her suspicion was correct-
The Continental Hotel was now a den of traitors.
"Clap. Clap. Clap."
Applause rang out behind her.
The Adjudicator flinched-but did not stop.
"Miss Adjudicator," Winston's voice came from behind her, completely sober.
"You're very perceptive."
"It's a shame you were a little too hasty."
"Are you in such a rush because of something urgent?"
She stopped and turned.
Winston was sitting upright now.
No trace of drunkenness.
"Are you certain you want to betray the High Table?" she asked calmly.
"I don't have a choice," Winston said, shaking his head.
"The High Table never gave me as much as he did."
He raised his gun.
"And frankly, I've never liked you."
Bang.
No hesitation.
"Sir..." Charon stared at the body with the bullet hole in its head, then at Winston.
"You..."
"She noticed," Winston said, setting the gun aside.
"But her acting slipped."
"If her footsteps hadn't sped up, I wouldn't have caught it."
He exhaled lightly.
"Since exposure was inevitable, we might as well turn it into leverage."
"At a time like this, choosing no side is the stupidest choice."
"If we don't commit, Mr. Morin won't trust us."
Winston knew that pulling the trigger meant there was no turning back.
A High Table Adjudicator dying like this meant anyone who saw her would lose an eye.
That was the rule.
And now-
Winston had personally killed her inside the Continental Hotel.
There was no retreat.
Forty years had worn down his ambition.
He thought he would simply fade away.
But Morin gave him another chance.
Using the Adjudicator's discovery as a trigger, Winston made his final decision.
He boarded the Templar Knights' ship completely.
Win or lose.
Together.
The news of the Adjudicator's death inside the Continental Hotel spread immediately.
It could not be hidden.
-
"So," Morin chuckled when he heard.
"Mr. Winston. Decisive."
"It's just a matter of position," Winston replied with a smile.
"I hope I didn't cause trouble."
"There will be trouble," Morin laughed.
"But no need to panic."
"It just happened a day early."
"Tomorrow, we announce it officially."
"Knock, knock."
"Sir," Charon said from outside.
"The Mole and Hawkeye are here."
They were leaders of underground organizations within New York.
The same two who had been "judged" not long ago.
One missing an eye.
One with a pierced palm.
Yet they still came.
At a time when the New York Continental Hotel had been cut off from the High Table.
"Care to guess why?" Winston smiled.
"There's no need," Morin said.
"The High Table lost the people's hearts a long time ago."
"And once tonight passes-"
"Tomorrow will be the Templar Knights' official debut."