South shore of Conquest Sea, Kankdar Port.
In a hospital in the foreign residents' district of Kankdar, specifically in a comfortable and spacious ward with a balcony and ample sunlight, Robert, dressed in a patient gown, was sitting on the hospital bed, looking glumly at the newspaper in his hand. The more he read, the deeper the solemnity in his eyes became. At this moment, his gaze was fixed on the important news that had suddenly broken out at the Kankdar station the previous day.
"Breaking News! Bloodbath at Sister Vanya's Welcome Ceremony Causes Multiple Casualties."
"Early on the 20th, a sudden incident occurred during the welcome ceremony scheduled to be held at Kankdar South Station to receive Church envoy Sister Vanya on her trip from Adus. During the ceremony, several gunmen suddenly appeared among Sister Vanya's entourage and opened fire on the VIP group, causing panic at the scene. The total number of casualties from the shooting and stampede combined was fourteen."
"Among them, four people suffered casualties directly caused by the shooting: Mayor Robert, Prince Mazhar, a former member of the Adus exiled Royal Family, Mr. Jack, a director of Rift Valley Mining, and Miss Marianne, the daughter of the chairman of White Pearl Shipping... Of these, except for Prince Mazhar who was unfortunately shot and killed, the other three survived due to timely rescue and are currently recuperating in the hospital. Sister Vanya participated in the rescue."
"It is understood that there were two gunmen who attempted to attack the VIP group: one was a guard from the envoy delegation, and the other was a crew member of the train the delegation took. Both had traveled to Adus and had contact with the otherworld Revolutionary Army there. When they opened fire, they shouted otherworld slogans. Based on currently public information, neither of them had displayed otherworld behavior before, leading to much speculation that they were corrupted by otherworld ideology during their contact with the otherworld in Adis and were thus incited by the otherworld to commit such an act."
"According to Prince Ma'ad, one of the Baruk Royal Family members exiled in Kankdar, who was interviewed, the deceased Prince Mazhar was the current first in line to the throne of the Baruk Dynasty. After the disappearance of King Mahad, he was the highest legal representative of the Baruk Dynasty and the key figure enabling the cohesion of the exiled Baruk Royal Family overseas. Losing Prince Mazhar will be a heavy blow to the entire exiled Baruk Royal Family."
"Prince Ma'ad also said in the interview that Prince Mazhar was usually humble and modest, diligent and eager to learn, a rare talent, and an excellent crown prince. After the fall of Adis, Prince Ma'ad became their leader. He actively united all compatriots who had been persecuted out of the country in Adus by the brutal Sadi Regime, gathering them around him, and encouraged them in the name of the sole legitimate heir of Baruk not to give up because of the current difficulties. He called on them to continuously fight against evil until the day they achieve victory and restore their homeland. He felt immense sadness over the death of Prince Mazhar, and during the interview, Prince Ma'ad couldn't help but shed tears several times when speaking of the Prince..."
"According to several Baruk nobles in Kankdar, Prince Mazhar held an important position among them. He often helped exiles from Baruk, providing them with stable residences. The loss of Prince Mazhar is unacceptable to these exiles."
"It is understood that Prince Mazhar played an irreplaceable and important role for the large number of exiles persecuted out of the country by the Sadi Regime. Sadi had always regarded him as a thorn in his side. Prince Mazhar's death this time is undoubtedly significant good news for the Sadi Regime, suggesting that the Sadi Regime may have played a key role in this assassination. According to Captain Hajeta of the City Guard, they made important discoveries during the search of the train numbered 'Desert Before', which further links the Sadi Regime to this case."
"Captain Hajeta also stated that based on the current clues, the widely circulating claim that the otherworld Sadi infiltrated and corrupted Sister Vanya's envoy delegation is not impossible. Perhaps during the negotiations in Adis, the otherworld Sadi influenced Vanya's entourage through some despicable means and used the entourage as a cover to plan this assassination. As for whether Sister Vanya herself was influenced by him, it is still unclear. Since the incident occurred, Sister Vanya has not given any formal interviews, and her current view on the situation remains unknown."
"Regarding Sister Vanya's attitude and the deeper truth behind this assassination, our newspaper's commentator has written a professional analysis article. Please turn to page four..."
Sitting on the hospital bed, Robert intently scrutinized the large headline news on the newspaper before him from beginning to end. After finishing, he quietly let out a sigh of relief, placed the newspaper aside, then picked up the cup of tea placed on the bedside cabinet. After taking a couple of sips, he put it back in its place. Then, he quietly turned his gaze to the side, looking at the tall figure in uniform standing respectfully beside his bed. It was the Captain of the Kankdar City Guard, Hajeta.
"Mr.... this is the media coverage of yesterday's assassination. I've selected a representative article; the content in other newspapers is pretty much the same. Do you think this coverage is acceptable?"
Looking at Robert on the hospital bed who had finished reading the newspaper, Hajeta spoke directly in a respectful tone. Listening to Hajeta's words, Robert didn't respond immediately. Instead, he picked up a cigar from the cabinet, lit it, took a couple of puffs, and after exhaling a cloud of thick smoke, he slowly said.
"Considering the current situation... the coverage is alright, but honestly, it could have been better. As for the relationship between that little Sister and the otherworld Sadi, this report can only hint at it, without even a single definitive statement, and the responsibility for the deaths cannot be directly placed on her. Also, with this much space dedicated to it, the entire shooting only resulted in one death. The casualties aren't enough... The indignation it can provoke is much less... Especially among the local upper class in Kankdar, if none of them died, they won't be fully tied to the Baruk exiles' side; at most, they'll offer some vocal support..."
Robert said slowly while smoking his cigar. Listening to Robert's words, Hajeta's face immediately darkened, and he appeared nervous.
"Hajeta, I remember, the effect we hoped for before wasn't like this. The current situation deviates quite a bit from our previous plan..." Gazing at Hajeta, Robert said slowly. Listening to Robert's words, Hajeta paused and then spoke with a hint of apprehension.
"I'm very sorry, Mr., the current situation is indeed very different from what we anticipated. I... we did have too many mishaps in yesterday's operation, which led to the situation becoming like this. This is mainly because we all underestimated that little Sister too much. Her performance yesterday was completely different from what we expected!
"We didn't anticipate that the little Sister would not only be able to break free from possession control but also create that level of chaos. Underestimating her was the main reason for so many mistakes in this operation. At first, we all thought she was just a pretty face..."
Hajeta apologized to Robert with an apologetic tone. After hearing Hajeta's words, Robert paused and then let out a long sigh before speaking.
"You're right, that little Sister's performance yesterday morning was indeed unexpected. We all underestimated her. She had the will to regain consciousness and resist control during possession, knew how to use Spirit Sight to expel spirits, and had that strange blood mist item... It seems the self-defense methods the Church's Redemption Faction arranged for her are much stronger than we previously anticipated..."
Robert said this. Listening to Robert's words, Hajeta was slightly taken aback, and then continued to speak.
"Mr.... do you mean that the Redemption Faction arranged secret guards for that little Sister... and yesterday's events turned out that way because of these secret guards?"
"This is the most likely explanation at present. From the situation yesterday, the use of the Spirit Sight Talisman and the release of the blood mist were not done by the little Sister herself. This proves that there is a protective force around her that we are not aware of. Our intelligence only has information about the guard team transferred to the little Sister from regular channels, but we know nothing about these secret guards... This was probably secretly sent to the little Sister by the Redemption Faction. I underestimated the little Sister's position in the Redemption Faction's heart..."
Recalling the scene from yesterday morning, Mr. Robert said with a sigh. Hearing Mr. Robert's words, Hajeta's expression became even more solemn, and then he spoke again.
"Then... Mr. Robert, what should we do now? The completion rate of this plan is too low, and there are too many mistakes. I'm afraid it will have a negative impact on the overall situation..."
Hajeta said worriedly. Mr. Robert took a puff of his cigarette, exhaled the smoke, and spoke slowly.
"The impact on the overall situation will definitely be significant. Fewer people died, and the little Sister did not kill anyone herself but instead saved people. The label of colluding with the otherworld will not stick to her for a while... The effect we wanted will not appear in the short term."
"But fortunately, the most crucial person is dead, and the Church has already become suspicious of the little Sister. As long as they get involved in the investigation, we can still control the general direction, although the process will be a little slower."
In the thick smoke, Mr. Robert said slowly. Hearing his words, Hajeta thought for a while and then continued to speak.
"The Church is involved in the investigation... That means the investigation power is not entirely in our hands. What if the Church finds some clues that show this case is ours..."
"Heh, you don't need to worry too much about cases like this. The institution the Church sends to investigate is the otherworld Inquisitorial Bureau. Within the Church, the Grand Inquisitor Klama, from the Inquisitor Faction, is one of the most extreme figures. His toughness surpasses that of the Knight Faction. He has deep conflicts with the Redemption Faction and advocates for the destruction of the Sadi Regime, which has too deep a connection with the otherworld in Adis matters, regardless of whether he has any intention of repenting."
"If people from the otherworld Inquisitorial Bureau come to investigate this case, the tendency of their investigation is predictable. They will conduct the investigation and interrogation according to the results they want to obtain. We only need to cooperate with them slightly in this process to produce some decisive evidence... Heh, if our plan had gone perfectly, this process of cooperating with them would actually not have been necessary..."
"After all, the biggest purpose of our action this time is just to provide an opportunity, an opportunity for those within the Church who are uncomfortable with that little Sister. They will use this opportunity to accomplish what they want to accomplish. Although this opportunity is smaller than expected now, it is enough for them to seize..."
In the smoke of the cigar, Mr. Robert slowly narrated. Hearing Mr. Robert's words, Hajeta also silently nodded. Just then, Mr. Robert turned his head to look at the door of the sickroom, and a moment later, there was a knock on the door.
"Mr. Robert, the reporter scheduled for an interview downstairs has arrived. When would you like them to come in?"
"Oh, I see... Wait another fifteen minutes."
Saying this, Mr. Robert put his cigar into the ashtray on the cabinet next to him and extinguished it, then said to Hajeta.
"Bring me my bloody bandage, and while you're at it, clean up the ashtray. Oh, right, open the window and use a Talisman to blow away the smoke."
"Understood." Hearing Mr. Robert's instructions, Hajeta did not delay and immediately began to follow them.
...
On the other side, on Holy Mountain, in Amanda's room.
In the large office, Amanda, dressed in red, was sitting behind her desk, looking extremely serious at the report placed on the desktop. Opposite her was a semi-transparent Sister, like a ghost.
"Audacious... Simply audacious. Those people in Kankdar... dare to do such a thing..."
Looking at the report in front of her, Amanda murmured. In her seemingly calm tone, there was a rare anger. The Sister opposite her spoke slowly.
"According to the latest report from Sister Vanya, the assassination that occurred yesterday has extremely significant suspicious points. It is very likely a scheme by the local forces in Kankdar, led by Mr. Robert Brown, targeting the special envoy delegation. Considering the power Mr. Robert Brown represents, behind this incident, there may be a certain degree of instruction from major countries on the Main Continent such as Faloro..."
Hearing the Sister's words, Amanda breathed a heavy sigh, and then continued to speak.
"Faloro... Iweig... Castile... Prit... These countries have important interests in Adis and even the entire North Wu. They are afraid that the Adis revolution will spread and affect their ability to suck blood from other places, so they resorted to this. They are truly merciless and insatiable... They actually put their own interests above the Lord's preaching in North Wu... A bunch of Vampires..."
"According to the latest news, His Excellency Klama has dispatched a special investigation team to Kankdar half an hour ago, specifically responsible for investigating yesterday's assassination case. The investigation team has been given high-level on-the-spot judgment authority, seemingly wanting to quickly resolve and characterize this matter there."
The semi-transparent Sister continued to speak slowly to Amanda. Hearing the Sister's words, Amanda snorted in response.
"On-the-spot judgment authority? Hmph... They can't wait, can they? It's true, he has been waiting for such an opportunity for a long time. Now that it has arrived, why not make the most of it?"
"It's also because the Holy See is not here at the moment, and the power of the various Cardinals has been strengthened. Otherwise, he wouldn't dare to play like this in normal times."
Holding her forehead, Amanda said slowly. Due to the temporary departure of the Holy See, the tendency for the Cardinal Council, which previously got along reasonably well, to split has been constantly increasing. The gaps between the Cardinals have widened, and the internal conflicts of the entire Church have also begun to intensify. This kind of internal struggle situation did not exist before today.
"Your Excellency, what should we do now..."
At this time, the Sister asked Amanda directly. After a moment of silence, Amanda spoke slowly.
"We can't just sit here either. Awei, you go to Kankdar now to protect Sister Vanya. You must prevent Sister Vanya from being directly arrested and interrogated by the otherworld Inquisitorial Bureau's investigation team. Protect as many of the other members of the special envoy delegation as possible; it doesn't matter if you can't protect them all, but Sister Vanya must not fall into their hands."
"Understood..." Hearing Amanda's words, the semi-transparent Sister nodded, seemingly about to leave. Then, remembering something, she spoke to remind her.
"Oh, there's one more thing. After you arrive in Kankdar, you should also pay a little attention to Sister Vanya herself..."
Amanda continued, a profound meaning showing in her eyes as she looked at the Sister.