Chapter 117: Last Day Off
City of Cards: Capital of the Republic of Palm Groves
In the sunlit courtyard of a villa, a handsome young man with messy cyan hair lounged peacefully in a rocking chair, enjoying a sunbath with a cocktail in hand.
"Effort deserves reward. So if you want to be as comfortable as I am, you have to work. Understood?"
"Yes, Master!" Bell and Brad shouted in unison.
Opposite Sirius, the two children were chaining push-ups, squats, and strength exercises with a seriousness bordering on obsession.
Sirius took a sip of his cocktail, then slowly inhaled.
"Tomorrow, we’ll be leaving the villa to head for Anthrapokentron, the headquarters of the Order. So even in my absence, you’ll keep training. And don’t call me Master. You haven’t accomplished anything yet to be my disciples."
"Yes, Master!" they chanted again.
Sirius didn’t even bother correcting them anymore. He had exhausted all his patience over the past two weeks.
("Time flew by so fast... If only I could stay like this for the rest of my life. No murder. No torture. No work. Just a laid-back life of lounging around and spending money without worrying about running out. Tsk... what a tragedy.")
Thinking about it, he remembered that upon their return, Sarah had already taken back her debit card, leaving Sirius and the others to cover the expenses themselves if they wanted to extend their stay at the villa.
And even though the sum paid by the Order was substantial, it barely covered rent, food, and daily expenses and only if Sirius, Lucy, and Iris pooled their savings.
"Living here is a scam. Everything is outrageously expensive. After this, we’ll still have to pay Brad and Bell’s tuition, and we’ll be broke. It almost makes me want to rob a bank," Sirius muttered.
The capital of the Republic of Palm Groves was absurdly expensive compared to the Empire.
The villa, the food, the children who would soon be going back to school... every detail drained their enforcer salary at a terrifying speed.
"And the worst part..." he thought as he saw the two young women approaching, arms loaded with shopping bags.
"Shopping in the morning, shopping in the evening, and shopping at noon! As if they’re ever going to wear all those clothes. They act like top models."
He had barely finished those words when an icy chill ran down his spine.
A revolver was pressed against his temple.
Lucy stood behind him, her blue gaze as calm as it was dangerous.
"What were you saying?"
Sirius groaned inwardly. He should have kept his mouth shut.
Trying a diplomatic approach, he replied,
"I was saying that your excessive shopping sets a very bad example for my two disciples. How are they supposed to learn money management if you show them such a... let’s say... creative model?"
Lucy glanced at Brad and Bell, who immediately looked away, terrified of being dragged into the same hell as Sirius.
"You might not be wrong,"
she admitted, holstering her weapon before making it disappear.
"We could use the gold recovered at Invictus. There’s enough to go shopping for a year without touching the budget."
"Dammit!" Sirius shouted.
"With that gold, someone could live comfortably for sixty years! And you want to spend it on clothes? Have you never heard of a retirement plan?"
"And you? You complain in the morning, complain at noon, and complain again at night without offering any solution. And you call that a good example for the kids?"
"You—! Tsk, you can think too! I’m not the only one with a brain here!"
"There it is, mister thinks he’s the smartest again. If you want more money, go get it. Problem solved."
"Hey! You think I’m going to work myself to death just so it ends up as underwear and skirts?"
"What’s the problem? And why are you talking about underwear?"
The argument escalated, both completely forgetting the original topic.
Meanwhile, Iris calmly walked between them, her scarf neatly adjusted on her head.
Without sparing them a glance, she sat down on the abandoned rocking chair, took a sip of the cocktail, and sighed.
"They live together, eat together, argue morning and night like an old married couple, love each other like sheep... but when it comes to confessing anything? I raised cowards or chickens."
Silence fell instantly.
Sirius froze, staring at his twin sister with barely concealed murderous intent.
Brad and Bell shivered.
Lucy turned tomato red.
Ignoring the tension entirely, Iris turned to Brad.
"We have visitors. Can you go open the door?"
Brad blinked. The doorbell hadn’t rung.
Ding. Dong.
"Uh... I’m going," he replied.
"I’ll come with you," Bell added, not eager to stay in what was turning into a minefield.
---
Standing at the door were Bruno and Carla, patient and smiling.
Both had passed the exam by following Iris’s advice and had proclaimed themselves her most loyal vassals, with devotion bordering on worship.
"Oh, big sister Carla!" Bell exclaimed before noticing Bruno.
His massive build and wrestler-like presence immediately intimidated her.
Sensing his sister’s nervousness, Brad stepped in front of her.
"May I know who you are?"
Carla elbowed Bruno.
"Hello, my name is Bruno. You must be Brad and Bell. I’ve heard a lot about you."
He said this with a smile that only deepened their suspicion.
It did nothing to reassure them, and it took Carla explaining the situation before they finally let them in.
At the sight of the visitors, Lucy and Sirius decided to postpone both their argument and their revenge against Iris.
Bruno and Carla hadn’t come empty-handed and offered souvenirs from their trip.
That evening, a barbecue was organized, and everyone dined together.
Bruno and Carla were invited to stay the night, planning to take the train together the next morning, heading to the Order’s headquarters.
---
Meanwhile, in a bar in the City of Cards, two drunkards were downing drinks as if there were no tomorrow.
Elizir and Fidri, who had bonded during the second trial, had spent the past two weeks together, traveling from city to city and spending their money down to the last coin.
The prince and the magician, after a long bar crawl, were broke.
With alcohol eroding their reason, they kept ordering more, vaguely wondering how they would pay.
"What if I used a little magic to borrow money from the register, then give it back later? It’s not stealing if the money goes back to them," Fidri slurred.
"No, that would be beneath us. We are proud enforcers and must set an example," Elizir replied, his speech thick.
"What if you called your family? You’re a prince, right? A small advance on your allowance would get us through until tomorrow morning."
Elizir slammed his head against the counter.
"No, no, I won’t call them. I don’t care about their money. I’m rich... I just forgot my bank code, hehe."
"Ha ha! We’re screwed. I see only one option: reinforcements. Lucy must be nearby," Fidri suggested.
"She can probably lend us some money."
Elizir hesitated, recalling a discussion with Lucy.
"No, not Lucy. She must not see me like this. Let’s call Garcia, she’s cool... and you haven’t flirted with her yet."
Finding the idea good, Fidri dialed Garcia’s number.
"Yeah, you’re clever," he said.
Putting the phone on speaker, it vibrated briefly before a cold voice came through.
"Yes?" Garcia said flatly.
Fidri spoke.
"Hey, Garcia? You’re pretty, well dressed... I flirt with you, and you send me some money? I’m a bit dry."
Garcia hesitated on the other end, then asked,
"Are you drunk?"
Elizir shook his head frantically, signaling him to say no.
Not understanding, Fidri replied,
"Drunk as hell!"
Click.
Garcia hung up.
The two men stared at each other, then, finding no other solution, ordered even more alcohol, hoping a brilliant idea would strike.
Finally, at four in the morning, when the bartender demanded payment, they pitifully explained that they were enforcers and had to report to headquarters later that morning.
The bartender, used to such situations, agreed to let them pay later, even lending them money for the train, making them sign nothing more than a simple IOU estimated at one year’s salary for each of them, perfectly legal.
---
Elsewhere, in an unknown place.
Garcia was having dinner with her mother when she was interrupted by that most unpleasant call.
"Is that a friend? Your boyfriend?"
her mother asked eagerly, her face lit up with curiosity.
"No. Just an idiot."
"Oh! You don’t know how to confess? That’s so cute! To start with, what does he look like?"
Garcia fixed her mother with an icy stare that clearly meant: If you don’t shut up, I won’t come visit for a long time.
Her mother, knowing what her daughter was capable of, fell silent.
"Oh, you’re so cruel to your poor mother...
And to think you’re already leaving tomorrow.
I wish I could come with you. Cursed work, keeping me from attending my beloved daughter’s first day... Just thinking about it makes me want to massacre someone."
A chill ran down Garcia’s spine as she wondered if her mother would act on those words.
"I’ll call you once a week, if you behave."
"One call every night and one video call per week," her mother countered.
"One call every three days and one video call per month. Take it or leave it," Garcia concluded.
Her mother leapt up, crossing the distance between them to smother her in a hug.
"Oh, my little girl has grown so much... How sad!"
---
While everyone enjoyed this last day off in their own way, at the Order’s headquarters, the monthly meeting of the five bureaus had just concluded after several hours of discussion.
Among the agenda items approved were the following.
By majority vote:
Regarding the Kingdom of Vermin, approval of the special inter-bureau operation Gugnir.
By unanimous vote:
The permanent ban on His Eminence Gramm Sigmund, director of the Bureau of Archives and Exploration, from supervising an examination.
As well as the presence of His Grace at tomorrow’s decoration ceremony for the new enforcers.
