Evening.
A carriage drove into a somewhat desolate suburban area, yet there stood a fairly large estate, with an ancient and magnificent villa rising here.
Creak. The carriage came to a stop. Kenke, dressed in a suit and carrying a briefcase, stepped down. He looked around, straightened his tie, and strode into the estate.
On closer inspection, the weapons carried by the estate's guards were precisely the Garand Type II rifles that Kenke had recently recommended to the Marleyan military, and the estate's name was Louis Estate.
As he walked, unease filled Kenke's heart, because he had failed to complete the master's predetermined objective.
Soon, Kenke arrived at the door of the estate owner's office.
At the office entrance, the burly Chief Steward Bill leaned against the wall, puffing smoke. Seeing Kenke arrive, Bill shot him a sideways glance, bit down on the cigarette butt, and knocked on the wooden office door.
Kenke gave Bill a fawning smile, then took out a pack of Marley's most famous cigarettes from his bag, but Chief Steward Bill did not even look at them.
Kenke could only awkwardly put the cigarettes away.
"Come in." Hearing the calm voice from inside the room, Kenke swallowed and walked in with some trepidation.
The room was large but extremely dim, lit only by a single desk lamp. Kenke could only see a figure with his back turned to him, hunched over the desk, seemingly writing furiously.
"Kenke, how was it? What was the Marleyan military's attitude?" the figure asked.
Kenke lowered his head and said, "The Marleyan military only agreed to re-equip the Marleyan Guard Corps, so the order volume is only one-third of what we expected."
After speaking, Kenke looked worriedly at the figure's back, but the anticipated scolding did not come. Instead, there was a calm reply:
"As expected. Marley's upper echelons are still too short-sighted. Prolonged peace has numbed them too much. Oh—or perhaps they are wary of the Eldians?"
Kenke nodded in agreement and said,
"Yes, those high officials seem unwilling to allow the Eldian military to be equipped with new weapons."
"Heh heh..." The figure let out a few cold chuckles, then asked, "Kenke, I heard some time ago that Middle Easterners seemed to have made contact with you?"
At these words, cold sweat instantly broke out on Kenke's head. He hurriedly explained,
"I—I mean, those Middle Easterners wanted to learn about our company's products, but—but I didn't agree. I'll go reject them sternly right away!"
"Reject them? Why reject them?"
Kenke was startled and blurted out,
"B-but the Middle Easterners have been restless these past few years, causing trouble along our Marleyan borders, haven't they?"
"Oh? Kenke, this truly surprises me. I didn't expect you to be so patriotic. Heh heh, to have someone so patriotic in an arms company—I'm really quite surprised."
Kenke trembled. He heard the difference in tone.
"You mean… the Middle East can also—"
"Change the name. The world doesn't only allow one Louis arms company to exist. There can be other arms companies as well. Do you understand?"
Kenke nodded repeatedly. "Yes, I understand!"
After giving a few instructions, Kenke hurriedly left Louis Estate.
...
Night fell. A crescent moon hung in the sky, and the already remote Louis Estate became even more silent.
Two figures wrapped tightly in clothing cautiously looked around, then entered the estate. The guards at the gate stared straight ahead, showing no reaction at all.
Seeing the two arrive at the office door, Bill did not knock, but directly opened the wooden office door.
The two nodded to Bill, then walked into the office.
"Doctor Ebson, we're not late, are we?"
"You've come." Unlike the cold tone he had used with Kenke earlier, Ebson's voice was now extremely warm and gentle.
The office lights were turned on. Under the bright light, a tall, thin figure sat behind the desk. A simple pair of black, thin-rimmed glasses rested on his nose, and his suit was equally plain. If not told, who would recognize that this man was the renowned Marleyan noble, the Count of the Louis family, and the chairman of Louis Arms Company—Ebson Louis?
The two standing before Louis also revealed their faces: a man and a woman. The woman was clearly visiting for the first time. Her face was young and beautiful, and her large eyes were filled with curiosity about the surroundings.
The man beside her was far more mature. He spoke to Ebson,
"Doctor Ebson, we are truly grateful to you. Without your help, our Eldian Restorationists would have already been wiped out. On behalf of my compatriots, I thank you for your assistance!"
Ebson smiled and shook his head, saying sincerely,
"No, this is simply what I should do. Over the years, all I have seen is the Marleyan Empire's oppression of the Eldians. The Eldians have also shed blood and fought for Marley, but Marley's actions truly disappoint."
Before the Eldian man could speak, the Eldian woman rushed to ask,
"Doctor Ebson, you're also a Marleyan, and even a Marleyan noble. Why would you help us Eldian Restorationists?"
"Serena! That's far too rude!" the man scolded.
But Ebson merely smiled and said, "It's nothing. When I was young, I also made mistakes. Helping the Eldians can be considered a way to atone for my past errors."
The Eldian man stood up. "Doctor Ebson, we will never forget your help to the Eldians!"
Ebson also stood up. The two shook hands, and Ebson said,
"The medicines and weapons you need are already prepared. However, I still must say this—the assassination operation is far too risky. Please be extremely cautious, Jack."
Jack nodded. "We know. But this operation must be carried out. Otherwise, more of our compatriots will die at Landon's hands."
"I wish you success. Be sure to be careful. Bill will take you to collect the supplies."
"Alright. Please also take care of our families and children. Serena, it's time for us to go."
But Serena picked up a bottle of ink from Ebson's desk. The sharp-edged bottle was quite unusual. She asked curiously,
"Doctor Ebson, your ink bottle is so strange."
Ebson smiled and said, "It's a very useful kind of ink. If you like it, you can take it with you."
At Jack's reprimand, Serena put the ink down, and together with Jack, left the office.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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