When The Emperor heard Jeanne's request, he was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected her to ask for something so simple; from his perspective, this trade was incredibly unbalanced.
While profiting is the most basic rule of survival for a merchant, even this penguin didn't dare take such a massive advantage. If he simply agreed to this, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.
"This kind of favor is nothing! I'd feel ashamed taking so much Holy Water for such a small task. Tell me what else you need; don't hold back, just say the word."
As he spoke, The Emperor rubbed his wings together. Any short-sighted boss would be screaming in jealousy at such a profit. But he didn't even know what he could offer in exchange for something considered a national treasure in Laterano. This was no longer an item that could be measured with money. He had heard from his contacts that Ursus had traded top-tier technology, including unique landship tech, just to secure a deal with Laterano. Ursus's landship manufacturing was among the best in Terra, especially their stealth technology which could bypass the detection of mobile cities.
"Well, I don't really have anything else for you to handle right now. How about I save the favor for later? You have so many friends; I'm sure I'll need your help eventually."
In truth, Jeanne hadn't initially planned on asking for help with procurement. But looking at the state of those Ursus "agents," she didn't trust them with the task. While it wasn't polite to speak ill of them, she felt those two spies were... a bit too "honest" and prone to making blunders. Buying the wrong medicine would be a disaster, and given their clumsy nature, it was a real possibility.
"Fine. Just let me know when you need me. As long as you don't ask me to assassinate the Ursus Emperor, everything else is negotiable."
The Emperor had no choice but to accept the deal. He knew that whatever Jeanne would ask for in the future wouldn't be small, but it wouldn't happen today. For now, this procurement was merely a small favor for a friend.
"In the future, if you need anything delivered, just call Penguin Logistics. We guarantee first-time delivery, and you won't have to worry about the shipping costs."
Jeanne smiled. Having a logistics master like him would be invaluable when she eventually took over a city; she wouldn't have to start from scratch.
"Then I'll thank you in advance. Here is the list of supplies. You can collect the payment from this company."
She handed him a thick stack of lists. It was filled with restricted medicines and metals—the things Reunion needed most. Without the right connections, buying these in bulk in Lungmen would be nearly impossible, especially the Originium suppressants, which were strictly rationed.
The Emperor looked at the list. Most were medicines—enough to sustain an army of ten thousand for a year! Is she raising an army? he wondered. Then he saw the delivery address: the Ursus Tundra. It was a cold, dangerous route that few couriers enjoyed. But for him, this was no problem. Exusiai or Mostima would probably enjoy the trip just to see some "relatives."
Seeing The Emperor patting his chest with his short wings in assurance, Jeanne stopped worrying about the procurement. She believed a boss of his stature wouldn't fail at such a task.
"I'll leave this in your hands, Mr. Emperor! I need to get food to Lemuen before it gets cold!"
Jeanne hurried back with the breakfast. After she left, The Emperor sighed. He hadn't expected his sudden whim to lead to such a major breakthrough for his own problems. Initially, he just wanted to help her because of her connection to Exusiai. But after learning about her identity and Laterano's stance, he had decided to seek the Holy Water.
The real catalyst was the commission from Chernobog. As Jeanne suspected, that call was indeed a request from Laterano. They had paid five times the usual rate to have a specific vehicle delivered to Jeanne as fast as possible.
He looked at the specs of the vehicle on his screen. It was protected to the teeth. While it looked plain—almost unnoticeable in a parking lot—it was cast directly from D32 Steel. The body was practically impenetrable. With specially designed wheels and exhaust systems, it sacrificed aesthetics for unparalleled safety. It was a luxury item built with a mountain of gold—true Emperor-level security. Seeing such a steel beast made him realize that Jeanne producing high-purity Holy Water was indeed "no big deal" for someone of her status.
Sitting in his chair, The Emperor tilted his head back and drank the Holy Water. He wasn't worried about being a shard of a god. As the liquid went down, his golden feathers seemed to glow even brighter. Deep within, the missing parts of his divinity were being supplemented. He was no longer just a shard; he was becoming "complete."
Satisfied, he wobbled away, keeping the empty bottle. Even the residue was precious. Looking at Jeanne's list, he decided to add some extra supplies out of his own pocket as a thank-you.
Back in her room, before Jeanne could even eat, her phone rang. It was Ch'en.
"Jeanne, the warrant for the Rhine Gold company has been approved. The LGD will raid them the day after tomorrow. Come to the station tomorrow; you'll be going in with me disguised as a high-ranking officer. I'll give you a crash course so no one realizes you're a fake."
Oh ho, Jeanne thought. I'm going to learn how to be an elite Lungmen copper.
She never expected she'd see the day she'd put on a police uniform. The thought of it was actually a little exciting.