People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Marna's expression darkened, and he shook his head decisively: "But Nearl is just a family; it won't do anything for anyone."

Marner had seen too many people who wanted to use the name of Nearl to achieve certain goals. Many years ago, he did not help his comrade Chesper save his wife, and he would not make an exception now.

After Ernst uttered those words, he had already decided to leave. He could continue gathering information about his brother and sister-in-law; there was no rush.

But Ernst unexpectedly skipped the topic altogether. His voice, coming through the earpiece, asked Marner a strange question via Hinterlea's words:

"Mr. Marner, do you think you're important?"

Marner resisted the urge to leave, looked at Hinterlea, and replied, "It doesn't matter. Society will function as usual even without Marner."

"So, do you think I'm more important than you?" Ernst continued. "You just need to answer according to the answer that the society you're thinking of would give. She won't be angry about it."

After Hinterlea finished speaking, she nodded, affirming Ernst's words.

Marna paused for a moment, then said, "I don't agree with this rule, but by the standards of this society, she is not as important as me."

Even though Marna appears to be down on his luck now, he was once a renowned Dark Knight. The Unarmored Alliance never dared to cause him trouble, not because Marna was particularly honest and didn't commit any crimes, but simply because they were no match for him.

The only way those killers could deal with Marner was absurdly to rely on the laws and rules of the upper class to restrict him.

As for Cintraya, she only had the idea of ​​changing jobs, and she instantly became the target of "dealing with".

The dog-eat-dog nature of society remains unchanged; it has merely donned a facade of civilization. Like the wolf in the fairy tale, the weak are swallowed whole, while the strong assert themselves, telling you, "I am your grandmother, and it is your filial duty to be eaten by me. This is civilization."

The civilization of Kazimir.

"That's right."

Ernst said, and then gave the order:

"Hinterlea, spill the coffee cup, preferably accidentally on Mr. Marner's clothes."

Hinterlea, unaware of what was going on, still stood up as instructed, and "accidentally" spilled her already slightly cold coffee onto Marner's wrinkled leather trench coat.

“I’m sorry,” Ernst said. “As an apology, the news is that Snitz Nearl may be in Letania soon.”

It was like an apology casually uttered, such as "Do you need me to help you wash up?" or "I'll treat you to dinner another day." This message, which was incredibly important to Marna, came out of the girl's mouth. Marna, who had suddenly stood up, looked at Hinterlea somewhat bewildered.

"you........"

"Are you alright, guest?"

Noticing the commotion, the waiter dutifully joined their conversation, looking with concern at Marna's soiled trench coat and shirt.

"It's nothing," Marner replied simply. The discomfort caused by the cold coffee, aside from adding a little more laundry to his workload, was less than the potential overtime he might have to make up for.

He looked at Hintraya, whose expression was calm, a faint smile on her pale face, and she uttered a few words that sounded like a polite remark:

"I'm sorry, but I'm already very happy that you could come."

Marna was stunned for a moment, as if a thunderbolt had flashed through her mind, and her chaotic thoughts became clear as if they had been ironed out.

Ernst Shivaesh and Hinterlea's goal was not to actually use the power of the Nearl family to stop the Undead Alliance from assassinating Hinterlea.

They just wanted to come here and meet Hinterlea!

Both the capitalist who issued the assassination order and the Unarmored Alliance assassins who worked for the capitalists were driven by profit. They issued the assassination order to kill Hinterlaya because the "unimportant" Hinterlaya was not even as emotionally valuable as the slight smile of a great man.

Emotional value is cheap, but it is not easily changed. The common person, like Hinterlea, thought, just as she suggested, that he would attend the investment conference organized by the Business Federation, spending ten million to win a smile from a big shot and get him to change his mind and abandon the assassination order.

It's like removing a weight from one side of the scale called profit.

Ernst had no intention of doing that; he didn't have the money, nor did he want to curry favor with those things that were on par with the headlights.

So he changed his approach and added some weight to the Hintelia side.

And that weight is Marner.

Manna is just Manna. He does not represent Nearl or the Council of Justice. These are merely marks and labels on him, and he resists using these powers.

But he is already "heavier" than Hintleya.

When Ernst deliberately chose a weekday, using Snitz's information to lure Marner into taking a day off to come to the coffee shop just a few meters away from the Black Steel branch in Hinterlea where he was recovering, he had already achieved his goal.

Because the Unarmored Alliance will see all of this.

..............

On the windowsill of a rented apartment in a high-rise building opposite 10 Oak Avenue, Roy lowered the binoculars he had been using to aim at the street-facing glass wall of the coffee shop, took out his phone, and dialed the number of the investor in Cintrea, his tone still flippant:

"Boss, there's a small problem. You wouldn't believe it, I just saw Hinterlea meeting with someone."

A puzzled voice came from the other end of the microphone: "Who?"

“Marna, Marna Nearl,” Roy laughed.

The voice on the other end of the phone let out a short, surprised exclamation: "Marner Nearl? Shouldn't he be at work right now?"

“He’ll either skip work or take leave, I won’t misjudge him,” Roy said. “Besides, he seems to have a special relationship with Hinterlea. I saw that girl spill coffee on him, and he wasn’t angry at all, he just looked surprised and impressed.”

As he spoke, he couldn't help but exclaim, "This is the first time I've ever seen the Dark Knight make that kind of expression."

The voice on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment, then its tone became one of knowing everything and sarcasm:

"Hmph, no wonder she suddenly wanted to switch jobs! Turns out she had this 'friend'! The Rinko family, sons of bitches."

“Should we still kill that girl who ‘has friends’?” Roy asked. “In my opinion, they don’t seem like the kind of relationship you have with those women.”

After a long pause on the other end of the phone, someone said with some reluctance:

"Forget it, it's not worth it."

Yes, but not necessary.

As an investor, he owns over a dozen knightly orders, and there are plenty of beautiful, ambitious young female knights with no powerful connections or backing. He's not particularly interested in someone like Hinterlea.

He simply viewed the act of switching jobs as "betrayal," so he wanted to punish it lightly.

But now that it's clear she dared to "betray" because she found another "backer," the punishment needs to be carefully considered.

When Hinterlea and Marna first met, and what their relationship was like, is unclear without investigation. But the fact that the man with hidden talents was willing to take time off work to visit her is something that warrants serious consideration.

Is it worth risking a real loss for a product that you don't particularly like and that isn't rare at all?

Not cost-effective.

Since it's not worth it, then forget about it.

After hanging up the phone, Roy looked towards the coffee shop again, a smile of interest on his face.

"Interesting. Who helped you, Hinterlea?"

According to the investigation by the Unarmored Alliance, Hinterlea should have no connection with Marna, but what is happening now is undoubtedly a slap in the face to him who conducted the investigation.

Given her coma and severe injuries, it's impossible for Hinterlea to have had the time or ability to connect with Marna in such a short period. Therefore, someone must have helped her.

Roy's mind flashed back to the man and two women he had met that night, and he finally focused on the blonde woman with a Victorian aristocratic air.

Compared to his silent superior, the girl's composure and courage at the crucial moment left a deep impression on him.

Is it her?

Roy shrugged, suppressing his curiosity.

The mission was over, and he had no reason to stay there any longer.

"It's just a bit of a pity. I spared your life in the alley back then, hoping to recruit you into our group. I didn't expect someone else to beat me to it."

With a regretful sigh, Roy packed up his equipment and left the small rented room.

At the same time, at the entrance of the café, Hinterlaya also saw Marna out the door.

The blond, middle-aged Kuranta gave Hinterlea a deep look, or perhaps he was trying to see through her eyes the Ernst Shivaish standing behind her, a man he had never met before.

After a brief silence, he nodded to Hintraya:

"Please convey my message to the Prime Minister that he is a good leader."

If it were him, he might not be willing to spend so much effort and go through such a long and complicated process to solve a problem that could be solved with money.

“Boss, he praised you,” Hinterlea whispered.

“That’s right~” Ernst’s voice rose slightly at the end, clearly pleased.

"Thank you," Hintraya replied, taking it upon herself to help.

“Farewell,” Marna said.

“Until we meet again,” Ernst replied.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Isn't that the receptionist?!

"Boss, what can I do?"

On the SUV heading to Colombia, Hinterlea asked somewhat guiltily.

After boarding Ernst's pirate ship, she finally learned the true identities and positions of the two ladies who had been following Mr. Ernst.

Vina Victoria is a woman from Victoria Lentinium who, despite her seemingly kind and reliable demeanor, actually holds the position of Foreign Secretary in Ernst's government, making her a true powerhouse.

Ernst's reason for placing her in this position was quite simple. His own Victorian language, a mixture of his past life's accent and the snowy mountain flavor, was simply not presentable, while Vina had already proven her emergency response capabilities by handling the situation with the Unarmored Alliance, making her fully capable of serving as a representative for Sherag in external communications.

Ms. Lola was even more remarkable. In terms of academic qualifications and knowledge, she was undoubtedly number one among those present. Her doctoral degree from Columbia University far surpassed the academic achievements of Vina, who had only completed prenatal education, and Hinterlea, whose education was merely at the undergraduate level. Furthermore, her relationship with Ernst was the envy of both women.

"Is Miss Lola from Sherag?"

Hinterlea looked curiously at Lola, who was sitting in the back row next to her. The Ursus girl nodded proudly, showing no shame about her backward hometown.

"Yes. Young Master Ernst is actually about the same age as me."

Hinterlea covered her mouth, her face full of surprise:

"Born in the same place and about the same age, could it be that Miss Lola and Mr. Ernst are actually... childhood sweethearts?"

Ernst, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and glanced at the back, where he met Lola's gaze.

Lola smiled and shook her head, seemingly with a hint of regret, and said:

"Strictly speaking, no. Young Master Ernst is the third son of the Shivaish family, one of the three major families in Sherag. I grew up on the Perroch family's territory. Before I got the opportunity to study abroad, I had never actually met Young Master Ernst."

Hinterlea nodded, feeling a sense of relief.

They weren't childhood sweethearts, but strangers who happened to be the same age.

She almost thought she had just reached the starting line when someone was already close to the finish line.

Thank goodness, Hinterlea, you still have a chance. The plan to repay the debt of gratitude hasn't failed yet!

"But I'm currently working as Master Ernst's secretary."

Lola said it with a smile as if it were a casual remark, but it made Hinterlea's heart, which had just settled, jump up again like a crane.

Is a secretary another name for a girlfriend who is always by her boss's side, accompanying him wherever he goes, even when going out to eat, and even checking up on him late at night? Is there a saying that goes, "When there's work, the secretary does it; when there's nothing to do, the secretary is there for you"?

Crisis, crisis! I never expected Lola to have such a trick up her sleeve.

No, the fact that she's specifically emphasizing this now means she's already realized my intentions, doesn't it?

Hinterlea couldn't help but swallow hard, giving the smiling secretary, Ernst, in the passenger seat a wary look.

She said those words with a smile, as if she didn't take me, her competitor, seriously at all. What a terrifying woman's words!

"To be honest, I was actually planning to hire a secretary during this trip to Colombia."

Ernst's sudden words jolted the already polarized atmosphere in the car. Lola, in particular, froze, her smile instantly turning into a trembling, cat-like reaction to thunder, her voice like an electronic tune thrown out by a DJ:

"Ahhhhh? Why? Does Master Ernst think I did something wrong?"

Ernst waved his hand: "No, that's not it. I just think it's a waste of your talents to have Lola as your secretary."

Ernst glanced at Vina and said, “Miss Vina also mentioned this to me, and I think it makes a lot of sense. After all, you are the only doctoral student in Sherag, and a very promising engineering doctoral student. It is only right and proper that I give you a stage to display your talents, instead of having you follow me around as a clerk who takes notes.”

"So, once we get back to Shelag, I plan to set up an engineering department and appoint you as its minister. This position is very important; you'll be very busy in the future."

Shelag's infrastructure cannot rely on trade with Kalan indefinitely. Railways, highways, and even cableways and cranes that may need to be built on cliffs where normal infrastructure construction is difficult, all of these things need to be controlled by the government.

Ernst didn't want the entire highway in Shelag to converge on Tukarim's Karan Trade Headquarters, while the area in front of the Shelag government would become a remote transportation wasteland.

Adhering to the principle that to get rich, one must first build roads, this matter had a priority second only to education and enlightenment on Ernst's governing agenda. Only by entrusting it to Lola, Ernst's first confidante, could he feel at ease.

Lola opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but couldn't find a suitable reason to refuse Ernst's reasonable job transfer. She could only grit her teeth and regret that there wasn't a major called "Secretarial Studies" in college, otherwise she wouldn't have suffered such a Waterloo today!

Meanwhile, Hinterlea turned her gaze to Vina, who was sitting on her other side. Her eyes were like those of an Italian during World War II, showing a terrified onlooker watching Lola, who was already very impressive, being knocked down from her peak to the bottom in just a few minutes. She exclaimed, "Damn, there are still experts here."