Léon: The Cat Killer

"The governor's wife... is she that governor?"

"Well, Lungmen doesn't have a second governor~"

With a soft laugh, Lady Wenyue rose and gave a slight bow, then took Nana's hand:

“I am merely Wei Yanwu’s wife. I hold no official position or rank in Longmen, so there’s no need for such formalities. Bai Xue is not only my bodyguard but also a friend I’ve known since childhood… Thank you for your swift response that day. According to the doctors in Longmen, if it weren’t for the timely emergency treatment, it would have been far more than just a serious injury.”

PS: Waaaaaah, kitty

PSS: I'm so sorry for the long delay today because of some emotional issues QAQ

9th Dragon Gate Seafood: 358 - Not going smoothly

As expected of the governor's wife, although she used various humble terms to refer to herself, whether it was her initial wariness of strangers or the way she made the distance disappear in her words... The fact that the ancient people's faces, which are difficult to discern due to their structural differences, combined with her just-right body language, made the subsequent greetings go very smoothly.

Nana had already mentally prepared for the other party to inquire about the day's battle situation and then use this topic to probe the progress of the Mountain and Sea Clan's investigation in Lungmen. However, aside from thanking Nana for her timely handling of Snow White, Lady Fumizuki spent the rest of her time either praising Angelina's meticulousness as a Rhodes Island support operator or speaking to Suzuran in a coaxing tone.

She seemed to be nothing more than a wealthy lady who cared about nothing, completely stripped of the political elements of her identity as a 'governor'.

But... a governor's wife who can recall the 'Royal Guard' from the East and allow them to act freely, just by saying that, her actual actions are completely inconsistent with the above-mentioned performance.

If Nana's performance style is a textbook example of Victorian aristocratic rhetoric, then Lady Fumizuki's conversation with Nana... whether concealing her own purpose or downplaying the presence of her subordinate 'ninjas,' she achieved a subtle and pervasive influence characteristic of Eastern culture.

Honestly, in all my past conversations with people in similar high positions, Nana has never seen anyone so guarded... The assassin is starting to hate formalities.

Just like that, time passed by minute by minute.

Aside from Suzuran, who had been acting as a buffer between the two and still hadn't noticed anything amiss in the atmosphere, Angelina, being a high school student and extremely sensitive to 'atmosphere,' had sensed several times that Nana was trying to bring up a specific topic, but was always brushed off by Madam Fumizuki.

Very unusually, Angelina saw a sense of dejection in her incredibly accomplished senior cat... It was the actual manifestation of the cat's tail tip swinging restlessly from side to side like a pendulum.

As Nana's phone rang, she stopped trying to control the conversation and changed the topic from the local customs of the East to the ten must-visit shops in Ryumen Taikoo Plaza... The former was Nana's attempt to use Shirayuki as a starting point but was fooled, while the latter was another attempt by Nana to probe the information behind Shirayuki's statement 'Shan Hai Zhong' by mentioning the location where Shirayuki was injured. Of course... Madam Fumizuki's topic change was gentle and natural, and Nana was completely unable to gain any initiative.

The incoming call was a lifeline for the assassin, who apologized profusely and went to a corner to answer it. After a brief "Yes...yes, yes!", Nana decided to use this meeting notification as an excuse to stop making useless indirect inquiries.

"Sorry, this is a call from headquarters... It seems there's been progress in the matter of Hai Si obtaining dangerous controlled items from the Longmen warehouse with the help of the Shan Hai Clan. I need to go back for an action meeting."

She said it in the most concise way, causing Lady Fumizuki's eyes to momentarily show a clear, confused, and incredulous expression. Nana simply stopped looking at her and turned to look at Shirayuki:

"Although it might not be appropriate to bring up this topic while you are still recovering, I do remember that you did say the words 'Shan Hai Zhong' before you fell into a coma... Superintendent Chen and the others are very tight-lipped about this. So, Miss Bai Xue, do you have any information that you can offer to help?"

In response to Nana's question, the white-haired ninja first looked at his master. With Lady Fumizuki showing no reaction, the ninja maintained his slightly indifferent expression and shook his head at Nana.

Well, this master and servant pair really don't have a single flaw. Nana now understands what Kal'tsit said before she left.

But just as Nana was telling Lisa and Angela not to leave the ship or go to dangerous places for a while, and giving them the contact information of senior operators such as Kroos, Shining, and Wendy, hoping that they would not be helpless when she was not by their side, Nana prepared to say goodbye.

At this very moment, following Bai Xue's strange, almost coded, gesture, Madam Wen Yue coughed twice:

"We're leaving already. There are still so many things we haven't finished talking about... But it's an important meeting, and I imagine my partner is also troubled by matters of the court."

As she spoke, she picked up her handbag from the bedside table and pulled out a handwritten business card made of a special material. It only had an address for the wealthy Longmen residential area, a phone number, and available visiting hours.

"Although Lao Wei is viewed with mixed opinions by outsiders, in my view, he is also one of the masses, struggling forward amidst adversity... Although as the wife of the governor... especially as the princess of the Eastern Kingdom, I cannot be too obviously involved in the sensitive affairs of the Great Yan. But... if you find my husband seemingly walking in a quagmire... then please, as a partner, spend some time alone with him and try to find a way out."

Blinking, Nana thanked the person and accepted their business card... But why did the person, who clearly knew something, make such a fuss about it? From their self-introduction-like words, Nana understood a little... They were trying to avoid suspicion.

Yes, since the Mountain and Sea Clan is a 'sensitive matter' that even Kal'tsit had to give extra instructions about, then trying to get information from the Governor's wife's guards was itself taking a side door that had been blocked in advance.

Well... after all, the other party was only dressed in the style of the Eastern Kingdom, and I didn't know that she was from the Eastern Kingdom and had married into the Great Yan Kingdom, and that she was a princess, which is a sensitive identity... So it is obvious why the other party was unwilling to let the topic veer in that direction.

Nana's opinion on this is that you should just say what you mean. If you can't say it, then don't say it. Why waste so much of your time? Just glancing at her phone, she realized that something that could be explained in a few words, or even more easily understood in seconds using empathy, had been a waste of almost an hour.

However... watching Suzuran happily take the snacks and wave goodbye to Lady Fumizuki before leaving... Nana suddenly realized that perhaps the negotiation process wasn't entirely a waste of time.

If this waste of time can keep the children smiling, then it seems like it wouldn't be a problem to do it a few more times.

As the Rhodes Island staff left, the atmosphere in the ward changed.

"Bai Xue, here..."

“Madam… there is no eavesdropping here, please give your instructions.”

After removing that smile, which also had a performative quality, Madam Wenyue helplessly reached out and touched the gauze and splint wrapped around Bai Xue's left arm to block a fatal wound, her face filled with sorrow:

"Will Snow White blame me? I so refused Rhodes Island's advance... This was clearly the best opportunity to avenge you, but I let it slip away."

"That's Madam's position, there's nothing we can do about it."

Seeing his ninja's matter-of-fact expression, the one-horned ancestor helplessly twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a slight smile:

"The more you act like this, the angrier I become... I didn't summon you here for this kind of thing, but it seems difficult to contact Xiao Ta, and Xiao Chen right under my nose is stuck in a rut..."

"As expected, she was exposed to too many chivalrous stories when she was young. It's a good thing that she has a strong sense of righteousness, and it's a fact that Longmen will eventually belong to her... But, getting involved in such important national affairs that even Lao Wei couldn't handle at such a young age... Even the best steel will be crushed under heavy pressure if it is too upright."

"And there are so many similar things in the Great Yan, but we just happened to encounter the Mountain and Sea Clan, who are the ones we have the least control over."

As she spoke, Madam Wenyue sighed again, but soon she looked thoughtfully at her phone... Just now, when she gave that little cat her personal business card, the other party returned the favor by sending her own private intercity network number.

"Now we can only hope that the undercover investigation is correct... Victoria's international trade organization... if used properly, it could become a sharp knife in Lungmen's hands. It all depends on whether Lao Wei is willing to use such methods."

Having said that, Lady Wenyue's face immediately lit up, and her conversation with her attendant returned to what she had seen and heard on Rhodes Island... For someone of her status, a business card was an opportunity, a seed... And what kind of result such a seed would grow was something that could only be left to future developments.

For important figures, all they need to do is a business card to attract capable people to their door to help them solve their problems... But for frontline staff like Nana, things take much more into consideration.

After all, the assassin has several identities, and it's unavoidable to decide which side to side to take and how to develop the situation.

So now, after taking care of the little foxes and temporarily calming her restless desire for control, what is Nana doing?

She was currently sitting in the council chamber, lost in thought, representing the Rhodes Island operations forces.

This is a very unusual state. It's rare for a highly efficient assassin like Seven Qi Ling Shi Jiu San Si Shi Qi to needlessly add to his fatigue like this... He should use this energy to find a comfortable chair and have a good rest.

But... ultimately, someone who can make a cat sit quietly with its ears drooping and patiently wait without wasting time must also be an important person in Nana's heart.

At this extremely high-level meeting, which was attended by almost all of Lungmen's top officials, including the Secretary for Administration, the Financial Secretary, and the Independent Commission Against Corruption, and even Governor Wei Yanwu, who was smoking a pipe with a stern face, the meeting was a gathering of high-ranking officials.

Amidst the heated exchange between representatives from the Guard Bureau, the city defense forces, the public security bureau, customs, senior police superintendents, and even the fire department, whose members looked as exhausted as Nana's group, the doctor's voice, which was masked by a full protective mask and was practically indistinguishable from a male voice, was almost entirely filled with distress, turning into annoyance that anyone could understand.

"...Um, regarding your comments about the infiltration of the Mountain and Sea Clan, we can actually leave that aside for now. After all, apart from Lord Wei, no one here can truly accuse anyone of being a traitor. But let's get back to the main point. Compared to the key issue where you interrupted our speech several times, may I assume that... the security level of Rhodes Island's Sea Clan cleanup operation has been raised due to its collusion with the Mountain and Sea Clan, and what you all want us to do now... is to completely ignore that crucial point that almost wiped out our combat team and focus on... matters unrelated to security... is that what you mean?"

Because the full-protection hooded coat has its own skeletal support inside, even though the Doctor herself is not particularly tall after inexplicably shrinking in size, the anger contained in her voice as she crossed her fingers in front of her was so strong that even Wei Yanwu had to take notice.

"You are all high-ranking officials of Lungmen, and I don't mean to say anything that would be personally insulting... But if you think Rhodes Island is a bunch of idiots, then you don't need to. If you really want to uphold mysticism, then you can just cancel the operation order with Rhodes Island. Great Yan is a core circle power, and I think it can handle the threat of Hai Si even without Rhodes Island."

“As long as Rhodes Island is willing to hand over the relevant data, the city defense forces will handle the relevant matters themselves... It’s strange in itself that military mobilization within the mobile city bypassed us and was instead entrusted to a pharmaceutical company…”

Before the young man in the Yan army uniform could finish speaking, the middle-aged man in a sharp suit with a finance department nameplate in front of him looked up helplessly:

"The Lungmen garrison is a key point for guarding against the recent unusual activities of Ursus. The lieutenant is directly under the Ministry of War and can reach the highest levels of government, but he belongs to a different system from the Lungmen Three Divisions... Right now, we are carrying out a task similar to removing the Pipe Rift Beasts from the land-based ships. This task requires soldiers to face the monsters directly in narrow passages. May I ask how the lieutenant plans to deal with it? Will we use the city's defensive cannons to fire back?"

As soon as the Financial Secretary finished speaking, the elderly Chief Secretary for Administration also spoke up with a smile:

"If those areas that have repeatedly interfered with and obstructed the renovation of the old city of Longmen are dilapidated, with many buildings already beyond their service life and mostly occupied by gangs and vagrants... if we issue demolition notices directly, and then deal with them by shelling when they expire, and finally have a decisive battle with the monster's root on the ground, our Great Yan Army can do it without hesitation."

"Putting aside the question of how to resolve the garrison procedures for turning the city's defensive artillery around, this action is not in accordance with the local laws and regulations of Longmen, nor with the laws of the Great Yan state. The so-called shelling of the city is unheard of... It's simply absurd!"

"Then what about the multi-million LMD contract secretly signed with Rhodes Island? The public damage it caused was only slightly less than the chaos caused by a direct hit from the city's defensive cannons... Since it can't be hidden any longer, why continue to bury your head in the sand like this?"

"Or is there another purpose behind this expenditure?"

Listening to the meeting resume its back-and-forth, and feeling the Doctor beside her stiffen up, as if the girl was about to explode and hurt someone at any moment... Nana thought that if Rhodes Island weren't really short of money, the Doctor would probably already be thinking of paying them back, saying "we don't need it anymore," and leaving.

But... leaving it like this is definitely not Rhodes Island's style...

So even though a few Lungmen departments were full of malice towards Rhodes Island at the meeting, Nana and the Doctor managed to get through the Lungmen internal meeting with a kind of "I've already taken the money, so I won't refund it even if you scold me" mentality.

Thus, the location was changed to the lounge belonging to Rhodes Island, and the Doctor explained to Nana the reason why things were stuck.

"The current situation is that our actions have interfered with the Shan Hai Zhong, and we need permission from the Da Yan to continue the investigation... And because of this application, the cooperation order that was originally known only to a few departments now has to be made public in front of the Longmen Three Divisions and the Da Yan garrison."

“They don’t understand what you mean by sea monsters, but when you talk about the ‘mountain and sea creatures’ that might be related to ‘the film,’ their reaction becomes exactly as you see.”

Seeing the Doctor lounging wearily on the sofa, having removed his hood and coat, Nana wagged her tail, nodded to Amiya who had brought her tea, and continued:

"If we could just continue handling things, the garrison wouldn't suffer any casualties, and the mutually beneficial agreement between Lungmen and Rhodes Island could continue... why are those departments doing this thankless and arduous task for Lungmen?"

"...Is this what they call 'political achievements'? Soldiers crave battle merits, and aging officials want to solve the chronic problems of the old city once and for all. The only ones on our side are the Finance Department, with which we have signed an agreement, and the Guard Bureau, with which we have a good working relationship... But in terms of status, the former has to bow to the Political Affairs Department, and the latter's authority can't possibly be higher than that of the border garrison... Only departments like the fire department, which suffer alongside us, can maintain a rational view of us."

At this point, Nana paused slightly, then lowered her voice and said:

"Kal'tsit won't allow things to get out of control..."

"But the problem now is, even our dear Kal'tsit can't influence the situation in the Great Yan court... right?"

Seeing the Doctor's lack of confidence, Nana smiled slightly... Yes, Kal'tsit would always find a way... But, always waiting for Kal'tsit to provide a solution didn't seem quite right, so Nana then looked at the little rabbit who had been somewhat distracted from the beginning:

"...Amiya? What's wrong? You seem a bit distracted."

"Ah, that..."

After a slight hesitation, the little rabbit drooped its ears, clearly indicating that the unsuccessful meeting had dampened Amiya's spirits considerably, but the matter still needed to be addressed:

"Just now, Officer Chen seemed very angry as he chased after Commander Wei... I have a feeling they're going to argue... Is that alright?"

"Is it alright? After all, Superintendent Chen and Chief Wei are actually related?"

Nana stroked the little rabbit and thought that she was probably just afraid of the adults arguing.

Amiya, who was in immense pain due to her deep empathy with Chen, could only grasp Nana's hand as if it were a lifeline:

"Are we... really incapable of doing even the smallest thing within our power?"

PS: Waaaaaah, kitty

PS2: Although it's just a transition... I tried my best to explain the whole story while also hoping to avoid making it too boring... but transitions themselves seem rather boring, so I can only try my best not to describe those boring things in detail...

Also, I hope this volume can achieve a reasonable progression for Amiya... I feel that Nana's strength is too much of a deus ex machina, which isn't good either. The normal growth stages that originally belonged to the little bunnies have become unusually difficult for me... But that's fine, Nana herself also needs to change... I hope this part can be written well...