"Yeah. Just going to get something done."

A shadow crossed Yuan’s eyes. "Is this still about raiding that merchant ship?"

"You heard about that?"

Black Jack grinned, revealing two rows of pearly white teeth. He gave a savage smile. "That was just an appetizer before the main course. The real goal is..."

Yuan raised a hand, cutting him off. "You don’t have to tell me. I’m not interested in your goals. And don’t you dare tell me it has anything to do with me."

"Still can’t hide anything from you,"

Black Jack stared at him for a long moment. "I do need your help with something. I was hoping you’d consider it, for the sake of us having served together on the White Rose."

"And what if I say no?"

Yuan leaned back on the short wooden chair, toying with the exquisite cane. "As you know, no one can force me to do anything."

"Not even for your daughter? Kali, is it?"

A black gleam flashed past, shooting through the window and landing in the distant sea.

BOOM!

The churning sea violently exploded, sending up colossal waves that looked as if they would swallow the dilapidated tavern whole.

Everyone in the tavern fell silent, sneaking glances in the direction of Yuan and his companion, a fine layer of sweat unknowingly breaking out on their faces.

Old Buck glanced at the waves outside and shouted, cursing, "What are you all gawking at? Keep drinking! Come on, a toast to the great Isabella!"

"Right, right! To Emperor Isabella!"

...

Black Jack glanced out the window and chuckled. "Storm... It seems you haven’t let your combat skills go rusty over the years. That’s great. It makes me even more confident about the plan."

Yuan’s face was grim. "You said something you shouldn’t have, Jack."

"Sorry. You know I’m not good at this sort of thing. It was that guy Higgins who told me to say it before I came." Black Jack shrugged, showing not the slightest remorse for selling out his comrade.

"Higgins... To think he’s still such a scumbag after leaving the White Rose."

"I’ll be sure to pass that along. I’m sure he’ll be delighted to hear it."

...

Yuan’s gaze was ice-cold. He stared at him for a long time before finally speaking slowly, "Fine. What is it you want from me?"

"I knew you’d agree. Here’s the deal..."

...

...

As it turned out, the Secret Investigation Department’s eleven o’clock start time was no joke.

For example, they’d been at the office since nine, but it wasn’t until nearly eleven-thirty that Minister Yegor finally sauntered in.

"Lisi, our minister’s here. Looks like he drank a lot last night."

Marco, who had been taking turns waiting by the door, saw Yegor enter his office and turned back to report, "Are you sure you want to go see him now?"

Lisi’s expression darkened. He clenched his fists and stormed out.

"Looks like our minister is in for another round of torment," Marco said, gloating.

"Perhaps this is just their way of being friendly," Wei’en replied casually, his head down as he studied Jerry Mage’s notes.

Marco opened his mouth to say something, but after seeing Tina and Kali on either side of Wei’en, he quickly shut it and meekly returned to his seat.

’Roger, oh Roger... I-I miss you so much.’

’Without you here, the office atmosphere has really changed. Only Wei’en can just calmly go about his business.’

It wasn’t his fault he was so glum. It was just that Tina and Kali seemed to be natural-born rivals.

Ever since they returned to the office, Tina’s eyes were on Wei’en most of the time. The rest of the time, they were fixed on Kali—with a look that was either completely emotionless, or held a hint of malice.

At least, that’s what Marco thought.

Wei’en was well aware of all this, but he didn’t know how to solve it either, so he simply dove headfirst into the ocean of knowledge to wander freely.

As for the other person involved—Kali—she looked extremely troubled.

For a moment, she even wondered if her teacher’s decision had been wrong.

But, being kind-hearted by nature, she found it difficult to get angry with a girl so much younger than herself, and what’s more, she had no idea how to handle the situation.

"Ti-Tina, would you like a cookie?" After a long moment of deliberation, Kali decided to take the initiative, mustering up her courage to take out an exquisite box of cookies and offer it to her.

The white-haired girl stared straight at her face, twitched slightly, and looked at the box of cookies. "Tina... no... eat."

’So she really won’t eat them.’ Kali’s shoulders slumped, her expression dejected.

SWIPE.

"Huh?" Kali looked at her empty hands, then raised her head in a daze. "Y-you..."

She saw Tina holding a small, bear-shaped cookie under the nose of a clown doll. "Tina, no eat. Clown, eat."

Wei’en glanced over, shot Kali a look that said "sorry, can’t help you," and went back to studying the notes.

’This is too much, way too much...’

’Those were for my lunch.’

Kali wanted to cry but had no tears. She really had no idea how to get along with the white-haired girl.

BANG.

Fortunately, Lisi came storming in at that moment, holding up a piece of parchment in his hand. He grinned, his smile exceptionally bright. "Time to work! Everyone, look sharp!"

"Also, there’s a bit of business for Wei’en..."