Chapter 1298 (2/2)

Well, Derek supposed that it was inevitable that a hastily made moving city like Kharon would have some cracks in the leadership. They needed capable people, and Derek understood that his experience in Zone 1 and his help during the terrorist attack on the stadium made him the least offensive of a bunch of bad choices. In fact, Derek had been relying on that to get into the Order Ducis for Tim.

Still rather bemused at the sudden and official-sounding title he had received, Derek flipped to the back of the scroll on the off chances that there were more substantive instructions there. There was not, but there was a handwritten note written in a neat line that filled Derek with a sense of dread.

Of course, I can understand if you feel unqualified for this position. If you choose not to accept, please return to the training field and continue with your potential testing with Helen.

Sincerely, Tatiana

“Hah…” Derek released a loud breath as he finished his banana. His thoughts about Kharon changed immediately. It wasn’t that they were desperate, just that they were busy and he was a convenient tool that had come to their attention. They likely wanted someone with battlefield experience and who appeared competent, and Derek had spent quite a lot of time learning to do exactly that.

And with the delicately implied threat of more time under Helen’s tutelage goading him forward, he definitely didn’t plan on shirking the duties associated with his newfound title. He planned to rise to the challenge like the opportunity it was. If he impressed them here, he had no doubt his other activities would grow easier.

Still, he took his time to carefully examine the note and could only conclude it was truly handwritten. He wondered how involved in the details of Kharon’s operation Tatiana really was.

So Derek washed his face and then proceeded to ask the superintendent of his apartment building where to find the locations that his instructions informed him where he would be expected. The man was friendly, so much so that he chatted with Derek so long that Derek was forced to run across Kharon in order to arrive at his first meeting on time.

The first meeting was with the leaders of various Orders that had offered assistance with the birthday extravaganza and the Order Ducis had seen fit to accept. Basically, every Order that wished to provide a token force for the security, aside from the Order Valorem, was accepted. And considering how big of a political event this was going to be, it came as no surprise to Derek that basically every Order was accounted for.

The meeting went surprisingly smoothly. They met in a reserved room at the back of a swanky restaurant where the waitstaff were all wearing tuxedos. Derek arrived five minutes early and every one of the Orders that was supposed to be there had already shown up to wait for him. He shook several hands, memorized faces and names, and then took down the general details of the forces each Order had brought.

They seemed willing to give Derek more information about their capabilities, but Derek quickly settled into the role of an… honorary member of the Order Ducis in the face of their obvious respect. So he waved his hand casually and simply replied, “That’s all for later. We will arrange for a specialist to test your people soon. For now, let’s just get to know one another…”

Honestly, he felt something like a mafia don. And Derek had always loved mafia movies growing up.

Eventually, Derek announced that he had other meetings to attend, and left the swanky restaurant. After taking some time to make some notes about what he had learned about each Order’s representatives, he proceeded to meet with the second group: the ogre contingent.

Derek had obviously seen ogres before while he had been waiting in the merchant’s line to get into Kharon, but he hadn’t had any close contact with them. Still, he figured that he would be able to interface with their leader and establish a rapport easily enough. However, he realized that he had perhaps overestimated himself as he walked into the park that would host the meeting and found himself facing a hundred stone-faced, three-meter tall ogres wrapped in enough steel that each suit of armor could comfortably function as an ostentatious coffin for Derek.

As he made his best attempt to shake the hand of their captain, whose palm completely engulfed his fist, Derek winced. Note to self, physical variation amongst the ogres are even greater than similar things amongst humans…

Perhaps due to their regimented ranks and the fact they stood in formation as Derek arrived, he had pictured them as hardasses. But when they began to speak, it became immediately clear that the ogres had been given orders to defer to Derek and were perfectly willing to do so. From his time serving in the armed forces of Zone 1, Derek quickly fell into old habits and found common ground with the group.

After an hour of familiarizing themselves and making arrangements to meet tomorrow after Derek had received his own orders, he left the ogres and headed to meet the third and final group on his agenda for today.

Derek squinted at the scroll when he read then name, then shrugged. He had never heard of the group labeled “Riders of the Ghosthound” but Derek didn’t really care either way. After how pleasant the first two meetings turned out being, much of his confusion and hesitation in regard to his sudden position had dispersed.

The only problem was how far away the meeting place was; Derek needed to leave Kharon and head to the forest to the West in order to meet them.

Whistling a tune at how good the day was going, Derek quickly hurried to the West.