Chapter 203: Twenty-third Episode: Chapter 4 (1/2)

Chapter 203: Twenty-third Episode: Chapter 4

Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Early in the morning, Oscar hand-picked a large bouquet of red Persian roses from the garden of Kenshin Palace. Initially, he planned to personally deliver them to the Empress' sleeping chambers, but his general affairs secretary notified him that Alanis never wake up around 6 or 7 in the morning.

Oscar was shocked by his own ignorance. He completely had no idea about this, which was quite embarrassing for a married couple to have no knowledge about this.

His Highness the Prince ordered a messenger to send the roses and his farewell letter to Tacheles Fortress. The messenger soon returned notifying that Her Majesty was still asleep, but the Duty Personnel from Imperial Secretariat had accepted the gifts on behalf. Oscar only nodded with indifference as he had expected the answer.

The attendants of Kenshin Palace were busy rushing about the entire palace. Although His Highness the Prince had requested to bring along only essential and useful items, but this was seemingly an incredibly difficult task for Madam Keegan the housekeeper, who could be considered the real palace chief for Kenshin Palace. In her eyes, apart from that lion fountain in front of the gate, everything else in that palace including that paper clip had great potential to be used.

Scattered luggage and miscellaneous items piled up in the hallway of the palace. Colonel Sandinand Wollums who was wandering around the palace with several other grim-faced knights met their young master in the kitchen at the back of the ground floor. Oscar who was having breakfast in the kitchen yelled ”Ola!” when he encountered Sandy, and then pushed his ham and cheese toast toward the little devil.

After saluting His Highness, Devil Sandy picked up a piece of bread from his master's plate and began devouring it.

”What are you doing?” Oscar asked the idling little devil.

”I'm looking out for you, Your Highness, keeping watch over the pariahs who might steal your things the moment your eyes gaze away! But rest assured because you have Sandy, and Sandy will make sure that these pariahs pay a high price if this happened, so that no one will dare to assault you anymore.”

”Such as the hall attendant whom you thrown over the window from the third floor because he broke my favorite crystal glass?” Oscar asked with a shrug. He noticed that several kitchen chefs had sneaked out of the door. It seemed that most servants in the palace and the other civilians did not like Sandy. However, His Highness was not going to criticize Sandy even though this noble's view of civilians was rather problematic.

”You know,” Oscar knocked on his plate with the cutleries, ”If it weren't for these people, I wouldn't have breakfast prepared for me each morning.”

”How so?” Colonel Sandy widened his eyes but he had not actually understood the meaning of the prince's words. ”If you weren't being served breakfast each morning, it only shows how these indolent pariahs needed to be punished. I have ways to make them diligent again! If they were to - - ”

”Forget it!” Oscar covered his forehead with his palm. He felt disgusted every time Sandy mentioned how he was going to treat these civilians of poor societal status. ”Let's talk about something delightful.”

”Something delightful?” Sandy parroted and revealed a tangled cloth from within his arms immediately. ”Take a look at this, Your Highness! Do you know what this is?”

Oscar watched as Sandy spread out the cloth made up of four different colors with much excitement. ”What is this? A banner?”

Sandy rolled his eyes, ”I knew you couldn't care much about this! But I've asked my friend to bring this over to me all the way from the south! It is the flag of United Government of the Five Provinces! The flag of the south!”

Oscar rolled his eyes in annoyance as he once again confirmed Sandinand Wollums was truly a real southerner. ”Let me see!” Oscar extended his hand to show interest. After all, the United Government of the Five Provinces was produced by his own hands.

The tiny cloth was only the size of a book. From top to bottom, it was decorated with yellow, white, blue, and black. ”Beautiful!” Oscar praised from the bottom of his heart. ”I mean...it's very imposing! Very…is this the right way to hold it?”

Sandy stepped forward quickly, ”Yeah, that's right! Yellow, white, blue and black! That's the correct order!”

”What do they represent?” Oscar's curiosity was piqued. He knew that these colors must held their own symbolic significance.

Sandy held the flag religiously and he fell on one knee at the foot of His Highness.

”Your Highness, blue and white in the middle represent the purity of the water of Don River and Narcissus, whereas yellow and black are the exclusive colors of the king of beasts. They are the colors of the Fierce Tiger!”

Oscar looked at the regional flag of the southerners and then again at the eyes of the Little Devil. He understood the significance of this banner but if he allowed himself to continue digging deeper into it...

”I'm sorry...” Torry appeared at the kitchen out of nowhere. He didn't know why the Southerner was kneeling on the ground nor he know why His Highness was staring into the eyes of the kneeling person with deep affection. ”I... I didn't mean to kill the atmosph-”

”Shut up!” Oscar already knew what was going on in the mind of the general of the artillery soldiers. He kicked little Sandy aside resentfully and then ran over to grab Torry's collar.

”Don't say out whatever you're imagining in your head or I'll let your head change the place it's rested at to think about the problem!”

Torry laughed helplessly, ”I was only kidding...”

Oscar then helped the man on the ground to his full height and later he draped his hands over Little Devil and the general's shoulder.

”Let's go! We still have time for some fun!”

At this time, when O'Neil Andrew Morisette suggested to have some fun, he actually meant to have a real boxing fight with the boxer who came from the south. The large cellar of Kensington Palace had long been converted into a martial arts practice field by Oscar. Usually, if Mighty Fist Lee wasn't moving about in the palace, he would hide in the cellar to fight and kick into the air. Once, his secret pastime was discovered by Oscar, and His Highness the Prince joined with enthusiasm. Mighty Fist Lee was naturally very excited at the new challenge and soon he punched his dignified young master to the ground.

After that, Oscar went to the underground martial arts whenever he had time but it seemed to most people that it was not much different from finding trouble upon himself. The martial art techniques of Mighty Fist Lee were similar to close combat grapple. The Easterners' cultivation of close combat techniques were too detailed that they could accurately attack a certain section of joints or a group of veins. Oscar was at a loss because of this. Even though he had used the most resistant area on his arm to resist the opponent's fist, the pain and numbness that it caused on this area after made him completely lose resistance in the short period of time that followed.

Oscar was still as modest as when he was younger. After being knocked down by the Eastern boxer countless times, he finally concluded that his understanding of fighting skills was too shallow. Sometimes, holding a shiny blade in hand was not enough to solve the problem. His Highness the Prince even reasoned this as the cause of his repeated injuries. Westerners' dependence on combat equipment had led them to ignore physical development. In fact, the body was the best weapon. If used properly, areas like the knees, elbows, foreheads and other hard places would save them a lot of physical strength.

Oscar, Sandy and Torry hurried to the underground martial art field excitedly. Might Fist Lee, dressed in a crude khaki robe, was waiting there. Perhaps it was because a lively show was about to commence, Black Devil and Snowstorm who always come and go like ghosts also got out of the darkness. Like a pair of twins, they sat on the rug at the side of the martial arts field, happily munching bread and gulping goat milk down their throat.

The young prince grew angry when he saw the lively look of his bodyguards. He cursed Paul who was drinking goat milk to get itchy skin and Snowstorm who was devouring bread to grow into a fat man.

Both Paul and Black Devil did not respond to Oscar's sarcasm. They clenched their fists simultaneously at the Eastern boxer as if to hope that he will give the young prince a really good punch.

Before proceeding, the easterner helped the young prince to loosen up his limbs. When Oscar gestured to begin, he held his fists together at the challenger as taught by Thirteen. Might Fist Lee put on a rare smile because the young boy had done a good job. According to the courtesy of fighting, the eastern boxer also bowed to Oscar, but a deafening yell was heard across the field before he had the chance to raise his head.

Just as Oscar expected, the loud echo slowed down the response of the boxer. When his flying kick was about to touch the opponent's chin, Might Fist Lee had only started to raise his head.

Oscar smiled as he knew that a sudden blow would not turn into a miracle and the result was evidently so. The boxer ducked his head at the last second. As the tip of the boot was approaching he slammed Oscar's flying kick easily with a swing of the arm. However, Might Fist Lee had discovered that Oscar's thighs were weak. He was being thrown over into the air by just one slight touch.

The young prince turned around in the air thanks to the strength of the other side of his body and he swung his other leg quickly. Mighty Fist Lee could not evade the attack had no choice but used his entire arm to block the side of his head and then used his body's strength to defend against the opponent's flying spin kick. Once again, Oscar got thrown into the air, but he was not harmed. His entire thigh strengthened and the momentum from the collision with his opponent allowed him to retire from the air quickly.

Just as the young prince was about to hit a large stone pillar, Oscar's body turned into a lightweight, fluttering feather. He collected himself in the air slowly and bent his knees, so that when he stepped on the wall, he bounced forcefully so that his body sprinted like an arrow that had left the bow!

A round knee was magnified in front of the boxer's eyes and the strong breaking of wind and the cries from the other side of the field almost confused his sight and sound. When the martial artist's focus was back, he finally recognized the consequences of a rapid knee crash would cost him his life. The boxer made an almost magical side move and the young prince's knee managed to just slide above his hair. This fierce attack was once again avoided by the agile easterner! But it was not over yet. Oscar turned out to be more determined and spontaneous than anyone else. Just when the boxer watched his opponent passed through him, Oscar had already retracted his knees. He stepped against the wall behind the boxer and suddenly rebounded after three steps on the stone wall, trying to land on the boxer who looked up like he was sleeping with his arms behind his head. Oscar aimed his elbow at the head of the easterner on his landing.

Mighty Fighter Lee inhaled deeply at the sight. He would have ended with his skull broken into pieces if the opponent managed to land the blow. He squatted quickly and with the force of his arms, he performed a backflip.

The young Oscar whose strategies had not worked well landed on the ground dejectedly. A ground-breaking shatter was heard as his elbow hit on the hard-slate floor. When his body landed, the young Prince released a low cry.

”Help... me!”

The spectators, who had been stunned by the power of that blow, reacted finally. Everyone rushed to the young prince who had caused a human-shaped mark on the ground.

”Dis... dislocation!” Oscar grimaced as he held onto his arm which had hit the ground instead of his opponent.

Several big men scrambled to help His Highness the Prince to his feet. Oscar did not say but his face was contorted in agony. On the other hand, Sandinand who was agitated, grabbed the collar of Mighty Fist Lee. ”What have you done? You inferior yellow skin-” The southerner felt a large slap across his face before he had the chance to finish the sentence.

Oscar grabbed Sandy's arm as the latter struggled. However, he changed his facial expression when he noticed His Highness' upset expression.

”It's not about Lee. He didn't do anything wrong, you know that!” Oscar stared at Sandy impatiently. ”Do not behave like a mad dog as it will make me bored! Besides, do you think you are Rudolf Hoss?”

Sandy shook his head and Oscar became even more irritated. He went straight for the distressed eastern boxer.

”Lee! You will stay by my side from now on. Paul and Black Devil will take care of you! They will let you know that not all Westerners are self-righteous and ill-educated!”

The devil who was reprimanded stepped back into the corner in an awkward manner. Oscar didn't know what he was doing but he felt extreme anger as soon as he laid eyes on Sandy.

”Are you really stupid or pretending to be an idiot?” the young prince scorned the southerner who was standing there like a puppet. ”Didn't you see that my arm is dislocated? Go get an orthopaedist! I really cannot understand what you were thinking!”

Sandy who was late to realize almost ran out like a bolt of lightning!

Oscar spit as he looked at Sandy's receding back, ”He wasn't like this when I first met him. I thought this guy was a dumb. Who knew his mouth was even more annoying than the short-legged woman in the marketplace!”

Torry shrugged, ”Something you mentioned just now wasn't entirely wrong. At times, Sandy does resemble Rudolf Hoss! That's right! Rudolf Hoss!”

Oscar gave another cold snort of disdain. After a long while, the eastern boxer suddenly came forward and he lifted the arm of the young prince. This made Oscar somewhat surprised.

”You will...ouch!” His Highness the Prince screamed as he felt a sharp pain in his arm. He was sure that the easterner had healed his dislocated joints because a feeling of numbness after the severe pain flowed through his arm. Oscar took the opportunity to move his arm a little. Finally, he nodded his head and exclaimed, ”Eastern warriors are amazing!”

Mighty Fist Lee gently nodded in response to the praise of young Prince. Then, he went on to perform a massage for his future master. Oscar felt the numbness of his wounds fade away and what replaced was first sore, itching and extreme muscle fatigue.

”Alright! It's okay now!” the easterner finally put down the young man's arm. He smiled at the other person and just as he expected, these Westerners with different eye colors were not all unreasonable like Devil Sandy. Oscar and his friends sat down in the rest area of ​​the martial arts field. Young Prince still could not get the previous attack off his mind. He grumbled that the eastern boxer reacted too quickly, and Paul replied that it was he himself who reacted slowly. He complained that the boxer was only avoiding and did not fight back. Then Paul retorted that the young prince had dislocated when the boxer only dodged. Imagine what would have happened if he had launch an offense. Oscar grew more agitated as he listened to Paul, so he demanded the boxer to fight against Snowstorm. However, the sly King of Assassin could not be bothered and continued ridiculing the young man.

The men finally calmed down after a moment of teasing and mocking because everyone was caught all ears by listening to the life story of the boxer. The easterner summed up his past experiences using his most basic Titan language. In what he called the ”forest of martial arts,” he used to be an extremely well-known boxing master, but he was tired of using fists and ingenuity to keep life going. He tried every opportunity to withdraw away from the ”forest of martial arts” but as in his own words, ”Every time you want to quit, there will always be people and things that make you fall back into it!”

”Once you get in, you can't get out!” Paul suddenly said in a fluent eastern accent.

Might Fist Lee glanced at him in amazement and the King of Assassin grinned back in embarrassment. ”I still don't know much about the spiritual world of the eastern warrior but one of my old friends always say this sentence, so I stole a bit of the charm!”

The boxer blinked innocently as he realized he had fallen in love with the life here. Back in his homeland, he knew that he would only believe when he encountered the god that the westerners called Pluto.

”There isn't much choice left for me…is that how it goes?” Oscar murmured to himself.

Paul nodded, ”Yes, that's right, just like Lee mentioned earlier. When you want to quit, there will always be people and things that make you fall back into it again.”

Oscar could not help but uttered a sigh, ”Ola ola...it seems that this is indeed the case. It doesn't matter if ”forest of martial arts” exists but in Westland, we have politics! Just like how I wanted so eagerly to send Almodovar Godzilla into prison and starve him for years. But in reality? Not only I have to share the annual income of southern government with this pig head, but I also have no choice but to send a good-looking, sweet girl to his way...”

”Wait a second!” Torry cried out loudly, ”The southern girl that has been discussed so much about in the City of Dulin…the fiancee of Sea Monster! That was your idea?”

Oscar declined to comment further but only nodded, ”To be more precise, she is working for the southern division of the Military Intelligence Bureau, and it has no direct or indirect relationship with me.”

”But you are the Chief of the Military Intelligence Bureau!” Torry insisted, ”Isn't it your decision?”

Oscar patted his old friend's shoulder, ”Only me and Janin Sherman, the division head of southern division know about this. But do you know why I want you to know?”

Torry shook his head.

Oscar looked at his old friend with a worried gaze, ”Your artillery ruined the hard work of several generations of Secret Service Department. Even if Rudolf Hoss don't quibble over all the details, he definitely can't afford to lose his face! Hence you need to be cautious everywhere in Dulin. In the event of an urgency, take note, I mean an urgency that's enough to threaten your life – just find the fiancée of the Sea Monster. She has the power to help you to leave Dulin. This is the least I could do for my friends who are left behind in Dulin.”

Torry bit his lips but remained silent. He wanted to say thank you to his old friend, but he thought that this would ruin the current atmosphere.

”Try not to show off too much, you daredevil!” Oscar was still reminding his reckless artillery general. ”It's not easy for Rudolf Hoss to hold it in until now, so don't provoke him anymore. Turn around when you see him, do you understand?”

”No problem! I understand!” Brigadier General of Artillery nodded in affirmation. Only until now that Oscar stood up with ease.

At the perfect timing from the corner of the underground martial art field came a messenger. He reported to His Highness the Prince that a lord Viscor who claimed himself to be the secret agent of Southern Chamber of Commerce wished for an audience.

Oscar clapped his hands together, ”Ola, everybody, guess who is here!” Then he walked out of the door happily.

***************

Going past the finely carved Phoebe wooden gate and then through a deserted garden dotted with sunflowers and camellia. The Head of Secret Service stopped abruptly when he was about to reach his destination. He hesitated for a long time to make a loud sneeze. The birds in the garden got frightened and fled, Rudolf Hoss sneered as he watched those panicked birds. He knew that someone in some corner of the world was cursing him. These vicious curses worked like a poisonous tumor inside the body. Sooner or later, they would rot to become wretched bad meat, then they would be distributed among the greedy and evil spirits in hell!

Rudolf Hoss never imagined that he would be able to go to heaven. That place was not for someone like him. Besides, the air of heaven could make him suffocate. But who knows if there was any air in paradise? The head of secret service was annoyed. He had been rather distracted these days and kept pondering about questions about heaven and hell. Although he knew that he would definitely go to hell, and no matter how much he hated heaven, he still wished slightly to secure a position in the place where everyone longed for. It seemed that the damn tumor was to blame for this! But, perhaps, when death finally approached, the angel and death who were responsible for bringing the people to their next destination would make mistakes. Rudolf Hoss never would have thought to die of cancer. He felt that he should die in a well-planned and unprecedented, large-scale assassination plan, just like his previous predecessors, and not dying like a weak man on the deathbed.

”You want to see me?” the Head of Secret Service Department looked at the gardener who was arranging flowers.

Viesharl turned around as he was being called. He appeared really thin and his eyes sunken deep in their sockets. Only the palm holding the spatula had slightly more strength.

The flea sat down on the bench in the center of the garden and gestured the opposite seat to the Head of Secret officer.

”Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule-”

”Stop these nonsense, please!” Rudolf Hoss sat down impatiently. He didn't know what this guy in front of him was going to say, and he had no idea why he had agreed to coming to meet this person who has lost its value to him.

”Then let's go straight to the question!” Baron Viesharl suddenly changed his pathetic expression, ”Well, tell me the truth. When will I get out of here?”

The Head of Secret Service smiled uncontrollably as if he had been told the funniest joke in a hundred years!

”To leave here? You're planning to leave here?”

”Yes!” Big Flea nodded in affirmation.

Rudolf Hoss looked around his surroundings. He thought that this secret contact point was not too bad, at least it would not make people impatient.