Su Cheng caught the scent of fir and berry wine, sweet yet with a hint of freshness. Curly silver hair brushed past her cheekbones, and long, slender eyelashes swept across her eyelids.
The kiss seemed flustered and green, carrying a touch of helpless, bewildered anger.
Yet it was also incredibly passionate.
Like a wildfire sweeping across a dry meadow.
The slender hand pressing against her waist tightened slightly, as if trying to completely meld the young girl in his arms into his own body.
Su Cheng tasted the lingering sweetness at the corner of his lips, like caramel apple. Her thoughts wandered for a moment, and then she was bumped by the tips of his teeth.
Su Cheng: "..."
She helplessly wrapped her arms around his neck, guiding this completely disorganized kiss, using the tip of her tongue to gently trace the beautiful contour of his lower lip.
The silver-haired young man's body stiffened slightly, like a small animal that was suddenly comforted and at a loss for what to do.
His tense, broad back trembled slightly as he tried to respond to her movements, but he seemed a bit clumsy, his tall nose bumping against her cheek.
Then he stubbornly imitated her actions, nibbling on her lips as if this were some kind of competition he couldn't afford to lose.
Firewood crackled beside them, and countless tiny sparks flew into the air, like blooming fireworks, dragging out a streak of golden-red in their peripheral vision.
Charles gazed at her earnestly, his light-colored eyes glinting with gold in the firelight, as if a layer of misty vapor had surfaced in them.
"...Will you remember me, Spring Sun?"
When the kiss ended, the silver-haired young man whispered.
They were still close at hand, their lips almost touching, their warm breaths colliding in the narrow space.
Su Cheng was silent for a few seconds. "From the first time I saw you, I knew I would never forget you."
Charles chuckled softly, seemingly happy with this answer.
Their foreheads pressed together, panting gently.
"...Me too," he said.
Su Cheng blinked. "...Perhaps."
Charles didn't seem to understand the meaning of this sentence, but she didn't intend to explain it either.
Su Cheng raised her head and kissed him again.
It was a much gentler and more affectionate kiss. The whole world seemed to tear apart because of it, and the cheering, singing crowds gradually faded away.
All that remained was the temperature between his lips and teeth and the faint fragrance in his hair, burning brighter and brighter in the firelit night.
"...Anyway."
When they separated again, Charles kissed her forehead. "I need to go on another patrol. When I come back later, is there anything else you want to eat?"
Su Cheng pinched his cheek. "I'm not your little sister, I can buy it myself."
He smiled, setting her down on the ground. "See you later."
After saying that, he disappeared.
Su Cheng strolled around the square and bought a bag of honey nut cake to nibble on. Several young men came over to invite her to dance, but she didn't want the hassle for the time being, so she turned them all down.
Deciding to find a quiet place, she walked to a corner on the outskirts of the square and sat down in the shadow of a stone archway.
Then she heard voices.
Behind her was a tea shop with a wooden sign. The stained glass cast fragmented spots of light from the bonfire, and a window was left open a crack.
Logically speaking, she was still some distance away from the shop and shouldn't have been able to hear the conversation.
But with her heightened senses, she could clearly hear all the movements inside.
Su Cheng originally had no interest in eavesdropping.
But someone inside mentioned the Holy Church.
She couldn't help but look back.
Through the crack in the window, she could see two luxuriously dressed people sitting by the window. One of them was using tweezers to pick up a few pieces of dried, orange-red grass leaves.
She seemed to be brewing tea. "...My lord, in short, as you know, I personally am extremely inclined to cooperate with the members of the Holy Church, but you must also understand my difficulties."
The person looked up with a bitter smile. "The people of the Secret Cult sometimes show their devotion in very generous ways."
The person across the table snorted coldly. "Say no more, I understand."
With that, the person stood up and left.
Su Cheng stood motionless in place, making no sound, until the person went out the front door and quickly departed.
The person in the tea room remained seated. Not long after, someone else descended from the sky onto the roof, then jumped down and entered the tea room through the front door.
"My lady!"
The newcomer opened her arms, her tone sounding quite enthusiastic. "You look absolutely radiant. Business must have been very good lately, right?"
"Ah, Your Excellency Leliana," the person in the tea room also stood up. "Thanks to you, and also thanks to the blessing of His Holiness the God of Darkness..."
The two exchanged a few pleasantries, even shared a hug, and then sat down again.
Su Cheng had already figured out that this newcomer was from the Secret Cult.
The guest named Leliana took a few sheets of paper from the other person, which looked like some kind of contract.
"...Madam Olina," Leliana's voice darkened. "What is the meaning of this?"
Olina spread her hands. "Your Excellency, please do not be angry. This is not what I wished. Business is hard to do these days. Last time, right after you left, that priestess arrived. The terms she offered on behalf of the Holy Church, sigh, pardon my bluntness, were thirty percent higher than what you previously offered."
She lowered her voice as she spoke. "Moreover, as you know, the imperial family has a close relationship with them, and the power of the Holy Church nowadays is—"
"Thirty percent?!" Leliana said in disbelief. "Are you joking? Nine million gold coins is already the bottom line. I've already told you the budget given to me from above. Where do you expect me to get the extra money? Do you expect me to pay out of my own pocket? I can't come up with millions of gold coins. Even if I went and ransacked the temples of the Holy Church, I couldn't magically produce that much money for you in a few days!"
"Your Excellency," Olina sighed. "That's not how you should look at it. If you secure this mineral vein for the Cult, especially at a time like this, the merit would be worth far more than a few million gold coins. If the higher-ups knew of your ability and loyalty, would they be stingy with their rewards? Lord Saron has always been generous to his subordinates—"
"Hah, that's only when things get done. If I mess this up, he will kill me. He will grind me into meat paste!"
Leliana said furiously. "Besides, don't think I don't know what kind of tricks you're playing, Cooper. I'm afraid you've used this same set of excuses in front of the people from the Holy Church as well, haven't you?"
Olina let out a long sigh. "Your Excellency, I have my difficulties too. The Blood Tree Crystal veins run in tricky directions. A third of them extend into the town's residential areas and nearby villages, right under people's houses. Once construction starts, how many houses will we have to move? How many underground tunnels will we have to dig? Just appeasing these people will cost a massive sum of money. The quote I gave you before was based on preliminary estimates. This current price list is the exact calculated figure. Please, take a look. My hands are tied!"
Leliana slammed her hand on the table, reducing it to dust. "You've said all this before. Stop repeating yourself over and over! I'm not so old that I can't remember! If it weren't for these troublesome matters, the higher-ups wouldn't have approved such a large budget."
She stood up in annoyance, pacing anxiously around the tearoom a couple of times before stopping to sneer. "The people in your town are all waiting to make a fortune, right? The blood of the Ancient God nourished your land, granting you bountiful harvests year after year. Now you want to exchange the crystal marrow He left behind for money, without even considering whether He could use this chance to resurrect. You are truly a bunch of ungrateful beasts—"
"Your Excellency," Olina forced a smile, "both your esteemed cult and the Holy Church have condemned the False God of the Void as a heretic. How would we commoners dare to defy the will of the Supreme Gods? Besides, most of the people in the town don't even know what that is anymore. I'm afraid only a few families know the inside story."
Leliana narrowed her eyes and stared at her for a few seconds. "Yes, it is heresy, but that doesn't stop me from looking down on you people."
Olina shook her head. "Your Excellency, you are from the city, so naturally you wouldn't know. This place, Iron Cage Town, is surrounded by mountains on all sides. The mountains are filled with magical beast nests, and the nearby villages suffer greatly from them. Sometimes, they even threaten the people in the town. Our Lord Mayor can't even go home for days on end..."
She paused. "Although most people nowadays don't know anything about a false god and just think it's a special magic crystal vein, everyone is counting on this to strike it rich."
Leliana sneered. "Are nine million gold coins not enough for you to strike it rich? Last time, your list already included various extra fees. For the sake of us being old friends—"
"My Lady," Olina interrupted her, "last time was last time. I also said that the situation is different now. Someone has offered a higher price. If you cannot afford this sum, then as it stands, accepting the Holy Church's offer is our only choice. This deal involves the entire town. Of course, I am willing to cooperate with you, but business is business. What can I do?"
Leliana's face darkened like deep water. She looked at her quietly for a few seconds, said nothing, and slammed the door as she left.
Su Cheng had basically understood what was going on.
The Holy Church and the Secret Cult. Both factions wanted to buy a certain crystal mine in the town, and the person currently responsible for negotiating with them was playing both sides to drive up the price.
To be honest, this approach was absolutely terrible.
Did that merchant not realize who she was doing business with?
Su Cheng really didn't want to meddle in other people's business, but thinking of the children of the Wayne family, she bit the bullet and followed.
Of course, the fact that she was able to eavesdrop for so long without being discovered proved that Leliana was not a top-tier expert.
Though it was true that such experts wouldn't be sent to negotiate anyway.
Su Cheng trailed Leliana from a distance, watching her leap across rooftops and walls to head straight out of the town, meeting up with her subordinates waiting on the outskirts.
"My Lady!"
Several subordinates were seated on magical beasts. The leader urged his two-headed horse forward a couple of steps; one look at his superior's face and he knew things hadn't gone smoothly.
"Damn Cooper!" Leliana cursed, spewing a string of profanities. "Raising the price on the spot! She just thinks I won't contact the people from the Holy Church to verify her words—"
The subordinates looked at each other in dismay.
"My Lady," someone said in a low voice, "if that's the case, as long as we cut off the connection between the Holy Church and the Cooper Firm, won't they have no choice but to choose us?"
"What do you mean?" Leliana shot back. "Go to the nearest Holy Church temple and kill them all? What's the point of purging a low-level temple? Above it, there's the temple in Golden Amber City, and the temple in the Imperial Capital. Am I supposed to kill them all one by one? If I had that kind of ability, would I still be here?!"
"I actually think," another subordinate suddenly smiled, "these people are so greedy simply because they feel they have nothing to fear. We should make them understand exactly who they are dealing with."
Leliana glanced at him.
"I mean," the man said with a beaming smile, "I have a few bandit groups under my command. They were originally helping the nobles in the city collect debts—"
"No," Leliana said crossly, "Lord Saron wouldn't allow me to do such a thing, and I don't want to do it myself either—"
"You misunderstand, My Lady. It's just to scare them a little. The nine million gold coins we offered are enough for all these people to move into the city and live a fairly good life."
The man sneered. "The ancestors of these shameless, ignorant peasants betrayed the Ancient God that nourished them. They are rotten to the core. Ordinary methods definitely won't work..."
Leliana pondered for a moment. "You have a point, but don't take it too far. If they don't cooperate, just kill one or two of the ringleaders."
"Of course, Your Excellency," the man bowed on the back of his giant lizard. "As long as this deal is done, His Holiness the God of Darkness might even reward us. If nothing else, your promotion to Chief Steward is definitely set in stone."
Leliana thought for a few seconds, a smile gradually appearing on her face, as if she could already see the scene of her getting a promotion and striking it rich.
"Alright," she leaped onto her bird-dragon mount, stroking her companion's brightly colored neck feathers. "Do it as soon as possible. The fact that the Holy Church agreed so readily means they probably have a similar idea in mind. Make your move before they do."
"Hah, My Lady, you've finally figured it out."
"...Shut up."
"However, that sheriff in town won't be easy to deal with—"
"...I have a way."
The group of people sped away into the night.
Su Cheng gazed at their rapidly disappearing figures from a distance, took a deep breath, and then turned to sprint toward the town square.
