You don't even want to call me godfather

"Well... okay," Saria moved her shoulders. She easily broke open the thick branches that blocked the way and freed Ferdinand from inside. "But why did it become like this?"

"Ask Muir Seth!"

Ferdinand was so angry that he seemed to be choking. He sat on the chair and pointed at Muerseth with anger on his face.

"Well... remember the potted plant I gave you a few days ago, Saria?" Muirses scratched her hair. It didn't look like she realized her mistake at all. "That's the latest mutant I cultivated. If you neglect it for a moment, it will grow wildly."

"Hmm... so should I be thankful that I trim it every day?" Saria asked in an uncertain tone, and then added, "Because it's a gift, I think I should pay more attention to it."

"Sareya..."

There was such a touching expression on Muirseth's face that Koshe, who was watching the whole thing, wondered if she was ready to shed a few tears.

"Alright, alright," Kristen clapped her hands twice, pulling the others back from their emotions, "The guests are still here, don't be too indulgent."

"Is this the atmosphere you always have?" After seeing everyone's eyes focused on him, Koshe said, "It seems... different from what I imagined."

"Even researchers need some humor and fun in their lives, otherwise they will go crazy one day," Kristen shrugged and introduced Koshei, "This is the director of the defense department, Saria. It can be said that the safety of Rhine Life and even Columbia is guaranteed by her. And this is the director of the energy department, Ferdinand, the best high-energy physicist on this land and sky."

"Yes," Ferdinand stood up from his chair, walked to Koshei and shook hands with him. "Christen, you are too kind. I am not worthy of the title of the best now. There are many people who are better than me."

Ferdinand gave Kosche a feeling of being both arrogant and humble, but judging from his identity as the director of the energy department, perhaps he did have the capital to hold such an attitude.

Only Saria frowned slightly and looked at Koshei.

As someone who had been in charge of the defense of Rhine Life and Columbia City for many years, she could naturally see at a glance how extraordinary Koshe was. However, considering the presence of Muerses and Ferdinand, she did not express her opinion, but just looked at Christen with a complicated look.

And Kristen smiled back, making the words she wanted to say stuck in her throat.

"Nice to meet you, um..."

Saria was halfway through greeting when she suddenly remembered that she didn't know the other person's name.

"Koshe Cascade," Koshe also saw at a glance the difference between Saria and others. He did not hide his identity, but generously revealed his real name, "I am also very happy to meet you, Ms. Saria."

After these words were spoken, not only Saria, but also Ferdinand and Muerseth, who originally regarded Koshe as a newcomer, were stunned.

Although Koshei, who is rarely photographed in public, is not well-known, his name has spread around the world in recent months.

The revered godfather of Syracuse, the young monarch who overthrew the old political system, received an invitation to the Lateran Council of Nations in his first year in office, sent the Lateran military commander to prison, and made the Lateran Pope owe him a favor.

For such a prominent figure, even if the people present wanted to pretend not to know him, they couldn't do it.

And what Rhine Life did to Syracuse a month ago...

"Well, Kristen..." Muerses whispered in Kristen's ear again, "Why not let Parvis do it himself--"

"By the way," but Kristen didn't give Muerseth a chance to continue. She clapped her hands and said as if she had a sudden idea, "It's rare that so many people are here. Why don't we hold a party after a long absence? The heads of all departments should all relax. Muerseth, go inform the heads of other departments and tell them... you have cultivated a new mutant plant. So Kristen suggested celebrating it."

"Eh? Do you really have to use this excuse..." This time, Muirseth felt a strong sense of shame, but after noticing Kristen's eyes, she immediately changed her words, "Don't worry, Commander Kristen, I'll take care of this matter!"

Then she left again as if escaping.

"If Mr. Cascade is not in a hurry to go back, can I invite you to the party?" After watching Muirseth leave, Christen extended a hand to Koshe and invited him. Her words and actions revealed her cultivation. "Believe me, you will like it here. Besides, this also gives us a chance to discuss business."

"Whether you like this place or not is another matter." After a brief thought, Koshei easily compromised. He also reached out and held Kristen's hand. "But I really can't leave before we finish talking about business."

Chapter 59: The Eve of the Party

Rhine Life, a hall that was used to receive distinguished guests and cooperative enterprises many years ago.

The party is still being prepared, but some people have already arrived here in advance and are waiting.

"I vaguely remember that the last party was held a few years ago," a man with short brown hair and glasses sat casually in a corner of the hall, playing with the business card in his hand and sighing, "I had just entered Rhine Life not long ago, so it's a relatively rare memory."

"I just can't understand why Kristen is holding a party for such a small matter, and why I am sitting here." Next to him, an old Caprini man with a peaceful but serious look was adjusting his bow tie. "How could a new mutant plant hold a party for such a thing?"

"Well, sometimes life has to be a little fun, Director Arends," the short-haired man spread his hands, then lowered his voice and jokingly said, "Maybe the party is just a cover, and they are actually using it to announce some big news."

"It's not impossible," the old man called Arenz nodded, as if he took the joke seriously, "After all, based on the logic of the general manager, it is really possible to do so."

"Well... Anyway, the answers to these questions will be revealed tonight, so let's just wait patiently."

The man put away his business card and stretched. On his chest was a name tag with the Rhine Life logo, which read - Director of Business Department, Justin Fitzroy.

"Really, I hope it's over soon."

The old man picked up the cup of water he was carrying and took a sip of water to suppress his anxious mood.

He also had a name tag hanging on his chest - Director of the Structural Department, Ahrendts Parvis.

"You seem a little impatient, Director Arends," Justin noticed Arends's mood, his eyes narrowed slightly, with a smirk on his face, "Is there something urgent that needs to be dealt with? If so, I will help you tell the commander-in-chief that you are not feeling well and cannot attend the party-"

"Come on, come on. Just focus your evil intentions on other people. I, an old man, can't stand your tricks."

Arends waved his hand, interrupting Justin.

"Okay, okay, I won't bother you for now," Justin stood up and said goodbye to Arends. "Unlike you guys who have been staying at the headquarters, I came all the way from other districts and even lost a client. I need to get something to drink first."

As the director of the business department, Justin's biggest habit has long been observation, even in his own company.

He walked back and forth in the hall under the pretext of looking for a drink, while observing whether there were other people who had arrived here early.

But there is one person who can notice it even without observing.

She was a radiant white-haired woman, wearing a pair of black high heels, fashionable and expensive clothes, and sunglasses. She looked like a popular movie star rather than an employee of a scientific research company.

As if she had noticed Justin as well, she chatted with the ordinary employee who was preparing for the party in front of her, then walked towards him.

"Justin, have you seen Kristen?"

The woman asked, almost getting straight to the point.

"As far as I know, the governor should be with Saria now, and Ferdinand and Muerses are also with them," Justin adjusted his glasses and replied in a serious tone different from before, "but there is another person who will also attend the party tonight, Ms. Yara."

"A distinguished guest from Syracuse," Yara took off her sunglasses and hung them on the chest pocket of her coat. "In terms of connections, I am not inferior to you, Justin. In Colombia, it is easy to get any information. The key is... Does Arends know about this?"

As she spoke, Yara glanced at Arends, who was drinking tea alone in the corner of the hall.

"Including Muirseth, none of us who know about this have revealed this to him. I'm very curious about what kind of expression he will show when the time comes." At this point, Justin couldn't help but smirked, and then looked at a girl who had been following Yara closely, "But you don't seem to have introduced this lovely young lady yet, right?"

"Shipka, don't be so nervous. You can treat this as your own home." Yara turned her head, took Shipka's hand, and pulled her out from behind her. "This is Uncle Justin Fitzroy. But you don't need to be so respectful to this guy. Just call him Little Justin."

"Hey, why are you still saying bad things about me in front of me?" Justin reluctantly refuted Yara's words. After all, he was indeed a very easy-going person. He glanced at Shipka, then at Arenz in the distance, and guessed, "This kid, it's also because of Arenz."

"Ah."

Yara didn't say much. She reached out and stroked Shipka's head. Although Shipka was no longer a child now, in Yara's eyes, she was a child.

"Hmm... maybe I should have a good talk with the governor about Arends someday," Justin couldn't help but shake his head and sighed, "Compared to a few years ago, Arends now seems a little too 'fanatic'. Although even I can't claim to be innocent, if we abandon morality, there will be problems one day, just like now, the monarch of Syracuse has come to our door."

"This is not something you and I need to worry about, Justin," Yara looked down at Shipka, who was also looking at her. She smiled gently and said, "Kristen will handle it properly. She can't be blind to what we can see. We just need to trust her."

"That's true," Justin looked around the hall. In addition to the ordinary employees preparing for the party and Arends sitting in the corner, there was a Sarkaz banshee sitting quietly by herself at a distance from them. Next to her was a drowsy Zalak woman. "It is because of the General Manager that we, who originally had nothing in common, have gathered here together to become the most powerful company in this country."

"However, even I can't help but wonder what method Christen will use to convince the guest from Syracuse," Yara raised her head and looked at a door opening in the hall and Christen walking out of the door, and said to herself, "After all, even we don't agree with what Arends did to Syracuse."

Chapter 60 Ferdinand

Christen came out of the door, Ferdinand walked silently beside her, and Muerseth and Saria followed behind.

After entering the hall, Muerseth pulled Saria away tactfully.

Just as Ahrendts noticed Kristen's arrival and put down his cup of water and was about to get up, a figure slowly walked out from the door that had not yet been closed.

It was Koshe. He walked into the hall slowly, looked around at the people in the hall, and stopped when his eyes swept across Arends who was getting up.

This time when he came to Colombia, he had done his homework. Combined with the information provided by Osvid, Koschei was already very familiar with the basic position system of Rhine Life.

Therefore, he knew who his target should be, the department where Ω was imprisoned and Shipka was experimented on, and it was undoubtedly the old Caprini in his sight, the Structural Department in charge of which Arends Parvez was in charge.

The moment he saw Koshei, Ahrendts narrowed his eyes slightly, then widened them again.

Why is he here?

As if realizing it belatedly, Ahrendts subconsciously looked at the several entrances and exits of the hall, but they were all closed by ordinary employees who were leaving.

In other words, this directors-only party has begun.

"Tsk, this is really not the right time."

Arends smacked his lips and sat down again in frustration.

"Mr. Cascade," Kristen seemed to have noticed the eye contact between Koshe and Arends, turned around and cleverly blocked him, saying, "Before we talk about business, why don't we enjoy this party first."

"Well, I will."

Koshe understood what Christen meant, and he didn't want to do something rash like openly quarreling with someone else on their territory.

Of course, only for now.

"Oh, it looks like the fun is about to begin."

Justin, who had found a place to sit not far away, spoke to himself in a voice that only he could hear.

"Little Shipka..."

Yara noticed that Shipka beside her trembled when she saw Koshe. She stroked Shipka's hair, and then looked at Koshe with a more complicated look in her eyes.

How could he be here...

Shipka's eyes were dull. The boy who made her breath shortness, the boy whose name she didn't even know, the boy who said he would take her home, appeared in front of her again after a day.

As if sensing Shipka's strong gaze, Koshe looked in her direction and their eyes met for a few seconds.

Shipka could see a moment of surprise in his eyes, and then his attention was drawn away by the call of the chief of the Pelo tribe.

Perhaps at first, Shipka did not take Koshe's words seriously, she just found an excuse to vent.

But now, after Koshe appeared in front of her again, hope arose in her heart.

"Dorothy, wake up," the quiet Sarkaz banshee poked the sleepy Zalak woman next to her and reminded her, "Everyone is here."

"Um... ah?"

The woman named Dorothy opened her eyes with difficulty. From the dark circles under her eyes that made people suspect that she would die suddenly at any time, one could tell what her mental state was at the moment.

After being awakened by the Sarkaz banshee, she simply straightened her body, and within a few seconds, her head began to shake again.

Seeing that all the directors except those of the Scientific Expedition Department were present, Christen walked up the short stairs alone to the small podium at the front of the hall. The staff had already debugged the equipment in advance, so she picked up the microphone and coughed twice.

"Ahem, let me just say a few words."

As the microphone made a shrill sound as Kristen approached, the people whispering in the hall shut up and waited for her speech.

Even Dorothy suddenly woke up, and opened her extremely sore eyes with a little pain, looking at Christen who was blurry in her vision on the stage.

"This year is the 1094th year of the Terra calendar. It has been nine years since the establishment of Rhine Life Science Co., Ltd." Christen looked at the directors of the eight departments scattered around the hall and began her speech. "In these nine years, Rhine Life Science has grown from a half-floor office building to what it is today. It has a clear department system and its own headquarters building. This is inseparable from the efforts of everyone here."

Kristen turned her head and looked at the huge glass exterior wall from her perspective. Outside the wall, the sun had already set and the city lights were shining in the sky.

"Of course, this party is not because of Muerses' mutant plants," Christen turned around and said something that made Muerses want to bury himself in the ground. Then he changed the subject and said, "But as the general manager of Rhine Life, I have seen all your efforts. There is no doubt that this is the relaxation and rest you deserve."

"Christen..."

Regardless of what the other directors think, Muirseth, who values ​​the relationship with the people in Rhine's life the most among these people, has very complicated feelings.

"thus……"

"Mr. Cascade."

Just as Christen was expressing her ideas on the stage, Ferdinand came up to Koshei at some point and called him softly.

"Ferdinand Clooney," Koshei did not turn his head to Ferdinand. He knew that the other party must have some purpose in looking for him under such circumstances. "I remember... he is the director of the Energy Department?"

"Yes, you can just call me Ferdinand," Ferdinand and Koshe stood side by side, looking at Christen on the stage, pretending not to have a private conversation. "I wonder if you are in the mood to talk to me alone later?"

"As far as I know, you have both connections and eloquence, Ferdinand. Similarly, you have also relied on these to attract a lot of investment for Rhine Life. It is not an exaggeration to compare you to the source of funds for Rhine Life." Koshe did not respond to Ferdinand's invitation first, but directly made the words very clear. "But as the director of the Energy Department, what do you like about Syracuse? In other words, what can your function bring to Syracuse?"

"I think you may have misunderstood something, Mr. Cascade," Ferdinand shook his head gently. He realized that Koche was not an investor who could be easily fooled, so he explained, "You are a smart man, that's obvious, and you are right. I did come here with the idea of ​​cooperating with you."

"In that case..."

"But before you refuse, please allow me to explain what our Energy Department can do." Ferdinand knew what Koshei wanted to say, so he immediately stopped him and explained quickly and simply, "As staff members of the Energy Department, our function is to study the utilization of various known heat sources such as Originium, sunlight, geothermal energy, and biology, as well as various ways of storing and applying energy. If we want to describe it in a simple and easy-to-understand way, the research content of the Energy Department is like theoretical physics and experimental physics."

"To put it simply, it is the utilization of various energy sources... huh?"

After Ferdinand's explanation, Koshei couldn't help but start to have some hesitation.

"Yes, it seems that you summarized it more concisely than me. Maybe I can say the same to others in the future." Ferdinand used his eloquence to secretly praise Koshei first, and then continued to suggest, "As far as I know, Syracuse's technological level is not at the forefront in today's world. Of course, I don't mean to belittle your country. I just want to say that with my professional field and ability, only a small change is needed to completely improve your country's technological strength."

"...This is not something you can just say, Ferdinand," Koshei frowned upon hearing this. "How can you say so lightly that you can change a country's technological strength?"

"But as I said, I do have the ability to do this." For some reason, Koshei even heard a hint of disdain in Ferdinand's tone. "As one of the best high-energy physicists..., it's just a matter of changing a few energy application formulas."