After Lin Gerui finished speaking, he walked away without looking back. It seemed he had come solely to give Jeanne a warning, hoping she wouldn't entangle herself further in Lungmen's shifting tides.
Jeanne watched the old man's departing figure, sensing a hint of helplessness in his stride. Uncertain of what exactly was transpiring, she simply saw him off with her gaze.
When she arrived back at Penguin Logistics, she found the penguin known as The Emperor there unusually early. It was the first time she had seen him during the day since her arrival.
"Yo, Miss Jeanne! Out for a morning stroll?"
The Emperor, with a cigar clamped in his beak, greeted her with the familiarity of an old friend.
"Good morning. I just woke up early and decided to walk around. I didn't expect to see you here so early either."
Jeanne greeted him politely, looking at the breakfast in her hand and wondering if she should offer him a bite. However... she wasn't sure if a penguin could eat human food. In her memory, penguins usually ate fresh fish; she had never tried feeding one anything else.
"It's all thanks to you! Penguin Logistics just landed a massive contract. I just sent Exusiai and the others out on a mission. I was up late last night struggling to write a new song, and at this rate, my feathers are going to start falling out..."
As he spoke, The Emperor shook himself, and a few feathers actually fluttered to the ground. His small eyes went wide as he stared at them. Jeanne suddenly felt a wave of profound sorrow radiating from the balding penguin. It seemed he valued his plumage quite highly.
"Oh, no! I've been using bird feather softener for so long, why isn't it working?!"
The Emperor was devastated. He was a rapper! His image was just as important as his performance. If he kept losing feathers, his fans might lose interest or, worse, stop showing up to his shows...
This was terrifying! After this contract, he decided he had to take a vacation. Maybe he'd dump all the work on his subordinates and head to Siesta for a holiday.
"Uh... just try to keep a peaceful mind. Shedding is normal; they'll grow back soon. By the way, what was that big contract you mentioned?"
Jeanne didn't know how to comfort someone about losing feathers, as she didn't have wings herself. She just wanted to change the subject before someone accused her of animal cruelty.
"That! This morning, Chernobog contacted me. They're sending an express delivery to Lungmen, and the recipient is you."
At her question, The Emperor's grief vanished instantly. The speed of his emotional shift was breathtaking—as if the depressed penguin from a moment ago had never existed.
Is this the emotional control of a Terra-famous rapper? Jeanne wondered. Impressive. No wonder he's a superstar.
"You wouldn't believe it. The commission that company is paying is almost equal to our entire monthly revenue! We've finally met a boss willing to spend!"
The Emperor was ecstatic. This was a deal he couldn't lose on. Even if Exusiai caused her usual brand of trouble, the profit margin was too high to fail. If he lost money on this, he'd give up fresh fish for three days! Usually, he spent his time in the office calculating how much compensation they'd have to pay out after missions, a practice that always gave Wei Yenwu ammunition during their arguments.
Jeanne could guess who sent the package. It was likely that new vehicle Lemuen mentioned, the one with "epic-level" security upgrades. It hadn't been long since the attack, yet the vehicle was already on its way? The speed and wealth behind such a feat were staggering.
As long as you had the money, assembling a car in days—or even building one from scratch—was no problem. And the people of Laterano were the definition of "wealthy clients." Now that they had a deal with the Ursus officials, they spared no expense for Jeanne's safety.
"Say, Jeanne, we've been getting along well these past few days. Interested in a private trade?"
Suddenly, The Emperor looked at her nervously, his tone cautious, as if afraid his next request might make her think poorly of him. This change in demeanor puzzled Jeanne. What could a boss like him want from her?
"What do you want to trade? If it's within my power, I don't see an issue."
The Emperor let out a sigh of relief. He scratched his head with a wing, seemingly searching for the right words. He looked like a polar bear asking for a fish—though the imagery was odd, it was certainly sincere.
"Actually, I want to trade for some high-concentration Holy Water. Not much, just a small bottle will do."
He produced a small 200ml bottle to show her. Jeanne understood his hesitation. High-concentration Holy Water was almost never traded. Before her arrival, Laterano only produced a few liters a year, and every milliliter was accounted for before it was even made.
"What do you need that for? It shouldn't have any effect on you, right?"
Jeanne remembered that this penguin was actually a "shard" of a certain deity. Holy Water, which acted as a deterrent against other divine powers, shouldn't really affect him. She wasn't worried he'd use it for evil—Holy Water couldn't be used that way, and The Emperor wasn't that kind of "bird."
She was worried he might hurt himself. Having only met Kashchey as a reference point for gods, she didn't know the specifics of the deity The Emperor belonged to. If the Holy Water purified the deity and took the penguin with it, Exusiai would be out of a job.
"How should I put this? You've probably realized I'm a shard of a certain god, right? I want the Holy Water to resist my original body."
The Emperor hesitated for a moment before revealing his greatest secret. While he didn't fear his "main self," he was preparing countermeasures. One of those was using the power of Holy Water to force his original body to proactively relinquish his shard.
His preparations went further; his long-term stay in Lungmen and his friendship with Wei Yenwu were part of the plan, as Yan had the deepest understanding of such entities.
"You might not know this, but I can feel the state of the one who split me off. Its condition is becoming... pessimistic. I need to be ready in case it falls into madness."
As he spoke, the bird's face held an expression of extreme seriousness. Even though Jeanne couldn't quite grasp how a bird could make such a complex face, she certainly felt his sincerity.