The Queen's Guard Dog was in a one-sided and very fierce battle between himself and his husband. As always, he took it absolutely seriously. His eyes were focused and his muscles were tense as sweat gathered at his furrowed brow. He moved with unbridled ferocity as he attacked, never slowing down and never letting up as he pressed ever forward in his endeavor.

"It's honestly amazing how you can have killing intent when making eggs." Jim stated as he watched his beau from the kitchen table. "You're making me feel hyped just watching you! Did they dishonour the family or something?"

"This is a very serious matter of pride, Jim." There wasn't a hint of playfulness in the Watchdog's tone as he answered. "It's shameful for a man to not be able to make a single thing for their spouse."

"Oh, I see." And the menace just accepting that, knowing that his husband was a stubborn sort that believes all matters of gentlemanly honour are of utmost importance, even if it was simply about preparing a few eggs. More importantly than that, Jim was rather pleased with the situation. He smiled, looking on as his husband worked, only to have his daze interrupted as the Earl frantically began trying to turn off the stove.

"Buggar!" shouted the bluenette. "Uuugh…" He looked at the pan in his hand and stirred the contents with his spatula a bit before setting it down.

"What happened?"

"I burnt it a bit..." The Watchdog stared at the eggs for a while, moving to the plates on the counter and then moving to the trash before heading back to the plates again, obviously confused as to what he should do with them. "Uuuh..."

"Well, bring them over. I still want to eat them."

"Ah- uh… Well… No."

"'No?'"

"If I'm going to do it, I need to do it properly!"

"Give me the eggs, Ciel."

"No. Why do you want them?"

"Give egg."

"What?"

"Present egg."

"No."

"Surrender egg."

"No!"

Jim stood up from the table with a fork held firmly in his fist. Slowly, he advanced toward the bluenette, prompting the poor man to back up until his lower back was pressed up against the counter. He was completely cornered with the lion stalking ever forward, ready to pounce. The menace's knees bent as he prepared his strike, warning Ciel to turn around with his back facing the blonde. When Jim attacked, he had to get around him, grabbing the other man's shoulder with one hand and reaching out with his fork in the other as the bluenette attempted to keep it away from him.

"Lemme get a taste of those eggs, boi!" ordered the menace as he fought against his spouse, trying to wrestle him for his breakfast.

"What in blazes-?! Jim! What are you doing?!"

"I'm craving your burnt eggs, that's what!"

"Jim!" Despite his attempt to scold the blonde, the Watchdog chuckled as they played their little game of "keep-away."

"Are you just going to let your poor, dear, sweet, husband starve? I'm wasting away, Ciel." Jim said very casually, not even bothering to try and stifle a laugh. He started to make process in reaching his prize, prompting the bluenette to take further evasive maneuvers. The bluenette moved to the side, attempting to turn the tables and trap the menace between his back and the counter, but in doing so, he left himself vulnerable as the menace backed off for a moment and swept around the bluenette, appearing in front of him, and lunging again. Yet perhaps both Jim and the Watchdog himself had underestimated Ciel's competativeness when it came to the blonde, only to realise this far too late after Ciel tried to get around his beau. Elbows were bumped and a pan full of scrambled eggs fell to the floor.

Then, there was silence. The quarreling had stopped. There was nothing that could be done about what had just transpired, leaving the two men to stare at the eggs on the floor. Oh, how cruel fate was. Ciel had no idea what to do. He opened his mouth to suggest he try to make a new batch, when the menace crouched down. The Watchdog sputtered as he watched his spouse calmly scoop the eggs onto a plate and take a bite. Jim stood back up, nodding in approval before setting the plate down on the counter.

"Needs a bit of salt and pepper, but not at all bad!" the menace stated, rummaging through the cabinet for spices.

"Day after day, your savagery never ceases to amaze me..." Ciel finally stated, knowing that he was perfectly powerless to stop the other demon.

"Hey, five-second-rule. They're still good."

"That was much longer than five seconds!"

"You don't have to eat the floor-eggs. I, however, am going to appreciate what I have been given because I am grateful, my love."

"I could have made you more eggs, you know..."

"Wastefulness is the mark of the bourgeoisie, Ciel. I will not be swayed by your capitalist ways."

"Well, just brush your teeth when you're done, I suppose." Indeed, there was no point at all in attempting to fight against Jim's ridiculous antics. If Ciel became outraged with every instance of feral buffoonery committed by his spouse, then he would have no energy at all for when something actually important came up. That was the way he saw it, anyway. More than that, however, the Watchdog accepted that loving Jim meant loving his eccentricities as well, and truth be told, he wouldn't have it any other way. One might think that a man of his class and conservatism would prefer a docile, prim, and proper lady to be married to, but he found no appeal whatsoever in the idea. Jim was interesting and he understood and accepted Ciel's own nonsense, like his physical aversion to wearing T-shirts in public with the exception of going to the beach or somewhere similar, or how he insists that he remakes Jim's food when it is anything less than perfect on the first try. He felt honour-bound to be useful to his beau, it seemed, but he was slowly adopting some of Jim's philosophies and habits as time went on. It was in the same way that Jim slowly adopted Ciel's sense of honour, integrity, and dignity, along with a few other romantic values. He wasn't going to ever be the same as the Watchdog or even have the same opinion on these ideals, but he could see the appeal and felt as though his life had improved since caring about them, somewhat.

Thus, Jim ate his floor-eggs rather happily, and Ciel let him do it. The Watchdog was somewhat fascinated by how wild Jim was being on this trip in comparison to usual, but he supposed that it was good for him. He knew that Jim never really felt like he fit into posh society and Ciel would never even dream of trying to force him, but Ciel also believed that getting Jim out of and away from the mansion on occasion might be beneficial.

"I wonder what you would act like if you lived by yourself..." the bluenette thought aloud. "If we never wound up in a relationship, but stayed friends and didn't kill each other, how often would you eat off of the floor?"

"Oh, everyday. Get some extra proteins and minerals. It's nutrition."

"That's disgusting."

"Go marry Lapointe, then. She's keen."

"No, she's really not my type. I have a preference for men, but my tastes are pretty much the same: Mischievous, clever, can defeat me in combat, and has a cat-like face."

"That's very specific… Why a cat-like face?"

"They're pretty and cute, obviously."

"Huh… I feel like I'm learning all sorts of things about you, this trip..." Jim noted, taking another bite.

"Likewise."

"It's gonna suck when we get back… I have to talk to the French… Not that there's anything wrong with the French, specifically- it's just that I don't want to talk to people about work and I know that the whole thing is going to entail a lot of it. I've already started thinking about how I'm going to present the information they need to them… It's too much… Too much about infrastructure and culture and all~ kinds of shit… But, you can't really trust humans to do it on their own, I guess..."

"I'll help you out however I can, like always. If you need an interpreter, I'll be happy to help."

"Thanks… I really wish I didn't blow of French class in school, now… You've had it for more than a century, though, so it'll be fine on that front, at least. You don't even have an accent, from what I hear… Then again, I don't hear a lot of French, normally."

"Sebastian wouldn't dare let me speak it the British way… Language lessons were hell, honestly."

"Heh… 'hell.'"

"You stop that."

Jim would have to put his plans into action once he arrived home, but he still had another two days left before his return. His brother, however, was not so fortunate. Revy donned his black suit and put on a semi-ordinary-looking tie. He bought a journal that he thought a "real" adult might have to take notes in and took it and a pen that cost way too much money to the meeting between ORSAP and some of the prominent supernaturals of HELLSING and in Gehenna. He wrote down the questions that Jim had told him he should try and get answers to and was by all practical means, prepared for it, but truly, he didn't feel ready at all. These were people who knew what they were talking about, he assumed. He didn't think he was one such person, so he wasn't sure exactly how he was going to pull this off. The poor revenant was a bundle of nerves and he just prayed to whatever higher power that would listen that he could make it through this without making a complete fool of himself.

He looked the part. He looked competent and like he was supposed to be there. Yet, when it came time to get out of the car and start walking to the front door of HELLSING Headquarters, a wave of repulsion waashed over Revy, telling him that he should not go. That was not a place for him. That was Jim's place and he certainly wasn't Jim- not by a long shot. It wasn't that Revy felt inferior to the menace in some way, however, it was simply a matter of that not being his job. He knew that his brother would feel equally lost if he asked him to fill in at the Media Management Department for a day. Does Jim even know how to use a computer? Revy's pretty sure he did. Wait, Revy should go inside, probably.

Luckily, Sebastian was invited, too, making Revy's job rather minimal. Revy suspected that Sebastian was going to end up being the one to do the work, causing him to suddenly realise that there wasn't a lot of reason for him to be there. Unfortunately, he realised this in the elevator, just as they reached the floor they needed. Peering down the hallway, he could tell which meeting room that his was supposed to take place in, as it was the only one with the door open and with supernaturals he recognised filing inside. Standing by the door was Audrey, pausing for a moment to afix his hearing aid. Sebastian and Revy approached from his right, however, so he heard them coming. The reaper glanced up and smiled at them. His shoulders visibly relaxed as a bit of relief washed over him.

"Hey, it's the Phantomhives!" greeted Audrey with a small wave. "Filling in for Ciel and Jim?"

"Yes, we are. The masters are still on their trip and won't be back for another two days." Sebastian replied. "We're going to report back to them about the proceedings."

"Good for them. Kris and I were gonna take notes, too. We were a little worried since Jim wasn't going to make it!" confessed the reaper. "Luckily, there's enough experts here to keep things going, I think. The only two humans here from our side are Integra, Miranda, and some bloke from Supernatural Relations."

"That's good. Though personally, I'm not really sure why I'm here." Revy answered, placing his free hand in his pocket. "I don't know how any of this stuff works."

"Moral support, probably." suggested Audrey. "Everybody's a little nervous, since Jim isn't here. It probably makes them feel a bit better to have a Macken around, even if you aren't exactly the guy for the job."

"Don't know how I feel about being a substitute for him. Doesn't feel great, if I'm honest."

"Yeah… I can see that." the reaper nodded before offering a shrug. "The Mackens are considered peacekeepers to Gehennans, though. At least, that's what I got from a bunch of drunks in the Wolf's Glen."

"Why are you associating with drunks in The Wolf's Glen?" Sebastian questioned, arching his eyebrow.

"Getting pissed with Supernaturals is way more fun than getting pissed with humans and nobody else will give me a veteran's discount."

"On booze?" asked Revy.

"Nah… They have a great potion for getting rid of colds, you know."

More people filed into the room, prompting the trio to decide that it was probably best to join them. Given HELLSING's flair for the dramatic, Revy wasn't at all surprised to find that the meeting was taking place at an impossibly long table with Sir Integra on the end closest to the door and the Three Ministers of ORSAP on the other. Luckily, there were microphones in front of each seat so that shouting was unnecessary, but there were so many people, that some had to stand. Sebastian was punctual, however, and therefore, so was Revy, allowing them to sit wherever they pleased. Audrey chose to sit close to the members of ORSAP so that he could hear them, and since Revy didn't know too many people there and thought that the reaper was arguably one of the coolest of his brother's friends, he chose to sit next to him, with Sebastian taking the seat on his other side.

It was mostly HELLSING staff who were that early. Seras Victoria took her seat next to Integra and Amelie and Charlotte Garou were in attendance. The people who knew Amelie were curious as to whether she would speak up at the meeting, since French is her native language. She sat closest to The Three Ministers with her wife sitting across the table instead of next to her on the other side of them. They were assigned to catch any mutterings that the trio engaged in and report it if it was deemed suspicious. Not everyone there, however, was given such a role. Miranda Ackerman, Wink, and Dafydd Blake from the research department were all there to share their expert opinions on ORSAP, as they would most likely be working with one another very soon in order to make sure that ORSAP staff were properly knowledgable about the supernatural. Roger Winry of the Supernatural Relations Department was there in order to represent yet another department that ORSAP would need to work with, as an expert on supernatural communities and interacting with the supernatural public. Meanwhile. Claire Whelan and an associate of hers represented the faoladh as they, too, had some expeirience with integrating themselves into both supernatural society as a whole, and into an organisation like HELLSING.

While these were more "official" experts, they were not the only ones there. Many who sat on the town council in Gehenna were there to provide insight and express concerns. These were supernaturals who were chosen to represent their community to HELLSING and propose laws and policies that HELLSING could reject or deny. Jim often sat in on their meetings as the representative they made their proposals to. Each of them was a pillar in the community.

Mister Glen Li, the weretiger who was the manager of the local bank arrived and sat down. Revy swore he saw the colour drain from the ministers' faces as he did. It wasn't unusual for humans who were seeing a supernatural who was so visibly inhuman for the first time, but Revy had to admit, there was something about the image of a tigerman wearing a suit and glasses looking through his notes that was fascinating. Mister Li directed a faun by the name of Marian Allsopp to the seat next to him and scooted over a bit so that there was space for her to prop her white cane against the table. Miss Allsopp was a lawyer who handled predominantly money manners, so the two were acquainted. Lewis Knaggs, both a mailman and manager at the Post Office was in attendance, as was Forsetti Sybil, the local judge. Chief Tegwen Sybil of the Gehenna Police Department arrived with her girlfriend, Kyung-Soon Park, the head of the Girasol vampire coven. Logan Kendrick, local woodworker and expert on supernatural homes was in attendance and strangely wearing a suit instead of denim. His boyfriend, business owner Kristopherson Miles had made it for him and arrived dressed unusually tame, himself. Jeffery Steele, the owner of the general store and a hybrid supernatural showed up in his own suit made by Mister Miles, as well. He sat next to Doctor Amy Womack, a vampire and dentist who had notes from her collegues over on Medicine Street about the situation.

All of them were eager to put in their two cents on the situation. While none of them felt as though they would ever be personally affected by the situation if ORSAP failed, they were determined to make life better for the supernaturals of France in any way that they could. The three ministers, Urbain Quincampoix, Sabine Devreaux, and Eugenie Munier, were very interested in what they had to say, but were also somewhat understandably frightened. This was their first time seeing supernaturals that were so visibly inhuman, and combined with the fact that they were now aware that almost everyone in that room was a supernatural, they were unconsciously looking for fangs and claws.

After introductions were out of the way and the doors were shut, the meeting finally commenced. Right away, however, the questions were difficult. "We are all aware that supernaturals who are dangerous cannot be allowed to run amok." Mister Li began, addressing the members of ORSAP. "HELLSING has had systems to 'take care' of these supernaturals for over a century. Yet, there are also systems put in place for ordinary supernaturals like ourselves to be able to live comfortably, greatly reducing the risk of supernaturals committing crimes against humanity out of desperation. My question is: how are you planning on dealing with ordinary supernaturals? What systems do you have in mind?"

"Well," began Devreaux, digging through her papers for a breif moment. "We have received rather extensive notes on how HELLSING goes about tending to the supernaturals. Regular check-ins are good, supplying blood to vampires is essential, but there are also very extensive blueprints for the creation of supernatural cities. While it is probably preferable to have everyone in one location for easy management, we are somewhat uncertain if our government will grant funding for one. We need to carefully weigh the benefits before we can fully commit to doing things the HELLSING way in that area."

"That's understandable, but supernatural communities are a necessity." Doctor Womack spoke up. "There are species like vampires and werewolves who aren't always born with their supernaturality. We don't have families who will teach us how to be what we are in a safe and healthy way, but also, the help of other species is a godsend! Without witches, I wouldn't have the access to shade gel, I wouldn't even be able to sit here, let alone be able to get my doctorate!"

"That's true, and a lot of supernaturals don't have human teeth, so we can't go to human dentists!" agreed Mister Steele, being sure to show off his fanged underbite.

"And how do you plan on distributing blood?" the dentist questioned. "Going door to door for every vampire in the country seems impractical and I highly doubt that you can ship it in the mail. It's easier to just go to the shop and pick up a pack or two when you need it!"

With each talking point, the supernaturals nodded and uttered their approval. Logan wanted to add his two cents about incubi and succubi having trouble feeding in London, but didn't want to overwhelm the ministers with that information. His boyfriend, however, was perfectly fine with speaking up.

"There's some species that can't survive outside of these communities without a lot of difficulty. The Lexington incubi have been having trouble finding food in London, and most supernaturals can't pass as human, so they need glamours to find work. Without the community, though, they can't even do that! More importantly, though, staying transformed like that takes a toll on you, doesn't it?"

"Agreed." Nodded Mister Li. "While I do have a human form I can turn to, I prefer not to. I am a tiger because I am a tiger. Trying to work amoung the humans was miserable. You're constantly on your guard!"

"The point is, Missus Devreaux, is that to supernaturals, these communities are vital." Spoke Miranda. "The creation of Gehenna marked a significant drop in supernatural incidents throughout the United Kingdom. While it didn't get rid of all of it, the supernaturals having the things they need to live comfortably is beneficial to everyone. You should have the numbers on that."

The three ministers muttered amoungst themselves in their native language, which was immediately caught by Amelie and Charlotte. The vampire lifted her hand from the table for a brief moment, signaling to Amelie to go ahead and report. Pulling out a cellphone, Amelie rapidly typed out the basics of what they were saying. In essence, they were wondering whether they could get the funding for a french supernatural city, but also where they would put it. They had no idea if they were going to be able to get the existence of such a place approved by their own government. All realistic concerns, but the people of Gehenna weren't satisfied with that. Still, without any way to make any definite assurances, it was best not to, in the world of politics.

"We will do our best to assure the welfare of our country's supernaturals." replied Mister Quincampoix, folding his hands in front of him. "It may be difficult, but we will do everything we can to secure appropriate resources. Before we can do anything, however, we will need to have a solid blueprint so we can convince our government to acquire a budget for it."

"You will get access to the notes and blueprints of Sir Phantomhive shortly after he returns from his trip." Sebastian spoke up. "He has already left us instructions on where some of them can be found. The Phantomhive household and the Supernatural Relations department have been cooperating to get things organised quickly."

Things were far more complicated than anything that could be solved with just one meeting. No one thought that it would be, but most were hoping for far more progress than this. Unfortunately, it only seemed to enlarge the scale of what ORSAP was going to have to accomplish, leaving the ministers concerned about what it was that they were getting into and the supernaturals of HELLSING somewhat skeptical. While some like Miss Whelan openly muttered about the meeting being a "waste of time" on her way out, there was still quiet optimism about the whole affair as a whole. Mostly, they were hoping that when Jim returned, he could make sense of it all, but perhaps they were resting a little to much on his shoulders. After all, he will have just returned!

Still, even while he was still technically supposed to be on holiday, he couldn't help but delegate orders to the Phantomhive family and to the Supernatural Resources Department staff. Why, just that afternoon, there were going to be several meetings with various departments that The Three Ministers would have to attend to, including one from Roger Winry of the SRD. HELLSING crammed their brains until they were about to burst with information, leaving them ragged as they did their best to process each new, supernatural, thing.

While they anticipated that they would inevitably have to sort out the infrastructure and economics of a supernatural city, they hadn't anticipated a lecture about how the cities appear to mostly support themselves in terms of ensuring that the people are fed and housed after a while. The biggest expense was the initial creation of each city, while the remaining expenses are to give assistance when necessary. Gehenna takes many resources from London and bring them inside the city before money eventually makes its way back out again, while Pyestock has room for agriculture and metalworks. Both cities trade with one another, further sustaining them. Some ideas, however, were remarkably socialist, such as business owners not being allowed to make more than their highest-paid employee multiplied by a certain amount, as to discourage people from hoarding money and thus prevent those who did not own businesses from eventually being able to afford what they produce. While this is an idea that is not very well-received in terms of macro-economics due to lack of testing, the Phantomhive's understanding of micro versus macro economics is such that the system is able to work on this smaller scale. Everything is finely tuned to keep the people who live in these cities happy and stable, thus reducing the amount of preventable supernatural incidents that require violent suppression. The Baronet was clearly some sort of genius, but it still seemed a bit too good to be true. ORSAP would wisely wait to pass judgment until they were able to witness the real thing.

That was only the first of many meetings about supernatural Cities that they would have to attend during their stay in England, but it wasn't the last meeting with the Supernatural Relations Department that they would even have that day! They would take a break to attend other departments before returning to learn about more tedious bureaucratic processes. Everything they were meeting on would inevitably be available to them in reports and manuals, but HELLSING felt that it was important for them to see what they were dealing with, lest they not believe it.

The weapons department showed them a few examples of anti-freak weaponry, but most importantly the bullets. HELLSING bullets were made slightly different from the ones that Iscariot used, but they were both very similar in concept. Both were engraved with the appropriate incantations, although the British used runes. The barrel of the gun forces the bullet to spin as it fires, stabalising it so that it shoots straight. This spin is what prevents the runes from throwing off the trajectory of the bullet, which is excellent design. All modern guns were designed this way, while older guns were much harder to use. Painting the runes onto each bullet did absolutely nothing, as it burned off during the explosion that set it in motion.

One gun in particular, however, caught the group's attention. It was being made as a collaborative effort between the Weapons Department and the Research Department, along with the sword that went with it. Both weapons were pitch black and decorated beautifully. The sword was made with melted down fragments of its predecessor, with other metals and magic imbued within it. It was decorated in runes, making it a deadly weapon against supernaturals, but it seemed impractical for a human being to use. For a human, fighting supernaturals at close range was practically suicide, but for a supernatural? It was perfectly suitable. That also explained the size of the gun that accompanied it.

"No one could hold a gun like that." Munier pointed out, scrunching her eyebrows as she stared at the handgun with vast amounts of skepticism. "The recoil would send it flying from your hands! How do your soldiers use this?"

"None of our soldiers have used it, yet, but it isn't meant for humans." explained Miranda Ackerman as she picked up the gun in both hands. She showed one side of the grip on the handle, showing a HELLSING insignia there, before turning it over to reveal another coat of arms: the Phantomhive family's. "This gun was made for Lord Phantomhive. He's a demon, so he is capable of using much heavier weaponry than humans can. I'm also working on an attachment for a weapon that his husband already has, but it's not finished just yet. Part of having supernatural agents is having weaponry that is appropriate for them to use, which allows our staff to get very creative! They also very kindly allow us to use them in research, so our understanding of their species has grown exponentially in the past few years! In fact, our research has yielded that they are a completely new species of the same genus! According to the data that we've collected-"

"Miss Ackerman, I believe that The Three Ministers have a full schedule, so they probably need to get going." Interrupted Wink before her coworker could get started. "Besides, you can't include everything by talking to them. You should just put it in your report so they can get the thourough explanation."

"You're right!" cheerfully answered the department head. "I need to finish it! I'm only forty-seven pages in! I'm so behind!"

The ministers were silently grateful as Wink opened the door for them and allowed them to make their mistake. The amount of tools used by HELLSING soldiers was baffling- rather, perhaps not the amount, but just the kind. They were overwhelmed and exhausted by the end of the day and returned to their hotel rooms only to land on their beds with a thud. It felt as though their minds had run a marathon, only there was no end in sight. They would meet the next day and discuss what they had seen before going through the mountain of reports that were sent their way. After that, they would need to pass on information and instructions to their respective staffs back home to try and put what they could into motion. Eventually, they would return home and negotiate the rest.

Eugenie Munier was the one who made calls that night, however, having promised she would. As minister of defense, she needed to check up on progress in her field. After getting settled for the evening, she sat down in one of the chairs in her room, adjusted the towel wrapped around her head and sighed. Then, she turned on her phone and dialed the number she needed before placing the receiver against her ear.

"Hello, this is Eugenie Munier. Am I speaking to Mister Honeycutt?"

"Why, yes, you have." the voice on the other end answered in an aggressive Texas accent. "Thank you for calling, Miss Munier, I'm glad to hear from you. You wanted to check in on the troops, didn't you?"

Mister Honeycutt was answering from his own hotel suite while sitting at the dinnertable. At the moment, he, too, was staying in a country he was unfamiliar with, as his new contract with ORSAP required him to stay in Paris, but he didn't mind. The organisation was taking care of him, so he had no complaints. He was the proud owner of a private military company and was eager to find long-term work with ORSAP. The steady income was appealing and as far as he could tell, getting paid the usual rate for his men to handle short skirmishes every so often was a deal too good to refuse! He didn't even have to pay for equipment with them, so he was always very, very, polite to Miss Munier.

"I did, thank you." Miss Munier answered with a smile. "How is progress?"

"Everything's going good! In fact, I had just listened to the report made by Mister Stark, here- he's the one in charge of training the troops, you see." the businessman replied. "If you want to talk to him, he's right here."

Eugenie opened her mouth to speak, but resigned herself to her fate as she heard the phone being passed around. It soon landed in the hands of "Mister Stark." He sat at the other end of Mister Honeycutt's table, dressed in a suit with no tie. He had a strange habit of piling on various spices, seasonings, and accouterments when eating- just anything to give it some semblance of flavour- so his plate was a complete and utter mess, yet he ate it thoughtlessly, as if he were simply going through the motions.

Setting down his silverware, he wiped his mouth before speaking to the minister. "Hello? Is this Miss Munier?" To the woman's surprise, he spoke to her in French. While the accent was clearly English, she was still relieved to finally speak her mother tongue, as she was understandably tired from speaking to HELLSING.

"Yes, it is. Mister Honeycutt said that you were giving a status update on the troops, so he passed the phone to you."

"Yes, he's somewhat like that. He always acts first and thinks afterward." Johnathan smiled at his host as the American man listened in, unable to understand him, but raising his glass, all the same. The demon continued: "Honeycutt's men are all experienced in combat against humans, but fighting supernaturals is slightly different. There is a little bit of a learning curve, but everyone is adopting the appropriate technique very quickly- much faster than it would be if we were training civilians from the ground up. That can be done, of course, once the organisation expands."

"Thank you very much. I'm glad to hear it. It was always going to be a challenge to start up an entirely new department from scratch, but at least some things are going smoothly."

"I'm always happy to be at service, Miss Munier." the demon replied. "Would you like my number so that you may contact me directly?"

"Certainly. There is no need to call Honeycutt, if you're the one in charge of recruits."

Johnathan gave her his contact details, but perhaps more importantly, he acquired hers. The phone number of France's Minister of Defense was in his hands, but he did not gloat. He did not indicate that he was triumphant in any way. He merely made his polite farewells before handing the phone back to his host. As the human droned on into his cellphone, Johnathan stared down at his food before picking up his fork, stabbing the salt, pepper, and oil-soaked mess that was formerly a five-star dish prepared by the luxury hotel that he was currently visiting his associate in, and putting it in his mouth.

"Ah..." Johnathan let out a disappointed sigh. "This doesn't taste, either..."

A/N: I like how this began and ended with very different experiences with food... deep and meaningful? Perhaps...

Anyways, I'm back! I'm sorry I didn't update last week. It was finals time, and I was busy dying.

I got better, though, and here I am!

There were WAY more interactions I wanted to put in this chapter... I wanted everybody to talk amoungst themselves more, but I couldn't make it happen! Maybe I'll take a chapter to gossip or something... Then again, I always say I'm going to do something, and then I don't do it!

I WON'T do a gossip chapter, then. uwu

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!