OR1-EP3: The Bloody Coat of Arms (7)

Different regions use different methods to educate children, the EU and the Britannian Empire have a roughly similar education model with primary, secondary, and university. The South Court Protectorate, on the other hand, follows an ancient set of methods, where students can only qualify for certain positions in certain professions by passing various exams. However, the status quo may have changed, and mutual learning between the two sides became the norm. Nowadays, the South Court Protectorate is in the process of phasing out the original education system in favor of a new system that is closer to the West. However, no matter what system is in place, the plight of orphans will not be greatly improved, and they will find it difficult to receive a good education and their lives will be limited to a great extent. While the Britannian Empire doesn't care about orphans, the EU will simply choose to give them a cheap public education. In the Chinese Federation, some orphans have the chance to be adopted by some nobles and change their surnames to become retainers of a certain family, but they exist only to assist the legitimate heirs, and naturally cannot be given the same space to develop as others.

Some children are taught from an early age what definite things they should do, while others don't know what they want to do until they are adults. That role is missing when they most need someone to guide them, and neither the orphanage nor the school, I fear, can fill that gap. McNeil asked himself if his adoptive father had been a different man, he would have inevitably taken a very different path, such as going into business, rather than joining the army.

"I thought your children should be in school by now." McNeil went with Wang Shuang to see the orphans, "I didn't realize you were actually still single."

"No, don't think about that too much." Wang Shuang sighed, "For me, on the contrary, I have already started a family, as for when I can have a child, that is the will of heaven, not something that my thoughts can influence. Besides, I am only thirty-five years old this year, there is still a chance ... You see, the parents of those big families, sometimes they are already sixty or seventy years old have to continue to reproduce their offspring, just like the breeding pigs in the farm."

"You can shout that out to their faces." McNeil laughed.

"Why wouldn't I dare? In the future, if there is an opportunity, I am going to shout it out in front of those people." Wang Shuang also laughed, "I heard that the EU's army ranks on seniority, while the empire looks entirely on kinship, so then myself, who comes from a humble background but can be expected to become a general officer before forty, is also considered an authentic successful person, so of course he is qualified to comment on the styles of these people."

Colonel Karl Duttmann was already in his forties, and whether he could be promoted to Brigadier General depended on luck; whereas in the Britannian Empire, the sons of noblemen were already hanging on to the title of Colonel in their teens. Wang Shuang's rank was that of a Zheng Canling, which translated to colonel, he did not have any prominent family background or a mentor that could be feared, and everything he got was earned by his own merit. McNeil thought about his own fifty years old only to be a major general, cannot help but feel a little frustrated.

As soon as the orphans in the orphanage saw Wang Shuang coming, they cheered and ran over. Wang Shuang asked them about their living conditions and future aspirations while distributing gifts to them. Several of the orphans' tuition fees were also his responsibility, which nearly brought him to the point where he was forced to sell his medals to raise money. Wang Shuang said he planned to pay for these orphans to finish middle school, and he couldn't care less about what happened after that.

"It's useless." McNeil kindly handed a book to one of the orphans with an inquisitive glint in his eyes, "How many more years can you be a military official here? When you return to the Nanting, your connection to this place will be broken. Besides, there will always be people in the world who will repay you for your kindness, if they take your contribution for granted, when you give up sponsoring them, I'm afraid that they will resent you instead."

Wang Shuang, who was squatting on the ground and teasing the children, heard these words and stood up and said solemnly:

"What they do is their problem, and what will happen in the future is not something I can predict ... However, what I do is also my personal problem, and other people have no right to ask about it."

"You're not trying to figure out what to do in return?"

"Reward? The international situation is changing rapidly, there might be a new World War one day, what's the use of returns?" Wang Shuang patted his chest, "People can only live once, and being able to do what you want to make everyone else happy is considered a great fortune in life. If you live like an ant, one day you won't be able to turn back into a human."

It was a new mode of thinking that McNeil had never been exposed to before, and it was born out of a completely different culture. McNeil believed in contract and law, and even if he occasionally did things that violated the regulations, it was for the betterment of it. Every move must be made only after the exact outcome has been predicted, or else he puts himself in harm's way. McNeil had heard of the kind of mindset those from the far east lived in; they talked about morality on the surface, but in reality, they only looked at profit, and the extremes of sensibility and rationality became the norm. So, when he saw a living example, McNeil realized that he was bound by stereotypes. No one is definable by those samples, and even those who best fit that definition must have many traits that clash with the samples.

"If it wasn't one of your nobles that was killed that day, but just a commoner from your country, would you have chosen to kill that Sir?" McNeil suddenly opened his mouth to ask the question.

"Of course." Wang Shuang answered without thinking.

"Then what if the murderer was a big shot that even you couldn't afford to mess with?" McNeil picked up the plastic bag that had fallen on the ground, "For example, if one of the generals of your South Court Protectorate had killed someone on the street for no reason, would you still be so reckless as to go and punish him with violence?"

"McNeil, it is more important for those in high positions to be an example to others. If they fail to meet this condition, they are physically teaching others the sidetracks that jeopardize the populace, and are the real deal traitors and sinners." Wang Shuang looked at the orphans who ran away, "Anyone of them can be killed. If I would be punished or even executed for killing such a traitor, it would prove that there is no justice in the world, and I would use my life to tell others to rise up in revolt. However, I still have many responsibilities on my shoulders and cannot be so reckless - I will choose to use side-measures to make sure that person gets the punishment he deserves."

"In fact, you would have the same result by following the rules." McNeil said, in a good-natured manner.

"What does that mean?"

"Hand him over to the law to deal with, if the law is just, then naturally there is no need to say anything; if the law lets him get away with it, then it is the credit of the law that is overdrawn, and by the time the citizens have completely lost faith in the law, they will rise up in revolt as well."

Wang Shuang thought for a moment and raised an objection:

"No, they will only get used to it."

The two left the orphanage, and Wang Shuang suggested to McNeil that he take a tour of the martial arts school he runs. Seeing that it was still early in the day, McNeil agreed to the other's request. The two walked to the martial arts center, and along the way, Wang Shuang kept introducing various martial arts in the Chinese Federation to McNeil, making McNeil's ears almost calloused. When it comes to close combat, McNeil has never been afraid of anyone, he learns the principle of close combat fighting skills is only to see the efficiency of killing the enemy without regard to the rules, and if necessary, he can also feel free to use all kinds of underhanded means. However, McNeil gradually realized that what Wang Shuang was talking about wasn't just a show of fancy punches and kicks, but a kind of fighting technique that was also used to kill people.

McNeil had already seen the signboard of the martial arts school in the distance, so he pulled the leather jacket on his body, and suddenly felt his nose itch, and couldn't help but sneeze.

"Are you catching a cold?"

"No." McNeil flatly denied it, "It's just that I'm still a little out of sorts coming from a place that was escaping summer to a city that's moving into it. By the way, I've heard that you value the secrecy of these so-called unique secrets, and won't your countrymen object to you when you teach the Britannians?"

"There are many objections, nothing more than saying that the things of the ancestors cannot be taught to outsiders ... " Wang Shuang also felt a little hot, "Ridiculous. When an apprentice surpasses his master after learning his master's skills, it is the apprentice himself who is great. There are so many people who always worry that if they teach their disciples, they as masters will lose their jobs or fortune, not realizing that their kind of under-standard level is not worth for others to steal and learn." Speaking here, Wang Shuang lowered his voice, "I've only heard of those who traveled to your EU to steal technology, and I've never heard of those who ran to our South Court Protectorate to steal technology."

The two were still on their way when the sharp-eyed McNeil saw two men in long shirts leading a tall man in white robes and a priest in vestments into the martial arts center. He hurriedly alerted Wang Shuang, who was also stunned. Both he and McNeil recognized that the priest was none other than Alexandros Palaskas, while the two men in front of him were the staff of the South Court Protectorate's Office.

"What are they doing here?" McNeil asked suspiciously, "Did you offend someone?"

"It can't be, the Chengtianfu government has always disregarded the private work of foreigners, unless they are in business." Wang Shuang was baffled, and he and McNeil decided to follow the group into the martial arts center. The two signaled the guards at the entrance to keep quiet as they tiptoed through the corridor and followed up the stairs, finding the men entering a conference room. There were a few guards around who were planning to come to the door to stand guard, but when they saw Wang Shuang, they subconsciously took a few steps backward. These people didn't know exactly whose orders to follow, in short, both parties were not something they could mess with as minor characters.

McNeil stood in front of the door and pressed his ear against it while shaking his head.

"There's sound, but the soundproofing is too good to be heard outside."

"Then there is no way." Wang Shuang was at his wits' end, "We'll be in big trouble if we just break in."

"Not necessarily." McNeil smiled wryly, "You cooperate with me, and we will be able to participate in this secret talk without any problems."

He reached out and knocked on the door, and a few moments later Father Palaskas opened the door, surprised. McNeil walked into the conference room with mock pride, first seeing the two South Court clerics and the white-robed man in front of them, who this time he could tell was a Knight of the Rounds by the insignia on his robes.

"Cleric, you're being unkind." Quickly analyzing the situation at the scene, McNeil hung his leather blouse on the nearby coat rack, pulled Wang Shuang over, and said with feigned dissatisfaction, "You asked the South Court Protectorate to use its good offices in order to negotiate with the Britannian Empire, but you didn't even notify the people who should really be there. If it wasn't for the fact that I learned from Colonel Wang that he was rushing to attend some meeting, I wouldn't have even had the chance to know that you had actually been hiding it from me."

Seeing this, Wang Shuang hurriedly took over:

"The embassy said that it was ultimately inappropriate to not have a foreign affairs officer present to supervise, and that this matter was negligent on your part."

The priest was about to say something when the Britannian sitting across from him reached out his hand and stopped the others from speaking.

"There is no harm in it, since the two of them are also in the know, let us let them in."

The people each chose their own seats and continued to start negotiating. It turned out that some days ago, the Britannian Empire captured a large number of exiles who were planning to flee to the EU and used them as a bargaining chip to bargain with the EU. The EU, for the sake of international influence, only decided to negotiate with the Britannian Empire in order to stall for time, but in fact, the EU didn't care about those people's lives at all.

"Normally we don't want to meddle in these matters, but your country is still behind the scenes when things are critical in our country, we can't turn a blind eye to it." That Knight of the Rounds said, "Next time, it might be your country's secret agents who will be arrested."

"So, what does your country ... no, I mean what does His Imperial Majesty intend to make us pay?" The priest bluntly began to talk about the conditions.

"His Imperial Majesty knows that your country has been betting on both sides of the fence, and he doesn't know exactly what other group of scum is hiding under the banner of." The Knights of the Rounds folded their hands together as they looked at the priest who kept pinching the cross, "We would like your country to provide an exhaustive list, lest His Imperial Majesty mistakenly injure a loyal official in the future."

Wang Shuang guessed what they were talking about, but did not intend to intervene. The Nanting Protectorate's archenemy was the Chinese Imperial Government, not their temporary ally, the Britannian Empire, or the EU, who already had little to do with them. Although the EU always claimed that the Britannian Empire and the Nanting Protectorate were in hostile relations, at least the two sides were at peace on the surface for now.

"That's not fair, is it?" McNeil interjected, "Even if all of those exiles are executed by you, our side won't suffer any substantial losses ... In other words, you want us to provide you with a list used to identify enemy and friend for nothing?" He waved his hand and slapped it in front of the priest, acting like a proper ambassador, "I disagree. His Imperial Majesty must show good faith, what can you give?"

"Peace." The Knight of the Rounds replied in a loud voice, "At least ten years of peace."

"If your country perishes in civil unrest, we'll get a century of peace." McNeil sneered back, "Your Grace, make up your mind before it's too late, don't be flowery."

The Knight of the Rounds looked coldly at McNeil and said viciously:

"What do you ... you want?"

"A list of all your country's personnel who have carried out infiltration and sabotage operations in the South African region ... or your country's guarantee to withdraw from South Africa." McNeil finally saw the hope of eradicating the hidden danger.

TBC

Chapter Notes:

The status of the Knights of the Rounds in the Britannian Empire is very strange, it is a group of people who have the treatment of generals, but usually are not responsible for the construction of the army, nor the command of the army, and also not responsible for staff work, but only responsible for standing guard for the Geass series did not make a clear description of the definition of the Knights of the Rounds in the chain of command of the Imperial Army, and the rank of the Knights of the Rounds in the Imperial Army is not the highest of all! So how could Brigadiers command groups of full generals and lieutenant generals?

Perhaps one can only compare them to Soviet political commissars.

Guess who this Knight of the Rounds is?