The announcement of the Day of Holy Love made London a hot place all of a sudden.

Many people from all over the empire, both nobles and commoners, wanted to join in the fun, and by the way, to see the long-established capital of steam, with eleven more direct lines to London added in three days, tickets were still sold out, and even the expensive and slower airships were selling much better than in previous years.

And within the Holy See, it is naturally impossible to ignore such a grand festival, let alone ignore the presence of His Highness the Holy Son, and all the institutions have sent carefully selected greeting personnel, wanting to seize this golden opportunity to show goodwill to His Highness the Holy Son.

The adjudication department is just one of these departments

In the reception room of the White Thorns Security Company, the middle-aged priest Thompson had a deeper piety and respect on his face than usual, although he was sitting at this time, but this was only because he was the highest person in charge of the London security administration, and in his own territory, he could not be too lowly, if it was in any other place, he should have stood up by now and performed the most standard papal etiquette.

And at this moment, sitting next to him is the elderly Valentine. Mr. Ivnović.

An executive officer

In the framework of the external mission of the adjudication department, this is already the field commander with the highest voice power, and there are usually 20 to 30 deacons under him, who are the absolute superiors of Thompson in terms of low position, seniority, combat effectiveness, merit, and various aspects. He was old and extremely thin, but his back was unexpectedly straight, and he took off his hat at this time, revealing some sparse gray hair, and thick dark circles under his eyes.

And this time he came to London naturally to find an opportunity to see His Highness the Holy Son, and bring him the most sincere greetings from the Judgment Division; By the way, I would like to express my condolences to the White Thorn Security Company, which also belongs to the same system.

Oh, no, since it is within the field service system that is also subordinate to the Holy See, it cannot be called 'condolences', but should be called . Censor.

"Please rest assured that all the field records in recent years have been recorded in the most detailed detail, and there is also a very clear file of the incident of the citizen's declaration, but it is stored in the police department in London, and someone will be sent back in the afternoon to get it for you to see."

Priest Thompson said word by word, usually he seems old-fashioned, but when it comes to this time, it can give people a very reliable feeling, after all, under his leadership, the entire White Thorn's style of behavior is very standardized, no matter how you check it, there will be no trouble.

Executive Ivnovich nodded, seemingly very satisfied with the other party's attitude, but suddenly, as if he remembered something:

"I heard, you reported an internal death report some time ago?"

“.” There was silence.

Then Fr. Thompson lowered his gaze slightly: "Yes, a member of the field team named Frank Lampard has unfortunately lost his life in the mission. ”

"Oh? Is that mission accomplished? ”

Priest Thompson seemed to hesitate for half a second, and immediately responded, "It should be considered done, because the demon who committed the crime never appeared again."

"Should it be counted? I don't like this ambiguous answer. Executive Officer Ivnovich said lightly, as if in his opinion, this task was more worthy of his attention than the death of a team member.

It's a given. Because he came from the adjudication department, and the people of this body naturally put the success of the mission first.

But this disregard for life still made Ms. Mary, who was standing not far away and listening, clench her fists.

"And there's that. It is a bit harsh to hear that a Field Service member can die in the course of a mission during such a period. He continued, looking at Thompson with a somewhat cold expression: "So, do I have reason to suspect that your security agencies are negligent in the training of field personnel in normal times?" ”

"Of course, there is no negligence, Your Excellency, under the supervision of Priest Thompson, all of our field personnel are following the strictest training schedules."

Mark, who was standing upright on the side, opened his mouth to respond, the respect in his tone was not so obvious, but a bit like a soldier shouting at the top of his voice when he counted the numbers, and I don't know if he deliberately yelled at the executive officer in front of him in this way, in short, Ivnovich frowned in displeasure.

"I didn't ask you, so don't interject, it shows that you are really undisciplined." He said lightly: "And. Whether there is really training according to the rules and regulations, you don't count what you say, tomorrow at noon. I will randomly check one person and test it myself, and if it doesn't pass, then your subsidy for this year will be postponed for the time being. ”

Speaking of which, in fact, everything is still within the rules of the Holy See, a field department does need strict training, after all, it is an institution that has been dealing with demons for a long time, but when he heard the phrase 'the subsidy is delayed', the Thompson priest, who has always been extremely respectful, also hesitated.

How long is the delay three years, five years. Or decades?

Although he knew that he had not neglected the training of his subordinates, and that he was not worried that his subordinates would fail the test, "Sir, is the grant for Lampard's death also included?" ”

"Of course." Ivnovich said lightly.

"But he died on duty, he still has a family, his son is five years old this year, this money."

Executive Officer Ivnovich was obviously a little impatient: "I said, I will test the results of your training, so whether this person in your mouth died because of the mission, or neglected training and died without measuring his ability, I will soon have my own judgment, now give me the list of your personnel." ”

Priest Thompson pressed the rhythm of his breathing, slowly exhaled a breath of turbidity, his cheeks bulged very secretly, fortunately with the cover of his beard, without revealing the muscle lines under the skin, and finally:

"Yes, Your Excellency."

He responded, then motioned for Mary to bring the company's list.

Soon, Miss Mary handed a black copy of the paper to Priest Thompson, who in turn handed it over to Executive Officer Ivnovic.

The latter tilted his excessively thin face slightly, and swept his eyes over the names in the notebook.

Eventually, his gaze stayed on Sherlock. Sherlock Holmes] on this line, carefully recalled that he had received the death warrant after arriving in London, and confirmed that the name on it was this.

"Just him, bring him to me tomorrow at noon." He said casually.

"But." Priest Thompson was stunned: "But Your Excellency, this is just a detective, and he has only joined the company for two months, so he is not considered a combatant. ”

"Not a combatant?!" Ivnovic's voice was clearly accusatory: "Doesn't the detective need to go to the place where the incident took place himself?"

Do you think that those vicious contractors, criminals, and demons care about whether the person in front of them is a combatant or not?

All people are in danger of their lives, and maybe it's your old-school thinking that makes your people helpless when they face death! ”

As he spoke, he stood up in displeasure.

"Tomorrow, get this person ready and don't be late"

He didn't give anyone another chance to talk nonsense, put on his hat, and walked out of the White Thorns security company.

(End of chapter)