Enforcer Manual
Chapter 640: Nation within the City_1

Chapter 640: Chapter 640: Nation within the City_1

Throughout the night, these two door gods stood guard at the kitchen entrance like statues until all the dishes, including the dessert, had been delivered to the front hall. Only then did they allow Song Lan to leave the kitchen and rest in the staff lounge.

Before long, the head chef also came in.

It seemed he finally remembered his identity as an agent of Military Intelligence Section Seven and gave Song Lan a meaningful look, whispering, "I’ve got the lads keeping an eye on the kitchen."

Song Lan had long heard that the Conservative Faction aimed to restore the aristocratic system from before the Third War, but he had not expected them to have started implementing these plans already.

The process of preparing for the dinner made him feel as if he had truly returned to the Middle Ages; all dishes had to be reported to the Personal Guard for review a day in advance. The ingredients and proportions required underwent stringent checks, and during the preparation of the dinner the following day, no ingredients or seasonings outside of the list were allowed in the kitchen.

After each dish was completed, a designated member of the Personal Guard would conduct poisoning tests. Only after the food was declared safe would it be served in the front hall. Their scrutiny of each dish bordered on harsh, making Song Lan suspect that these guard members, if they hadn’t been chefs before, must have learned the necessary skills.

It was perhaps a feature of their cybernetic eyes that they could even gauge the doneness of meats.

At one point, Song Lan wondered if someone messed up the dinner, they might be taken by these guards to the plaza and straight to the guillotine.

Even after the head chef entered the room, he lay on the sofa as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

More exhausting than the physical labor was the mental fatigue. Song Lan felt that chefs serving the Iris Consortium must be constantly anxious with every stir of the pot and every addition of seasoning.

He couldn’t imagine which poor soul of a chef would be willing to work for these people.

In contrast, corporate people were far better.

They cared more about the quality of the food and the dining experience, and were unconcerned with these complex formalities and ceremonies.

"Does every member of the Iris Consortium require such measures when they visit you?"

Unable to contain himself, Song Lan posed the question, worrying about his own undercover experiences with the Iris Consortium after tonight.

"Not necessarily."

The head chef shook his head. "The one who came today is Kalida Gilvys, the wife of the current head of the Iris Consortium. Her guest tonight is the Winter Lord, who controls three large-scale elite Knight Groups. It’s more like a family political meeting, as the core members of the Consortium have been trying to court these Lords of the Knights recently."

"Why?"

"Internal strife within the consortium is an eternal theme."

The head chef’s voice had a hint of schadenfreude. "Because of what happened with Isabella, others have seen hope again. The consortium isn’t dominated by just one party. Besides the current leader, Richard Gilvys, both Capello and the Monk Family control a significant number of Knight Groups and also hold considerable political influence in the United Government."

A succession of names left Song Lan somewhat confused, making him feel as if he had indeed returned to that medieval era of aristocratic struggles.

But now he understood why outsiders referred to them as the Iris Consortium rather than by the surname of the family, as with the Foster Family.

"You don’t need to remember everyone’s name. You just need to know that many within the Iris Consortium have questioned Isabella’s legitimacy as an heir. There were already plenty who argued that women should not control the consortium, and her antics in the Seventh District gave the other two families reasons to oppose her."

At this point, the head chef leaned closer to Song Lan, speaking in a voice low enough for just the two of them to hear. "If things keep going this way, without the need for the Innovator Faction to take action, the Consortium might start infighting. Lately, Isabella’s mother has been extremely worried about this."

"Then, wouldn’t it be dangerous to come into the castle at such a time?"

"Of course."

Although he had only known Song Lan for two days, the head chef was genuinely worried for him, "You have to be mentally prepared. If the lady does indeed invite you in, your identity might be used by people from the Capello and Monk Families as a pawn."

"What does that mean?"

"They might instruct you to poison Isabella’s food."

Since ancient times, the struggle between aristocrats has been a matter of life and death. Putting Isabella under house arrest is both a punishment from the Gilvez Family and a means to protect her.

This seemingly magnificent city is actually filled with overt and covert struggles in every corner.

"You’d better make it out alive; I’ll be waiting for you outside."

The atmosphere in the staff break room became somewhat heavy, and the head chef looked at Song Lan with a deep gaze, "We will wait for you to lead us in making the restaurant’s reputation known in every corner of the world."

"Right."

Song Lan nodded, "Next time for sure."

Then, the door to the staff break room was pushed open.

As expected, it was the members of Kalida’s Personal Guard who entered. All of them were wearing the same armor; even the differences in their builds were not obvious, so Song Lan could not distinguish their specific identities.

"The lady wishes to see you."

They gave orders to Song Lan in an undeniable tone.

Song Lan stretched lazily, got up, and followed behind the Knight.

The banquet had ended a while ago, it seemed that the Winter Lord had already left, and upon entering, Kalida’s Personal Guard had occupied the entire kitchen.

Standing not far from him was a lady whose skin was well-maintained; she appeared to be only in her early thirties. As for her real age...

Song Lan had heard from Ivan before that her husband, Richard Gilvez, was already an old man in his seventies.

"I was very satisfied with the banquet today."

Kalida seemed to dislike wasting time on pleasantries, or perhaps with her status, there was simply no need to waste words with a chef from the Neutral Country. "Get ready, you’re coming with him."

Clearly, the members of the Iris Consortium were not skilled at making requests. From the moment they could remember, they were accustomed to being surrounded by people, living lives where they could command others at will.

Such a blunt tone brought to Song Lan’s mind images of those difficult superiors.

Luckily, he was fortunate; his actual leader, Mei Xin, was kind-hearted, considerate of her staff, and easy to talk to.

After issuing her orders, Kalida did not stay long in the kitchen. She brushed past Song Lan and walked straight out the door, leaving only a member of the Personal Guard to hand him over.

Once everyone had left, the remaining Personal Guard member began to explain Song Lan’s upcoming work details, "The young miss has been lacking appetite lately. You have half an hour to think about the menu. You only get one chance, and if you can’t satisfy the young miss, you’ll be back here tonight."

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