CHAPTER 55: OPERATION DRUNKEN WHALER

XENON WINGATE

1 ½ YEARS AGO

Together with Serena and Duke Corasell, I informed the Alterran Black Corps about the impending meeting in which Doctor Cheng Du would be hosting. Major General Valesmith was glad that we finally found a lead on that damned terrorist doctor that has been running around in one and a half years. 

At last, the traitorous fat man will be at our grasps. This is our only chance to capture him. The task force initiated a mission, which is named Operation Drunken Whaler.

The meeting is set at the highly urbanized Goldcliffe City, which is home for businessmen with towering skyscrapers and poor stray dragonoids that live on the slums. Fortunately, Serena and Duke Corasell are destined to meet the terrorist doctor in a hotel that is situated in the clean part of the city.

I was never hesitant to take Duke Corasell’s offer for protection ever since he mentioned Cheng Du. This is my chance to get revenge for him, for what he has done to me and my friends. Alfred, Carlo, and I spend so much effort to do his wetwork. My friends even paid for their lives to get that pesky dossier he wanted us fetched, only to discover that he has a plan to dominate the world. I’ll make sure Cheng Du will get what he deserves after this.

I never told Serena about Cheng Du’s grim plan with her. In fact, I never told anybody. Serena is my one-way ticket to Cheng, and somehow I needed her to act as my bait. I really feel bad about this but this is the only way in order for me to get my revenge against that whale-fat man.

To enter the meeting, all other members of the task force are mandated to get a disguise. The enemy will be alerted if they discovered that there are Alterran dragon knights entering their premises, so even I have to change my appearance. Serena does not need to change anything since most of the people think that Duke Corasell owns her.

Alphonse and I acted like bodyguards, wearing a full black tuxedo and shades to cover our eyes. I dyed my hair blonde just to make sure that Cheng Du would not recognize me. Now I and Alphonse look like a blonde dumb duo. On the other hand, Z wore a cute party dress as she is disguised to be Serena’s manager. Danielle is disguised as a royal duchess with a beauty pageant nightgown, and her dragonoid Nathaniel will serve as her butler. Danielle also dyed her hair ash-gray so that nobody would recognize that she’s a dragon knight.

The main force is outside the hotel, and it was lead by Major General Valesmith. If we confirm that Doctor Cheng Du is inside the premises, we will signal Valesmith to breach to the said hotel and capture the target for good. This operation is flawless. 

Or so I thought. 

Because when we attempted to enter the hotel, the bodyguards halted me. Serena, Duke Corasell, Alphonse and Z was clear from suspicion, so I don’t understand why I’m being held up.

“Hold up.” The guard said. “You are Serena Maizono’s bodyguard, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” I said as I tried to make a deep voice. “Wherever madam Serena goes, I go.”

“Let me see your ID.” The guard said.

Thankfully, we had so much time to prepare for our fake identities. We managed to falsify an identification card for our disguises, so I don’t have to hesitate to hand it out. But as soon as the guard looked at the picture and the name indicated on the card, the guard made a suspicious stare at me.

“You don’t look like Amir Al-Asad to me.” The guard said as he stared at my eyes.

Damn it! Who the heck made these fake IDs! That name certainly does not fit my appearance since my hair is dyed blonde and I have a caucasian complexion! Now I have to get my way out of this without getting into trouble!

“Err, well… I was adopted. You see, my real parents threw me into a trash can when I was a baby. Thankfully, I was picked up by a couple who’s living in the middle eastern portion of Alterra. They changed my name to suit their society. ” 

I scratched my head. I’m really bad at improvisation.

Suddenly, Serena came to save me up. “Heeey! There’s no lie here! That actually happened!” She winked.

I curled my eyebrows. This is one of the rare times where I wanted to punch Serena on the face. I know she’s just teasing me, but this is not the right time and place for this.

“Fine. Get in.” The guard said. I’m surprised that it worked.

When we entered the hotel, we had ourselves in a wide hall. This looks more like a grand ball party we had on the castle back in the Guardian’s Haven. There are a lot of dukes and duchesses in here who are having a toast of red wine. The golden chandeliers’ light livened up the place even though it’s already evening.

I just noticed that the butlers and maids who are serving in this very hotel are all dragonoids. They all have red eyes, and they are wary of Serena and Duke Corasell’s presence. Somehow, I think that these dragonoids are remnants of Arcadia, but I can’t be so sure. I’ll just have my guard up.

“We’re in,” Alphonse said on his earpiece. Then, we ventured forward to search for the one who is hosting this party.

Our scouting was slowed down when people noticed that the most beautiful dragonoid is here. Dukes and duchesses started to flock on Serena as they tried to get a selfie and autograph with her. Even the dragonoid maids and butlers momentarily left their jobs just to shake hands with the sensational pop star. I watch each and every person who gets close to my precious dragonoid, while Alphonse and Z use their eyes to scan the place for the sign of the target. Unfortunately, we never saw anything odd.

Suddenly, through our earpiece, Danielle warned us. She’s situated on a table five meters away from us, so she had the perfect view of who’s approaching Serena. 

“Target approaching at your twelve.”

When we look in front, we saw the target. A fat man with a square face, rectangle-framed eyeglasses and wearing a white royal uniform; Cheng Du made his appearance. And he’s just walking casually towards the persons we ought to protect as if he’s free from danger at all.

“Duke Corasell! Miss Maizono!” Cheng Du smiled as he offered a handshake. “Nice to have you here!”

“N-Nice to meet you, Doctor Cheng.” Hesitant at first, Duke Corasell took the offer to shake hands.

“I’m happy to see you, Doctor Cheng.” Unlike the handsome duke, Serena gladly shook hands with the doctor as if he’s not an enemy. I can see the schemeful look at Cheng Du’s face as soon as he managed to feel Serena’s soft hand.

“You look so beautiful in person, Miss Serena Maizono.” Cheng Du made a smile that reached his ears.

“Ah! I’m truly flattered! Thanks for the compliment, Doctor Cheng! You look handsome too!” Serena said with an innocent smile.

“Come, my dear guests. Take a seat.” Cheng Du leads the way as he followed the red carpet leading to the grand table which is full of liquor and food.

As we followed the fat doctor, Serena and I had a private chat, whispering to one another.

“So, you’re like, everybody’s best friend, huh?” I said. “Congratulations, you just shook hands with the most sinful duke in history.”

“Y-Yeah.” Serena made a wry smile. “I’m used to it. Back in the party at the grand castle, Emperor Eldritch and Empress Trystgade shook hands with me too. Sometimes, I really need to make faces. I’m a celebrity after all.”

That. Is. Something. New. I never thought that my dragonoid has been tainted by the three persons I wanted to kill. Serena’s confession about being friends with my enemies makes me want to kill myself. This is the worst betrayal in the history of my life.

When Serena noticed that something was wrong with me, she defended herself. “Senpai, please understand. I really need to put my mask to protect my career and for the future of the bill.”

“Yeah, I understand,” I said with a fake smile. Inside me, my heart is burning. I’m feeling heartbroken. I know I’m overreacting for being so insecure, but I can’t help it. All I can do is to hide this pain in my heart.

When we finally hit the round table, Cheng Du bowed to the handsome duke and Serena. “I’m sorry, my precious guests. I will have to leave you here for the moment. In the meantime, please enjoy the food and liquor.” Then, the fat bastard left, going to the exit of the hall. 

Now all that’s left in this table is Duke Corasell, Serena, Alphonse, Z, and I. All five of us went silent as we stared at the red wine, risotto, lasagna, and fried chicken. We are all wary if the food is poisoned, so nobody dared to take a bite. Except for me. 

I immediately chowed down on that fabulous food that seemed to be cooked by five-star chefs. Engulfed by my envy, wrath, and hunger, I directed all the negative emotions to the food by chewing it vigorously.

“Xenon, you fucking idiot!” Alphonse yelled.

“What? I’m tasting the food if it’s poisoned.” I said.

“That doesn’t explain why you are recklessly eating that food!” Duke Corasell sermoned.

“As I said, I’m tasting it. If I die, then the food is poisonous. If I didn’t, then it’s not poisoned. As simple as that.” I said as I popped the cork of the wine bottle and drank it all in one go.

Ah, this is happiness. The food here tastes good, and with the push of red wine, it is better. I actually feel suicidal right now so it doesn’t mean much to me if I die from poison. Unfortunately, I didn’t die, so the food is authentic. My face reddened as I finally get drunk after drinking half of the bottle. 

“Fucking weakling, getting drunk just with red wine,” Alphonse muttered.

“Senpai…” Serena had this worried tone at me as she tried to take away the bottle from my hand. “We’re in the middle of an operation. Stop it.”

“Shut up, you traitorous lizard! Hic!” I cried. Then, I changed my mood as I switch to my killer clown smile. “I don’t care if this operation fails or not! Hic!”

Suddenly, the atmosphere changed inside my stomach. I immediately found the urge to pee, so I stood up and raced towards the restroom. Nobody followed me, as my comrades stuck to the plan so that the operation will not be jeopardized.

I’m already drunk, so I don’t know what I am doing. Although I am aware of it, nothing can stop my intoxicated self to do stupid things. Instead of hitting the restroom, I opened a private room in the hotel.

And then, I saw a woman. A dragonoid. She is a beautiful teenager around her eighteen, and her adorable face and long black hair resemble Serena a lot. This dragonoid girl is peculiar, however, for the reason that she is wearing a pink flowery dress. And her eyes have black sclera on it.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Xenon Wingate.” The dragonoid girl said. “Fate has finally brought us together again.”

I’m drunk, but I can still distinguish the extraordinary presence of this particular entity. I used my forge magic to create two short swords, and then I made a demonic smile towards the lotus-dressed dragonoid.

“The Eye of Deus,” I muttered. “Sakuradrop, I’ve been longing to see you.”