Day in Memoriam

Everyone turned their heads towards the “Advisor” in the room. Upon hearing what Meixia said, the “fake” Advisor suddenly plunged into his shadow, hiding and running away.

Meixia tried to shoot him with her blaster, but since the Temple Members were around him, Meixia couldn’t risk getting them hurt and frustratingly let him go.

The Lord Commander spoke to his communication device to inform the other guards in the Temple about the existence of a “fake” advisor.

“Guards, find a moving shadowy figure and eliminate him on sight. Don’t let him get away.”

After such a chaos, the Lord Commander decided to cancel today’s assembly and postpone it for another day. Since some of the information during today’s meeting was leaked to the enemy, they decided to revise the plan after the situation had gone back normal.

Meanwhile, the shadowy figure ran away from the guards. He was surrounded by guards everywhere, having nowhere to go.

“Dammit, those guys. Couldn’t they have disposed the body better!? Can’t even rely on them, geez,” the guy thought to himself, annoyed.

Suddenly, there were sounds of an explosion in the sky. There were fireworks being shot by someone from a distance.

The Sacred Guards were distracted by the fireworks. Taking advantage of the moment, the mysterious shadowy figure escaped while they were distracted. He then got away from the Temple safely, without nobody seeing his figure nor where he went.

The whole Temple was in panic.

Two weeks after the day of the Temple Members Assembly, it was finally the first day of Neptunia, the Day in Memoriam.

Members of the Garuda Squad were given shifts to guard the National Cemetery. Because they also needed to pay their loved ones a visit, they were given a two-hour break during the time slot they were given.

The cemetery was divided into 8 areas, depending on their social status and profession. Three areas were designated for civvie; one for monks’ and nuns’ resting place; one for Temple Members and their families; one for Knights and Sorcerers; one for several members of the Horahua royal family; and lastly, a special area was designated for past Premier(e)s.

Each member of Garuda Squad was assigned to guard a specific area, different from one another. They were also accompanied by 2 other Sacred Guards from other squads, an Exorcist, and several other Military Police officers. While the other 8 members of Garuda Squad guarded each area of the cemetery, Saaya personally escorted the Premier during the whole day of the event.

Before the National Cemetery was opened, at 5 in the morning, all of the Sacred Guards, the Temple Members, and Civil Servants of the nation paid they respect to the late Advisor who just died around a month ago. A woman and her daughter came before anyone else. They were the Advisor’s wife and daughter.

There were a lot of bouquets of flowers laid around the Advisor’s grave. Everyone mourned about his death. His daughter clenched her fist and left the funeral early, before anyone else.

Garuda Squad members also visited the grave of the former chief of Garuda Squad, the late Chief Bataar. Saaya, Arudo, and Zum particularly had a close bond with him when they worked together under him before the new generation of members joined the squad.

After the cemetery was opened, everyone went to their assigned area. Haru was assigned to area B, the one designated for civvie. He was securing the area along with other Knights and Sorcerers assigned with him.

At the same moment, Haneul visited past Premier(e)s' graves, along with the Holy Monastic and Saaya. They poured some holy water, scattered some flowers, and recited prayers specifically to wish for the dead. Lastly, Haneul stopped by Premiere Tianming’s grave, to express something to her.

“I’m sorry I’m not as great as you are, Your Divinity,” Haneul whispered to her grave.

Meanwhile, Yujin was with his mother and father––the King and the Queen consort of the nation. They visited the graves of several members of the Horahua clan who died before them. Most of the members of the family were buried in the Royal Residence cemetery, but some of them were also buried here in the capital.

Several hours had passed, yet nothing happened. The Lord Commander, the Military General, and the Archimage who were expecting any potential terrorist attacks were getting anxious of the surprisingly calm situation. They believed the current situation to be “the calm before the storm.”

At 4 in the evening, Haru finally got his turn for a break. Right when he was getting ready to leave, someone came to him.

“Are you ready, Haru?”

The Holy Monastic came to pick him up. He was surprised to see him, since he didn’t tell the Holy Monastic neither the area he was assigned to nor the time he got his break.

The two of them then walked to the Premier(e)’s area together. This was the second time the Holy Monastic came here, since he was here with Haneul just earlier this morning.

They visited Premiere Tianming’s grave. Even though there were flowers there already, Haru brought another one himself. It was not as grandiose as the others', but he still felt like it was necessary to at least bring something.

“Let’s pray together,” the Holy Monastic said.

The two of them then sat on the ground, in front of the grave. They closed their eyes and crossed their likes, like they were about to meditate. They then started reciting some prayers for the Premiere.

Suddenly, in the middle of the prayer, the Holy Monastic put Haru’s hand on Premiere Tianming’s grave. Haru followed his lead and did as the Holy Monastic wanted him to, gently caressing her tombstone as the two of them prayed for her.

All of a sudden, Haru started visualising something in his head.