13 Mink Street

Outside the bedroom door, after a bout of crying, Ms. Lake kept opening her mouth and taking deep, silent breaths. She then fiercely wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. She propped herself up off of the floor, and climbed to her feet. Then, she headed to her daughters’ bedroom.

Karon stood behind the bedroom door. Sigh, so she still found out.

He was not very disappointed. The two had lived together as husband and wife for so long that it was only normal for the woman to notice that her husband had been replaced with someone else. It was not disappointment Karon felt at all, but instead a sense of relief and release.

He walked to the desk where he had sat and eaten earlier. He picked up a leftover piece of bread as he started weighing things in his mind.

An Inquisitor of the Church of Order. I need that position.

Karon broke off a piece of bread and put it into his mouth.

The Adams Psychological Practice had shut down, but Karon still needed a steady income. This funeral home was also something he needed.

Karon tore off another piece of bread.

Heh. After going in circles for so long, from Mink Street in Roja City of Swillen, to Bluebridge Community in Veyn’s York City, he was actually going to end up running a family funeral home again.

That was also fine. His previous “family apprenticeship” had not been wasted. The next time he spoke to Mason on the phone, Karon could say that his nephew had turned a family funeral home into a branch office.

His uncle and aunt would likely be speechless at the news. They had both left home to avoid continuing the family’s funeral business, yet their nephew circled back to it.

Pike and Dinkom, the two Divine Servants, I need them as well.

Pu’er and Kevin were not suited to handle certain matters. Ciri was only a maid, while Little John was still a child, and his abilities were unstable.

Already, there had been times when Karon’s household had run into a shortage of hands. Alfred had even needed to leave the hospital early because of that issue, so right now, Karon needed two subordinates from the churches’ circle.

Pike was simple, and easy to fool. Dinkom had a bit of cleverness, but was easy to use.

Karon pinched off another small piece of bread and put it into his mouth.

Those were three things he could accept, yet there was still a large chunk of bread held in his hand; that large chunk represented the role of “father” and “husband.”

Karon was willing to help Mr. Pavaro shoulder his responsibilities towards his family, things like arranging his wife’s living situation and keeping his two daughters supplied with Bloodspirit Powder, as well as subsequent treatment, but Karon was absolutely unwilling to truly play the part of a “father” or a “husband.”

Because that would be exhausting.

A mask was something that could be removed at will. Something that could not be taken off after it was put on was called a shackle.

The greatest obstacle before Karon was the fact that he could not proactively explain the situation to Ms. Lake and her two daughters, telling them who he was. This was not because he was afraid that they would expose him, but because if he told them directly, they would easily give themselves away in their daily life.

Karon thought back to the other night in the basement. After Bede had killed that squad member of the Order of the Whip, he had out the man’s eyes and handled the follow up with practiced ease. In this world, even the dead could talk.

Fortunately, Mr. Pavaro’s two daughters had noticed that it was not their father who had returned, and Ms. Lake had also noticed that he was not her husband.

Yet the two daughters had not cried or made any sort of fuss, and Ms. Lake had continued to pretend to treat Karon as her husband.

That unspoken understanding was the best fit for their current situation, because Karon did not know how long he could continue to use Mr. Pavaro’s identity. He needed to be cautious in even the small details from the very beginning.

He set the large remaining chunk of bread back onto the plate. He was already full, and becoming overstuffed was not good.

He picked up the damp towel on the tray, wiped his mouth, then folded it and wiped his hands. When Mr. Pavaro ate, did Ms. Lake usually prepare a damp towel for him as well? With how greasy Mr. Pavaro had been in his daily life, he did not seem like someone who cared about being too clean.

Still, Karon could not be bothered to consider what detail had exposed him to Ms. Lake. To her, Karon was likely nothing but tells from head to toe. She might have simply felt his muscles react wrong the first time she had pinched him, or she might have confirmed the truth the very first she had looked into eyes that were not her husband’s.

“Phew...” Karon let out a long breath. Since the woman had already guessed the truth, he might as well expand their unspoken understanding a bit more, so that Ms. Lake would not be so frightened.

He walked to the bedroom door, opened it, and called out, “Pike.”

“Yes, Boss?” Pike ran into the residence from the front of the shop.

“Call the missus over.”

“Okay, boss.”

Karon sat down at the desk again. He picked up a fountain pen, pulled off the cap, and tapped it against his fingertips.

All of a sudden, he could not hold back a laugh. It seemed that he really did not have much talent for acting. When he had first awoken, he had confidently believed that unless his family had gone mad, no one would believe that “Karon” had been replaced.

His face had been slapped once in Roja City, and after coming to Veyn, it had been slapped again.

If he only used Mr. Pavaro’s identity, he might not be safe. The best outcome remained to launder his own identity back into the church, that way his daily work and everything else could be handled with greater composure.

Can I do it like this? Recruit myself into the funeral home, act as my own boss, be my own employer, and make myself a Divine Servant with official standing? Karon suddenly felt that the idea was quite feasible.

First, he would be able to face Ms. Lake and her two daughters with more ease. Second, in front of those two underlings, he already had the mistaken identity of an official from the Whip of Order, which would allow him to control them far more easily.

He could just tell them that he was working undercover to monitor Mr. Pavaro. After all, that kind of thing was precisely in line with the Whip of Order’s activities, and those two underlings had no way to verify it. They would also not dare to even try to do so.

But how was he supposed to secure the official standing? Although he came from an Inquisitor’s family, because of Tiz’s special nature, Karon’s family and even Tiz himself were really not comparable to a normal Inquisitor at all.

In fact, Karon had never even seen church credits back at home.

He was like a second generation official whose family fortune had suddenly fallen, to only then realize the cost of running a red light truly was.

Just take it slow. Karon could only comfort himself like that.

The bedroom door was pushed open, and Ms. Lake walked in. She glanced at the tray on the desk, and immediately cursed, “You think you’re some lord, do you? It’s one thing for me to carry your food in here, now you also want me to carry it back out for you?”

Karon leaned back slightly and calmly stated, “I will make sure that your household’s supply of Bloodspirit Powder will not be interrupted any month.”

Ms. Lake froze, and her expression grew a bit stiff. “You... I... This family...”

She tried to speak several times, shifting tones and manners of speech multiple times, but she could not settle on one. The more that she tried to compose herself, the flustered she became. Eventually, her eyes reddened yet again.

She was terrified of this “husband” in front of her. She did not know who this man really was, and she did not dare to even think about where her real husband might be at the moment, though she had already roughly guessed the truth.

Yet she was even more terrified that her two daughters would lose their access to Bloodspirit Powder. If she were truly alone, she would have absolutely no hope of obtaining any Bloodspirit Powder again, but as a mother, for her children, she could endure anything.

“I am your husband,” Karon stated. “Am I not?”

Ms. Lake did not hesitate, and immediately nodded. “Yes, you are.”

Karon suddenly felt that he was not handling his tone well. He wanted to reassure her, not scare her further. “I have a very good friend, I don’t know if I ever told you about him before. He was a very good man, a very responsible man, a man so upright that I admire him.”

Ms. Lake stared at Karon in shock. She understood who her “husband” meant, and cautiously asked, “Where is that friend now?”

“He’s gone.”

Ms. Lake’s body sank onto the edge of the bed, as though her soul had just been lost.

“That friend once begged me that if something happened to him, he hoped I would help to take care of his family. I agreed, and I might need to shoulder a part of their necessary expenses every month.

“About that, madam, you won’t object to me making a decision on my own, will you?”

Ms. Lake drew in a deep breath. She shook her head, then nodded again. “That’s the right thing to do. You should- you... you did the right thing.”

“Good. It’s good that you understand. The thing that I worried about the most was you blaming me, madam.”

“No, I wouldn’t. How could I?”

“Since you’ve agreed, I will proceed and take good care of his wife and children. I will do my best to provide them with a stable, comfortable life.”

“Thank you... no, you are doing the right thing. I support you very much.”

“But I also don’t want to trouble her relatives, because, as you know, I was just released from the Whip of Order’s prison, which makes my identity rather inconvenient. I don’t want my identity to bring bad influences into their lives.”

“They’ll be grateful, in their hearts. They will. And they’ll help keep this secret.”

“Good.”

Ms. Lake hurriedly wiped her tears and nodded. “Good, good.”

“Madam, I have something to do, so I need to go out for a while. I won’t be coming back tonight.”

“Mhmm, you’re busy. Go do your work, you have a lot to handle.” Ms. Lake stood up.

Karon stood as well, and he left the bedroom. When he entered the front shop, given that it was midnight, both Pike and Dinkom stood up and asked, “Boss, you’re going out?”

“Yes. I still have some things to take care of. I won’t be back tonight.”

“Okay, Boss.” Dinkom nodded.

“Boss, did you tell the missus?” Pike kindly reminded him.

Right then, from the back yard came Ms. Lake’s furious cursing, “You just got back and you’re going out again? You even say you won’t be back tonight? Why don’t you just die at that pastry shop, you old fart!”

Karon laughed, and Dinkom and Pike joined him. Clearly, they were used to how the boss and the boss’s wife got along.

Karon walked out of the funeral home and got into the car with Alfred.

“Young Master, did it go smoothly?” Alfred asked.

“Smoothly.”

“Are we going home now?”

“Yes.”

“Finally, we can get some proper rest, Young Master.”

“Mhmm. But tomorrow morning, we will need to stop by the funeral home again. For the next few days, I should show up quite often, making my presence known. That way, when I get a clean identity, my presence won’t feel so abrupt.”

What happened next depended on how quickly the Church of Order processed things. Karon could not rush them, and could only wait. Still, he had at least already done everything he needed to do, so he could rest and recover properly.

Ciri happened to be out taking out the trash, so when she saw “Karon” walking up at the stairwell, she reflexively flung the dustpan, sending dust flying everywhere as she screamed, “Oh my God!”

Only then did Karon realize that he was still wearing Mr. Pavaro’s face. It was like when a person first starts wearing glasses and continuously forgets them at home when leaving in the morning.

He patted the dust off his shoulder. He did not get upset with Ciri. The maid’s professionalism for unusual stress was already quite good. It was him who kept pushing her limits again and again.

Karon smiled at Ciri.

She dropped to the steps, clutching the edge of the stairs with both hands, absolute terror on her face. She had only just finished cleaning the bathroom before leaving the apartment, and had even greeted the faceless Mr. Pavaro lying in it.

Karon wanted to reach out and help her up, but given the advantage of her large backside, she had been cushioned while falling to the stairs, and was probably fine. “Watch your step on the stairs.”

With that perfunctory reminder, Karon went inside. He reverted back into his own appearance, and went up to the second floor. He went to the washroom and had to shower again.

“Young Master, I’ve put out your bath towel, and your clothes are ready too.” Little John’s voice came from outside the bathroom door. The child was quickly adapting to his new role, despite only just having lost his father.

After Karon finished his shower and stepped out, Little John asked, “Young Master, do you need me to bring your dinner to your bed?”

“No.” Karon went downstairs to the kitchen, and stood there for a while. He had suddenly realized a problem: the reason he had so enjoyed cooking in the Immers household was because life there was truly leisurely. However, once you got busier, even turning on the stove felt like moving a mountain.

“Are there any pastries left?” he asked.

Pu’er, sprawled across the steps to the second floor, helplessly shifted to one side. It seems sweet and sour fish won’t be happening any time soon.

“Young Master, I’ll go buy some right away,” Alfred said.

“Mhmm, okay.” Karon headed back upstairs. He looked at Little John standing there, and said, “Ice water and the newspaper.”

“They’re already on your bedside table, Young Master,” Little John said.

“Who taught you?” Karon asked.

“Miss Pu’er.”

“Mhmm.” Karon nodded, entered the bedroom, and laid down on his bed. He took two sips of the ice water, then picked up the newspaper and started flipping through it. He was not sleepy, but just wanted to continue as he was for a bit longer.

After a while, Kevin ran in and turned on the radio before flopping onto his own bed. Pu’er padded in as well and jumped onto the bed.

“Young Master, Mr. Alfred returned with the pastries. Would you like some now?” Little John asked from the doorway.

“I’m not very hungry. I’ll eat them tomorrow morning when I get up.”

“Okay, Young Master.”

Karon set the newspaper down, reached out, and rubbed Pu’er’s head as she lay on his stomach. She lifted her head. “What is it?”

“Is there any way to remove corruption?”

“That depends on how severe the contamination is. Your father- well, ‘Karon’s’ father and mother, that kind of corruption was something that not even Tiz could do anything about.

“But you’re referring to Mr. Pavaro’s daughters, right? There should be a way. At the very least, there should be something better than Bloodspirit Powder.”

“Good. In a while, I’ll take you all to Pavaro’s Funeral Home to look at them.”

“You’re taking over the funeral home?” Pu’er asked.

“Yes.”

“Alright. I can be a funeral home cat again.”

“You don’t like it?”

“It’s not bad. There was always a funeral in progress downstairs, while I would lie on the balcony in the sun. During those moments, I always feel as though a certain humanity is flowing through me. Do you understand that feeling?”

“I do. It’s like how Kevin always fantasizes that he isn’t a dog but a heretical god.”

“Woof woof woof!”

Pu’er, furious, slapped Karon’s blanket with a paw. She puffed up with anger, then twisted away and lay down, ignoring him.

“Young Master,” Alfred’s voice came from outside.

“Hmm?”

“I just received a call from Borg. The Raphael family has been wiped out.”

“Understood.” Karon picked up the newspaper again and kept reading. A moment later, Pu’er, who had been ignoring him, silently poked her head out from under the opened newspaper and looked at Karon, though she said nothing.

Karon shifted the paper to block the cat’s head again.

Pu’er burrowed over again, yet still remained silent.

He lifted the paper again, and blocked her again.

Then there was a rustling under the blanket. Pu’er’s head popped out from the covers and settled onto Karon’s chest.

He lowered his head to look at her. “What are you doing?”

“I just want to say thank you.”

“You should thank Mr. Pavaro, and Ms. Annie.” Karon set the newspaper down and looked at the nearby window.

“The church is really quite fast.”

“Because to the Church of Order, removing the Raphael family is like flicking a speck of dust off their shoulder.”

“Heh.” Karon barked a short laugh. “But there were also only a speck of dust. Before this, they couldn’t even be bothered to brush it away.”

The next morning, after Karon got up and washed, he went downstairs. From the pastries Alfred had bought yesterday, he chose some sort of fried ring. He put it in a bowl, poured in milk, and added half a spoon of brown sugar that he stirred in.

Alfred came out of the bedroom as well.

“Want some?” Karon asked.

“No, Young Master.”

“I accidentally soaked it too much.”

“Okay, Young Master.”

After breakfast, as the two of them went downstairs and got into the car, they happened to see Ciri riding her bicycle into the apartment complex. Their maid took her work very seriously, arriving early and leaving late.

It was also clear that she liked her secondhand bicycle. Not only had she wiped it very clean, she had even tied pink ribbons onto it. It was just that the seat was a bit small. No, it was not that the seat itself was small, but rather relative to her, it appeared to be very small.

But no matter what, seeing a maid full of energy and life, full of courage to face an absurd job first thing in the morning, it made Karon feel like he was being infected by something positive.

As she passed the car, Ciri noticed the people inside, and she immediately stopped her bike and ran over to them.

Karon rolled down the window.

“Young Master, Mr. Alfred, good morning.”

“Good morning.” After the greeting, Alfred started the car.

“Oh!” Karon touched the ring. A flash of violet light passed over him, and he became Mr. Pavaro again. “I need to put my mask on first. I’m afraid I’ll forget when we get there and get out of the car.”

“Young Master, for tonight’s dinner, do you need me—” As Ciri turned back to ask Karon about dinner, she saw Mr. Pavaro sitting in the car’s passenger seat. “...to have it ready, Mr. Pavaro?”

“Go ahead and prepare it. I’m sorry to trouble you.”

“It... it’s no trouble.”

Alfred drove out of the complex. Since everything was in Bluebridge Community, their destination was very close. Soon, the car stopped in front of the funeral home.

“Young Master, look over there,” Alfred said.

“I see them.” Ahead, a black sedan was parked, and two people in black robes stepped out. One glance at the clothes told you they were Church of Order personnel in “plainclothes.”

Karon got out and walked over on his own. They noticed him, and one of them asked, “Sir, is that Mr. Pavaro’s funeral home up ahead?”

Karon looked and realized the storefront sign was obscured. After the last funeral, the black drape had not been removed, so it was impossible to see the sign.

This was also because something had happened to Mr. Pavaro; Everyone in the household was shaken and no one was in the right state of mind for such details.

“Yes, that’s right. May I ask what you need?”

The other robed man smiled. “The boss of this funeral home, Mr. Pavaro, died while acting bravely for a righteous cause. We represent the police bureau, and we’re here to deliver a certificate of merit and a death consolation payment.”

“Oh, is that so? That’s truly sad news,” Karon said.

“No, this is a very glorious thing,” the robed man corrected.

“Yes,” Karon immediately amended. “Glorious beyond compare. I’ll take you inside. I’m very familiar with this funeral home.”

“Heh heh, good. You’re truly a warm hearted man. What’s your name?” The robed man asked with perfunctory courtesy.

“Oh, my name is Pavaro.”