13 Mink Street

Pu’er watched Karon hang up the phone and said, “This situation where you’re acting as an informant and monitoring yourself is really interesting.”

“It also grants a certain peace of mind. I’ll treat it as self reflection.”

“Hmm... That sounds like a very high level of enlightenment.”

“The scrolls will be done in three days, right?” Karon asked.

“Yes, that’s right. If not because the stupid dog and I have to keep sleeping and recover while crafting, in the past, after materials were ready, we could have finished in three minutes.

“We already imprinted our own spiritual imprint into them, which will make it much easier for you to learn. With your comprehension ability, I think you’ll learn them as soon as they’re finished, just like Tiz back then.” Pu’er was already completely treating Karon as being the same as Tiz in the past. Her standards for measuring and predicting what Karon was capable of had long since been corrected.

She also knew that what Karon wanted to walk was not Tiz’s path, so while the broader direction of his path would be very difficult, when it came to the fine details, his speed would still be astonishing.

“You’ve worked hard. When the scrolls are finished, I’ll take you to the funeral home. Also, I plan to renovate that place and do some reconstruction. I’m having Alfred do the design, so share with him your needs as well.”

“Just build a doghouse in the yard. It doesn’t matter, as I’ll be sleeping in the master bedroom with you.”

“Woof!”

The next day, Alfred openly followed Karon into the Pavaro Funeral Home. Pike and Dinkom treated Alfred as Karon’s subordinate, and Alfred did not hold back in the slightest. He immediately treated the two men as if they were his own helpers, ordering them around to set up the mourning hall with him.

The two men had originally fantasized about how when a newcomer arrived they would be able to treat him however they liked. They had never foreseen the reality that their own status in the funeral home would be lowered by two steps.

Even so, their enthusiasm for their jobs actually increased greatly. They were no longer listless in the funeral home, nor did they stare at the ceiling in a daze when they had nothing to do. That was because they had gained something to look forward to.

Mr. Pavaro had indeed been an excellent and competent Inquisitor, but when a person’s subordinates did not align with their superior’s thinking, they would never be able to feel that he was a good boss.

It took a full day for the three to properly arrange the mourning hall. White was the dominant color, while subtle elements that drew upon artistic depictions of Bloodfiends and love were incorporated into the design. The result was restrained, with a trace of romance that did not diminish the solemnity of the occasion.

Karon only emerged in the evening to examine the results. There was nothing he was dissatisfied with. In terms of taste, Alfred was absolutely trustworthy. After all, he was a man who had nearly taken “Saucy” as his new surname.

Throughout the entire day, Karon had remained in the study, reading Mr. Pavaro’s notes, and he had finally finished all of them. Finishing the man’s notes did not mean that Karon would immediately become a mature and experienced Inquisitor, but at least he had sorted out the logic of the processes.

Additionally, he had made a point to bring over several of Mr. Hoffen’s notebooks to read, and had focused on records concerning Bloodfiends. Mr. Hoffen’s notebooks primarily concerned the major orthodox churches, with demonkin and family faith systems only being mentioned in passing when introducing churches. This made any search for related information somewhat complicated. Of course, one could also say that, from Mr. Hoffen’s perspective, family faith systems and demonkin did not deserve to be given their own dedicated records.

One section was particularly interesting. The Church of Principle had once researched a Bloodfiend of very high rank, though from which family was never specified.

“Very high rank” was a description that was rare to see in Mr. Hoffen’s notes, as he had preferred to leave records of pure text, not adding vague descriptions. This could only mean that the Bloodfiend dissected and studied by researchers from the Church of Principle must have been an exceptionally high rank.

Mr. Hoffen had copied a portion of the research notes. They had discovered that the higher the bloodline rank of a Bloodfiend, the more prone they were to derangement.

Derangement was not the same as corruption. Corruption was the passive result of external influences, while derangement referred to a distortion that originates within the self, a fracture in one’s own cognition.

Both the churches and family faith systems could have similar cases of a person becoming lost. For example, Mike, in order to follow his progenitor’s path, had accidentally blown off his own legs. That was another manifestation of becoming lost.

Mr. Hoffen recorded that within the direct bloodline of high tier Bloodfiend families, they retained a greater amount of their consciousness, which made it easier for them to find opportunities to communicate with their progenitor. Outstanding clan members could continuously advance with this “communication,” similar to the Divine Seeker rank, while the mediocre were destined, at some stage in life, to lose the consciousness of their true self amid the progenitor’s constant murmuring within them.

However, the Church of Principle had also found that some potions could suppress this bloodline murmuring. That meant that Elisa, whose funeral would soon be held, had left her family and lost access to the regimen that had restrained her bloodline. Unable to suppress the inner voice of her progenitor, she had inevitably descended into derangement.

After understanding the cause and effect, when Karon walked out of the study and passed the workroom he had locked, he could not help stopping. He felt a greater measure of respect towards the young Bloodfiend lady who lay inside. Despite knowing that without her family’s regimen, she would most likely fall and be lost, she had still fled her family for love.

When she had sensed that she was about to lose herself, in fear that she would harm ordinary people, she had chosen to commit suicide before that happened.

Karon could not help trying to put himself in her position. If he encountered a similar situation, what choice would he make?

While thinking, Karon shook his head. There was no way to switch positions, because he had always avoided letting himself encounter such a situation.

The benefit of being both boss and employee was that when it was time, he could get off work. Tonight, the one on the night watch responsible for snoring was Dinkom.

When Karon went out, he did not run into the blue sedan from last night.

Once home, he looked at the telephone.

“Young Master, do you need to call in and report?” Alfred asked. Thoughtful, he had already crouched down and placed both hands to pinch the phone line. His eyes were even about to turn red.

Karon hesitated. In principle, he should not make such frequent reports, because the other party only considered him to be a casually placed informant, a plastic informant. The only reason to step away from that was if he wanted to create an image of himself as a very lively lackey, desperate to become a true member of the Whip of Order squad.

But Karon did not like that image. Given a choice, anyone would prefer to be a bit more aloof, but...

Karon still dialed that number, even though the day had clearly been completely uneventful.

“Hello,” the woman answered the phone.

“This is Karon. I have something I want to report to the captain.”

“Hello, this is Nio.”

He picked up fast. In Karon’s mind, an image appeared of Nio sitting beside the woman, as if also waiting for Karon’s call.

“Captain, the funeral arrangements are done. Tomorrow night at eight, the funeral will begin.” It was a completely useless report, yet on the other end of the line, Nio did not reveal any hint of impatience, nor did he scold Karon for using the phone call to report such a thing.

Karon continued, “The funeral arrangement uses white as the main tone...”

He outlined the arrangements for the funeral. The person on the other end did not interrupt, but listened in silence.

Once Karon was finished with his report, there was a brief pause before the reply came, “Very well. I understand.”

The tone had changed. There was something being held back. Karon noticed it immediately.

This did not mean that Nio, as captain of the Whip of Order squad, lacked control of his emotions. Rather, he simply viewed Karon as an insignificant informant placed at random. There was no need for caution before such a person.

“I’ll continue to watch, Captain.”

“Mhmm.”

Karon hung up, and Alfred stood up, the color of his eyes returning to normal.

“Just simple friends?” Karon asked.

“Young Master, do you suspect that Captain Nio and Miss Elisa did not have a simple friendship?”

“Mhmm.”

“But didn’t that man last night say that he and Miss Elisa fell in love and ran away from her family’s manor?”

“Alfred, do you know why stories about a young lady falling in love with a servant and escaping from her family are so popular?”

“Uh...”

“Because under normal circumstances, a young lady can’t possibly fall for a servant of her house.”

At that moment, Karon saw Pu’er yawning as she walked out of the bedroom, so he asked her directly, “Pu’er, would the old you have fallen in love with some male servant in Allen Manor?”

“Are you sick?”

“See? That’s reality.”

Pu’er rubbed her eyes with a paw and asked in confusion, “No, what were you two just talking about?”

“Nothing.”

“But you just randomly asked me such a question, so I’m really curious what you were talking about.”

“There’s no need to be curious, because a cat who’s never dated has no right to participate in such conversations.”

“....” Pu’er just stared at him.

At that moment, Little John came over and handed Karon a cup of ice water. Karon accepted the cup with his left hand while patting Little John’s head with his right. A simple, honest smile appeared on the child’s face. “There’s nothing happening during the day tomorrow. Alfred, go handle his enrollment in school.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“...” Little John had nothing to say.

The next day, after washing up, Karon went downstairs. He got up a bit late, because he would be working at night. Going to the funeral home early on would not accomplish much. Alfred was also not home, as he had taken Little John to enroll in school.

As Karon came downstairs, he saw Ciri kneeling on the floor, wiping the floorboards with a rag. The denim covering her hips appeared quite full.

Karon could only deliberately move his gaze away, sighing that it truly was a morning that made one feel spirited.

“Young Master, you’re up. Breakfast is on the table.”

“Isn’t there a mop?”

“A mop can’t wipe as clean like this.” Ciri stood up. “I’ll go warm your milk.”

Karon sat down and started eating breakfast.

Ciri brought over the warm milk. “Young Master, on my way here today, I saw a group of people in white robes. They looked a little scary.”

“You saw them too? Where?”

“On the road outside of my home.”

“Then be careful on your way to and from work.”

“I know, Young Master. I always go around them.” Ciri shrugged. “Actually, I know why they hate us so much; It’s because they think we stole their job opportunities. But whose fault is it that Veyn’s army invaded our country?”

Karon took a bite of fried egg and said nothing.

“Young Master, how long do you think it will take before we can live equally like them? Mr. Luder is organizing us to push for legislation that would grant us quasi-citizenship and stop the discrimination against us. Yesterday my parents received flyers, and my younger brother got so excited. He treats Mr. Luder like an idol.”

“Ciri, do you think that once the law forbids discrimination, discrimination will instantly disappear?”

“Isn’t that so? Hm... it should be, right? Uh... maybe?”

Karon deliberately softened his tone and smiled. “But at least it’s a good direction of development.”

“Yes, Young Master, you’re right.”

After breakfast, Karon went to the study. He found a book called Time in Slumber, and began reading.

Pu’er and Kevin were still asleep. These days, they would spend some time imprinting the scrolls, and then sleep to recover. Upon waking, they would eat something, resume imprinting, and then sleep again. Likely the day after tomorrow, his two Art scrolls would be complete. If things progressed a bit faster, they could be completed by tomorrow night.

Basking in the sunlight as he read, Karon soon grew a bit drowsy. The book was an autobiography, recounting the author’s daily observations in a town after growing old. It lived up to its title; When read for long enough, one would grow sleepy.

Karon stood and returned the book to the shelf. He selected another volume: Rogin’s Secret Diary.

It was an interesting book. The author was a deceased poet from Veyn of considerable renown. His poems had once been included in school textbooks, but had later been removed when, according to his will, this version of his diary had been published fifty years after his death. Public opinion had sharply turned against him, and he had become a target of intense criticism in the prevailing social climate.

The diary recorded his courtship and marriage. Throughout the early pages, he described in detail how sensual his wife had been. Later, he wrote that when she had stood before him naked, his heart had remained unmoved.

What followed were accounts of his affairs with various socialites and married women. He described how they met, how their relationships developed, what each of them excelled at, and what qualities he found himself drawn to.

He also recorded his wife’s own infidelities. Certain earls and wealthy merchants had pursued her, and he wrote of how he responded.

Reading the book, one could not help but arrive at the impression that high society was little more than an accumulation of smoke and filth, as though they devoted themselves to nothing but the matters of the bed.

The book was thin, and after finishing it, Karon closed it and glanced at the floor lamp beside the desk. In a low voice, he said, “Order—Guardian Wall.”

Three black walls manifested. Stirred by the currents of power, the figure of an old man appeared within the study. “Oh. It seems we have not met for quite some time,” the old man said with a smile.

“Yes. I’ve been busy.”

“With what? If you find yourself bored and wish to speak, I am willing to listen.”

“Nothing of note.” Karon had no intention of telling this thought impression that he had recently set a trap for some Light vermin and had nearly driven them entirely out of York City.

“I’ve read this one as well,” the old man said, noticing Rogin’s Secret Diary on the desk. “There is a claim that his descendants suffered financial ruin and conspired with a publisher to release that book under his name.”

“What do you think?” Karon asked.

“I believe it is genuine. Poets often harbor unexpected ideas. Publishing a book after one’s death to tarnish one’s own reputation might have amused him. I have also heard that in the earliest draft, he described an affair with the queen. Unfortunately for him, even fifty years after his death, the queen was still alive, so that portion was removed.”

“The queen is dead now.”

“Oh, is she? At last. How did she die?”

“I don’t know. Likely of old age.”

“That would be fitting.”

“I want to ask you something. There is a bit of Light within me.”

“I’ve seen that. There is much within you.”

“Can the power of Light be converted into power of other systems?”

“No. The power of Light is singular, but its nature is inclusive. It may serve as a medium, allowing imitation.”

The same conclusion Pu’er reached. A converter.

“Even so, such conversion is of limited effect. Light itself contains supreme Arts and profound principles. It has no need to covet what lies beyond it.”

“If I were to go into the streets and preach with the blessing of Light, I would likely be found dead in my own bed the next morning.”

“The decline of Light is a matter of law. Just as the sun rises and sets, I am certain Light will rise again.”

“Then why did you leave? Why not remain in York City and await the sunrise?”

“I went to the colonies to sow seeds of Light. Lying in bed to wait for the dawn would be unbearably dull.”

“I am quite capable of inventing such explanations myself.”

At that moment, the sound of a door opening came from downstairs. Alfred had returned.

“That will be all for now. We will speak again.”

“I hope you remain well.”

“Mm.”

“It is when the heart is unsettled that one instinctively seeks Light. If it were something grave, one would not have the leisure to search for it.”

“You are speaking too much.”

“Very well. I look forward to our next conversation.”

The old man’s figure faded, and the study returned to stillness. Karon left the study and went downstairs.

“Young Master, Little John has been enrolled. It is a school not far from here, so he can go and return on his own. As instructed, I have also moved Ms. Lake and the two young ladies of the Pavaro household to a nearby hotel.”

“Did Ms. Lake ask any questions?”

“No. I told her that a change of environment would benefit the young ladies’ physical and mental well-being. She appeared to accept it, at least outwardly.”

“Good.”

“Young Master, shall we go to the funeral home?”

“Yes.”

The second-hand black Pons sedan left the apartment complex and soon arrived at the Pavaro Funeral Home, which was also within Bluebridge Community. “Young Master, for tonight’s funeral, will you not assume Mr. Pavaro’s appearance?”

“No. I have a sense that something might happen tonight.”

“So you have been concerned about that.”

“Yes. If I take on Pavaro’s appearance and something happens, I won’t be able to flee, but would have to face it.” Karon shrugged. “This damned persona.”