13 Mink Street

The half-month-long renovation of Pavaro Funeral Home finally came to an end, and Dinkom and Pike were at last able to catch their breath. In the morning, the two each sat on small stools outside of the funeral home, a bottle of soda placed in front of each.

“Dinkom, I suddenly realized something.”

“What is it?”

“That if one day the God of Order doesn’t need me anymore, I won’t starve to death, because I can now become a mason.”

“You can go do that now. The great God of Order probably won’t notice that He’s lost an insignificant Divine Servant.”

“What about you?” Pike asked. “Do you miss the old days?”

“I don’t know. Back then, things might have been more leisurely, but that was also a kind of torment. Things are indeed much busier now, but at least it feels fulfilling.”

“So you like being a mason too?”

Dinkom picked up his soda and took a sip, too lazy to respond to his companion.

At that moment, a luxury car stopped in front of the funeral home. The female driver wore a tight black leather outfit, with a nose ring and a lip ring. Pike let out an exclamation. “Oh, she’s beautiful!”

Seeing no reaction from Dinkom, Pike continued, “I would willingly submit at her feet, lick her boots, and endure her whipping!”

Dinkom sighed. Then, the car door opened and a refined woman in professional attire stepped out. She lightly pushed her hair back, and Dinkom felt his heart stirred, his mouth instantly going dry.

The two men then saw a familiar figure step out of the car. The two women greeted him warmly and intimately. The blazing fire that had just ignited in Dinkom and Pike instantly went out. They simultaneously raised their soda bottles, took a large gulp, and let out a synchronized burp, all previously improper thoughts dissipating into the wind. After that, they stood up. One of them picked up a broom and began sweeping, while the other grabbed a cloth and started cleaning the doors and windows.

When Karon walked over, bright smiles of post-labor sunshine immediately appeared on their faces.

“Boss, you’re back.”

“Boss, you’ve returned.”

“You’ve worked hard during this period,” Karon nodded to them.

“It wasn’t hard, it’s what we should do.”

“Yes, this is what we ought to do.”

“Mm.” Karon nodded to them, then lifted a travel bag and carried a long case on his back as he headed toward the backyard.

Earlier, outside, he had noticed that the storefront had been illegally expanded along one side. The effect was decent, adding more functional space to the funeral home, yet what concerned him most was still the back section, as that was where his daily life was.

Stepping into the backyard, the first thing that came into Karon’s view was a circular flower bed, transplanted with a variety of blooms, giving the place a lively, flourishing feel. The overall layout resembled a traditional courtyard house.

“Young Master.” Alfred stepped out from the kitchen and, without hesitation, took the items from Karon’s hands and stepped back. “Shall I show you around?”

“Alright.”

“Here is your master bedroom, Young Master.” Alfred opened the bedroom door. The space inside was large, designed as a suite. Just past the entrance was a partitioned area with a shoe cabinet and wardrobe, and on the floor sat a spacious dog bed. Further in stood a large bed, set low, with steps leading up to it.

There were two more doors. One led to the washroom, a private one attached to Karon’s master bedroom. The other led to the adjacent study, which also had its own main entrance; this was the internal door.

The study was furnished in a simple yet refined style. Alfred had clearly put a great deal of thought into it. Karon noticed that the bookshelf was already filled with books and asked, “Have the books already been moved here?”

“Yes, Young Master, all the books from the study in Allen Apartments have been moved here.”

“Mm.” Karon sat behind the desk and saw that his black notebook, still in its wooden box, had been placed on the desk. “I’m very satisfied, Alfred.”

“Your satisfaction is the meaning of my existence.”

“So, you’re all moved in already?”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“What about Pu’er and Kevin?”

“They’re in the two young ladies’ room, treating them. They just prescribed some new medication and are currently testing soaking methods. Ms. Lake and Ciri are accompanying them. Shall I call them over?”

“No need. Also, open that long box.”

“Yes, Young Master.” Alfred opened the long box, revealing the Aelius Sword. “Young Master, this sword is absolutely a high-grade holy relic.”

“Yes.”

It was Ophelia’s personal sword; How could it be ordinary?

Karon proceeded to recount his experiences from the last few days to Alfred. According to family tradition, once one person was told, they received the responsibility to pass things along to the others, which meant that their young master did not need to repeat everything to each individual.

However, in his telling, Karon omitted the emotional elements he deemed unimportant.

“So, Darkmoon Island now considers you to be one of their own who has infiltrated the Church of Order?”

“Mhmm, that should be the case.”

“Although this is a misunderstanding, if they can sincerely serve you, Young Master, they will surely be grateful for the decision they made now.”

“You can tone down that manner of speech. After all, we’re at home.”

“Yes, Young Master. It may be because I’ve been apart from you for some time, but I feel there is a bit of distance between us. I will immediately resolve it.”

“Heh.”

“By the way, Young Master, I will have a sword case made to store this sword.”

“Mm, it is very useful to me. It can greatly amplify my Darkmoon Blade, but I can’t carry it around normally. I’ll only take it out when necessary.”

“Rest assured, Young Master, I will carry the sword case for you in the future.”

Karon opened his bag and took out nearly twenty-five thousand Order credits, and placed them all in front of Alfred. His bag contained the rewards from the security mission, the reward for resolving the incident the other night, the reward for turning in the copper coin, and the bonus from Ophelia’s gift box. Everything had been calculated together and then distributed to the entire squad.

However, half of what Karon had received came from selling the spoils from that night on the black market, and that did not even include the modified Sawa-7 pistol that Fannie would eventually deliver to him, nor the healing potions Karon had requested for himself.

On one hand, this showed how stingy the Church of Order was in its rewards, while on the other hand, it showed how formidable Nio’s Hunting Hounds truly were. Perhaps, when compared to mission rewards, they valued even more the opportunity to legitimately earn extra income while carrying out missions.

“Wow...” Alfred looked at the pile of credits. “Young Master, do the Whip of Order squads receive such high allowances?”

“That depends. Nio’s squad is in a different class from others.”

“I see.”

“Alright, I’ll go check on Pu’er and the others.” Karon walked out of the study and went to the room across the hall. He pushed open the door to the bedroom, and found another partitioned layout, though much smaller than his own master bedroom. Kevin crouched there, and when he saw that Karon had returned, the dog eagerly walked over, pawing at Karon’s leg to ask for head pats.

After patting the dog’s head, Karon asked, “Why are you here?”

“Woof woof woof!”

“Oh, I don’t understand.” Kevin was not surprised, and even showed a considerate dog smile.

Karon reached out to open the room’s inner door, but found that it was locked from the inside. He was about to knock.

“Meow!” At that moment, a cat’s cry sounded.

Click. The lock was undone.

Click. The door opened.

Karon pushed the door open and entered, finding a room filled with mist. The layout of this bedroom was quite interesting. What would normally be the master bedroom had been turned into a large washroom, with tiled flooring, while the actual bedroom was tucked into a corner.

This was a design taking into account the special circumstances of Dora and Dorin. For them, a washroom served a greater purpose, as it made it easier for them to move and clean themselves.

However, the small bathroom inside was currently in use, and there were quite a few people inside, all of them unclothed. Dora and Dorin were soaking in a pool filled with blue liquid, while beside them, the unclothed Ms. Lake and likewise unclothed Ciri were helping them scrub their backs.

Since Ciri was squatting, and without the cover of pants, her figure’s full curves were even more pronounced than expected.

What surprised Karon was that Ms. Lake, squatting in the same posture while scrubbing her daughter’s back, was not at all outdone by Ciri in that regard.

At this moment, Karon felt as though he had mistakenly entered a women’s bath. The people inside also seemed stunned, and they all turned to look at Karon standing at the doorway.

Dora and Dorin, sitting in the bath, were enjoying the comfort of soaking in the new medicine. As for their bodies, they had little concept of privacy. After all, over the years, their bodies had often become extensively rotted, and under such circumstances, covering up held little meaning.

Ciri, who served as the maid for Karon’s household, had long since developed a strong mental fortitude. There were dead in the house, dead carrying other dead, and a talking cat. All of this had long made her feel that being taken advantage of by her employer was something trivial, no, even something normal.

As for Ms. Lake, she was initially startled, and reflexively wanted to cry out, but she restrained herself. She made no attempt to cover up and instead casually resumed her initial posture, helping one of her daughters to scrub her back.

The woman’s feelings toward Karon were complicated, because he carried traces of her husband. At the same time, she felt even greater gratitude toward him, so she did not want to make things awkward for him.

Karon did not panic, nor did he explain. Instead, he simply announced, “I’m back.”

“Young Master, you’re back.” Ciri turned to greet him, only to realize that she should not turn around. She went to turn back, only to then realize that turning away from him also seemed inappropriate.

“Mm, you’ve worked hard.” Ms. Lake faced Karon properly and smiled at him.

Karon nodded and closed the washroom door. He had originally thought that things would be handled as they had before when people had helped Dora and Dorin bathe, and had not expected everyone inside to be undressed as well.

“Oh, my Karon, was it nice to look at?” Pu’er jumped onto Karon’s shoulder as she asked.

Karon answered honestly, “It was.”

Since he had already seen it, there was no need to hide it. The scene he had just been exposed to had indeed been very beautiful, with a hazy artistic feeling like a human oil painting.

Pu’er smiled and said, “See? I treat you well, don’t I?”

The door had originally been locked, but a certain cat had not only undone the lock, she had also opened the door. If Karon had waited for the people inside to open the door, he certainly would not have been exposed to the same scene.

Karon smiled at Pu’er. “I have good news to tell you.”

“Oh, what is it?” Pu’er blinked her amber-like eyes.

“Come, let’s go to the study.” Karon picked Pu’er up and walked out. Kevin excitedly stuck out his tongue and followed along.

Before long, in the study, on the desk, a cat held its head and let out a scream. “Meow meow meow! Karon, I’m going to kill you! Kill you! Not even Tiz will be able to stop me!

“Those bastard descendants of the Allen family, I’m going to wipe out the entire family, leave no heirs!

“That bastard on Darkmoon Island actually dared to slander me like this? I will definitely go over there and dig up his grave and pour paint over it!” Pu’er fell into a frenzy, her claws wildly scratching the desk.

Karon sat in his own chair, watching her hysterics. If not for the earlier scene, he might have considered keeping some details from Pu’er, but since she had treated him so well, how could he bear to hide anything from her?

Checking the time, Karon felt it was about right. “We’re having carp noodles at noon.”

Pu’er froze.

After a brief pause, her claws continued scratching the desk. “This is not something that can be settled with carp noodles!”

“I’ll add a serving of sour pickled fish.”

Pu’er retracted her claws and began rubbing the table with her paw pads. “Even with an extra sour pickled fish, I still can’t fully calm down.”

Beside them, Kevin sat on the floor. He raised a paw to cover his face.

“I had Alfred buy several more fish today. We can also make sweet-and-sour fish.”

Pu’er immediately quieted down. She sat facing Karon, raised her paw, and gently beckoned to him like a lucky cat. “Come, my little Karon, your great-great-great-great grandaunt loves you.”

***

Karon personally prepared lunch, making a large table full of dishes, serving it as a housewarming meal for the move. Dora and Dorin also came out to eat. Their new medicine, jointly prepared by Pu’er and Kevin, still included Bloodspirit Powder as the primary component, but its effects were far better than before. The two girls now only showed some reddish marks on their bodies, with no further signs of rot or that moldy smell. This meant that as long as the medicine continued, they could even go out to attend school.

Ciri happily ate her meal, and Karon placed a piece of braised pork in her bowl. “Young Master, it’s fine. You saw my body, but I don’t mind. You don’t need to make so many delicious dishes specially.”

Karon felt somewhat helpless. This foolish girl.

“My father and mother have long believed that I must be sleeping with you, as how else could I earn such a high salary just as a maid? So it’s fine, Young Master.”

“You- Just focus on eating.”

“Yes, Young Master. Your cooking is excellent.”

Ms. Lake reached out and gently tapped Ciri’s head.

“Madam, why did you hit me? Oh, right! You were seen too. You should eat more to make up for it.”

Hearing this, Ms. Lake blushed, but still said, “It was just a misunderstanding. Why insist on making such a fuss about it?”

Ciri then realized what she had blurted out and immediately lowered her head to apologize. “I’m sorry, Young Master. I got so happy eating such delicious food that I spoke without thinking.”

Ms. Lake looked at Karon and changed the topic. “There’s too much food.”

“It’s not too much. You can reheat it for dinner. By the way, I have a dinner appointment tonight, so I won’t be eating at home.” There was a gathering organized by Captain Nio in the evening.

In the afternoon, Karon lay on his new bed and took a nap. Pu’er lay on her back at the foot of the bed, belly up. She had eaten too much.

After the nap, Karon checked the time, took the car keys from Alfred, and drove himself to a barbecue restaurant. The storefront was small, but the interior was spacious and had private rooms. Karon entered the private room and saw that most people had already arrived. After sitting and waiting for a while, the rest arrived as well, including three who were still in wheelchairs.

“You really have the heart to let those of us still in wheelchairs watch you eat barbecue and drink?” Kensey, sitting in a wheelchair, shouted.

The night of the ambush, his chest had been pierced through by a centipede leg, but it seemed he was recovering due to the church’s hospital. After all, it not only provided regular surgery, but also healing Arts. The doctors were not only from the Church of Order, but also included practitioners from other faith systems.

Marlow laughed. “It’s precisely because you three are in wheelchairs that the meat tastes better and the wine goes down smoother.”

“Oh, my dear Marlow, believe me, when I recover, I’ll wear my grandmother’s high heels and kick them straight into your backside!”

“Haha, my respected brother Kensey, as long as you dare to walk over wearing your grandmother’s high heels, I dare to shove this whole bundle of skewers right in!”

“Hahaha!” Everyone laughed. At that moment, Nio walked into the private room.

“Captain.”

“Captain.”

Everyone fell silent. Nio sat at the head of the table and said, “The Darkmoon Island mission was something I declined on my own initiative, because I vaguely sensed something. In regards to this matter, there are far greater benefits we can obtain than drifting back and forth at sea. Here, I can tell you this much. I believe you have all sensed what has been stirring recently. Some people have begun to question the authority of Order.

“Therefore, the Church is preparing to establish its authority. Perhaps in two months, a mid-sized church will be wiped out from this world.”

Hearing this, everyone at the table, except Karon, began breathing heavily, their eyes slightly reddened. Karon licked his lips as well, trying to appear in sync.

The Church of Order intended to establish its authority by erasing a mid-sized church. At the top were the orthodox churches. Below them were the great churches, and below those were the mid-sized churches. Mid-sized churches had their own gods and a base of believers. Some even had legacies older than the great churches and orthodox churches.

If one could participate in such an eradication operation, the gains would be unimaginable.

“Alright, I’ve asked Fannie to arrange for a photographer. Fannie, call him in.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Soon, the photographer came in. He set up his camera at the door and said somewhat awkwardly, “Gentlemen, the lighting here isn’t very good. The photos will be dark and blurry. Perhaps we can take them outside or at my studio.”

Fannie said, “It’s fine. Take it. It suits the mood.”

“Alright, ma’am.”

Click. The photo was taken.

“I’ll develop the photos as soon as possible. Shall I call you to come pick them up?”

“Yes.”

The photographer left with his equipment. The atmosphere at the table suddenly became a bit quiet. Kensey explained, “According to tradition, before a truly dangerous mission, we take a group photo, because corpses generally don’t look good, and corpses aren’t photogenic.”

Zema looked at Karon and smiled. “There’s an attached member sitting here waiting. So, which of you is tired? Next mission, pick a decent way to die and free up a slot for the newcomer.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while since anyone died.”

“Mm, statistically, it’s about time.”

“I’ve been seeing the same faces at these gatherings for too long, I’m getting tired of them. Why don’t one or two of you hurry up and die so we can get some fresh faces, or I’ll just die myself so I don’t have to keep looking at your boring faces.”

“Hurry up and die so we can bring in some new beauties! We only have Paige and Fannie in the squad. After a while, even the most beautiful women lose their appeal.”

“Don’t you think we’ve all long grown tired of the one sitting in the captain’s seat?”

“Yeah, yeah! The captain never seems to change.”

“Hurry up and change the captain. I’m tired of hearing the story of the hunting hounds and the ducklings.”

“You’re just tired of hearing it, while I can recite it by heart. I even have enough plastic rings at home to pave a path by now.”

Gray said, “Hey, I’m the most senior one in the team. That time, years ago, I thought the captain would definitely die. I was even preparing to take over his position. Turns out he survived. I had already paid the deposit for the robe of the Whip of Order captain.”

Everyone laughed and traded jokes. Then, almost at the same moment, their gazes settled on Karon, as if waiting for the newcomer to speak. The Hunting Hounds had a way of recognizing their own kind.

Karon stood up and bowed to everyone present. “My funeral home has just been renovated. You are all welcome to visit and offer your opinions.”

“Fuck!”