13 Mink Street

Mrs. Felsch looked at her granddaughter and asked, “When I said that name, why did I not see any anger in your eyes?”

“Because ever since I was little, I have been trying to carry that anger for you.”

“Heh.” Hearing this, Mrs. Felsch did not get the slightest bit upset. Instead, she beckoned for her granddaughter to sit closer.

Philomena sat down in front of Mrs. Felsch. Her father, lying beneath the tea table, shifted his head and rubbed his face against her shoe.

“Tell me how you lost.”

Philomena shared everything that had happened, starting with the York City Region selection and continuing to the final selection at Ogureth Fortress. Throughout the entire story, she did not reveal the slightest bit of personal emotion. It was as if she had merely been an unrelated bystander.

Mrs. Felsch listened while continuing to knit with her head lowered. Even when Philomena finished speaking, the old woman still did not stop what she was doing. She merely calmly commented, “The reason for your failure does not lie entirely with you. I imagine the parents of those young people from York City must have guessed in advance that the final selection could involve teamwork. You were in York City alone, with no elders at your side, so it is perfectly normal that you failed to guess that in advance. After all, you have stayed here since you were little and have barely gone out. Sigh, though even if your father had been led over on a leash to accompany you, it would not have been of any use, would it?”

Philomena remained silent.

“However, you lost your powers of observation. You said that young man named Karon performed just as excellently as you did during the York City selection, so did you ever think about why he went to the Church Affairs Building with those others before attending the final selection? Did you ever think about why, after arriving at Ogureth Fortress, they shared food and water with one another and interacted intimately? Did you ever think about why a young man whom you acknowledge as being just as outstanding as you would be willing to play along with those people? Did he not find it annoying? Was he not arrogant? Did he truly like having that group of ‘children’ chattering around him? Because only when there is a purpose will there be patience.”

“Yes, I understand now.”

“No, you do not. Compared to him, what you lack is not only that bit of patience, but also this...” Mrs. Felsch picked up a knitting needle and poked her granddaughter’s forehead. “He has more wisdom than you.”

“I admit it.”

“Treating reality as a dream revealed your arrogance, and ultimately, you had to pay the price for it yourself. You lost an excellent opportunity, an opportunity that should have easily been within your grasp. Heh, there was only a morsel of pastry standing between you and the Reincarnation Gate.”

Philomena fell silent again.

“Forget it, forget it. What’s lost is lost. That boy Karon, what sort of family does he come from?”

“I do not know.”

“You lost to him, yet you did not investigate him?”

“No.”

“You do not hate him?”

“I do not.”

Mrs. Felsch nodded. “That is still rather good. At least you lost with a clear conscience.”

Philomena continued sitting there.

After a long while, Mrs. Felsch said, “Go rest.”

“Yes, Grandmother.” Philomena stood and walked toward the stairs. She saw her father crawling after her.

Mrs. Felsch looked at this scene and laughed. “Oh my, look at that! It really does like you.”

Philomena went upstairs alone and entered her room. Her bedroom was very plain: one bed, one wardrobe. Apart from those, there was no other furniture. Who would spend too much effort decorating a dream?

She undressed in the bedroom, then walked to the washroom naked. After taking a bath, she returned to her room in the same way and laid down on the bed without a stitch. She stared at the ceiling, eyes wide open. For some people, insomnia was always an extremely troubling problem. For her, the real problem was how to “wake up.”

The moon outside the window had long since risen high in the sky. Finally, she slowly closed her eyes.

In her dream, she opened her eyes. Philomena stood before a wooden cabin. Around it was a circle of delicate fencing, within which flowers and vegetables had been planted. She took a deep breath, and her face, which had always maintained a stiff expression, finally relaxed at this moment.

The cabin door was pushed open. Her father, wearing an old leather jacket, and her mother, dressed simply and neatly, walked out hand in hand. Her mother scolded her, “Philomena, you were off playing again, weren’t you? You even had the nerve not to come home yesterday!”

Her father quickly soothed her mother. “All right, all right. Our daughter is grown up, and she has a mind of her own.”

As he spoke, he even winked at Philomena. “Go on inside. Your mother and I are going to the market to trade for some seeds. We left some food for you on the table.”

Philomena smiled and turned to watch as her parents gradually disappeared into the distance. Only quite some time later did she enter the house. On the wooden table were smoked meat, bread, milk, and soybean paste. She sat down, dipped the meat in the soybean paste, then placed it in her mouth. The flavor of the smoked meat and the rich aroma of the soybean paste blended perfectly. It was Philomena’s favorite.

Just then, she sensed the pet dog under the table rubbing against her pants while whining. Clearly, it was also hungry.

“All right, all right. Good dog. I’ll give you some, I’ll give you some.” Philomena picked up another piece of smoked meat, dipped it in sauce, and passed it under the table.

“Is it good?” Philomena asked.

“Woof!” Under the table, Mrs. Felsch nodded vigorously.

***

The morning sunlight was always elegant and lazy, gently caressing everything from above.

Karon picked up a slice of hawthorn with his right hand and put it into his mouth while his left hand smoothly flipped to the next page of Mr. Hoffen’s array notes. The Cube Key floating before him was spinning rapidly. 𝖋𝙧ⅇ

“Ah...” Karon looked at the time. He had already been reading for three hours. He stopped and put away the Cube Key. After his lesson from last time, when he had studied until nearly fainting, Karon had started paying careful attention to his limits while studying.

After stretching, he stood and stepped out of the study. Dora and Dorin were sitting in the courtyard, drawing. Their tutor, Dasha, stood beside them to keep them company. When the meticulous, refined Alfred had renovated the courtyard, he had planted a variety of flowers in beds, and the blossoming season was just returning. Karon slowed his steps and sat down on the bench behind the girls, wanting to bask in the sun for a while.

Coincidentally, Pike passed by at this moment. When he saw Karon, he immediately backed up, then held out several newspapers to Karon. On top of the pile was Order Weekly. The front-page headline was the church’s explanation and introduction of the new reform policies, while the second page contained Karon’s own photograph, which occupied nearly a third of the page. If he tapped the photograph twice with his fingertip, it would begin moving by itself, recreating the situation of the scene. The reporter, Meriel, had reported in great detail, but Karon did not thoroughly read the article about himself. Instead, he closed Order Weekly and placed it to the side. Right now, he needed to let his brain rest, so he picked up Veyn Daily at the side.

The front-page headline was about a lawsuit. A man had grown up in a colony, then later come to Veyn to pursue his career. He had started as the lowest-level illegal laborer, yet had eventually become the owner of a mining company. He was suing the Veynic Royal Army Command. The reason was that when he had been very young, the Veynic army had invaded his native country and arrived at the village he had lived in. Not only had they looted the villagers’ property, they had also gathered the women of the village and violated them. The man’s mother had been among those women, and he was currently using that incident to sue the Veynic Royal Army Command, demanding that they admit their guilt and pay compensation for the atrocities committed in his village back then.

This news had drawn considerable attention recently, but Karon had been busy with the selection and had not looked into it. Of course, there was another reason as well: to a certain extent, Karon’s circle had already drifted away from ordinary society.

He greatly admired this mine owner. He had endured in silence and struggled to finally climb to his current position, overcoming great difficulties. After all of that, he was staking all of his wealth and influence on pushing forward this lawsuit.

There was also a photograph on the lower half of the front page. The background of the photograph should be the courtroom. In it, three young people were crying bitterly. They were young people from the same colonial village. They had recently obtained Veynic citizenship. However, they were not present as witnesses for the mine boss, but were witnesses on behalf of the Veynic Army Command. In the courtroom, they had beaten their chests and stomped their feet, crying and shouting until their voices were hoarse, “Our grandmothers, as well as that boss’s mother, were prostitutes back then! They all took the initiative to serve the Veynic Army for money! They all did it willingly!”

“Actually, I find it very difficult to understand their behavior.” Dasha arrived behind Karon and looked at the newspaper while commenting on it.

Karon asked, “Difficult to understand?”

“Do you think they testified in court like that in order to obtain citizenship? That’s actually not it at all. They received citizenship by coming to Veyn to study. They obtained diplomas, then accumulated enough years of work. This case was not a deal where they were offered citizenship. I have a journalist friend who also told me that they were neither bribed nor threatened.

“The royal treasury was preparing to cut the army’s funding, which was why it tacitly allowed this lawsuit to proceed. The Veynic Royal Army Command was caught off guard. These three young people came forward on their own and asked to serve as witnesses.

“So, do you understand what I’m getting at? They truly believe what they are saying from the bottom of their hearts. They genuinely think this, and through bitter tears, they described their grandmothers as prostitutes who willingly served the soldiers of Veyn’s army.”

“I understand.”

Teacher Dasha said, “But as for the truth, I believe anyone with normal logical thinking can figure it out. That is why I simply cannot understand those three’s actions.”

Karon put down the newspaper and said, “This only proves one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“The Veynic Empire has done an excellent job of spiritually castrating its colonies.”

“Spiritually castrating?”

“Just like castrating a pet. The human spirit, no, the spirit of an entire people, can undergo a similar procedure through economics, culture, politics, and other means, though especially culture. They use all manner of cultural channels and media to manipulate and guide them on a spiritual level. First, they erase a sense of collective identity, then reshape the people with the new understanding Veyn wants them to have. That completes a form of collective spiritual castration upon an entire people.

“You wonder why they would say something so absurd while meaning it from the bottom of their hearts, but they truly do wish to identify with it with every fiber of their being, and to believe it.

“This mentality and conduct, which you cannot understand, is what they call ‘objective and independent thinking’ over there.”

“Mr. Karon, have you done a great deal of research in this area?”

“No, I have merely seen much of it. Miss Dasha, are you not from Veyn?”

“I am, but I am half St. Andis by bloodline.”

“Oh, hehe.” Karon smiled, ready to end the conversation.

“Mr. Karon, I am very interested in the collective spiritual castration you mentioned. Are there any books on the subject you could recommend to me?”

“Sorry, I don’t have them here.”

“Then how do you think this phenomenon will develop in the future?”

“As information technology advances, this phenomenon will only grow more severe.”

“Mr. Karon—”

“All right, Miss Dasha. You are asking a few too many questions. I would like to rest for a while. Sorry.”

Dasha gave a somewhat awkward smile. “I am very sorry for disturbing you.”

“It’s fine.”

“I do have a small request. I heard Dora and Dorin say that your study has many books. I would like to—”

“You may borrow the books as you please, but you need to inform Alfred. Also, remember to return them promptly.”

“All right, of course. Thank you for your generosity.”

In truth, “return them promptly” was a useless statement, but Karon had no choice but to say it. After all, his study still contained the spiritual imprint of that old man who followed Light. If too many books went missing, Karon worried the old man’s imprint would cease to exist.

Dasha was a tutor Alfred had found, so he must have conducted a background check on her before hiring her. It was time to have Alfred do another one and see if the woman had recently come into contact with anything.

There was still a bit of time before lunch. Karon returned to the study with his newspaper, and the telephone happened to ring as he walked in. Karon picked up the phone.

“Hello, I’m looking for Karon.”

“Captain.”

“Haha, our mission is done, and we’re returning to York City tomorrow. I know you passed the final selection, but I’m guessing you’re already tired of hearing congratulations. Besides, as far as I’m concerned, your passing was inevitable, so we can skip the formalities.” ℴ

“Captain, is there something you need?”

“I needed to warm up to it first. Getting straight to business would be too blunt, which wouldn’t be good.”

“Just tell me, Captain. There’s no need for formalities between us.”

“All right. I just came out of a friend’s office in Port Mulberry. He showed me a document issued by the Whip of Order headquarters. Oh, right, and there was also the general line of a church directive which seems to have been published in the papers.”

“I just saw that in the newspaper, but I didn’t know about the headquarters document.”

“It wasn’t stated outright, but I managed to read through it to see what the higher-ups mean. I’ll spare you the policy explanation and skip straight to the results, all right? After all, intercity calls cost much more than local ones.”

“All right, Captain.”

“You young people who participated in the final selection will most likely be assigned to Whip squads for a period of training, so I wanted to ask you: during the trial, did you make any friends?”

“No.”

“Sigh... That is a shame.”

“I fought quite a few squad members.”

“Fuck!” The other end of the line went silent for a moment, then said, “So you’ve been planning to leave my squad and strike out on your own all along?”

“Captain, there’s no need for formalities between us.”

“Mmm. The general meaning is that once your squad is put together, it will possess a very high degree of autonomous authority. After all, your status is very special, and in the future, you will definitely be key targets for the church to nurture.”

“So?”

“So, if you form your own squad, then after that, you’ll have the right to choose whether to attach yourself to a Deputy Commander, as well as which one.”

“Oh, I understand, Mr. Deputy Commander.”

“All right, Mr. Captain.”

The call ended, and Karon stared at the receiver. He could not help shaking his head and laughing. The captain had specifically called just to hear that promise from him.

But... he could form his own Whip of Order squad at this time? Did this not mean that he could openly and legitimately bring Vintral, Ashley, Bart, Mars, Blanche, and the others into his own squad as his subordinates? What an exceptional Whip of Order squad that would be! Karon was already beginning to look forward to it.

***

In the storeroom, Pu’er was sitting on a coffin. She stretched out both paws and began slowly rubbing them together in the air, summoning a ball of fire. The moment Kevin saw the fireball, he immediately ducked his head. Clearly, he had been traumatized by Pu’er’s fire.

She threw the fireball to the ground, where it scattered and formed a red sigil. From it, the hilt of a red sword emerged. This was a summoning Art of the Allen family faith system, and what was summoned was one of the two weapons Progenitor Allen had once wielded.

“The tonics that family sent over are really quite effective. I can feel the spiritual power I am able to use with my body has grown much more abundant.”

“Woof!” Kevin also barked excitedly, happy for Pu’er. He even cooperatively wagged his tail.

“It just seems that the medicine for treating your head hasn’t had much of an effect.”

“Woo...” Kevin tucked his head in again.

“Sorry, stupid dog. I didn’t think it would make you permanently bald. But actually, you look very good bald. Isn’t that a saying? A young man who is still handsome when bald is a truly handsome young man?”

Kevin nodded, automatically cooperating with Pu’er’s perfunctory consolation of him.

She looked back at the red longsword before her. It had revealed less than half of its blade, yet was already several times taller than the cat. She frowned and furrowed her brow. “I never felt this sword was too big before, but with it being this size, how am I supposed to hold it?”

“Woof!”

“All right, I’ll try to modify the summoning Art.” The red sigil before her disappeared, along with the red sword. Pu’er rubbed out an even smaller fireball with her paws, and then smashed it to the ground. A red starburst pattern several times smaller than before appeared, and a small hilt attached to a small sword emerged from it.

“Hehe, meow.” Pu’er extended her paw to grab the hilt. With a click, she clamped onto it, then pulled it out. A small red sword was drawn by her. She excitedly swung it a few times, creating a blur of afterimages.

“It worked!”

“Woof!” Kevin excitedly scraped his dog paws against the ground, then moved in front of Pu’er and bent low.

Pu’er jumped onto his back, still waving the small red sword while shouting, “Stupid dog, charge!”

“Woof, woof, woof!”