What Are You Doing Here?

"You can sense your true self, but can your true self sense you?" "No." "He can't?" "In the past, he certainly would have been able to sense me. But now, there's no way he can, because... because I've already been 'polluted.'" "Are you sure?" "I'm certain. A spiritual imprint is supposed to be the purest mark, but the present me has long been twisted beyond recognition. Even I feel unfamiliar with myself." "All right, I understand." "Perhaps you could meet my true self. My true self is a very genial person." "Are you sure?" "I'm certain. Unless he suffered some massive upheaval while staying with his son in the colonies, but even then, it shouldn't be anything too unreasonable. You can try reaching out to him first." "I will." Karen pressed the desk bell, stood up, and walked out of the study. Notified by the desk bell, Alfred walked from the front parlor to the backyard and saw Karen emerge from the study. Karen pointed toward the kitchen. Alfred followed him into the kitchen and stepped up beside Karen, who was standing by the stove. "Young Master?" "Would you prefer wontons or noodles?" "Either is fine with me, Young Master." "Let's have wontons, then. We're out of chili oil." "Did something happen, Young Master?" "Yes." Karen nodded as he dropped the wontons into the boiling water. "The true self of the old man in the study is back. The previous owner of our first residence—the one with a background in Light." "Shall I go check on it?" "Let's eat first. Afterward, I'll go check. You stay home. Someone needs to hold down the fort here; I'm worried he and I might cross paths and miss each other." "Can he sense the location of our new home?" "The old man in the study says he can't, but just to be safe, you should still remain here. Call Fanny under my name and ask her to organize some of our teammates to come over for dinner. When they arrive, take the hot pot base I simmered out of the fridge and set up a hot pot for them." "Understood, Young Master." Karen dished up two bowls of wontons and sprinkled chopped scallions and cilantro over each. Alfred picked up his bowl and brought it to the table. The two sat facing each other and took up their spoons. "I'm leaving for the Dinge Region tomorrow night, so this matter must be resolved tonight." "Please be careful, Young Master." "Yeah." Karen took a sip of broth. "It's not that bad. We don't have any explicit conflict with him; we simply bought his house once." "Are you going looking for someone?" Purr asked, riding Kevin to the kitchen doorway. "Yes. The previous owner of our first house is back." "Where is he?" Purr asked. "I'll go check our first house first. If he's not there, I'll look elsewhere." "If you're tracking someone down, take the stupid dog along." "Woof, woof!" Kevin nodded vigorously. "The stupid dog doesn't just sniff out bodily scents. Now that you've unsealed its first layer, it can also catch the scent of soul residue. It's not outrageously potent, but it's usable. For instance, let it sniff that old man in the study first, then take it around the area to search." "All right, I'll take Kevin with me," Karen agreed. "But you can't come." "I didn't expect you to take me anyway. It's not like you're going out to play, and if a fight breaks out, I'd only end up as dead weight." Purr lowered her head, pouting. "Before I returned from the final selection, the commander of Ogurev Fortress treated me to coffee. He told me I had great potential, so I needed to take care to protect myself. The same goes for you. I'm still waiting for you to gradually recover your strength so I can slack off during fights in the future." "Hehe, meow." Purr patted Kevin's head, and Kevin immediately turned and dashed toward the study. By the time Karen finished his meal and came out, Kevin was already trotting over with his leash in his mouth. "Be careful at home, too." After reminding Alfred and Purr once more, Karen took Kevin and got into his secondhand black Ponce. Although Allen Apartments and the funeral parlor were on opposite north-south ends, they were still in the same district. It didn't take Karen long to drive up to the entrance of Allen Apartments. Rather than driving right in, he pulled over on the other side of the road, parking in front of Alaye's real estate agency. Alaye's son, Hand, was sitting inside doing his homework, while his wife, Jane, was cooking. "Young Master Karen!" Carrying a bag in hand, Alaye trotted over from behind the car; he had recognized Karen's vehicle. Karen rolled down the window. "Young Master Karen, it's been so long since I last saw you! How have you been?" "I've been well." "Heh, I just bought a few fresh fish from the market. Once my wife guts them, why don't you take two with you, Young Master Karen? Or better yet, why not just stay for dinner? Ever since Jane had that boiled fish with pickled greens at your place last time, she's been trying her hand at making it. It isn't quite as flawless as yours, Young Master Karen, but it still tastes pretty good." "No need for now." Just as Karen was about to bring up his question, Alaye mentioned it himself: "Old Mr. Will came back today! I really never expected to see him again. When he sold the house, I thought he'd never return in this lifetime." "Will?" "Oh, it's not the name on the property deed. I heard his wife call him Will, so that's what I called him back when we interacted. He dropped by this afternoon and sat in my shop for a while. He asked me what kind of person his place had been sold to, so I described you to him. Then he went into the apartment building. When he came back out, he returned to my shop to ask where you'd moved. I said I didn't know—haha, and I really didn't." "Has he left? Mr. Will, I mean." "He left. I invited him to stay for dinner, but he declined." "Did he say where he was going?" "I asked. I told him that since your old place here had already been sold, staying in a hotel would just be a waste of money, and I had a guest room behind my shop where he could stay for free. But he said he still had a nephew and a niece in York City, and he was going to look for them." "All right, I understand. I have some business to attend to, so I'll be on my way. Alaye, feel free to visit my home when you have time." "Of course, Young Master." After Karen drove off, Alaye shrugged and chuckled wryly to himself, "Except... I don't know where your new place is." ... "Woof?" Sitting in the passenger seat, Kevin looked over at Karen, who was driving. "I can roughly guess where he went. Calculating the timing, it's about right. I'd almost forgotten... well, not completely forgotten, but whether I remembered or not didn't really make a difference. With my current status, there's no need to get further entangled with the Light remnants. Having a captain like mine around is already dangerous enough." Kevin turned his head forward in partial comprehension, wagging his tail a few times against the back seat. Karen drove to Apple Street and pulled up before Piaget's two villas. The two properties that had once been wrecked were now fully rebuilt, and the gardens had been neatly landscaped. Even though Piaget had followed Mr. Bede down the path of exploring the Church of the Mural God and was currently counted as "missing," Piaget's father remained a high-ranking official of Ruilan and would never leave the damaged properties sitting there as "ruined relics." At any rate, the location and property values on Apple Street didn't permit such lavish neglect. Karen first touched his ring, taking on Mr. Pavaro's appearance, and then led Kevin out of the car. Looking for all the world as if he were simply walking his dog, he strolled along the front of the two villas. That night, he had lured Qihe's people here to assault the Light remnants. To cover his two students, Elder Doke of the Light remnants had fought desperately against Qihe using the Tower of Light, eventually dying in battle. Yet he had successfully protected his two disciples. Severely wounded, the two students had been hidden deep beneath the villa in a slumber to heal their wounds. Earlier on, Karen had wondered whether to find an opportunity to dig them up, but later realized there was little point in doing so. Dig them up and kill them? He held no principled hatred toward the Light remnants. If he truly harbored such sentiments, the first thing he ought to do would be reporting his own captain. Besides, luring Qihe's crew here back then had simply been a way to break the deadlock; after all, the Light remnants had seized Piaget and Mr. Bede and brought them here. It had merely been friction born of opposing factional stances, not personal enmity. So Karen's later attitude had been to let the matter fade from mind. Whenever they finished healing, they could slip away from York City on their own; no matter who they sought vengeance against, they wouldn't trace it back to him. Now, however, Karen figured that Mr. Will, the former homeowner, had returned specifically to retrieve the two of them. Kevin suddenly halted, tilting his head toward one of the villas. "In the new villa?" Kevin nodded vigorously, indicating he was certain. Karen hesitated. Two options lay before him. The first was to immediately notify the Church of Order that Light remnants had been found here, having Church forces mobilize to capture or expel them. The second was to interact with them under a third-party identity, ideally figuring out why the old man named Will had returned. If he was merely here to pick up those two "potatoes" and leave, that would be ideal. But if he intended to stay long-term, Karen would have to rethink his plans. Because the man was bound to suspect whoever had bought his house, unable to sense the spiritual imprint he had left behind. Karen decided to shelve the first option for now. After all, he bore no grudge against the man and had even lived in his home; reporting him outright felt a bit unconscionable. In that case... he would make contact first. If he was going to make contact, Mr. Pavaro's face wouldn't do. Whose should he use? Bernard's? No, unless he had no choice—like having to impersonate Bernard to deal with Ophelia's general uncle last time—Karen preferred never to use that mask whenever an alternative existed. "Come on, back to the car first." Karen led Kevin back into the car and instructed, "You stay here." Kevin nodded obediently, but then patted the steering wheel with a paw. "You want me to leave the key in the ignition?" Kevin grinned. "Do you even know how to drive?" Though somewhat doubtful, Karen inserted the car key anyway. He then touched his ring, and a silver mask materialized over his face. His figure dissolved into a patch of black mist, but instead of dispersing, the mist soon vanished, revealing Karen's form once more. Kevin looked at Karen outside the car in mild confusion. "Better not to use Order's spells for now." Karen opened his hands and chanted: "Light—Shadow Veil." Karen's body promptly turned translucent. The captain had used this spell when they infiltrated Tafman Villa last time. Karen had found it interesting and learned it over a meal. ... The newly renovated rooms of the villa were filled with a thick, pungent smell; evidently, the house hadn't been properly aired out yet. Karen pried open a second-floor window and slipped inside. Just as he entered, he noticed someone showering behind the frosted-glass door of the bathroom. Judging by the hair length, it was likely a woman. Helen? Karen recalled the appearance of that Light girl—she had long hair. She possessed an extraordinary gift for sensing the power of Light and excelled at spells. Stepping lightly, Karen walked toward the bathroom. He felt no sense of titillation at a woman showering inside, however; he was still cloaked by his spell, and he hadn't deliberately muffled the sound when opening the window earlier. In other words, the woman showering in the bathroom had noticed his entrance long ago. The only reason she kept washing was to lull him into a false sense of security. Once the distance between him and the bathroom door closed to a certain point, the glass door shattered violently, and two rings of light hurtled straight toward Karen. Karen spread his hands, raising a protective screen of light in front of himself to deflect the rings. Inside the bathroom, Helen, wrapped in a bathrobe, was about to unleash a second volley of spells when she froze upon seeing Karen employ a Light art. Karen dispelled his Light concealment spell as well, revealing his silver-masked figure. Vernon appeared at the top of the stairs, clad in an armor of light and wielding a greatsword of light. Having just rushed upstairs, he swung his blade straight down at Karen. Karen slipped to the side to dodge the blow while light flames surged from his right hand, sweeping toward Vernon. Vernon swung his greatsword to scatter the flames and checked his attack. Looking at Helen and Vernon, Karen truly felt a disorienting sense of overlapping realities. The last time he encountered them, he had been forced to act like an ordinary person; when the fighting began, he could only lead Piaget and Mr. Bede to hide in the basement. Yet facing them now, he was completely at ease. "I'm not here for you two. Where is he?" Karen refrained from saying the name "Will" directly, wary that it might be a pseudonym. "Elder Will is waiting for you in the third-floor study," Helen replied. Waiting for me? Karen felt a start of surprise. Had he already been discovered? Had the man even anticipated that Karen would come looking for him? By all reasoning, the spiritual imprint in the funeral parlor's backyard study lacked the ability to transmit messages outward. Had he deduced it simply from the fact that his spiritual imprint had broken free of his sensory connection? In any case, Karen despised this feeling of having things prearranged for him. "I'll go see him." Leaving those words behind, Karen walked straight between Helen and Vernon. The two exchanged a glance and made no move to stop him. Going up to the third floor, Karen reached the study door and knocked. *Knock, knock...* "Come in." Karen gripped the doorknob, paused, and slowly opened the door. As it turned out, he had been overly cautious. Inside sat a kindly old man wearing a gray trench coat, holding a teacup in his right hand and a book in his left, engrossed in his reading. Only when Karen walked up before him did he lift his head, glance at Karen, and say, "A very handsome, exquisite mask." With that, Mr. Will lifted the teapot, poured Karen a cup of water, set it before him, and continued: "You arrived earlier than I expected, which proves you were anxious, yes?" Karen still offered no reply. "Have a seat; don't stand." Reluctantly setting down his book, Mr. Will inserted an ornate bookmark into the page he had been reading. He loved reading—Karen knew this very well. The collection of books the man had amassed was fascinating, and Karen's primary pastime nowadays was picking books from that very collection to read. Karen sat down on the chair across from the desk. "Do you enjoy reading?" Mr. Will asked. "I do." "It seems we truly share an affinity. Haha, I suppose this is all the guidance of the God of Light, isn't it?" Mr. Will took another sip of tea and said, "You really didn't need to make a special trip. There's no conflict between you and me; quite the opposite, there's quite a bond of fate between us. After all, before returning to York City, I never expected to learn of your existence here." Karen spoke up, "I didn't expect you to return, either." "I didn't want to come back, but someone had to come wake these two children, didn't they?" "And after waking them?" Karen asked. "Afterward? Afterward, I'll go back. I'm not like what you imagine. I enjoy a great deal of freedom within the church; not many people care to manage me, nor can many manage me. Preaching to the people in the remote colonies brings me joy. Did you know? Light actually reached those lands long ago, only to be lost later and forgotten by the people there. But what's truly fascinating is that an offshoot of Light emerged there. I'm very interested in it and want to study it. So, I won't interfere with your affairs in York City. Please put your mind at ease." "All right, I understand." Karen felt relieved. "So, I'm leaving these two children to you." Huh? Leaving them to me... what does that mean? ... Inside the secondhand black Ponce sedan by the roadside, Kevin was excitedly resting both paws on the steering wheel. Suddenly, a figure wearing a silver mask appeared in the passenger seat. After sitting down, the person took off the mask. Kevin turned his head to look at him and blinked. "Woof?" "Are you asking me why I'm here?" Kevin nodded. "I arranged to meet someone here. Wait, why are you here? If you're here, then where is he?" Neo asked.