I only bought your former house, and now you want to hand over those two "kids" downstairs to me?
Karen suddenly realized there seemed to be a problem here—a very big problem.
Wasn't this skipping a few too many steps?
It defied logic entirely!
"They are still young, not at my age yet. I know that taking them along to such a remote place... they certainly wouldn't be able to stay put, nor would they be happy.
"So, I must trouble you, but I still have one request. They are two fine saplings. Whether for yourself or for the future of the Church, I hope you will nurture them.
"Over all these years, I have always felt that our Church was far too obsessed with recklessly felling trees for firewood to burn, just to obtain that fleeting light. In truth, true light should be the dappled shadows cast when sunlight filters through the canopy of a forest. Though neither scorching nor blinding, they are full of vitality."
"I will," Karen could only reply.
"Do you think so as well?" Mr. Will smiled.
Karen leaned back slightly, softening his posture—a subtle technique to put the other person at ease. He wanted nothing more than to use further conversation to pinpoint where this logical glitch had originated.
"I think what many of them want to revive is the Church, not the Light."
Hearing this, Mr. Will froze, and tears actually welled up in his eyes.
His expression did not seem feigned. Without any prior setup, pulling off an act like this would have required him to be performing from the very beginning.
Combined with the impression that old man in his study had given him, Karen began to believe that the Mr. Will before him truly was a genial person, just as his spiritual imprint had described.
Perhaps with a touch of purity to him as well.
Still, looking closely, there was a pronounced difference in temperament between the Mr. Will before him and the one in his own study, along with noticeable distinctions in complexion and facial features.
A spiritual imprint's manifestation was evidently quite different from reality: one was the "self" imagined in the mind, while the other was the self in the flesh. The two truly could not be equated.
Mr. Will drew a deep breath, composing himself. "You put it wonderfully. That has always been what made me uneasy deep down. So later on, I drifted further and further from them. When I learned last time that they were coming, I simply left ahead of schedule. I truly didn't want to get tangled up with them; it would have made me sick."
Taking a tissue, Mr. Will dabbed at the corners of his eyes and continued, "Because of that, I often felt guilty. I wondered if it was my aloofness, my arrogance, that caused me to turn away from them. Did that also mean... I turned away from the Light?"
"You didn't," Karen replied. "The one who turned away from the Light wasn't you. The ones who truly turned away from the Light were them—and even those from much earlier."
"Those from much earlier?"
Karen spread his hands. "That is also why the Church of Light fell. Tell me, could the Light be wrong?"
"It cannot be wrong," Mr. Will said firmly.
"Then it was the people beneath the Light who were wrong. That is why the Church of Light fell."
"That line of reasoning is peculiar, yet it makes great sense."
The Light could never be wrong; that was the final bulwark in a believer's heart. If even that had to be doubted, what Light was left to believe in?
Under that premise, the Church's downfall could only mean that something had gone wrong with the people—simple subtraction logic.
"Yet there is another claim." Mr. Will seemed to take immense interest in chatting with Karen. "They all believe that the fading of the great God of Light led to the downfall of our Church of Light. What do you think?"
Karen answered, "A while back, rumors spread widely through ecclesiastical circles claiming that the God of Order had abandoned the Church of Order, even bringing down thunderous chastisement that shook the Temple of Order. That is no secret."
"Yes, I heard of that as well."
"Yet do you think the Church of Order now shows any sign of collapsing as our Church of Light did back then?"
"No," Mr. Will answered flatly. "After the First-Day War concluded, no one dared doubt that anymore."
The Church of Order had flexed its muscles. If even the Church of Order were on the brink of destruction, wouldn't all existing orthodox churches be doomed?
"We are always accustomed to attributing all success to the great God, yet at the same time, we are accustomed to placing ultimate failure on God as well. We never dare to genuinely examine ourselves... to ask our own hearts what true Light should look like."
Hearing this, Mr. Will frowned. He raised his hand, and white light instantly enveloped the entire study, sealing out any chance of Helen and Vernon eavesdropping from outside.
With that simple raise of a hand, Karen perceived the immense realm of the other man's soul, because what flowed was not the aura of a spell, but soul power!
Using soul power to construct a barrier was as extravagant as paving a floor with gold.
"I am very curious. This is our first time meeting. Why do you dare say such... such... such..."
Mr. Will searched for an adjective that would convey the gravity of the matter while expressing his own stance, all while maintaining an amiable tone.
"...such candid, outspoken words to me?"
"Just as you said earlier."
"What I said earlier?"
"We were brought together by fate."
"No, no, no. I originally thought I had strayed far from the mainstream, but now I faintly feel that you stand on the opposite side of the mainstream entirely."
"You also said a second thing: within the Church, not many are willing to control me, and not many can control me."
"Yes. I admit that from the moment you entered the grounds of this villa, to when you pushed open the study door, to when you sat before me and spoke with me for so long, I haven't been able to perceive the slightest aura from you.
"Your soul realm cannot be inferior to mine—it can only be higher."
You've misunderstood that; it's mainly because I'm wearing my grandfather's mask.
Karen couldn't help recalling the scene in that space where he became a massive glowing orb looking down at a cluster of smaller orbs.
"Do you still remember the words the last Mad Pope shouted?"
Karen steered the conversation away, not wanting to discuss soul power any further with him.
"Of course I remember."
"I often ponder his words."
"Oh? What insights have you had?"
"Sometimes, we treat those we don't understand as madmen. Other times, we treat the only person who sees clearly as a madman."
Mr. Will's hands began to tremble. His body squirmed slightly in his chair, his facial expression grew extremely unnatural, and his eyes blinked erratically.
At this moment, facing this topic, not only did he lose control of his expression, but he even felt like fleeing.
On this point, Karen found a common trait between him and the one in his own study.
"Please don't speak of it any further, truly, don't say another word!" Mr. Will held up a hand toward Karen.
"You should have scolded me, yet you didn't."
In the eyes of the Light remnants, the last Mad Pope was the final straw that broke the Church of Light. For a pope to shout such words had dealt a devastating blow to the Church's very foundations.
"Let's stop here, truly," Mr. Will said with a bitter smile. "I beg of you."
"All right," Karen agreed.
"Will you pass your thoughts on to those two children?"
"No."
"No?"
"A door may have light outside it, but they have to pry it open a crack themselves first. Otherwise, no matter how much I say, it's meaningless; they will still firmly believe that outside the door is pitch black."
"Heh heh, Bertha was quite right in her letter. You truly are distinctive—very distinctive indeed."
Bertha?
Karen understood in an instant.
Bertha had long been subdued by Captain and turned into an errand-runner. Did she write to contact Mr. Will?
So...
The one who should be sitting in this chair right now was Captain!
Looking back now on the conversation from the moment he sat down, the two of them hadn't even been on the same wavelength, yet everything had aligned seamlessly.
"Heheheh..."
Karen laughed. He didn't hold back, laughing quite unabashedly.
After laughing for a good while, Karen finally stopped, shrugged, and said, "This is our helplessness, yet at the same time our good fortune, isn't it?"
"You are a good person," Mr. Will said. "Because I can feel that you know what true Light is like, so deep in your heart, you must be kind. Entrusting those two children to you puts my mind at ease."
"I will let them settle down peacefully in York City first, and let them temporarily forget that they belong to the Church. Only by taking off the mask can one truly touch and perceive the Light."
Saying this, Karen stood up, signaling that he was leaving.
First, because he already knew the "truth"—he had jumped in and taken Captain's place ahead of time.
Second, because he was worried Captain might come knocking.
Although his car was parked on the road outside with Kevin inside, and given Captain's personality he would certainly scout the surroundings before keeping an appointment, the possibility remained that he might suddenly get lazy today and skip that step.
"There is one matter I hope you can investigate for me. I don't have enough time."
"Go ahead."
"My former home was Allen Apartments in the Blue Bridge Community. Here is the apartment number and information. Before I left, I asked a real estate broker to help me sell the apartment because I didn't want my place to be too deserted.
"In the end, the apartment sold, but the buyer didn't seem to stay long before moving out again."
"Isn't that normal?" Karen asked.
"He took my books."
"It seems he's quite fond of reading as well."
"And he distorted the spiritual imprint I left on those books."
"Distorted?"
"Yes. I know it still exists, but I can no longer sense it. Therefore, it wasn't erased, but distorted—or rather... polluted. I'm leaving tomorrow and don't have time to continue investigating, so I hope you can complete this investigation for me."
"All right, I promise you."
"Thank you." Mr. Will took out a card along with the apartment information card and pushed them in front of Karen. "This card is the key to an anonymous safe deposit box of mine in a black-market private bank. Inside, I keep some decent materials. Consider it my token of thanks for investigating this matter. Please accept it."
"All right."
Karen accepted the card without the slightest hesitation.
"Do you need to call the two children in to speak with them again?"
"I'd rather spend some more time reading books before rushing to the port tomorrow morning to catch the ship. I don't like reading on a ship; it lacks a sense of stability. They know who they should follow. Please take them with you."
"Mm, understood."
Karen walked out of the study. Just as he was about to open the door, Mr. Will's voice came from behind him again:
"I will write to you. I'll write to Bertha and have her forward it to you. You don't have to write back if you're busy."
"Understood."
Karen opened the door and walked out. Turning around, he saw Vernon and Helen standing at the top of the stairs.
Their initial meeting earlier had been slightly awkward, but as Karen approached them again, both bowed to him in unison.
Karen didn't return the bow, asking instead, "Do you have any luggage you need to bring?"
Vernon replied, "When we woke up, even the clothes on our backs were nearly in tatters."
Karen reached into his pocket—ah, he hadn't brought money either.
However, there was cash in his car. Alfred would leave cash there, but bringing them to his car wasn't quite appropriate.
Furthermore, how to arrange them specifically was also rather troublesome.
Heh, what am I thinking?
Karen realized he was thinking along the wrong lines. Mr. Will called them "children," but they were both adults.
"Find a place in the city to settle down first. Remember, you are forbidden from using your powers. You must rely on your own abilities to earn riels to live. This is my test for you.
"Every Sunday evening from now on, you may come check this villa. If I feel you have passed my test, I will come out to meet you and take you to a new place."
Faced with such a test, Vernon and Helen were somewhat at a loss.
Yet they immediately nodded and said, "We are willing to accept the test!"
"Then I look forward to seeing you next time."
Karen walked down the stairs.
Helen and Vernon bowed their heads to see Karen off, then walked to the study door. Helen stepped forward and knocked.
A voice came from inside the study:
"This is your good fortune. Praise the Light."
***
After leaving the villa, Karen deliberately made several detours, using the counter-surveillance methods Captain had taught him to confirm no one was tailing him before "taking off" the mask to return to his own appearance. Then he took a roundabout route back to where he had parked, only to find his car missing.
Where's the car?
Just then, Karen saw his secondhand Ponce driving over. Through the windshield, he could clearly see that the one driving was Kevin.
Karen took two steps back, worried Kevin wouldn't brake properly.
Yet reality proved his worry unfounded. Kevin stepped on the brake with his hind leg and came to a steady stop right in front of him.
He even knew how to brake smoothly, not letting the car stop too abruptly or jerkily.
In the passenger seat sat Neo.
Neo rolled down the window, looked at Karen, and smiled. "Just took this fellow out for a little spin."
Kevin had already obediently cleared out of the driver's seat and darted into the back.
Karen got into the driver's seat and started the car.
Neo spoke directly: "Your appetite is a bit unseemly, isn't it? I went to all the trouble of brewing a little secret, and you came ahead of time to dig it up on me?"
"Captain, it's a misunderstanding."
Karen recounted the course of events to Neo, including what had happened earlier in the villa.
"Hah. I was planning to assign them to our squad to replenish the squad's strength after you external members leave, and you went and sent them off to experience real life?"
"After we leave?"
"Richard and Memphis—they're definitely following you to your new squad, aren't they?"
"Yes."
"Hah."
"Still, Captain, recruiting them into a Whip of Order squad doesn't seem quite appropriate."
"People change in different environments. It mostly depends on who leads them. But saying all this now is pointless. Consider those two a gift from me—handle them as you see fit. Once you establish your new squad and feel they've been trained properly, you can pull them into your new squad too."
"We'll see about that later."
"So, this future squadron leader can no longer meddle in the internal affairs of your squad, Captain Karen?"
"Captain, speaking like that makes us sound like strangers."
"Will is a marginal figure, but no one among the Light remnants dares look down on him."
"I could feel it. He's very powerful."
"All right, head back. After all, you have to go to the Dinge Region tomorrow night. Ah, youth is wonderful—full of infinite possibilities."
"Captain, let me drive you home first."
"No need. The errand I had to handle tonight was settled by you on my behalf, and it's still early. I'll go to the cemetery to see her."
With that, Captain got out of the car, turned, and walked away.
Karen watched Captain's silhouette vanish into the darkness, then turned to Kevin in the back seat:
"You want to drive?"
Kevin wagged his tail excitedly.
Karen shifted over to the passenger seat, while Kevin bounded into the driver's seat and excitedly started the car.
The car moved smoothly, at an even pace—Kevin handled it skillfully. It was just that while driving, his backside couldn't sit down; he could only lean his body over the steering wheel.
Karen turned his head and looked out the car window.
The night view of York City carried a flavor uniquely its own, especially when transitioning from the affluent district into the Blue Bridge Community. That vast contrast was unmistakable, yet they coexisted within the same city, both opposing and blending into one another.
Karen withdrew his gaze along with his aimlessly drifting thoughts, looked at Kevin gripping the steering wheel, and reminded him:
"Careful. The road ahead isn't easy."
"Woof!"
Kevin stared intently ahead, checking the rearview mirrors constantly, deliberately slowing down before every intersection to check both sides for oncoming traffic.
He was very careful, and very cautious.
Karen smiled,
because he suddenly felt that his own journey had been just like this.
Then he stopped smiling.
Heh.
What an awful comparison.
Chapter 334