Faith of a Dog

Mobiten pushed open the door to the room and saw an elderly man sitting in a wheelchair, his back turned to him. Though he could not see the man's face, the view of his back alone gave off a desolate sense of nearing the end—a dual decay of both body and soul. This was not a matter of a wick and wax running dry and needing replenishment; the entire candlestick was about to rot and collapse. "You... have aged a great deal." Mobiten had once served as Captain of Rasma's Guard, so he had interacted with Theisen frequently in the past. "We all grow old, don't we?" Theisen turned the wheelchair around. "Even Temple Elders grow old. Mobiten, it's been quite a long time since we last met, hasn't it?" "Yes. This is the first time we have met since you stepped down." "If outsiders heard that, they would mistake you for a terrible snob, Mobiten." "That wouldn't be entirely wrong. In the eyes of the Benda family, there has only ever been the High Priest." "Mm, I know. It was rather noisy outside just now. What happened?" "My apologies for disturbing you. I ran into one of my grandsons just now. He hasn't been very obedient lately, so I gave him a lesson." "Where is this place?" "It is Fire Island." "Where specifically?" Mobiten paused for a moment before promptly answering, "It is a private villa of the Castle family on the island." "Oh, heh." Theisen gave a look of realization and gently tapped his own forehead, chuckling. "Look at my head. When a man is about to die, his mind really gets muddled. You know, for a moment, I almost thought this was your Benda family manor." "My Lord..." Mobiten dropped to one knee before Theisen. He was powerful—extraordinarily so—because he was the shield standing before the High Priest of the Church of Order. His standing was also unique. The Benda family was loyal only to each successive High Priest; as an attendant constantly by the High Priest's side, many of his actions were interpreted as carrying the High Priest's will. Even so, his official post was not high—he was merely a guard captain. Meanwhile, the old man before him, even after stepping down, had merely relinquished his most significant office; he still retained many titles and church privileges. If no one pressed the point, it was fine, but strictly speaking, Mobiten was required to salute Theisen solemnly—and not just with the customary crossed-arm greeting. Theisen rolled his wheelchair closer to Mobiten until he was nearly right up against him. Leaning forward, he looked at Mobiten's face and said in a low voice: "I believe the Benda family has never forgotten its family oath, but I believe even more that people can change. At home, it doesn't matter how you discipline your children and grandchildren. But outside, please remember one thing: first and foremost, they are believers of the God of Order and priests of the Church of Order, and only lastly... are they the descendants of Mobiten Benda." "Yes, my Lord. I understand." "No, you don't understand. I know deep down you still don't think you did anything wrong. Perhaps you think this dying old fogey is merely taking advantage of his last breaths to throw a tantrum and put on airs before you?" "I would never dare think that, my Lord, because I know what kind of person you are." "The customary rules have already been broken. The Church has existed for a very long time, but it follows its own laws of development. Just as you saw your grandson Muri and immediately wanted to discipline him with your fists, many people have actually forgotten that under Order, we are all equal. "Foden thinks that way, Kred thinks that way, and you, Mobiten, think that way as well. "The rules have always been there, but none of you truly take them to heart." "My Lord..." Cold sweat broke out on Mobiten's forehead. He was truly shocked. He was merely a guard captain who had given his grandson a punch in passing, yet the old man before him was drawing such terrifying, sweeping conclusions, even linking him to the Whip-Wielder and the Cardinal. The old man before him was dying. For an old man who had once sat at the round table, passionately debating and contending for the future of the Church, stepping down meant his halo had faded. But now that he was nearing death—and might well die right here on Fire Island—that halo suddenly shone blindingly bright once more. The words he spoke before dying would certainly stir up massive waves, perhaps even be hoisted as a banner for some faction's next political agenda. If he were to say that the Benda family had lost sight of their place, then the family legacy the Bendas had always prided themselves on could easily be overturned by this single sentence. Even High Priest Norton would probably be more than willing to sacrifice a Benda family in exchange for this old man's final "peace." "Mobiten, I will soon be gone." Theisen reached out and placed a hand on Mobiten's shoulder. "I have few old friends left, so I hope you can live with greater clarity. I know the Benda family's upbringing has always been upright and strict, but for the Bendas to carry on their legacy to this day, it has relied on not overstepping the boundaries. Leave the youngsters' affairs to the youngsters to resolve themselves. You need only be responsible for the High Priest's safety. Do you understand?" "I understand. Thank you for your guidance, my Lord." In truth, Mobiten didn't quite understand, but he sensed something vaguely. Could it be that his grandson Muri had gained Lord Theisen's favor recently? "Alright. Tell me the message the High Priest had you bring." "Yes." Mobiten stood up and straightened his clothes. Theisen rested his hands over his chest, preparing to hear the will of the High Priest. "The High Priest said he will come to visit you tomorrow evening after the array is constructed. There will be quite a few personnel accompanying him, and he hopes you will not mind." Theisen nodded, indicating his understanding. "The High Priest said he hopes to work together with you to mend some of the fissures within our Church." Theisen continued to nod. He would cooperate. "The High Priest said that he has always respected you." Mobiten finished speaking and dropped back onto one knee. Theisen blinked from his wheelchair and shook his head. "Is that last sentence an attempt at moral blackmail?" "I believe those are the High Priest's heartfelt words." "You don't understand. What that last sentence really means is that he knows I will say some unpleasant things to his face before I die. He won't agree to them, nor will he change anything, but he will say that he respects my opinion." "Interpreting it that way, my Lord..." "In truth, there's not much point to it. It's just a dry, tedious routine that neither of us can skip. I can't skip it, and he can't skip it either. We both have to go through the motions to the bitter end. All I can say is that I am dying in the wrong place and at the wrong time, which will only make things more exhausting for him. "Alright, I've heard you. You may leave." "Yes, my Lord." Mobiten stood up once again. "Remember your age," Theisen remarked. "You're a gray-haired old man yourself. Throwing tantrums like that—what kind of look is that?" Mobiten was now almost certain that Theisen had taken a liking to Muri; otherwise, there was no reason for him to drop hints like this multiple times. "Yes, my Lord. I will take your words to heart. Once I return from this trip, I will step down as Patriarch of the Benda family and hand it over to my son so I can focus entirely on guarding the High Priest." "By the way, Mobiten, have you ever looked after your grandchildren?" "This..." "Do you think such things are childish?" Theisen crossed his hands and smiled. "Try it if you get the chance." "Yes, my Lord. I will." "I envy you having so many grandchildren. People ought to learn to cherish what they have." Mobiten lowered his head. He knew that this old man's grandson had been chosen by Lord Marchettini, one of the Twelve Order Knights, as a successor. Even though it was only a partial inheritance, his grandson's status had immediately become transcendent, to the point where even his own grandfather had to respectfully address him as "My Lord." Opening the door to leave, Mobiten paused, gently pulled the door shut again, turned back, and dropped to one knee once more. "There is one more matter I wish to ask you about, my Lord. It concerns a failure in my duty—a mistake I cannot forgive myself for." Not in the least surprised, Theisen asked, "About Rasma?" "Yes. When the former High Priest departed back then, he did not allow me to accompany him. It has tortured me ever since. I cannot help but think that if I had been by his side at the time, the High Priest might not have disappeared..." "Have you investigated it?" "I dare not hide anything from you. I did investigate during the period between the former High Priest's disappearance and the new High Priest taking office. But I couldn't uncover anything, and I discovered that the matter was classified under the highest level of secrecy." "I can only tell you this: there is no need for you to feel guilty. That was Rasma's own choice." "Thank you, my Lord." Exhaling a long breath, Mobiten stood up and truly walked out of the room this time. Theisen turned his wheelchair around, facing the scenery outside the French window once more. A smile touched the corner of his lips. "Because even if you had gone, you couldn't have changed a thing." Theisen suddenly burst out laughing. "Hahaha..." His hands slapped the armrests of his wheelchair. Only after a long while did he settle down, unconsciously catching his breath before murmuring: "When it comes to a fight... he's never lost." ... "Are your injuries bad?" "I'm fine, Captain. A couple of days of rest and I'll be good," Muri said with some embarrassment. After all, being a grown man and getting beaten by an elder in front of his peers was truly humiliating. Even so, cutting ties with his family—especially with his grandfather—felt wonderfully liberating. Though every breath brought a throb of pain, he could still taste the air of true freedom. "Don't be embarrassed. If I hadn't happened to be seriously injured that day, I probably would have gotten a beating from an elder myself." Karen was certain that Theisen had wanted to punch him that day. But first, Theisen didn't know how to fight and feared he wouldn't be able to hold back his strength; second, Karen's condition had been dire, so Theisen was probably genuinely worried he might kill him with a single blow. Ventura walked over carrying glasses of ice water. Only the four of them remained in the room. Muri and Ventura had long since become members of the inner circle, as they knew Karen's secret. "The High Priest is coming in the next couple of days too, isn't he?" Ventura seemed rather excited. Indeed, getting the chance to see the High Priest in person—not in a newspaper or through a projection—was something that would thrill any believer of Order. "Yeah, probably. It involves political maneuvering among the higher-ups," Muri could only explain it this way. Alfred said with regret, "It's a pity. Lord Theisen's remains..." Muri was astonished. "Are you thinking of retrieving Lord Theisen's remains and placing them in the performance hall at Allen Manor?" Alfred nodded and said, "I have this quirk now: whenever I see powerful figures who lean toward our side, I can't help wondering when they're going to die, and whether I can haul their remains back with us. Out of the twelve coffins, only two are occupied, plus one reserved for Madame Gandiro—which makes just three. It feels so frustrating leaving them empty, like that psychological condition the young master once mentioned: obsessive-compulsive disorder." Karen glanced at Alfred and teased, "In your case, it should probably be called a 'collector's habit.'" Muri said, "Still, that would be terribly hard to pull off—no, practically impossible. Lord Theisen's status is simply too exalted. After his death, his body will undoubtedly receive the utmost protection before being sent to the First Knight Order. We wouldn't have a ghost of a chance. And if we could somehow steal a corpse from the First Knight Order... we wouldn't even need to stockpile remains ourselves." Karen waved a hand. "Even though Lord Theisen doesn't know how to fight, his realm is unimaginably high. Setting aside the fact that getting his body is impossible, even if we got it, I doubt I'd even be able to awaken him. Besides, the man is still alive. It's inappropriate to discuss this right now. Let's focus on something more fitting. When you have time, draw up a plan to execute Vicklai. As soon as we return to Yorktown, we strike." "An assassination plan, Captain?" Muri asked. Karen corrected him, "A judgment plan." Alfred immediately produced his notebook, uncapped his pen, and prepared to take notes. Seeing this, Muri reflexively patted his pockets, only to realize he had no habit of carrying a notebook and pen. When he saw that Ventura had also brought out a notebook and pen, Muri felt even more awkward. Karen began, "The theme is judgment. First, prepare the point coupons Vicklai once gave me in advance. Remember to include the average interest from the black market banks; I will 'repay' him when the time comes." "Yes, Young Master." "Second, look into Vicklai's past actions and his conduct after becoming an Adjudicator. You can ask Xinyali to help gather and organize the leads. I don't believe someone like him has always strictly adhered to the rules of Order." "Yes, Captain." "Third, what I want isn't just a simple assassination plan. I want to have a few words with him before killing him. The calmer and more composed the setting, the better—within reasonable limits, of course." "Yes, Captain." Karen nodded, took a sip of ice water, and said, "That's all for now. We'll take things one step at a time and clear away our backlog first. Good work, everyone." With that, Karen stood up. "I'm going to check on that three-headed hound." ... Giragon was still lying there, eyes somewhat vacant, staring ahead just as it had for the past two days. Ashley sat not far away, vigilantly watching her surroundings. She wasn't worried about Giragon suddenly lashing out anymore; rather, the island was still unsafe, as the Delan and Watson families had not chosen to surrender to judgment like the Castle family had. Still, she stood ready to summon Sandy at any moment to sound an alarm and send word. Purr and Kevin were very close to Giragon's dog heads resting on the ground. "Listen to me: even if you wanted to run now, you couldn't," Purr was saying. "The Church of Order is definitely going to officially intervene in what happened here, and you took so many hits from the Scythe of War—those are the best tracking marks there are. The Church will definitely be able to lock onto you. "Just lie here and wait. Don't take what happened to heart; it wasn't your fault, understand, you useless hound? "According to the Church of Order's customary practice, they will put you on trial. Just accept your judgment obediently. They'll be relatively fair, because they don't want to kill you either—they want to take you in. "Though you'll lose your freedom... you'll still be alive. "If there's a chance in the future, I'll visit you. That mainly depends on how fast my Karen gets promoted. "If he climbs the ranks quickly, I can come see you sooner, you useless hound." Giragon stared at Purr, its massive eye sockets brimming with tears of grievance. Yet it had to hold them back, fearing that a single drop might wash Purr away or drown her. Seeing that Purr and Giragon's chat would drag on, Kevin shook his head and trotted off on his own. Finding a small depression amid the rubble, he scraped at the dirt a few times, turned around, and squatted down. After relieving himself, Kevin yawned, turned his head, and spotted two familiar figures standing atop a higher pile of ruins in the distance. ... "I thought you'd left already," Karen said, seated as he watched the islanders in the ruins ahead searching for relatives and digging for buried belongings. Tafman said, "That lord didn't seem to order my arrest, though perhaps that's just because you're short on manpower right now." His hair was half-gray. While age spots and sagging skin were no longer visible, he gave off a distinct aura of decline. It was hard to say whether time would nurse him back, but even if it did, he had undoubtedly suffered grievous harm to his vitality. "You should go. The main force will arrive on the island in a couple of days." "I know. I'll leave. I've already booked a ship and will be departing shortly. But the way you say it... if I didn't leave, would you come arrest me?" Karen shook his head. "Why would I arrest you?" "Right, I almost forgot. You and I are the same—both Light remnants." "My faith is in Order. Light is merely a means for me." "Then you should want to arrest me all the more, shouldn't you?" "You haven't violated Order. And there is no clause in the Code of Order specifically targeting the Church of Light." Some things could never be written into explicit text, but that never stopped all the orthodox churches from acting in tacit collusion behind the scenes to strike down Light remnants and prevent Light from rekindling. "Karen, you seem... to have changed a bit?" Karen pointed forward and said, "I was wondering: if I hadn't been so set on leaving at the start, and had chosen instead to go with you to stop him, could this island have been spared this disaster?" Tafman smiled and answered, "All I know is that if you hadn't fought to the death and killed him in the end, then under his control, even if your lord stepped in, he probably wouldn't have been able to stop Giragon—because that lord of yours doesn't know how to fight. "Without you, this island would have been utterly destroyed by now. "Are you blaming yourself, though? "There's really no need for that." Karen shook his head. "I'm not dwelling on the result. Unforeseen things can happen to outcomes, but the only thing I can control is my initial choice and intention." Tafman said, "Everyone has their periods of confusion. I hope you can find your way out soon—or perhaps you already have." "Thank you." "Then I'll take my leave. I worry the ship I booked will grow impatient waiting." "Where do you plan to go next?" "You want to know?" "No, just a polite parting question." "I don't know either. Wherever the ship goes, I'll go. I booked passage on a small vessel called the Jinluo. "I originally planned to haggle over the price when boarding, but the old captain dropped his saber right away and asked where I wanted to head next, saying he could cast off immediately." "Have a smooth journey. Don't get caught." "Yeah. The road ahead will be even rougher. Not only will Order hunt me, but after what happened here, the Light faction will brand me a traitor too. Well, I'm off. I won't bother you anymore—carry on." Tafman left. Wagging his tail, Kevin trotted up. Seeing Karen sitting there, he paused slightly, then approached more softly than usual on his own accord. He lay down beside Karen's thigh, keeping him company as they looked down at the "scenery" below. Karen reached out and patted Kevin's bald head gently by way of greeting. The man and the dog sat there for a long time, until night fell and the moon hung high in the sky. Karen suddenly asked, "Kevin, have you ever felt lost?" Without hesitation, Kevin shook his head, then barked at the moon in the sky: "Woof!" Karen chuckled. Kevin turned his head toward Karen with a puzzled look. "Indeed. Most people in this world don't have faith as steadfast as a dog's."