The Generosity of the God of Order

"Is tomorrow Miss Eunice's birthday?" "Yes, Grandfather." "Invite her over for dinner tomorrow. Last time, your uncle, aunt, and Aunt Winnie went to the amusement park and neglected etiquette. We ought to make up for it." "All right, Grandfather." "Also, today is Old Hoffen's memorial day." "Yes, Grandfather, I remember." "Go over to No. 128." "All right, Grandfather." A memorial day meant something similar to the seventh-day rituals Karen had been familiar with in his previous life, from the first seventh day through the fifth seventh day after death. In Ruilan, people also held commemorative rites on certain specific days following someone's passing. Except, why did he have to go to 128 Mink Street to commemorate Old Hoffen's memorial day? What had been Grandfather's purpose in making him stare at the candlestick last night, and what did that dream mean? He had slept all night in the study chair—did that mean Diss had only just returned after going out last night? What had Grandfather been busy with? Karen did not ask Diss any of these questions. Instead, standing by the windowsill, he watched Diss head straight back into his own bedroom. Intuition told Karen that at No. 128, someone would give him the answers. After going down to the second floor for a glass of water, Karen returned to the third floor, took a shower in the washroom, and changed into a more formal set of clothes. Without even eating breakfast, he went downstairs, ready to head out. Just then, the telephone in the first-floor living room rang. Karen picked it up: "Hello, Inmeles Funeral Parlor." "Karen, I'm back," came Piaget's voice. "Can I come see you for psychological counseling now? The bank just opened, and I've just withdrawn the money." "I have something to attend to right now." "Oh, I see." "You can go home first. Once I've handled my business, I'll come over to your house this afternoon." Piaget and Eunice both lived on Rhine Street anyway. Karen would be going to Eunice's house in the afternoon to invite her, and he could stop by Piaget's place right after. "All right, all right. I'll brew some coffee at home and wait for you." "Mm, sounds good. See you this afternoon." "See you this afternoon." Hanging up the telephone, Karen walked out of the house. The rain had stopped in the morning, but the ground was still very wet. Karen walked up to the entrance of No. 128. Before he could knock, the door opened on its own. The one opening the door was Mr. Hoffen, dressed in a sleek black suit. Mr. Hoffen looked at Karen standing outside and said excitedly, "Oh, Karen, are you here to attend my memorial rite?" "Yes, Mr. Hoffen." "Then on behalf of myself, I welcome you to my memorial rite." This ought to have been an utterly horrifying scene: a deceased man personally greeting a guest who had come to attend his memorial rite. However, while Karen was indeed a little surprised to see Mr. Hoffen standing here, he was by no means shocked. A small dining table had been added to the first floor, laid out with several plates of pastries and a pot of tea. Opposite the small dining table stood a square wooden stool, upon which sat a funeral portrait. In the portrait, Old Hoffen wore the exact same clothes as the Old Hoffen standing before him. It had probably been taken early this morning... no, perhaps before daybreak. With Alfred around, something like that was hardly an issue. Noticing Karen looking at his portrait, Mr. Hoffen smiled and said, "I think it turned out rather well. It captured my spirit and vigor. The only flaw is that the skin on my face is a bit loose. I asked Ms. Molly to tighten and secure it for me again, but clearly her craftsmanship is still far inferior to your aunt's. Then again, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to bother Mary again, would it?" "Mm," Karen nodded. Aunt Mary often mentioned that back in the day, because of her exceptional makeup skills, even famous stars had specifically requested her. Karen figured, however, that Aunt Mary certainly wouldn't be hoping for repeat customers of this kind, rave reviews or not. "Come, sit." "All right, Mr. Hoffen." "Hm? What did you call me?" "Grandfather Hoffen." "Right, that's more like it. Call me Grandfather, understand?" "Understood, Grandfather Hoffen." "Drop the name." "Grandfather." "Ah, good boy." Mr. Hoffen reached out, patted Karen's cheek gently, and then poured tea for him. Karen hurried to take the teapot and poured it himself. "Actually, in a strict sense, between Diss and me, there isn't much difference as far as you're concerned." "Mm," Karen responded. Diss was at home anyway. "Even though I kept clamoring for Diss to kill you, before I died, I still protected you." "Yes, I've always remembered your kindness." "I can tell. I really liked the epitaph you left on my tombstone." "I'm glad you liked it." "Such is life. Obsessions are like spiderwebs—easily scattered and easily broken. We may be powerless to change anything, but we can still cherish what we once had. Mind you, I only felt this way after crawling out of the grave and seeing that epitaph. No one who hasn't died once could truly empathize." As he said this, Hoffen looked at Karen with a smile. Karen raised his teacup and took a sip. "Once the memorial rite is over, cremate me next time." "All right," Karen nodded. "This body of mine can't handle another 'Awakening' anyway. Sigh." Mr. Hoffen picked up a pastry and set it on the plate before Karen. "Go on, eat. I can't eat anything. I can't taste anything anymore." "All right." Karen began to eat. He hadn't had breakfast, so he was indeed a bit hungry. Mr. Hoffen then began recounting everything that had happened the previous night. Karen listened attentively while eating pastries with his tea, until— "What? You mean an evil god is currently living inside Kevin?" "Yes." Mr. Hoffen nodded. "That's a gift for you from Diss and me—your two grandfathers. Do you like it?" "Grandfather, what I mean is... is it safe?" "I laid out the formation personally. Don't worry, it's very safe. However, you'll need this." Mr. Hoffen handed Karen a notebook. "Inside are some formations and operational instructions I wrote down. You can't use them yet, but later on, you probably will." "All right, thank you, Grandfather." Karen casually flipped open a page. The section heading read: Church of Night Forbidden-Grade Magic Formation: Sorrow of the Night. He flipped another page. The section heading read: Church of Order Forbidden-Grade Magic Formation: God's Judgment. Karen immediately shut it. All right, excuse me. So that was why Mr. Hoffen could be Diss's friend. Even though Mr. Hoffen might look weak—well, he truly was weak—on another level, he exemplified what it meant that knowledge was power. He was definitely not someone to be underestimated. Perhaps, like Diss, he had chosen to keep a low profile, which was why his status in the Church of Principles had been so inconspicuous. "When I was telling you earlier, you didn't seem all that shocked? No, you were only shocked about the dog?" "Because there were things I'd already been wondering about," Karen replied. "I just happened to get the answers from you." "Oh, is that so?" Mr. Hoffen suddenly lowered his voice and asked, "Then can you tell me how you squeezed out an evil god and claimed the bed he had warmed up for yourself?" Karen shrugged. "Grandfather, I truly don't know." "Grandfather believes you." The two sat facing each other. "How are things going with Miss Eunice?" "Quite well." "Is the young lady pretty?" "She is." "Good, as long as she's pretty. Men and women are the same in that regard—as long as the other person is good-looking, you're willing to put up with more temper, and your anger cools down faster too. Though I must apologize: my inheritance was divided among my children, and even my house has already been sold, which left me unable to return to my own home to hold my memorial rite. So Grandfather can't give you any money." "Thank you, Grandfather. That notebook earlier is already a priceless treasure." "The main thing is, once a person dies, even the tea turns cold." Mr. Hoffen pointed to the teacup in his hand. Since he was now a cold corpse, the tea he held cooled down even faster. Saying so, Mr. Hoffen hauled out a large bag from under the table and handed it to Karen: "These are a compendium of elementary formations. I stayed up all night writing them. Before long—well, once you go to Wien, undergo purification, and have the power of faith in your body—you can try learning and using them. I made detailed notes and explanations, thoroughly breaking down the principles and key considerations. There are formations from many different religions." Karen looked at the ten thick volumes placed before him and asked in astonishment, "You wrote all of these last night?" "I never liked taking notes in the past; I preferred keeping it all in my head. You know, these things are genuine taboos to many churches. They would never allow them to be leaked outside. Recording them down would only invite immense trouble if they got out. But now, it doesn't matter. I'm already dead anyway. My children have already divided my estate, and I've fulfilled my obligations to them." "What I meant was, you wrote them remarkably fast." "Oh, I used the most basic spellcraft of the Church of Principles. It works for writing and laying out formations alike, multiplying efficiency countless times over. As long as your thoughts keep up, the nib won't slow down. I'm on the dull side; of genuine spellcraft, this is the only one I ever learned." "You are a great genius," Karen said. "Diss is the genius." Mr. Hoffen waved a hand. "I won't try to compete with Diss over that, because there's no way to compete. I've never seen a man whose greatest distress and resistance in life was becoming a god." Mr. Hoffen seemed to recall something suddenly and asked, "Tomorrow is the last day, isn't it? For Diss, I mean." "Yes." "What are tomorrow's plans?" "Grandfather asked me to invite Miss Eunice to our home for dinner." "He truly loves you, Karen." "I know." "I'll probably go die the day after tomorrow. I'll try my best to hold out until Diss's day arrives. Oh, right, remember: cremate me, and don't bother collecting the ashes. Just find a river and dump me in. Or, on your drive back home after the cremation, you can just toss them out the car window. Try not to choke any pedestrians, though; that's bad for public manners." "All right, Grandfather, I'll remember." "Have you had your fill?" "Mm, I'm full." "Then, I, Hoffen, on behalf of Hoffen himself, declare the memorial rite concluded." Karen stood up. "Go on, then. You still need to invite Miss Eunice over for dinner tomorrow, don't you?" "Actually, there's one thing I've always wanted to ask you." "Oh? Go ahead." "During that over-tier god descent ritual, what price did Grandfather actually pay?" "The truth is, Diss paid no price at all. Even though he was prepared, the God of Order took nothing." "Took nothing?" "Yes, nothing at all." Mr. Hoffen smiled. "Because that 'Karen' was never brought back to life, and even though an evil god was summoned, that evil god never entered this body. I think it was probably because the ritual didn't succeed. You could even say it was a complete and utter failure of a ritual. It's just like negotiating a business deal. The altar and the series of preparations were merely the deposit. If the other party failed to deliver the goods in the end, would you still be foolish enough to hand over the remaining balance?" "Is that how it works? All right, I understand." "Don't worry. Have faith in Diss." "I've always had faith in him." "That's good." "Then Grandfather Hoffen... no, Grandfather, I'll take my leave now." "Remember to come collect my corpse in two days." "All right, Grandfather." Mr. Hoffen stood by the doorway, watching Karen walk out. Only after Karen's figure disappeared around the street corner did he shut the door. Leaning back against the wood, he murmured: "A complete and utter failure of a ritual, was it? "The ones involved in preparing that ritual weren't just Diss alone. There were four of us. "Diss, "me, "Purr, "and that... Madam Linda from the Church of the Mural God. "Diss received his most beloved grandson. I can tell that Diss's affection for this boy comes straight from the heart, transcending even the boundaries of blood. For whether in temperament, character, habits, or the other qualities he exhibits, this boy matches Diss himself so well. "Perhaps that's somewhat unfair to the previous 'Karen,' yet undoubtedly, the current Karen is far closer to the image of a grandson in Diss's heart. "And me? "Before I died, I helped Diss summon an evil god. After I died, I got to crawl out of the cemetery and help Diss seal an evil god. "Isn't this my dream? "To live a whole life adhering strictly to dogma, always walking the dutiful path, yet harboring a deep-seated unwillingness, craving one true indulgence. "What about Purr? "She is about to follow Karen back to Wien, and back to her own family, no less. "Back then, she broke with her family and ended up turned into a cat, living away from home for a hundred years. What was her greatest dream? "To dream that one day, she could return home openly and legitimately to see them? "As for Linda, she fulfilled her long-cherished wish. Although her god descent ritual failed, she finally saw the form of the true god she believed in; or perhaps the husband she always worried over and felt guilty toward also found a close friend who could keep him company after she was gone? Didn't that settle her worries once and for all?" Mr. Hoffen reached up and pulled back into place the skin on his face, which had begun slipping down once more. "So, could it be understood like this: "In truth, is it very likely that the God of Order has already given all of us everything we wanted? "Then... "what on earth does the God of Order "want in return?"