13 Mink Street

It was an extraordinarily loud slap. Richard raised his head in a daze to stare at the bright red handprint on his father's face. "Father, why are you doing this to yourself? Don't do this! Don't do this, Father!"

Richard threw himself at Eisen, wrapping his arms around the man’s waist. He said in a rush, "Father, you absolutely must not hurt yourself! If you want to hit someone, hit me instead!"

"Alright."

"..." Richard.

Smack! Richard's vision blurred at once. His head swam, and he dropped back and onto the floor. A vivid red handprint appeared on the side of his own face as well.

Smack! There was another crisp crack, and a handprint bloomed on the other side of Mr. Eisen's face as well.

The moment he saw that, Richard realized what was about to happen next and immediately screamed, "Ah!"

Smack!

Thud!

Before Richard could even get back to his feet, the other side of his face took a slap as well, and he could only collapse back onto the floor.

Eisen raised his hand again and struck his own face. Smack!

"No, Father!"

Smack!

"Ah!"

Eisen may not have heard the saying, "If a son is not taught, the fault lies with the father," but that did not stop him from embodying its meaning at this moment.

And so it went on. Each time, Eisen struck himself once first, and then struck Richard once as well. Richard was slapped until he was wailing aloud, and at last, he erupted with hidden potential. He rolled to the side, scrambling on his hands and feet in an attempt to crawl out of the parlor. Behind him, he heard a voice that filled him with profound despair, "Order—Cage."

"..." Richard.

His entire body was bound in place, and he was then dragged straight back in front of Eisen again. "Father..."

Bang! Eisen drove a fist into his own chest.

Bang! Richard took a punch to the stomach.

Bang!

Bang!

Richard was beaten until he vomited up all the watered-down milk tea he had drunk before coming home.

At last, his father stopped. Richard thought it was finally over, only to see his father unfasten his belt. "No... don't."

Smack!

Smack!

"Ah!" Richard kept letting out shrill screams. He wanted to call out for his mother with them, but she was clearly in the kitchen. Why hasn’t she come out yet? Could it be... that Father already laid down a barrier in the house?

***

"You're really just going to watch?" Standing on the second floor and looking down at her son being beaten below, Casey asked the old woman beside her through clenched tears.

"Scuffling and roughhousing is perfectly normal between father and son. There is no overnight grudge in the family." The old woman held a blue hand warmer in her arms, and inside it was a piece of crystal that constantly gave off heat.

The last time Karon had visited the Gorman family, he had felt that their household had a very good family atmosphere; Everyone seemed kind and harmonious. But for a family to maintain peace and harmony, there was usually one person whom all of the other family members feared. In the Immers family, that role was held by Tiz. In the Gorman family, it was borne by this old woman.

Only, unlike Tiz, she was far better at presenting herself before others as kind and gentle. Once she had spoken and told Casey that she was not allowed to go, Casey could only remain in place, unable to interfere with the father and son below. "That is your grandson!"

"I know." A smile tugged at the corners of the old woman's lips. "Can you even remember the last time that Eisen taught his son a lesson? It’s been years, hasn't it? I think this is a good beginning. It seems he has finally relearned how to release the emotions he’s been bottling up inside.

"This is a good sign. For the sake of his father's illness, a little suffering on Richard's part is worth it."

"Mother, you cannot do this! I can’t stand by and watch my son be treated this way!"

"You can’t stand it now, yet what about all those years you were gone from home? You applied for a transfer to Port Mulberry, barely taking care of your son; How did you manage to stand that?"

"It’s not the same thing! I’m not like you. You have more than one grandson, but I have only one son, Richard!"

"I have more than one grandson?" The old woman's gaze instantly sharpened. A green array appeared beneath her feet, and a moment later, an identical one appeared beneath Casey's feet. In a flash, she was completely bound in place.

Casey had only recently been injured, but she was still an Expositor of the Church of Order. Even so, at this moment, she did not possess the slightest strength to resist.

The old woman turned and looked at her daughter-in-law, her voice turning cold. "Repeat what you just said."

"I..."

A strand of blue radiance emerged from within the hand warmer in the old woman's hand, ultimately forming a thorny vine covered in barbs.

Casey stared at the old woman in disbelief. She had only assumed that because of her guilt toward that illegitimate child, the old woman carried a little compensatory affection for him. She had not truly expected the old woman to go so far for an illegitimate child.

When she had first married into the Gorman family, Casey had already known that her mother-in-law was not someone to provoke, but over the many years, the two of them had gotten along fairly well. Even when Casey had left home of her own initiative and gone to work in Port Mulberry, the old woman had said nothing and had not once sought her out.

But now...

"Once you get old, your temper improves. Each generation handles its own affairs, and I have always been too lazy to meddle in the lives of the younger ones. But some things are different.

"What you just said. Now, in front of me, say it again.”

Casey gave up resisting. She did not try to use Arts to break free of the restraint that held her. In the end, she did not dare truly raise a hand against the old woman. Instead, she turned her face aside and said, "That- Karon, is he not your grandson?"

"You already know?" The thorny vine in front of the old woman swayed lightly. "How did you find out?"

"I figured it out. The last time Karon came to the house as a guest, I could see it."

"Ah, and you actually saw through it." The old woman sighed, her fingertips lightly tapping the hand warmer as though she was considering something.

"Karon saved my life. If you want to bring Karon back into the family, I will agree. Karon has no mother anymore. I am willing to take care of him. Of course, I am not particularly good at taking care of people, but I can make room for him. In terms of both feeling and reason, I have nothing to object to.

"But what I cannot bear is the extra favoritism from you and your son!"

"Is it because you feel things are unfair?" The old woman lowered her head and pressed a hand to her forehead. In her eyes at this moment glowed a faint and dim light, as though she were making some difficult decision.

Casey raised her chin. "Yes, I do think it is unfair. I am willing to let him come back. I am willing to let him return to the Gorman name. But I want you to treat him and Richard equally."

The old woman froze.

Then, she lifted her head to stare at her daughter-in-law in befuddlement. "Return... to the Gorman name?"

"Yes. I am willing."

"You... are willing?"

"He saved my life. Even if he had not saved my life, if he really wanted to come back, I would be angry, but I would not stop it. After all, he is Eisen's child too."

"Uh..." the old woman murmured. She stared at her daughter-in-law, and her daughter-in-law met her gaze.

Downstairs in the parlor, the fight between the father and son was still ongoing. Upstairs, however, the contest between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had already entered the final stage.

“Haha... Hahaha..." The old woman laughed until she bent at the waist.

She waved a hand, and the ritual array restraining Casey vanished. The woman regained her freedom. "Very well, I understand. I will pay attention to it from now on. I will treat Richard and Karon equally, but that boy Karon has no wish to come back, nor does he want to return to the Gorman name. He has pride, and competence. Most likely, he disdains the idea of borrowing the Gorman family's connections to gain anything.

"I like that child because he truly is exceptional and naturally likable. As for Richard..."

The old woman turned her head to back down at the father and son downstairs, who were still playing their little game of “belt relay.” She shook her head and continued, "How shall I put it? Sometimes you should not blame me for favoritism. In terms of ability, your son truly cannot compare to Karon. And for that, you, as his mother, bear a responsibility you cannot avoid."

"I know. I bear responsibility."

"It is best that you know it." The old woman turned and walked toward her bedroom without another glance back. "I am tired. I will rest now."

Casey let out a long breath, then walked to the railing and looked down at the father and son below. All at once, her knees went weak, and she could only brace herself on the banister with both hands to force herself to remain standing.

At this moment, she no longer had the strength to concern herself with the father and son downstairs. She knew perfectly well that no matter what, Eisen would not beat Richard to death. But just now, she herself...

Casey placed one hand over her chest and felt the thumping inside. Karon is not Eisen's illegitimate child?

"I'm going to rest. Keep it down." When the old woman was nearly at the door to her bedroom, she called down to the lower floor. She then glanced once more in the direction of her daughter-in-law and smiled.

A chill immediately ran down Casey's back. At once, she inwardly said, No! Karon is Eisen's bastard. He must be!

***

Eisen sat on the floor. Richard lay sprawled on the floor. Both father and son were both covered in injuries. Even now, Richard still did not understand why he had been beaten, nor why he had been beaten so viciously.

Of course, Karon had foreseen all of this. What even he had not expected was that his cousin would manage to step on every single landmine with such precision. If there had been a minefield in front of him, his cousin would have bounced from one explosive to the next without ever missing a step.

Eisen picked up a cup and drank a large mouthful of water. He then wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand and looked at the bruised and swollen face of his son who laid before him. He found it strange that not only did he feel little pity, he instead felt an indescribable sense of exhilaration.

As a father, Eisen knew that such feelings should not be in his heart, yet he also could not deny what he was truly feeling.

Letting out a long breath, he braced his hands against the floor tiles behind him, and in his mind appeared Karon's enormous figure, the one streaked with gilded lines within that special space.

No wonder his son had been clamoring to join the Hunting Hounds. This squad... is genuinely interesting. Heh.

***

Upon returning home, Karon first took a bath. Once he was finished, instead of going straight to bed as he usually did, he put on a robe, entered his study, and sat down. He reached out and flicked the desk bell.

Very soon, Alfred arrived, carrying pastries and a glass of ice water. He then pulled over a chair, sat down in the study, and opened a fresh notebook on his lap, ready to take notes at any moment.

Whenever Karon returned from having encountered or seen something, he would proceed to report things to the household cat, dog, and radio demon.

Pu'er entered the study perched atop Kevin's back, then leapt onto Karon's desk. Kevin, meanwhile, sprawled out on the carpet, his tongue lolling out. With his balding dog head as an embellishment, he looked incomparably honest and simple.

Karon began by describing the initial portion of this mission. At first, Alfred took notes seriously, Pu'er toyed with her tail, and Kevin continued lying on the floor.

Time passed. Alfred continued taking notes, Pu'er continued playing with her tail, yet Kevin silently stood up and cocked his head to the side.

By the time Karon reached the bit about the statue at the center of the fountain and the inscription carved on the stone, Alfred and Pu'er, one holding a pen and the other holding her tail, both turned to look at Kevin.

The golden retriever began pacing back and forth, visibly tense.

Karon described how he had passed through the red door with Nio, but omitted what he had found past the blue inner door. Karon felt that the three windows within that portion were Kevin's private history, and such things did not need to be disclosed.

Kevin let out a long breath and lay back down again.

When Karon reached where he had entered that special space and become an enormous gilded mass of light, Pu'er spoke, "Oh? How interesting. I never would have thought that mask would have that kind of effect."

Alfred, meanwhile, solemnly stated, "Fortunately, that mask provided cover."

Karon continued all the way until reaching the point where he had dropped Eisen off from the car. He then lifted his glass and took a sip of water.

"This mission really was packed," Pu'er observed. She then looked at Kevin and cursed, "Stupid dog! Could you not have left behind a few divine artifacts for our Young Master to dig up and play with?"

The stupid dog blinked innocently, and Pu'er continued, "The Church of Order is using what you left behind. Say, back then, did you succeed or not?"

Kevin shook his head.

"And you knew the God of Order?"

"Woof."

"Not exactly knew him? Then that means bits that you left behind were discovered by the Church of Order?"

"Woof!"

"You're saying you once cooperated with the God of Order?"

"Woof."

"The God of Order helped you to kill the Sea God? He helped you to commit deicide, and yet you still say you didn't know him?"

"Woof, woof, woof."

"An equal exchange? You traded your research results at that time with the God of Order, for the two of you to complete an exchange. So after that, why were you still suppressed by Order?"

"Woof."

"Because your research went a little too far? Oh, heavens, the God of Order really has no shame." After saying that, Pu'er even cast a somewhat wary glance toward the window.

"Pu'er, from here on, you are responsible for obtaining more information from Kevin," Karon instructed.

"Young Master, I can do it too, and if I do it, it may even be more convenient," Alfred volunteered, because he had also learned dog speech.

Karon looked back at Kevin. "You can tell us things that can be shared. Mainly, I want to avoid being caught off guard if I run into anything related to you again in the future."

Kevin nodded his dog's head.

"Alright, I have said everything that needed saying. Has anything happened at home?" Karon asked.

"Everything at home is fine, nothing has happened. However, Young Master, you probably have not yet had time to read yesterday's Order Weekly."

"Mhmm. Any major news?"

"Yes. The location for the negotiations between the Church of Order and the Church of Reincarnation has already been decided."

"Oh? Where?"

"On... Darkmoon Island."

"Darkmoon Island?"

The moment she heard that name, Pu'er immediately grew alert. Although she knew Karon had not gotten Ophelia pregnant, she also knew even more clearly that Ophelia was quite interested in Karon.

"How was that chosen as the location?" Karon was somewhat puzzled.

The Church of Reincarnation had already been defeated in war, having held out for less than a day against the Church of Order. Karon's feelings about the matter had been rather limited, only because he was an insider within the Church of Order. In truth, this war between two orthodox churches had thoroughly shocked the entire ecclesiastical world. A great many people had not realized that a war between churches could be launched so swiftly, and also concluded so quickly.

However, the surrender negotiations required time to proceed. Both sides needed to settle on specific terms, with the Church of Order inevitably obtaining greater benefits at the negotiating table.

In principle, choosing a neutral location for both parties to negotiate was perfectly normal. The problem was that Darkmoon Island was far too distant, unless... the two sides had arranged a teleportation array.

Was it a teleportation array only recently set up after the Church of Order and Darkmoon Island had reached their cooperative agreement last time?

It seemed that the results of those previous negotiations were absolutely enormous. After all, the establishment of a teleportation array was equivalent to completely exposing one's vitals to another. The reason the Church of Reincarnation had lost so miserably and so quickly in the war was also because the Church of Order had used the teleportation array in the Herald's Domain to catch the Church of Reincarnation completely off guard.

"Very well, I understand." Karon nodded, then reached out and rubbed Pu'er's head. "What are you puffing your fur up for?"

"Darkmoon is going to grow mottled again."

"How could I possibly qualify to attend negotiations of that level? Besides, the location is not even in Veyn."

"Fine, that is true." Pu'er felt that Karon made perfect sense. She then walked to the edge of the desk and smacked her paw against the tabletop three times, shouting at Kevin, "Stupid dog! If you do not confess your past and present life tonight, you can forget about sleeping!"

"..." Kevin.

"Tomorrow," Karon ordered. "Tonight, I want to have a chat with Kevin. Alfred, prepare some beer and take it to the rooftop."

"Yes, Young Master."

Pu'er asked curiously, "Why the rooftop?"

"Because the view there is better."

***

Karon sat on the rooftop, with Kevin laying beside him. Alfred brought up the beer. Karon had a large mug of ice cold beer, while in front of Kevin sat a dog bowl filled to the brim with beer.

"Young Master, shall I remain here to translate?"

Karon shook his head.

"Very well, Young Master. Then I will take my leave."

Once Alfred had gone downstairs, Karon raised his mug and gave it a slight tilt towards Kevin beside him, then took a drink. The dog stuck out his tongue and lapped the beer a few times.

Karon then set his mug down and placed both hands behind his head, laying back.

Kevin stretched out a paw to rest it on Karon's body, asking in puzzlement, "Woof?"

"I can't understand your barking, and I didn't come up here to ask you about any of your secrets. I just wanted to drink a little with you and look at the moon."

Kevin froze. He then lapped at his beer twice more before lowering himself beside Karon.

A man and a dog looked up at the moon in the sky, and the moon, unstinting with its radiance, cast its light down over them both. After a while, Kevin stretched a paw out again, nudging Karon gently. The man turned to face Kevin and saw expectation written all over the dog’s face. "I don't want to ask."

Kevin shook his head and kept nudging him with his paw, as though urging him on.

"I understand."

Kevin continued nudging him lightly.

"Oh, I get it, you're doing it because of the atmosphere? Fine."

At those words, Kevin immediately settled back down again. Facing the moon, his body relaxed, and beneath the moonlight his fur looked delicate and glossy.

Karon asked, "Was it worth it?"

Kevin closed his eyes. His tail gave a slight swish, and rested his head on his own leg, answering softly, "Woof~"

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