13 Mink Street

Karon fell asleep on the sofa before he finished reading Time in Slumber. It was only when he sensed someone covering him with a blanket that he stirred.

He opened his eyes to see Eunice standing before him. She was on her tiptoes, trying to move carefully and not make any sound. When she saw that Karon had opened his eyes, she whispered softly, “You looked tired. Sleep a little longer.”

Karon smiled and said, “But you’re awake.”

As he spoke, he reached out and took Eunice’s hand, gently pulling her to sit beside him on the sofa. Karon wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and Eunice leaned her head against his shoulder. Aside from that, neither of the two made any other move.

“I didn’t even know you had come back. When I woke up just now, I thought I was dreaming.”

“Were you surprised that you would dream about me?”

“Not really. Isn’t it normal?” Eunice smiled. “Even if I wanted to dream about someone else, I would at least need a person to dream about, yet you’re the only one I’ve had contact with.”

“So I’m not the one, just the only one available?”

“What about you? I believe there must be other girls outside who like you. Are there?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“I told her that I already have a girlfriend.”

“Did you feel regret or a sense of loss?”

“Not really. Once you’ve already eaten your fill, you lose interest in trying other dishes.”

“Wouldn’t you get tired of it?” Eunice asked curiously. “If you kept eating the same dish all the time.”

Karon shook his head. “No. Because there are many colors and styles.”

Eunice bit lightly on her lower lip, then pressed her forehead against Karon’s shoulder. After a long moment, she said softly, “I’ll go change.”

Karon pulled her back and said, “No hurry. Save it for next time.”

“Next time?”

“I’ll be staying in the manor for the next two or three days, so the next time should be tomorrow when you wake up.”

“You decide.”

“Have you been bored these days?” Karon asked.

“No, not really. I just feel like the time passes very quickly. Aunt says this condition will continue for a few more months.”

“Have you felt the power inside your body?”

“Power?” Eunice spread open her palm. A small fireball appeared above it, looking like a gentle little sprite. “Do you mean this?”

“Yes.”

“It feels very familiar to me, like it’s part of my body.” Eunice moved the fireball closer to Karon.

He leaned forward and blew gently at it. “Phew.”

The fireball went out immediately.

“Eunice, I bought a home.”

“Hmm?” Eunice asked curiously. “How big?”

“A duplex apartment. Do you know what that is? It includes two levels of the same apartment building, though not the entire floor.”

“I know. I’m not that stupid.” Eunice reached out and lightly poked Karon. “I’ve been outside before. I’ve even been a teacher.”

Karon chuckled. “It’s big enough for the two of us. I kept the previous owner’s decorations and furniture. There’s also a sunroom up on the roof, but I’ve been too busy recently to lie there and enjoy the sun.”

“That sounds very warm and cozy.”

“Yes. I like the apartment a great deal, though it was my uncle and aunts who paid the down payment and are paying the mortgage. I’ll try to earn money soon and help them repay the loan early.”

“You should.”

“Also, a friend of mine who runs a funeral home has gone far away, leaving his business to me to manage. I’ve asked Alfred to renovate the back of it, so when I return to the city, I’ll probably live there.”

“You’re going to run a funeral home again?”

“Yes. You know, when I sat in the hearse again here, I actually felt a little excited.”

“I’ll go learn makeup.”

Karon lowered his head and gently kissed Eunice on the forehead. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her cheek to his chest. “Do you ever feel that it’s a pity that you’re still so young?”

“Are you so old?” Karon countered.

“I don’t know. I feel a little insecure.”

“Life is often like gambling. When you place a bet, it’s enough that you do it willingly, because the enjoyment lies in the thrill and excitement of placing the bet itself. When I comfort others, I usually say something like that.”

“And when you comfort yourself?”

“I don’t like gambling. I only cherish what I already have.”

“Karon, you know something? From the moment I first met you, I felt you were like my father. The way you speak is always so orderly.”

“Yes. I don’t mind you calling me that at a moment like this.”

...

“I didn’t hear you.”

...

“Say it louder.”

...

“Louder.”

***

When Karon woke up, he saw Pu’er standing on the pillow beside him and looking at him. “You’re awake?”

Karon habitually reached out and rubbed the soft fur under Pu’er’s chin. “What time is it?”

“Noon. You only returned to the bedroom in the morning.”

“Mm.”

“By the way, are you and my great-great-great-great niece conducting a relationship in the void? You haven’t seen each other for so long, but when you finally meet, your relationship seems even better than before.”

“Were you eavesdroping last night?”

“No. I just passed by, wanting to ask if you wanted a midnight snack, but I realized you seemed busy.”

“Do you have any dignity as an elder at all?”

“Come on. What elder doesn’t enjoy watching the emotional development of their juniors?”

“Have you eaten?”

“Yes. I came home specifically to laze around and eat all kinds of delicious food. Do you know that feeling?”

“Yes. Congratulations.”

“Congratulations for what?”

“Congrats, you’ve already gotten the ‘back to your parents’ place’ experience, and you’re not even married yet.”

“Meow!”

Karon got up, took a shower, washed up, and changed into a set of loose clothes.

Pu’er had already rung the bedside bell, and Borg soon entered, carrying lunch. As usual, it was a very abundant yet also rather monotonous meal. This time, however, Karon ate with real appetite. While his apartment in the city had a kitchen, he had scarcely had the time or energy to cook for himself recently, and had often just made do with whatever he could get. No matter what, when it came to simply making do, the head chef of the Allen family was at the very top.

After Karon finished eating, Borg handed him a wet towel. “Young Master, Mr. Mike is ready.”

“Good.”

“Is Are you going to spar with Mr. Mike, Young Master?”

“I’m asking Mr. Mike to give me some pointers. I still don’t know how to fight.”

Karon went downstairs and saw Mike sitting in the small living room on the first floor drinking tea. When he saw Karon come down, he pushed his wheelchair over. “Young Master, where do you think would be suitable?”

“The cemetery. It’s quiet and the environment is good.”

If it were someone else, even a distinguished guest, the audacity of regarding the family cemetery with such casualness would have infuriated Mike, because disrespecting their ancestors was equivalent to insulting the living descendants.

But Karon was different. Mike had personally witnessed Karon awaken one of their ancestors. Since even the ancestor himself did not mind, Mike really had no reason to be bothered.

Karon rode a horse while Borg pushed Mike’s wheelchair. Without deliberately quickening their pace, they moved at a leisurely speed and soon arrived at the cemetery.

The estate included a horse pasture and an ancient manor, and the grass was green throughout all four seasons.

Even so, Karon did not feel foolish about bragging to Eunice last night about the apartment he had bought with a loan. In this vast manor, Eunice had once been treated like a blind box prepared for a political marriage. Instead, when she moved into his small duplex, she would be the mistress of the home.

Karon saw the small wooden hut beside the cemetery. On the steps at the entrance sat Judia, dressed in very plain clothes and resting her chin on a hand while watching his arrival.

“Are you here to pay respects to the ancestors?” Judia asked.

Karon simply chuckled and did not respond. After all, Earl Rekar had knelt before him last time.

“Let’s do it here,” Karon said to Mike.

“Very well, Young Master.”

Karon dismounted. Ice formed around Mike’s body, and a pair of legs appeared beneath him as he stood up.

“Are you going to fight?” Judia ran over excitedly. “You’re going to fight Mr. Mike?”

“I asked Mr. Mike to give me some pointers.”

“Then let me do it! I’m bored. I’ll guide you.” Judia looked eager.

“No.”

“Oh, come on! Since it’s a fight, Mr. Mike won’t dare to actually hit you. What kind of guidance can you get from that? I won’t kill you, alright?”

“Judia, do not be disrespectful to Young Master!” Mike reprimanded.

“No. She’s right.” Karon raised a hand to stop Mike. “I can spar with her first.”

The reason he had not chosen to spar with Alfred was precisely because the demonkin would never dare to actually attack Karon. In fact, Mike was the same.

“Alright.” Judia stepped back a few paces. “How far apart do you want to start?”

“One hundred meters. Is that fine?”

“So far? Oh right, you’re a junior priest, so it’s better to keep some distance.”

“Young Master, I will be watching,” Mike said. Since Karon insisted, the man could only agree, though he remained standing in his icy form, prepared to intervene at any moment.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Mike. I know my limits.” Judia twisted her neck lightly.

“You should know your limits,” Karon reminded her, and Judia’s eyes instantly grew serious.

Karon sighed helplessly. “I wasn’t being sarcastic.”

Judia stared at him suspiciously for a moment before nodding. “Alright. I understand. You’re really cautious.”

Karon turned back to Mike again. “Mr. Mike, if anything happens, please step in.”

“Yes, Young Master. I understand.”

“Good.” Karon stepped back a few more paces and raised his hand. “We can begin.”

Judia pressed her hands downward, and two sharp ice spikes appeared in her hands. She flung them at Karon. Water-element power surged through the spikes like bullets leaving a chamber.

“Order—Protective Wall.” A huge black wall appeared in front of Karon, blocking the two spikes. They exploded, blasting large holes in the barrier, but Karon’s reinforcement meant that the wall quickly repaired itself.

This was only a warm-up.

Frost immediately formed around Judia’s body as she charged rapidly toward Karon. Mike watched with mild surprise.

The Allen family’s faith system possessed both water and fire attributes. Of those attributes, the essence of water was ice while the essence of fire was lava. Although Judia had only reached Tier-3 in the faith system, her mastery of water had already achieved a very refined level. One could say it was a difference in quality.

Facing Judia, who had chosen to close the distance, Karon did not hesitate either. He clearly understood the despair a junior priest faced when confronted in close combat, just like the tall and short pair he had killed yesterday.

“Sea God’s Armor!” Blue armor appeared around Karon, giving him a mysterious aura.

Seeing this, Judia appeared to be slightly surprised, though an ice dagger still formed in her left hand. As she appeared before Karon, moving with extreme speed, she thrust the dagger right into his abdomen.

The blade pierced the armor, but caused no harm, because the water flowing through the armor instantly dissolved the ice blade.

Judia stared at Karon in shock. What kind of Art is this?

“Darkmoon Blade!” Two curved blades appeared along Karon’s arms and slashed at Judia. He did not strike her upper body, but aimed at her lower body. She had just targeted his abdomen, meaning that even if something went wrong, at worst he would lie in bed for half a month. By avoiding her vital points as well, even if Judia were injured, she would only end up sharing Mike’s wheelchair.

Two ice shields appeared on both sides of Judia’s body. Karon’s curved blades struck. The weapons seemed to stick to the shields as the ice began melting while Karon’s blades pressed deeper.

Eventually, the blades broke through the shields and struck Judia’s legs, where they began to melt the protective frost that covered her body.

Judia’s face flushed red. A white ice flower appeared on her chest and exploded, releasing an enormous burst of force. Even with the Sea God’s Armor protecting him, Karon was blasted backward while Judia used the eruption to open some distance.

It was clear that her combat experience was far richer than Karon’s. While retreating, she continuously condensed ice flowers and hurled them at Karon, exhausting nearly all of the spirituality within her body. It was clear that this was partly due to anger from the danger she had just faced.

Explosions rang out non-stop around Karon as snowflakes and shards of ice scattered through the air.

“Stop!” Mike rushed toward Karon. He was not acting out of arrogance, but rather because he had realized that his strength was not enough to control this fight from the sidelines.

Judia stopped because she was exhausted and had no more strength. At the same time, she began to feel a bit of regret; Had she actually blown him to death?

Just then, a solemn black spear pierced the snow and shot straight at Judia.

“Watch out!” Mike immediately changed directions and rushed for Judia instead. Terror etched itself on the girl’s features. She forced the last bit of spirituality out from her body to create an ice barrier in front of herself.

The barrier shattered instantly, and the Spear of Punishment pierced through, exploding.

Judia was blasted away. Fortunately, Mike had arrived in time and managed to block the remaining damage from the Spear of Punishment. Without him, Judia might have been killed.

Even so, her clothes had been blown into tatters and wounds covered her body. Blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.

Borg stood nearby with a confused expression. This is what Young Master means by not knowing how to fight?

The dust and snow gradually settled over where Karon stood, revealing that he was still clad in the Sea God’s Armor. He was breathing heavily, though was still far from exhausted. He looked across the way and called out, “Mr. Mike, is Judia alright?”

As if hearing his question, Judia spat out another mouthful of blood.

“She is fine, Young Master,” Mike replied.

Hearing that she was fine, Karon felt relieved. Earlier, he had been completely bombarded by the young girl and had grown a bit flustered, so he had simply summoned a Spear of Punishment and launched it.

Immediately after that, he had felt regret. Fortunately, no disaster had occurred.

“Young Master Karon, are you alright?”

Karon checked himself and confirmed he was unharmed. “I’m fine. Not even a scratch.”

It was just a statement of fact. Karon truly had no injuries at all. He felt no different than if he had just finished a run.

However, when Judia heard him, she spat out another mouthful of blood while lying in Mike’s arms.

Karon dismissed the Sea God’s Armor and Darkmoon Blade. He finally understood what made these two spells so terrifying. Both the Sea God’s Armor’s defenses and the offensive power of the Darkmoon Blade possessed a flowing nature. As long as he could continuously supply them with spirituality, they could maintain an extremely efficient sustained defense, as well as a sustained offense.

This perfectly matched the fact that his own spirituality, accumulated through his unique purification method, was astonishingly vast. He often described it as a reservoir. With this advantage, as long as his opponent lacked the absolute strength to break past his defenses, he was practically invincible at this stage.

Furthermore, when the Darkmoon Blade locked against an opponent’s weapon, as long as their reserves were inferior to Karon’s own, he could steadily grind them down. It was an extremely shameless method of fighting, yet it was also extremely practical.

In the distance, Kevin stood on a small slope with Pu’er on his back. As Karon’s instructors in the fundamentals of combat, they naturally wanted to observe the fight.

“So the girl from the Gloria family— No, I mean the little girl from my family really isn’t Karon’s match.”

Kevin barked in agreement.

“Yes, yes. Reserves from a purification performed by the God of Order through the God of Light’s trigger, a body you personally rebuilt, and the blessing of Tiz’s bloodline. Add in the two restricted-tier advanced spells we chose for him, and even if he still doesn’t know how to fight, he’s already the most capable fighter among those at the same level.”

Kevin barked again.

“I noticed something else. He’s using the power of Light as a converter, yet it doesn’t seem like he’s suffering any loss from the conversion. Normally, converting power between different faith systems should consume a great deal, yet he’s been able to maintain it for so long and still have energy left. That shouldn’t be possible.”

Kevin barked again.

“You’re saying it’s because when he underwent the Divine Seeker ritual, he rejected the revelation of the God of Order?

“No, not just that... During his Divine Shepherd stage, he didn’t place a god inside his heart. He said he placed himself there instead. So when he converts other attribute powers, there is no additional loss, and he can use them just like the spells of the Church of Order?

“Meow! Isn’t that complete nonsense?”

Kevin nodded frantically, his paws tearing at the grass.

Pu’er slapped Kevin on the head and sighed. “A priest with absolutely no faith in any god has somehow become a priest perfectly compatible with the power of every faith system.”