13 Mink Street

Chapter 192: Karon’s Mother

The collapse of the Church Affairs Building did not happen all at once. After the first thunderous boom, the entire structure began to split apart in every direction. The fractures were so sharp and distinct that they could be clearly seen, like the building was a tall rectangular cake that was being sliced into many pieces that then slid away in all directions.

At that moment, extremely thick black chains rose from the ground around the Church Affairs Building. They shot upwards and wrapped around the separating sections of the collapsing structure, binding and holding them all aloft. In this way, while the building had already collapsed, it was prevented from completely falling. It instead remained suspended in an extremely bizarre architectural state.

Those chains that had suddenly appeared were likely a part of a ritual array that had originally been intended to protect the building. However, either due to its manner of operation or the way it had been designed, the ritual array clearly had a specific flaw. It was primarily intended to guard against outside intrusions, rather than internal threats. The chains supporting the separated sections of the building were not merely holding them in place. Their force was visibly tightening around the sections they encircled, digging deeper and deeper into them. It would probably not take long before the chains themselves crushed the very pieces of the building that they held.

Still, this allowed the people within the Church Affairs Building at least a chance to evacuate.

Karon ran beneath the building and found that its foundation had already sunk down. What had originally been the first-floor hall reached by climbing a tall flight of steps had become an open basement. People were constantly running out from inside, climbing up from the pit, and Karon crouched down and began pulling people up by their hands.

During this process, people occasionally fell from the sections that were suspended above and wrapped in chains. From time to time, there was a sound of something like a bag of cement smashing to the ground. It was a sound that was disturbingly similar to swatting mosquitoes in summer. While pulling people up from below, Karon kept glancing upward, calculating how much longer the chains could hold.

Even though priests of the Church of Order kept arriving from the outside area to assist, and even though waves of energy from various Arts could be felt from within the building as the people attempted to save themselves, there had been a great many ordinary workers inside. Even the Divine Servants and Divine Seekers were no different from ordinary people if they fell from such extreme heights.

At that moment, Karon noticed several priests in blue robes appear not far behind him. The robes they wore were marked with ritual array runes. The one at the front of the group held a black stone in his hand, while the people behind him began chanting and channeling spiritual power into his body. Then, the leader raised the stone and slowly moved it downward.

Buzz. Two enormous black chains above and ahead of Karon began lowering the section of the building they were supporting. Right after that, Karon saw several other groups of blue-robed personnel in the distance. Each group leader held a black stone, and other chains also started to be activated, and each time, they gradually lowered the part of the building they held.

Were these priests of the Church of Order who specialized in maintaining ritual arrays? The Church of Order had many internal departments, and each department was further subdivided, leading to many diverse positions and responsibilities. Even if they were all members of the same church, the knowledge of departments outside one’s own was often very limited.

Gradually, the broken sections of the building were lowered down and placed onto the ground one by one. They occupied a huge stretch of the surrounding land, and some even crashed into nearby buildings, though obviously no one cared about that at a moment like this. Once all of the sections had been placed down, the trapped people began escaping through windows and other openings.

Karon stood up and stepped back a few paces. His attention instinctively fell upon a section to the southwest, because that section contained the store and the equipment office. But after only a few glances, he looked away again, because he saw three Expositors standing in that area. Clearly, security around that particular section was being specially reinforced to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the church’s misfortune at this time.

Karon began helping to tend to the wounded. Together with a young man he did not know, he pushed a gurney, carrying the seriously injured to an open space at the perimeter one by one. There, they could wait for rescue personnel from the church hospital to treat them.

They worked for about an hour, yet the workload only increased instead of lessening, because the large number of injured people who were unable to get out on their own were gradually being found and rescued from inside the building segments. However, the church hospital’s rescue forces had already arrived, and a large number of Church of Order priests from other parts of York City had also rushed over. Such a serious disaster at a church building could not possibly fail to alarm them.

Some people saw that Karon and his unfamiliar partner were both covered in dust, so they came over on their own initiative to take over stretcher duty. Karon did not refuse. While shaking his slightly numb hands, he walked towards the perimeter and found a more open area to sit down.

“Hey.”

Karon turned his head and saw that his stretcher partner he had not known earlier had followed him over. The young man took out an opened thermos cup and handed it to Karon. During their work earlier, Karon had already noticed that this guy kept a thermos hanging from his waist the whole time, yet he did not look very old, and like Karon, he was also in plain clothes rather than a priest’s robe.

Damn it. Karon thought of the priest’s robe he had custom ordered. After something like this, would he still be able to get his order?

Probably... yes. After all, he had paid for it with credits. The church would surely care about maintaining its credit reputation.

He took the thermos and brought it to his lips. He caught a sweet scent. After taking a sip, he realized it was soda, and cold soda at that.

At a time like this, there was probably nothing more comforting than taking a huge gulp of ice-cold soda. Karon drank two large mouthfuls in a row before handing the thermos back. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” The young man drained the rest of the soda in the thermos, and let out a long belch. He then turned to look at Karon, and asked, “Friend, you got a cigarette?”

Karon nodded and took out an unopened pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket, handing them over. The young man opened the pack and took out one cigarette. He then pulled out another and offered it to Karon before leaning over to light Karon’s for him.

Karon could not be bothered to explain why he carried cigarettes but didn’t smoke. He simply held the cigarette in his mouth and let the other man light it for him. Afterward, the young man lit his own and then placed the lighter and the cigarettes between them.

“I came to collect my stipend,” the young man commented. “If it hadn’t been for the traffic jam on the way over, I probably would have had to be carried out too. Nearly lost my life over one hundred credits. Tsk.”

The moment he heard one hundred credits as the stipend amount, Karon knew that the young man was a Divine Servant.

“My name’s Richard. What about you, friend?”

“Karon.”

“Then should I be calling you sir?” Richard asked with a grin.

“I also collect a stipend of one hundred credits.”

“Hahaha.” Richard laughed. “That’s good, that’s good.”

When one Divine Servant met another, there was no gap in status between them.

“Look over there, even the Archbishops have arrived,” Richard said, pointing into the distance.

Karon also saw several Archbishops in red robes appear on the scene. Their expressions looked grim.

“Do you think this was an attack by the Church of Pamireth?” Richard asked Karon.

“Hm?”

“You don’t read newspapers?” Richard asked in confusion.

Karon understood immediately. This man was not an ordinary Divine Servant, because an ordinary Divine Servant’s monthly stipend was not enough to subscribe to Order Weekly. On top of that, for Richard to ask another Divine Servant if he read the newspaper so casually clearly meant that he himself had no idea of the true purchasing power of one hundred credits. There was a faint air of someone asking why people did not simply eat meat.

If the other side had not lied at all, then Karon guessed he was probably some second-generation church brat coming to collect the first stipend of his life. There were many second-generation church members within the Church of Order, because faith was often passed down and spread throughout families and clans. It was like spotting a cockroach in the house and knowing that there were definitely many more you had not yet found. It was rare for only one individual in a family to have faith. Usually, the whole family was influenced by their elders and relatives.

Strictly speaking, even setting aside Tiz’s personal factor, Karon himself could also count as second generation, since the Immers family was a family of Inquisitors.

“So you think it was done by people from the Church of Pamireth?” Karon asked.

“It’s possible.” Richard pointed at the segmented Church Affairs Building. “There has to be an operational hub in the building. Places like the equipment office and the storage area would definitely make use of spatial ritual arrays. Did you see what it looked like when the building first started collapsing?”

Karon nodded.

“Then did you notice that the initial cracks all formed around that area?” Richard pointed toward the section of the building that was being guarded by several Expositors. “So there was probably a problem in the operation of the spatial ritual array in that area, and that caused the building to come apart from there.”

“The construction and design of the Church Affairs Building involved people from the Church of Pamireth?” Karon asked.

“Of course not. It definitely had to be done by our own people. There’s no way it would be handed over directly to outsiders.”

“Then why do you think this was an attack by the Church of Pamireth?”

A smile appeared on Richard’s face. “You can’t openly hand something like this to outsiders, but you can outsource it.”

“That...”

“You do know what subcontracting means, right?” Richard asked.

“I do.” Karon was simply surprised that even church construction projects could be so down to earth. This kind of thing happens all the time. Projects were subcontracted out. To begin with, members of the Church of Pamireth were already good at spatial work, so if they handled it, the results would be better and the cost would be lower. Second, it might not even be necessary to pay them with credits. They’d still do it with gritted teeth, and might even bring their own materials to finish the job, so long as they were somehow compensated adequately elsewhere.

“Of course, I personally think it was most likely that the Church of Pamireth launched the attack, though I can’t rule out... ahem... that we staged this ourselves.”

“It couldn’t have been staged by ourselves,” Karon said.

“Hm? Why not? Wouldn’t that be a very good reason?”

“We don’t need reasons, and we don’t need excuses. The more proper the reason and the more suitable the excuse, the less likely it is to be something we actually need.”

Richard pursed his lips and said, “The way you talk feels a lot like my father.”

“What position does your father hold?”

“Hm? That’s awfully direct, isn’t it? Shouldn’t you pretend you didn’t notice and then deliberately try to get closer to me first?”

“Heh.”

“My father is an Expositor. There, look. He’s right over there.”

So one of the Expositors currently guarding the section that contained the equipment management floor and the store floor was Richard’s father.

“Not just my father. My mother is also an Expositor, though she’s not in York City right now, she’s in Port Mulberry. My aunt is an Expositor too, and my uncle fell just short, so he’s only an Inquisitor.”

It’s... an Expositor family?

If the Immers family, with its line of Inquisitors, had been considered respectable local gentry, then Richard’s family belonged to the powerful elite of church circles.

“So you’re only a Divine Servant?” Karon asked.

“Hahaha. I just kept using a Divine Servant certificate because I was too lazy to verify and update it. Don’t be fooled by how young I look. I’m actually a Divine Shepherd. You should be calling me sir.”

Karon felt that every bit of conversation earlier had just been laying the groundwork for that one sentence.

Karon dropped the cigarette he had been holding without smoking it and crushed it under his shoe, not bothering to respond.

Seeing Karon’s lukewarm reaction, Richard did not get angry. Instead, he leaned a little closer and lowered his voice. “Friend, no, Karon, what rank does the elder in your family hold?”

“Why are you asking me that?”

“Because I want to make friends with you.”

“Then I’m really reaching above my station.”

“Tch, still keeping it secret from me.” Richard exhaled a ring of smoke, tossed the cigarette butt onto the ground, took another cigarette from the pack between them, lit it, and then asked Karon, “If you don’t smoke, why do you carry cigarettes and a lighter?”

“For people like you.”

“Pfft... hehehe... hahahaha!” Richard burst out laughing. Karon had no idea what exactly he found so funny.

Ahead of them, Karon saw squad after squad of the Whip of Order enter the area and begin to establish order and set up a guard perimeter. Even though the police headquarters was right nearby, there was not a single policeman in sight. Secular forces had no way to interfere with or enter this place.

Karon did not see his own squad, though. Thinking back, he should not have returned that blue shell to Fannie last time. The gathering tonight was definitely canceled. Something so serious had happened at the Church Affairs Building, so there was no way his squad had not been mobilized.

At that moment, Karon sensed someone appear behind him. He turned and saw a woman in a dark red robe standing there with a cold, stern expression.

The patterns on the woman’s robe showed her identity: an Expositor. Karon immediately stood up and saluted her. “Madam.”

“Aunt?” Richard stood up and called out at the same time, tossing the cigarette he had just lit to the ground.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Aunt, Father is over there.”

“I know.” The woman’s gaze fell on Karon. “Your identity.”

“Divine Servant under Inquisitor Pavaro: Karon Silva.” Karon also had the additional identity of being a member of a Whip of Order squad, but he still chose to report his Divine Servant identity, because it was essentially saying that he was harmless and innocuous.

“Hehe, Aunt, he’s a new friend I just made.” As he spoke, Richard stepped closer to Karon and looked him over again. He then turned to his aunt and said, “He got dust all over himself while carrying stretchers with me, but he still looks good, right? Aunt, he’s as handsome as uncle was when he was young.”

“You can tell your mother he is as handsome as your father was when your father was young.”

“I can’t say that; Ffather isn’t good-looking. If he were, Mother wouldn’t rather stay in Port Mulberry and would transfer back. She just thinks Father is too ugly.”

“I’ll pass along your praise along to your father.”

“I’m not scared. Aunt dotes on me the most.”

“If there’s no need next time, don’t go running around everywhere. It’s dangerous. There are many affairs going on recently, and things outside are dangerous.”

“I came to collect my stipend and planned to buy you some jewelry while I was at it. Aunt, isn’t your birthday coming up soon?”

The woman looked into the distance and said, “Go home early. I still have things to deal with.”

As soon as she finished speaking, her figure turned back into a black mist that flew toward where Richard’s father stood.

“You drove here?” Richard asked Karon.

“Mhmm.”

“That’s great. The area around here is definitely going to be locked down, so I won’t be able to get a cab.”

Karon pointed into the distance. “You can run a little farther out and get one there.”

“I say, you were so respectful to my aunt just now. Why are you being so casual with me?”

“Because we’re both Divine Servants.”

“I already told you, I’m a Divine Shepherd.”

“I only acknowledge the certificates.”

“Oh, seriously now.” Richard came right up and threw an arm around Karon’s shoulder. “Drive me home. I’m tired. I don’t want to walk.”

Karon looked at him in puzzlement. “We only carried a few stretchers together.”

“I don’t know why either, but I feel close to you. Oh, please don’t worry, I date girls, so it’s not that kind of close.”

“Where do you live?”

“White Deer Street. It’s not far from here. I’ll invite you in for some coffee.”

Karon did not accept the invitation, but still walked towards his car. Richard followed, and after Karon sat down in the driver’s seat, Richard very naturally sat in the passenger seat as well. He smiled and said, “Of course, if you want to invite me to your place for coffee instead, I’d be willing too.”

Karon shook his head helplessly. Normally, people should be expected to try to curry favor with a young master like this, yet this one had inexplicably latched onto him instead.

With no better option, Karon drove to White Deer Street. Richard pointed out his house, which was a detached villa. The car drove straight into a private underground garage.

“When a friend comes over, of course he has to come inside and sit for a while, right?” Richard said as he helped Karon switch off the engine.

Karon hesitated for a moment, but ultimately still climbed out of the car and followed Richard up the stairs from the garage into a large living room upstairs. The room was decorated in an old-fashioned style, and the furnishings were elegant.

“What would you like to drink?”

“Ice water.”

“Alright, wait just a moment.” Richard walked into the kitchen. Despite being such a large villa, there seemed to be no maids. The sculptures positioned around the house gave Karon a strange feeling. They were probably part of a defensive ritual array. Without Richard leading him in, if Karon had entered alone, he would likely have been attacked by that array.

Karon walked to the middle of the living room and saw a large framed family portrait above the fireplace. The photo had some age to it, and Richard was not in it. Instead, there was an old man seated at the front, and behind him stood one man and two women, presumably his children. The man standing looked a great deal like Richard, and was probably his father. The woman to the far right was the female Expositor Karon had seen earlier, though a younger version.

As for the woman on the far left...

Karon leaned in closer to study her carefully. She looked strangely familiar.

As he kept looking, a scene suddenly surfaced in his mind. Back when Rhanedar had tried to seize his body, Karon had once entered a kind of dream. In that dream, a man and a woman had lain on either side of him, and it was precisely because of their protection that Rhanedar had failed to take his body.

And the woman on the far left in the photograph looked exactly the same as the woman who had lain beside him in that dream.

“I don’t know why either, but I feel close to you.” Richard’s earlier words echoed again by Karon’s ear. At the time, he had thought this young master had something wrong with his head. Only now did Karon realize that there was nothing wrong with Richard’s head, and that there really was a reason for that sense of closeness. It was just that Richard himself had no idea where it came from.

It was because Richard was actually Karon’s cousin.