Chapter 185: Okay

Chapter 185 Fine

Inquisitor Ruke

Yes it is me

Where are you

Why do you wish to see me

I will report this

Report it Heh do you dare to

I fail to see why I would not You are a wanted target of the Church and I am curious by what right you speak to me this way

I killed Pavaro with my own hands and I am certain he died then and there So who on earth are you

I am Pavaro

I believe there is no need for further pretense in this conversation between us Do you not agree

There is no pretense I am Pavaro

Are you not afraid your disguise will be exposed

Inquisitor Ruke

Hmm

You may go ahead and report it

Silence fell on the other end of the line

Karen looked at Alfred with an unruffled expression waiting for the response from the other side

Since he dared to borrow Mr Pavaro’s identity he had already considered this situation Pavaro was dead that was a fact but the ones who killed Pavaro had lost their right to speak because their crimes had been exposed

Finally Ruke spoke again from the other end of the line

You know I cannot do that

I hope you do or you could have the one currently shielding you help you report it

Pavaro let me call you Pavaro for now There are some things you and I both know well in our hearts

No we do not know well Including this phone call I will report it immediately

I came to make a deal with you Pavaro

I do not make any deals with criminals who deviate from Order

I will give you enough coupons as long as you can tell me your method of becoming Pavaro

I have no idea what you are talking about I advise you to surrender yourself now and face the judgment of Order

I could kill Pavaro a first time and I can kill Pavaro a second time

But if you kill one Pavaro thousands of Pavaros will rise up immediately Can you kill them all

Ruke fell silent

In the name of Order I hope you realize your guilt Surrender Ruke how much longer do you think you can flee

Is there no room for negotiation at all

I have said it before no possibility of negotiation exists between us

You will regret this

No the one who should regret is you Anyone who stands in opposition to Order will suffer the punishment of Order

Click

Master the phone was hung up

Mm

Purr spoke up So how should we handle this guy Though it seems this fellow poses absolutely no threat to us oh unless he dares to come killing his way to our doorstep

He dares not Karen shook his head He is very cautious after all in his eyes I am someone who dares to impersonate an Inquisitor of the Church of Order

Then how should we deal with him Purr asked

Master shall I go investigate him Alfred said

Look into it from the telephone bureau He seems to have come from a Whip of Order squad too so he would not make such an absurd mistake and besides York City is simply too large

Just now I did not dare to lay down any bait for him over the phone or even leak a single hint because I was worried that he was not the only one listening to the call

Purr extended a paw and patted the telephone set saying So we can only passively endure his telephone harassment

As things stand for now there is nothing we can do about it temporarily unless I also have a Whip of Order squad under my command and it has to be as elite as Neo’s squad

Click

The telephone was put down

Ruke I think I must have been out of my mind earlier to actually think what you said could be true

Gendi please believe me Do you think I would use such a clumsy lie to deceive you

But if he is fake why did he leave you absolutely no leeway on the phone just now

You are supposed to be a captain of a Whip of Order squad is that so hard to guess He felt that someone was eavesdropping beside me when I was making the call

Heh Gendi stood up It was only for the sake of our past relationship that I took you in for this period of time

I know I know

Now the time is almost up

You have already taken me in are you not afraid that if I get caught after going out I will betray you

Just like what Mr Pavaro said on the phone just now you can report it and see who will believe your accusations

Then what about that batch of coupons Do you not want them either The blood soul powder business went on for so many years guess how immense a fortune Tyers actually accumulated

You should know that Tyers’s property was not found during the raid and there is also Ziche’s property I happen to know the hidden locations of both of their fortunes

I am afraid I might have the coupons but no life to spend them Ruke you had better leave

Now that the opportunity is clearly right before my eyes I do not want to give up The one pretending to be Pavaro can do it so can I I can use a new identity to start over in the Church I do not want to lose everything I have in the Church

You are mad

Gendi believe me go investigate him I beg you to go investigate him You will definitely find out he is not Pavaro he will definitely leave traces He really is not Pavaro If you can find out his true identity this is a major case the significance is different and for you it is also a massive credit is it not

Then what about you Do you actually want to investigate him or do you want to find out his method of impersonation so you can hide yourself

I I do not know I do not want to lose things but at the same time I am even more unreconciled Why must I hide here and there while the man I killed gets to live decently I am unreconciled truly unreconciled

Ruke held his head his expression filled with immense agony

Gendi let out a sigh Two days from now I will help arrange a boat for you to leave Wien You should still leave go to a place where the Church temporarily cannot reach

I do not want to leave I feel I still have a chance Gendi in two days I will take you to the place where Tyers hid his fortune we will split it evenly fine

"If it were for those voucher coupons, I wouldn't have sheltered you."

"I know, I know. You're a good person, Gendi. I've always known."

"So, leave in two days. Whether you give me the coupons or not, this is the last thing I can do for you for the sake of our past relationship. I have other things to attend to, so I'll leave first."

Gendi pushed the door open, walked down the apartment building, sat into his car, and drove out of the neighborhood gates.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Gendi took the initiative to speak: "That phone call just now..."

"I heard it all. Did you forget you're carrying the thing I gave you?"

Gendi took a blue seashell out of his pocket and handed it back to Neo, who was driving.

Neo shook his head, pulled out two more seashells from his pocket, and placed them into Gendi's hands: "Quite a useful communication device. I'll give you a set, but mind the regular maintenance, so its lifespan can be longer."

"Thank you, Captain."

"Don't thank me, I should thank you. I know you and Luke used to have a connection. It was I who had you proactively respond to his contact. You did very well. This can be considered a joint operation between our two squads. Once we learn the hidden location of Zhehe and Tyrs's property from him, we'll split the assets between our squads. As for him, we'll kill him, and report it as a successful apprehension."

"Yes, Captain. But what I want to ask is, what Luke said..."

"Are you doubting Pavarotti's identity?"

"He sounded very certain."

"A drowning man will subconsciously grab onto anything within reach, even if it's just a straw, even if it's... a straw of his own imagination. Haven't you seen such examples before?"

"I have, but he was..."

"No difference. He is no longer a Judgment Officer. He is just a fugitive now."

"Yes, you are right, Captain Neo."

"I will personally handle the matters that follow. Do not do anything else meaningless, otherwise, it will likely bring you trouble."

"I understand, Captain. I will follow your instructions."

"Alright, time for me to get off. Drive back yourself."

Neo pulled the car over to the roadside.

"Captain, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have dared to respond to Luke, let alone have any contact with him."

"Are you blaming me?"

"No, of course not. It's because I know that by following you, Captain Neo, no matter what the mission is, there will definitely be soup to drink."

"It's eating meat."

"Yes, yes, eating meat."

Neo's figure transformed into a cloud of black mist, leaving the driver's seat.

Gendi took a deep breath, slid over to the driver's seat, and restarted the car.

...

"Siri, are the things ready?"

"They are ready, Young Master. Mr. Alfred has already taken the things to the car."

"Good."

Karen walked to the parking lot in front of the funeral parlor, first opening the car trunk to glance at the densely packed food inside before closing it.

"Young Master, do you need me to accompany you?"

"No need. Last time I wasn't home, so I let you go. This time I'd better go myself, just to clear my mind;

Besides, today is the tutor's first day of classes. Go accompany them and pay attention to the tutor's personality. If it's not good, replace them."

"Understood, Young Master. Please rest assured, I will take good care of things."

"Mm, then I'll head out first."

Karen drove to the Ivy Cemetery.

It was dusk, very close to the cemetery's closing time.

Karen drove right inside, parking in the clearing below the caretaker's cabin.

Old Saman, with a pipe clenched in his mouth and hands on his hips, stood on the steps and shouted to Karen:

"If I don't call, you don't know to deliver things, do you!"

Karen got out of the car, walking to the rear to open the trunk while responding rather bluntly: "Who knew you could eat so much."

"Is it me who eats so much? Is it me?!"

Old Saman ran down the steps, rushing right in front of Karen... raising a hand as if about to strike him.

But when Karen hoisted out a box of packaged beef, he naturally extended his hands to take it.

"Is it fresh?" Old Saman asked.

"No idea. Anyway, at my house we use it for searing steaks."

"Fine, I believe you."

"Stand firm, there's more."

Karen then stacked another box of meatballs and a box of canned food into Old Saman's hands.

"Can't hold it, can't hold it!"

"Then let's forget it."

"No way!"

Old Saman turned around, wobbling back toward his cabin like a roly-poly toy. Karen, holding a box of soda, thought he was going to fall several times, but the old man managed to stabilize himself each time.

"Oh, the refrigerator can't fit any more," Karen said.

"It's fine, it can fit, it can fit. I'll just clear out some old things I couldn't bear to throw away that have been sitting around for too long."

Old Saman squatted on the ground and began to organize the old refrigerator.

Karen took a bottle of soda, walked to Old Saman's desk, and struck the bottle cap against the edge of the desk. Once, twice, thrice, resulting in a piece of the desk corner being chipped off, yet the bottle cap remained firmly in place.

"Oh, goodness!"

Noticing this, Old Saman immediately jumped up: "Don't you know how to find an opener?"

"Too much trouble."

Old Saman walked over, snatched the soda bottle from Karen's hand, bit off the cap with his teeth, and spat it onto the ground.

"Here."

Karen didn't take it, but instead grabbed a fresh bottle and asked:

"Where is the opener?"

"You kid."

Old Saman took a big gulp of soda, let out a burp, and said, "I really don't think this stuff tastes good at all. Wine still tastes better."

"A pity, I didn't bring any wine."

"I'm just reminding you that you can bring it next time."

"How about I get you some industrial alcohol, and you can mix it with water yourself? That's very convenient."

"Oh, then next time I'll have to crawl out of my grave to open the main gate for you."

"Haha, I say, how are you eating so fast? Do you have a barbecue party with the residents here every single night?"

"It's not..."

"I ate it," Neo's voice rang out at the doorway.

Karen saw Neo and smiled, not calling him captain, but actively picking up the bottle opener to pop a bottle of soda for Neo as well and handing it over.

Old Saman pointed at Neo and said, "It's him, coming to my place every day to freeload on dinner, and he eats a ton. Every time, I can't compete with him!"

Karen said, "Then next time I'll bring some good wine over to store at your place."

"Stinky brat, am I not worthy of drinking your wine!"

"He only ate one meal of macaroni of yours, and you've remembered it until now, yet you still want me to treat you to wine?"

"We look out for each other, right? Oh, by the way, your funeral parlor hasn't had any business coming over for a good while. Is business bad?"

"It was being renovated a while ago."

"So that's how it is. I thought your place went bankrupt."

"It's not my home."

"Pavarotti only has two daughters and no son. Won't his family business still be yours in the future? If Pavarotti leaves early, let alone the family property and daughters, even his wife will be left for you to take care of."

"What nonsense are you talking about."

"This isn't rare. Didn't the boss of the Kuchis Funeral Parlor leave early, and the boss's wife and the clerk ended up sleeping in the same bed? This is very normal."

Karen began to look around.

"What are you looking for?" Old Saman asked.

"Looking for the industrial alcohol you hid away. I suspect you definitely drank it."

"Go away, I am blessing you."

Neo spoke up and asked, "When will dinner be ready?"

Hearing this, Old Saman's temper flared up instantly, and he was just about to retort when he heard Karen say:

"It'll be ready right away. I'll cook personally."

Karen's culinary skills naturally went without saying. Just as the sky turned completely dark, four dishes and a soup had already appeared on the small table placed outside, and the portion of each dish was very large.

"Tsk..."

Old Saman sat on the stool, looking at these dishes that he had never seen before but could feel were very exquisite, and subconsciously exclaimed, "If I were the boss's wife, I would want to sleep in the same bed with you too."

Karen walked over, untied his apron, and said, "If the seasonings in your kitchen could be a bit richer, the food could taste even better."

Neo picked up a fork, picked up a piece of beef brisket, and sent it into his mouth:

"The taste is very good."

Not to be outdone, Old Saman immediately picked up his plate and started eating.

"Mmh, really good."

Karen pulled over a small stool and began to eat slowly.

Twenty minutes later, Karen, who originally thought he had cooked too much, suddenly realized that he seemed to have cooked too little.

"Should I go make a bit more?"

"No need," Neo said.

Old Saman said in surprise, "Hey, that's rare."

Neo added, "Let's wait a little longer to have a late-night snack."

Old Saman rolled his eyes at Neo, "I was wondering why your appetite got worse today."

"I'm going to see Elisa, and take a walk while I'm at it," Neo stood up and walked into the cemetery.

Karen, on the other hand, prepared to clear the dishes. There were only so many plates in the caretaker's cabin; if he didn't clean them first, there wouldn't be any plates to use when making the late-night snack later.

Yet, Old Saman uncharacteristically took the dishes over proactively and said, "Go accompany him on his walk, I'll clean up."

"Is tomorrow's sun going to rise from the west?"

"Heh," Old Saman sneered, "I'm afraid you won't see tomorrow's sun."

"Cursing me?"

"Hard to say. By the way, your cooking is really good, the style of dishes is very novel. I originally thought I wouldn't be used to eating it, who knew it would be this delicious."

"One day, the pigs at a certain family's pig farm in Vienne suddenly went on a hunger strike."

"Hmm?"

"Then the boss's wife severely scolded the boss, asking if he had mistakenly brought the family's meals over to feed the pigs again."

"..." Old Saman.

"Alright, since you're cleaning up, then you clean up. I'll go for a walk too."

"Hey, kid."

"Anything else?"

"I'm retiring soon."

"Congratulations."

"If you come over every night to cook a meal for me from now on, after I retire, all this old furniture, old appliances, and those bits and pieces in the house, I'll leave them all to you. How about it, this deal is a bargain, right?"

Seeing that Karen remained silent, Old Saman urged:

"What are you still hesitating for?"

Karen replied, "Hesitating on what way to use to reject you tactfully."

"Beat it!"

Karen walked down the steps with a smile, walking into the depths of the cemetery, but when he walked to Elisa's tombstone, he found that Neo was not here.

The captain left first?

Karen searched for a while longer and found that Neo was standing in front of a tombstone a great distance away from Elisa's tombstone. Seeing this scene, Karen bit his lip, but still walked over proactively.

This was... Mr. Pavarotti's tombstone, and next to it was Ms. Annie's tombstone. Of course, the names on the tombstones were not their real names.

"Captain, why are you here?"

"This text is very interesting," Neo pointed to the tombstone in front of him and read, "Thank you, for letting me see the true light."

"Yes, Captain, very interesting."

"There is also a text on the tombstone next to it, read it together."

"Very well, Captain." Cullen leaned in close to the tombstone and read aloud, "Thank you for granting me a glimpse of the ocean’s gentle embrace."

Neo spoke up, "Isn't his wife angry that the headstones are placed so near to each other?"

Upon hearing these words, Cullen fell into a brief silence, then stood up and said, "It was his wife’s own request."

"Oh."

At that moment, the conversation he had shared with Neo when they came to bury Elysee flashed across Cullen's mind:

...

"Inquisitor Pavarotti, when did he pass away?"

"He left a long time ago."

"So, you were the one who arranged the funeral?"

"Yes."

...

Neo turned and walked toward the clearing where Elysee's tombstone stood, with Cullen following closely behind.

As they walked, Neo remarked, "There is a fugitive named Luke who was recently discovered. I've had Wind keeping an eye on him, and we will move in to arrest him in two days."

"He is an adjudicator."

"Yes, which means his resistance will be fierce. We likely won't be able to take him alive."

"Captain, I have a request."

"Speak."

"I want to take part in this arrest operation."

"He is an adjudicator."

"I know."

"And?"

"I still want to try."

Neo knelt before Elysee's tombstone, his hands reaching out to arrange the white roses blooming all around it;

After a short while, he gave his reply:

"Alright."