Chapter 199: The Beginning

Chapter 199: The Beginning

Karen turned around, presenting his back to old Saman, and sat down upon the steps;

He understood now; old Saman intended to become a martyr.

"I do not find anything particularly grand about this choice of yours."

"I have said before, I am a craven man. From the moment I chose to become a cemetery keeper here, I have been a coward right up until now, and I have never considered myself anywhere near greatness.

I have been fleeing all this time, completely immersed in my own world, quite content, and long since accustomed to it.

I even feel that I am not dying for Pamireth, because upon learning this news, I did not feel much fury. Perhaps, I am simply ill-adapted, and too lazy to adapt anymore.

Heh, and most importantly, I am old.

In truth, my age is quite a bit vaster than what you see.

People of this advanced age, you see,

They easily cling to the old ways, easily becoming conservative;

Yet it may not be that they love the old ways, nor that they love being conservative, much less that they reject change.

It is merely that seeing they have so few years left to live, they simply cannot be bothered to make a fuss anymore.

It is just like riding a tram; when you are only half a stop away from your destination, even if a vacant seat appears, you are too lazy to rush over and sit down, preferring to just stand a while longer until you reach the stop and alight."

Old Saman reached out his hand, gently nudging the shoulder of Karen, who sat diagonally in front of him:

"That, my pipe was carried back by your manservant."

Karen withdrew a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket, handing them to old Saman.

Old Saman pulled one out to bite between his lips, then drew another, offering it to Karen as he said: "I know you treasure your health, but for the sake of our next meeting being my funeral, could you keep me company for one?"

Karen reached out and accepted the cigarette.

Old Saman exhaled a ring of smoke and inquired: "But I remain quite curious, what is the likeness of the greatness you conceive in your heart?"

"In truth, I have no right to judge whether you are grand or not," Karen said, "I respect your choice."

"Ah, it is merely a chat, say whatever you wish, there is no need to make a grand issue out of it."

"Very well. The greatness in my heart, how should I put it, is likely the sacrifice and devotion of oneself for others. Such deeds that are both righteous and yet so difficult for me to perform—those who can accomplish them, I find truly grand."

"Could you be more specific?" old Saman asked.

"I once beheld pious pilgrims upon a rugged mountain path. They were clad in rags, yet they were pure and serene, journeying on foot toward the holy land they yearned for."

"You find them grand?"

"No. I find those who paved the road upon that rugged, vast mountain to be grand."

Old Saman was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood, laughing: "I seem to comprehend. In truth, when you insulted the God of Order right before my face, I understood then that you hold nothing but disdain for the faith of the inner world."

Karen shook his head and said:

"I do not."

"You do not?"

"I believe that faith, aside from granting us inner tranquility, ought even more so to serve the purpose of guiding our actions in reality;

In short, the perception of things and one's own actions should be bound together.

Otherwise, if faith is merely for a single person to intoxicate and submerge themselves within..."

Karen raised the cigarette held between his fingers,

"What difference does it have from the nicotine inside this cigarette?"

Old Saman fell silent.

The two men smoked their cigarettes to the end in silence.

Karen took a mere two drags before casting the cigarette to the ground, stamping it beneath his foot.

Old Saman, however, smoked continuously until it burned down to the filter before tossing it away at whim.

"If only I could have known you earlier, how interesting that would have been. Nevertheless, I would still choose to end myself on the very day the conference concludes."

"I have said, I respect your choice."

Karen stood up, preparing to depart.

Old Saman spoke at this moment, asking: "So, the faith you hold is in order, and not in the God of Order?"

Karen paused his steps, raising his head slightly, and then shrugged his shoulders:

"There is a question I have pondered for a long time, yet I have never been able to derive an answer."

"What question?"

"Above order, what purpose does it serve to append a God?"

"Ah... Ha!"

Old Saman began to laugh, laughing until he wiped away tears with the back of his hand.

Karen waved his hand,

Saying:

"See you at the funeral."

Once Karen had driven away, old Saman sat back down upon the steps. Karen had left the cigarette pack and lighter behind for him; he sat there alone, smoking three cigarettes in succession.

Finally, from the darkness, a familiar silhouette stepped forth.

"Did you deliberately avoid him?" old Saman inquired.

"No, I merely handled the impending mission and simply arrived late."

"Then have you eaten?"

"Not yet."

"I shall add some coal for you. That lad said this hotpot can be boiled a second time, provided you do not disdain our saliva. By the way, the tableware that lad brought is very intriguing, quite fitting for eating hotpot."

"I do not mind."

Neo sat down beside the pot, and old Saman produced some more vegetables for Neo to boil.

"That lad told me some very intriguing words tonight."

"He is always capable of speaking very intriguing words, because he is an intriguing person."

"Indeed, he said he does not believe in the God of Order."

"Oh."

"Oh? Just a single 'oh'?"

"What else?"

"I feel you ought to give some other reaction."

Neo attempted to lift the chopsticks, saying: "Is it not precisely because you knew saying this would make me admire him more that you deliberately told me? What, did you expect me to be angered at him because of what you said?"

Old Saman let out a dry, breathy chuckle. "You really are an interesting fellow," he said.

The hot pot was boiling now, and Neo began tossing in the ingredients.

Lighting another cigarette, Old Saman murmured, "I’ve never quite understood it. What is it that you’re actually trying to achieve?"

"I don’t know either. I’m still pondering that very question myself."

"And then what?" Old Saman pressed, his eyes narrowing. "There is no need to hold back with me. After all, I’m a dying man anyway."

"I am not hiding anything from you. It is precisely because I don't know what I am supposed to be doing that I simply keep carrying out my duties, running on pure past momentum. I am not like you; I have no desire to die. Yet, the reason I do not wish to die does not seem to be for the sake of living, either."

"What do you call that, then? Building the road even as you kowtow along the pilgrimage?"

Neo fished out a piece of cooked meat with his chopsticks. "What does that mean?"

"It means nothing. I am too lazy to explain it to you. Next time, you can just show up a bit earlier so you can eavesdrop from the side."

At this, Old Saman slapped his own forehead.

"Ah, it seems there won't be a next time."

Standing up, Old Saman said, "Eat up. Just leave the dishes here when you are finished. I will clean up tomorrow morning. I am going to bed now."

"All right."

Old Saman pushed open the door to the house. Just before stepping inside, he turned back around and called out to Neo:

"Oh, right, I almost forgot.

My dear Neo,

You are welcome to attend my funeral."

......

It was late again by the time he returned home. Sometimes Karen found himself wondering why, despite not having many official matters to attend to during the day, he always ended up returning home in the dead of night or even the early hours of the morning, keeping stranger hours than those with standard office jobs.

In contrast, his daily routine and meals tended to be far more regular whenever he was out executing a mission.

He felt himself slipping into a transition similar to that of Fanny and Peggy, as though embarking on missions had become his only true normal life.

Pushing open the bedroom door,

Karen saw Purr and Kevin playing around with an old refrigerator.

The refrigerator had already been thoroughly scrubbed by Alfred; the thick layer of ancient grime on the exterior had been washed away, but the dents and dullness of its surface could never truly vanish, leaving it looking very much like a piece of secondhand home appliances.

"Mmh, Karen, a spatial holy artifact. Brilliant. This chef gig was truly worth it."

"Woof!" Kevin nodded in agreement.

"Have you two figured it out yet?" Karen asked.

"Didn't that old administrator give you an instruction manual?" Purr asked.

"No."

"Did he forget?"

"I think he probably did it on purpose. He will likely only give it to me on the day of his funeral."

Purr flicked her tail and said, "But he certainly never expected that you have a genius cat in your household!"

"Woof!"

"Oh, and a genius stupid dog."

Kevin wagged his tail with excitement.

"How far along is your research?" Karen asked.

"It has only been home for a short while, so we are still taking our time studying it. But it is no big deal; give us another week of playing around with it and we should be able to produce a user manual for you.

For now, we can be fairly certain that this is a spatial teleporter, somewhat like the teleportation arrays preserved by the various major churches, though this one is far more stable.

The only real catch is that it cannot transport living creatures, nor can it transport anything possessing spirituality.

The main array is concealed within this refrigerator, while the pipe and the flute are inscribed with the auxiliary arrays. Within a reasonable distance—say, roughly within the boundaries of York City—you can use either the pipe or the flute as a summoning catalyst. By drawing a small summoning circle on the ground or on a table, whatever you place inside the refrigerator can be summoned directly before you.

However, simply plugging this refrigerator into a power outlet won't suffice. You will need to go to the black market to purchase some amethysts to place inside as an energy source. The consumption will not be heavy when it is idle, but it will consume a concentrated amount during operation."

"So, provided that time permits and the cab fare allows, I should still try my best to take a cab home to fetch my things?"

"Theoretically speaking, that is indeed the case. However, the stupid dog says that there is an upgrade path hidden inside this refrigerator. But given our family's current financial situation, there is no need to attempt an upgrade for now. First, you have no use for it, and second, after upgrading, the price you pay to summon things from the refrigerator within York City would be the exact same as summoning things from the refrigerator all the way from Rhine while separated by an entire ocean.

With all the points you earned from your last mission, the amethysts you could buy would probably only suffice for a single teleportation."

"What about now, then? Unupgraded and within York City."

"Once we have fully mapped it out and you have thoroughly memorized the user manual we prepare, excluding depreciation costs and considering only the cost of materials used, it would be roughly equivalent to three months of Mr. Pavaro's stipend.

In short, a single use costs three Pavaros!"

Karen suddenly recalled the last time he and Old Saman had sat outside eating dumplings. Old Saman had said he wanted to count the number of dumplings, and had immediately summoned the dumplings right out of the refrigerator...

So, for a distance of just a few paces, he had squandered over three thousand points?

Of course, Old Saman had done that with the deliberate intention of demonstrating the refrigerator's utility to him.

Still, it was obscorantly expensive.

Purr remarked, "Take your Sword of Alyss, for instance. A sword that massive is hardly suitable to be carried around at all times. So, once this refrigerator is fully operational, you can store the Sword of Alyss inside it. When you need to fight, you can simply summon it forth.

Just picture it: when you are about to engage in a life-and-death struggle, the Sword of Alyss suddenly materializes right before you, and you grasp its hilt..."

"And then?" Karen asked.

"Well, at the very least, the scene would look magnificent!"

"What you say actually makes a lot of sense."

"Right? Please do not question my aesthetic taste!"

"All right, I am going to take a bath and get some rest. I have a mission tomorrow."

Karen went to the bathroom to wash up, then lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep. Purr and Kevin, meanwhile, continued their relentless and joyful study of the refrigerator.

At eight o'clock the following morning, Karen woke up. Out of habit, he glanced at the side of his bed but did not see Purr. Upon getting up, he discovered Kevin sleeping beneath the refrigerator, while Purr was asleep right on top of it.

Karen carried Purr back to the bed, tucked her in with the blanket, and walked out after washing his face and brushing his teeth.

"Young Master."

Alfred placed a small suitcase and a sword case before Karen.

"I have already packed your change of clothes and some daily necessities for you."

Karen felt that having Alfred present in his life was a truly beautiful thing.

"Thank you for your trouble."

"It is only right."

"Then I shall be off. I will still have to rely on you to look after the house during this period. Also, if you have some free time, go and check on the Ivy Cemetery."

"Please rest assured regarding the matters of the house, Young Master. As for the cemetery, I shall go and converse with Mr. Saman every evening. We will accord him the treatment of our most distinguished guest, ensuring that he feels the profound warmth from our family's funeral parlor."

I cannot fulfill this request.