Chapter 334: Ah, Youth

Chapter 334: Oh, Youth

Karen did not prolong his sleep just because he was headed to the Dingge region tonight. He walked out of his bedroom at seven in the morning. Breakfast was simple: two sandwiches paired with a glass of hot milk.

Mr. Giotto’s funeral was scheduled to begin at nine in the morning. Xili and Mrs. Lake were busy washing and preparing ingredients. After finishing his breakfast, Karen came over to take charge of preparing the simple buffet meal.

The meal was served buffet-style, so the dishes did not need to be overly complicated.

On the menu list drawn up by Karen, there were four cold dishes: spicy boneless chicken feet, cold-tossed pig ears, cold-tossed shredded jellyfish, and Wien-style braised beans.

Among them, Wien-style braised beans was a cold platter that would practically never be absent from the daily banquets of Wieners.

There were six hot dishes, which were: braised small ribs, chicken chunks with edamame, eggplant cakes, spring rolls, caramelized sweet potatoes, and lion's head meatballs.

The staple foods were flatbread and fried noodles, and the dessert after the meal was white fungus soup.

This was not the first time Karen had organized a funeral at the Pavaro Funeral Parlor, but it was the first time he was preparing a meal, because on previous occasions, either they hadn't anticipated any guests, or it was completely clear that no guests would come.

Alfred, leading Pick and Dinkum, was busy in the front doing the final detailed inspections, while Karen led Xili and Mrs. Lake in the kitchen to make preparations.

At this moment, a young face poked out from the kitchen doorway; it was Icelee.

Although gathering here at Karen's place beforehand and then heading to the academic affairs building together had become the team's almost default rule, she had still arrived a bit too early today.

When she passed through the front hall earlier, Alfred was busy leading Pick and Dinkum with the final touches of the layout, so he let Miss Icelee go straight inside, skipping the announcement protocol. As for what could be skipped and what could not, Alfred knew very well in his heart.

Icelee watched Karen expertly cooking while wearing an apron, feeling it was quite surreal.

Women are always easily drawn to men who can cook—provided, of course, that cooking isn't his only merit.

Karen glanced at the doorway and directly instructed, "Help out with the work."

"Oh, okay, Captain!"

Icelee didn't offer the slightest resistance and came in ready to help, but she had never cooked before and understood absolutely nothing about kitchen matters. Mrs. Lake thoughtfully assigned her the task of washing vegetables.

After a while, Bart arrived as well. Before entering, he felt a little embarrassed, thinking whether he had come too early, as if he were being a bit too eager and rushed.

But upon seeing Icelee squatting there washing vegetables, he set his mind at ease. Ha, there actually is someone who arrived even earlier than me.

"Captain!"

"Knead the dough."

"Right away!"

Bart went to do the pastry work. Xili directed him, and he only needed to knead the dough with all his might.

The last one to arrive was Ventura. He was still carrying a plastic bag, which still contained the pastries made by his grandmother's own hands.

"Icelee, Bart." Ventura greeted them one by one, and finally called out, "Captain!"

"Distribute the pastries to everyone, and then help out."

"Okay, Captain."

Ventura carried the bag, delivering pastries to each busy person. Purr, sitting on Kevin's back, was strolling and sunbathing in the courtyard, watching Ventura walk past them with the pastry bag.

However, Ventura walked back and fed one to Kevin. When he tried to feed Purr, Purr didn't eat it because she had fixed times for her daily pastries, but she held it in her paws and returned a somewhat cute expression to Ventura.

After Ventura left, Purr called out, "Stupid dog!"

Kevin turned his head and opened his mouth. Purr released her cat paws, and that piece of pastry fell right into Kevin's mouth. Kevin chewed heartily; he was not a picky eater.

After finishing the distribution of pastries, Ventura rolled up his sleeves and entered the kitchen to help. From a single glance, it was obvious he did plenty of cooking at home usually. Although he found Karen's dishes quite novel, his ability to assist as a hand was far superior to those two.

The food was almost fully prepared. Karen looked up at the wall clock; it was half past nine.

He walked to the sink first to wash his hands, then looked at the three of them and said, "You all brought your luggage cases, right? Go to my bedroom and change into your divine robes. The person holding the funeral today belongs to our Order."

After changing their clothes, Karen led his people to the mourning hall. At this time, seven or eight people had already arrived in the mourning hall, all members of Giotto's team.

Karen arranged for Ventura and Icelee to follow Pick in serving tea and water, had Bart follow Dinkum to stand at the entrance to welcome guests, while he himself walked up to the mortuary table, looking at Mr. Giotto lying in the black, solemn coffin, silently reciting the mythological narratives from "The Light of Order".

In the eyes of true believers, being able to sleep eternally while listening to the deeds of the God is a form of immense happiness.

On the four walls of the mourning hall hung portraits one after another, which presented the life deeds of Mr. Giotto.

When he embraced the faith of Order, when he joined the Church of Order, when he joined the Whip of Order squad, what achievements he had made, what praises he had received...

These paintings were done by Alfred leading Dora and Doreen together, so that the mourners could reminisce about the deceased's life through these pictures.

In fact, standing from Karen's perspective, Mr. Giotto's life did not have many thrilling events, and there were almost no shining points achieved that could catch Karen's particular attention.

But this is precisely the true portrayal of most people's lives.

With more and more mourners coming over, at least one thing could be proven, which was that Mr. Giotto was a decent person in his work and life.

Especially when Karen saw that Neo himself actually came in to mourn while wearing a divine robe of Order, Mr. Giotto's character could almost be firmly judged.

Because his captain and himself were of the same breed: while being selfish, greedy, and disliking being bound by rules, they simultaneously respected people who possessed noble virtues.

After paying his respects to Mr. Giotto's remains, Neo stood beside Karen, putting on the appearance of reciting "The Light of Order" along with Karen, and spoke:

"Those few new subordinates of yours are very obedient. It seems you've trained them well. In the future, I won't have to worry about your squad's combat effectiveness either."

"I learned it all from you, Captain."

"Although I know that's a lie, I am still very pleased to hear it." Neo looked at Mr. Giotto lying in the coffin before him. "Giotto, look at this kid's subordinates. If we could recruit such elite subordinates, we'd probably wake up laughing in our dreams."

Whether from the perspective of strength or background, it was almost impossible for Bart and the others to start as regular members of the Whip of Order. It was only under the current opportunity of internal church reform that gave rise to the possibility for such an elite Whip of Order squad to form.

"Did you know Mr. Giotto, Captain?"

"You could say I knew him, not very well. Once in the past, there was an instance where we could have split some spoils, but he didn't agree. It almost made me angry enough to want to dig a pit for his squad to count them as casualties of war.

I just went over there and ate a bit of food. You made it?"

"Yes."

"The taste is very good. I've saved some room in my stomach, and I'll eat my fill before leaving to go back. The food will be replenished, right? I see they're grabbing it quite fiercely over there."

"It will be."

"Then I can rest assured."

Neo took out a condolence money envelope from his pocket. Mr. Giotto had no sons or daughters, so the condolence money was basically used to pay for his funeral expenses.

Today's envelopes were all very thin, because what was placed inside were all coupon notes.

"This funeral is laid out well, very innovative and with a lot of detail. Most of those coming to mourn this time are colleagues from the Whip of Order. Their mortality rate is high; you won't be short of business in the future."

Karen felt that his captain was always adept at discovering an absurd yet very logical line of thought from any single matter.

"After going to the Dingge region, be prudent and careful. There are many big figures there, especially the other squad—their parents or grandfather's generation basically all hold offices in the Holy See."

"I will keep a low profile."

"Just reasonably low profile is fine; anyway, you can manage it yourself. I feel that after you guys go to the Dingge region, you probably won't return to York City again, but will head straight from the Dingge region to the Valley of Samsara.

I wish you success. I'm waiting for you to come back and help me get promoted to senior captain."

"Alright, I understand."

"Oh, right, I also brought a small gift for you. I had Fannie prepare it, and it's placed over by the gift boxes. Have someone unwrap it for you later."

"Thank you, Captain."

"Keep yourself busy. I'm going to the backyard to help you walk the dog."

"Thank you for your hard work, Captain."

"It was nothing, just my duty."

Karen remained standing there, continuing to recite the deeds of the God of Order for Mr. Giotto.

Here, the God of Order did not represent that supreme existence, but rather music, wine, a bed, a blanket, and a pillow.

However, just as the captain had said, throughout the entire funeral, people continuously stepped forward to converse with him, slipping him their business cards at the same time.

While some did this because they knew his true identity and wanted a word, the primary goal for most was to pre-register themselves with him.

This was because nearly everyone who handed him a card was a captain of various Whips of Order teams. After they finished speaking, almost all of them would offer a final sigh of admiration:

"What a truly wonderful funeral."

The exquisite arrangement, the theme of nostalgic remembrance, and the delicious simple meals made them hope that they, or their own team members, could have this kind of farewell if an accident ever befell them in the future.

Although the Pavarotti Funeral Home was not large enough, and even after renovations its scale and caliber fell a bit short of the Inmeris Funeral Home, the Clerics of Order cared little for things that could be measured in Riels; what they desired was this kind of warmth.

Aisly, Ventura, and Bart had been helping with all their hearts, keeping the entire memorial service running smoothly without a single moment of slack.

The funeral lasted until three in the afternoon, and once the mourning guests had all departed, Pic and Dincom took charge of transporting Mr. Giotto’s body to the cemetery for burial. Karen did not go with them; instead, he sat down with Ventura and the other two to eat a belated lunch.

A funeral was a way to remember the deceased, but it was also a baptism for the living.

After the baptism, the sensation of being alive became much sharper, which reflected directly in their appetites, and everyone ate a great deal.

Following Karen's instructions, Alfred opened the gift box sent by the captain, which contained thirteen silver masks.

They were vastly different from the silver masks worn by the Bloodhound Team, as this set was far more ferocious in appearance, shifting away from a human face toward that of a vicious demon.

Karen gestured for Alfred to pass the masks around for everyone to look at. As a result, Bart, Ventura, and Aisly each picked one up and unanimously declared how much they liked them.

This left Karen momentarily in a difficult position. His original intention was for everyone to find the masks ugly so that he could instruct Alfred to visit Mr. Lemar and order a custom set when he left, but clearly, everyone had misunderstood.

Aisly in particular, despite being a girl, went so far as to hold the ugly, ferocious mask and offer the exaggerated praise of "So cute."

Oh well, let it be for now, consider them small souvenir gifts.

Besides, only an idiot would actually wear a mask this ugly and high-profile.

After finishing the meal, Karen returned to his bedroom to rest.

He patted Kevin's bald head, then placed Pu'er on his knees and rubbed her neck.

"Once I return from this trip, life will be different. It's time to get busy."

"I know, our little Karen is about to welcome a new starting point for his career. Work hard out there, and I will work hard eating supplements at home. And you, stupid dog, you need to work hard using hair growth tonic too."

"Woof, woof, woof!"

If Kevin had only barked once it would be fine, but barking several times in succession meant it had something to say.

"The stupid dog says it wants to take advantage of this period to dismantle half of this refrigerator for research, to see if it can use the refrigerator as the core of a teleportation array, and on that basis arrange a slightly larger formation to diffuse the effects."

Karen had been reading books on formations these past few days, so his understanding was no longer as superficial as before. He immediately asked, "What is the specific desired effect? To increase its teleportation capacity?"

"Woof, woof, woof, woof!"

"The stupid dog says its concept is to arrange another teleportation guiding formation in the performance hall of Allen Manor, and then expand the reception using this refrigerator as a foundation in our backyard warehouse. If this design is finally implemented, Karen, you'll be able to use that small orb to summon things other than the Sword of Arius. For example, you could summon Count Recar and Old Saman during a battle to have them help you fight."

Karen spoke up, "I haven't solved the problem of continuously supplying them with existence time on my end yet."

"Woof!"

"The stupid dog says that with current conditions, its plan is still a long way from being successfully implemented."

Karen smiled and said, "But I won't deny that the imagery is very exciting."

If the conditions on all fronts truly matured and it was put into practice, while others would summon phantom projections to aid them in battle, he could directly pull people out of coffins.

Although there were only two characters to choose from right now,

One must not forget,

He still had ten empty coffins left over there!

If the day came when all twelve coffins were full and Pu'er, as his symbiote, had also recovered, then whenever he encountered a fight, he really could just stand to the side and drink coffee.

Karen placed the back of his hand out in front of him.

Kevin placed his dog paw upon it, and Pu'er also placed her cat paw on top.

"Let's work hard together!"

"Meow!"

"Woof!"

...

Pic and Dincom returned in the hearse, which also meant it was time to depart. Everyone moved their suitcases onto the hearse, with Alfred still at the wheel.

Karen felt that perhaps taking a hearse out for missions would become a tradition for his team in the future.

Should he copy the captain and modify a magical hearse of his own?

But that seemed rather expensive; even the captain had to grit his teeth to put together that one VIP vehicle.

Forget it, once he became a captain and could take on missions, he could slowly rake in the funds.

It was close to seven o'clock when they arrived at the Administrative Building. After the hearse reported its identity, a dedicated staff member guided them, and they drove straight into the underground level.

Following the directions, Karen learned that their teleportation array was located in Sector F-3.

Outside the teleportation array, Karen spotted two familiar faces, Leon and Laure.

This time, Leon and Laure actively stepped forward to greet Karen, appearing very enthusiastic.

Karen returned the gesture with a subtle and reserved polite smile.

Karen did not ask why they were here, so they took the initiative to say:

"It just so happens we have to deliver documents to the department in the Dingle Region today, so we're hitching a ride on your teleportation array."

"You guys need to hitch a ride too?"

"It's different. In some places you can enjoy a bit of special treatment, but in other places, you absolutely cannot touch that kind of privilege," Laure explained.

In the past, official business trips offered different treatment depending on rank, especially for long-distance teleportation; the difference in travel time and experience between a high-grade teleportation array and a low-grade one was immense.

Previously, when the region organized the selection, everyone rode the high-grade teleportation array, as the region could not allow its candidates to lose their form due to the teleportation array before the selection even began.

The time arrived, and the formation activated.

Accompanied by a blinding white light and a slight tremor felt through the body, Karen and the others appeared inside the teleportation array hall of the Dingle Region.

Because the distance was so great, a time difference existed; while it was currently night in York City, it was morning here in the Dingle Region.

"We'll take our leave first," Leon waved to Karen.

Laure spoke up, "We still have to stay in the Dingle Region for a few days to get documents stamped. If you have time, let's grab a meal."

"Alright, if I have the time," Cullen replied.

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

The moment the two young noblemen departed, Cullen spotted Mars and Blanche rushing toward him, dragging their suitcases behind them.

Ventura pulled two ferocious silver masks from his backpack and handed one to each of them, and they both reached out to accept.

Bart and Ashley, coming up from behind, assumed this was Cullen's instruction and retrieved their own masks, slipping them onto their faces.

Ventura froze for a moment; he had only meant to distribute them to the teammates who had just caught up.

Wait, was everyone supposed to wear them? Well, he might as well wear his too.

Mars and Blanche, after all, did not belong to the York City District, which made them feel psychologically distanced from Cullen compared to their York City counterparts.

This bred a sense of anxiety within them; because they both hailed from knightly backgrounds and had been briefed by their families about the upcoming reform plans, they felt an even stronger urge to take the initiative, to blend in, and to conform.

Consequently, without a single shred of hesitation, the two immediately donned their masks.

Save for Cullen, every single member of the squad was now masked.

This instantly drew a massive wave of attention in the middle of the bustling, crowded teleportation array hall.

Some watched, some wondered, and some mocked.

Cullen looked back at his subordinates, who now stood in a neat row behind him, wearing their masks.

After a brief hesitation,

Cullen muttered softly to himself:

"Fine, I'm an idiot."

With that, he pulled out his own mask and placed it over his face.

With a wave of his hand, Cullen marched forward.

Six young men and women wearing demonic masks stepped out with strides of immense confidence.

Pushing open the heavy doors of the hall, the radiant sunlight poured down upon them, resonating with vitality and life.

Cullen could not help but sigh with emotion:

"Ah, youth..."

— — —

Requesting monthly tickets—we are only a thousand tickets away from overtaking the rank ahead of us, please help Long overtake them.

There will be another chapter tonight.