Chapter 449: One Person, One Cat, One Dog

Chapter 449: One Person, One Cat, One Dog

"Ah, Karen..."

Transported back to the palace, Richard, just blinking awake from his swoon, instinctively reached out to grasp at Karen, who was seated beside him.

Karen slid his chair backward, evading the hand.

Richard looked confused. "What is it?"

"Disgusting."

Richard: "..."

Memphis was in the middle of stripping Richard’s clothes, just getting to the very last layer so Richard could lie naked upon the bed; at a time like this, it seemed only a father would not find his own son repulsive.

Richard asked, "What happened to me..."

"You are terribly charming. Even the insects in the massage parlor could not resist your allure, throwing themselves upon you to bear your children."

"What?"

Richard lifted his head with some difficulty, staring at the red rash covering his body, before letting his head drop back down. "How did this happen?"

"It should be because of that bug inside your body. If I recall the name correctly, it should be your Jerry."

"My Jerry?" Richard said, somewhat helplessly. "I was wondering why I felt that inexplicable urge to enter that parlor, and why I so desperately wanted to try the insect-barrel massage therapy."

Karen reminded him, "You should learn to control yourself, including the Jerry inside you. Do not assume that just because something resides within your body, it must be a good thing. Everything has two sides."

"Alright, Karen, I will remember. But what should I do now?"

Purr paced with feline elegance along the edge of the bed, speaking up: "I can exterminate all these insect eggs for you, but the process is a bit painful."

Richard said directly, "Don't worry, I am not afraid of pain. I am used to it."

"Very well."

Purr raised both paws and began to rub them together.

"I will control the nuances of the temperature as best I can, grasping the exact boundary where you will not die, but the eggs certainly will."

Memphis spoke, "Is there no other way? Didn't the doctor offer alternative treatment plans as well?"

Purr replied, "My method is the most thorough."

Karen said to Memphis, "Do not doubt Purr’s professionalism in matters she is willing to undertake."

Memphis nodded immediately. "Yes, Captain."

Since Karen had put it that way, Memphis could only offer unconditional trust to this cat.

A fireball appeared between Purr’s two paws, then drifted out, hovering above Richard. Finally, under Purr’s manipulation, it dissolved into a red mist that trickled down, quickly enveloping Richard’s entire body.

Richard instantly took a sharp breath, his skin flushing red, evidently in extreme agony. Yet, to distract himself or perhaps to save face in front of Karen, he forced a joke:

"This really is rather uncomfortable. Thank goodness my father doesn't know about this kind of torture; if he... ah!"

The pain intensified further, and Richard cried out, yet he stubbornly insisted on finishing his sentence, the severe torment already making his consciousness erratic:

"If that bastard of a father of mine knew such a torturous method existed, he would absolutely die of joy!"

Karen tried his best not to look at the expression on Memphis’s face nearby.

"Pop... pop... pop..."

A succession of crisp snaps echoed, sounding somewhat like popping corn, and a peculiar aroma even began to drift through the air.

Just then, Richard’s body suddenly convulsed.

"Oh, Jerry, what are you trying to do..."

Clearly, Jerry did not want to lose these insect eggs. The gradual enhancement of Richard’s regenerative abilities actually meant that it was steadily maturing; unlike its time spent dormant inside Bernard, the period spent with Richard counted as its true time of growth.

Therefore, it was beginning to form a personality, beginning to have desires, and beginning to throw tantrums!

Karen gently drew the palm of his right hand across the blade of Alyos standing beside him, slicing open a small wound, allowing a small amount of fresh blood to well up in his palm.

He stood up, walked to the bedside, and extended his palm toward Richard, the blood pooling and running down the underside of his hand.

"If you do not behave, I will utterly suppress and slay you."

The next moment,

Jerry fell silent.

Memphis watched this scene quietly from the side, his expression unchanged.

After continuing for a while longer, Purr retracted her fleshy paws. The red mist on Richard’s body receded, though his skin remained flushed and angry red.

"Hah... water... water... water..."

Memphis brought him water and helped him drink it down.

Karen, meanwhile, applied a simple healing spell to his own palm; well, if he didn't hurry and treat it, the wound would scab over on its own.

...

"Hmm? What is going on?"

Neo, currently soaking alone in a room upon a waterbed, inquired with some curiosity.

"Fearing you might be lonely, I have brought you a fellow patient."

With that, at Karen’s gesture, Memphis wheeled in the bed upon which Richard lay.

"Greetings, Commander..."

Even though Richard was extremely weak at this moment, he did not forget his manners.

"What happened to Richard?"

"A minor issue with his body, just resolved. Neither of you will be able to participate in the battle the day after tomorrow, so just lie here and chat."

"What could he and I possibly chat about?" Neo asked. "I think I still prefer my own solitude."

Karen replied, "No, I think you have plenty of topics to discuss. For instance, how to recover your physical bodies more efficiently."

"Heh."

"Alright, let the patients rest."

Karen and the others departed, helping to close the door behind them.

"Commander... my body feels so hot," Richard complained.

"Richard, how about I discuss something with you?"

"Please speak, Commander..."

"You give me that bug inside your body, and I will bestow upon you the Bloodthirsty Abberant lineage, how about it?"

"Are there any benefits?"

"My benefit is that my body’s regenerative capacity can rise another tier. Your benefit is that in addition to retaining a regenerative capacity beyond ordinary men, you will also gain a lifelong sense of tension from knowing you could fall into madness and choose suicide at any moment."

"Commander... how am I supposed to agree to that?"

"Forget it, no need to agree. I knew you were a stingy brat anyway."

"Captain, I want to sleep for a bit."

"Sleep? What do you mean sleep? What on earth is wrong with you anyway, and why do you smell so fragrant—did you sprinkle yourself with cumin and roast your own body on a skewer?"

"The massage parlor here offers an insect therapy service. I went to try it out, but who knew those harmless little bugs would end up laying eggs inside me."

"Hahahaha... Damn it, I shouldn't laugh like this. The hole in my chest hasn't healed yet, and laughing too hard makes me lose my breath."

"Captain, I really didn't know this would happen beforehand."

"This is a good thing. Didn't Karen say anything to you?"

"He told me to get some proper rest."

"Oh, of course. He doesn't understand either; he doesn't know as much as I do. The truth is, in this entire world, no one understands that bug better than me."

"Captain?"

"This proves that the bug inside your body—I heard you even gave it a name, what was it again?"

"Jerry."

"Right, your Jerry has grown up, and it has needs now."

"Mating with other bugs?"

"I swear, Richard, is there absolutely nothing else inside that head of yours besides that kind of trash?"

"Then what does Jerry need?"

"It needs to evolve further. Your Jerry is craving evolution. From now on, you can go buy some insects to eat, and feed them to it to digest."

"Eat them?"

"Buy them alive, pour some liquor over them, or use electric shocks or fire to leave them half-dead, then swallow them down."

"Isn't that just torture?"

"It is an opportunity. This type of insect with evolutionary capabilities is exceedingly rare to begin with, and your Jerry is a genuine treasure among them. You've struck gold with your luck. Anyway, your family is well-off, so you aren't short on these points, and your income in this squad isn't low either. Just spend your raels at the pastry shops, and use all your points to buy insects to eat.

The more you eat, the faster it will evolve, and the faster it evolves..."

"The stronger I'll become?"

"More like the better you'll be at taking a beating. Your ultimate goal is either to displace Ventura or to take over Blanche's position in the squad."

"I understand. As long as it makes me useful, I will do it."

"Just picture it, what a beautiful sight that will be. In the future, when everyone is sitting at the table eating, you'll be the only one crouching in the corner, eating all by yourself out of a bowl filled with bugs. Perhaps you can even share a table with that dog."

"Captain, surely you shouldn't insult someone like that..."

"No, it was an insult to the dog."

...

"If you want to stay behind to look after Richard, you don't have to come observe the war," Karen said to Memphis.

"Is that alright?" Memphis asked.

"I believe that as far as the commander of the Luna Cult is concerned, the fewer 'burdens' there are in the observation delegation, the better. If a few of us don't go, he will actually be much happier."

Memphis nodded. "Then I should still go."

As he spoke, Memphis seemed to feel that his previous agreement had been too swift and decisive, which didn't quite fit the dynamic of their father-son relationship, so he immediately amended:

"He has received treatment and is perfectly fine now; he just needs to recuperate."

"Alright, no problem."

Who could refuse the chance to observe a grand spectacle of war, even if it was his own 'taciturn' uncle.

"Young master, Diplomatic Priest Parson requests an audience."

"Bring him to the drawing room."

"Understood, young master."

After changing his clothes, Karen arrived in the drawing room.

"Greetings, Captain Karen."

"Greetings, Lord Parson."

What followed was a tedious, hollow exchange.

The diplomatic lord kept attempting to probe and test him, but Karen deflected each of his advances every single time.

The two of them conversed for nearly two hours, and by the end, both sides felt they had utterly wasted their time.

Yet, on the surface, they still had to maintain smiling faces while uttering pleasantries about how delightful their conversation had been. Once Karen had seen Diplomatic Priest Parson off, he reached out to take a large gulp of the ice water brought over by Alfred, sighing with emotion:

"So exhausting."

"The young master actually didn't need to be so careful in dealing with him."

"Do you honestly think he came to chat with me on his own behalf?"

Alfred was taken aback for a moment, then immediately said, "He was helping others to probe into your background, young master."

"Mm, which is precisely why we must not let them know. Saying absolutely nothing is the best way to answer; let them guess for themselves. Alright, time to rest. Remember to instruct everyone not to go out tomorrow unless absolutely necessary. Let them rest well and adjust their condition; after all, we are heading to a battlefield."

"Yes, young master."

Throughout the entire next day, Karen did not step foot out of the house, and everyone followed his instructions, resting and adjusting their condition within the palace.

On the morning of the third day.

Memphis was sitting beside the two beds, peeling oranges and feeding them to the two wounded casualties.

Receiving such care left Richard deeply moved, and he exclaimed with emotion, "Oh, my dear Memphis, you truly are my good brother!"

Neo burst out laughing: "Hahahaha!"

Just then, Philomena pushed the door open and walked in.

Memphis stood up and gave Philomena a nod, to which Philomena offered absolutely no reaction, and Memphis walked out of the room.

"Are you here to see your captain, Team Member Philomena?"

"I have nothing to do with you," Philomena replied frostily.

Richard let out a chuckle: "Then she must be here to see me."

Philomena did not refute him. She walked over to Richard's side, inspected the 'wounds' upon his body, and said, "Truly disgusting."

"Your assessment is exactly the same as the captain's. You two really are alike."

"Any normal person would find it disgusting; it's just that both the captain and I are too lazy to hide our thoughts from you."

Richard nodded and said, "It does seem that way."

Neo spoke up: "Are you interested in this brat?"

"He is one of the people I speak to the most in the squad," Philomena replied. "I don't want to waste any more time trying to talk to anyone else, so I came over to take a look and confirm that he won't die."

"You are different from the members of the Felscher family that I know of."

Hearing these words, Philomena turned her gaze toward Neo.

Neo smiled and said, "Your surname wasn't obscured in your records. The Fischer family, the house of curses; it isn't hard to find out what happened back then."

"Perhaps you should say that to my grandmother."

"No, I won't go. After I return, I want to go for a drive. I'm not in the mood for adventures right now. By the way, are you about to set off?"

"We are gathering right away."

"Then have a good time. Also, protect Karen well."

"Protecting the captain is my duty in this squad, I don't need your reminder."

Philomena turned and left the room.

"What does the curse of the Fischer family mean?" Richard asked curiously. "I know her family is quite unusual, and I asked my grandfather and grandmother, but they both refused to tell me in detail."

"Oh, based on the records I investigated, this Fischer family must have once angered a terrifying powerhouse. To punish them, that powerhouse laid a curse upon the family. The Fischers are doomed to slaughter each other until only one remains, perpetually alone."

"That's not so bad then, Philomena still has her grandmother to rely on."

"Have the parasite eggs in your brain not been cleaned out yet?"

"Oh, that truly is a tragedy."

…

Karen led all his subordinates out of the palace.

At the entrance of the palace, a female warrior leading a twenty-four-man squad stood waiting.

"Lord Karen, I am Anse. I will be responsible for your safety from this moment until your return."

"Alright, thank you."

"You are too polite, this is my duty."

Karen and the others boarded the carriage. Anse led the guards to protect both sides of the vehicle, and the procession made its way to the docks.

The docks were still a sea of people, just as bustling as the day they welcomed the Order of Light observation group, like celebrating a grand festival.

Karen and the others walked onto the deck, boarding the flagship first.

The flagship was vast and towering. The day the observation group arrived, this flagship must not have been here, for it was like a colossal fortress upon the sea. Karen counted thirty-six magic crystal cannons on the deck alone, and there were bound to be lower deck gun ports, the number only greater.

This was a true machine of war. No wonder the tutor had said when they were learning the Black Prison Castle that this was the stronghold squads relied upon during battlefield operations.

On the main battlefields of a true war of the gods, everyone's weapons of war were too terrifying. This was the deep heritage of an orthodox church.

A white-haired old man clad in armor walked up to Karen, flanked by a host of high-ranking generals and priests.

The old commander did not even introduce himself. He pointed directly at the flag on the mast. The main color of the banner was bright yellow, embroidered with a bow. In the era of the divine war, the weapon of Artemis, Goddess of the Moon, was a bow named Guidance of the Moon Goddess.

What a temperamental old commander. His sense of honor as a soldier made him highly uncomfortable with the existence of the so-called Order of Light observation group, and he did not mind showing this emotion.

Looking at the battle flag, Karen spoke, "I swear that during this campaign, I will obey Commander Geringa's orders."

Geringa waved his hand and pointed to the escort ship moored alongside.

Karen saluted him, then turned and walked across the immensely long deck connection toward the escort ship.

Aisley complained, "That commander has such a terrible temper."

Since landing on the island, everyone had grown accustomed to the warmth and enthusiasm of the Moon Church. This was the first time they were treated so coldly.

Karen smiled nonchalantly, "I was actually afraid he wouldn't have any temper. This is fine. Observing from this side, what we fear most is that this side suffers a mishap in the war. Nobody wants to swim back to Mipos Island, right?"

Purr was not sitting on Karen's shoulder this time, but on Kevin. Wrapped in a black cloak and wearing a red hood, she appeared exceptionally excited. She conjured a small flame with her paws and shouted:

"Burn, soul of my lineage! This is the most resounding melody in the world—naval warfare, naval warfare, naval warfare!"

Deep within the soul of every member of the Allen family lay an unquenchable pirate dream.

Looking at Purr in this state, Karen could not help but imagine what it would be like if one day, Count Recal were piloting a warship for him across the sea.

What Karen did not know was that his act of bringing Purr and Kevin further provoked the gray-haired commander behind them.

Back on the flagship, once Karen and his group had walked far enough away, Commander Geringa lowered his head and growled with a dark expression:

"This is humiliation, this is self-abasement. Just because Order is powerful, we must alter our mythological narrative system, letting our great goddess have an ambiguous spark with the God of Order.

I hope you are not naive enough to believe that alliances are absolute. All alliances are signed only to be torn apart.

Only by making ourselves strong can our goddess remain forever holy and flawless.

This is a battle of proof, a battle to wipe away dishonor!

I hope that in the future, it will be the young masters of our Moon Church going to other churches as an observation group, receiving the cheers and excitement of their believers.

Just like him,

Even if he just wants to watch the battlefield for amusement, he can say so bluntly and demand satisfaction, arrogant enough to bring along:

One man, one cat, and one dog!"

———

One chapter updated during the day. I am going to sleep now and will write more when I wake up. Everyone has been great, we are fourth in the monthly votes. Those who still have votes can help consolidate the ranking.