Chapter 38: What on Earth Are They! (3/4)

Chapter 38 Who Do They Think They Are! (3/4)

"It is quite lively outside. Was that order brought back?"

"Yes, Grandfather. A family of four, all dead. They left a suicide note, dying quite coincidentally on the very last day possible within our agreed timeframe."

"Oh."

"They lived on Mine Street, in very poor circumstances. The ten thousand Lube deposit—selling their home ten times over wouldn't yield that amount."

"Oh."

"I do not believe this was a suicide."

"Mhm. It is quite obvious someone arranged their deaths, and even booked our family's funeral services in advance."

"So..."

"You could call the police and tell them you know Chief Inspector Duke, could you not? Oh, he might not have jurisdiction over the East District, but you could call the city bureau and give them this lead. There is a directory next to the telephone on the first floor; the city bureau's number is in it."

"A crowd of sit-in protesters holding white roses has gathered outside, along with a large group of reporters. Tonight, or during tomorrow's memorial service, a grand gathering of officials and celebrities will be coming to attend."

"Oh. It seems their influence is immense, and it likely involves a political struggle."

"Yes, so calling the police... would probably be useless. They have already made it abundantly, almost directly clear to us in advance that they were going to commit murder, telling us to clear our schedules to collect the bodies. It is sheer arrogance—even if we know, it has absolutely no effect on them."

"Oh, then do not call the police. It is useless anyway."

"..." Karen.

Diss continued to write, as though drafting a report;

In fact, this was indeed the case. Diss was writing the second investigative report regarding the incident of Belwin's divine descent.

Karen took a deep breath, slowly turning around, preparing to leave.

He did not actually know what he could do,

And from a more selfish perspective, he did not know what he was suited to do.

He was just a... a high school dropout.

Well, he also had two aberrant demons who firmly believed he was the descent of an evil god. Those two demons were highly capable; Miss Molly could swallow Madam Hughes whole right before his eyes, and Alfred should be even more powerful than Miss Molly.

Perhaps he could command, or rather induce, these two demons to help him do something;

Yet he was also somewhat afraid,

Just as Purr had said: Do not be impulsive.

The opponent was powerful, in the secular world; and the consequences of abusing the abilities of aberrant demons could be even more terrifying.

But,

Just as Purr had also said: Diss is always calm.

Yes,

Grandfather was very calm. Since calling the police was useless, then he wouldn't call them.

Uncle Mason was crouching on the ground in agony, weeping. As an ordinary man, he knew clearly that he had no capacity to contend with those people outside. He had a home, a family, and a business, so after his hysterics, he could only crouch on the ground and weep.

It was the same for Karen. What right did he have to drag the entire household into a perilous whirlpool?

Just for... that pitiful shred of... a sense of justice?

The ones who died were not the Rote family, after all, were they?

The deceased were not people he knew or had interacted with; they hadn't eaten together, nor had they smoked together, and he had never patted that little girl's head. Therefore, it didn't have much to do with him, really.

Had he not felt a wave of relief himself when he clearly saw that Mr. Rote was still alive?

So,

What am I agonizing over?

This world, this society, is just the way it is. What do you think you can change?

It would be better to think about what delicious meal to cook for the family for dinner, so that his emotionally shattered uncle might find a bit of an appetite. That was the right choice for the sake of his family.

Karen opened the door,

Hearing the ceaseless scratching of Diss's fountain pen behind him,

Karen hesitated,

Turned his head, and spoke once more:

"Grandfather."

"Mhm? Is there something else?" Diss still continued his writing.

"We know that family's death was arranged, but neighbors saw the wife willingly leading her daughter toward the rooftop and jumping off. From what I know, that mistress of the house would never harm her daughter under any circumstances; she would never do something like watching her husband die and then taking her daughter with her to die just to end it all."

The fountain pen,

Stopped.

Diss,

Raised his head, looked at Karen, and asked:

"So, what do you mean by that?"

Karen replied, "I think there is a paradox here. It is highly likely that the power of an aberrant demon has interfered."

Diss capped the fountain pen, placed it back into the pen holder, closed the report he had more than half-written, and stood up at the same time,

Saying:

"If it is a matter involving an aberrant demon, then we must intervene."

"Uh..."

Karen was somewhat unaccustomed to Diss's sudden shift in attitude.

Diss opened the desk drawer and retrieved a black briefcase from within:

"You should have a relatively clear understanding of the whole sequence of events. So, if an aberrant demon committed the murder, where do you think we should trace it? My meaning is, it could be the aberrant demon, or it could be the person driving the aberrant demon to kill."

In truth, Karen did not know how to investigate; he was no policeman, and in his past life, he had merely served as a police consultant.

But since Diss had asked,

Karen provided an answer concerning the general direction, because this answer was entirely obvious:

"I believe this incident is a fuse. A crowd outside is waiting to use this event for hype, which will ultimately lead to the mayoral election, becoming a public opinion weapon to attack the old mayor.

Therefore, the greatest vested beneficiary would be the one with the highest hope of taking office as the new mayor if the old mayor steps down... named, Ford."

"Good, we shall go to Ford's house and ask him if he did it."

"Uh..." Karen froze.

Carrying the black briefcase, Diss bypassed the desk and came before Karen. Seeing Karen standing motionless, he asked:

"What is the matter?"

"Go to... Ford's house?"

"Yeah, didn't you say he's the one who benefits the most? Then going straight to ask him is the most convenient way, isn't it?"

"Grandfather, he is a mayoral candidate. In the city government of Luojia, the media, and likely many elites and financial syndicates, are all his supporters."

"Mm, and then? What of it?"

"We are just going straight to his house?"

"Go ask him first. If it isn't him, we will ask him to name other suspects. Isn't this the most convenient and quickest choice?"

"That is true, but the other party is very powerful, and if he can command aberrant demons to commit murder, it proves that his background must also include..."

Karen paused mid-sentence,

Because he saw Dis smile.

"Heh."

Dis reached out, patted Karen's shoulder, and asked:

"The books I had Lunt bring to you, did you read them?"

"I read one."

"Which one?"

"The Light of Order."

"Mm, there is a line in there, did you see it?

The one that goes:

The Church of Order, existing to maintain order, should, under the shine of the light of order, treat everyone equally."

Karen nodded and said, "I saw it."

"Then it seems you haven't yet understood this sentence."

"I..."

"Under the shine of the light of order, everyone is treated equally.

It means,

No matter who they are, no one possesses the qualification to be viewed differently by our Church of Order;

This is not the all men are born equal written in the Rulan constitution,

Rather, it is

A truth that the Church of Order beat out with its fists."

As he spoke,

Dis reached out and gently tapped Karen's face,

Smiling as he said:

"So, why would you naively think that your grandfather, me, would fear some mayor, the media, or financial syndicates?"