Chapter 500: What Right Do You Have!

Chapter 500: What Right Do You Have!

In life, unexpected occurrences are never in short supply, and they always possess a knack for choosing the exact moment when you least anticipate them to suddenly descend.

Karen genuinely had not expected that Vicolai would be carried inside.

Presently lying upon a stretcher, Vicolai was covered in medicinal salves of various descriptions across his entire body, each targeting a different ailment; some were for external trauma, some for burns, some for electrical shocks, and others for frostbite...

Moreover, although Vicolai had already undergone treatment and the majority of the opposing elemental forces attached to his body had been extracted, a lingering remnants remained that could not be forcibly drawn out, requiring time to gradually dissipate on their own;

Consequently, Karen could perceive various faint elemental currents still shifting across Vicolai’s form, making him resemble a minor general store of mismatched energies.

The only plausible explanation for this state of affairs was that Vicolai had been dragged into a magical formation by Richard and given a thoroughly brutal thrashing.

No wonder Old Man Delon had cautioned him earlier not to speak nonsense, remaining remarkably composed despite his own grandson being in such a wretched state;

No wonder Bishop Dolph had been so incensed upon hearing his words earlier; it turned out that Delon had not brought Richard here to lodge a grievance—the true "aggrieved party" was Bishop Dolph.

The grandsons of two houses had engaged in a brawl, yet the opposing grandson was standing upright here, while his own could only lie down and be carried inside.

Karen suddenly felt an urge to laugh;

He did not try particularly hard to suppress it either, half-covering his mouth with one hand as his shoulders trembled slightly, genuinely amused.

The absurdity of the situation lay in the fact...

Karen knew that Vicolai’s strength was highly inflated—otherwise, the man wouldn’t have frequented that establishment to undergo infusions—but he truly had not imagined that Vicolai could not even defeat Richard...

Richard had actually managed to beat him into this state!

Because Karen had his back turned to Dolph, coupled with the fact that the chief bishop's office was equipped with an exceptionally powerful isolation formation that suppressed sensory probes, Dolph could not "see" Karen's expression.

Yet Warfuren, seated at the head of the room, witnessed Karen laughing quite blatantly, forcing him to turn his face away to avoid looking at this youth who truly lacked any sense of decorum.

Old Man Delon was positioned nearly face-to-face with Karen, and seeing him laugh, he too felt the urge rising within himself, but he could not afford to be as "utterly fearless" as Karen; he still had to mind his manners, especially since he had brought his grandson here to apologize and smooth things over.

Yet watching Karen laugh made it difficult for the old man to keep his composure;

Thus, the elder had to resort to the most primitive method, pinching his own thigh forcefully to suppress his amusement with pain, which caused his aged face to look somewhat contorted.

Vicolai was carried over, his stretcher being rather sophisticated; once the lower corners were folded up, it allowed him to be secured at an angle against the floor, so that Vicolai was effectively "standing."

"You... you..."

With great difficulty, Vicolai extended a hand, pointing at Richard, and cried out in a slurred voice:

"I’m going to kill you... I’m going to kill you... I’m going to kill you..."

Old Man Delon ceased his silent amusement, his expression darkening, but he still restrained himself from speaking.

Karen, by contrast, calmed his inner thoughts, turned toward Chief Bishop Warfuren, and began to offer a proper bow:

"Greetings, My Lord Chief Bishop."

Behind him, Wick and Muri offered their greetings in unison.

Immediately after, Karen turned toward Dolph:

"Greetings, My Lord Bishop."

Dolph let out a sharp grunt.

Karen thought nothing of it, for he had long known precisely what an unprincipled individual Dolph was; as a bishop, the man had personally attended a meeting hosted by his own grandson to lend his authority, and had even invited journalists from the Order Weekly to take photographs and write a special feature;

At the time, Karen had felt that this bishop's conduct was exceedingly unsightly and that his personal relations must be remarkably poor; naturally, he should have recused himself first and invited other bishops to go through the motions to keep up appearances, but his family likely couldn't manage to invite anyone else.

Finally, Karen bowed toward Delon:

"Greetings, My Lord."

Delon gave Karen a nod.

The round of greetings concluded.

Warfuren spoke up, asking, "Have you rested since your return?"

Karen replied, "Thank you for your concern, my lord. I have already gone to familiarize myself with my new post."

"Heh, very good. The young should possess precisely that sort of drive to work and willingness to act."

"Yes. Your teachings are always close to my heart, guiding me forward. I shall not disappoint your expectations."

Warfuren pondered inwardly, what teachings had he ever given the boy?

Although Karen's squad had served as his honor guard during the Dark Moon Island conference and they had crossed paths frequently, he did not recall speaking much to this young man.

However, this was a game where everyone helped push the carriage together; since Karen had offered a pleasing remark, Warfuren could hardly be foolish enough to expose the fiction himself.

"That is excellent. I hope you continue to strive in your upcoming duties. If you encounter any difficulties, you may come directly to report them to me; the district administration has always supported the work of the Whip of Order. In truth, we are cut from the same cloth."

"Indeed, you speak the truth, my lord. No matter the time, in working for the district, one ought to comply with its directives; only thus can the proper functioning of the entire region be maintained."

"Very good, quite excellent. I am most gratified that you possess such understanding and awareness."

Warfuren stroked his white beard, smiling with satisfaction.

He was not far from retirement; a few years ago, he had harbored thoughts of moving upward, if not to the Dinge District, then at least to a prominent position within the Wien District. Now, with the series of policy reforms enacted after High Priest Norton took office, he understood that he likely no longer stood a chance.

Had he been younger, he might have fought for another opportunity just like the young man before him; at his current age, his only desire was to maintain a stable situation within the York City District for the remainder of his term.

The resurgence of the Whip of Order would inevitably spark conflict with the district administration; he had no desire to resolve this conflict, wishing only to delay it until after his retirement.

"Ahem!"

Dolph coughed heavily several times, clearly displeased with the chief bishop’s current display of casual chatter and mutual flattery with the youth.

You taught him?

Hadn't this Karen been rumored to have an affair with the woman you originally intended for your grandson?

Was your temper truly so mild, Warfuren, that you would still carefully instruct such a young man?

Are you the Chief Bishop or the Chief Sheep?

Warfuren could scarcely be bothered to pay attention to Dolph, his distaste and reluctance to engage almost visibly written across his face as he addressed Karen:

"I had initially assumed you came specifically on account of this matter."

Karen answered, "Replying to My Lord Chief Bishop, I had no prior knowledge of this affair. My visit to the administrative building today was for other matters, though Richard is, after all, my subordinate."

"I am aware. You may sit."

"Before my lords, what right do I have to sit? I am already deeply grateful that you permit me to stand here and listen."

Dolph could not contain himself, interjecting, "Then stand to the side and listen, stop wasting time! Once the matters here are concluded, my grandson still needs to undergo his next round of treatment!"

Karen silently moved to stand beside the sofa, with Wick and Muri positioning themselves behind his left and right shoulders.

Nio had spoken of forging an official notice to bring Vicolai to the administrative building this morning; now Vicolai had indeed arrived, yet it seemed entirely unrelated to any forged document.

Karen did not believe Nio would use Richard to draw the snake from its hole; that did not align with Nio’s style of operation, for even if he intended to do so, he would have communicated with Karen beforehand rather than keeping him entirely in the dark. Nio understood that acting in such a manner would provoke Karen's resentment.

So, could this event truly be nothing more than an accident?

"Explain the sequence of events thoroughly," Warfuren instructed Richard.

Dolph immediately spoke up, saying, "Did I not just explain it? My grandson has already been reduced to this state, what more needs to be said?"

Warfuren pointed toward Richard: "We must allow the children to tell their side of the story. Speak."

Richard nodded, and spoke, "Last night, I visited the pastry shop street that I usually frequent, and engaged two ladies for some conversation. However, as we were speaking, cries for help echoed from the pastry shop next door, and I also sensed a dense fluctuation of spiritual power.

I went next door to investigate the situation, and found him..."

Richard pointed at Vicore:

"I found him using the Chains of Order to bind four ladies and violently flagellating them. Those four ladies were screaming in agony, their lives already in critical danger, so I spoke up to dissuade him."

"Spoke up to dissuade him?" Worflen inquired.

"Yes."

"Heh, speaking up to dissuade him would result in this?" Dolph sneered.

Richard replied as a matter of course, "Because he refused to listen to my dissuasion, we came to blows."

"In short, you were the one who initiated the strike?" Dolph questioned.

"Yes."

"Very well, the matter is now clear. Since you were the one who initiated the violence, let justice be served, Lord Chief."

Worflen let out a yawn, saying, "A brawl between young men, and in such a place at that—is it truly worth of condemnation?"

"Lord Chief, I believe that if your own grandson were reduced to this state right now, you would certainly not speak such conciliatory words."

"Dolph, I am not merely smoothing things over. Do you realize what the consequences of a conviction would be? Your grandson and this boy from the Guman family—their futures would essentially be completely ruined.

Two clergymen engaging in a violent brawl inside a pastry shop, what does that look like? What kind of affair is this?

Even if your Norton family and the Guman family are both willing, I, as the Chief Bishop, am not willing to have such a disgraceful scandal occur within my own parish. Would this not simply invite the ridicule of people from other parishes?"

Old Master Delon chimed in, "Indeed, Lord Chief, Lord Bishop, it is entirely normal for children to bicker and fight amongst themselves. As long as everyone is safe, that is what matters. We will compensate Adjudicator Vicore and offer our apologies to the Norton family. Do you think that would be acceptable?"

Delon maintained a very humble posture.

However, this could not be construed as weakness; rather, it was a natural choice given the position he occupied.

There remained a considerable gap in status between the Guman family and the Norton family. Furthermore, comparing Richard and Vicore, any fool could see that his own grandson had not suffered the worse end of it. If the matter could be smoothed over by paying a certain price, then it should be put to rest.

Worflen nodded and said, "Let it be so then. In the future, let each family restrain their respective children properly. The three of us have a mountain of work to attend to every day; where would we find the energy to waste on such matters."

"By what right!"

Dolph stood up, pointing his finger directly at Delon:

"Delon, what sort of entity does your Guman family think it is? You speak of compensation and there is compensation, you speak of apology and there is apology, you say the matter is ended and it is ended?

Heh, I am deeply sorry, but your Guman family is not yet qualified to be mentioned in the same breath as my Norton family!

I do not desire an apology; I demand punishment!

I request that according to the Regulations of Order, he be convicted, stripped of his clerical status, and have his power of faith severed!"

Worflen silently lifted his teacup, taking a sip, in no rush to mix the mud further.

Delon closed his eyes, and after a moment, opened them again.

Karen noticed the old master's fists clenching and unclenching several times; evidently, he was also truly enraged.

Richard stood there with great tranquility, remaining silent.

Oh,

So confident,

This is hardly your usual style, Richard.

This made Karen realize that Richard must have received instructions from Neo.

Neo had not arranged this particular scene; the brawl at the pastry shop was an accident for Neo as well... because Karen did not believe Neo would be confident enough to dispatch their own Richard to defeat the opponent's Vicore.

However, after the incident occurred, Neo must have followed up in a timely manner. In any case, it was all about getting Vicore to come to the Church Affairs Building today; no matter which method was employed, as long as he arrived here today, it would suffice.

Old Master Delon stood up, glaring furiously at Dolph, and spoke through gritted teeth:

"Who dares to touch my grandson!"

"Heh." Dolph let out a cold laugh, "Yet, someone has already touched my grandson. In short, if this matter is not handled according to my demand, then I shall be unable to guarantee the safety of your Guman family!"

"Slap!"

Worflen slammed his teacup heavily onto the side table.

Dolph turned to face Worflen, "Grant me this matter, and from this day forward, in the parish management office meetings, I shall follow your lead entirely."

"You are speaking nonsense." Worflen lifted his teacup once more.

In truth, this action already indicated the shift in Worflen's attitude at this moment.

His first choice was to play the peacemaker, but if the matter was destined to end badly, then he had to consider his own interests; such was the dictate of human nature.

When all was said and done, the Guman family simply could not match the Norton family.

"If you intend to issue such a threat..." Delon stared into Dolph's eyes, "Then my Guman family will accompany you to the very end!"

Standing to the side, Karen kept his head lowered and his eyes half-closed, remaining uninvolved.

One should not apply too much of a romanticized filter to these so-called "high-level personages." Karen admitted that the final struggle between Grand Priest Norton and Lord Thaicisen, which he had witnessed with his own eyes, was indeed magnificent, but that was a clash of ideologies. The scene before him now, however, was in truth no different from a street thug shouting vicious words to harm the opponent's entire family.

Dolph took a step forward, walking to Richard's side, and spoke, "Summon the people from the Enforcement Department. I wish to hear the verdict directly, and I wish to witness the execution."

"I have said, whoever dares to touch my grandson, I shall..."

Dolph continued forward until he was almost face-to-face with Delon. With a sinister smile upon his countenance, he extended a hand and jabbed Delon's shoulder:

"You ought to know my temperament, Delon. In this matter, I shall choose nothing less than a fight to the death. I know your Guman family holds a somewhat unique position within the array master system, but what of it?

I shall lay down my words directly: since someone has touched my grandson, I must make that boy pay a sufficient price. Whoever dares to obstruct me, I shall place him along with his entire family upon my ledger!"

Old Master Delon stubbornly declared, "I will not permit anyone to touch my grandson!"

Worflen was still drinking from his teacup, which seemed as though it could never be emptied.

Karen also continued to indulge in his doze, which seemed as though it could never be finished.

Maternal grandfather is still somewhat unable to let go.

The other party has already uttered such ruthless threats; what ought to be done now is to reveal all of one's hidden cards and escalate the matter completely. For instance, declaring a strike across his entire department, or more extremely, threatening to suspend the operation of magic arrays in several vital regions to match the opponent's stakes, or more thoroughly still, directly causing those magic arrays to fall into chaos.

The Chief Bishop clearly desires to maintain stability, so one should simply increase the cost of that stability for him.

Yet he seemed not to have thought of this point, or rather, he instinctively disregarded those options that used the destruction of the Church's interests as leverage.

By comparison, in order to protect himself, Giddis would without a single word directly blow up a temple.

The difference between a maternal grandfather and a paternal grandfather does not lie in strength. The maternal grandfather is indeed a man who can sacrifice himself for the Sacred Church, whereas in the eyes of the paternal grandfather, as a devout believer of Order, the Sacred Church ought not to wrong his own family.

A man with a moral bottom line, when facing a powerful rogue without any boundaries, is often highly susceptible to suffering losses.

"Summon the people from the Enforcement Department to pass judgment. I want to see the verdict with my own eyes, and I want to watch the execution with my own eyes. This matter shall be settled today, without delaying everyone's work," Dolph stated.

The Enforcement Department was the internal punitive institution within the parish for crimes committed by clergymen, and the deputy head of this parish's Enforcement Department happened to be Dolph's eldest son, which was to say, Vicore's paternal uncle.

Dolph continued to stare at Delon, saying, "Delon, if you are dissatisfied with the judgment of the Enforcement Department, you may appeal, or you may even go to the Dingle Parish to continue your lawsuit. I am ready to accompany you at any time, heh."

"You..."

Worflen's gaze glanced toward Karen, who stood there appearing to possess an identical aura to his own, like two bubbles rising from a single pond; he could not help but feel the urge to puncture it.

He asked Karen directly:

“Karen, what do you think? Richard is your subordinate after all.”

Dolf followed his gaze, letting it fall upon Karen. This young man and his retinue had been quite arrogant at first, but over this recent stretch of time, he had remained remarkably quiet.

Karen looked as though he had just awakened from a standing sleep, opening his eyes and letting out a bewildered, “Hmm? What’s the matter?”

Vick leaned forward, explaining to Karen in a stage whisper that everyone present could easily overhear:

“Captain, Bishop Dolf means to hand Richard over to the Enforcement Department to determine his guilt.”

“Oh, sure, that’s as it should be, I support it.”

Dolf smiled.

Wolffren’s brow furrowed slightly.

Delon stared at Karen in utter disbelief.

Dolf said to Wolffren: “Chief, call the Enforcement Department over. The evidence is solid, the matter is simple. Let us delay no longer. Let this business end quickly; we are all very busy.”

Wolffren spoke up: “Then I shall first have the Enforcement Department come over to speak, and based on what they say, we can discuss it further. I still feel we shouldn't resort to such a heavy penalty. With young people, our primary focus should still be education.”

Karen said: “Lord Chief Bishop, let me help you notify the Enforcement Department. That office phone is often unreachable; one has to call Security and have them dispatch someone to deliver the message. I’m afraid it will take quite a while for them to arrive.”

Dolf immediately countered: “What do you mean unreachable, what do you mean a long time? The Enforcement Department office is right in this building. Send an attendant to call them, and they will come straight up.”

Karen said with a smile: “Your Eminence, you are referring to the Enforcement Department of the Regional Administrative Office? Oh, I thought you wanted to call the Enforcement Department in my Whip of Order headquarters building. The office conditions for that department are truly dreadful, and the personnel on duty frequently slack off and leave their posts.”

Dolf sneered: “You are overthinking things.”

The smile gradually vanished from Karen’s face. His gaze turned icy and razor-sharp, staring directly at Dolf,

He said:

“It is you who are overthinking things, Your Eminence. Richard belongs to my Whip of Order. What right does the Enforcement Department of the Regional Administrative Office have to sentence a member of the Whip of Order!”