Chapter 613: Not Pampering Them

Chapter 613 Not Spoiling Anyone

In truth, from beginning to end, Karen had felt utterly helpless.

His trip was merely an official business excursion, accompanied by a single subordinate whose expertise suited the task;

along with a cat and a dog, who served as "Beast Appraisers."

Yet the moment he stepped out of the carriage, he crossed paths with Lord Auggie, who had "forgotten" him, and then this young lady of noble birth named Dana had, for reasons entirely incomprehensible, taken an instant dislike to him, ultimately twisting their conversation until she was absolutely bent on giving him a thrashing.

Since someone else had already initiated the violence, Karen could no longer bring himself to indulge her; so what if she was of noble blood, as though his own standing were somehow ordinary.

At present, he was at least the director of the Whip of Order for an entire region; to put it plainly, unless he ruined his own prospects for advancement and abandoned all ambition, he truly had no need to show excessive deference to the willful young masters and petulant young ladies of so-called "high society."

Cursed and foolish houses like the Danton family were, after all, the rarest of exceptions; active members of ordinary families remained rational and distinguished between public and private matters, and even if badgered by their juniors to avenge some slight, they would still choose their targets carefully.

As for Karen... he had already become an unyielding fixture in the York City region; to put it crudely, he and Bishop Bourn could be described as two bricks in a latrine, both foul and unyielding.

If pushed to the absolute brink, Karen might not do it, but Chief Bishop Bourn was genuinely capable of emulating the precedent of the former Chief Bishop, activating all authority to confront the High Priest directly, and then dying first right before the High Priest's eyes as a gesture of ultimate defiance.

Karen lowered his head, looking down at the young girl lying face down on the floor:

So, what exactly are you trying to accomplish?

Miss Dana supported herself with both hands on the ground and said, "Haha, didn't you claim you were a formation master who didn't know how to fight?"

A pressure formation rapidly coalesced within Karen's palm, and he struck downward with complete nonchalance.

"Bang!"

Miss Dana, her body suddenly subjected to tenfold gravity, found her face making intimate contact with the floor once more.

"As you can see, I am indeed a formation master."

With a slight twitch of his fingertips, the effect of the formation dissolved.

Miss Dana supported herself with both hands on the ground again and said, "Good, very good, you have successfully infuriated me."

"Miss, those words ought to come from me to you. I believe that from the moment we met until now, I have done nothing to offend you; it was you who abandoned all reason first."

"Heh... heh..."

A dark luster radiated from Miss Dana's body as a seal was undone.

Her body flipped swiftly, both hands grasping Karen's right leg.

The combat techniques of the Knights Templar!

During their internal exchanges, Bart had once demonstrated this very move.

Perhaps in another two seconds, once she exerted her full strength, his right leg would be completely broken.

If the object of her temper today were not him, but rather some other cleric, would that cleric not have been disfigured first and then crippled?

At the position of his right leg, the Sea God's Armor materialized, obstructing Miss Dana's initial burst of strength, and immediately after, Karen pressed his palm downward.

"Buzz!"

A black chain erupted from the ground, binding Miss Dana directly, and Karen raised his foot, kicking outward!

"Bang!"

Miss Dana was kicked flying backward, and thanks to the room truly being spacious enough, she was able to describe a perfect parabolic arc as she fell away.

"Thud..."

Upon landing, she slid a considerable distance before finally coming to a halt.

...

Purr and Kevin, who had been running around the living room earlier, had long since stopped, and as Miss Dana went flying, the eyes of the cat and dog tracked her movement.

"This is a first, meow. A girl we just met doesn't care for Karen at all, and actually wants to beat him."

"Woof."

"Could it be that Karen looks like an ex-boyfriend who betrayed and hurt her, meow?"

"Woof."

The golden retriever nodded in agreement.

"Oh my, but it really is quite a surprise; our little Karen has actually become this formidable."

Purr puffed out her chest with pride.

"Woof."

Kevin also puffed out his chest with pride.

When they first met, Karen was merely an ordinary person, not even a divine servant, and the two of them could be considered his initiating mentors; thus, watching Karen effortlessly pummel the young girl now naturally brought a sense of joy from having raised him up.

...

Karen looked toward the direction where Miss Dana had fallen and spoke with profound tranquility:

"Miss, I believe we require some verbal communication to resolve the misunderstanding before us. Employing violent means does not align with our relationship as fellow believers of the same faith, and furthermore, this is truly not the correct path to resolving a conflict."

"Heh heh... heh..."

Miss Dana supported herself with one hand, propping up her body, and raised her head to glare at Karen; within her eyes, darkness began to brew, and behind her, silhouettes of flying black crows materialized one after another.

"It really is... exactly the same. Even though you already control the situation, even though you have already gained the upper hand, you still unhurriedly maintain your affected dignity, as if everything before you were a dish placed upon a dining table, merely waiting for you to tie your napkin before picking up your knife and fork to savor it slowly.

I truly despise people like you,

Filthy,

Overbearing,

Hypocritical!"

A scimitar appeared in Miss Dana's hand; it was very small, only the size of a palm, but the moment it appeared, the airflow in the surroundings seemed to be sliced apart, giving rise to a tempestuous wind, with Miss Dana herself standing at its very center.

"Miss, are you speaking of your own family? I can sense that you harbor a great deal of resentment toward them. In truth, many adolescents of your age experience similar rebellious emotions; this requires self-directed psychological adjustment."

"Shut, up!"

The air currents on either side of Miss Dana's body rapidly contracted, and she herself transformed into a plume of black mist, charging directly at Karen.

Karen raised his arm, and the Sword of Diamans, which had been left in the bedroom earlier, responded to the summons, flying out to land directly within his grasp.

Immediately following, Karen shifted his body to the side, but Miss Dana seemed to have anticipated this long ago; her figure faltered for an instant before twisting sharply, the scimitar in her hand slashing into Karen's abdomen, yet she felt no resistance from the blade cutting through flesh, and the Karen before her eyes dissolved away.

In the next instant, Karen appeared behind her, the Sword of Diamans swinging upward; it was not a cut, nor a slash, nor even a strike with the edge, but rather the flat side of the blade coming down in a heavy slap.

Yet at this moment, Miss Dana's body was already enveloped by a dense gale force, which she had merely suppressed temporarily; Karen's slap carried little strength, yet it happened to shatter her control, like a needle puncturing a balloon.

"Bang!"

Miss Dana went hurtling forward, her velocity entirely beyond her governance, and furthermore, since this room was long from side to side but narrow from front to back...

"Smack!"

Miss Dana slammed into the wall; the incredibly sturdy masonry was forcefully dented by the impact, and her body slowly slithered down, leaving a trail of blood upon the wall.

Karen leaned the Sword of Diamans against the ground; he could actually perceive the mystery and uniqueness of this girl, particularly how she seemed to be restraining her use of power—not out of arrogance or stupidity, but likely because she feared that breaking too many seals would alert someone to her presence.

However, to Karen, this did not pose any real threat.

Along the way, he had endured far too many battles, both on the spiritual plane and in the arena of close quarters combat, and he had always been flanked by wise mentors and good friends who aided his guidance and learning.

Especially the last teaching session organized by Lasma—it had been luxurious to the point of utter extravagance.

As for this girl, she possessed a glaring flaw; her combat level seemed "rich," yet she lacked any true experience in actual combat. She had likely undergone systematic, even arduous training within the knighthood, but because of her noble status, she had never brushed against life and death, nor had she ever known a battle where she might truly be wounded. Such a deficiency was fatal.

Consequently, if his current self could still be left defenseless or backed into a corner by this willful young lady, it would be a veritable joke.

"Miss, if you have a conflict with your family, my first suggestion is that you attempt to communicate. Though, under normal circumstances, such communication yields no results.

Looking at it from a youth's perspective, lacking and needing the love of one's parents is almost a perfectly accurate piece of nonsense. In reality, not every parent possesses enough time and energy to accompany your growth. If they do, it must be cherished; if they do not, then you must cherish yourself all the more.

Besides, I think your circumstances are already very good. I cannot even afford a bodyguard like you, nor can I afford a room of this standard. Even if it is on the public expense, it certainly cannot be reimbursed once we return."

"Exactly the same, completely the same—the tone of voice, the manner of educating people. You and he really seem to be carved from the same mold. I am even beginning to suspect you are his illegitimate son."

Miss Daina stood up stubbornly once more.

Karen sighed. Though this young lady was willful, her physical constitution was truly excellent.

The darkness in Miss Daina's eyes was almost dense enough to drip. She stared fixedly at Karen.

"What do you know? What do you understand? I am not blindly demanding his love and his attention. I simply do not want him to treat me like a piece of clothing—wearing me when the occasion demands it, and taking me off quite naturally when that occasion ends.

I can accept growing up all alone; I am not that delicate or fragile.

But time and again he gives me hope, letting me glimpse affection, only to take it with his own hands and crush it right before my face!

He is torturing me!

He is torturing me!"

...

"Oh, poor little girl. I can actually put myself in her perspective; there are actually many such examples in great families." Purr propped her head up with a cat paw, lying atop Kevin as she watched Miss Daina throwing her tantrum over there.

"I can even imagine a scene. For instance, a loyal servant of the family dies to protect the patriarch, so the patriarch adopts his child. On certain specific occasions, he will call the child out to show a kind of intimacy, just to display it for the other subordinates to see."

"Woof." Kevin rolled his dog eyes upward. "Woof, woof."

"Still, it isn't really that big of a deal. Though she is somewhat pitiful, it is at least... understandable. On the premise of survival, cooperating with the performance to secure living conditions is, after all, an instinct of human beings."

"Woof."

"But she has clearly gone to an extreme. Or rather, some special reason has made her too suppressed. This does not seem to be caused by that person's status; it feels more like a kind of, how should I put it, how should I put it...

Perhaps that person's charisma is too high, and there is a bit of an Electra complex mixed in?"

Kevin's dog eyes snapped wide open, and he turned his head in great surprise, wanting to see Purr on his back as much as possible. When that term came out, Kevin felt that Purr had instantly become incredibly professional.

"Haha-meow. It is mostly because after Karen spoke last time, the Radio Goblin was forbidden from helping me buy romance novels. I really had nothing else to do, so I could only read some books on psychological research; the Radio Goblin has a whole pile of them."

"Woof."

"I am not really studying it, I only like reading the case studies inside. Each one is quite twisted and very interesting, just to read as little stories."

"Woof."

"It is fine. She actually isn't that severe. An Electra complex is a very common thing. After all, the person a daughter interacts with most in her growing environment is her father, and many times the father's image will affect the daughter's future standards for choosing a mate.

Initial admiration, familiarity, and habit—these all follow a template, like a kind of application of survival experience. Most of it is very normal, and the boundaries can be clearly distinguished. The probability of those messy, twisted things happening is extremely small.

When there are too many vats of sauce, a jar or two is bound to spoil.

It is just that her kind is actually not unique, nor even severe. It is only that her identity is special, she has been spoiled, she possesses power, and she can be arrogant.

In fact, I dare wager that despite her immense resentment now, in front of the person she hates, she would be as obedient as a quail, not daring to let out a single squeak."

"Woof?"

"Yes. She sees the traits of her 'father' in our little Karen, so she is picking on a soft target to vent her resentment. Unfortunately, our little Karen does not indulge her.

Though, if the Radio Goblin were here, he would surely lament again: 'Wow-meow, you are so lucky, to even recognize a father with such precision.'"

...

A drop of blood fell from the center of Miss Daina's brow. Upon hitting the ground, it splattered outward, turning into a pool of black swamp.

Immediately following this, a black phantom appeared behind her. At first glance, it looked like a sealed soul making a struggle, but a closer look revealed that the dark shadow was dancing.

The blackness in Miss Daina's eyes quickly receded, turning into a vivid crimson, and she spoke:

"Charm!"

Karen's body stiffened, his gaze turning chaotic, and his whole person began to sway slightly from side to side.

A smile touched the corner of Miss Daina's mouth. Her figure flashed, appearing right before Karen. Hesitating slightly, she did not use her scimitar to cut Karen's throat; instead, she sheathed the blade and used her palm.

She hated him, and she could ruin his face, break his legs, or open a slit in his belly, but her hatred did not support her actually killing him.

This had little to do with Karen's identity in the Church of Order; after being struck so many times, anyone would have killed him regardless of his identity. It was purely a overlap of psychological projections.

Yet just as her palm was about to strike the side of Karen's neck, a hand gripped her wrist with absolute precision.

Simultaneously, the chaos in Karen's eyes receded at just the right moment, restoring his clarity.

"You..."

Karen's body spun, dragging the girl into a rotation along with him, and then slammed her directly toward the ground!

"Boom!"

Miss Daina was once again violently smashed onto the floor.

However, Karen did not choose to rest his sword against her neck or press his foot against her back to force a threat upon her, because a young girl in a state of madness would often ignore your threats and choose the most extreme method of confrontation.

Therefore, Karen could only once more swing the Sword of Diamans, aiming at Miss Daina on the ground.

"Smack!"

Benefiting from having played golf for a long time at the Allen Manor back then, this stroke was swung quite well. Miss Daina once again traced a beautiful parabola before landing.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

After landing, the young girl's palms kept striking the ground.

Karen sighed, thinking to himself: *You are truly resilient.*

Miss Daina stood up yet again. Even though she was already in a wretched state, the fury in her eyes remained unextinguished. A cross-shaped pattern appeared at her forehead; this should be the final layer of the seal.

Even from such a distance, Karen perceived the surging power beneath that layer of sealing.

If she unleashed that power, it would be very troublesome.

The trouble lay not in his inability to defeat her. Possessing power without experience was like a child brandishing a weapon—it was actually quite naive and endearing. Karen was worried that the destructive force would breach boundaries and spill out of this room, while he might fail to control his strength in the next moment, directly rendering her severely injured, or even taking her life by an careless mistake.

In the past, Karen would not have softened his heart.

But he had caught her action just now, when she withdrew her dagger and changed it to a hand-chop toward his neck.

Miss Daina pressed her finger against the crucifix seal on her brow,

yet she halted her movement,

turning instead to ask:

"If I undo this layer of the seal, will I still be unable to defeat you?"

"Yes."

"Is your real age the age you appear to be right now?"

"Yes."

"Heh... whew..."

Miss Dana let out a long, slow breath, dropping her fingers from between her brows; with this layer of the seal undone, those above would undoubtedly sense it.

She collapsed dejectedly, propping herself up with her hands against the ground as she sat there, cursing:

"The exact same feeling—in front of him, I am always a child who can never grow up. I can't defeat him, never in eternity."

So, the fight was over?

Karen sheathed his sword, drew a clean handkerchief from his pocket, and walked toward Miss Dana.

Midway, Miss Dana's body suddenly flinched as if she were about to strike, but the rhythm of Karen's stride didn't alter in the slightest.

Unable to even unnerve him, the young girl deflated once more, beginning to kick her legs and strike the ground, venting her resentment and grievance:

"I finally found someone I could take my anger out on, and I actually can't even beat you! Who on earth are you?"

"I am Karen. Perhaps you aren't in the habit of reading the newspapers."

"I don't read them."

"Then it is hardly surprising."

"But could you please stop imitating him?"

"Are you sick in the head?"

Karen stopped before Miss Dana, leaned down, and offered her the handkerchief.

Miss Dana glared at him fiercely, then pouted, crying out:

"I don't care, you wipe it for me!"

Slap!

Karen whipped the handkerchief straight onto her face, letting it cover her features entirely, looking for all the world like a client about to be wheeled into the crematorium.

"Spoiled brat."