Chapter 723: Order - Awakening!

Chapter 723: Order—Awakening!

Sitting before the mirror, Karen personally applied medicine to the wound between his brows, then carefully bandaged it.

Healing arts had been used, but to little effect; after all, it was a wound pierced by a finger of Light, carrying a somewhat frustrating stubbornness, seemingly only able to heal slowly at the speed of a normal human.

As for tetanus infection or rabies vaccines, Karen felt he no longer needed to worry about such things, considering it a retention of the most basic modicum of respect for the God of Light.

"Creak..."

Little Canna, carrying Purr, stepped out of the washroom, having just helped bathe the cat.

Though she had been exhausted to the point of near paralysis herself in the theater, upon returning to the room, she still adhered strictly to her rule of having to bathe before going to bed.

After placing Purr on the pillow, Little Canna slept at the foot of the bed, cushioning her head on her hands.

Sleeping at the foot of the bed wasn't a matter of oppression, but rather because she liked to roll around in her sleep; the space at the foot of the bed happened to be larger, allowing her free rein.

Karen walked into the washroom, took a shower while avoiding his wound, changed into a set of black pajamas, and came out.

Though his instruction to Alfred had been to rest for a day, in reality, he himself was not tired; having absorbed so much holy power, his current energy could be described as incredibly abundant.

Sitting down at the desk, he flipped open the thick spellbook before him, and by the light of the desk lamp and the moon, Karen began to review the spells of Order.

One look lasted for several hours.

It had truly been a long time since he had read a spellbook so earnestly; as expected, practicality remained man's primary motivation for learning.

Gently pressing his neck, Karen picked up the notebook resting on the desk and opened it to reveal what he had once written inside.

Though Neo had expressed shock at his "strength as a God's Servant," there was actually one thing Karen had not told Neo—not out of a deliberate attempt to conceal it, but because right now it was merely a premonition.

He had originally thought that starting over was like retaking an exam: knowing the questions beforehand, one could easily obtain better marks through fuller preparation.

However, the reality was entirely different from what he had imagined.

You were indeed better prepared, but the level of difficulty had actually increased far more.

It was like playing with a group of neighborhood childhood friends when you were small; you were good at skipping stones, you could tell stories, you possessed a certain skill that made your playmates envious, prompting a little girl to look at you with admiration and say she wanted to be your bride when she grew up;

When you grew up, you would certainly know more, be more mature, and be more excellent than your childhood self, but faced with that same girl, she would no longer be willing to promise to be your bride just because you skipped stones well or could tell children's stories like you did in childhood.

Especially now, the next stage after God's Servant was Divine Enlightenment.

You had to receive enlightenment from God.

Yet the problem was, last time he could still obtain a chance to argue the point with the "God of Order," to criticize his divine enlightenment, and to personally prove through practice that the divine enlightenment given was wrong, and the guidance provided was a misdirection;

But now, he already stood upon the path of the rules of Order; though he was minuscule, his position was already different.

Therefore, Divine Enlightenment... wouldn't that mean giving divine enlightenment to himself?

The gap in perception and understanding of knowledge points between the test-taker and the test-maker was often immense.

What Karen had originally envisioned was simply to go from God's Servant, to Divine Enlightenment, and then to Divine Shepherd at the Allen Estate, using this brief period of injury leave to directly restore himself to the Judge or even straight back to the Adjudicator realm before stepping out;

Looking at it now, that was truly unrealistic.

At the next stage, he was directly stuck right here.

Using a fountain pen, Karen rather scribbled a tree in his notebook, drawing dense clusters of dots upon it, all of which represented people clinging to the tree and climbing upward;

Immediately after, he drew a small sapling beside the great tree.

No matter how rich one's experience in tree-climbing was, it could not be applied to how to grow up quickly after turning into a sapling.

Fortunately, in terms of combat power, he could now match his former self from when he descended into the cavern relying purely on the "God's Servant" realm.

Karen closed the notebook, leaned his body back against the chair, and looked out through the French windows at the night sky; that direction was Rhein, and also the direction of home.

"Grandfather, you worked so hard just to suppress your realm; if it were possible, we grandfather and grandson could really swap places, haha."

Karen let out a laugh, but as he laughed, he fell into a trace of loneliness once more.

Silently turning his head, he did not see the phantom image of Dis behind him.

This matter was something Karen himself was very puzzled by, namely, whether the Inmeles family bloodline had ultimately been dissolved and contaminated by divinity?

Logically speaking, back in the cavern, only that sculpture of Starving Addiction had remained within his soul space.

No, there was also this.

Karen spread his hand, and a black feather appeared in his palm.

Chimi was still there, but it currently required nurturing to recover.

Therefore, if he had survived at that moment by relying on the bloodline of his maternal grandmother, Alte, to stimulate the power of the Eternal God, then his bloodline should have been retained in this new body; thus, the Inmeles family bloodline, logically speaking, should also be preserved.

The best possibility was that it also needed to be nurtured for a period of time?

At times, it wasn't that Karen wished to rely on the power of the family faith system, but rather that with his grandfather's phantom standing behind him, he would feel a very comfortable sense of security.

Taking a deep breath and letting out a long sigh, Karen stood up and drew the curtains.

Ah,

How wonderful,

Tomorrow's sun would still rise as usual.

...

Waking up from his sleep, Karen received a letter passed over by Alfred during breakfast; the letter was written by Neo, very much in his style, very brief.

The general meaning was to say goodbye first, as he wanted to go clear his head.

Alfred expressed great emotion, saying, "Young Master, perhaps we won't be seeing Neo again for a short while."

Karen casually tossed the envelope onto the table, saying as he chewed the steak in his mouth, "If anyone else said they were going to clear their head, I would think they went out to sea for a long journey; in Neo's case... I think he might have gone to stage a comeback in the black market stock exchange, and then go to a rooftop to catch the breeze."

Saying this, Karen took a sip of orange juice:

"Go ask Leon if Neo borrowed securities from him."

"Understood, your subordinate will check."

"How are the preparations going over there?"

"Replying to the Young Master, everything is ready."

"And what about your learning exchange meeting?"

"It was already held this morning, and it was carried out very successfully; everyone was deeply shocked by what they witnessed in the theater yesterday. A miracle is indeed more useful than a year of preaching by your subordinate."

"Facts speak louder than any words."

"Yes, your subordinate has noted it down."

"Go prepare; I will go awaken Old Samaan and Count Recard in a moment."

"Very well, your subordinate will arrange for everyone to attend the ceremony." Pausing, Alfred added, "Your subordinate feels this is very important."

Because this was granting them a second life right before your eyes.

Karen nodded, then as if remembering something, he said, "Set up another summoning array for me later; I need to communicate with Loya afterward."

"Understood, Young Master."

Having finished breakfast, Karen prepared to head to the theater; Purr lay yawning on top of Little Canna's head, still feeling drowsy.

Karen reached out to stroke its head, murmuring, "Your great-great-great-great-niece is wide awake now. It's your turn."

Pu'er blinked open an eye at Karen, offering no response.

"I will instruct Alfred to upgrade the quality of your coffee by yet another notch."

At this, Pu'er's feline ears instantly pricked up, and its tail began to sway in anticipation.

"The matters regarding the awakenings in the performance hall are settled. We are having a feast tonight, and I shall cook the fish myself."

"Heh-heh, meow."

Pu'er lifted its head and leaped from little Kangna's skull toward Karen's shoulder; however, its body was far too weak, causing it to fall short and slip downward.

Karen extended a hand, supporting Pu'er's backside to catch the creature before settling it securely upon his own shoulder.

"Oh, my dear little Karen, this kitty loves you."

Pu'er extended a velvety paw, cradling Karen's cheek as it nuzzled against him.

Karen bent low, allowing little Kangna to take Pu'er back into her arms.

"By the way, where is Kevin? I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"That foolish hound... perhaps he moved away." Pu'er closed its eyes once more, drifting back into a slumber.

Karen stepped out of the bedroom and, at the far end of the corridor, spotted the doghouse. The large Golden Retriever had been lying there napping, but upon hearing footsteps, it rolled over and caught sight of Karen standing by the doorway. Instantly jolted with terror, the dog scrambled to its feet, head thrust forward, hind legs tensed, its tail flaring up for a fraction of a second before being hastily tucked away.

"Woof, woof, woof."

"What is the matter with you?"

Kevin shook its head, offering a deceptively innocent, simple-minded smile.

Lingering no further, Karen turned and made his way downstairs.

Kevin shook out its fur and crept back into the doghouse, letting out a long, heavy sigh of relief.

Ever since Karen had successfully purified himself into a divine servant the previous day, Ragnedal had once again recalled the crushing terror of being dominated by the absolute majesty of the God of Order.

...

Inside the performance hall, lanterns and banners hung high, the erstwhile solemnity entirely replaced by the warm, inviting atmosphere of a birthday gala.

A grand cake occupied the central area, flanked by a long row of tables laden with spirits, wine, and various delicacies.

Further along the perimeter stood two small tents equipped with mirrors, resembling the changing cubicles of a York City clothier, though noticeably more spacious.

Inside one tent hung two outfits: one was a pirate costume, complete from the eyepatch and pocket watch down to the boots and dagger; the other was the formal attire of the Allen family, tailored to their noble rank—evidently prepared for Count Recar.

The second tent similarly housed two garments: one was the divine vestment of the Pamires faith, while the other was the utilitarian uniform of a graveyard keeper, accompanied by a large broom—this was intended for old Saman.

Yet, Karen also took note of two folded robes of Order neatly stowed beneath the table holding the grand cake.

The primary hue of the robes of Order was eternally black, distinguished only by the emblems embroidered across the chest according to different departments and ranks; upon these two particular robes, the stitching formed the "Ace of Spades."

An A.

At that moment, Ventura and the others, who had been perfecting the arrangements of the venue, approached upon Karen's arrival; they too wore the robes of Order, and emblazoned across each of their chests was the Ace of Spades.