“Dead?”

“Yes. When the appointment time was almost up, the secretaries started trying to contact Mr. Tadel, but the butler at his residence informed them that Mr. Tadel had already gotten into a car and headed over to us long ago. We thought he might have run into traffic, or been delayed by something else, but when they last called, the butler told us Mr. Tadel was in a car accident, and he is gone.”

“So fast.”

Bertha lifted a hand and pressed it to her temple. “They said a steel rod went straight through his head in the crash.”

Karon sighed. “My condolences for Mr. Tadel. May the Goddess of Nature guide his soul.”

“Mhmm. May Light guard his soul.” Bertha continued, “We’ll follow up on the subsequent matters. Of course, not to pursue the appointment fee, but as basic care from the clinic for a client. Oh, right. Mr. Karon, you can leave work.”

“Alright. Thanks for your hard work.” Karon nodded. He placed the papers with Mr. Tadel’s background information into his briefcase, picked it up, and left the office.

Entering the elevator, Karon’s eyes grew thoughtful. He did not believe Mr. Tadel’s death was just an ordinary traffic accident.

The elevator reached the first floor, and when the doors opened, Karon saw a middle-aged man in a woolen red crewneck sweater standing before the elevator. Behind him was a group of bodyguards in black suits. The bodyguards’ bearing and positioning made them far too easy to identify. After all, Karon had lived in Allen Manor for some time.

The middle-aged man’s eyes swept over Karon, who immediately showed a panicked expression. He was clearly “frightened” by the aura of the group. He pressed himself to the edge of the elevator and cautiously stepped out.

The middle-aged man entered the elevator with his bodyguards.

Once the doors closed, the panic vanished from Karon’s face. Who are those people who just went up?

Having just become a Divine Shepherd, Karon’s intuition had greatly improved. Of course, it could not compare to using investigation Arts, but rashly using such Arts was actually very stupid. As Alfred had said, a female security guard in the clinic had investigated him again and again.

With worries running through his mind, Karon exited the building. At that moment, a young woman carrying a huge bag of chips walked toward him, clearly intending to “bump” into him.

Despite being preoccupied, Karon instantly noticed it, so just as they were about to collide, he stopped walking forward and avoided her.

However, the girl had already prepared for an “accidental collision,” and thus had no time to react. She instantly lost her balance and toppled forward.

Snap. The sound of chips scattering everywhere.

Snap. The sound of the young woman face-planting onto the ground.

Luckily, she had thrown away her beloved chips first to be able to brace herself with both hands. That had spared her face from making intimate contact with the pavement.

Karon did not go over to help her up, but instead chose to go around her. He avoided stepping on the chips as much as possible, and headed straight for his car parked by the curb.

The girl had already reached out for his hand to pull her up, but even after a long moment, he still did not do so. When she looked up, she saw that he had already reached his car.

Thinking of what her brother had said, in addition to the embarrassment of falling, the girl did not know where her courage came from, but she climbed up and ran toward Karon.

He heard hurried footsteps coming up behind him. Unfortunately, he did not have a gun in his jacket. Otherwise, given the same situation, Karon felt his first instinctive reaction would have been to reach for a gun.

He turned around and finally got a clear view of the young woman’s face. She was the same one who had asked him if he wanted some chips from the taxi.

“You really have no gentlemanly manners,” the young woman said, her cheeks puffed out with anger.

“Miss, do you need something?” Karon asked.

“Do you know how long I’ve been wandering around here just to be able to run into you?” she demanded, hands on her hips.

“Miss, what do you want with me?”

“I came to thank you for saving me last time.”

“Which time?”

“Last time.” The girl waved her arms. “The explosion.”

Karon hesitated. His instincts told him he should put on a shocked expression and ask in surprise, “What? That little girl was you?” or perhaps, “Don’t joke around! How could that be?”

However, that little girl had seen him use defensive Arts, so if this really was her, then there would be no point in putting on an act

“Alright, I’ve received your thanks. You don’t need to be so polite.” Karon opened the car door and sat in the driver’s seat.

At that moment, the front passenger door opened as well. The girl sat down, shut the door, and patted her thigh in dissatisfaction. “Hey, do you have to be this cold?”

“Miss, just what are you trying to do?” Karon asked.

“Aren’t you curious why I suddenly grew up?” The girl blinked at Karon. Ask me. Ask me and I’ll tell you it’s because I wanted to repay your life-saving kindness and deliberately grew up faster.

“You should eat less snacks. They might have been injected with growth hormones.”

The girl fell silent.

“I’m very sorry. If possible, please leave your contact information, as I have something urgent to deal with right now. We can schedule an appointment another day.”

“Hmph!” She was truly angry. She had imagined many different scenarios for this “second encounter,” but they all started with her colliding with Karon and him catching her as she fell, not with her splattering face-first onto the ground in front of him.

Right then, Karon saw the middle-aged man in the red sweater come out of the building again with his bodyguards. One bodyguard held a photograph, as if confirming something, and the others were sweeping the area with their eyes.

Instinctively, he had a premonition that they were looking for him.

Karon immediately reached out, grabbed the girl, and created a scene of the two of them kissing in the car, using her back to block the men’s line of sight.

After they finished searching the immediate vicinity with no results, they got into a car parked further ahead.

While Karon was watching their movement out of the corner of his eye, the girl truly thought Karon was going to kiss her. She proactively closed her eyes, eyelashes trembling.

Yet as soon as the group’s car drove off, Karon pushed the girl away.

She fell silent again.

At this moment, Karon saw Bertha appear on the building’s first floor. After confirming that the group had left, he got out of the car and walked straight towards Bertha.

“Mr. Karon.” Bertha walked toward him as well, and spoke without any nonsense, “A group just arrived, claiming to be Mr. Tadel’s relatives. They asked about the situation regarding his appointment, and they asked which psychologist Mr. Tadel had booked. When they knew your name, they tore your photo down from the physician board and took it.”

“Not ordinary people?” Karon asked.

“Yes. I could clearly sense the aura of a family faith system radiating from the leader,” Bertha agreed. “But it shouldn’t be a big issue. Our relationship with Mr. Tadel’s family was purely business, wasn’t it?”

“Bertha, are you testing me?” Karon asked.

“Of course not.”

“My relationship with Mr. Tadel was purely professional as well. If I had any other involvement with him, why would I take the extra step of booking a meeting at the clinic?”

“That’s very reasonable. So it’s simply that Mr. Tadel was silenced because he was going to do something, or because he already did something, yes?”

A man had just been pronounced dead in a car accident, and someone had immediately arrived to investigate his schedule for the day. Their purpose was far too obvious.

“Mhmm.” Karon asked, “Besides my photo, what else did they take?”

“They asked for your address.”

“You gave it to them?”

“Yes,” Bertha replied. “But I gave them an Apple Street address.”

“Apple Street?” It was not far from the clinic, and could be considered prime downtown real estate.

“It’s the boss’s address,” Miss Bertha explained.

“Does Piaget know you did this?” Karon asked.

“The boss went to an art exhibition today and isn’t at the clinic, so he doesn’t know about the matter right now, but I think that if he were in, he would agree. There’s no way we’d give your real address to that group of strangers.”

“They’ll know whose place it is.”

“Oh, of course.” Bertha continued, “Which is why I told them you live with our boss.”

Karon fell silent.

“You can’t see much of a difference between a house where one man lives and a house where two men live,” Bertha explained.

“They might search Piaget’s home.”

“You can rest assured, as we search the boss’s home rather often in private. There’s nothing there that can’t see the light of day.”

“Alright.”

“I suggest that you go to the boss’s place now, or in a bit, to put on a show. Here is a key to his place: Apple Street 3-06. The house is a villa owned by the boss’s father’s name, and the boss is currently living there.

“I think as long as you truly have no relationship with Mr. Tadel beyond work, you can explain things and put on a bit of a show to put an end to this. They’re just screening suspects, which is easy to deal with.

“Also, to be honest with you, we have people protecting the area near the boss’s home, so your safety can absolutely be guaranteed, though I don’t think you need our protection.”

As long as you truly have no relationship with Mr. Tadel beyond work. There was something behind what was said; Bertha suspected him.

Karon lowered his voice and asked, “Tell me the truth; Mr. Tadel wasn’t killed by you people, was he?”

“Why would we kill him? He was our client.”

“‘We’ is not the same as ‘us,’” Karon reminded her. “Anything is possible, isn’t it? What if Mr. Tadel discovered something abnormal in the clinic?”

“Then why would he still have booked an appointment at the clinic?”

“I never received a call from him; You’re the one who told me there was an appointment.”

“That is utterly absurd. How can you think in that direction?” Bertha asked.

“You grew suspicious of me first, which would make you the absurd one,” Karon retorted.

Bertha pursed her lips and nodded. “I apologize. I hope you can understand. If your Berai Church merely cannot appear openly, our Church of Light, in our present state, truly die the moment we are exposed. When we come into contact with circles beyond the ordinary, we inevitably react rather excessively.”

“Alright. I hope there can be more trust between us.”

“Of course. However, that person is...” Bertha had clearly seen the girl in Karon’s passenger seat.

“A girl I just met,” Karon answered truthfully.

“Actually, many female doctors at the clinic are also willing.” Bertha pointed at herself. “Including me.”

“I prefer something simpler,” Karon said.

“Of course. You have the right to choose your tastes,” Bertha acquiesced.

Karon turned around and walked back to his car. The girl was still sitting in the front passenger seat. He did not chase her out, but simply started the car and drove away.

Bertha walked back into the building. The clinic’s female security guard, Rebecca, approached her. “It should have nothing to do with him. It should be nothing more than an aftershock of Mr. Tadel’s death dragging things along.”

“Then it’s simple,” Rebecca said.

Bertha continued, “Pass this down: investigate which family that group came from, but don’t alert them.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“And notify the people protecting the boss to fabricate some accidents to cause the boss to get back later.

“Also, send word to the people protecting the area beside the boss’s home that Mr. Karon will go to the boss’s home. No matter what happens between him and that group at that time, they are not to intervene.

“Seeing that family faith vermin swagger around in front of us is certainly irritating, but we really don’t need to drag ourselves into the mud for a few rats.”

“Yes, Envoy.”

“You ran into something?” the girl in the passenger seat asked.

“Where do you live? I’ll take you back,” Karon said.

“Hey, aren’t you curious at all how I suddenly grew up?” she asked.

“I’m very curious, but I don’t have the energy to ask right now.”

“So you did run into something.”

“It’s not a big problem. I can handle it.”

“You can come home with me. My brother wants to see you.”

“I don’t even know your name, and you want me to go meet your brother?” Karon asked.

“My name is Serena. What about you?” she asked.

“Silva.”

“I think that’s a fake name.”

“Yes.”

“You’re really perfunctory.” Serena pouted, but she still continued, “What I mean is, if someone’s giving you trouble, my brother can help you fight. He’s really good at fighting, unlike me.”

“Your brother really has a good sister, volunteering to bring trouble home,” Karon remarked.

“You saved me. Isn’t it normal for my brother to help you once?” Serena challenged.

“I didn’t save you so you could help me. Back then, I thought you were just a little girl. Besides, while the trouble I’m currently facing isn’t that big right, it can easily pull in real danger, so be a good girl and go home. Where is your place?”

“Lemar Pottery Studio on Second Street up ahead.”

“That’s close.”

“Yes.”

Karon very quickly arrived, and pulled up to the pottery studio’s entrance.

“Get out, Serena,” Karon ordered.

“You really won’t come in and sit for a bit?” she asked.

“No. Tell your brother hello for me, though I don’t know if you really do have a brother inside,” Karon said. After all, the last time they had spoken, the little girl had clearly said that she was going from her mother’s home to her father’s home, and even that her stepfather had given her some extra pocket money.

Serena seemed to think of something and said, “Actually, I didn’t lie to you last time.”

“Alright, alright. Go home. Home is safe. Once I’ve handled what I’m doing, I’ll come visit,” Karon said.

“Fine.” Serena got out of the car, waved at Karon, and walked into the pottery studio.

Karon smiled. He knew the girl was not an ordinary person, and her family was certainly not ordinary either. He also did not hold them any ill will. One, because he really had saved the girl, and two, because her behavior really did indicate that she had only been outside his work to find him and flirt.

He glanced at the house key on the seat. Should he go to Piaget’s home and put on a play?

He should, because he truly had no substantive contact with Mr. Tadel. If he did not go and wash away suspicions directed his way, it would instead be even easier for him to be dragged into more trouble.

He turned the car around, but did not drive straight to Apple Street. Instead, he drove to the hospital. He wanted to visit Alfred, who was loyal to him.

***

In the restroom of the art exhibit, Piaget’s personal driver stood by a window. A black crow landed, and teh man retrieved a note from the crow’s leg. It ordered him to manufacture an accident to delay the boss’s return home.

Mhmm, that’s no hard task. The driver crushed the note, then went to the sink and washed his hands. He left the restroom and returned to the exhibition.

The boss was just viewing the paintings in this area. Hm, not here? Then he should be in the next area.

Hm, not here either?

The driver was not particularly anxious as he continued searching. The boss had arrived in the driver’s car, so if he wanted to leave, he would only look for his driver. The man felt his boss had to be quietly appreciating some painting in a corner.

In reality, Piaget had already left the exhibit and was sitting inside a luxurious car.

“I’ve been waiting for you. I don’t know why, but I just felt you would appear in front of me,” Piaget said to the man beside him. The man took off his hat, revealing the face of a refined middle-aged man.

Bede smiled. “That means you have an affinity with the Wall God.”

“You’re actually smiling?”

“From your premonition, should I be crying?”

“It was a reaction even worse than crying.”

“Oh, I see.”

“It seems my premonition was wrong,” Piaget said.

“No. Actually, it wasn’t.”

“There’s something I really want to ask you. Some time ago, did you go to Roja City?” Piaget asked.

“I did.”

“About Linda...”

“That was Linda’s choice. As her husband, as her lover, you can feel that,” Bede said.

“There’s something I want to ask you to help with,” Piaget said.

“Tell me.”

“I want to go see the scenery that Linda yearned for,” Piaget said.

“Alright,” Bede agreed.

“Let’s chat over coffee,” Piaget suggested.

“Sure. The same café as back then?” Bede asked.

“That café closed long ago. Come to my place instead. I have some good coffee beans, as well as some excellent painting tools,” Piaget said.

***

“Have you checked everything?” the man in the red woolen sweater asked.

“Mr. Gerson, we’ve checked everything. There’s nothing to be found in the house.”

“Then wait. Wait for that psychologist with the surname Silva to come back, then ask him face to face.” Gerson pulled open the curtains on the second floor and looked out the window.

“Sir, according to the butler we placed in Tadel’s residence, after Mr. Tadel brought his son back from the psychology center last time, he kept praising one psychologist as being highly skilled.”

“Highly skilled?” Gerson held the photograph in his hand. “What skill? He thought the man was good-looking and took a fancy to him. Others go to convents to look for nuns, but Tadel liked looking for monks. This psychologist lives together with his male boss, and is conveniently the same kind of person as Tadel.

“I don’t think there’s anything to gain from this psychologist. This thread is probably just an accidental interlude. As for why Tadel chose to betray us, we’ll have to find clues from other directions.”

“Sir, you could have left these matters to us; Why do you have to come personally?”

“Right now, because the family’s patriarch died suddenly, our Raphael family is already in turmoil. No matter what, we can’t allow for any more mistakes in our business matters, especially not the Bloodspirit Powder business. This isn’t just about credits income, but also the means that binds our Raphael family with the Church of Order.

“Big brother is preparing to compete for the title of patriarch, so as his younger brother, I can only come to personally keep an eye on things. Besides, they already detained that troublesome Inquisitor, and they’ve already expressed dissatisfaction with how strict we are in our operations. We absolutely cannot make another mistake.”

“Yes, sir. Sir, look, the car is here.”

The car stopped at the entrance, and two people got out.

“Sir, that is the clinic owner. The clinic entrance has a big photo of him posted. The other one, is that the psychologist? He looks a bit older...”

Gerson’s eyes widened. He stared at the man beside Piaget, and shock and fury instantly appeared on his face.

“That’s the patriarch of the Allen family...”

The Allen family actually has a connection to that clinic? Then Tadel’s purpose in visiting it was not to treat any psychological issue, nor to look for a good-looking male psychologist. He went to report to the Allen family.

In an instant, Gerson made a reflexive choice. All other messy influences could be stripped away to reduce things to one instinct: When you encounter the patriarch of an enemy family alone, what do you choose?

Gerson made his choice. “Kill them.”