Chapter 289: Back

“Thank you! Thank you all! Thank you, great Darkmoon!” Reima’s father knelt on the ground, expressing his gratitude toward Ophelia.

“You should also thank Order,” Ophelia reminded him.

“Yes, yes! Thank the great God of Order! Thank the great God of Order! Those bastards from Reincarnation deserve to die, every last one of them!”

According to the explanation Ophelia had offered, the man from the Church of Reincarnation had intended to traffic people and extract their souls for evil rituals, and Reima had become a chosen target.

Fortunately, he had been discovered midway through by Darkmoon guards who had always devoted themselves to protecting Darkmoon Island, and Reima had been rescued in time. With the guards, an Order priest had contributed greatly as well.

For this restaurant owner, knowing that much was enough.

As for the gold compensation, compared to the pendant Karon obtained, it was insignificant. The Gatekeeper had also said the remaining value of the pendant counted as compensation, which also meant “The pendant is yours, so help me settle the aftermath and pay the compensation.”

After all, it was impossible for a dignified Gatekeeper of Reincarnation to carry large amounts of worldly currency around with her at all times. Karon even suspected she probably did not have the habit of carrying even credits.

After leaving the restaurant, Ophelia closed her eyes, her expression somewhat grave.

“Where should we go for supper?” Karon asked. He could roughly guess what Ophelia was thinking right now. As a member of the Darkmoon bloodline that was tasked with protecting the people of Darkmoon Island, she had been unable to intervene personally earlier and could only rely on Karon to fight.

Yet in the end, she still had to accept the gratitude from the girl’s father. Although the explanation had merely been a temporary story used to wrap things up quickly, those words of gratitude still sounded deeply ironic in Ophelia’s ears.

“Karon, you were right.”

“Hmm?”

“Didn’t you once say to my uncle that Darkmoon is only worthy of reflecting Order’s shadow?”

“That was just me deliberately being rude to inflate my own worth in front of your uncle. Please apologize to Admiral Tafmann on my behalf.”

“But it’s true, and we all know it’s true. It’s just that even if everyone understands it inwardly, hearing it under different circumstances creates completely different feelings.

“I now fully understand why Father was so determined to align himself with the Church of Order. Even if becoming Order’s dog means wearing chains, countless stray dogs outside would still envy that iron chain beyond measure. Only strength matters. Darkmoon is still too weak. So weak that when the coming storm arrives, it will have no ability whatsoever to protect itself.

“My father’s generation and my generation must continue working for the development of Darkmoon Island. I hope that one hundred years from now, two hundred years from now, no one on Darkmoon Island will point at a woman here and casually call her some lowly trash. And I hope that by then, the princess hiding behind the tree will have the courage to step forward openly, reveal her identity, and cut off his head.”

The conversation grew heavier and heavier. It was like knowing full well that you were ugly, yet when the person you loved still chose to leave because of that ugliness, the pain would still cut straight into your heart.

“So what? Are you planning to imitate Torathos and seal yourself away to sleep for a century or two before waking up to take a look?”

Ophelia turned to look at Karon, lips puffing slightly. She had genuinely been thrown off balance for a moment by the abruptness of his attempt to change the subject.

Karon laughed softly. “Let’s eat supper. Food helps relieve stress.”

“Fine.” Ophelia selected a restaurant with three entire rows of barbecue grills outside.

Standing at the entrance, Karon was hit by the scorching mixture of spices and seafood smoke so intensely that he closed his eyes. Honestly, it felt more overwhelming than Karmond’s soul charging into his body earlier.

The two selected a corner seat and ordered their dishes. Very soon, plates of charcoal-grilled giant oysters were brought over one after another. The oysters on Darkmoon Island were several times larger than those Karon had seen in Veyn, especially the plump white flesh, which perfectly embodied the phrase “large and succulent.”

Yet Karon did not touch a single one. He simply silently poured himself a cup of fruit wine from the bottle he had packed from Reima’s father and slowly drank it.

Meanwhile, Ophelia kept eating without pause. It seemed like she had truly set aside every burden and completely immersed herself in the joy of good food.

During the brief interval after one tableful of oysters had been finished and before the next arrived, Ophelia accepted the wet towel Karon handed her and wiped the corners of her mouth.

“Logically speaking, you should be able to eat more than I can.” She was referring to the state Karon displayed during battle earlier, one that was no weaker than her own.

Karon felt the reason was likely because he relied on Light power conversion.

However, that also meant although he could wield extremely powerful Darkmoon strength, he had lost the bodily enhancement and strengthening benefits that normally came during cultivation.

There were gains and losses to everything.

“My appetite isn’t very good,” Karon explained.

“It’s fine. Watching me eat makes the food taste even better.”

“Oh. Watching you eat also makes you seem very cute.”

“There’s a line in Ancestor Bernard’s notes: When a woman tells a man ‘you’re a kind and good person,’ or when a man tells a woman ‘you’re cute,’ both phrases actually mean the speaker is deliberately trying to create distance.

“Although Ancestor Bernard’s image has completely collapsed in my mind, I still have to admit that some of his words remain full of wisdom in certain aspects. The wisdom of life experience.

“It doesn’t matter to me anymore anyway. You don’t want me regardless, so even if I grow fat, it changes nothing. It’s not like I need to worry about fitting into a wedding dress.”

In truth, as a martial practitioner, it would be extremely difficult for Ophelia to actually become fat no matter how much she ate.

Karon poured her another cup of fruit wine and placed it before her.

“When you leave, I won’t go see you off. It’ll just feel overly sentimental.”

“Mhmm,” Karon responded. “Once you arrive at the Church of Order and settle down, you can come find me in York City.”

“And then you’ll treat me to Veyn soybean paste in some York City restaurant?” Ophelia smiled before continuing, “Don’t worry. I’ll come find you eventually. I want to meet your fiancée. I want to tell her that I envy her.”

After speaking, Ophelia raised her wineglass toward Karon, and he raised his own as well.

Just as the two were about to clink glasses—

The newest batch of giant oysters arrived. Ophelia immediately put down her cup and resumed enjoying the food.

***

By the time Karon returned to the hotel, it was already very late. The captain was not in the room, and Karon had no idea where he had gone.

After showering, Karon lay down on his bed and began recalling everything that had happened throughout the day.

In truth, he had not spent very long on Darkmoon Island, yet because too many things happened every single day, it instead created the illusion that he had already stayed there for a very long time. He was about to leave.

Karon closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.

When he woke up again, the sky was gray and dimly yellowed. It was probably already afternoon. Perhaps even dusk. He shook his head helplessly. His sleep duration had become absurdly long recently. Of course, he understood this was because his body needed recovery from exhaustion.

Still, if this continued, every day of activity would require an entire extra day of sleep to recover from. His schedule would never return to normal.

The captain’s bed remained empty, though the pillow and blanket positions had changed. The captain had probably returned briefly to rest.

Karon climbed out of bed and washed up. When he stepped out from the washroom, he saw the captain pushing open the door and entering at the exact same time.

“So, you recently converted to worshipping the God of Sleepiness?”

“Does a deity like that exist?”

“Who knows? Maybe one day, under the prayers of every insomniac in the world, the God of Sleepiness will truly be born.”

“Heh. Fair enough.”

The captain sat down beside the bed. “We’re heading back tomorrow.”

“Mhmm.”

“This morning, Bishop Wolfram spoke to me again. Well... did something happen between you and Ophelia emotionally?”

“Emotionally?” Karon shook his head. “We’re very good friends.”

“Oh, damn it. So my promised position is gone?”

“Captain, the next time you make decisions like this, could you please inform me beforehand?”

“Promotion matters always need a bit of surprise mixed in for presentation, don’t they? In my original plan, I’d become a squadron commander overseeing three squads. You’d officially gain a position while remaining a vice-captain. Whether the actual captain stood above or below you would entirely depend on your preference. Wouldn’t that have been wonderful?”

“No.”

“Fine, I understand. Next time I’ll inform you beforehand.”

“You say that every single time.”

“I always say ‘next time.’”

“Captain, do you really want a promotion that badly?”

“Who doesn’t? Though what I really want is practical authority, which is why I’ll never transfer into administration. That kind of work is far too dull and boring. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

“Oh right. Bishop Wolfram told me to notify you. About half a month after we return, there’ll probably be a selection process. The Church wants to choose a batch of outstanding young people. I think it’s probably related to the Reincarnation Gate trial slots. York City district will select five people.”

“So many?”

“Every district will select five people. Afterward, they’ll probably gather everyone together for another final selection.

“Also, Bishop Wolfram specifically told me to remind you that the selection method mainly involves soul-related illusion tests, so you should prepare yourself during this period.”

“I understand.” If the evaluation tested overall capability, then within this age bracket, Karon was confident he could pass the York City district selection. However, once all district candidates gathered together for the final round, he did not possess absolute certainty anymore.

After all, the enormous Church of Order could lack many things, but one thing it could never lack was geniuses.

Strictly speaking, in his youth, Tiz had also been included among the geniuses groomed by the Church of Order. It was only later that his development had diverged from the path the church desired.

The world had not granted only Karon fortunate encounters, resources, and talent. To ordinary people, geniuses seemed rare simply because they were too distant to be seen clearly, but in the eyes of true geniuses, the world often felt overcrowded.

However, if the selection specifically concerned the soul...

Then Karon truly had nothing to worry about. Even if other soul-related geniuses existed, Karon felt he could comfortably enter the top twelve even if he lay down and did absolutely nothing.

That was without question. If even he could not rank within the top twelve for his age group, then every orthodox church might as well wash up and sleep peacefully while waiting for the Church of Order’s inevitable explosion of talent several years later to unify the entire ecclesiastical world and establish the great God of Order as the sole supreme deity of this world.

“Still, I’m curious why Bishop Wolfram suddenly treats you so well. From his perspective, you stole away his future granddaughter-in-law.”

“Ophelia and I—”

“Mmhm, mmhm, I know. But stealing her away and then not even wanting her is an even greater humiliation, isn’t it?”

“Captain—”

“We’re only discussing the matter objectively. Putting you on the selection list proactively is one thing, but even leaking the test contents beforehand? Sigh, I truly can’t understand it anymore.

“Tell me honestly, did you wear your grandfather’s mask and appear in Bishop Wolfram’s dreams?”

“No. Aside from absolutely necessary situations, I won’t wear that mask.”

“Oh. Then something definitely happened last night. You slept an entire extra day again, which means something major must’ve happened.”

Karon recounted the events of last night to the captain. After listening, Nio tightly pursed his lips. “Sigh. In the end, you still failed to kill him. Heh.”

“There was no way to kill him anymore.”

“I know, but you were still holding yourself back too much.”

“It’s because I still can’t properly control my strength.”

“That’s not a problem. Once we return, we’ll find some time and I’ll become your sparring partner.

“I know you definitely want to beat me up right now, so I’ll give you a perfectly justified reason.”

“Then Captain, you’re not allowed to use Light power.”

“Mhmm.” Nio’s smile stiffened slightly. “Dream on.”

“That’s unfair.”

“Alright, I’ve just realized something; You genuinely want to beat me.”

***

The next morning, everyone packed their luggage. Bernard Hotel’s bellboys transported it ahead of the guests by carriage to the teleportation point. All luggage required separate teleportation packaging, and no living creature was permitted inside.

Karon suspected this was most likely due to cost concerns. Probably only an orthodox church could afford to maintain such pomp on top of the already astronomical expense of teleportation arrays.

Fortunately, no further conflicts broke out during the withdrawal of the two churches. In fact, ever since the negotiations concluded, hostility between both sides had noticeably eased over the past few days. Many people even exchanged souvenirs before parting.

In more exaggerated cases, some had nearly developed inappropriate romantic entanglements. For example, Richard exchanged gifts with a female priest from the Church of Reincarnation. She gave him a silver bracelet. It was not a holy relic, merely a piece of handcrafted jewelry, but its design was genuinely elegant.

The gift Richard returned was a fairly high-quality gemstone protective artifact originally given to him by his grandfather, Derron.

From Karon’s perspective, it was a trade so terrible it could bankrupt several generations of ancestors, yet Richard thoroughly enjoyed the electrifying thrill of it.

The two churches had only recently fought a war and still fundamentally stood in opposition to one another. Against such a backdrop, any mutual attraction between young men and women from opposing sides naturally became something forbidden, and forbidden things often carried an extraordinary thrill.

People lost themselves in that sensation, and in doing so elevated the greatness of love itself.

To put it bluntly, regardless of its form, the ultimate purpose of romance was always self-gratification.

To make oneself happier, to make oneself feel better.

“How did you move so quickly?” Karon asked.

“That’s because you spent the past few days sleeping all the time. Memphis was too shy and absolutely refused to accompany me to the mermaid theater, so I had no choice but to wander around by myself. Then I happened to meet her.”

“What’s her name?”

“Belia.”

“Did you get her contact information?”

“We can exchange letters through teleportation array delivery. It’s very efficient.”

“That’s expensive.”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry. I already gave her an envelope stuffed with plenty of credits. More than enough to cover postage.”

“Mhmm. You really are thoughtful. And generous.”

“Of course. It’s romance. I can’t possibly behave like my pennypinching father.”

Karon glanced toward Memphis standing beside them. “How exactly is he stingy?”

“Heh. My mother originally thought my father seemed reliable, but later realized he listened to his family about absolutely everything. My grandmother treats him like a precious treasure she keeps in the palm of her hand.”

“I think you’re drifting off topic.”

“Oh? Am I? Anyway, my mother always complains she gained absolutely nothing from marrying into the Gorman family. Honestly, it’s all rather boring. My family conditions are pretty decent, right? Since I finally found someone I like, naturally I can’t be too stingy. That girl only appears to be an ordinary Reincarnation priest, but I know she definitely comes from some major family within the Church of Reincarnation.

“The Church of Reincarnation has several huge families on the level of the Simons family. My instincts and observations can’t be wrong. The more I give her, the more she’ll think I’m honest and sincere. The more she’ll think her act of pretending to be ordinary succeeded. The more she’ll find me interesting. And naturally, the more interested she’ll become in me.”

“So that was the setup all along?”

“Yeah. What about it?”

“You pursued her because you recognized her identity?”

“No. I thought she was beautiful at first glance. It was after realizing her identity that I instantly found her even more beautiful.”

“Fair enough. Hopefully your father approves.”

“My father’s basically a block of wood. Who cares whether he approves? As long as my grandmother approves, everything’s fine.”

“Wonderful. Next time war breaks out, the two of you can stab knives into each other’s chests face-to-face. The scene will surely be beautiful.”

“Heh. Or perhaps my grandfather could submit an application above and arrange a political marriage for me instead. After all, I’m willing to dedicate myself entirely to the great God of Order.”

The two chatted as they followed the carriage up the mountain. Throughout the journey, Memphis’s expression darkened again and again.

The teleportation gate opened, and everyone prepared to enter in batches.

Just before stepping onto the teleportation platform, Karon turned back for one final look. In the distance stood a graceful figure.

She had said she would not come, yet in the end, sentiment still got the better of her. After one last look at Darkmoon Island’s sea, its scenery, and its people, Karon turned around and stepped into the teleportation gate.

Buzz! After two consecutive teleportations, Karon and the others returned to the basement of the Church Affairs Building in York City.

Everyone walked out from the basement and onto the streets. Watching the automobiles continuously pass before them and the towering skyscrapers rise overhead, they all experienced the strange sensation of having returned from another world.

Karon spread his arms, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. “We’re back.”

“Hahaha! I’m back!!!” Richard shouted.

Memphis nodded. “Mhmm. Finally back.”