Chapter 2358: Second "Guidance

Chapter 2358: Chapter 2358: Second "Guidance

Shard couldn’t help but sigh inwardly at that mermaid’s twisted sense of humor, and Richard actually didn’t object to that view:

"This world is heading toward calamity and ruin. If you can use her Power to aid Civilization, then that’s fine as well. I hold fast to my own Justice, but I don’t demand that others be the same as me... But be very careful; always remind yourself—are you using her, or is she using you?"

"Yes, I’ll be careful."

"Then, farewell forever."

Richard said, and Shard also nodded:

"Farewell forever."

The originally blurry figure flickered once more, then vanished completely. At the same time, the notebook pierced through on the ground by the Longsword finished its crystallization entirely. Even with Shard standing right beside it, he could only perceive an extremely faint Whisper Element. Even the element of the simplest Poet-Level Relic was far more distinct than this.

Canceling Moonlight Thorns, Shard pulled out that Silver Cross Sword. Holding in his hands the thick pink Crystal from which the shape of the notebook could no longer be discerned, Shard asked silently in his heart:

"What is this?"

[A Crystal.]

"Aside from that?"

[Nothing at all.]

[Outlander, you’ve perceived the Whisper... Within the Crystal is contained a portion of Power. Do you wish to use your spiritual power to touch it?]

"What Power?"

[A Gift.]

His spiritual power only brushed it lightly, and a tiny amount of Whisper Element seeped into Shard’s soul. A brand-new Power came under his control with ease, and "she" beside his ear softly reminded him:

[Outlander, you have mastered the Sorcery ’Heart Curse’. By grasping the true name and appearance, combined with simple hand signs, you can cause a target who possesses a heart to suffer sudden heart failure.]

"Curse" is one of the most basic manifestations of Supernatural Power, and the Power Shard had just mastered was one such Curse. This Sorcery sounded formidable, but in practice wasn’t all that useful. Heart disease was simply not an issue for most Transcendents; as for the Marquis Mosen’s near-fatal heart attack this morning, that obviously happened because the activator was a Relic.

Shard’s Sorcery - Heart Curse could not yet achieve such destructive force; it was Sorcery, not an Arcane Technique. And by the time Shard could kill someone like Marquis Mosen with this Sorcery alone, a casual slash of Moonlight from him would actually be more effective.

"Anyway, it came for free, and I just happened not to have touched Curse-type Powers yet."

He sat back down on that rock and looked at the river before him, and Mr. Coroner Albert, having received his signal, soon walked out from the rice fields.

The Coroner in his brown cloak did not sit down, but stood at Shard’s side, looking together with him toward that river:

"You seem quite sorrowful?"

"I wouldn’t go so far as to call it sorrow, I’ve just heard a story that leaves one heavy-hearted. No one in that story has a good ending, and yet I can’t think of how, if I were someone in the story, I could obtain a good ending."

Listening to the river, Shard sat on the stone and recounted to the Coroner the love story of Madeline and Richard. He did not mention that it was related to that Relic, but he believed the Coroner could hear it between the lines.

Mr. Ptolemy Albert did not interrupt a single time while listening to the story. Only when Shard finished did he look at the river cutting through the rice fields and say:

"It is indeed something that is hard to choose upon. If it were me, I doubt I could make a better choice than they did."

It was Shard who was confiding his worries to him, yet the Coroner looked even more troubled:

"So then, what exactly is Justice? If Justice is bought with the Sacrifice of some people, is that truly worth it?"

The river was not very wide, and the Star River did not cast its reflection upon it. Besides the sound of water, there were still faint insect chirps from the rice fields. Shard wanted to sit quietly for a while before heading back; he still had to deal with Mrs. Jude’s matter later, and he needed to think.

"Justice... it’s really hard to say."

Shard did not give an answer right away. The two men stared together at the nighttime river, at the rural night scenery. Shard suddenly raised his head again to look at the night sky; a few clouds drifted across the deep blue canopy, stars shimmered with Light, and three imperfect Moons quietly shone down upon the Earth.

The nighttime insect song calmed the heart; the sound of the evening wind passing over the rice fields had to be felt with one’s own skin. The flying insects that drifted around Shard did not land on him, nor did they disturb his enjoyment of tonight’s nightscape.

If it were possible, Shard truly wished he had more Time to sit here and gaze at the Stars, instead of thinking about the series of things to come:

"Justice, in my understanding, goes like this."

Shard said suddenly. Mr. Albert looked at him with some surprise, and Shard patted his own chest:

"It’s not about how others feel; it’s about how you feel. Every night before you sleep, think over what you’ve done. If you can still close your eyes and sink into deep sleep, then what you’ve done is Just—what I said only applies to people with a basic moral sense."

Mr. Albert blinked, and Shard, sitting on the cold boulder, went on with a smile:

"Some things are destined to have no correct option. If you are forced to make a choice, then choose the one that lets you sleep soundly."

"I don’t understand."

Mr. Albert shook his head slightly.

"It’s very simple. When someone enforces justice, is it just to earn other people’s praise?"

"I don’t think so. Even if it is, the bigger reason is still wanting to help others."

Shard chuckled, folding his left leg up onto the rock while his right foot stayed on the gravel of the riverbank. He tilted his head back to look at the starry sky. Mr. Albert watched him silently, watching the young man in the moonlight as if he were a divine statue carved from marble.

"Why does a person enforce justice? To help others? Then why help others? Is it because we can’t bear tragedy, or because helping others lets us feel a sense of fulfillment?

Whatever the reason, we act justly because doing so makes us happy."

Mr. Albert frowned slightly:

"I feel you’re quibbling, but... yes, enforcing justice does indeed make one happy. A sense of duty, of honor, of fulfillment— even the most conservative ascetic, when extending a helping hand to the weak, is sure to gain these things."

His eyes seemed to glow:

"But if justice is only there to make ourselves happy, isn’t that a bit too pale?"

Shard lowered his gaze from the starry sky and met Mr. Albert’s eyes; in the former’s pupils, the latter seemed to glimpse the Moon.

"Mr. Albert, do you really believe justice must be something lofty? Isn’t that a little too steeped in Pride?"

Thinking of the story from just now, thinking of his ten years of all kinds of experiences in Moon Bay, the middle-aged Coroner only pondered for a moment before he too let it go:

"Yes, pale. Why must justice be rich and colorful? Pale—this word is really too good. Justice ought to be pale by its nature."

Shard joined in the joking:

"If this were the ancient days, just with what you’ve come to understand now, it’d be enough to make you a ’Holy Paladin’."

The Coroner held his satchel strap and shook his head slightly:

"I feel that after living all these years, I still don’t see things as clearly as you do."

"I don’t actually understand that much either. It’s just that in this past year, I’ve gone through far too many stories. Every now and then, when I stop at night to examine what I’ve done, these things come to mind. Pale justice... Justice that is pale and humble, but by no means powerless."

"That’s a fine sentence. Who said it?"

"An old Folklore Scholar, when speaking with me about the Angel-Level Relic ’Pale Justice’."

Mr. Albert nodded, patted his own chest, and, rare for him, gave a small laugh. Then he turned back and continued to watch the night scene ahead together with Shard.

Neither said they wanted to head back immediately, and when Shard’s gaze fell from the starry sky to the scene before him, landing on Mr. Ptolemy Albert by the Lake, he suddenly felt as though the other man had set down a thousand-pound burden.

[Outlander, you have guided a Hero, and you have gained Insight into ’Guidance’.]

"She" suddenly spoke gently by Shard’s ear, that voice blending into tonight’s darkness, the wind, and the sound of insects.

"Second time guiding someone, isn’t it? Looks like this Spirit Rune is going to show up soon. Desecration - Dragon, Enlightenment - Flesh, Whisper - Red Butterfly, Whisper - Prejudice... if Guidance ultimately turns out to be the ’Miracle’ Spirit Rune, that would be perfect."

He spoke silently in his heart, his eyes resting on Mr. Albert’s profile:

"And so, that’s how it is."

"She" was still laughing softly, that voice under this Moonlight so very gentle.

Only long after, when Shard and Mr. Albert returned to that barn, did they find Mrs. Jude and Mr. Benhart still in the barnyard.

The mud and stains on Mrs. Jude’s luxurious evening gown were already gone. She stood beneath the tree with her arms folded; Mr. Benhart was a short distance in front of her, and from that troubled expression on his face, it was obvious he had far more to worry about than Shard and the Coroner, who had just quietly enjoyed the night view.

"This is how you fulfill your promise to help me?"

"Madam, just tell me—did we help you or not?"

"You promised Miss Les you’d repay a favor, and this is how you repay it?"

"Looking at the outcome, just say it—did we help you or not?"

"I was nearly strangled to death by your friend with that damned Chains!"

"I’m very sorry, but just say it—did we help you or not? Ahem, don’t get angry yet."

Mr. Benhart coughed once:

"Didn’t you also promise Miss Les that if she helped us and we helped you, then you wouldn’t be sucking blood for the near future?"

This time Mrs. Jude snapped her mouth shut, so Mr. Benhart pressed the advantage:

"And don’t complain that my friend used so much force. That was to draw out that Relic. You still haven’t realized what kind of thing has its eye on you, have you? Sage-Level Relic ’Richard’s Notes’—when dealing with an existence of that Level, the price being nothing more than you getting knocked to the ground and hung from a tree is really quite a bargain.

And honestly, Madam, my friend is very unusual. Plenty of pretty ladies would love to have him tie them up, but they’ve never gotten the chance."