Chapter 32: Blue Volcano, Trust and Contrast

Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Blue Volcano, Trust and Contrast

’Catherine?’

’How could it be her?’

’When did she become the Dark Night Knight’s companion?’

Jeremy looked at Catherine in utter disbelief.

He never would have imagined that the person who now wanted him dead would be Catherine.

Although he didn’t know the specifics of the situation, he didn’t dwell on it and immediately said:

"I am your brother, Father’s eldest son, the future Count Rock Lion!"

"Release me at once, and I can choose not to pursue what happened tonight!"

Facing death, Jeremy still failed to grasp the severity of the situation, continuing to put on airs as the family’s eldest son in front of Catherine.

Catherine sighed helplessly and drew the Cross Sword from her waist.

She had thought that upon seeing her, Jeremy would repent for causing her mother’s death.

It turned out she had overestimated him.

After drawing her Cross Sword, Catherine immediately released a pale yellow Fighting Qi, letting it wreathe the blade.

Seeing her expertly wrap the Fighting Qi around the Cross Sword in less than a second, Jeremy finally reacted.

"When did you start cultivating a Breathing Technique?"

"How could Father have let you cultivate the Rock Lion Breathing Technique?"

"I see now! You stole the Inheritance Map for the Rock Lion Breathing Technique!"

"Just as I thought! You’re a bitch, just like your mother!"

"Father never should have brought your bitch mother back to the city—"

Before Jeremy could finish his sentence, Catherine thrust her Cross Sword forward.

SHLICK!

The Cross Sword, wreathed in pale yellow Fighting Qi, pierced through Jeremy’s mouth and exited the back of his head, ending his life completely.

"You have no right to judge my mother!"

Catherine withdrew her Cross Sword, looked down at Jeremy’s corpse, and said sharply.

Then, she sheathed her sword and left the living room without a backward glance.

"I thought you were going to torture him for a while before finishing him off."

"It seems you’re much more merciful than I imagined."

Roy said to Catherine.

"Letting a scumbag like him live for even one more second would have made me sick."

Catherine replied swiftly.

"If you say so."

With that, Roy led the way toward the "Red Salmon and Cherry Pie" tavern.

Catherine followed immediately, without any hesitation.

The "Red Salmon and Cherry Pie" tavern was also in the West District, not far from the slums where they currently were.

At their pace, it would only take a few minutes to get there.

Soon, they arrived on the street where the "Red Salmon and Cherry Pie" tavern was located.

Roy didn’t head straight for the tavern. Instead, he turned to Catherine and said, "Wait for me here."

"Where are you going?"

Catherine asked with a frown.

"To change clothes!"

"Your father put out such a large Gold Coin bounty on me. If I go over there looking like this, someone will be running to inform the City Guard before I even sit down."

"You should probably put on a mask, too."

"Otherwise, the news of Count Rock Lion’s eldest daughter visiting a tavern late at night with a strange man will be all over Redwood City by tomorrow."

Roy said with a serious expression.

"Alright!"

Catherine nodded and immediately put on her mask.

Roy said nothing more, turned, and left the alley, disappearing from Catherine’s sight.

「A few minutes later.」

Dressed all in black, Roy returned to Catherine, a black mask covering the lower half of his face.

Catherine studied Roy intently, as if trying to see his true face beneath the mask.

"Let’s go!"

Roy paid no mind to Catherine’s scrutiny and spoke quickly.

"Mm-hm!"

Catherine nodded.

Before long, they entered the "Red Salmon and Cherry Pie" tavern.

Upon entering the tavern, Catherine went straight to the bar and said to the bartender, "Is Sandru in his room?"

After speaking, she took out a Copper Coin imprinted with a Seven-Pointed Star and Crossed Swords and showed it to the bartender.

"He is."

"But he has a guest right now. You can wait in the room next door."

The bartender replied immediately.

"Alright!"

"Send up two ’Blue Volcanoes’."

Catherine put away the Copper Coin, handed the bartender a Silver Coin, and turned toward the stairs leading to the second floor.

Following Catherine, Roy arrived at a room on the second floor.

The room wasn’t large, only about ten square meters.

The furnishings were also quite plain; it was just an unremarkable meeting room.

After entering the room, Catherine sat down on a sofa and said to Roy, "The bartender will inform Sandru. He’ll come over after he’s done with his guest."

"Is the bartender also a member of the Second Son Brotherhood?"

Roy sat down across from Catherine and asked.

"No, he just works for Sandru."

"He knows about the Second Son Brotherhood, but he doesn’t meet the conditions to join..."

Here, Catherine paused, pointed to the black mask on Roy’s face, and continued, "I can understand why you want to hide your identity, but if you want to join the Second Son Brotherhood, you need to join with your real identity, not as the Dark Night Knight."

"Do I have to use my real identity?"

Roy asked.

"Of course!"

Catherine took off her mask and looked at Roy with a serious expression.

"Then never mind. I’ll join some other time."

Roy replied.

Although there were certain benefits to joining the Second Son Brotherhood, he wasn’t ready to reveal his true identity yet.

More importantly, he already had the Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique.

With his Skill Proficiency Panel and Chaos Square, he was completely confident he could cultivate the Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique to its limit and advance to become a Bronze Great Knight.

In other words, he was in no hurry to join the Second Son Brotherhood.

As soon as Roy finished speaking, Catherine frowned.

After a dozen or so seconds, she continued, "Why are you so insistent on hiding your true identity?"

"Have you done something heinous in the past? Or is your real identity shameful?"

Catherine had thought Roy was ready to reveal his true identity and join the Second Son Brotherhood.

But unexpectedly, Roy was only willing to join as the Dark Night Knight.

"There’s nothing shameful about my real identity. The reason I don’t want to reveal it right now is simply because I don’t trust you or the Second Son Brotherhood yet."

Although it was a hurtful thing to say, Roy said it anyway.

Being direct was better than making up some other excuse.

Just as he’d expected, an unhappy expression immediately appeared on Catherine’s delicate and charming face. She said quickly, "I killed Jeremy with my own hands. Isn’t that enough to earn your complete trust?"

"Almost."

Roy paid no mind to Catherine’s displeasure and replied unhurriedly.

"What else do I have to do for you to trust me completely?"

Catherine pressed.

"I don’t know, but now isn’t the time."

Roy replied casually.

That was what he said, but in truth, no matter what Catherine did in the future, she would never earn his complete trust.

For one thing, he would never tell anyone that he was a Transmigrator.

"No wonder you don’t have any friends in Redwood City!"

Catherine decisively ended the conversation.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

A moment later, a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in!"

Catherine put her mask back on and called out.

The door opened, and a waitress in a long gray dress entered carrying a tray.

After placing the two glasses of "Blue Volcano" from the tray in front of Roy and Catherine, the waitress left the room, gently closing the door behind her.

Catherine took off her mask, picked up the "Blue Volcano" in front of her, and took a large gulp with a boldness that didn’t match her noble birth or elegant appearance.

It had to be said, seeing the noble-born, charming-looking Catherine chugging her drink like a drunkard created a strong sense of contrast.

"Blue Volcano" wasn’t a hard liquor exclusive to the "Red Salmon and Cherry Pie" tavern; other taverns had it too.

Roy had drunk it before.

In terms of taste, Blue Volcano was as smooth and delicate as wine.

But its alcohol content was unusually high.

Even an Official Knight would pass out after four or five consecutive glasses, running the risk of being taken advantage of.

"Aren’t you going to drink?"

"Never mind. Drinking requires pulling down your mask, and pulling down your mask would expose your real face and identity. The cautious Dark Night Knight would never drink in front of someone else."

With that, Catherine poured another large mouthful of Blue Volcano down her throat.

Because of her overly bold posture, some of the liquor trickled from the corner of her mouth down her swan-like, pale neck.

...