"Chief Dana."
Carl was unmoved. "You're an adult too. When someone makes a mistake, they must pay the corresponding price. Don't tell me you don't understand that simple truth?"
"Make a mistake?" Dana lifted her glass, her eyes filled with confusion. "Was what I did wrong?"
"Investigating the mummy case, eradicating the Fire-Thieves—everything I did was in line with the Knight's Code and the kingdom's laws."
As a Knight, one should protect the weak; as a Patrol Leader, one should guard justice. She didn't feel she had done anything wrong.
Was turning a blind eye the right thing to do?
"Right and wrong depend on the perspective," Carl shrugged. "Maybe you think you've done nothing wrong, but the relatives of those who died because of you certainly don't think the same."
"And your eagerness in solving the case wasn't solely because of the Knight's Code, right?"
"Heh…" Dana shook her head with a wry smile. After boldly downing her drink, she looked at Carl with drunken eyes. "You... you've changed."
The Carl of the past was careless and crude, much like his voice, but now he had become refined, and even his speech was organized and clear.
"People change." Carl's expression was indifferent. "There's nothing surprising about that."
"Indeed!" Dana nodded. "Cheers."
The two clinked their glasses and drained them in one gulp.
"BURP…"
Feeling the effects of the alcohol, Dana's cheeks flushed, and her eyes grew dull as she looked at her drink and giggled stupidly.
Her alcohol tolerance seemed quite average.
"You're right." After belching, Dana grinned. "I have my own reasons for investigating cases, not just because of the Knight's Code. Have you ever heard of the Life Potion?"
"Life Potion?" Carl raised an eyebrow. "The Potion that helps a Knight Attendant get promoted to Knight?"
As a Knight Attendant, he was of course aware of the Life Potion. There were similar items, like the Life Fruit. All of them were 'treasures' that could increase the chances of promotion.
"Yes," Dana nodded. "I am the Patrol Leader. If I accomplish a great feat, I can apply to the City Lord to purchase a Life Potion."
"Hmm…" Carl was puzzled. "You are the eldest daughter of Baron Shaxon. With the strength of the Yeager family, can't you get a Life Potion?"
"I once had one." Dana looked up. "But at that time, I was young and ignorant, and I was tricked out of it. Given the rarity of the Life Potion, even as the eldest daughter, I can't get a second one."
Tricked out of it?
Carl shook his head, speechless.
Although she was vague, it most likely involved family issues, which were not uncommon. No wonder Dana had been so proactive since taking office; it was all for the sake of being promoted to Knight.
"I'm not getting any younger," Dana murmured to herself. "If I can't get promoted to Knight within a few years, I'll have to marry some man I know nothing about."
"I can't accept that…"
"Every family has its own troubles." Carl drank with her and offered encouragement, "I wish you success."
"Then can you withdraw the complaint?"
"No."
"…" Dana hung her head, drinking sullenly. When she was somewhat muddled, she tossed a heavy bag in front of Carl.
"THUD!"
"CLINK! CLATTER..."
The sound of coins clashing came from the bag, drawing the attention of a few people drinking nearby, but they looked away after seeing Carl's uniform.
"What's this?" Carl asked. "Trying to bribe me?"
"No." Dana shook her head, speaking quietly. "Please give it to Ham's family."
"Ham?" Carl understood. "Why don't you go yourself?"
"I don't dare," Dana sighed. "Ham has an old mother and a deaf-mute sister who was sent back by her husband after they married."
"I don't have the courage to face them. Please go for me."
"…" Carl was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Alright."
"By the way, how is the mummy case going?"
"The Church has taken over, with the Nightwatchers in charge," Dana said, clearly unwilling to discuss it. "I don't know the specifics."
"Let's go." Carl stood up. "You're drunk too."
"Try this." Jenny was enthusiastic. "I made it myself."
"Oh!" Carl looked at the food on the table and couldn't help but nod in admiration. "Nice."
Almond milk, white bread, roasted meat, and cold mixed vegetables were laid out. The fresh aroma of bread filled the air, and the roasted meat and vegetables were beautifully colored.
Even without tasting it, the appearance was already impressive.
"I learned this from a banquet," Jenny said, her face shy. "How do you like the taste?"
"Hm." Carl nodded, cut a small piece of roasted meat, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and then nodded in satisfaction. "Very good."
"Jenny, even if you don't become a singer, if you switched to catering, I believe you would make a name for yourself very quickly."
"Really?" Jenny smiled warmly. "As long as it's tasty, eat up."
"I ate on the way here," Carl waved his hand. "You all eat. Don't mind me."
Saying so, he picked up his milk and walked toward his room.
"Stop looking." Only when Carl had closed his room door did Mrs. Mary shake her head at her daughter, who wore a look of yearning. "He clearly isn't interested in you."
"But…" Jenny pursed her lips. "I still have a chance, don't I?"
"Now that you've been admitted to the singing troupe, you should focus on your career instead of learning to please men," Mrs. Mary advised her daughter, speaking from experience. "Relying too much on men will only lead to losing oneself."
"I get it," Jenny said impatiently. "I've been practicing my singing properly, and a senior member in the troupe has agreed to let me perform on stage soon."
"Really?" Mrs. Mary looked surprised. "That's wonderful! If you can perform on stage, you'll get paid, and our lives will improve."
"Hmm." Jenny rested her chin in her hand, her eyes thoughtful. "Do you think if I perform on stage, I could invite Baron Carl to come watch? Would he accept?"
"..." Facing her lovesick daughter, Mrs. Mary was speechless and simply stood up to clear the tableware.
「Inside the room.」
Carl once again tried to practice the Meditation Method.
Without the boost of Divine Power, as soon as his consciousness entered the Spiritual Inner Sea, a wave tossed him about, leaving him shaky. The more unstable his spirit, the more distractions arose, and the larger the waves became.
"No thoughts, no feelings, no desires. Maintain the essence of one's self. Let the miscellaneous thoughts rise and fall, while I myself remain immovable," Carl thought. "Easy to say, but as hard as ascending to heaven in practice."
Thankfully, with his experience from within the Divine Domain, Carl was gradually getting the hang of it, enough not to be ejected as soon as he entered. A moment later, he sighed.
"SIGH..."
"It's still not working!"
A weary Carl shook his head helplessly but was already accustomed to failure. He composed himself and entered the Divine Domain, books in arm.
"Lesser Spell Force Field."
He opened the book, stopping at the page on constructing Magic Models. Expressionless, Carl attempted the practice. Here, he had already mastered the Meditation Method, and his spiritual power had been refined. Theoretically, he was already capable of constructing Magic Models.
But according to his teacher, Adolf, the Lesser Spell Force Field is one of the more difficult Zero-Circle Magic spells to master.
It wasn't just that its Magic Model was complex; it also required more spiritual power than typical Zero-Circle Magic. Furthermore, spiritual power was constrained by his physical body in reality and wouldn't increase simply because he was in the Divine Domain. Whether he could succeed was still an open question.
"Arcane, force field..."
Inside the Divine Domain, Carl, as if trying to conduct an elaborate ritual within a snail shell, manipulated his feeble spiritual power with unfathomable control to build the Magic Model.
His spiritual power formed lines, sketched out in his sea of consciousness, evolving from simple to complex, until it became a whole.