abnormal mutation

Chapter 24 Poison Oath
As the two chatted and laughed, a large sleigh approached along the convent street, pulled by a reindeer. The carriage was completely enclosed. Because the convent street was very clean, the sleigh's bottom sled made a loud noise as it scraped against the road, and the reindeer was visibly struggling.

“They’re here.” Hughes gestured to Roland with his chin.

"Wow, a reindeer sleigh! My uncle has struck it rich!" Roland exclaimed.

In fact, he had anticipated this, as ordinary people could not afford to hire extraordinary individuals.

"Do I need to avoid it?"

“Let’s go together. I need your expertise and experience, Mr. Law Enforcement Officer,” Roland said very solemnly.

"Don't worry, I won't eat your chicken for free." Hughes took a step forward, then turned 180 degrees and stood beside Roland, facing the door.

"Don't mention chicken to me, it's already been eaten. I was just young and naive, and now just thinking about it makes my liver hurt."

"Hehe, that taste was truly unforgettable," Hughes smacked his lips in agreement.

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter at the same time.

The sled slowed down and approached the gate. The reindeer, exhaling white mist, looked particularly majestic. It must have been a male reindeer, over two meters long, with long antlers, a short tail, and gray-white fur.

After the carriage came to a stop, the driver, who was bundled up tightly, got out and opened the carriage door. A middle-aged man and a teenager got out one after the other.

The middle-aged man wore a black fur-trimmed leather coat, a red scarf, and high-top leather boots. His short, fading blue-gray hair was neatly combed, and he had a gentlemanly short beard. He carried a cane and looked very respectable.

The other boy was about the same height as Targen, around 1.75 meters. He was dressed similarly to the middle-aged man, and his demeanor was also similar. He stood up straight, had a serious face, and his expression was well-controlled.

After getting out of the car, the middle-aged man glanced around, then briefly looked at Roland and Hughes before fixing his gaze on Roland's hair.

"Good morning, everyone. Is this Roland's house?"

"I am Roland."

“Roland, my name is Jonathan Hohenzollern Otto. We met once before, when you were still very young.” The middle-aged man leaned on his cane, forcing a reserved smile, looking somewhat uneasy.

Roland did not respond, but simply looked at him quietly, vaguely recognizing a certain familiarity in his face.

Seeing that Roland did not respond immediately, he quickly introduced the boy next to him to ease the awkwardness: "This is my son, Cillian, he is 13 years old and attends Grantham University..."

Halfway through his speech, his voice trailed off as he suddenly realized that Roland probably hadn't even finished community school, and that his words sounded boastful.

"Good afternoon, Brother Roland." Sirian bowed slightly, his smile perfectly timed, as if he had rehearsed it repeatedly, the curve of his lips almost rigidly standard.

Distant and hazy memories resurfaced in Roland's mind. He was only four years old when his parents died unexpectedly. His father's friend, Bozeman, took him to his Uncle Jonathan, who lived in Grantham, and asked him to adopt Roland, but was ruthlessly refused.

Bozeman was helpless; he was unable to raise Roland, so he could only send him to the Ice River Orphanage to be raised by Director Mia.

“I remember you, Uncle Jonathan, when I was four years old.” Roland smiled, but his heart was full of wariness.

“I’m sorry about what happened back then.” Jonathan chuckled dryly, not daring to look Roland in the eye. “I’m not trying to defend myself, but I was destitute at the time and really couldn’t take care of you.”

“I understand, Uncle Jonathan. It’s cold outside, please come in and sit down.” Roland gestured for the two to come inside and sit down, and introduced Hughes to them at the same time.

Upon learning of Hughes's identity, the two became even more uneasy.

"The conditions are simple, Uncle Jonathan, please don't mind. Did you just arrive?" Roland said with a smile, as if he really didn't care about the past.

“We arrived yesterday. We heard you were missing and many people were looking for you. God bless you, you’ve returned safely. We received the news too late yesterday, so we came over after breakfast today.” Jonathan’s face showed a hint of relief.

Sirius nodded silently, his smile unchanging, looking overly mature. "Did you come here specifically to see me? Is there something you need?" Roland didn't want to beat around the bush.

Glacier Town is more than 90 kilometers away from Grantham, with most of the area in between being vast snowfields. There are no trains, making travel difficult, and even people with intellectual disabilities would not come here to reunite with their families in the cold of February.

“Ahem…” Jonathan coughed a few times, his face full of embarrassment and unease, and he hesitated several times before speaking.

The smile on Cirion's face faded, and he lowered his head in silence, finally looking a bit like a young man again.

This scene left Roland somewhat bewildered. He couldn't tell whether the two were genuinely expressing their feelings or simply putting on an act; at least he couldn't see any flaws.

"Ahem, Roland, His Majesty the Emperor has ordered reforms to the judicial system, causing quite a stir across the country. Ice River Town is located in a remote area, so it may have been slow to find out..."

The three major judicial institutions are being reorganized, no longer limited to law schools; descendants of meritorious nobles will be given priority in recruitment, and our Otto family... is among them." Jonathan spoke more and more fluently, his eyes fixed on the fireplace as if it were his audience.

"Uncle Jonathan, I still don't quite understand. What does this have to do with me?" Roland feigned ignorance.

"There are two types of meritorious nobles: hereditary and lifelong. Hereditary nobles have a high status and don't really value this opportunity. Lifelong nobles cannot inherit their positions and most of them have already fallen from grace, so this is a rare opportunity for them."

This is a gift from His Majesty, but it is limited to one person only, and is evidenced by a medal. The Enforcer corresponds to the three major war medals, one of which is the Thorn Medal.

"Roland, you... I want that medal you have to get your brother a job. I'm willing to pay seven hundred German dollars, which is most of my savings." Jonathan finished speaking in one breath, and his whole body relaxed.

He found himself ridiculous. If he had been willing to adopt Roland back then, the Thorn Medal and the property in Ice River Town would have been his. But he had looked down on a useless ornament back then, and now, seventeen years later, he had to shamelessly beg for it.

The turn of events was completely unexpected for Roland; he hadn't anticipated that his adopted uncle would actually spend a huge sum of money to buy the medal. He had originally thought Jonathan was coming to claim kinship, and that he could conveniently take the medal after his death.

Seven hundred German dollars was undoubtedly a huge sum of money, an astronomical figure for most commoners and Roland.

His mind raced, but he didn't respond for a long time, unsure of what they were up to.

The timing is too coincidental. If the original owner hadn't been kidnapped, he should have just died from the Nightmare Killing Technique. Or perhaps they were already hiding in Ice River Town, and upon hearing of his return from his disappearance, they rushed to visit him out of fear of further mishaps.

Roland and Hughes exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.

“I was kidnapped the day before yesterday,” Roland said, staring intently at Jonathan’s expression. “They tortured me to try and get me to hand over the Thorn Medal. I almost died.”

Jonathan instantly realized what Roland meant, jumped to his feet, and said nervously, "Roland, it's definitely not me, I'm not that kind of person, I...we're family..."

"Mr. Jonathan, please don't get agitated." Hughes said coldly, scrutinizing Jonathan. "The Enforcement Agency has officially opened a case, and the entire agency is taking it very seriously. We will not wrong an innocent person, nor will we let any bad person go unpunished."

Jonathan covered his face with his hands for a long time before finally lowering them. He then took out a pendant engraved with a golden sun from his pocket, held it in his left palm, knelt on one knee facing east, and raised his right hand high:

"I swear in the name of the Father God, Lord of Order, if I have ordered anyone to kidnap or murder Roland, may I be consumed by flames and die in the most excruciating pain imaginable!"

Roland and Hughes stood up, their faces solemn.

Taking an oath to one's deity is a serious and solemn matter, and no one dares to do it lightly unless absolutely necessary. This is because gods truly exist, and there are many legends of people suffering the consequences of their oaths.

Roland was having a bit of a headache. If the Nightmare Killing Technique had nothing to do with Jonathan, then who wanted to harm him?

The original owner's life was simple and uneventful, and she offended very few people. Even the previous polar bear, without the medal, didn't pose a life-or-death threat.

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(End of this chapter)