Witch Redemption

He kept the topic a secret for a moment, then promptly dropped it, a move that left Arnold somewhat displeased.

However, he did not react, but instead asked, "So, what is the purpose of your travels across the various continents? Could you please tell me? Perhaps the Empire can be of assistance in this regard."

“It’s no secret. Several years ago, I suffered the pain of losing my husband and couldn’t get over it. With no other choice, I took my daughter and came out to make my way in the world alone.” After saying that, he affectionately patted the head of the little girl Yu Hui beside him, which made the latter pout unhappily. “Now that I’ve come to the border of this theocratic country, I will probably stay here for a year or two. In the future, I may have the opportunity to go directly to your country to experience the customs and culture of the British Empire before considering returning to my homeland.”

"I see......"

...... ...... ......

After more than an hour of conversation and questioning, Arnold, who had originally intended to find flaws in Roman Hydra's words, was completely taken aback by the outcome.

He glossed over the vast majority of topics related to his background, leaving no stone unturned.

When asked about the adventures he had experienced on his journey from the northern continent to the eastern continent, this guy spoke eloquently, and his account was quite authentic, to some extent flawless, with every word and sentence perfectly connected.

He was quite impressed, and after his last attempt to invite someone to dance failed, he returned to his original area.

Of course, this tactful refusal was quite skillful; he directly declined by saying he needed to take care of her daughter, which really frustrated Arnold.

"Could this guy really be a witch who escaped from the empire? If so, his memories of adventures in other countries shouldn't be so vivid. What gives him this composure? What gives him this confidence? Since he dares to show his face like this, no matter how you look at it, it's not something a normal witch could do."

Is it possible for a witch to face an imperial soldier without batting an eye, and even chat and laugh with him?

I'm afraid there's no way!

While he was deep in thought, Randall Richard and Lachesis Wagner emerged from the side door of the inner room. After toasting the many guests around him, Prince Randall went straight to where Arnold and his group of Imperial soldiers were.

Lachesis then quickly led Roman Hydra and his daughter Yu Hui away, disappearing into the shadows of the side door in no time.

Randall calmly took his seat and, amidst the elegant, rhythmic music, asked in a low voice, "Did you get any answers?"

"There's nothing there. This guy is not simple; he's very discreet with his words."

Arnold gave a high evaluation and shook his head, "Well, I never intended to deal with her anyway. I've probably already achieved my goal. As long as we can confirm the location of that supreme being, the Empire won't need to get involved with her anymore."

"Heh, I never thought that such a powerful empire would back down like this today."

A fleeting hint of annoyance flashed across Arnold's face upon hearing this. "Judging from the fact that the Divine Kingdom has completely abandoned this city and transferred its security forces to the inner city, didn't your country also withdraw at this crucial moment? Although many forces from various sides have now emerged in this city to seize a certain opportunity, I also don't understand why the Divine Kingdom, with the protection of the Goddess of Darkness, would give up like this."

"No, no, no, the Divine Kingdom is just a small country. It's enough that it can remain aloof as it is now."

Everyone knows that the seemingly peaceful city of Kobe has been infused with a massive influx of new blood since more than a month ago. In addition to a large number of powerful foreign adventurers, there are also two demigod-level beings lurking in the city, monitoring a certain apostle that may appear every day.

Randall was certain that once an apostle officially appeared, it would inevitably trigger a new wave of bloodshed, and the entire city of Kobe would likely be destroyed.

Now we can only hope that this guy doesn't show up too soon, at least until he officially marries Lachesis and takes away some of the power of the Hank family.

After a moment of silence, without arguing about it, Randall asked again, "Does Major General Arnold know the identity of the woman next to Roman Hydra?"

Arnold frowned, sensing the barely perceptible desire in those words. "Sixteenth Prince, is there a reason for asking this?"

Randall didn't say it explicitly, only vaguely stating, "Just out of curiosity."

"The registered name is Yu Hui Hydra, who is this woman's daughter. However, whether there is a true blood relationship remains to be verified."

Yu Hui Hydra, this short girl has very unique eyes, probably because she has some special ability, an ability that even Arnold himself is wary of.

"I see, I'll remember that."

...... ...... ......

In the separate living room on the second floor, Lachesis had already led Yu Hui to the bedroom on the sixth floor, where Li Lan was currently gathered with Ivan Hank and the young Prince Randall Richard.

Besides the three of them, there were three other young men dressed in noble clothes standing on either side of Ivan Hank, holding up their pens and papers as if they were taking notes.

According to Ivan Hank, these three are his sons, each one year apart in age.

These three elegant young men were several times more handsome than Li Lan had expected, and their extraordinary demeanor made it impossible to tell whether they were faking it or not.

Since Li Lan was Ivan's honored guest, and the two did not have much of a cooperative relationship, he was only there to give Prince Randall face by sitting and listening without offering any opinions. The main focus of the conversation was still Ivan Hank and the prince.

"These are the detailed accounts of the Beicheng Chamber of Commerce for the past six months. Since the King has specifically requested that His Highness review them, I will not conceal anything."

In theocratic states, the supremacy of divine authority is always touted. Under divine authority, the monarchy plays the role of not an autocratic ruler, but rather a coordinator. This coordinating role includes controlling the means of production, economic taxes, and most of the military and security. The nobility, on the other hand, are more like assistants, possessing small private armed forces to maintain stability in production and the economy.

Furthermore, while the Dark Order is nominally the state religion, it cannot directly participate in governance. As God's representatives, it must act according to God's will. Often, although the Dark Order possesses the strongest military force in the theocratic state, its existence is more like a "mascot," lacking real power.

If the Dark Order wants to command the other two forces, it must hold a true descent ceremony to summon the avatar of the Goddess of Darkness to the mortal world and carry out her will. However, because the goddess's descent usually results in the immediate death of the person performing the ceremony, the Dark Order has always been very passive. Except for matters involving the interests of nations, the Order will never intervene and will generally leave the royal family and nobles to handle these matters.

At that moment, Randall glanced at Roman Hydra not far away with some disappointment, regretting that he couldn't see the blond little man. He then had to clear his mind of these distractions and quickly skim through the series of accounts on the table.

"According to the Finance Minister, Viscount Ivan's accounts have been irregular for the past two months, mainly due to a large amount of unexplained revenue, which comes primarily from the black market."

By flipping directly to the accounts for July and August, it can be seen that the main income came not only from the underground black market, but also from a certain medicine unique to Hank's House.

"Indian God Oil, what a strange name! I've never heard of it before, and I have no idea what its effects are..."

Aside from the huge profits generated from selling drugs, something else caught Randall's attention: the flow of funds in the Beicheng Merchant Guild was quite strange. It was used to purchase materials from the corpses of monsters and magic cores. In particular, this viscount spent a huge amount of assets to purchase two magic cores from high-level monsters, exchanging equivalent wealth with the Orc Kingdom of Ries United Duchy.

Markets and the economy are extremely complex political issues; fluctuations will always exist, and money will not always be "valuable".

However, the magic core of a monster is different. As the most valuable and valuable item, it is definitely a hard currency no matter which country you go to, and it is a good thing that can be used to barter.

Randall's feelings were somewhat complicated. He thought to himself, "This guy spared no expense to acquire two high-level monster magic cores, and subsequently continued to use a lot of assets to purchase monster materials and mid-level monster magic cores, intending to transfer related assets?"

Leaving aside the strange flow of funds, the composition of the Bay City Chamber of Commerce has also been subtly changing. Laxis Wagner has confirmed that he will no longer inherit any property from the Hank family. As for all the commercial establishments in the entire Bay City that are still under Ivan Hank's name, apart from Hank's Mansion, all the others have been divided up by Ivan's three sons.

"Strange! Strange! This is so strange! From the beginning, this marriage was intended to involve the royal family in the distribution of Ivan Hank's assets. If Lachesis doesn't have any property, what's the point of this marriage?"

Finally unable to hold back any longer, Randall asked, "Viscount Ivan, why doesn't Lachesis have a right of succession?"

Faced with such a question, Ivan was prepared. "She is just my adopted daughter, and ultimately an outsider. How can the property of my Hank family be inherited by an outsider? In the future, this land I am sitting on will be inherited by my current wife, Emily Richard. The Hank House that I currently own will be returned to the main family. All other businesses that I have personally worked hard for will be inherited by my three sons."

Little did they know, Ivan had already planned everything. Not only would he not be able to get his daughter, but he would also not be able to get her into the royal family of the theocratic state in the future!

So the two sides talked for a full two hours in a question-and-answer session. Prince Randall, with a somber expression, seemed to have forgotten about the diplomatic matters with the Dark Elf royal family and left quietly with an excuse.

Li Lan, who was listening in, was somewhat surprised to notice that when Viscount Ivan proposed that Lachesis had no right to inherit, all three of his sons showed expressions of joy, and their eyes even held a hint of hostility when they looked at each other.

It seems that in any world, the distribution of wealth is always a huge problem. People are not worried about scarcity but about inequality. There are countless examples of brothers turning against each other over the distribution of wealth.

"Corresponding to the right of inheritance is the obligation of children to support their parents. In this respect, my original world was more advanced."

The kind of daughters who are "like water spilled out after marriage," whom you'll only see a few times in your life; the kind of sons and daughters-in-law who see their parents as a burden when they get old, who abuse their parents, or leave them alone in the countryside, where no one will even know when they die; what right do these unfilial children have to have inheritance rights? What face do they have to fight each other for their parents' estate?

"Very well, this is Viscount Ivan's family matter. I cannot comment on it, nor should I concern myself with it."

Chapter 45 A Return to Peaceful Daily Life

Early morning.

Having finally finished his social engagements, Arnold Hopkins returned to South 12th Street and looked at the intact "Roman Clinic" storefront with some surprise, a sense of foreboding rising within him.

He pondered for a moment, then, instead of rushing forward to confirm, returned to his original shop, number 977.

The moment he entered, several Imperial soldiers who had been waiting immediately came to greet him. "Captain Arnold, something happened last night."

"Oh?"

Arnold calmly closed the shop door, glanced around the room, and saw that most of the soldiers of the Fifth Survey Corps were gathered in the room, except for Colonel Jacob, who was on a mission, and sixteen others.

In that instant, he realized that something big must have happened last night!

Originally, they didn't want to offend the terrifying figure behind Roman Hydra, so they sent him away in advance, but unexpectedly, the people they sent out still encountered an accident.

"Around 8 PM last night, Colonel Yag, following the captain's orders, led his men into the Roman Clinic across the street..."

"You mean, that woman's three followers were confirmed to be killed from the beginning, but then they all came back to life?"

Arnold's expression changed slightly. No matter how you looked at it, this was impossible. For most intelligent beings in this world, who could survive having their head chopped off? Apart from those undead who had awakened their primal power and were at the pinnacle of their abilities, for other normal intelligent races, let alone their heads, having their hearts blown off was enough to declare them dead.

However, according to these teammates, the three henchmen, two men and one woman, were indeed beheaded, one of them even dismembered. Even so, these three guys revived with full health and used this to launch a lightning-fast attack on their teammates.

Because Arnold had previously ordered others to only monitor and not provide support until the situation became clear, the soldiers gathered here were all filled with indignation and felt extremely guilty for watching their comrades die last night.

"This could be your illusion. If their strength were at the level of the undead, they wouldn't have needed to launch a sneak attack; they would have used the most powerful methods to confront Colonel Yag and his group from the start. Besides, apart from the three comrades who were killed in the sneak attack, did any larger conflict break out among Colonel Yag and the other twelve people who went up to the second floor?"

"No, they haven't appeared since they went up to the second floor. We initially planned to send reinforcements, but..."

Arnold's expression changed drastically. "No! You were right not to go there. The fact that they, with their school-level strength, disappeared in such a short time shows that that place is definitely not simple. There might be some terrifying powerhouse there, at the very least someone with my level of strength. In fact, that apostle might very well be hiding in that location!"

If it's just a simple major general-level opponent, then it's not a big deal. But if it's an apostle, then it's a different and more terrifying situation.

Before this, even when this apostle was seriously injured and on the verge of death, he was still able to kill Virginia, who was a major general. This shows that even if Arnold had been present and participated in the search last night, his fate would probably not have been much better. He might have ended up being wiped out.

"I was careless! I shouldn't have underestimated Roman Hydra. Fortunately, it didn't lead to a bigger mistake!"

Still shaken, when his teammates asked him how to recover the bodies of Colonel Yag and his men, Arnold calmly replied, "Colonel Yag and his men are probably gone forever. No matter what happens now, we cannot acknowledge last night's mission. On the contrary, if anyone asks, we must distance ourselves from it!"

"Captain Arnold, this..."

“This is an order. From now on, the situation is no longer under our control. Although I also want to avenge Captain Virginia, we are probably in a precarious situation ourselves. All we can do is continue to carry out the Empire's mission, stay here and wait for the right opportunity.”

Rather than sacrificing everything for Virginia's revenge, Arnold should prioritize the Empire's mission and the lives of his comrades.

"At this moment, someone must return to the Empire to further seek opinions and orders from above."

In any case, according to the Empire's prophecy, this apostle was destined to die, and it was only a matter of time before his body was recovered. Even if he had to endure for another year or two, Arnold was willing to do so.

...... ...... ......

Lachesis's engagement to the royal prince is now officially set, and they are just waiting for the formal wedding at the end of December.

When Li Lan, who hadn't slept all night, carried the sleeping little girl Yu Hui back to Luo Men Clinic, it was already around ten in the morning, and the sun was shining brightly.

"Lord Roman, you're back!"

Thomas bowed to Li Lan upon seeing her.

"Yes, thank you for your hard work."

Li Lan felt that the door of the store felt a bit strange today, as if it was much heavier than usual.

Little did they know, the door had been completely destroyed last night, and it was only through Debbie's own efforts that it was repaired using plant magic. Now, the door is practically brand new.

Upon entering the room, he noticed a faint smell of blood in the air and asked, "Did something happen last night?"

Thomas hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "A little thing did happen, but it's not convenient to talk about it here."

Having spent so much time with adventurers, Thomas, though with his honest and simple face, was no longer as naive and simplistic as before. He naturally knew that some things could only be said in private.

Li Lan nodded in understanding, and then said to Lachesis, who had escorted them back, "I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Miss Lachesis to watch the shop for me for a while longer."

Lachesis's eyes lit up at the mention of this, and he seized the opportunity to extort, "I want a big meal for lunch!"

Is this guy addicted to freeloading?

Li Lan was surprised for a moment, but could only bite the bullet and agree, "Thomas, let's go up."