Even though everything in front of him was novel, Kane was still attracted by the old man standing outside the cemetery with his back to him.
This was the 'first time' for him to see his grandfather, whom he had never met before, but he found that he was just staring at him, and a vague pressure came to his mind.
This 'grandpa' seems to be very simple.
"Wow, Grandpa Herrag is still so scary!"
"Fris, do you feel like grandpa is unhappy?"
"Have it?"
"Stop gossiping, you two, be as serious as your brother Kane!"
Fourteen-year-old Anna and fifteen-year-old Fries communicated quietly, and Jessica patted the two children's heads, successfully making the brother and sister shut their unwilling mouths.
The old man holding the holy book turned around, glanced flatly at the crowd who dared not breathe, paused for a moment on Kane's face, and then nodded to signal Fern and Taylor to retreat.
Slowly walking to the corpse, the old man's silver short staff tapped the stone slab on the ground, making a heavy hitting sound.
"Welcome everyone, thank the three gods. We are gathered here to bathe in the light of the three gods and witness the rest."
"grateful……"
"grateful……"
Inspired by the three gods, Herage opened the holy book and recited the prayer of rest revealed in the holy book.
"His Lamb rests in heaven, but on earth fools still suffer because of strife..."
The family members of the deceased put their hands together in front of them, and everyone else lowered their heads and closed their eyes, listening to the scriptures spoken by the old man.
"...May all glory and praise be given to the three gods, and may the departed souls rest in peace, amen."
Recalling the 'plain' French words spoken by the old man, Kane opened his eyes and looked at the thirteen corpses that had never changed in any way. He always felt that there seemed to be something on the corpses that he could not see.
Gone.
Kane shook his head and dismissed it as an illusion.
After the ceremony, the old man took out the seal from his arms, and the family members of the deceased stepped forward to stamp the certificate with red seals.
After the shroud is re-covered, the deceased will go away when they should, stay when they should, and cremate when they should be cremated. Death will be more polite and moral than when they were alive.
"Kelly, take care of your brothers and sisters."
Jessica said something to Kelly, and then she and her husband Fern went to deal with the customers who wanted to be buried in the church cemetery.
Ramos was responsible for accompanying the family members who wanted to remove the bodies for burial or cremation elsewhere, waiting for Taylor in the van to drive into the cemetery.
After the silent passengers get on the bus, they will be pulled directly by the truck to the parking lot outside the church to change vehicles, and then take a hearse from the funeral home or crematorium to be completely laid to rest underground.
Adults have their own things to do, and children have their own fun.
"I am the Lord Inquisitor! I declare you guilty! You are guilty, even if you run away, you are also guilty! The crime... the crime... the crime is not to respect the great Lord Judge Fries! Death penalty! Death penalty for all!"
Gathered in front of the ant nest under the tree, Anna saw that she could not stop Fris from doing evil to the poor ants, so she had to pretend not to see it, turned around and whispered to Kelly.
"Sister Kelly, I heard from my classmates that nuns are really pitiful and cannot experience the pleasure of women in their entire lives. Is this true? What exactly is the pleasure of women? Sister Kelly, who wants to become a real nun, must know this, right?
?”
Avoiding the curious girl's probing gaze, Kelly's ears and neck turned pink at a speed visible to the naked eye, and she was speechless for a long time.
"Well! It's... it's... this... me, me too..."
"Sister Kelly, you don't know, don't you? No, no, no?"
"Anna, come here."
Kane, who looked cold, found that he could no longer remain silent. What kind of school was this, and what happened to Anna's classmates?
Is this something kids should discuss?
"Brother Kane? I always feel that you have evil intentions? Is your face stuck with glue again? It's as stretched as tree bark."
"come over."
"oh."
Staring down at the cute little girl who was a head and a half shorter than him with a dull face, Kane couldn't help but sigh that the genes of the Constantine family were really strong.
Bending slightly, Kane looked at his somewhat timid cousin seriously and organized his words.
"Which classmate told you this? Male or female? What is your relationship?"
"Yes...it's a female classmate named Sylvia. She is in the same class as me and is a good friend of mine."
Anna responded carefully, only feeling that the brother in front of her was a bit strange. Compared with that time in the morning, he was completely different. It was not appropriate to say that it was similar to the cold and gloomy style before getting sick. Anyway, it was very awkward.
"Anna, let me tell you, good girls shouldn't discuss these issues, let alone use such issues to embarrass their sisters."
Kane said something extremely serious, but found that the little girl seemed a little disinterested, and in turn began to question himself.
"I'm just curious. Is there anything I can't ask? The teacher also said in class that if you don't understand something, you have to understand it. If you and your sister don't want to tell me, then I'll go find someone else, hum.
!”
"Okay Kane, leave Anna to me, and I'll explain to her."
Although Kelly stepped forward in time to try to ease the atmosphere between the two, Anna still spoke reluctantly.
"I really thought you had changed. You knew it but refused to tell your sister. Kane, you are such a terrible brother! I hate you!"
Watching the aggrieved Anna running towards the church, Kelly glanced helplessly at Kane and quickly followed her. Only Fries stood up from the roots of the tree blankly.
"Huh? Why did sister Anna and Kelly run away? Brother Kane?"
Looking at the 'brother' in front of him with complicated eyes, Kane found that it was simply unrealistic to say that he really recognized and accepted these relatives who had come to occupy 'Kane's' body.
For me, the memories inherited from the original body are more like a damaged external hard drive of the computer. I can only read some important memories that have not dissipated from it, but I cannot receive any emotions from the hard drive.
His love for his relatives, his pride in his family, his dissatisfaction with himself, the feelings he once had are like a piece of pale paper to him.
Give yourself a confusing sense of nothingness and nausea.
It can even be said that the reason why Kelly treats her so well is just because her name is "Kane", and her feelings for "Kane" have nothing to do with her at all.
What's ridiculous is that I am still complacent about false feelings that have nothing to do with me, enjoying the emotional contributions of others without any guilt.
Just like a shameless clown.
The care of relatives, a good life, everything is just the added value brought by the body that one currently occupies, and has nothing to do with oneself.
In this case, why don't you leave this family that makes you uncomfortable and start a new life in a strange place?
Maybe it’s time to leave the name ‘Kane’ behind, along with all the memories and life of ‘Kane’, and leave with nothing.
The inheritance of the Constantine family should not belong to you, so there is nothing to be reluctant to part with.
After leaving the Requiem Church, in this era of internal combustion engines and telephones, one would not really starve to death on the street.
Having made the decision to leave tonight, Kane sighed and touched the head of Fries, who was a little confused.
"Study the Holy Scriptures well. After grandpa passes away, the whole family will have to rely on you to support it."
"ah?"
"Ah for what?"
"Grandpa...Grandpa Herague..."
Turning his head stiffly, Kane stared blankly at the old man in black robe who stood behind him at some point.
He didn't know why, but he always felt that the short silver staff in the old man's hand was about to move. Combined with the old man's smiling face, it looked particularly scary.
"Kane, my good grandson, even before grandpa leaves, you have already thought about what will happen after grandpa leaves."
"Master...Master, that's not what I meant."
The old man turned his head and looked at the timid Fries, frowning slightly.
"Fris, tell your father that I will take Kane out to do something today. Kane, come with me."
Watching the two people leave in a strange atmosphere, Frith's trembling legs weakened and he collapsed directly on the ground.
Two big ants that slipped out of the ant nest took advantage of the opportunity, got into the boy's trousers, and climbed straight up to the yellow dragon.
"Ouch!!!!"
…
With a bit of a bad premonition in his heart, Kane looked at the old man walking towards the east and asked tentatively.
"Grandpa, where are we going?"
“Go to a nice place.”
"What a nice place?"
Without responding to Kane's question, Herage just walked forward in silence.
"Gu Gu Gu~ Gu Gu Gu~"
The hoot of an owl came from the sky, and soon, a white-faced owl fell from the sky and landed accurately on the old man's right shoulder.
As if aware of Kane's gaze, the owl's head suddenly turned 180° backwards, and a humanized sarcasm appeared on the chubby bird's face. This scene made Kane think that he had entered a state of insanity.
When did owls become so smart? Can they mock people?
The atmosphere between the two became increasingly oppressive, and Kane's inner uneasiness gradually increased.
If my memory is correct, this road should lead to the east flower garden that I have never been to.
Although I have never been there, I heard from my grandfather that it is full of flowers and plants.
Well, it is indeed a good place to perform a rest ceremony. You can bury it directly after the ceremony. If you think about it carefully, as the saying goes, "If you die under peonies, you will be a ghost and be charming." In fact, it is not bad to use it as flower fertilizer.
Confirming that he could not defeat the strong old man in front of him, Kane began to look around, looking for opportunities to escape.
"Cuckoo! Cuckoo!"
The sudden cry of the white-faced owl startled Kane, and also caused Herage, who had been walking with his head covered, to stop.
The old man didn't look back, but his voice was cold.
"Kane, where do you want to go? Do you want grandpa to give you a ride?"
Once again confirming that he could not escape from the hands of the old man who was two times stronger than him, Kane glared at the owl that was mocking him with its beak half open, and responded with a forced smile.
"Grandpa, I won't go anywhere, the church is my home."
"Oh, I thought you had found your way back... Since you're not going anywhere, just keep walking. We're almost there."
"Okay grandpa."
The two of them quickly arrived at the door of the flower garden. Herage took out the key from the enchantment bag and opened the sophisticated mechanical lock of the flower garden door.
Following Herage into the flower garden, the crisp 'click' sound of the mechanical gears rolling behind him sounded. When the door closed automatically, Kane, who straightened his head again, found that he had arrived in a sea of flowers. His fear dissipated, but his face was full of color.
A bit relieved.
Gorgeous flowers that cannot be named grow on both sides of the carved stone road. Tall marble pillar statues stand in pairs on both sides of the road in plural forms. Their styles are complex and diverse, including bats, goat heads with long horns, and goat heads with long horns.
There are crosses and half-moons that have some kind of religious meaning, as well as weird shapes that I don’t even know what they are.
Herage stopped in the Gothic architectural style pavilion in the center of the flower garden. He put the white-faced owl on his shoulder, which was watching the show with round eyes, on the stone table. The old man slowly turned around and looked at him with complex eyes.
The 'eldest grandson' looked calm.
Responding to the old man in front of him with clear eyes, Kane felt no fear in his heart.
He didn't owe the Constantine family, let alone the old man in front of him.
Since I owe nothing, I naturally have a clear conscience.
Herage sighed with a rare sigh, and looked at Kane with a bit more reminiscence and love.
"Your mother died due to dystocia when giving birth to you. When you were young, you were too weak and sick to take care of yourself. I often picked herbs here to replenish your weakened body. Coupled with Kelly's careful care, you were able to
Gradually getting better and able to act like a normal person... You must have forgotten your memory here..."
"I really have no memory of this..."
"..."
"What about my dad? How is he?"
No matter what his fate is, at least at this moment, Kane is willing to chat with the old man in front of him about his daily life.
In his previous life, he was also the favorite chat partner of his uncles and aunts downstairs, which is why he followed the old man's words and replaced "Kane" with "I".
He was unwilling to break the old man's last thoughts about his grandson, even though both he and the old man understood how the person talking to him in front of him viewed him.
Seemingly surprised by Kane's calm attitude, Herage smiled, with a look of appreciation in his eyes.
"Your father, my son Kester Constantine, left the church after his wife passed away and lost his whereabouts during a mission to eliminate heretics. It has been ten years since the day I lost my son.
