106 Dekan Prepares for a Long-Awaited Personal Interrogation
Evening, Tristin City.
The Lord’s Manor.
Dekan sat calmly in the classical and dignified reception hall of the Lord’s manor.
However, something seemed to have caught his attention.
He closed the book in his hands.
Lost in thought, he looked towards the several-meter-high floor-to-ceiling windows where the garden courtyard’s flickering lanterns swayed.
Accompanied by rhythmic hoofbeats, the noticeable light drew closer to the mansion.
It was a gilded, specially painted carriage that was visibly larger than an ordinary carriage. The several carriage lamps were crafted from immortal ice crystals with high-level magical beast cores serving as the wicks.
It seemed Lord Rampard had finally returned after having “arrested” Dekan at noon.
The Lord himself had rushed off to deal with aftermath matters and to receive Her Royal Highness Princess Alice.
Meanwhile, Dekan had been invited to the Lord’s manor, where a group of officials under the Lord’s command had conducted a series of friendly inquiries on Dekan.
These officials were quite courteous to Dekan.
It was evident that the Lord had given specific instructions.
Dekan already had a general sense of how steady this Lord was.
He would lower his stance to the utmost, even appearing less like a noble, just to leave a good impression on Dekan, the future top-tier card craftsman.
Of course, it might also be because there was a living top-tier card craftsman residing within the boundaries of this Viscount’s domain.
After long-term admiration, it was clear that they fully understood what a top-tier card craftsman represented.
But this was fine. It seemed that if there were areas requiring the Lord’s cooperation, they would all be easy to discuss with him.
After detailing everything that happened on the magical energy airship to the responsible personnel, Dekan was then arranged to wait in the reception hall.
In reality, he was already free.
If he wanted to leave, the people of the Lord’s manor wouldn’t stop him; they would even escort him to any place he desired.
However, the manor steward had conveyed the Lord’s intention to entertain Dekan.
Dekan also had a favor to ask of the Lord.
Thus, he remained here.
He waited for about one or two hours in the reception hall.
The wait was somewhat long, yet Dekan didn’t feel bored.
The Lord’s manor housed some interesting magical books.
Moreover, the environment was quite pleasant and comfortable.
Whether for snacks or for service from the maids, everything was at his beck and call.
To be honest,
Dekan was starting to feel reluctant to leave.
Wasn’t this more comfortable than staying at the temporary dormitory provided by the Tristin Academy?
This experience of luxury made Dekan feel as if he were the Lord of Tristin City himself.
If he could pull out a popular food review app like Dianping, he would have undoubtedly given the Lord’s residence a perfect score.
At this time, most of the servants in the Lord’s manor were gathered in the kitchen and restaurant areas busy with their tasks.
A few attendants who noticed the Lord’s arrival paused their work and hurriedly went to welcome him.
“Returning so late, huh… Well, it makes sense, considering Alice couldn’t overcome her seasickness and ended up crying her eyes out after throwing up rainbows.”
“Comforting a stormingly crying Alice must have been quite a task for the Lord.”
“Ah, but all of it was the Rebirth Church’s fault, not mine.”
Dekan shook his head and sighed internally while silently blaming the Rebirth Church.
Just as Dekan was pondering inside, the servant outside the door pushed it open a moment earlier.
The servant briskly walked to Dekan’s side and bowed.
“Mr. Dekan, Lord invites you to join him for dinner. You may wait here, or I can lead you to the banquet hall beforehand.”
“Alright, then please lead the way.”
Dekan nodded, stood up, and followed the servant to the location for their upcoming meal.
It was evident that the Lord had already instructed the servants to prepare the banquet hall ahead of time.
The dinner was already fully prepared, waiting only for the Lord to take his seat, after which the servants would sequentially present the dishes.
When the servant pushed the door open and the Lord walked in,
Dekan and the Lord both wore smiles, akin to old friends reuniting after being apart for a long time.
At this moment, the Lord no longer adopted the avoidant attitude he had when they were at the magical energy airship’s landing platform.
Instead, he openly expressed a clear intention to get acquainted.
Dekan elegantly bowed.
“Thank you for your kind hospitality, Lord.”
The Lord lightly coughed, hurriedly shaking his hands.
“After you complete your top-tier card craftsman certification, it’s uncertain who will be calling whom ‘Lord.'”
“Directly calling each other by names is better between us.”
Now you call me Lord, and in the future, I call you Lord—it’s an awkward shift of titles.”
“…Do all nobles respect top-tier card craftsmen this much? Even though I’m not exactly one yet.”
Dekan asked, perplexed.
In his memory, there had been noble offspring who dared to provoke him.
For instance, there was that Flata who had challenged him to a duel bet and was left mentally shattered after being defeated by Dekan.
That individual showed no regard for Dekan’s status as a quasi top-tier card craftsman.
The Lord gestured for Dekan to sit down first, smiling helplessly as he explained:
“It’s an issue of perspective.”
“At least in my view, there’s no difference between you and an eighth-rank top-tier card craftsman. In a few years, you will undoubtedly become someone too lofty for me to catch up to.”
“Of course, there are always reckless arrogant nobles out there, and that’s just the way it is.”
After listening to the Lord’s explanation, Dekan nodded.
It was reasonable and fair.
This Lord was clearly an extreme of the other end compared to those arrogant nobles—an overly clear-headed and prudent noble.
“I would like to ask you for a favor.”
After sitting down, Dekan pulled his chair closer to the Lord, looked at him, and spoke.
Once Dekan confirmed the Lord’s attitude,
He wasted no time in making his request.
“Excuse me just a moment.”
Before taking his seat, the Lord turned his head and waved for all the servants in the room to leave, then picked up the wine bottle on the table.
After the doors were closed, the Lord walked to Dekan’s side and personally poured a glass of wine for him.
Looking at Dekan with expectant eyes, the Lord quietly asked:
“Is there anything I can assist you with?”
This was an opportunity to return a favor to Dekan, and the Lord naturally wouldn’t let it slip.
“I want to personally interrogate the two Rebirth Church disciples I captured.”
Dekan’s offhanded words caused the Lord’s hand holding the wine bottle to tremble.
Letting Dekan question the prisoners was a major violation of regulations, despite Dekan capturing the criminals.
But rules were rules.
Moreover, these two criminals were crucial offenders of the Rebirth Church.
The Tristin City authorities didn’t even have the right to interrogate them—they had to be handed over to the Capital City and possibly further to the Kingdom Union.
However, the Lord quickly returned to his seat, raised his wine glass in a distant toast.
“What does ‘interrogation’ mean? During the earlier case report, there were some key details you couldn’t quite recall, so checking with the prisoners to clarify the situation is undoubtedly reasonable.”
After hearing the Lord’s response,
Dekan smiled and without hesitation also lifted his wine glass in acknowledgment, downing it.
With these words out,
Dekan decided to properly enlighten these two captives.
