Colonel Corus Haken, the old beggar's boss?
It's such a small world, Ed couldn't help but feel.
The old man stepped forward with open arms and a smile on his face:
"Thirty-three years, exactly thirty-three years! My old man—you look the same."
"The same goes for you, sir." Rowan also had a smile on his lips. This was the first time Ed had seen him smile.
The two old men were like brothers, embracing each other sincerely. Not flesh and blood, but better than flesh and blood - at least Dylan would certainly not embrace Eaton like this.
"I really didn't expect to see us grow old, Rowan. I thought that sooner or later I would hit a cannonball, and then return to my hometown wrapped in horse leather, but who would have thought that I am already sixty-five years old?"
"You look in good health. As long as you keep exercising and eat more fruits and vegetables, you might be able to live a long life."
"Ha, I can't hope to live a hundred years. I just want to take a walk around the world and see my old friends while my legs and feet can still move."
"How are others doing?" Rowan's eyes shone slightly.
"It's not good. Our 'glorious' country has abandoned those loyal people, just like abandoning a dog. Many of them have no clothes and no food to eat. I have been thinking of ways to do something to help them. .”
Colonel Haken shook his head, seeming to complain about this. He turned to look at the two people beside Rowan, pointed at Ed and asked:
"Is this your child or your grandson? He's already this old?"
"Oh, no, his name is Edgar Waikolo, and he works in the police station. I'm not married yet." Rowan said with some embarrassment.
"Oh...Hello, kid. Sorry for the misunderstanding."
Colonel Haken extended his palm to express his goodwill to Ed, who politely responded to the greeting:
"Hello, Colonel."
His palms were covered with rough lines like bark, as hard as steel and indestructible.
"Why don't you get married? Rowan. With your handsome appearance when you were young, there will definitely be many girls who are crazy about you."
"I don't dare to sleep when there are people around me..."
The smile on Rowan's face gradually dissipated:
"Whenever it is late at night, the red valley will linger in front of my eyes. Those blurry faces... I have to kill them one by one again before I can wake up and see the morning sun."
"I feel like I'm...cursed. Do you feel that way, Colonel?"
"No, that's not a curse, Rowan, it's your mind that's torturing yourself."
Haken commented. Unlike Rowan, there was no trace of shame on his old, lion-like face:
"...I don't feel guilty. The order I received was to guard the mountain pass and not let any enemy go. If I had it to do over again, I would still proudly kill all those pointed ears."
"I don't care about their life or death, because I know what I should care about. Why should you sympathize with your enemies? Think about those brothers who are still alive, those who you should really care about-"
"They dedicated their lives to the whole country and crawled out from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, but they had to grow old in hopeless days. No one expressed gratitude for their efforts, and no one was responsible for the rest of their lives."
"We did terrible things..." Rowan said.
"It wasn't us—it was Lyria and the 'Black Heart King' who did all this!"
The colonel interrupted Rowan. He spoke faster and faster, his expression like a roaring lion:
"These warriors are still as sharp as bayonets, but they can only beg and wander on the streets. People call Richard II the father of the country, but what father would do such a thing to his own child?!"
The Black-Hearted King...that is a contemptuous name for His Majesty Richard II.
Ed's face changed slightly and he looked around. Fortunately, there were no other outsiders in the church. The old nun who was cleaning the floor buried her head deeper and pretended that nothing happened.
The sudden silence also awakened Corus Haken. He sighed, took out his handkerchief and wiped his cheek:
"I'm sorry... you have heard the crazy words of a bad old man. As compensation, please allow me to be the host and take you to the restaurant for a sumptuous lunch."
Ed waved his hands hurriedly: "Don't bother me. I just had lunch, and I happen to have something I want to talk to Father Dillon about."
"I won't interrupt the two of you reminiscing about old times." Dylan said wisely.
"In this case, Rowan... let's find a warm place, eat some juicy barbecue, and drink a glass of brandy?"
Seeing Rowan nodding in agreement, Haken put on a wrinkled smile, patted his shoulder, held up an umbrella, turned to the two of them and said:
"Then let's take our leave first."
"Bon Voyage."
Seeing the two of them walking out, Ed turned around, took out the envelope from the lining of his coat and handed it to Dylan:
"Here are Mr. Quinn and Mr. Quinto's medical expenses. Mr. Bernard Eaton asked me to forward them to you. I wish you...'a happy life.'"
When he said the last sentence, Ed raised his eyebrows teasingly.
…
"I'm back. I've given the money to Dylan—"
Putting away his umbrella under the eaves, Ed was about to push open the green door of the detective office, but found that the door was locked.
What's going on? Everyone is out?
He took out the key and opened the door. No one was inside. All that was left on the table was a handwritten note and a map——
The West Coast Company's transport airship crashed on the outskirts of the city and arrived quickly after receiving it.
There was a circle drawn with a pencil on the map nearby, which was obviously the specific location of the incident.
Come on, there's work again.
Ed put on his gun bag and tied his white crow cane to his belt. I stretched my muscles a little, but the soreness still lingered in my muscles.
Generally speaking, he rarely brings a white crow stick with him when carrying an umbrella on rainy days. After all, he looks like a gentleman with one stick, and he looks like a disabled person with two sticks.
But the white crow cane was a key weapon and had to be carried, so it had to be tied to the belt as a sword. He also carried the hollow crystal pendant given by his grandmother in his pocket, which could be used as a casting material for the "Secret Binding Blade" at critical moments.
Rushing to the scene in a hurry, all that was left of the airship was a smoldering ruin. The heat was slowly steaming, and there were still dots of firelight on the steel frame. The rain has stopped, but you can still feel a wave of heat hitting your face as you walk forward.
The airship crashed in a forest suburb. Fortunately, due to the rain, the soil and trees were moist enough and the fire did not spread further. The surrounding land was still scorched and mottled, emitting a rare and strange smell like flames burning raindrops.
Since the accident occurred outside the city, in addition to the members of the East District team, there were also members of the Divine Bureau from other regions investigating the scene.
"Am I late?" Ed had a guilty look on his face.
"It's okay. Let Quinn tell you the situation."
Mr. Eaton was talking to another masked investigator. He stopped talking and motioned Ed to go find Quinn first to figure out the situation.
"OK."
Quinn was leaning against a nearby tree, like a bored child beside him while adults were talking. Seeing Ed coming over, she finally put away the rotating butterfly-wing folding knife in her hand, opened her eyes and waited for him to speak.
"Have you figured out what happened?"
"Probably, I heard the rescuer said it was caused by rain or something."
"Parts failure caused by rain caused the airship rotor to catch fire and crash?"
"Yes, that's what you said. Every word is correct." She rolled her eyes and agreed with Ed's statement.
"Are there many victims?"
"There was no one. They abandoned the container as soon as the incident happened and floated away in an escape hot air balloon."
"Huh..." Ed breathed a sigh of relief. This is a relatively standard self-rescue procedure. Strictly observing the rules and regulations can improve the survival rate of an air crash.
"It doesn't sound like a serious accident. If that's the case, why do so many people from the Bureau of Investigation come?"
He secretly glanced around. There were at least a dozen people wearing beak masks, which was definitely a luxurious lineup.
"That's the problem," Quinn pointed in the direction of the airship. "That container contains a large amount of active equipment, enough to arm a battalion of soldiers."
A battalion of soldiers?
The voice and appearance of Colonel Corus Haken suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, and for some reason, Ed had a bad feeling.
