1170  Discussing Honor

Arthur watched Mister White hug his son tightly, tears still streaming down his face. As his son patted him back with a smile and disappeared, Mister White kept begging for the same thing over and over, his lips never stopping.

"Forgive me."

The two simple words expressed how much guilt this father felt for dragging his son to h.e.l.l and danger. Seeing the pair made Arthur imagine his own father asking for forgiveness. Would Arthur be able to forgive him, the same way that Dominic is forgiving his dad?

"I guess we will never know," muttered Arthur under his breath, making the others confused. He walked toward the father and son, and by the time he reached them, Dominic was gone. Mister White was still grasping for empty air, imagining that it was his son"s warmth.

"How are you feeling?"

"I have never been such a mess, but I feel resurrected from the dead, as if the life I lead so far was merely to get me here," said Mister White as he cleaned his face from tears. "It might also be the first time that my pants have been soiled."

"For things that matter, right?" said Arthur with a smile, and Mister White nodded at him. Then, the old man offered a handshake which Arthur took with a smile.

"This is to the start of a great business."

"One that would shake the world," said Mister White with a smile. "My men and I will be working around the clock to get you to your destination. And in our world, there are no big mouths."

"I already know," said Arthur with a smile as they broke off the handshake. "I will visit you again after taking care of some other matters. Can I depend on you for the finer details of our plan?"

"Leave it to me, sir," said Mister White with shocking respect and reverence, making the gang members look at Arthur with confusion. "Joe will be our contact method. Please take care of him."

Arthur nodded and then turned around to leave. Sarohan walked from behind him and slipped the cloak around his shoulders, covering him. Then, Arthur left the junkyard with his three comrades under the eyes of his new allies.

Going back in the same route that they came from, the four found themselves in the street. Joe and the rest knew that Arthur wanted to solve the issue between the temple and the rebels, but they were surprised to see him stopping beside a wall.

"Someone spotted us with Mister White, and they are still tailing us," said Arthur in a low voice, alerting his companions. "Act like nothing is wrong. Although he is still chasing us, he is almost a kilometer away."

"What do you want us to do, sir?" asked Koby with dangerous eyes that seemed prepared for confrontation. "I can outmaneuver them and attack them from behind."

"I always knew you were there," said Arthur with a smile as he looked behind the man, watching him send pulses of light that he intercepted. "You are rather too young to be a scout. How much did the temple pay you for such a mission?"

"What kind of question is that?" asked the man with confusion as he struggled to break free. "I will never spill out information, so you might as well kill me."

"That is a rather strong stance for a mercenary," said Arthur with surprise as he crouched beside the man and took out his wallet. "Twenty-five years old Genrick. What an odd name. You are not from here, huh?"

The man remained silent, true to his earlier words. Arthur looked through his wallet and found nothing but cash and an ident.i.ty card. After some more search, he found a small picture of a girl no older than three.

"…do you have a daughter?" asked Arthur with furrowed brows. The question seemed to trigger the man as he tugged on the ethereal ropes so hard that his wrist almost broke.

"Don"t use such cheap threats, b.a.s.t.a.r.d!" shouted the man as he tried to lunge at him, but the ethereal ropes remained in place. "She has nothing to do with this!"

"I feel ashamed that you would think of me like this," said Arthur as he placed the picture into the wallet and returned it. "I was asking because you seem to value your life so little even though you have a daughter. If she is the most important thing, why ask me to kill you?"

"Because a man"s honor is more important than anything," said Genrick while glaring at him. "My daughter will never be proud of a father who sells his honor just to live."

"Where have you been born, Genrick?"

"…Kera."

"Me too," said Arthur as he pulled down his hood. "You should recognize my face since you live in Kera. I have been here for more than one time, and there is a giant statue of me."

"…you are…" muttered the scout with confusion before realization dawned on him, "Arthur Silvera."

"Arthur Netherborne," corrected Arthur with a smile. "Kera is my hometown too, so I came back to treat its issues."

"You were with those thugs earlier," said Genrick with a frown. "How would you explain this?"

"I cannot exactly ask the kingdom to help me, can I?" asked Arthur with a smile. "I know that you don"t see me as a villain. How about we discuss that honor of yours?"