Chapter 103 Aiwass's biological parents

"Your biological father's name is Julio Alexander. He is not a nobleman, but the son of a small-town poet. He also graduated from the seminary you are currently attending."

Bishop Mathers's first words stunned Aiwass: "And your mother, Anne Alexander, was once a noblewoman of the Iris family. She abandoned her own family name and eloped to Avalon."

...There's too much information in these words.

Aiwass was choked as soon as he came up.

"--Annie is my close friend and former roommate. We came to Avalon together and were classmates at Iris."

At this moment, a soft and mysterious female voice sounded from behind Aiwass.

Aiwass turned around upon hearing the voice and saw a person he had never seen before but who seemed incredibly familiar to him.

She had thick, wavy, waist-length black hair. Her skin was fair, her breasts were high, and her features were deep, three-dimensional. She looked a bit like an elf, with a touch of the ancient Parthian. But what was most striking was her jade-like eyes, which seemed to sparkle like the stars.

She wore a black veil and walked barefoot on the soft carpet at home, with jade rings hanging on her wrists and ankles.

This is none other than Madam Mina, the manager of the in-game mall—the one responsible for drawing cards, opening limited pools, selling various gift packs, and offering discounts and promotions.

When she stood next to the younger version of Mathers, they were a perfect match—even though one was forty-six and the other thirty-five, they both looked like they were in their twenties. There was no sign of time on them at all.

Aiwass has no recollection of her ever appearing in the plot, but he can guarantee that all players will be impressed by her.

When the Faceless God Studio hasn't held any promotional activities for a long time, players will often tag the official every day to go crazy, posting things like "When will Madam come?", "Madam, I miss you so much", "Madam, you don't want me to spend my money on other games, do you?"

And now, the first words she said when she met Aiwass attracted his attention.

"Are you...Mrs. Mina?" Aiwass asked.

Bishop Mathers was a little surprised: "How do you know her name is Mina?"

"I guess that's what Meia said."

Mina said with a smile: "Didn't she come to my fortune-telling shop last year and earnestly persuade me not to cheat."

"That guy just likes to meddle in other people's business."

Mathers snorted in dissatisfaction: "Just ignore her."

Mrs. Mina looked at Aiwass, a little absentminded, and sighed softly, "You really... look a lot like Julio and Anne. No wonder Mathers gave you the key to the chapel when he first met you."

"Is my father also your classmate?" Aiwass asked curiously.

"Julio is considered our senior, two grades older than us."

Mina looked at Aiwass and smiled. "Julio was very popular with girls back then. His father was a poet, so he had a unique artistic temperament, but he didn't have the frivolous personality of the Iris men. He was a handsome man who was calm and gentle, serious and romantic. He mastered the art of illumination before he even graduated. I don't know if you still have it now, but back then, when girls had menstrual cramps, they would seek treatment from the seminary seniors. Many people were eyeing Julio.

“Although he wasn’t good at sports, he was good at singing and was a very capable tenor.

"Julio and Annie met in a student theater troupe, where he was the main actor. Annie was a rising star with considerable acting talent. Your mother was optimistic, cheerful, gentle, and generous during her student days. Although she was an international student, she had many friends. Plus, that was her major, so when she first joined the troupe, she was voted the leading actress with a high vote.

"I remember their first opera performance was Lulu's Magic Flute, which was quite difficult. But their performance went very smoothly, and even the royal family came to watch. Your parents played Prince Tamino and Pamina, the daughter of the Queen of the Night, respectively... It was after that performance that they began their secret relationship."

Mina glanced at Mathers at this point and said, "But after that, I married Mathers and moved from the school dormitory to his house. I don't know much about what happened after that.

"All I know is that Annie got pregnant before she even graduated. She took a long leave to have you, so she didn't have enough credits and had to repeat a grade. Your mother took you to class with her at the time... I even held you in my arms when you were little."

Mina's voice was gentle, yet a little sad. "Annie had already changed her last name by then. She must have fallen out with her family and forced herself to marry Giulio."

When she saw Aiwass, she immediately thought of her close friend who had been dead for more than ten years.

The memories of the university that I can never return to, along with the people I will never see again, emerge before my eyes.

All these years had passed, and Mina had thought she had forgotten everything. But when she saw Aiwass, the memory that had turned gray suddenly resurfaced, and all the memories of the past regained their sound and color.

The atmosphere among the four of them became silent for a while.

Mathers led Aiwass into the living room and sat him down. A space for a wheelchair had already been cleared around the table, and Mina poured Aiwass and Lily a cup of hot tea.

The bishop's home was not luxurious at all. The only thing worth mentioning was that he lived in Red Queen District.

But it was small, even smaller than Aiwass's villa at school. It had only two floors and three bedrooms. They entered through the front door and went to the living room. "Mrs. Mina's Fortune Telling Shop" was on the first floor, at the back door, and was also connected to the living room.

"Anything to add?"

Madam Mina gathered herself together, asked Lily to sit next to Aiwass, and then asked the two of them.

"Just add milk," Aiwass replied.

"I want milk too... and some honey," Lily whispered.

While waiting for milk tea, Bishop Mathers sighed, "Your father was once my student, but Professor Moriarty also did me a favor. So I actually struggled for a while, wondering whether I should talk to you about your background and whether this would be unfair to your adoptive father..."

“But since you’ve been attacked so many times by demonologists, I think it’s time to make things clear with you.

"Your parents were cursed to death by a demonologist, and it's related to the Jack the Ripper case from ten years ago. The culprit is most likely the Ripper's mentor, and the contracted demon is the Hook."

Mathers' voice was a little hoarse. "At that time, the entire Alexander family was cursed, and many people died from this curse of unknown origin. He came to me for help...but I was not at the Candlelight Cathedral that morning."

He glanced at the crimson key hanging from Aiwass's wheelchair. "You should know by now that this key contains a holy sword. But I must tell you that this holy sword is cursed, and the curse is very strong."

"Just the night before, the curse within it was accidentally leaked. To prevent innocent people from suffering, I took it to an abandoned warehouse far from human habitation and found several arbitrators to help me seal it. By the time I finished my work and returned, it was already one o'clock in the afternoon.

"It was too late then. Your parents were killed by the Hooked Demon, but they used their last bit of strength to protect you. From then on, you had no relatives in Avalon. I also seriously considered whether to adopt you. After all, I knew your father, and Mina knew your mother. I had that opportunity... but I ended up sending you to an orphanage. I'm sorry, Aiwass."

Mathers sighed, a bit regretful. "Because I was also having a conflict with my family at the time... Mina alone was unacceptable to them. Adopting a student's child—I've taught hundreds of students, so that wasn't a compelling reason. So I ultimately backed out... And I was really a little scared. I was worried about Mina, Maya, and Mom and Dad getting into trouble."

"To this day, we still don't know why the Alexander family was attacked by demonologists, because all of their members were already dead. Just two days after your parents died, your grandfather was killed for the same reason.

"The Inspectorate claims your grandfather may have hidden a special secret in an unpublished poem. When he died, all his manuscripts disappeared. And of all the deceased 'Alexanders,' only his belongings were stolen. But this argument is obviously untenable, as there would have been no need to kill your grandfather's children.

"So I was worried that you had gotten into trouble with someone. So I sent you to the orphanage funded by Professor Moriarty.

"Professor Moriarty is a good man. The orphanage he invested in is at least safe. It's not like other orphanages where children are sent to work in factories when they turn nine, or sent to work as newsboys or doormen at Lloyd's, or even sent directly to the beds of powerful figures.

"Finally, when Professor Moriarty went to adopt Yulia as his adopted daughter, I mentioned you to him. As a result, he really adopted you... This makes me owe him another favor."

Mathers slowly recounted the events that occurred before Aiwass could remember.

"Bishop Mathers... I want to know where my grandfather was from?"

Aiwass asked seriously.

"He lives in Eagle Point Village in Pastoral Bay County, which is also your father's hometown."

Mathers answered without hesitation, having clearly anticipated Aiwass's question. "I know you're deeply concerned about this matter, but I don't recommend you search there for clues right now. Although you're talented, you're still too weak... and your talent only increases your value. Those evil scholars of demonology will sacrifice you once, and they'll do it again."

As he spoke, Mathers looked at Aiwass with a complicated expression: "I was thinking at the time... if I had completed the advancement two or three years ago and entered the fifth energy level, would your parents have not died?

"But no matter how I calculated, it was all in vain... because I'm just a transcendent dedicated to the Tao. This frustrates me. As soon as the curse of the red-handled sword is revealed, I must deal with it—I can't deal with it in the Candlelight Cathedral. That would only infect more people and spread the curse to the entire Glass Island. I must be responsible for more innocent people.

"Furthermore, the principle of the Path of Devotion is to sacrifice those closest to oneself and save those who are far away. This is also a broad form of 'altruism.' In other words, if I could reach the fifth level of energy and even foresee the disaster your parents would suffer, I might still choose to save more ordinary people. That is the result of being influenced and manipulated by the Path.

"That kind of dedicated yet ruthless state terrified me. I realized that even Level 5 transcendents have things they can't do, and can be schemed against or encounter tragedy due to coincidence.

"So from then on, I stopped advancing. If the fourth level couldn't solve a problem, the fifth level probably couldn't either...at least that's what I thought at the time."

Mathers sighed and recalled the past in silence.

Aiwass slowly drank the warm milk tea and fell into thought.

Obviously, the death of Aiwass's parents also brought some psychological trauma to Mathers.

It was then that Bishop Mathers lost his desire to advance further, choosing instead to live a stale life. He later sought the help of Professor Moriarty and became a Spiritual Councillor—a non-official representative of the Church who, without being a knight or wearing armor, could enter the Round Table, participate in meetings, and vote.

To date, there are only six spiritual councilors in Avalon. This is a very prestigious position. However, it also means that Mathers will be distracted from his focus on improving his extraordinary abilities.

"——Eagle Point Village?"

At this moment, a somewhat sleepy but indifferent voice came from above.

That was Sherlock.

He walked down the stairs slowly in thin clothes and slippers.

His hair was a little messy from sleeping, and you could tell from his expression that he was still a little confused.

Sherlock, who had woken up but not completely, subconsciously said, "Isn't that Haina's hometown?"

(End of this chapter)