Arthur

"Where is he?"

A voice from the side suddenly captured their attention. They turned their heads to look at Shaya, who was still seated in his chair.

Moria reacted and said happily, "You're willing to help with this?"

As the highest leader of this country, he was capable of basic observation. He had noticed it from the beginning.

Compared to the Grim Reaper beside him, the person sitting in the chair clearly held a higher status.

Although he didn't know who he was, he knew that if this being before him was willing to help, then perhaps several of his children could be saved.

"If you are willing to entrust your son's destiny to me," Shaya murmured softly, his tone carrying an unfathomable depth.

Moria clearly sensed this. After a moment of silence, he said, "Whatever you wish to do, please keep them alive. I will give you the best reward I can offer."

Shaya smiled and said, "Your reward has already been paid."

Moria continued, "Under the bed where I sleep, there is a hidden compartment. Inside the compartment is a box. Please take that box with you.

It contains a deed to a small peninsula. From now on, it will belong to you.

And there are some other things inside."

He paused for a moment, then looked at Shaya with a pleading gaze.

"It's not valuable. Please help me deliver it to Alicia.

Of course, if you are unwilling, I will have no objections. Your will is paramount.

But if... if you happen to meet her."

His lips moved, as if he wanted to say something, but due to some concerns, he didn't know how to speak. He nervously fiddled with his fingers.

"There's no need to be so nervous," Shaya said, raising an eyebrow and smiling. "Compared to the reward you're offering, this is truly a trivial matter."

His son's situation was beneficial to both parties.

So, for Shaya, it was equivalent to acquiring a peninsula by simply delivering something, and the recipient was within his own home.

If this had happened a few years earlier, Shaya would have classified it as a telecommunications scam.

Moria let out a sigh of relief, as if a great burden had been lifted. He knew that with the status of the being before him, he would not deign to deceive him.

He bowed deeply to Shaya, his waist bending very low, almost at a ninety-degree angle.

Shaya remained silent, merely raising his wine glass and taking a slow sip.

Even to him, the person opposite might be a divine being.

But as the emperor of an empire, he had put aside all his dignity for his children.

By the time Shaya left the Imperial Palace, the sky had completely darkened. The night sky was devoid of stars and moon. The air was filled with thick moisture, and a heavy fog permeated the surroundings. Vaguely, the lights of street lamps could be seen flickering in the dense fog.

He had noticed it when he first arrived at the Imperial Capital. The buildings here were tall and densely packed, creating a "canyon effect." Dust and smoke were thus difficult to dissipate, leading to frequent fog.

The Industrial Revolution had just begun, and industrial iteration required time. Therefore, environmental pollution from these matters was unavoidable.

In a few more years, the fog problem in this city would only worsen, and at that time, the fog would not just be water vapor.

Sebas took Moria into the Underworld. According to him, he needed to make some preparations.

His Book of the Dead could only display recently deceased individuals and allow for targeted data queries, so it could not predict the future war.

However, the original text, meaning the Book of the Dead held by the true Grim Reaper, was different. The Grim Reaper also had premonitions of death, so He must have known something as well.

He didn't need to notify the Underworld, but under such a major event, the Underworld probably wouldn't be able to take care of minor figures like him, so he could only rely on himself.

After walking through a few streets from the Imperial Palace, Shaya arrived in front of a fenced house. At first glance, it looked somewhat like a school, but it was smaller than an average school.

The sign on the main gate read, [Blue Sky Orphanage].

Shaya walked straight in. The environment here was quite good, with a large area, plenty of greenery, and the air was also pleasant, especially the interior decoration, which was also exquisite. At least it was clean.

The royal family likely provided regular funding for this orphanage.

Shaya walked through a corridor. In the dim corridor, only one room was lit. The room was very spacious and filled with many toys. Inside, many children of different ages were playing together.

One child sat in a corner, playing with a puzzle by himself. His messy, medium-length, orange-red hair was very noticeable.

Everyone else around had either blonde or black hair, but he was the only one with orange-red hair.

That was his target for this trip.

"What's your name?"

The child slowly looked up upon hearing the sound.

He saw a strange adult man standing beside him without him knowing when it happened, looking down at him.

His pitch-black eyes were deep and tranquil, and no one could discern any emotion from them.

He looked around. Everyone was minding their own business. Even the orphanage staff present seemed not to have noticed this person, carrying on conversations with their colleagues.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"You can call me Shaya," Shaya said. "Your father entrusted your destiny to me."

"My father?" He shook his head and said, "I don't have a father."

"Everyone has a father," Shaya said. "Everyone in this world has an origin, it's just that, like the others around you, they didn't appear in your lives."

The child looked up, his deep green eyes holding a forest-like tranquility.

"Is he still alive?"

"He's dead. Just a few hours ago," Shaya replied.

The child remained silent. His eyelids drooped, and he continued to play with the puzzle with his head bowed.

"You're quite solitary," Shaya said. "And you don't like to show your emotions. That's not a good thing for someone your age."

He glanced around. "Is that also why you don't have any friends here?"

"I don't need friends," he said, his head still down. "They're all too childish."

Shaya watched him quietly and said in a low voice, "You have a lot to learn."

He paused, then continued, "You have three older sisters. Do you want to see them?"

Upon hearing this, the child stopped what he was doing and slowly looked up at Shaya.

"Do you trust me?" Shaya asked with a smile.

"You're a good person," he said. "At least, you don't mean me any harm. My intuition has always been very accurate."

His expression was serious, and his deep green eyes seemed to pierce through one's soul.

Shaya remained silent. His sisters naturally possessed magic, and although it was due to Destiny, it wasn't unusual for the child, who shared a bloodline with them, to have some special abilities.

He looked around.

"I think I understand why you're not welcome here."

The child's ability wasn't mind-reading, but rather a heightened sensitivity to malice and goodwill compared to ordinary people.

However, this could easily be mistaken for mind-reading, and no one liked having a mind-reader around them.

"It seems you don't have any attachment to this place," Shaya said. "That's good. It saves me a lot of trouble."

He gave a gentle smile. "Come with me, child."

The child lowered his head in thought, silently placed the last puzzle piece, and then asked, "Did you complete the necessary procedures?"

"What procedures?"

He looked at Shaya somewhat speechlessly. "Adoption procedures. How can you take me away without completing the procedures?"

"I think they won't stop me if I take you," Shaya said with a smile.

As he spoke, Shaya gestured with his head towards the doorway, signaling the child to follow him.

The child, somewhat skeptical, got up and followed behind Shaya.

Just as he had said.

Not a single person's gaze fell upon them. To everyone else, the two of them were like invisible figures in the room.

Although he was accustomed to being ignored, this was definitely not a normal situation.

He snapped back to reality, looking at Shaya's retreating back, and couldn't help but ask, "What did you do?"

"You still haven't answered my question,"

Shaya asked as he walked away, his back to the child.

"What's your name?"

"Freddy," he replied.

"Friday?"

He nodded. "That's the day I arrived here. Everyone calls me that."

"But that doesn't sound like a name," Shaya said. "I'll give you a new name."

The child also seemed to dislike the name and asked, "What name?"

Shaya thought for a moment, then pointed his index finger in the air.

"Got it."

He turned to face the boy behind him, a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his lips, his eyes flickering with a subtle light, and slowly began to speak.

"From now on, your name will be Arthur."