Half-step Purgatory

Durin stroked the black cat on the armrest of his chair, sitting on the black leather sofa. Through the glasses perched on his nose, his gaze passed over the long table in front of him and settled on the man kneeling on the carpet:
"I understand, you've made money in Naples, your business has been very successful, and you've led a happy life. You've had those secret police, friends in both the law and the underground, and even the Royal Family speaking on your behalf."
"You don't need a friend like me, I know that. You're afraid of owing me a favor, and you don't want to get involved in troubles."
"But now you come to me and say, 'I beg you, Mr. Durin of the Corleon family, please help me seek justice, so that my life and my family will not suffer and sink into despair.'
Yet, in your eyes, I was nothing more than a second-rate artist involved in movies and music. Even at the brink of death, you still show me such disrespect, not even willing to call me by my title... Keeper of Secrets."

Durin's Diary

"So young," Durin said with a smile, his affection apparent. Looking at her was like seeing those classmates from the Deer Clan he had first met in the High Tower when he was a child.


"I am an adult now," Alice started in surprise, but still argued with a flushed face.


"Being an adult is not just about talking the talk," Durin smiled, reaching out to take the hat offered by the elderly doe who had previously been discussing matters with the young deer.


"Thank you, sir. My grandchild seldom chats as much as she has today," the elderly doe said with joy in her eyes but also a greater sense of caution.


Durin glanced at the flat cap in his hand, happily put it on, and then selected several pairs of trousers, a waistcoat, a shirt, and an overcoat.


"Add a piece; how much altogether?" he asked.


After paying, the surprise replaced the caution in the old doe's eyes when she saw Durin's hidden blade bracer.


Chapter 28: This Man Comes from High Tower_2