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

By noon, the young woman Durin had salvaged from the beach finally came to.


She first opened her eyes, glanced at the ceiling, checked herself, and then quite naturally discovered the blanket over her body.


Then, the aroma drifting from the kitchen prompted her to sit up.


The unfamiliar voice startled her, but she quickly relaxed—a clear sign that she was rescued; her clothes were undisturbed, there was no discomfort, and importantly, the approaching Maria was just a little wolf cub, a young girl.


A small cat stood on a chair, preparing food.


Then, she saw Durin sitting at the table.


Seeing his Candle Dragon appearance and foreign attire, she felt some hesitation but eventually gathered her courage, "Good, was it you and your servant who saved me?"


Chapter 147: The Distant Home