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

Durin once again stood in front of the Vincent Family's gates.


Although the guard had never seen Durin, a Candle Dragon, there were only so many kinds of Dragonkind in the world. He was neither a Silver Dragon nor a Black Dragon, and he was different from the Red Dragons and Golden Dragons. The slim, long tail was proof enough that they definitely could not afford to offend him.


The moment Earl Karl arrived, he recognized Durin's identity, so Durin was allowed to enter without undergoing an inspection.


"You coming here proves many things, some of them beyond my imagination, yet some within my expectations," the old man said to himself while leading Durin towards the pavilion. "Mr. Durin, how much do you know about the technology of the Old Days?"


"Artificial intelligence, AI cores, or maybe the lunar research station near our moon?" Durin replied with a smile.


Chapter 75: Spirits of the Old Age