Old days, dice and investigator's manual

Helpulin's door was pushed open, and the candles in the room had long since burned out, but fortunately Isaac had brought his own candles.

The old man, who was so thin he was practically skin and bones, was lying on a recliner with his eyes closed, seemingly asleep.

Isaac took a few steps closer, keeping a distance of two or three meters: "...Mr. Helpulin."

Helpulin opened his eyes, his cloudy pupils staring at Isaac.

"Did you hear the noise outside just now?" Isaac asked.

Helpulin didn't react much, silently watching Isaac.

Isaac looked at Halprin's hand: "How about this, one tap is 'yes,' two taps are 'no,' and three taps are 'uncertain,' how about that?"

The fingers resting on the armrest of Halperin slowly rose and fell, the weak force barely qualifying as a "knock".

Would you like to talk to me?

【Yes. 】

"You heard what happened just now, didn't you?"

【Yes】

"Did you send that Spider-Man?"

Helpulin didn't move. Isaac waited for a while and then realized that "Spider-Man" was just a nickname Carlo gave the thing; its official name was definitely not that.

"Uh, it's... that thing with really long limbs."

【Yes. 】

"You had it pass something to me, didn't you?" Isaac didn't mention the severed hand directly, to prevent Halprin from impersonating him.

【Yes. 】

"What is that thing? Can you tell me now?"

Helpulin raised his entire palm and moved it slightly before lowering it back onto the armrest.

Isaac placed the candle on the counter, took out the package tucked under his arm, opened it, and inside was the severed hand.

The severed hand came out of nowhere; it couldn't have been a demonstration of a "signature move." Isaac examined it and found that the palm of the severed hand had a crookedly written line that read "Come see me."

It didn't specify who to meet, which seemed like a simple introductory test. If the person receiving the message didn't understand and even went around asking other people in the building, then Halprin might not be so cooperative.

In other words, Halprin likely hoped that the person who came to see him was someone who didn't yet trust Glenn and his group that much.

"That executioner was there to prevent your 'messenger' from entering this building, wasn't he?"

【Yes. 】

"You are not with Glenn and his group."

【Yes. 】

Isaac understood. Glenn's account of the internal strife was at least not a lie; the cult was indeed in turmoil. At least Helpulin, a cult elder, claimed that he was not with Glenn and his group. In fact, Helpulin seemed to be under house arrest here.

It's debatable who betrayed the original order; he doesn't have enough information to make a judgment yet.

"You called me here because there's something you want me to do."

【Yes. 】

"But given your current situation, it would be difficult for you to explain the specifics."

Halprin's fingers twitched and curled. Isaac, observing the movement, deduced that it meant "to get closer."

He hesitated for a moment. An old man so weak that he couldn't even speak seemed unlikely to pose a threat, but as an elder of the Ghoul Order, Halprin might have other dangerous methods even if he was truly unable to move.

He gripped the dice in his pocket, walked to the side of the recliner, and still kept a slight distance.

Halprin tilted his head slightly, his lips moved, and a breathy sound escaped his throat.

"Kill...me..."

Isaac paused, thinking for a moment whether he had misheard.

"...You want me to kill you?"

Helpulin didn't repeat himself. His cloudy eyes looked at Isaac, his pupils slowly moving as he raised his finger.

【Yes. 】

"Now I must not have misheard," Isaac pondered the meaning of those words.

A senior member of the cult, who was under house arrest, went to great lengths to send a message, summoning him to his side, only to say, "Kill me."

"You asked me to come here for this."

【Yes. 】

"You were trapped here by Glenn and his men."

【Yes. 】

"What would I gain by killing you?"

Halprin did not respond immediately this time; rather, it was difficult for him to give a lengthy response in his current state.

Isaac maintained his persona: "I betrayed the FBI, wanting to join the Ghoul Cult in exchange for protection and immortality. If I kill you and gain nothing, that would contradict my purpose."

Helpulin looked at Isaac, who sighed, "I'm sorry, but at least for now, I think Glenn and the others are more worthwhile to side with."

【no. 】

"Hmm?" Isaac pretended to understand, though he felt it was a bit difficult to explain to such an old man.

Helpulin stared at Isaac, too weak to speak, and could only tap intermittently on the armrest with his fingers, as if trying to express something, but those scattered taps could not form a complete sentence.

Isaac continued, "You want me to kill you, but I have a question."

"Yes," Halprin indicated to Isaac.

"Glen brought me to this floor and let me stay next to you. Your room is ajar. At first, I thought it was for their convenience in taking care of you, but now it seems you're not with Glenn and his group, or even... you're being held captive by them, right?"

【Yes. 】

"That's strange. Normally, if a veteran like you is under house arrest, they wouldn't put an outsider next to the person under house arrest. The real isolation measures should prevent me from even seeing your door."

"But your messenger climbed into my window at night, and after the executioner killed the messenger, Glenn neither searched the place nor moved me downstairs. He seemed not at all worried that I would be able to speak with you."

As Isaac spoke, he sorted out his thoughts.

Even though Glenn acted as if he didn't want Isaac to find out too much, in reality, he allowed him to contact this imprisoned elder, brought him here, arranged for him to live next door to Halprin, and even facilitated such contact.

Isaac didn't believe that Glenn was willing to risk having the confinement of elders exposed just because he requested to live with the cult's leaders, in order to create a condition for him to live with the cult's leaders.

Now, Helpulin is asking Isaac to kill him, a request that comes after such a smooth contact, making it hard for Isaac not to be wary.

If Glenn intends to allow him to contact Halprin, then Halprin's request might be within Glenn's expectations. In fact, it's still uncertain whether Halprin is actually a senator under house arrest.

In either case, Isaac could not determine what the request meant, or what the consequences would be if he agreed and complied.