Old days, dice and investigator's manual

Isaac was taken aback; he had never heard his adoptive father, Edward, mention this before.

Edward had lived in Vista, he knew that, but the old man had never talked about that experience in detail, and as for the duel... Edward never mentioned it at all.

Carlo had already walked out the door. Isaac snapped out of his daze, quickly put away his cane and sword, and hurried after him.

The Red Maple Street was quite quiet at this moment, with a cool morning breeze carrying the fresh scent of dew and vegetation.

Isaac wasn't used to walking with a cane, so he just held it in his hand. After a few steps, he couldn't help but ask, "Boss, my father killed a church knight in a duel..."

"uh-huh."

"He never mentioned this to me."

"Not surprising. He's not the type to brag about his achievements, and that experience isn't something he'd like to reminisce about."

Isaac was silent for a moment, then asked, "What exactly happened? Can you tell me?"

"It's not that complicated. When Lessing was in Vista, he was asked to be tried by the Golden Bough Church for blasphemy for some reason."

"...Blasphemy?"

"Anyway, the Church believed that his research violated taboos and demanded that he be sent to the Inquisition. But Edward Lessing was a well-known figure in Vesta academia, and several influential people spoke up for him, so the matter did not escalate to the point of a public trial."

"Later, after several rounds of mediation, a secret court ruling was finally reached," Carlo said. "The ruling was that a duel would take place in the presence of Vicania."

Isaac's grip on his cane tightened unconsciously.

"The Church will send a knight, and Lessing must fight in person. If he dies in the duel, his sins will naturally dissipate, and the matter will end there. If he survives, he will be banished from Vista and never allowed to return, and the Church will no longer pursue his sins."

"As I just said, Lessing's swordsmanship was quite excellent, and he quickly defeated the knight. However, the knight was unwilling to surrender in the face of the goddess's glory and ultimately died by Lessing's sword."

Listening to these past events, Isaac remained silent. He knew that his adoptive father had a lot of combat experience in the past, but he never imagined that the gentle old man who often sat in his study turning the pages of a book and occasionally took a walk on campus with a cane had once killed a church knight in a duel.

"He went to Palmer after leaving Vista?"

"I wasn't watching where he went, so who knows?"

"...He never told me any of this," Isaac said in a low voice.

"Of course he wouldn't say that if someone decides to bury their past, they won't easily dig it up and show it to others. He's already passing on what he can by teaching you how to shoot and fight. As for those stories, he feels it's unnecessary for you to know them; that's his business."

Isaac walked in silence for a while, then turned onto a wider street.

The commercial street was already bustling in the morning, with shops on both sides opening one after another, shop assistants displaying goods in the windows, and cleaners washing away the dust that had accumulated overnight with buckets of water.

Carlo glanced around and stopped in front of a clothing store. Isaac collected his thoughts and followed Carlo's gaze.

Harper & Sons clothing store displays a few ready-made garments in the window, stacked on shelves. They look decent, not high-end, but certainly not shabby. They probably cater to people who need formal wear but don't have the money for custom-made clothes.

"This is the place." Carlo raised his chin.

Upon entering the store, a man wearing glasses stood behind the counter at the back, presumably the owner, Mr. Harper. Hearing someone enter, he looked up and smiled, "Gentlemen, what would you like to do for us?"

"Pick him an outfit," Carlo gestured to Isaac, "the whole set."

The shop owner sized up Isaac's figure and took out a measuring tape: "Sir, let me take your measurements first. Although everything in the shop is ready-made, it only looks good if the size is right."

Isaac opened his arms and let the shopkeeper take his measurements, while Carlo strolled to the shelf next to him and looked at the coats hanging on it.

After taking the measurements, the shop owner moved among the shelves and took down a few pieces of clothing: "Sir, you can try these on first. If they don't fit, I'll exchange them."

Isaac nodded in agreement, and the shopkeeper went to find a few more outfits. Carlo glanced over and remarked, "Trying them on again? Tsk..."

This person practically had "this is such a hassle" written all over their face, clearly very impatient with this part of choosing clothes.

"Boss, you don't usually come to this kind of store, do you?" Isaac guessed.

"Of course not. I always have my clothes custom-made by tailors; they're high-end, incomparable to these cheap, ordinary items."

Isaac glanced at Carlo's trench coat. The fabric was indeed of good quality and the tailoring was exquisite, but the collar was a bit crooked and there were several wrinkles that couldn't be smoothed out, indicating that it had been treated carelessly by its owner for a long time.

Carlo noticed Isaac's gaze: "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing," Isaac said, looking away. "I was just thinking, it's kind of... nice to see you wearing such high-end stuff like this."

"That's called being casual, you know? A truly respectable person doesn't need clothes to make a good impression."

"Then why did you ask me to buy clothes?"

"Because you haven't reached my level of spontaneity; you haven't reached the point where you don't need clothes to make a statement."

Isaac was speechless.

"Compared to that, there are other noteworthy aspects to this store."

"What?"

"Did you notice anything unusual?"

Isaac glanced at the clothing store window: "Something's wrong?"

"I specifically chose this restaurant," Carlo said. "Didn't you notice anything wrong?"

Isaac carefully recalled what had just happened in the store. The shop owner was normal, the store was clean, the goods were neatly arranged, and there was nothing particularly eye-catching about it...

"I didn't notice anything unusual," he said truthfully.

"That's more like it." Carlo nodded. "It would be strange if you could spot the problem the moment you walked in."

"So you said you chose this store not because the clothes here suit you?"

"The clothes were just a side thing; the main thing was to let you get a feel for it." Carlo put his hands in his pockets. "This shop definitely has a problem, but it's well hidden and not something you can see at a glance. Once you've gained more experience, you'll naturally be able to sense that something's off."

The shop owner came over with another stack of clothes and spread them out on the long table: "Sir, please take a look and see if these pieces suit you. You can try them on first."

Isaac took off his vest, picked up a dark gray suit jacket, unfolded it, and tried it on.

"Not bad." He stretched his arms and couldn't help but take a few more glances at the shop owner.

The shop owner was standing behind the counter tidying up something; everything seemed perfectly normal, and it was hard to imagine what was unusual.