Aiwass sat steadily in the wheelchair, being pushed gently by Haina from behind.
It was a comfortable feeling—especially since Aiwass actually had no problems with his legs and feet, which made it feel even better.
He even closed his eyes, basking in the early winter sun comfortably, feeling drowsy.
For a moment, I had the illusion that I was old enough to retire and was being dragged out by my daughter to take a walk and bask in the sun.
Wrapped in a black cloak, with only half of his chin exposed, Aiwass quietly observed his surroundings.
So Aiwas saw very clearly an interesting phenomenon: when passers-by walking near Moriarty Manor saw Haina dressed as an inspector, no one felt afraid.
They just glanced and passed by as usual.
But as they left the White Queen and headed southeast into Lloyd's, things began to change.
Passersby looked at Haina's surveillance and gradually began to become terrified. They would deliberately avoid Haina's route in advance, and even stop and move aside when they were more than ten meters away, carefully giving way to Haina.
When Haina entered a fresh food market, a terrible solemnity centered on her spread quickly among the crowd. When the residents realized that the supervisor was pushing some important person in, some of the crowded crowds automatically dispersed to the sides.
It was a miracle like Moses parting the sea - the wheelchair under Aiwass never stopped despite the noisy crowd. No one dared to stand in front of him, no one came to talk to him, and no one even dared to speak loudly to disturb the mysterious man who was wrapped tightly.
Even the residents who were buying things before stopped their conversations. They looked at Aiwass with curiosity and fear as he slowly passed through the crowd, and watched him... until they left the market.
"Did you see that, Haena?"
After that, Aiwass closed his eyes, relaxed his body and leaned back slightly, and said softly: "People are very afraid of you."
"I don't understand why."
Haena did not hide her voice at all, and there was no wavering in her words: “Those who have not committed any crime have no need to be afraid of us.
"Everyone knows that in Avalon, 'rules' are important - this is not a secret, but common sense known to everyone. In this case, just don't break the rules and don't break the law. I don't know what they are afraid of."
When she said this, she held her head high and her eyes were as bright as fire.
Aiwass was a little surprised.
"I thought you'd feel sorry for them," Aiwass said.
"Why?"
Haina asked back: "Is it because I did something wrong? Or is it just because of my poor background?"
… She seemed a little too sensitive about her origins.
Aiwass realized that Haina didn't seem to want to talk about this topic. But even so, she didn't end this unpleasant topic.
"Yes, my family is poor. But my parents have always told me to be an upright person - to obey the law, be loyal to the queen, and be honest to my teachers. Although I have no money, I have never done anything wrong, such as stealing."
When she said this, Haina's voice was filled with a strong sense of confidence: "I will not ask others to be like me, because not everyone agrees with the authoritarian way. But I will try my best to restrain my own behavior - not because I am forced to do so, but because I am willing to do so.
"Now, I am devoted to obeying my superior and carrying out every order he gives within the rules; but if one day I will be higher than him, then he will also obey me in the same way.
"This is the way of the 'authoritarian'. The rules of Avalon."
Aiwass understood.
This is the anchor that allows Haena to maintain her self-esteem and confidence at the Royal Law University.
The reason why she was able to step into the path of "authoritarianism" at an early age was because she understood the essence of the path of authoritarianism at an early age. It can even be said that she was led to this path by her parents intentionally or unintentionally since she was very young.
She was born for this.
Because the extraordinary professions in this world are, in a sense, projections of "thoughts", "ideas", and "personalities". They are a little bit of power that seeps out from the nine great paths.
Even those gods who are high above and immortal are merely pioneers of these "paths".
If you want to embark on the nine great paths, you must fully understand and be determined to follow this path. A person who does not understand or agree with "what is dedication" cannot embark on the path of "dedication"; a person who does not understand what art and beauty are cannot embark on the path of "beauty".
Although the Kingdom of Avalon emphasizes "rules" and upholds "laws", they do not actually follow the law for the sake of "fairness" and "justice".
The law is just a tool of "authoritarianism". However, the naive Haina instinctively understood this most important core idea and did not go astray.
"It's not easy, Senior."
Aiwass' heart moved, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and he said in a gentle voice: "I didn't expect you to have such ambitions?"
"…What ambition?"
Haina didn't even realize what she had just said unintentionally.
“Become your boss’s boss, and even higher…”
Aiwass said slowly: "This is not the concept of 'authoritarianism'.
"—I didn't expect that you are also a believer in the Way of Transcendence."
Hearing this, Haina was startled and even paused for a moment while pushing the wheelchair.
“… Wh-what?”
"Why, you don't realize it yourself?"
Aiwass asked back.
He crossed his fingers under his windbreaker and whispered seductively, "But this is actually normal.
"Senior, I don't know how you learned in school. But, we are all mortals. No one can avoid deviating from his own path... For example, the path of 'love', the path of 'wisdom', the path of 'dedication'.
"Wouldn't you fall in love with someone? Savagery, bestiality, the urge to reproduce... This is exactly what is influenced by the Way of Love. Every teenager is influenced by the Way of Love.
"Similarly, the path of 'wisdom' is characterized by utilitarian thinking or the pursuit of truth; and if you are determined to sacrifice your life for others, then you have entered the path of dedication and are being watched by the 'candle master'. The nine paths are the nine inevitable thinking patterns of human beings. Everyone always has his or her own bias, and when doing anything, he or she will conform to one of them to some extent.
"Except for fanatics, how many people can stay on their path without straying from it
"—If that's the case, then what's so terrible about straying from one's own path?"
Aiwas's voice was low, but it rang clearly in Haina's ears: "Have you ever thought about this question, senior? Why does Avalon follow the path of authoritarianism?"
She only felt her ears itching, and then her back itching as well. Her blood was boiling, and even her earlobes were hot.
It wasn't shyness, but excitement and fear.
"Please keep your voice down, Mr. Aiwass—"
She lowered her voice and whispered.
She was too afraid of being heard of such heresy... but from another perspective, she was a little curious.
I felt a little itchy in my heart and wanted to hear more.
This was something that no one would tell her at home or at school…even if they told her, she would not listen. But now that she heard it, she felt a sense of recognition, “I have thought about this a long time ago.”
With this contradictory mentality, she even used the respectful title "Mr." to address Edwards, who was four years younger than her.
That's why she subconsciously said "Please speak softly" instead of "Please stop talking".
But at this moment, Aiwass closed his mouth with a smile, and chuckled like a villain.
Listening to Aiwas's chuckle in the wheelchair, Haina suddenly felt that her ears, neck and back were no longer itchy - now her teeth began to itch with hatred.
Why did you stop talking halfway? Why
But Haina didn't dare admit that she wanted to hear it - that would undoubtedly be an act of disloyalty.
—Can’t you just speak for yourself
I'll try to persuade you a little, but if that doesn't work, then I won't give up, right?!
"When the time is right," Aiwass said, "I'll tell you."
"So, when is the right time—"
“It’s very simple.”
Aiwass replied: "After we get this over with, after we meet again at school... I'll find a quiet place to talk to you.
"You also understand that this kind of secret is not suitable to be told on the street."
"-good!"
Haina said confidently: "You don't have to tell me, I will help you arrest the criminal.
"Then I want to hear the second half of the story you haven't finished telling!"
At some point, she no longer cared whether she strayed from the path of authority.
Perhaps she had already known in her heart that she had gone astray, but was only willing to acknowledge it now.
Moreover, she had not yet realized one thing—
That is, without her realizing it, the reason why she wanted to arrest the criminal... changed from "the order of the Supervisory Bureau" to "arresting the criminal for Aiwass." But she didn't realize it at all.