The time after pleasure always becomes somewhat void, and now it's the same. Bologue looked ahead expressionlessly, praying in his heart that no mounted police would check their licenses, as Palmer lay slumped in the passenger seat, reeking of alcohol.

"Speaking of which, it's really surprising that you could recognize Church, you know."

Palmer suddenly lifted his head, drunkenly trying to stir up a conversation; he disliked this silent atmosphere.

"What's wrong?"

Bologue asked, sounding as though recognizing Church was something to be proud of.

Indeed, it was something to be proud of. When Palmer noticed this, he wanted to ask Bologue about it; he just hadn't had the time until now.

"He's a faceless man, literally, very few people can remember what he looks like, and I'm one of them," Palmer said, "After all, I used to be his partner."

"I'm a bit confused… does it have something to do with his Secret Energy?"

The car came to a halt at the red light. Bologue didn't like waiting, so he exchanged idle chatter with Palmer to pass the time.

"Sort of. You can understand it as he can switch to different faces. Although he's not combat-capable, he's cunning enough that you never know when he might replace the one closest to you."

Palmer, drunk, blurted out a jumble of words.

"So how do you tell his identity? It's not intuition or something like that, right?"

"Hmm…"

Bologue thought seriously, his mind recalling things related to Church.

Palmer had told him many stories about Church, like how Church had always had a crush on that flower shop girl named Afeiya. Bologue even met Afeiya in a bar and helped her solve some troubles.

Recollecting Church's face, Bologue remembered that when he first saw him, he appeared ordinary enough that if one didn't pay much attention, they would forget Church's appearance in an instant.

Today's meeting felt the same; Church still had that ordinary look, but Bologue was sure that even ordinary, there was something different from what he remembered.

So mysterious, Bologue still recognized Church at first sight. He pondered this until the red light turned green, and then it dawned on him.

"Probably… his eyes."

"His eyes?" Palmer's face showed a look of surprise, but thinking it was Bologue, he found it reasonable, "Go on."

Bologue said, "His appearance is changing, but his gaze hasn't changed. I recognized his identity from those eyes."

"You're really professional. Indeed, this is the fatal flaw of the faceless man, Church," Palmer said with a hint of regret, "I was the one who discovered this fatal flaw. Sometimes I feel quite guilty about it."

Bologue looked at Palmer with a face full of surprise. It seemed Church's eyes were related to Palmer. Bologue wanted to hear more, but Palmer fell silent, saying nothing.

"Leaving things half-said won't do."

Bologue pursued, not liking things left unspoken.

The colorful lights outside the car window cast intricate colors on Palmer's profile.

"I wanted to introduce Church to you all before, but I never really found a good opportunity," Palmer mumbled hesitantly, "After all, I don't have many friends in the Order Bureau, and Church was one."

Bologue asked, "So what happened between you?"

"The incident when I became a Debtor; Church was there too. From then, we were partners," Palmer squinted, struggling to recall the mess of the past, "The situation was very complicated, enemies all around, and our powers were limited, inevitably soon, we would be overwhelmed by enemies."

Coincidentally, it was also the time of the Sacrifice Ritual of the Corrupted Sect. Countless Holy Spirits on the altar were wailing in pain, while below the altar, a few of us were rampaging.

Maybe I was out of my mind, or maybe it was because we were at a dead end, so why not try every possibility? I shared my plan with Church."

Palmer fell into silence, and Bologue knew what happened next. Palmer rushed to the altar, seizing the Blessing that the Corrupted Sect was to receive after their sacrifice, and directly faced that scarlet chaotic being, forming a Blood Contract, becoming part of the Debtors.

Palmer whispered, "Telling it afterwards always sounds easy…"

"But at the time, the circumstances were dire, only those present could understand a bit."

Bologue followed up on Palmer's words, understanding his meaning. Palmer had asked him before about the Scorched Earth Fury; he was curious about that war that engulfed nations in flames.

If Bologue were to tell it in detail, he could talk for a month, but as he started, he just brushed over it lightly.

"To buy me time, Church blocked the enemy for me and got his eye injured, losing vision in one," Palmer said calmly. "His left eye is an Alchemy Eye, looks just like a real one, but his Secret Energy can't change this fake eye, and since then, the Faceless Man became traceable."

This is why Bologue could recognize Church from his eyes, no matter how much his appearance changed, Church's eyes remained the same.

Bologue said, "It's nothing, if not for those sacrifices, you all would have died at the ritual site."

"I think so too, so I don't feel much guilt, at most I feel a bit sad when I see that fake eye." Palmer said carelessly.

"I always thought your relationship with Church wasn't that good."

"No, that's just how we interact, we talk trash about each other, and if things get heated, he'd start cursing me in Vasilina's manner... damn, I shouldn't have shown him Vasilina's photo."

Palmer suddenly stopped mid-curse and sittenly said, "But sometimes, seeing Vasilina's likeness, I think it's pretty nice."

"Hold on, Palmer, your thoughts are getting weird!"

Bologue slammed the brakes, stopping the car by the road, and shouted at Palmer.

That's not Vasilina, it's just a false illusion, if you miss your fiancée so much, let's set out tomorrow, alright!

Bologue was screaming internally, these weird things seemed absurd but somehow seemed justified when it involved Palmer.

Palmer ignored Bologue's words, he really was drunk and didn't even notice what he'd just said.

"So how did you end up parting ways, was it really just because you were so unlucky?"

After calming the atmosphere,

Bologue continued asking, listening to Palmer talk about these things, he suddenly realized his partner wasn't just a silly goof; he also had his past and those unknown stories.

It's just that this guy's luck is so terrible, it's hard to focus on anything besides his luck.

Palmer said, "Later? Later I proactively applied to part ways."

Bologue said in surprise, "I always thought it was Church who suggested breaking up."

"It wasn't, I was the one who suggested breaking up... Luck is a very vague thing, sometimes you can attribute all good things to good luck, and all bad things to misfortune, but blindly believing in those things is somewhat naive.

After I became a Debtor, at first, our work was still going smoothly, but soon more and more problems started to appear in our work..."

Palmer paused, suddenly turned his head to look at Bologue.

"I always felt my Blessing had a kind of dynamic balance."

"You mean?"

"When I become complacent with good luck, it brings the punishment of misfortune. When I am at the end of my rope, it gives me a glimmer of hope, like terrible water torture.

This doesn't sound bad, even if it messes with your mindset a bit, it indeed ensures my survival, but the people around me are different, they fall into the same risks with me, and they don't have the protection of luck."

Palmer sighed as he spoke, this guy was lonely within the Order Bureau, largely due to this lousy luck, Palmer could only protect himself, unable to take care of others.

"In the subsequent work, because of my Blessing, Church suffered unnecessary injuries many times and almost died, I felt it was time to part ways, staying together, I might end up really bringing Church down.

Church was very angry at my request to dissolve the partnership, but the impact of the Blessing was an undeniable reality, then the Crow's Nest also approved my request, since then, my relationship with him became somewhat strained, only recently has it eased quite a bit."

Palmer reclined his seat, lying back completely.

Bologue gazed ahead, the night was deep, the car drove through the empty streets.

Bologue felt a bit surprised, never expected that this carefree guy Palmer, also had such a caring side, perhaps he was always like this, just the usual silly cheerfulness covered too many of his shining points.

Then Palmer slowly raised his hand, giving Bologue a thumbs up.

Just as Bologue was puzzled, Palmer shouted drunkenly.

"The Undead are really awesome! Now I can finally be free!"

Bologue stomped on the brakes, and Palmer crashed headfirst into the windshield.

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