New Gods of North America

"No!!! Why?!"

After the little wildcat had almost stopped moving, Macken Reave quickly let out a questioning whimper.

Wayne saw him kneeling on the grass, his hands trembling slightly as he held up the black and white wildcat, as if trying to save it, yet also seeming to understand it was too late.

"Who is it? Why do they always do this kind of thing?!"

Macken Reave's tone was tinged with sobbing, his words filled with helplessness and sorrow, more than anger or confusion.

His body gradually lowered, slumping onto the grass, his hands still holding the little wildcat, his cheek gently pressed against its body.

He looked both like a parent carefully and earnestly cradling an infant, and like a child cautiously holding a toy, afraid it would be snatched away.

Then, Macken Reave maintained this posture and began to talk to himself:

"It's Canucks, he's just a rude and overbearing person."

"Bullshit! I never deny what I've done, Georgia, you lying bitch!"

"Macken looks very sad, can someone help dispose of the cat first? Missouri, can you try?"

"I can't... York. Macken doesn't seem to want to part with the cat."

"Sigh... I'll try. Macken, can you let go and give it to me? You know, if others see this, it might be considered 'misconduct' according to school rules, and that wouldn't be good."

Although it was the same voice, due to the differences in tone, pitch, speed, and even pronunciation,

even though it was Macken Reave talking to himself, Wayne seemed to hear a group of people conversing.

Multiple personalities?

Or the more traditional "demon possession"?

Wayne scanned him a few times with his minimalist vision, and at least from the outside, he looked normal.

Soon, Macken Reave stood up again, his movements not quick, but his posture vaguely gave off the feeling of an upper-class gentleman.

How to put it, it was the kind of confident posture where he straightened his chest, lifted his head, tucked in his stomach, and straightened his back, "opening up" his chest and shoulders, his movements also seeming to carry a bit of leisurely "elegance."

Compared to Macken Reave's usual appearance of lowering his head, hunching his shoulders, slightly hunching his back, and even being afraid to make eye contact with others, if you didn't look at his face and figure, you would almost mistake him for two different people.

Then, Macken Reave found a shovel next to a house,

and then he routinely dug a hole, buried it, and filled it in, even slightly cleaning up the remaining food and blood at the scene.

After doing all this, Macken Reave squatted down near the spot where he had initially slumped down,

and began to talk to himself again:

"I've taken care of it... Macken, do you feel better?"

"He's still sad, let me comfort him a bit more. But thank you, Washington."

"Who is doing this kind of thing again? Haven't you heard of Virginia's rules? If Macken gets expelled and locked up in a monastery, then we'll all be living in jail eating boiled potatoes."

"Isn't the biggest suspect you, Canucks?"

"Wolverick! When Macken was being bullied, you yourselves didn't dare to stand up. On the other hand, Georgia, this kind of behavior of only daring to kill cats behind the scenes is obviously more in line with a treacherous ugly woman like you!"

"Alright, alright, don't be angry with Georgia, Canucks, I believe you didn't do it."

"Stop! Okay... now who can help take care of the unconscious Tennessee again?"

While Wayne silently listened to the movements in the dark, he tried to imagine the images and labels of the characters that had appeared so far,

Canucks, felt like the kind of wild western townsman, Georgia, seemed like a shrewish and mean lady,

and then there was Missouri, Tennessee... other than "Macken", the others all seemed to be the names of states, but the characteristics of some "people" were not yet obvious enough.

Now it seemed that the one who was more like a "parent" was either York or Washington.

Damn it,

how am I supposed to talk to Macken Reave in this situation?!

It sounded like their memories weren't completely shared,

would it be enough to come to an agreement with "Macken", or would we have to wait for them to have an internal meeting and vote?

And would their internal discussions really count?

...

Following Macken Reave's continued actions, he muttered to himself for a while in place,

and finally headed in the direction of the dormitory.

However, from Wayne's perspective, the current Macken Reave should not be "Macken\

,"at least the honest "dorm leader" wouldn't "hop and skip" when walking, and he didn't seem like the "Washington" who had just dug the hole, his movements weren't so steady and capable.

Honestly,

wantonly killing small animals might be considered "bad behavior" on a grand scale, but in this day and age, it's actually not a big deal.

If Wayne reported it, the dean's office would arrange for someone to confirm it, and with the current social atmosphere, the most Macken Reave would probably get would be a private verbal warning from school staff.

--It's still a long way from a written warning, because "hunting" is still a popular sport among the upper class, and "killing wild animals purely for entertainment" is not yet a publicly criticized behavior in Windsor or America.

At least in the public's perception, the degree of badness is far less than "deliberately damaging other people's property."

Of course,

according to the standards of "goodness" of the Holy Light Church believers, such behavior that is "neither for livelihood nor elegant\

,"is indeed not very appropriate for students who have received higher education, and once the matter spreads, Macken Reave will probably receive a lot of scrutinizing gazes.

But "Macken" seems to be innocent, so how should this be calculated?

After following him for a while, Wayne chose to put aside his distracting thoughts, quickened his pace, and went up to greet him, "Hi, Macken."

Macken Reave was slightly stunned after being called,

and with a rough understanding of the situation, Wayne noticed that Macken Reave's body posture gradually returned to its more common state, and then he responded to Wayne's greeting,

but Macken Reave's emotions still seemed low, and his smile could only be considered "squeezed out", "Good evening, Wayne."

Wayne imagined that he was now knocking on the door of a town resident's house, and a large family was sitting inside at this moment,

then he showed a professional smile as if he was still wearing a police badge, and chose a relatively "official" attitude:

"Macken, I'm from a detective agency chartered by the church, and I'm currently conducting a routine investigation.

"As a 'Fallen', have you been coerced by any clergy of the church, or subjected to management beyond the norm?"

Macken Reave's expression changed rapidly several times,

like a large group of family members each showing different expressions when hearing the sheriff's inquiry.