"Well then, this old crone has no business here anymore. I'm a bit tired, so I'll go rest now."

Just as Dick was eagerly clutching the chamber pot, ready to pounce, the old lady who had been sitting silently on the sidelines - Benjamin's grandmother - suddenly spoke up.

Benjamin was a bit surprised, and everyone else's attention was immediately diverted as well.

"If you're tired, Old Madam, please go rest. These are all trivial matters. No one would fault you for not wanting to be here," Ikes Fur immediately chimed in before Claude could open his mouth.

"At my ripe old age, I have to show my face when something happens, otherwise people might start thinking I've gone to meet my maker. Wouldn't you agree?" the old lady retorted, her tone as nonchalant as ever, as if she were mocking him, or perhaps just stifling a yawn.

Ikes hurriedly shook his head, saying, "Old Madam jests…"

Benjamin stood to the side, quietly listening to their exchange. The moment his grandmother spoke up, the conflict between him and Dick was immediately pushed aside. It seemed his cantankerous granny held quite a bit of sway.

However, Benjamin had a sneaking suspicion: For her to suddenly butt in at a time like this, the old lady probably didn't really intend to rest. Otherwise, why would she bother with such a barbed, roundabout comment?

Stirring the pot?

By all means, stir away! The bigger the ruckus, the better. It would buy him more time to figure out how to weather this storm.

"I'll have Anna attend to you." Claude also stood up, saying this to the old lady. Then he turned around and began signaling the servants outside the door with his eyes.

"No need. You think I'm so decrepit that I can't manage? I can walk on my own," the old lady waved her hand dismissively and stood up, leaning on her cane.

"But…" Claude hesitated.

"But what? Mary hasn't said a word, so what are you getting your knickers in a twist for? Mary, wouldn't you say so?" the old lady interrupted him impatiently and turned to Benjamin's mother beside Claude.

Mary - Benjamin's mother and Claude's wife - was clearly a bit startled. She probably hadn't expected the old lady to suddenly put her on the spot. Her eyes widened and she covered her half-open mouth with her hand.

After a moment's hesitation, Mary replied, "It's up to you, Mother. I have no objections."

Hearing this, the old lady let out a hmph, not too loudly, but impossible to read any emotion from.

Benjamin inwardly scoffed. So it was a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law spat, and one that didn't seem like it would amount to much. Clearly, it wouldn't be of any help to him, and wouldn't even buy him that much time. As soon as the old lady left, the Fur family would immediately raise their chamber pot and take aim at him again.

No time to spectate. This kind of trite family drama played out on every major network daily. Nothing interesting to see here.

He'd better hurry up and think about what to do next!

If Dick really intended to smash him with the chamber pot, could he put his foot down and refuse? Surely Claude wouldn't actually give him the boot from the Lither family, right?

But… what if he really did get kicked out?

At this thought, Benjamin couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

If he truly got the old heave-ho, he'd have no choice but to seek shelter with the Church. The Church still wanted to use him to capture Michelle, so they definitely wouldn't mistreat him. But trying to learn magic right under the Church's nose… that would be like skipping the tutorial and diving straight into the game's Nightmare difficulty. Talk about an anti-player move.

As for living on the streets… that would be even worse. But the Church probably wouldn't allow him to become a vagrant either. They'd be more likely to keep him on a tight leash. In a sense, staying with the Lither family was his best shot at maintaining his freedom of movement.

What a headache…

Just as Benjamin was contemplating his backup plans, the old lady, who was about to leave, suddenly made a very strange move. It was as if her strength had given out and her cane slipped, abruptly swinging to the side.

This swing wouldn't have been a big deal, except that the cane just so happened to be aimed right at Dick, who was standing there clutching the chamber pot.

Before anyone could react, the cane viciously struck Dick's heel. His legs buckled and he toppled backwards, crashing heavily to the ground.

At the same time, the chamber pot in his hands was flung from his grasp as he fell. It soared high into the air, tracing a beautiful parabola. Then, with pinpoint accuracy, it smashed right into Dick's face as he lay sprawled on the floor.

CRASH!

A tremendous noise rang out as dark liquid splattered everywhere, blossoming from his face like a giant flower in the shape of an abstract painting.

Everyone gasped and took a few steps back, avoiding the dazed Dick as if he were a walking plague.

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Dick lay on the ground, his face a mask of shock. He reached up and wiped his face with his hand, then slowly brought his trembling fingers in front of his eyes. As he stared at the brown substance smeared on his hand, his entire face began to twitch, a profound despair seeping into his pupils.

"AHHHHH!"

With an agonized, soul-rending scream, Dick once again passed out in his puddle of excrement.

As a series of events unfolded at breakneck speed, the crowd could only back away to avoid being splattered with filth, unable to muster any other reaction.

The mastermind behind the entire incident, Benjamin's grandmother, had swiftly retreated to the door of the living room before the chamber pot even hit the ground. She clutched her chest in alarm, the very picture of startled innocence.

The living room fell deathly silent.

Benjamin snapped back to his senses and looked at the old lady by the door, her eyes wide with feigned innocence. He was thoroughly shaken.

These days, it wasn't just the young folks - even elderly grandmothers were out to stir up drama!

Seeing the stunned, almost stupefied expressions on the faces around him, Benjamin learned his lesson. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Before anyone broke the silence, he would keep a low profile and maintain a completely transparent existence. He absolutely wouldn't say another word.

After all, this was his second time facing such a scene. In other words, he was now a battle-hardened veteran.

However, everyone present seemed to have even more extensive combat experience than him.

Each person was immersed in an incredible, almost trance-like state of shock as they stared at Dick in his puddle of excrement. Not a single sound was uttered, nor did a single expression change. Everyone was lost in that dazed, mesmerized "shock", letting the stench pervade the air, yet not one person seemed inclined to cover their nose.

It was as if someone had frozen time, leaving only the crows outside the window, startled into flight, their cries sounding somewhat wretched.

The entire scene had suddenly turned into a test of endurance, with Dick's scream serving as the cue for "Statue - hold your pose!"

Benjamin felt a bit dazed.

What were these people doing?

"They're all nobles, more experienced than you," the AI silently snarked in his mind. "Of course, it's also possible that the people of this world just have very slow reaction times. No matter what happens, it takes them a long time to respond."

"…"

Benjamin was speechless.

In this eerie, "shocked" silence, who knows how much time passed before a strange noise finally brought it all to an end. Benjamin paused for a moment, then realized it was his stomach growling.

In this environment, that single "gurgle" sounded exceptionally clear and penetrating.

…He was hungry.

Everyone's eyes once again converged on Benjamin.

Benjamin was filled with regret. Only now did he realize that since transmigrating to this world, he hadn't eaten a thing. At least not while he was conscious. As for whether anyone had fed him during the three days and nights he was out cold, he had no idea.

And that breakfast he was supposed to have eaten had been ruined by his grandmother. So in reality, he was very, very hungry. It was just that with so many things piling up, he had completely forgotten about it.

Until now, when the hunger had accumulated to a certain level and boom - the time bomb exploded.

He had once again become the center of attention.

Just as he inwardly cursed his rotten luck, the old lady suddenly seemed to come to her senses and spoke up:

"Oh my, this… I'm terribly sorry. I must have been using this cane for too long and it slipped. I accidentally let go and hurt the poor boy. Earl Fur, you won't hold it against me, will you?"

The old lady's words were like a spell lifting the enchantment. Everyone's faces showed expressions of coming back to their senses, as if they had truly just snapped out of their shock. They looked at each other, exchanging the lingering disbelief of their "astonishment", each person's expression flawless.

"This…" Ikes Fur stared at his son lying on the ground, the jowls on his face quivering. He still looked dumbfounded, not knowing what to say.

"Mother, are you alright?" Claude asked the old lady.

At his signal, a few servants entered, intending to support the old lady.

"No need. I'm just an old bag of bones, what could happen to me?" The old lady waved them away.

Ikes glanced at Dick on the floor again, his face gradually turning sour. Behind him, a few people Benjamin didn't recognize - probably also from the Fur family - exchanged glances, their expressions growing more and more awkward.

One of them patted Ikes on the shoulder and whispered something in his ear.

Ikes' brows furrowed deeply. He looked at the old lady, who seemed to be still shaken, hesitated for a moment, and said:

"Old Madam, you're putting us in quite the pickle."

Hearing this, the old lady patted her hair and said solemnly, "Don't worry, at my age, how could I make things difficult for you? I will definitely give you a satisfactory resolution for today's incident. Your child was advocating for fairness, right? How about this: we'll prepare another one of these chamber pots and let the boy splash me with it. That way we'll be even, and we won't have to make a scene in front of the Archbishop and become the laughingstock of the nobility. Don't you agree?"

As soon as these words were spoken, before Ikes could react, Claude was already aghast.

"Mother?"

"This is my mess, I'll clean it up. Don't interfere." The old lady waved her hand, cutting Claude off. She then turned to Ikes and asked in all seriousness, "Do you have any objections to my proposal?"

Ikes was stunned for a moment, his expression growing puzzled. He obviously couldn't quite wrap his head around the old lady's suggestion.

"This… how could we possibly do such a thing to Old Madam? Please don't jest."

The old lady, however, was the picture of righteousness. "Perish the thought! Didn't your child want revenge with all his heart? For the honor of the nobility, one mustn't go back on their word. Benjamin accidentally hurt the boy earlier, so it should be handled this way. I accidentally hurt the boy, so of course it should be the same. Come now, use that chamber pot to splash me. In order to gain your forgiveness, I absolutely won't renege on my offer."

The old lady's solemn tone startled Ikes. He also sensed that something was off, but faced with the sudden, inexplicable pressure emanating from the old lady, he didn't have time to think. He could only instinctively answer:

"No, how could we possibly do such a thing? It was an unintentional mistake on your part, we forgive you."

Hearing this, the old lady's face showed a look of surprise. She glanced at the unconscious Dick, raising her eyebrows and rolling her eyes meaningfully. Suddenly, she looked at Ikes again and said:

"The Earl's generosity is truly admirable. In that case, on behalf of myself and my grandson Benjamin, I thank you for your magnanimous forgiveness." With that, before anyone could react, she turned to the servants at the door and ordered, "Alright, the matter is finally settled. The guests from the Fur family are also taking their leave, why aren't you hurrying to see them off?"

After issuing these orders, she immediately turned back around, her movements so spry that she hardly seemed like a woman pushing seventy. Before Ikes could object, she continued addressing the Fur family members with an "affable and amiable" air, cutting off the words that had just reached Ikes' lips:

"I'd also love for you to stay longer as our guests, but the Earl is such a busy man. Today's incident has been resolved so satisfactorily, your grievances have been dispelled, everyone is in high spirits. I shan't keep you any longer."

At this point, she paused slightly, then a kind smile appeared on her wrinkle-lined face:

"Earl Ikes, do be careful on the road. I wish you a most pleasant life."

Earl Ikes was utterly flabbergasted.