Chapter 4 What is Hell

Before Arthur could walk through the main entrance of the police headquarters, a colleague, also dressed in a police uniform and holding a stack of thick documents, intercepted him.

Seeing Arthur's face, the colleague wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked immensely relieved.

"Thank heavens, Arthur, you finally arrived! If you had been late, I wouldn't have been able to handle those troublesome jurors and the haughty magistrates. Hurry, we're running out of time. Let's talk as we walk."

Arthur was pushed forward and spoke without much concern.

"Tony, you just lack some necessary confidence. The Magistrates' Court isn't something to be scared of; all you need to do is read out the prosecution material at hand. It's not like you can't read, so what is there to worry about?"

Tony responded disheartenedly, "Arthur, you know before I took this job, I was just a cobbler mending shoes. If it hadn't been for many in our place being so poor they could hardly afford shoes, I might have never come to London.

Though I do know some letters, that's about it. The highest education I've received was at Sunday school when I was a child, and the only complete book I've read is the 'Bible'."

"How could someone of my low status compare to someone like you who has been formally educated at university?"

Arthur reassured him kindly, "Tony, that already makes you better than many priests; at least you have read the 'Bible' completely."

"You're joking with me again." Tony asked, "By the way, was the tuition at the University of London expensive?"

Arthur raised an eyebrow, "Are you planning to further your education?"

Tony blushed and waved his hands dismissively, "How could I entertain such noble thoughts?"

"Then why ask about it?"

Tony hesitated for a while before he finally made up his mind to confess.

"My life might just stay this way, but I don't want my child to end up like me. I've been struggling in this quagmire for many years, not to make them suffer like me. They must go to school, not just any school, but university. Although they are not of age yet, I must start saving for their education now, wouldn't you agree?"

Impressed, Arthur patted Tony on the shoulder, "Tony, I didn't know you were such a responsible father. It would be great if you could show this kind of courage while on duty."

At these words, Tony's face, already flushed, turned even hotter.

"Arthur, I didn't mean to leave you alone in that alley last time. Those guys were armed with hammers and knives; even if I had stayed, I wouldn't have been much use. I ran to get backup for you."

"It's okay, I have forgiven you already," Arthur said, patting the service knife at his waist. "At least since that time, they've finally agreed to issue us some decent weapons."

"But speaking of which, Arthur, how did you manage to get out of there?"

Catching a glimpse of Agares sulking nearby, Arthur replied, "Don't worry about that. I always have my ways. Next time something like that happens, just run; you're already a father after all. Don't gamble with your family's well-being."

Tony said embarrassingly, nearly unable to show his face, "Actually, I'm still far from being a father. I've only just planned to get married. I've already submitted the marriage application, and as soon as it gets approved, I can officially get married."

Arthur frowned, "What are they playing at? Why does police permission need to be granted for an officer to get married?"

One couldn't drink, couldn't grow a beard, couldn't gamble, couldn't be in debt, couldn't have any bad habits, nor could one be dressed untidily or indulge in any indecent behavior; even having a mentally ill family member was prohibited.

As for the officers themselves, they had to have an appropriate religious faith, a certain level of cultural education, strictly prohibited from engaging in private business, and even from keeping poultry or pets.

In any public place, even off duty, they were expected to consciously participate and bravely maintain public order, taking on the responsibility of upholding social moral standards.

What's more ridiculous was they only wanted to pay twelve shillings a week for such a person.

That was not bad enough, now they even started controlling whom one could marry. Why didn't they just issue us a wife? Then they could monitor me 24 hours a day."

When Tony heard Arthur venting his frustrations, he empathized and replied, "Come on, Arthur, your wife can't monitor you 24 hours a day. Have you forgotten? We have to be on duty for fourteen hours a day, and if we're unlucky, we might even get a good scolding from the higher-ups for another one or two hours. As for your wife? She hardly manages to watch you for eight hours a day."

At this, Tony sighed helplessly; "But complaining about all this is useless. By the way, you haven't told me yet how much the tuition is at the University of London."

Arthur took a breath and replied, "Twenty-three pounds and six shillings per academic year."

"Ssss..." Tony inhaled sharply, "That's really expensive. I only earn around thirty pounds a year, and almost all of it goes to my kids' schooling. Looks like I need to start saving early."

"That's already quite cheap. You probably haven't checked the tuition fees at London's four major Inns of Court."

"How much do they charge?"

Arthur held up three fingers and said, "This much, per year."

"Thirty pounds?" Tony frowned deeply, gritting his teeth, "My salary should increase again, if I work hard perhaps I can squeeze it out. A lawyer? Little Tony, the attorney? That sounds like a much better job than his dad ever had."

Just as Tony was indulging in boundless daydreams, Arthur threw a bucket of cold water on him.

"Thirty pounds? Tony, what are you thinking? It's three hundred pounds."

Upon hearing this figure, Tony felt as if the world was spinning around him; "They're practically asking for my life. I might never be able to save enough to pay for his tuition fees."

"Not being able to save enough doesn't matter; that place isn't really meant for ordinary citizens like us. The students there are mostly children of bankers, factory owners, or nobility."

"Don't they usually go to Oxford or Cambridge?"

"Yes, they do. But there's always someone looking to change things up, right? It's like having eaten potatoes all the time, you might occasionally want to try some bread with dripping to mix things up."

"Just to change flavors, they need to spend an extra three hundred pounds a year?"

Tony, staring at the darkening sky, felt only a bleak future ahead of him.

"Arthur, why did you have to tell me all this. If I didn't know, perhaps life would seem a bit easier. Now, I feel I can barely go on living. Arthur, doing this, you're going to Hell."

"Hell?" Arthur rarely showed a smile but did now, "Tony, sorry to say this, but you and I are already here."