In the distance, the eyes of the man Steward was talking to flashed intensely.
He spent two full minutes without responding, trying to understand what Steward ant, but it was harder than it looked.
He finally nodded.
"I will send my confidant there. Treat her well. Be sure to stay alert; the kingdom’s nobles seem to be lurking nearby with cheap tricks that are difficult to trace. Also, can you find out what happened recently in the center of Tall-Or Forest? It seems that sothing big happened there."
"Sothing big, sir?" Steward was confused. "Did so powerful beasts appear?"
"I don’t think so... but it’s possible. It seems there really was a ruin there, and I’m interested in finding out."
"I see... I’ll find out, sir. Give so ti."
"Haha, okay. I’ll send so money to support you, but if I see that it’s too dangerous for you there, I’ll call you back to the kingdom. It’s not good to be looking for talent in enemy territory these days, you know. Talk to you later, little Steward. Make sure you take care of those little ones."
"All right, sir. Thank you for responding and for your concern for us. I’ll make sure they’re all right..." Steward then handed the cell phone back to Joferth and remained thoughtful.
’It seems that things are not as passive as they appear on the surface. And I’ve been hiding Andrew for a long ti now... I think it’s ti to send him to headquarters. If they were to find him, it would be dangerous.’ He took a deep breath and looked behind him.
The sa people were still there, with one addition who had just entered.
This was a foreigner.
"Mr. Ilsen, it’s been a while." He greeted him.
"It has been a while, Mr. Steward. Even though we live in the sa city and are relatively close to each other, they say that lately it’s been too difficult to et with the leader of Angelic Wave."
At that mont, a strange tension was felt between them. Ilsen’s final smile was a little reproachful or annoyed.
Steward shrugged. "Well, a lot has changed lately. We’ve been busier."
Ilsen then approached him and sat in the chair across the desk.
"I understand, Mr. Steward. Lately, everything seems to be working against our best intentions. So, there’s nothing we can do."
Steward dismissed the others who were nearby. Only he, Ilsen, and the 2nd Guild Master remained.
Ilsen saw this with curiosity and smiled.
"The little conflict you had with the current secretary this afternoon seems to have been real, eh."
"Don’t be sarcastic, Mr. Ilsen." Steward smiled. "I didn’t call you here to fight. I admit I was wrong that ti. But even if I hadn’t supported that guy, nothing would have changed for you. My vote and the support of my guild can’t move him because he already had the support of all the guilds."
"And you still do," Ilsen added. "That’s why there’s no point in calling ."
"There is."
"What is it? Do you intend to fight all the guilds at once? I’m afraid that even with the support of your leader, you would have serious problems and consequences. The Academy has a lot of power and the support of the King. Hawk’s Fury, Broken Leaf, Golden Eagle, etc., have other powerful guilds behind them. Do you intend to fight them all?" His voice sounded more like a demand than anything else.
But Steward simply smiled.
"I don’t intend to do it, but I have to do it. The city has been under a lot of pressure lately, hasn’t it? Your contacts in the governnt have surely seen sothing. I called you here so you can resu your position. This ti it won’t be passive, but if we work together, I assure you that you will be able to get it back."
Ilsen stared at him for several minutes. No one knew what he was thinking.
But he seed to be scrutinizing the expression on his rival’s face.
After a while, he spoke.
"Politics these days is chaotic. In addition, a number of Criminal Misfits have been killed in recent nights, and no one knows what’s going on, but it seems that an organization is behind this, and no one understands what they’re doing. This caused chaos in politics, as several of them were used as spies for so nobles. The Clarks are a little angry these days." He said, seeming to ramble in his response.
"Do you have anything to do with this?" Steward asked.
Ilsen shook his head. "No. But I’d like you to investigate who’s behind it. It must be soone with knowledge of governnt networks or perhaps soone with a lot of knowledge about the Misfits. If you can find the author of this, I can cooperate with you again. I’m sorry, I can’t easily trust soone who turned their back on before."
Steward nodded. He knew from the start that he would say sothing like that, but he didn’t expect it to have anything to do with the Misfits.
"Why? I don’t think the Misfits are a very important group. So, I’d like to know your motives," he asked.
"Don’t underestimate a group that’s difficult to control and consists of rcenaries for hire, Mr. Steward. They have no real power, but they are controlled and uncontrolled at the sa ti. Even if they are weak, many things could be moving behind the scenes right now."
"If you want to weaken the other side, the Misfits are important. They don’t operate the sa way we do. They’re selling illegal stuff; that’s how they get their money. That’s where we need to destroy them."
Steward nodded.
"Okay. I understand your concerns. Don’t worry, I’ll find out who this person or organization is."
"Haha, good. Then I’ll wait for your answer." Ilsen stood up and turned to leave. "See you later, Mr. Steward."
With that, he left, and Steward remained in the room, deep in thought.
He looked at his friend.
"Do you know anything about this?" he asked.
He shook his head. "No. But I have ways of finding out."
"Good... Try it then. Just don’t buy the information. Rember that buying information from a seller like this is the sa as selling that information to their contractors."
"All right. Don’t worry. I know what to do." With that, he left.
Steward was left alone. He poured himself so tea and looked out the window.
The city was peaceful.
Except for a few things happening on the corners, everything was quiet.
That peace might soon end. Or perhaps it would remain, but everything would change beneath the surface.
--
The Clark Group, the Elental Academy, and additional allies had gathered in a large hall to discuss recent issues.
The mood was terrible today.
And the lengthy conversations in which they couldn’t agree on anything were irritating. Several of them even got up and banged on the table out of frustration at not being able to agree with soone on sothing.
But everyone kept talking.
"We have to bet everything on the Leveled Leagues. This ti, that kid took us by surprise, but there’s no way he has the ability to participate in the Leveled Leagues. The level there is completely different, and it won’t be long before it starts," said one of them.
Others quickly joined him in his words.
"I agree. But there’s a problem. That boy won’t leave Angelic Wave now. How do we kill him?"
"His death is paramount, you’re right..."
"We can’t leave a Summoner on the loose... especially one who can fight on the front lines. Even though his summons aren’t strong, he has an unreal talent for many things."
Master Roy, who had been silent, looked at his counterpart, Alexander Clark.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"He must die. At that ti, many of us here were responsible for his family’s death. Also, what happened with SkyDo... I’m afraid that if he finds out about sothing like that, we’ll be screwed if we let them get stronger." He spoke.
Roy stared at him. "Are you afraid of him?" he asked.
Alexander looked back at him.
"Do you want the son of a Saint who hates us to grow stronger? Do you have the guts?"
Roy fell silent at this question. So strange sparks of conflict floated between them until Master Roy looked away.
"That ti, SkyDo’s daughter had to die because she was too talented. We didn’t expect this guy to be talented, too, but since he is, we must kill him."
Alexander finally smiled. "That being the case, I must tell you not to worry. Opportunities to kill him will present themselves sooner rather than later. I know him, I’m his uncle. I’m sure he won’t be able to stay locked up forever. He’ll get out of there at any mont, and I already have people there."
"You move fast, Master Alexander. Since that’s the case, I’ll send my people to help you."
" too."
"Sigh. Sa here. The Academy can’t just stand by and watch."
Everyone agreed on this.
"And how..." As Roy was about to speak, he suddenly stood up, sensing powerful presences nearby.
Alexander and all the masters followed him, then, by the door, several hooded people appeared.
"Phew... Hiding from these annoying people is complicated these days."
"Haha, sorry, teacher. It’s because we’ve been increasing our power lately."
The newcors removed their hoods from their heads, revealing faces with peculiar insignia.
"Sirs!" All the teachers in the city exclaid in amazent.
The people who had just arrived...
They were of astonishing status and power.
If they had co, it ant that things would change and beco complicated.
---
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