Ryn
patreon
Chapter 217
🕑 Added 2024-11-29 19:00:13 +0000 UTCCasidus Easten POV
The boy in front of him was quite an interesting case.
His usual analysis skill wasn’t working on the boy, which wasn’t exactly unusual, a lot of people had skills or items that could shield them from skills such as his [Eyes of Zephyr]. In any case, being able to prevent his skill from working said a lot in itself.
That was why he ended up using his domain on them. It was a bit overbearing on his part, but he wanted to know why these two were found with his grandson or if this was some kind of plot.
Just as the boy was interesting, the girl was interesting too. She clearly had some good training. Her mana control, aura control, and overall power of her soul for a Tier 2 was quite impressive. There would be very few people her age who could say they were her equal.
At least that was what his brief examination of his domain showed.
The boy, on the other hand, he wasn't able to get a clear sense of. When he had tried to investigate with his domain, it had met an obstruction.
He was somehow able to resist his domain, something that didn’t happen often. Not from anyone below Tier 5 and certainly not from someone at Tier 2.
That was why the first thing he checked was to see if the boy was in fact only a Tier 2. Casidus had seen many people try and fake their tiers. Whether that was because of an item or a special skill, it didn’t matter.
Despite this, he did not detect any skills and he didn’t detect any items either. From everything he could see, this boy was a legitimate Tier 2.
Does it have to do with the same reason why I can’t use [Eyes of Zephyr] on him?
Usually, he wouldn’t do this, but he cranked up his domain a bit. If he couldn’t slip through the boy’s defenses he would just overpower them.
However, as he did, he felt a pulse from the storage ring on the boy’s finger. It wasn’t just a normal pulse either, it was something that he was familiar with. It felt exactly the same as the thing he gave an old friend a while back.
I see he’s still up to his old tricks, he thought to himself amusingly.
Even though he had already made up his mind about what he was going to do with the boy, he let Arthur continue his usual shenanigans. Letting him try to get some answers out of the boy. He was even using that silly aura trick to try and scare the boy into talking. The one where he would flare his aura while acting relaxed.
Casidus didn’t blame Arthur for this trick, he was always surprised at how well it worked on people.
He was more curious as to how this boy would react.
Why would that meddlesome old man give him that item? There had to be a reason. The old man did things for specific reasons. Reasons that Casidus didn’t always agree with, but there was always an explainable purpose behind his actions. And he wanted to see if Arthur could get the boy to demonstrate that for him.
So he sat by and watched as Arthur tried to bully the poor boy and then inwardly smiled as the boy stood his ground against one of the more scary elders of House Easten.
It was only when he noticed that Arthur was about to take things a little too far than he was comfortable with that he stepped in.
“I want everyone but these two children to leave the room,” he commanded suddenly.
“...”
He saw the others all look at him with skeptical faces and didn’t immediately follow his orders.
“You want us to leave, Casidus?” Beth asked as if she could understand why he was asking that of them.
“I want to speak to the two of them alone,” he instructed, making sure there wasn’t any room for them to argue.
Arthur who had been pressuring the boy stopped and gave Casidus a look like ‘What the hell? I almost got the answers out of the boy’.
Casidus sent him a quick message with his aura. Don’t worry. I don’t think they are our enemies and the boy might be more willing to say something if it’s just the three of us in the room.
Arthur thankfully understood immediately and didn’t argue with him.
Understood Lord Patriarch, the man replied. Then he stood up and left the room without another word.
It was a reason why Casidus loved Arthur, the man was loyal and adept, two traits that were honestly hard to find nowadays. There were too many people who worried about lining their own pockets and increasing their influence over doing what was best for the House or for the region.
After Arthur got up, it sent a signal to the others to follow suit. The others, including the representative from the Adventurer’s Guild all promptly left the room and shut the door behind them. The only people remaining were the two children and his daughter who had remained.
“Becca, I would like to talk to these two alone,” he said to her.
“I have some questions for them myself, father. I won’t budge on this,” she said stubbornly.
For a second he was going to insist but when he saw that trademark look on her face, he ultimately decided not to. He knew when to pick his battles with his daughter, and this wasn’t something he felt he was going to win.
“Okay, but you won’t speak a word of what is said to anyone outside of the room, got it? I am serious about this,” he said giving her a stern look.
Thankfully, she seemed to understand his seriousness and nodded firmly.
"And also try to be a bit more polite if possible. By all signs, they saved Cory. Therefore, showing some restraint, no matter how skeptical you are, would be appropriate."
This time she hesitated, but eventually nodded her head and did her best to relax.
He finally turned to the two children who were waiting in front of him. The boy was strangely calm considering the situation he found himself in. While the girl was also pretty calm, she was obviously a little annoyed at how they were being treated, but she maintained her poise with confidence.
There’s no way she isn’t some high-born. Her demeanor is exactly how I would expect someone trained in etiquette would behave. The boy on the other hand, I don’t know. His manners say he is a commoner, but it’s too soon to say. Commoners don't typically have indicators of such impressive training.
“Why did he give you the token?” he asked the boy, who for the first time this entire time, looked confused.
***
Julius POV
Token? I don’t know about any token.
“I’m sorry. Who’s ‘he’?” He asked the man. He was also confused as to how quickly the man got the rest of the people to leave the room. Now it was just four of them, even little Cory was gone.
He saw the Marquis give him an assessing look. As if he was trying to see if Julius was playing dumb or not. Evidently, the man must have come to the conclusion that Julius was being honest.
“So you’re saying that you didn’t meet any… meddlesome old men recently?” Julius heard the man ask.
Meddlesome?
There was only one person that came to mind when that word was brought up.
It was only then did he recalled the black card that Elder Han gave him before he said goodbye. He knew that the old coot, had something in mind when he gave that to Julius. He should have questioned it a bit more before he took it.
His face must have given away his thoughts because the Marquis actually interrupted his thoughts and laughed. “That jolted your memory, huh? Yeah, Han does that type of stuff,” the man like he knew exactly what type of person he was.
Ah, so does know who Elder Han was, Julius smiled to himself. It made him chuckle as he realized that this Marquis not only knew Elder Han but also knew him exactly how Julius would describe him… meddlesome.
“You know Elder Han?” He asked.
“Elder, huh? That’s what he’s going around calling himself nowadays? He always that it was so amusing to act like a mysterious old grandpa,” the man grumbled. Julius watched as the man’s previously purposeful attitude changed into one more disgruntled as if remembering the old man brought up some bad memories.
Julius wouldn’t blame him if it did. He had a feeling that Elder Han had that effect on a lot of people.
“You said he gave me a token? Do you happen to know what that token is?” Julius tested him.
The Marquis smiled, knowing exactly what Julius was asking for.
“A black card made of a unique metal.”
Okay, so he does know. I am starting to suspect that Elder Han gave me this ‘token’ knowing full well that I was going to meet this man in front of me. The question is how was he so certain that was going to happen?
“Meddlesome old man indeed,” Julius muttered.
“I know the same feeling. He’s like that.”
“I feel like this is his little piece of revenge for inconveniencing him,” Julius admitted.
Actually, it is probably more accurate than I suspect. He seems like that kind of petty person, he thought while shaking his head.
“You mean the rest of the children?”
Julius’s eyes widened. “Rest of the children?”
“Yes, I imagine you didn’t just save Cory while you were there. You must have saved the other children along with him.”
Julius laughed and shook his head at how easily the man had seen through things. Honestly, he didn’t see much reason to hide that much from this man. The fact that he was able to sense Elder Han’s token already spoke for him. The fact that he and his family seemed like good people so far helped as well. Julius’s gut told him he could trust this man.
“Yeah, I wasn’t alone though. There was another person who worked for their organization that helped me rescue Cory. He deserves more credit than I do, if I am being honest.”
“Oh? Someone had a change of heart?”
“Yeah, without him Cory wouldn’t have been rescued.”
“I will make sure that reward him properly if I ever come across him. Does he have a name?”
Julius bit his lip as he hesitated. “His name is Dustin and he was the Tier 4 who was supposed to oversee the warehouse where they kept Cory. He mentioned that he had to go back to the organization to lie about what happened. So I really don’t want his name out there while he is still among them.”
“You have my word that his secret is safe. My daughter will make sure to do the same.”
“That would be much appreciated.”
The nobleman waved his hand. “That’s the least I can do for you after saving my grandson. If he needs any help getting away from the organization, he can come to us for help.”
Julius smiled. “If I see him again, I will make sure to tell him that. I think he might take you up on that offer.”
He was about to continue but paused as he thought of something. “What is this organization’s name anyway? I haven’t heard them call themselves anything.”
The Marquis nodded his head. “They go by a few names, depending on their region, but from what I and my people were able to find, they are a large group that is present within many regions within the Empire, not just the Aegos Region. However, from what we can tell their main calls themselves the Conclave. We don’t know where they came from, but they must have several powerful nobles and groups as a part of their circle. Otherwise, there is no way they could have such a large presence.”
The Aegos Region was the region Blumand was currently in. Just as Celestia was the main city of the Valorbury Region, Blumand was the main city of this region. Each region was quite large on its own, so that meant this group was pretty big if they were able to span over multiple regions. He could see why the Marquis was worried about them and wanted to know more.
The Marquis walked over to a chair to sit down and gestured for Julius to sit down alongside him.
“If there is anything you can tell me about what you noticed or what you know about the activities of this group, I will make sure you are well rewarded for it,” Marquis Easten promised.
Julius didn’t see a reason to hold back. He didn’t like organizations that kidnapped his friends or other children very much. And so he explained what had happened in Stonewall to the noble in front of him.
Comments
PikaAndrew
Tftc
A B
Edit suggestion: was quite impressive -> were quite impressive that it was -> thought it was
L Pedersen
^ Exactly. I honestly assumed his identity would be revealed fairly quickly since he doesn't really seem to be trying that hard. Anyone who spends any time around him realize that he's certainly not common.
Zach
TFTC! Get some rewards for you and your wife Julius >> Dustin probably just got a chill down his back 😂
Hamfist
As for him being trained in etiquette, yes he was trained in it very thoroughly. At the end of chapter 59: “Good morning Lady Violet,” Julius teased her while giving her a bow with his plate of food in one hand. “I told you to call me Lily,” she grumbled at him. “You sure you’re not a noble? You sometimes act like a pretty good one,” Edgar spoke up. “Oh, you’re not a noble? I thought for sure you were one with how you bowed yesterday,” Lily added. “Me too, it definitely seemed practiced,” Aubrey piped up as well. And then in chapter 60: “So how did you learn manners like that then?” Derek asked, trying to change the topic. “I had a teacher that taught me basic etiquette. He was a real sticker for things like manners,” Julius admitted. Edwin was indeed a stickler for manners and rules alike. Especially when it came to his tea time. Julius remembered how Edwin would scold him for hours about how he wasn’t drinking tea properly.
Hamfist
I think you all are confusing "acts like a commoner" with "doesn't act like a noble so must be a commoner."
Bakerbob
God. I must have interracted with too many rl equivalent to nobles (second/third generation rich corporate). I find that whole interraction with the nobles perfectly on point with the good ones with added magic shenanigans. Nobles/rich are generally more concerned with reputation, favors, political power and the image of the family then the person in the family. irl, it's like it's not wrong to whore, drugs and party as long as in the daylight, everything looks good. And yes, at some point, money, as in spending money, is no longer relevent. When you can buy Texas, beside bragging and making more, money is worthless
LA
Man, that is some noble arrogance right there. You bring their kid back, and they try to tortur you. Give some info on the kidnappers and its reward time. That is fucked up!!!
nah
He keeps calling these people good when he is giving them the benefit of doubt. To me this family seems rude to someone who’s saved their son.
ThoMiCroN
Julius has no sense of entitlement that some talentless nobles may have, nor does he care about using the étiquette he no doubt learned from his tutors. Thus he’s giving the impression of being a commoner, but Earthlings commoners live in greater comfort than this world and thus may seem to be nobles in the eyes of that world. He is unfazed by things like running water despite a commoner probably should. He must be remarkably confusing to other people.
Quentin Cozzi
Thanks for the chapter!
Pickled Rick
I don't think we need many guesses as to who is probably at the head of this noble "supported" conclave organisation.
Thomas Corbin
He always that it was => said, or thought?
L Pedersen
It's actually stretching my suspense of disbelief. Julius disguise as a commoner is paper thin, he's very much a nobel. Aside from people witnessing his full power, his background should be obvious in how he holds himself, his self-assurance, his entitlement. It would be obvious in how he acts in a formal occasion like a dinner or a ball, that's something that Edwin would have covered in their lessons. It should also be obvious in how he speaks but it seems like every character in this story has the same vocabulary so it's not obvious that he was educated as a child. But yeah I could buy that it wouldn't be obvious from the very first meeting as portrayed here but what else is the Marquise supposed to assume? What's more likely, that he's a once in a thousand talent reincarnated soul who had to face great odds and overcome them by himself or that he's a ducal scion who's been carefully raised and cultivated? Anyone would assume it's the latter since 95% of the time that's the case.
Sean
I think the naming of the guy was a little too far. If he knows the guy is friends or acquaintances he can simply point him towards Han for verification. Even if he has a gut feeling he grew up in a trust but verify world. He knows the guy can easily get the name and he knows he doesn't gain anything by saying it.
Kevin McKinney
That said, it is impressive that all these high level people who can read so much always assume he is a commoner.
777777777777
TFTC! Random request: I'm going to be travelling for something like 24hrs tomorrow about 30mins after the scheduled chapter drop, and I'll be bored out of my mind since I'm caught up on all my reading. If you have enough of a backlog and feel comfortable doing so I'd really appreciate any bonus chapters you're able to manage. Totally get it if you either don't want to or can't.
Devlon Stapleton
Actually, it was understanding that he did receive training. I mean he had trainers. He knows noble etiquette, he just doesn't use it. However, it's not like the story has given any clearly defined etiquette rules.
Read Isekai
I would assume its mostly his personality from his previous life, plus it's not like he was given much training on etiquette or anything he was kind of an outcast of his noble family for most of his life so he probably only ended up with a few years of training before he was forced to leave home
Nim
"And then we all decided to just use our words." Kind of nice when that works out, really :)
Kevin McKinney
Good stuffs! Question though. Julius is a noble so how is he mimicking being a commoner so well? His previous life experience?
Read Isekai
I was kinda hoping to see the other elder go a bit balistic after Julius's previous comment from last chapter before Casiduis calmed him down Let's hope as a reward he asks to use a room that he can leave a mess in to rank up
RedLeaf
Thanks for the chapter!
Kevin Jalop
Danke
Raymond Mouton
Thanks for the chapter. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving !
Bing Lun
Tftc!
