“Heh,” Kyran sneered as he tilted his head while looking at Byron. “How honest of you to answer my question directly.”
“Ehehe,” Byron grinned and stupidly scratched the back of his head. “Well, you are the Void Master after all. Anything the Blue Lotus does is for you Master.”
With a slight twitch of his brow, Kyran closed his eyes and suppressed his urge to scold Byron. Getting this big guy to understand he was not the Void Master he was talking about was getting repetitive, and he hated repeating himself time and again.
‘Ignore it for now,’ Kyran thought, his expression turning solemn because of what Byron just said.
“Why would the Blue Lotus go through all these for the Void Master?” He asked.
Hearing Kyran ask this question, the grin on Byron’s face slowly turned serious. He straightened his back and looked at Kyran.
“Of course it’s because my employer’s ancestor is your-.”
Kyran shifted while taking a deep breath.
Byron flinched slightly, seeing the irritated look on Kyran. He was reminded how Kyran denied being the Void Master and immediately rephrased his sentence, “-what I meant to say is that my employer’s ancestor was the Void Master’s third-in-command, or also known as his ‘left-hand man’.”
‘Ancestor of my predecessor’s left-hand man?’ Kyran thought in surprise.
He did not expect to meet anyone related to anyone from the Void Master’s past.
But, almost immediately, Kyran’s initial surprise was replaced with doubt. It was his first time hearing the Void Master having a third-in-command. And having a third-in-command meant there must be a second-in-command.
Kyran had always believed his predecessor was a lone wolf who never trusted anyone.
‘No, not necessarily.’ Kyran thought as he remembered the remnant souls in the Misty Forest.
With a slight shake of his head, Kyran pushed his initial impression of the Void Master at the back of his mind. And instead, he thought of the man he met in his sea of consciousness.
‘He really don’t strike me as someone evil.’
Byron anxiously looked at Kyran. When he told him about his employer’s greatest secret, he thought Kyran would be happy. After all, he was talking about his left-hand man’s descendant! Byron did not expect that Kyran would fall silent instead.
‘Maybe he is reminiscing the past!’ He suddenly thought with a nod.
It was possible.
So far, Byron was still unclear of Kyran’s whereabouts all these years. Based on the records left by his employer’s ancestor, when the Hero Families gang up on the Void Master which resulted in his death, it was all a lie. The truth, he did not die, and instead he has been asleep all this time.
Looking at Kyran, Byron had a feeling that his memories might be muddled at the moment which resulted in him believing he was not the Void Master but his successor. There was also a chance that Kyran might be pretending to be the ‘successor’ to keep a low profile.
If Kyran knew what Byron was thinking he would downright reject all his nonsense. First of all, his memory was not muddled. Second, he did not have a reason to pretend to be the successor.
After a few minutes, Kyran sighed and decided to push all these thoughts at the back of his head. He could not afford to get distracted. His purpose of going here was not to find more about his predecessor’s past but to find materials for the Conclave.
‘In a few days everything will be settled, then I can focus on the things that I need to do.’
With this in mind, Kyran stood up. He went over the window and looked up at the now dark sky.
“How long do you plan to stay at the ruins?” He asked without looking at Byron.
“I am supposed to lead them to the site only and return to the Blue Lotus head office, right after, Master.” Byron answered feeling a little disappointed of Kyran’s lack of reaction from knowing his employer’s secret.
Kyran nodded.
“Good. When you get back, find a secure place for me to stay. I’ll find you in a week’s time. Then we’ll talk again.”
Byron stood up and bowed his head in respect and replied. “Yes, Master.”
=====================
The conversation between Stella, and Silas with some inserts by Lumi, lasted for almost two hours. During this time, Silas recounted all that had happened to him and Gage which led him to meet Pheobe and enter the Regis Estate. He also told her most of what he talked about with the Regis Patriarch and Master Cade.
Until they arrived at the subject of the ‘important item’ Silas had sent to Gage.
Stella saw Silas’s concern about Gage and assured him he was safe, but she could not tell him any details at the moment.
The truth, Stella was anxious. It was almost a week since Nolan left the Tower of Conclave and yet there had been no news about him, Gage, and the important item.
While they discussed the item, Lumi remained silent.
Although she knew far more about the item than Silas, she could not be bothered to explain. She liked Stella but that did not mean she would tell her what she knew. If she was talking to the new Void Master then that was a different story. She’d even tell him all her secrets, even her body measurements if he asked.
Their meeting ended with Stella telling both of them to stay in the Tower for a few days until Kyran gets back
Lumi agreed at once and Silas had no choice but to relent. If it was him, he would rather go to the Mercenary Hall and get information on the current status of the bounty. Because he noticed that the Lord of Tower avoided any discussion about the bounty.
After that, Malek arrived and Stella asked him to take Silas and Lumi to their room.
Silas was so anxious when he finally met the Head of Conclave. He never imagined being in his presence. Although he already knew that the Lord of the Tower held the highest position in the Conclave, her existence was a secret. Silas and the rest of the mercenaries only knew of the Head Master. Aside from this, he was a Magus. Thus adding to his imposing character.
When the three of them left, Stella remained seated on her high chair in the receiving area. She was deep in thought as she recalled the things Silas told her.
‘Our guess is right. The army did make a big move against the Regis a few days ago,’ Stella thought with a sigh.
The truth, she had not told Kyran about Silas or Nolan’s mission to find Gage. The only ones who knew were her, Malek, Hugh, and Callan.
She planned to come clean when Nolan returned, at least the important item would also be in their hands by then. But since he was still missing, she decided to keep it a secret.
‘I hope he won’t get angry,’ she thought. Then she looked up and stared at the floating lanterns.
‘Rin, I hope all of you are okay.’ She prayed silently in her heart.
===================
Gael stood on the second-floor veranda of the old warehouse located at the outskirts of the northern suburbs of Meliora.
After meeting with the three Special Ops a few days ago, he had been frequenting this place to ponder for himself.
A few days ago, they had finally received a reply from the Mercenary Hall expressing their grievances and their decision to remove the One million bounty they requested. Their reason was simple. They had not been truthful of the information on the bounty.
At first, Gael thought they discovered Kyran’s real identity. However, after he told Fiona to contact them and request for an audience, finally after a couple of failed attempts, they finally agreed to talk through private communication.
Fiona disguised as a rich heiress from a small city near Meliora talked to the Mercenary Hall Master, Celine.
While listening in on their conversation from the background, Gael found that Kyran actually went to the Mercenary Hall headquarters at Starhorn and made a mess of the place.
This surprised Gael. However, it made his desire to acquire Kyran stronger.
The boy’s boldness made Gael’s blood boil. Others might think the boy was reckless but to Gael, his defiance just made him more ‘desirable’ as a ‘human weapon’.
If Gael get hold of Kyran, he would coax him to submit to him in exchange for his clan’s freedom. If not, he would kill three child members of his clan each day until he submit.
Of course, this was only possible if he could take the Regis Clan as his hostage. But currently, there was still no news from their people who managed to get inside the Inner Wall.
It was still okay. Gael had been trying to calm himself these days.
For now, Gael’s main focus was to find Kyran. Then he would reform him to become the best combat mage in the world. After that, he would slowly eradicate the ‘filth’ that had corrupted the Royal Army.
When he was done with the Royal Army, then his next target, was the Royal Family.
Gael’s eyes glinted red in excitement.
He could not wait for the Special Ops’ good news.