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‘Was his complexion always like that?’

He looked different from when I was observing him from hiding.

I remember him having a pale complexion, but now it was ashen, as if he had been exposed to the sun for a long time.

As I continued to stare strangely at Fichte, the woman laughed and said,

“Smart men usually lack social skills, so just let it be. Besides, the Third Military Commander is quite the mole.”

Her answer felt somewhat distant, so I asked,

“Didn’t the three of you come together?”

The woman pointed a finger at herself.

“Me? I came here purely because of Celine. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the Third Military Commander myself.”

Suddenly, the woman stopped laughing, crossed her legs, and faced me. The atmosphere changed. I also put aside my thoughts about Fichte and met the woman’s gaze.

“I am Loren. I hold a suitable executive position.”

“Tell me, Lady Loren.”

The woman looked at me intently.

“I heard you said something interesting. You talked about Celine’s swordsmanship.”

“I don’t know if it was interesting.”

“You told her not to swing it like a heavy sword, right?”

“I certainly said that.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“What did you mean by that?”

I knew she would ask this.

Of course, I also said it with some intention. I didn’t expect such an immediate reaction, though. It felt like an unexpected big fish had taken the bait.

Observing Loren’s reaction, I said politely,

“I didn’t mean anything bad by it. The sword felt heavy.”

“Explain in detail.”

“She puts too much power into the sword. It inevitably leaves openings.”

“So?”

“The Lotus Sword is a light sword, so it doesn’t suit that style.”

“And?”

“It’s unnatural. Putting all her power into it prevents her from utilizing the advantages of the Lotus Sword.”

“Anything else?”

“…”

“Is that all?”

When I didn’t answer, the hint of fondness in Loren’s eyes disappeared in an instant.

“I had a feeling, but you don’t even know what you’re talking about. For a man who’s never held a sword, that’s quite an arrogant thing to say.”

“…”

“Hoho, I dislike men with loose tongues. It’s quite unpleasant to impose your shallow standards of judgement.”

Loren had an expression that said she had completely figured me out. However, I was also figuring her out. Even while speaking, I was constantly thinking about Loren’s identity.

‘Celine.’

Calling Celestine by her childhood name suggests a high probability of a mother-daughter relationship. Loren introduced herself as an executive, but it’s unlikely that her position ends there.

‘I’d like to see her waist.’

If there’s one red lotus engraved on her scabbard, it simply signifies a direct descendant of Erdehain.

If there are two, it means she holds a special position even among the direct descendants.

A high-ranking executive of the inner organization, or perhaps even a member of the Lotus Blossom Unit.

“Remember that words carry consequences, Ruin. I’ll let it slide today considering you showed respect. Be careful with your words next time. Hoho. Shall we go, Celine?”

Loren looked at Celestine with a bored expression. I watched her quietly and then chuckled.

“Your words are a bit harsh for a first meeting. I haven’t said anything wrong.”

Celestine’s eyes widened in surprise, and she fidgeted.

Loren, who was about to get up, turned her head to look at me.

“It’s good to have pride, but you should also know who you’re dealing with.”

“Of course.”

Celestine, watching Loren’s expression, quickly intervened.

“Ruin, apologize… Quickly!”

Loren shook her head.

“There’s no need for that. You must be confident since you’ve spoken your mind twice. If you’re not saying you’re wrong, are you implying that I am?”

It felt chilling, but this was also part of my plan. I had already grasped Loren’s temperament. Even her personality was surprisingly similar to the woman who led Erdehain in the past.

Looking at Loren, I said,

“Of course, I’m saying that I’m right. Your swordsmanship assessment is sharp. However, no matter how good the swordsmanship is, it’s meaningless if the body can’t keep up. You should know that. Or are you pretending not to?”

Celestine looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

The playful look in Loren’s eyes completely disappeared.

“Good swordsmanship? That sounds like you’re evaluating Ardehain’s swordsmanship.”

Fwoosh—

Suddenly, energy spread out from Loren, encircling the spot where we were sitting.

Qi Curtain.

A barrier that blocks sound from the outside by emitting Qi from the body.

It’s a technique many times more difficult than casting it with magic. It suddenly occurred to me that this woman was indeed a knight. It was an extremely foolish move.

Loren looked at me with cold eyes.

“There are words you can’t take back even if you utter them by mistake.”

“There’s no way it was a mistake when I’m stating what I see.”

“Tell me before I cut your tongue out. My patience is not long.”

No matter how skilled Loren is, she can’t compare to me, the master of push and pull.

“The Lotus Sword is a highly elastic sword. Although its strength is weak, it is flexible, and the swordsmanship must be performed accordingly. Seeing Celestine’s swordsmanship, I understood for sure. It’s a swordsmanship specialized in turning an opponent’s strength against them.”

“…”

“It’s difficult to turn an opponent’s strength against them. The mana within the body must be fully exerted as sword Qi, but the body must be relaxed. The more you suppress your strength, the more the advantages of the Lotus Sword disappear. The swordsmanship performed with the Lotus Sword must not be heavy, nor should it be fast, it aims solely for softness itself, the Flexible Sword. That’s just what I feel, anyway.”

While I was speaking, Celestine’s expression, which had been restless for fear that my tongue would be cut out, gradually turned to astonishment.

“Is that a satisfactory answer?”

Loren, who had not expected such an answer from a man she considered a mere boy, looked at me speechlessly. A brief silence followed, and then Loren muttered,

“You grasped all that just by watching Celine’s swordsmanship?”

“Of course.”

Loren’s eyes, which had been piercing me, once again lit up with interest.

“There’s no need to cut your tongue out. You have the eye of a knight rather than a mage.”

There was no need to provoke Loren further, but my pride wouldn’t allow it.

“A crazy mage is better than an ignorant knight. That’s exactly who I am.”

Loren looked at me with a dumbfounded expression and then chuckled.

“Hoho, I’ll let that slide as well today.”

With this, I’ve achieved my initial goal.

As Loren lifted the Qi Curtain, Elder Parin, who had been watching us with Fichte from the other side, asked with a curious expression,

“What did you talk about that you even used a Qi Curtain?”

Loren laughed and got up from her seat.

“Hoho, it’s nothing.”

Balkan said,

“If you’ve finished your conversation, would you like to enjoy some refreshments?”

Loren glanced at me for a moment and then nodded.

“Shall we?”

I happened to notice Loren’s waist fluttering as she walked past me, so I watched carefully. And once again, I couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

The pattern engraved on Loren’s scabbard.

‘Three… red lotuses?’

* * *

When Balkan clapped his hands, the mages guarding the perimeter rushed out, and soon servants entered, placing simple refreshments on the round table before withdrawing.

Now there was no one left in the room but us.

As we gathered around the round table again, Balkan was the first to speak.

“I hope we can end this meeting on a good note.”

Balkan looked at me and Taylor in turn.

“Think carefully about the offer. It will be a good opportunity for Samael.”

Loren interjected with an intrigued look.

“What kind of good opportunity?”

“Haha, if Samael agrees, we intend to provide generous support.”

Loren replied with a smile.

“You’re saying you want to secure a promising clan. Hoho, Urgon’s eye for talent is not bad.”

“Thank you.”

I carefully examined Loren’s expression, wondering if she knew anything about Samael, but it didn’t seem like she did.

This time, Parin spoke to me.

“I feel the same, Ruin. I would like you to visit the Magic Tower in the near future. I’ll be waiting.”

“Even the Blue Magic Tower? You seem to be quite the popular man. Hoho, Celine has a lot of competitors.”

Celestine, her face flushed red, cried out softly,

“Mother!”

Regardless, I nodded at Parin.

“Alright.”

I was curious if he knew anything about the Samael of the past, so I did intend to visit.

After that, the conversation continued with trivial matters. Mainly, Balkan and Parin led the conversation, with Loren occasionally interjecting.

Fichte remained huddled like a mole, occasionally glancing at Elder Parin.

Libre was crouched down, unable to dare join the conversation.

Meanwhile, Taylor and I continued to share the same thoughts.

This conversation was unexpected, but there wasn’t anything particularly suspicious about it.

They were hiding something, but they didn’t reveal any malicious intent.

‘Is it because of Elder Parin?’

Just then, Elder Parin’s voice was heard.

“Ahem, I wonder if anyone is feeling parched. I wish we had some liquor.”

As soon as I heard the word ‘liquor,’ I felt my mouth water. Come to think of it, there was nothing to drink on the table except tea. Balkan cleared his throat with an embarrassed expression.

“My apologies. I didn’t expect the meeting to last this long either. Please wait a moment.”

While Balkan was clapping his hands, Loren got up and said,

“I think we’ve talked enough. Celine and I will be going now.”

Balkan looked at Parin and replied,

“Then it would be best to conclude the meeting here. Please wait a moment.”

Parin nodded.

“Very well, Lord.”

A moment later, a servant, following Balkan’s instructions, brought in an ice bucket containing various kinds of alcohol. I suddenly tried to acknowledge the servant, but he disappeared too quickly, and I missed the opportunity to greet him.

“Let’s have a drink each to signify unity and conclude the meeting. It would be good for the two young masters of Samael to choose the drinks they want.”

Instinctively, I looked into the ice bucket and saw the chilled hard liquor I had been searching for earlier. Taylor, who had the same thought as me, also picked up the hard liquor and placed it on the table.

“It’s good alcohol. Have a drink.”

Balkan uncorked the hard liquor, poured a glass each for Taylor and me, and then put it back down. A refreshing fruity scent wafted up.

“Hmm?”

A brief silence fell as Balkan stared intently at me. Wondering if he suddenly wanted to have a staring contest, I glared back at him, while Taylor picked up the hard liquor and started filling the glasses of the others.

‘Damn manners.’

Now that I think about it, he probably wanted us to fill the glasses.

As Taylor was about to fill Balkan’s glass, Balkan raised his hand to stop him.

“Ah, I’m fine. I’m abstaining from alcohol.”

Suddenly, his words felt too artificial, and I tilted my head. Anyway, once everyone else’s glasses were filled with alcohol, Balkan raised his empty glass and exclaimed,

“To good alcohol, good company, and good friends!”

“…”

It was a moment where I suddenly understood who Moose had learned toasts from. With Balkan’s cliché toast, the dinner meeting concluded.

* * *

Returning to the annex, the monkeys were still having a drinking party.

I looked around, but Blair and Arin were nowhere to be seen.

I asked Taylor to find them and went upstairs.

Lying on the bed, I quietly pondered. I hadn’t eaten anything, but I wasn’t particularly hungry.

Suddenly, I heard loud noises from downstairs, so I immediately assumed a meditative posture.

Like a man who has practiced meditation anytime and anywhere, I quickly focused my mind.

‘Everything was nonsense.’

Everything Balkan said today was nonsense and gibberish. None of his words revealed his true intentions.

However, the reason I continued to feel uneasy was…

Balkan’s effort to make his words sound plausible even while spouting nonsense.

Why?

Was it really to keep an eye on Elder Parin?

As I was about to start my brain working in earnest, the door burst open, and for the first time in a while, I got a cramp in my leg.

“Ouch, shit.”

Arin, Blair, and Taylor barged into the room all at once, pushing each other.

“Knock, you dimwits.”

Blair pushed his face towards me.

“You were right, Ruin.”

“About what?”

Blair replied in a serious tone,

“I think there’s a spy.”

———