Kyran frowned at what the old man had said.
It was not about how the latter did not have the authority Kyran had thought he had based on what he heard at the first town he went to, but the fact that a Sovereign was actually 'meddling' in his own plane's affair.
After ascending, the Sovereign should no longer have the power to influence the political strife in their plane. They should be focused more on protecting their plane from outsiders.
So why is the Somuli's Sovereign meddling with the affairs of the Eidums and the Nobles?
Originally, Kyran thought resolving the situation in Somuli was equivalent to challenging its Sovereign because he believed the latter had beast-like blood. If the Somuli Sovereign realized an outsider was in his plane and was fighting against his kindred, he could intervene in the pretense of kicking out the outsider. That would not
Kyran did not expect that the Somuli's Sovereign was making decisions for the people of his plane.
He remembered Loar's situation where after ascending, though he could no longer meddle in the war happening in his plane at that time, their enemies had conceded in fear of his retaliation. That happened because few in Automa knew a Sovereign could not meddle in his plane's internal affairs.
But Loar never made a move, unlike the Somuli's Sovereign, who forced the old man's people to defend their borders.
'Wait.'
Kyran frowned as he recalled what the old man had just said.
''Sucummbed to the 'Sovereign's rule,'' he repeated.
Knowing what Kyran was thinking, the old man sighed and said, 'You seem to have noticed something. Yes, the Sovereign is actively ruling the Somuli plane. But... someone told me that Sovereigns are not allowed to meddle with the affairs of his plane.
'I did not understand it at first. However, I did some research and finally found an inconsistency in how the Sovereign does things. Unfortunately, my findings are only based on written accounts from previous generations— some of which are from 'questionable' origin.
'Anyhow, I am sure you now understand why the Nobles wanted my head.'
'You know too much.'
'Yes.'
Kyran fell silent as he finally took the situation in Somuli seriously. If what he and the old man had guessed was true, they could easily resolve the situation by making it public.
Kyran could also let Axil know about it, and they could deal with it themselves.
But of course, this was not how they should resolve the situation.
This information might leak because of the possibility of having a spy among the Guardians. Once more people knew about it and got involved, unexpected situations would also arise. And with these unexpected situations, innocent lives would suffer and might even be lost depending on how far the situation escalates.
'Saving your people at the border will not resolve the situation,' Kyran finally said after a moment of silence.
'True,' the old man replied with a bitter smile. 'However, at this moment, I can only do so much.'
'I know how to direct the Nobles' attention away from your people.'
'Oh?' The old man looked at Kyran curiously. 'Do tell, if you know of a way, I am all ears.'
'If we do that, however, you must promise to listen to what I say.'
'What do you mean?'
Kyran smiled, 'You have to agree first. If not, then forget it.'
'How can I agree if I do not know what you have in mind?' The old man asked with a slight frown. He was used to seeing other people's thoughts, but at that moment, he drew a blank from Kyran's thoughts.
'It's no use trying to 'see' through my thoughts,' Kyran told the old man. 'Now that I know you can do such a thing, I can easily counter it.'
The old man chortled, 'You truly are something, young man. It makes me want to see more of who you truly are.'
'You can try, but I don't think that's a good idea. You should have learned your lesson by now about knowing too much.'
'Ahahaha! Quite true,' the old man laughed and nodded in agreement. 'Very well. If you can help, then I will gladly agree. My initial offers will still stand, and if you succeed in saving us, I will gladly rescind my initial announcement.'
Kyran frown, 'What announcement?'
The old man only smiled and refused to say more.
Knowing he could not make the old man talk, he decided to get to the point and tell him his idea.
As the old man listened, his expression turned solemn. He seemed to have realized something from what Kyran had said and nodded after a short pause.
'Yes. That may be the only way.'
'Don't worry. I'll make it so you will know what is happening.'
'But does such a thing truly exist?'
Kyran only smiled at the old man's question.
'Alright, alright. I won't ask anymore. When can we start?'
'I can start now,' Kyran shrugged.
'You mean to tell, I have to...?'
'No, I'll resolve the situation in town first. After that, I'll come and find you.'
The old man raised his brows, 'There is no need to find me. We can just set up a place to meet.'
Kyran shook his head, 'We can't afford others to see us. Don't worry; I know how to find you.'
'Alright. Then please, do.'
'Give me half an hour.'
'It is fine,' the old man told him. 'I know it will take some time, so you can... wait, what? Half an hour?' The old man could not help but look at Kyran incredulously.
Kyran only looked at him with raised brows. Without saying anything, he turned to leave.
The old man looked at Kyran's retreating back with mixed emotions. To be honest, when he first approached him, he only did so because he knew he was not a native. He planned to warn him and even bargain with him to assist if he deemed he was strong enough.
But after seeing some of Kyran's thoughts, a familiar face appeared. He then recalled a conversation he had with that person.
Finally, he decided to seriously ask Kyran's assistance, knowing he had the strength to do so.
Nevertheless, it appeared he had still underestimated what Kyran could do until after hearing his plan. It made the old man realize that his thoughts were still timid compared to his.
'Half an hour,' the old man mused with a chuckle. 'Let's see if he can truly resolve the situation in town in half an hour.'
Kyran heard from the security group that the perpetrators were finally found in the southwest part of town.
They had managed to dig a huge hole below the wall and sneak into town.
Kyran was not surprised when he heard that. According to what he heard from the crowd earlier, the Adventurer Guild was located southwest of town. Since he already heard from the old man that the perpetrators were after him, it was obvious where they wanted to go.
Going back to the current situation, after the security group found the perpetrators, they had decided to retreat out of town.
Kyran deemed their action as sound because if they insisted on staying inside of town, they would only get cornered at how fast the security group was moving.
They might have attacked and injured some of the security groups' people while they were still outside of town, but they were still outnumbered. Once they were cornered, there were only one two possible outcomes: fight to the death or take their own life.
But Kyran was surprised that the perpetrators were not in cahoots with the security group of town. He initially thought they staged all this to ensure the old man followed the emergency protocol and remained in the shelter.
Once the old man was in the shelter, it would be easier to get close to him, even with all the crowd. After all, the crowd was all beast-like. Even if something happened, who could say they would not side with their kindred rather than a complete being?
The old man might have twisted how others could see him, but could he keep that up when he was attacked on all sides?
Still, contrary to what the old man believed, this town's officials had not taken the side of the Somuli's Sovereign yet because they were seriously after the perpetrators.
'Southwest of town,' Kyran thought and took a deep breath. He knew the old man was still looking at him, and that was alright. It was all good as long as none of the beast-like around them saw him.
As he thought this, he teleported out of the shelter.
'Where did he—?' The old man's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets after seeing Kyran disappear right before his eyes. That 'familiar face' once told him how Kyran appeared and disappeared, but he had always believed it was a metaphorical remark.
He did not expect it to mean 'appear and disappear' literally!
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