Chapter 292: Message [1]
"Were you able to sense the rank of his core?"
At my question, Diana stared into my eyes while chewing the meat in her mouth, along with the vegetables that were served with it.
"Yes."
"..."
"That was a joke."
Noticing the serious expression on my face, Diana spoke with a chuckle, making Alicia laugh with her.
Haa...
For a moment, I really felt like Diana had been able to sense Antra’s cultivation level.
"Still, don’t you think the guy was an interesting one?"
Diana’s words made me think about Antra.
Hearing his announcement today, maybe... interesting was the right word to describe the guy.
Despite having an overwhelming power at his disposal, he took the effort to record himself, and that too without me having asked him to do anything of the sort.
Though I couldn’t deny the fact that Antra’s speech had a lot more effect than what a normal lunatic amongst the cult would have been able to achieve.
"He is supposed to be your enemy."
I clarified the fact as I felt no emotion from Diana’s eyes while she mentioned Antra.
"So?"
Hm?
Diana questioned me back, making me subconsciously raise my brow.
"Didn’t you want to bring judgment to the ones that had killed your cousin?"
Diana simply nodded her head at my question, making me look at her with an amused expression.
"It isn’t like I would be able to kill him just because I thought so."
Fair enough.
Diana simply shrugged her shoulders after stating the fact.
No matter what revenge she had in her mind, it wasn’t like that changed the fact.
There was no way Diana would have been able to kill Antra even in the foreseeable future, as becoming a Sovereign required more than mere talent and determination.
Still, hearing such a composed answer from her made me accept the fact that this new version of Diana felt a lot more useful than her previous one.
She had learnt to control her emotions pretty well.
Or had she always been like this?
Maybe.
There was now a collective silence as each one of us focused on our portion of the food.
A lot of time had been spent in the restaurant, and I still had some matters to attend to.
Looking at Alicia, she seemed to be immersed in her meal, though I knew what thoughts might have been running through her mind.
The Frosts had suffered the worst humiliation in the history of their house due to the very cults that had now announced their involvement in the attack.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out the thoughts that might have been overwhelming Alicia’s mind at this very moment.
Still, I didn’t take the effort to reduce the burden on her mind in any way.
That would have made it sound like I cared for their house.
"Is there any place you wish to visit?"
Though I didn’t look at Alicia, my question was still directed at her.
And Alicia, knowing that, looked up from her plate before raising her head to look at the ceiling, as if thinking about what she had to say.
"Wherever you wish to go."
Hm?
That was quite the diplomatic way of answering a question.
"Have you ever tried street food?"
"Uh... no."
Thought so.
It had always been beneath these nobles to eat from the streets, an act that they considered impure or something along those lines.
"Let’s try it then."
Saying the words, I got up from my seat before moving my eyes across the restaurant.
"I have some matters to attend to, so stay here for the time being. Keep your device active, as I will communicate the location of the stalls through it."
"O-Okay."
Saying the words, I moved towards the counter before paying the bill and heading off.
Diana must have wanted to say something, or at least that was what I assumed after sensing her expression using my mana sense, but I had to first complete my primary objective behind coming to the market before entertaining the two of them.
Moving out of the restaurant, I began to walk in the direction of Syma Royal Bank’s branch in the area.
Communicating with Arthur using the device was a risky affair, so it was best to receive the message through Syma’s branches in my vicinity.
Arthur had earlier asked me about admitting Sophie to the academy, and I had accepted his request.
But the guy hadn’t discussed it with Sophie, preventing me from talking with the headmaster after arriving at the academy.
Now that a sufficient amount of time had passed since coming to the academy, I hoped that Arthur had sent his reply to the branch’s office.
Honestly, bringing Sophie along with me was a decision that would, in the end, benefit me the most, as the girl could be considered Arthur’s lifeline.
Keeping her close to me would be a good way to ensure Arthur’s loyalty and subservience.
And after hearing about her talent from Arthur, there was a decent possibility of Sophie becoming a good tool for me.
I didn’t think there was anyone in the world besides me and Noah who could increase their core’s rank at the speed Sophie was growing—
No.
Noah’s rank was still at Silver 2 only because he didn’t have the necessary resources in his childhood, coupled with the fact that there was no one to guide him.
And then there was the issue of not being able to completely utilize his ability.
The day Noah manages to master his Mana Sword... the speed of his growth would be explosive.
So maybe Sophie’s talent would be on the weaker side compared to the fully awakened protagonist of the game.
Still, that just went on to prove the value that Sophie could generate for me in the future.
Haa...
I had now arrived before a tall building with the name of the bank written on it in huge letters that portrayed the might of Syma in their own way.
