Chapter 72: Movements
Unedited*
At the Morwen Family’s main building.
"Mr. Gerard, what brings you here?" Thalion came running to greet a guest he had been expecting—but didn’t want to see.
Gerard, the S-Rank, had returned three months later, just as agreed.
He looked away from the fish tank they had there and turned to Thalion. "I’m here for that thing; I think you were already expecting me." He smiled.
Thalion forced a smile. "Although you’re not arriving at a good time—I thought you’d come at the end of the month."
Gerard laughed. "As I said, it was three months. Anyway, I think I’ve arrived at a good time. I heard the good news about that boy—I think it’s a cause for celebration for the whole island that he’s so talented, right?"
"It makes us researchers and academics happy," Thalion acknowledged. "But not the Rankers."
"Oh?" Gerard was immediately intrigued. "I’d like to hear more about that."
Thalion nodded and turned around. "Please follow me, Mr. Gerard. I may need your help with this; if you want that boy on your side, this is the only way to do it."
Gerard and Thalion moved to a more comfortable room, where they had fruit and sweet snacks to eat while they talked.
"The Rankers in our country are complicated, Mr. Gerard," Thalion resumed the conversation after discussing some casual topics.
"In every country, the Rankers are complicated, to tell the truth," Gerard replied.
"Yes. But here they’re even worse. Their egos are so huge that they’ll never allow someone they’ve cast aside to become a pillar of the country. They’ll kill him at all costs or simply make sure the reason they cast him aside proves valid."
Gerard nodded slightly.
Rankers tend to have big egos, since sometimes you need one to climb the ranks. It takes an immense ego to look at the all-powerful Ranking and believe you can climb it, after all.
However, humanity has technically learned to let go of certain things in order to grow and survive as a species. Setting aside one’s ego so that a seed can grow—in order to become stronger in the long run—is one of the things that has happened most often throughout history, and it’s surely happening right now.
If you can’t let go at a moment like this, you’re no good as a Ranker. Because what will you do when you face a dragon and it’s just you?
"Kill it, huh. I heard that kid was expelled from the Asturias, right?" Gerard asked.
Thalion nodded.
"Interesting. So what you’re saying is that the Asturias are trying to kill him or prevent him from leaving the island, right?"
"Although I didn’t say that." Thalion apologized with a smile; he didn’t want to get into trouble. "But the Rankers don’t approve of their existence. The Asturias and the Thornes, to be precise."
"They’re centuries-old, powerful families, with secrets that sometimes go beyond a single person’s understanding, after all," Gerard muttered, leaning back against the furniture. "But they’re still A-Rank families."
Thalion smiled. "Don’t put too much stock in that, Mr. Gerard. Especially when it comes to the Asturias."
Gerard turned to look at him. "Do you know something?" he asked.
"They’re Founder Rankers," Thalion replied. "I don’t think there’s a single Founder Ranker family you shouldn’t be wary of, but the Asturias are a special case."
Thalion continued after a pause. "Even though you’re young, I’m sure you’ve heard of Miss Asturias."
Gerard frowned. "Miss Asturias? You mean... that famous researcher. Was she an Asturias? I had no idea."
Thalion smiled. "Although she’s rarely mentioned outside our circles because she always avoided drawing attention to herself, Miss Asturias wasn’t exactly from the Asturias family. She married the current leader, Valerius."
"Hm. It seems you have quite a history," Gerard said.
"More than that," Thalion replied. "If you know anything about her, you surely know that she was our only Founding Guardian."
Gerard nodded. "I have a close relative who’s a researcher, and he’s told me about that woman several times. She was a legendary figure, but little known. However, she’s dead. I don’t think she can interfere with the present, can she? The problem is the connections she might have made, but..."
Thalion shook his head in mild frustration. "Although it’s said that Miss Asturias died on the island, no one has seen her body. Perhaps only the Asturias family knows where she—or her body—is."
"What you’re saying is that, perhaps, that woman is alive, right?"
"Well, that’s a possibility." Thalion nodded. "After all, she belonged to Ouroboros, but we weren’t able to give her a proper send-off. We never knew where she went."
A woman over 400 years old who suddenly dies out of the blue is suspicious no matter how you look at it. Very few people live that long, and those who do wouldn’t die so easily.
What usually happens is that they disappear for a while—either because they’ve gone into seclusion or because they’ve gone hunting very powerful beasts—and then they return.
Gerard was well aware of this, since his country also has such legendary figures.
It was a bit of a hassle dealing with that sort of person, but Gerard laughed.
"Who is more dangerous, Lord Thalion? A person like that... or the one who resembles God?" he asked.
Thalion swallowed hard. "As long as there is no God, how could there be anyone more dangerous than the One Who Resembles God?" He smiled without looking up.
"Exactly." Gerard stood up and patted him on the back. "No one can stand up to the One Who Resembles God, and even if there were a God, wouldn’t they be an inseparable duo? The One Who Resembles Him or the One Who Is... I’ll take care of things; you just play your part and help me out a little."
Thalion swallowed again and nodded. "I’ll do whatever you tell me..."
Gerard left after saying a few more things to him.
Thalion was left completely alone in the room, drinking black coffee without sugar and staring into space.
Only God knows how many times he swallowed hard in the last few minutes, he was so nervous.
"The risk is high... But the reward is even higher," he murmured to himself.
Just then, he sensed something strange happening.
The night... Did it get even darker?
--
’The night got even darker... It’s the Fake Rankers, huh. So they’re looking for me." Lucius smiled slightly as he gazed at the night sky from the courtyard of the Asturias family mansion.
’Except they’re looking for me in the opposite direction from where I am.’
He slipped out of the family mansion as if it were the easiest thing in the world, and before anyone could spot him, he was already inside his private workshop.
As soon as he arrived, Clara ran up to him, with old Garen following behind.
"Lucius, did you hear the news? There’s a lot of talk on The Wall about the False Rankers attacking a section of the city."
’So that’s what they did?’ Lucius thought, but he didn’t reveal his thoughts.
"Really? I had no idea. I’ve been out of the loop for a while," he replied, looking at what Clara was showing him on her device.
Indeed, they had.
And the area...
He looked up at old man Garen. "They attacked the area where your old house used to be. What were they looking for there?" Lucius asked.
"I’m of no value to the False Rankers, and I haven’t been there in a long time. So I think you should be asking yourself that question," old man Garen replied.
"Huh?" Clara looked at both of them. "Was that where your house used to be?" She asked Garen, and when she saw him nod, she turned to look at Lucius. "Why does he say he has to ask you? Are they... looking for you?" She trembled slightly.
Lucius sighed. "Well, my name’s been on everyone’s lips lately. Maybe they just want a Rising Star among them." He laughed.
"That’s not a game, Lucius! They’re Fake Rankers! They might be weak, but they have a massive organization operating in that cursed place!" she exclaimed, deeply concerned.
"They’re still human, Clara. They’re exactly the same as you or me. They may have a large organization behind them, but they aren’t free. When you oppose those who rule the world, you become a mercenary fighting to survive. They’re more bound than you think, even if they call themselves free."
Clara was speechless at his words... In this place, people believe that the False Rankers are free and that nothing binds them.
In fact, that’s what they call themselves.
However... Are they really that free?
When you fight against the ruler but remain on their land, how free can you truly be?
It’s possible that a prisoner is freer than they are.
Clara finally understood. However, that did not lessen her fear of them.
"They’re still more powerful than us. Who’s going to back you up if you get into trouble with them?"
"That’s why I don’t plan on getting into trouble with them," Lucius replied, looking at her with a poker face. "Do you think I’m an idiot? They’re the ones coming after me. I’ll be fine just by disappearing for a while, since no one knows we’re here."
"Oh..." Clara felt embarrassed when she realized this and lowered her head. "You’re right."
Lucius looked at Garen, Kevin, and Clara, the only ones currently in the workshop: "We’ll be pretty busy until further notice. So get the supplies ready," he said, and without offering any further explanation for now, he walked into the workshop.
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