"You are... Guren!"
I shouted the name of the man in front of me. He should be Guren, the first opponent that I faced during the newbie tamer's tournament.
After he left the lodgings back then, I never heard from him again. Well, it should have been about a month ago at most, so not much time has passed.
"Yes, I am. And hello again, Will. It looks like you got a bit too strong in a short time."
Guren smiled as he scanned the faces of the three girls standing behind me. His stare then landed on Igni, who had a slightly uncomfortable expression on her face.
"Igni... I've heard about the circumstances from your father already. Don't worry, I'm not angry about it or anything."
Guren smiled, but a trace of sadness could be seen in his expression. From his words, I could guess that it was he who was to get contracted with Igni originally.
"Guren, although I didn't know about their promise to you, it's basically my fault. Sorry."
I apologized, just in case. Based on what I heard from Igni's father, Guren was probably Igni's admirer. However, given his current strength, it should take him a few more years before he is able to contract her properly.
"It's fine, really. Although I did feel a bit disappointed, I still have Aira's promise to look forward to."
He smiled before waving his hands toward the cushions on the floor.
"Take a seat first. Our discussion would take quite a while, I think."
The three girls quickly sat down, with Ember to my left, Igni to Ember's left, and Fang to my right. In this formation, the Igni and Fang pair could protect Ember and me in case something happens.
Guren sat in front of me, with the two black-clad figures vanishing into his shadow.
As we were settling down in our seats, a few apprentices came in and served tea and teacakes to each of us. The girls didn't touch it, though, as they maintained their vigilance.
"Haha, no need to be so tense. I don't have any intentions of doing you harm, but rather the opposite."
Guren laughed before turning to me with a satisfied smile.
"You have Seimei blood too, right?"
Yulia, who wasn't present anywhere right now, should've already told them about it, so I didn't flinch from getting asked. I quickly replied "yes" before Guren nodded his head energetically.
"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself, right? My full name is Seimei Guren, and I'm technically the prince and the acting head of the family right now."
My eyebrows rose a little at his introduction.
"Prince? Acting head?"
Guren snickered before continuing.
"What, you didn't expect a weakling like me to be the heir to an ancient bloodline family, right?"
He then shrugged his shoulders before I could even interject.
"Well, there's a reason for that, actually."
Then, with that as the intro, he began relaying his story.
His father was the head of the branch family 20 years ago. However, during that year, someone came and eliminated the entire main family, leaving no one with pure Seimei blood alive. Nothing was left behind, not even their corpses.
The assailant was found later and punished by God Zeshion, but by then, the damage done was already irreversible. Having no other choice, his father decided to step up and become the new family head. He was the one with the closest blood ties to the main family, so the majority of the branch families agreed to his coronation.
Two years later, Guren was born and was declared the young master and future lord of the Seimei bloodline. However, his Seimei bloodline was so thin, it was almost unbelievable.
"So, how is it that you're acting as the family head now?"
I asked as he seemed to be too absorbed in his flashback. Guren flinched and replied with a frown.
"You heard of the prison break at the capital, right? Father was one of the wardens then. Before backup could arrive, he..."
Various emotions flashed past his wavering eyes, but with a deep breath, he immediately fixed his expression. His usual smile quickly returned to his face.
"Well, due to that, I was pushed to be the head of the family this early."
He scratched the back of his head. He then stared straight into my eyes and spoke in a serious voice.
"But that's until you came here..."
Guren shuffled backward before kowtowing. His forehead touched the floor.
"Will, one who possesses the rightful and ancient bloodline of the Seimei Clan, I beg of you to please take the Prince's seat from me."
Hearing this, I felt my heart stop beating.
"Y-Your joke's a bit too hard to digest, bro. Hahaha."
I tried laughing it off, but Guren stayed bowing his head, not muttering a single word. Within the awkward silence, I scratched my head and asked, "Are you serious? Why me?"
"You have the true bloodline of the Seimei, which should've been wiped out that day 20 years ago. As such, you are one with the rightful claim to the seat of the Clan's head; nobody should be able to raise a complaint."
I thought hard about it. Taking up the position of clan head was definitely good. However, the hardships that come with it aren't to be underestimated. What's more, I still had many things on my to-do list, making it impossible for me to stay here for long periods of time.
In the end, after careful consideration, I decided to decline the offer. However, as I was about to do so, Guren dropped a piece of information that I couldn't ignore.
"If you accept to be the clan's head, I'll tell you the secret of your five unknown bloodlines."
I quickly stiffened. Other than the ones present at the Virgil family's place, nobody should've known about my having five unknown bloodlines.
"Don't tell me-!"
As I was about to stand up, Guren calmly said,
"The Luo sent the details about you and asked for our cooperation, but we refused. The Seimei cherishes one who possesses the same bloodline, regardless of their status."
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