chapter 51

Frey spent his time reading Grimoires or sparring with Liamson.

On the first day of the next week, Camille returned from her trip to the Phisfounder Armlet hideout and she didn’t come back alone.

Instead, she returned with two new companions.

One of them was a stern looking middle aged man wrapped in a pure black robe who exuded a very powerful aura.

However, Frey had no choice to ignore him when he saw the person that came together with him.

“…”

“…”

The other man was also staring at Frey.

Uncommon grey hair, hollow eyes and a cold expression.

It wouldn’t be a complete exaggeration to say that it was like looking at a mirror.

Frey didn’t avoid the man’s gaze.

The man opened his mouth first.

“Long time no see.”

Frey nodded and replied.

“Long time no see.”

One of Camille’s companions was none other than the second son of the Blake family, Heinz Blake.

* * *

“Do you know each other?”

“This is my younger brother?”

“Huh.”

The middle aged beside him glanced over at Frey with a cold look.

It was a very rude action to do to someone whom he’d just met. In fact, it made Frey feel rather uncomfortable.

It was then that Camille came to his side and whispered in his ear.

“This man is Dugenjar, a Force Honor from the Phisfounder Armlets. He has a nasty temper so be careful.”

Then she continued with a slightly surprised expression.

“By the way, I didn’t know Heinz was your brother.”

“You know him?”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t know a Force Honor from the Strow Necklaces. He’s a big celebrity. Even a circle as isolated as ours has heard of his name.”

Frey’s gaze met Heinz’s once again.

His eyes and facial expression carried no emotion, so it was impossible for them to guess what Frey was thinking.

“Then we can now hear about this nonsense.”

Dugenjar spoke to Frey in a sharp tone, his voice filled with arrogance.

“Explain the situation in detail.”

“…”

It was a very high handed attitude.

Frey opened his mouth without showing any expressions on his face.

“Lukes, the 3rd Magic Tower’s Deputy Master betrayed humanity. He became an Apostle and in the process of defeating him, Floor Master Mikel died.”

“I already know that. Fool, didn’t you understand my words? I’m telling you to explain what happened in detail.”

Liamson’s face twitched. Frey was someone who had received his acknowledgement and respect.”

When he’d left the forest, he didn’t expect that one day he would have such a strong friendship with a human, but Frey was different.

With the power and achievements that he’d shown, Frey was someone who truly deserved respect even after climbing over the wall of race.

But when an old bastard popped out from nowhere and began disregarding him, it made him very uncomfortable.

And if he knew anything about Frey, it was that he would never accept such treatment.

“I am not a member of any Circle yet.”

“What are you talking about?”

Dugenjar had an irritated expression on his face as though he didn’t expect Frey to talk back to him.

“I’m telling you to stop speaking down to me. I am not your subordinate.”

“…!”

At Frey’s words, Camille’s eyes widened and Heinz couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

Liamson burst into laughter.

But it was Dugenjar who reacted the most violently.

“This, this…someone who doesn’t know their place!”

Dugenjar’s beard trembled and mana began swirling around his body.

Seeing this, Frey’s face was filled with contempt.

He didn’t like arrogance, but as he saw Dugenjar venting his anger because he could not handle the humiliation, he truly felt that it was pathetic.

Since he was a Force Elder, this meant that he was at least at the 7 stars level, but Frey could not help but feel that he was very weak.

‘I can’t believe this trash is a circle executive.’

He felt disappointed in the Circle, no, in the Phisfounder Armlets.

“Honor Dugenjar, let me talk to him. I will explain the situation in detail to you afterward.”

It was Heinz.

He stepped forward with his signature expressionless face, but Dugenjar did not calm his anger at all.

“Are you siding with him because he is your younger brother? Do you really think I will put up with his rudeness?”

“He is still young. I hope you will be understanding.”

“I don’t tolerate humiliation! Stand back!”

“Hoo.”

Heinz sighed and sent an annoyed glance at Dugenjar.

Then Dugenjar shuddered.

“I will get my brother to explain the situation to me. Do you need me to repeat myself again Honor Dugenjar?”

At that moment, Dugenjar was opening and closing his mouth, but no words were coming out.

Frey managed to see a flash of fear in his eyes.

“…no.” (TL: this is the first time he spoke politely)

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Heinz nodded stiffly before turning back to look at Frey.

“The two of us will talk. Is there anywhere we can go?”

“…we can go to my room.”

Frey got up from his seat while wondering what Heinz was thinking.

But he also welcomed the chance to talk with him alone.

The two then headed for Frey’s room.

Closing the door, Frey sat on the bed. Heinz remained by the door and observed Frey for a moment before speaking.

“I heard that Honor Lukes betrayed us. Camille has already given us a report, but explain what happened one more time for me.”

“Understood.”

Frey explained what happened in as much detail as he could.

While hearing the story, Heinz’s expression didn’t change much.

‘I don’t think he was like this.’

He felt like a completely different person than the Heinz who used to bully Frey.

Did he change over the years?

There was a possibility of this, but Frey felt like this man in front of him now was the ‘real’ Heinz Blake.

So why did such a man treat Frey in that way?

“…that’s what happened.”

Heinz had finally shown a reaction when he heard that Frey had reached 7 stars.

However, he didn’t interrupt Frey nor did he react violently to the information.

“What about the Apostle’s crystal?”

“I left it to an alchemist I know.”

“That’s a very difficult item to deal with.”

“It’s Professor Adelia. She is an authority in alchemy and she should be able to handle it.”

“…looks like she’s also in the 3rd Magic Tower.”

Now that he thought about it, Adelia had once hinted that she knew Heinz.

What exactly is the relationship between them? (TL: jealous?)

Heinz looked at Frey with his hollow eyes.

“The crystal is yours. You are the one who subjugated him so it is your reward. Adelia will be able to make it into an elixir.

Though rumors about you haven’t spread yet…the larger circles are already watching your movements. Including the Big Three.”

“…?”

“I’d like to say ‘don’t take the elixir made from the crystal’ but you wouldn’t listen to me even if I did, so just go ahead. But you’ll have to be prepared for whatever happens after you take it.”

Frey didn’t know what he was talking about and instead of answering the question in his eyes, Heinz sighed.

“You’ve changed a lot. You must have awakened. Right. You also have the blood of the Blake family inside of you. But don’t get conceited. Dugenjar, he’s a dirty guy, but his position in the circle can’t be ignored.

It’s good to raise your self esteem, but sometimes, you have to face reality.”

This time he gave off a weird feeling. It was like he really wanted to talk and give advice to his younger brother.

If ‘Frey’ had been the one hearing this, he might have become emotional.

“In time people from the family will come. They will tell you to return to the house for a while.”

But his expression and tone did not change.

“Reject them. Going to the Blake family manor is dangerous right now. You heard about your father from Honor Shepard didn’t you?”

“What are you doing?”

Heinz was not surprised by the sudden question, in fact, it seemed like he was expecting it.

Their eyes met once again.

“I don’t know why you’re suddenly acting like an older brother. Are you trying to atone for what happened in the past?”

Frey didn’t think he deserved forgiveness.

The third son of the Blake Family was already dead and the man in front of him was partly responsible for that.

That was why he was able to become Frey.

In his eyes, Heinz’s current behaviour was hypocritical. In fact, it made Frey feel nauseous watching him pretend to be nice all of a sudden.

No matter what the reasons for Heinz’s actions were, the fact that he was one of the persons who drove ‘Frey’ to death remains unchanged.

“Atonement. I don’t want that. I don’t even reflect on what I did to you. It’s just.”

The look in Heinz’s eyes changed for the first time.

“Honestly, I never wanted you to learn magic.”

“…”

“Also, you shouldn’t trust the circle too much.”

“Why?”

“You will find out soon.”

With those words, Heinz left the room.

Frey didn’t try to stop him.

‘The Blake family’s blood.’

Frey’s eyes were cold. At that moment he became sure.

He would have to go to the Blake Family.

(TL: this chapter was so steamy that I didn’t even want to leave any notes…)