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chapter 138




Beniang recognized Altan immediately since she’d seen him in numerous Circle meetings in the past.
Of course, knowing his face didn’t mean she understood why he’d come to their circle. As soon as she saw Altan’s face, Beniang immediately forgot everything Frey told her about receiving guests.
It wouldn’t be too much of an exaggeration to say her hair turned white at that moment.
“Ma-, Master Altan.”
He was a very young-looking man.
However, Contractors’ age could never be judged by their appearances. They knew dozens of tricks and methods to prolong their lives or maintain their youthful appearances.
Altan looked to be around the age of 20 or even a bit older, but in reality, he was a monster who’d long surpassed two hundred years of age.
Altan shot an indifferent look at Beniang.
“Honor Beniang… no, it should be Master Beniang now. It’s been quite a while.”
“I-, it certainly has.”
Beniang stuttered subconsciously before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
The Trowman Rings members who were watching on from the side looked at her with anxious gazes, unsure of what was going on.
‘I can’t embarrass them.’
Beniang opened her eyes. Then she straightened her back, focused her gaze and spoke in a clear voice.
“Master Altan, what brings you to our circle today?”
“I came here to meet Frey Blake, the Circle Rounder of the Trowman Rings.”
“Frey? …Ah!”
It was only at that moment that Beniang realised the man who was standing before her was Frey’s ‘guest’.
It was also at that moment that Frey finally walked out of his quarters.
Altan’s eyes flashed when he saw Frey, who was much younger than he expected.
“Master Altan, welcome to the Trowman Rings.”
“You’re Frey Blake? You’re much younger than I expected.”
“Hmm. Shall we have our discussion inside?”
“Of course.”
As they passed Beniang, Frey said.
“Would you like to join us, Master Beniang? If you have the time, of course.”
“Ah. S-, sure.”
No matter how busy she was, Altan, the Circle Master for one of the Three Great Circles had come to visit.
Even if she didn’t have the time, she would have to make time in order to show this big figure his due respect.
‘I-, if I knew Master Altan was coming, I would’ve prepared more.’
Beniang followed Frey while crying inwardly.
* * *
Frey, Snow and Beniang sat on one side of a table while Altan and Sheryl sat on the other side.
Altan’s gaze turned to Snow for a moment as he wondered who she was, but he soon turned back to Frey as if he had lost his interest.
This was in itself quite an impressive feat since Snow’s appearance seemed to defy common sense.
“I heard you are willing to share Asura’s summoning circle with me. Since Sheryl was the one who said it, it shouldn’t be a lie, but I doubt you would tell me for free. What do you want in return?”
It was exactly as Sheryl had said.
Altan didn’t seem to have any interest in what was happening in the world at that moment. If it wasn’t for Asura’s summoning circle, it would’ve been almost impossible for them to meet.
Frey wondered how this man managed to become the Master of a circle.
Of course, this kind of straightforward conversation was welcomed by Frey.
“The Strow Necklaces and Lucid Swords have been putting pressure on our circle recently. Do you know anything about that?”
“I’ve heard about it.”
“Then I can cut to the chase. They haven’t been doing it openly so far, but I believe it won’t be long before they openly reveal their evil intentions. I’d feel very relieved if we could become close allies with the Phisfounder Armlets.”
“…”
When he heard that, Altan fell silent for a moment. It seemed as though he was calculating profit and loss.
After thinking for a while, Altan finally shook his head.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t accept that request.”
It was more resolute a rejection than Frey had expected.
Of course, his refusal was natural. If he were to accept the request, he would be going against the other two circles, which might cause his circle to lose its position as one of the Three Great Circles, which was too costly.
However, considering Altan’s obsession with Demons, his direct refusal was completely unexpected.
“May I ask why?”
“Personally, I’d love to accept, but I can’t ignore those two circles. Before anything else, I am the Circle Master of the Phisfounder Armlets. So my circle’s well-being and survival are my top priorities.”
Frey felt at that moment that he’d finally gotten a slight understanding of this man known as Altan.
At first glance, he seemed like a person who was willing to do anything to pursue his personal interests, but in reality, he also felt a strong sense of responsibility due to his position as Circle Master.
Well, if that wasn’t the case, then he never would’ve gotten the opportunity to be the Circle Master in the first place.
After all, it was only natural that someone else would be as talented as him. His position meant that he at least had charisma in addition to talent.
So he could finally bring up the important part.
“I’m not asking to form an ironclad alliance. For example, we don’t need you to help even if they blatantly try to pressure us. It would be enough if we could just show those two circles that there is a friendly relationship between our circles.”
“If you were only being pressured by one circle, I would have accepted. However, the Trowman Rings is currently being pressured by two of the Three Great Circles.”
Altan shook his head.
“Even if we back you up, it would not be much of a deterrent if they were to join forces.”
“Before we continue, I believe I need to correct a misconception.”
“Misconception?”
Frey nodded and said.
“What we are asking for is an alliance with the Phisfounder Armlets.”
Altan’s expression changed as he immediately understood what Frey was trying to say.
“Alliances can only be made when the parties involved are equals.”
“I agree.”
“…”
Altan furrowed his eyebrows at those words, and the atmosphere in the room froze instantly.
Frey felt Beniang, who was beside him, flinch, but he ignored it as he locked gazes with Altan.
“Are you implying that the Trowman Rings is the Phisfounder Armlets’ equal?”
“That’s correct.”
“Hmm.”
Altan looked away from Frey, and he instead looked around.
Snow was watching the discussion as though she was watching a reality show, and Beniang was visibly nervous.
Was this man the real boss?
At that moment, Altan understood why the Trowman Rings had been rising so rapidly as of late.
They had gained an unshakeable player who was capable of locking gazes with him without losing his composure.
‘This is something that would only be possible for an Archmage.’
He was also extremely skilled at negotiations, and he could measure the perfect timings for when to push and pull.
The Trowman Rings was equal to the Phisfounder Armlets.
At first glance, this seemed to be a rude statement, but in reality, this was a calculated statement that had only been made after properly understanding Altan’s disposition. It was clear that Frey knew Altan would not be angered by that statement.
Just where exactly did this talent appear from?
His face was expressionless, but he was quite impressed on the inside.
Thinking this, Altan opened his mouth.
“Can you prove that?”
Then, as if he had been waiting for that question, Frey took something out of his pocket.
When he saw what it was, Altan couldn’t help but freeze.
“That…”
“Since you’re the Circle Master of the Phisfounder Armlets, you should know what this is, right?”
“…a Demigod Crystal.”
Frey nodded.
The item Frey had retrieved was a bright silver, fist-sized bead.
“I slayed him.”
“…”
“I didn’t just devote my time to bettering the Trowman Rings.”
The death of a Demigod!
If that was true then Frey’s words would be completely acceptable because only the Three Great Circles were capable of such a feat.
Altan couldn’t help but ask with a hesitant tone.
“Where did you get that bead?”
“This is a Demigod’s crystal. This isn’t something you can just pick up. I’m sure you know that, don’t you?”
Those words were true.
It was just because of how unbelievable the truth was that he had to ask again.
Altan sighed.
The balance, which could have been said to be barely maintained, completely collapsed at that moment.
Frey had taken the initiative.
“Sheryl was the one who helped me take down the Demigod. If you don’t believe me, you can ask her yourself.”
When Altan turned to Sheryl without saying anything, she nodded.
“Rounder Frey defeated a Demigod. I saw it with my own eyes. On my honor, I can swear that it’s true.”
“…”
Beniang shot him a look of disbelief.
‘I’ll explain later.’
Frey shot a glance at her while putting the bead away.
Altan seemed to be lost in thought, his expression growing more and more serious as time passed.
Then, after a few minutes of thinking, Altan nodded.
“…alright. I agree to the alliance.”
Then, he turned to Beniang and stretched out his hand.
“Please take care of us in the future.”
“Ah, yes. We’ll be in your care.”
Beniang quickly got up and shook hands with him.
After watching them shake hands for a moment, Frey spoke up.
“And I would like Rounder Sheryl’s help.”
“What for?”
“If we just say that we made an alliance, they might now believe our words. However, if we show proof of our agreement, they will have no choice.”
“Hmm.”
That meant he wanted to use Sheryl to show off the fact that they were in an alliance.
After all, if the number two of the Phisfounder Armlets was to be seen with him, it would be worth more than a hundred words.
“I see. But don’t push it. Don’t forget, our alliance is not deep.”
It was a warning that if they went overboard, he wouldn’t hesitate to leave the alliance.
Frey nodded.
Something like that probably wouldn’t happen.
“…”
Beniang silently stared at Frey.
Although neither Altan nor Frey reacted outwardly, the negotiations that occurred in this small room would definitely shake the entire circle after they were brought to light.
The Trowman Rings had allied with the Phisfounder Armlets, one of the Three Great Circles!
* * *
Altan left immediately after learning Asura’s summoning circle from Frey.
Then, Beniang immediately ran up to Frey and stuck her face incredibly close to his.
“Frey! What the hell was that all about?!”
“The Trowman Rings and Phisfounder Armlets are allies from today on. You should announce this to the members, Master Beniang.”
“Ah, yes! Aht. But that’s not what I was talking about. I don’t understand how this…”
“I’ll tell you the details later.”
Frey then turned to look at Sheryl.
“For the time being, we’ll be moving together.”
“Yes. Please look after me.”
As Sheryl responded with a bright smile, the question mark over Beniang’s head became several times larger.
She couldn’t believe that Sheryl, who didn’t even speak politely to Altan, was doing so to Frey.
Just as Beniang was about to open her mouth again, Frey did so first.
“Master Beniang, has there been any improvement to your magic skills?”
“There hasn’t been that big of a change since you left. There are still some things I’m not sure about…”
“Hmm.”
Frey couldn’t help but narrow his eyes slightly at Beniang’s words.
He couldn’t help it, after all, she was a dragon.
…A Dragon?
A lightbulb went off in Frey’s head at that moment.
“Master Beniang, I’m going to go somewhere for a while.”
“Huh? Wa-. wait.”
“Excuse me.”
Frey ignored Beniang’s shout and immediately warped to the Paragon hideout.
After arriving there, he immediately headed over to Hector’s quarters. After all, it was around lunch time, so he figured he would be resting in his room.
Knock knock.
“Come on in.”
Frey opened the door and walked inside.
Hector was there lounging among his maids. He had his unique, loose smile on his face as he turned his head to look at Frey.
“Huh? Frey? What’s the matter?”
“I’m here on business.”
“Hmm… is it important enough to interrupt [Hector’s Little Happy Time]?”
“…”
When Frey’s face stiffened, Hector laughed and shrugged.
“It was a joke. What do you need?”
“I’d like you to accompany me to the Trowman Rings for a moment.”
It was a very unexpected request.
This was proven when Hector tilted his head to the side and asked.
“Why?”
“I would like you to help the Circle Master of the Trowman Rings.”
“How can I help the Circle Master?”
“She’s a Half-Dragon.”
Hector’s expression immediately became filled with interest.
“A Half-Dragon?! I didn’t expect there to still be any of them on the continent. What type is she?”
“Green Dragon. There’s still much I don’t know about using Dragon Hearts. I taught her the basics, but I felt that you would be a much better teacher, seeing as you’re a real Dragon.”
“Hoh… how do you know how to use a Dragon Heart?”
“…”
“Well. It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to answer.”
Hector let out a laugh.
“Anyway. Since it’s a Half-Dragon we’re talking about, I’m quite interested. Let’s go.”
Fortunately, he agreed easily. Frey sighed inwardly and walked out of the room with Hector.
As they were walking through the hideout, they eventually saw a young girl standing in the distance. She was small in stature and appeared to be very young, but Frey knew that she had to be a member of Paragon in order to be there.
While her outer appearance might have appeared weak, no one knew what kind of monster could’ve been hiding within.
Especially since most of the members here could easily overwhelm the upper echelons of the Circle.
This girl had no redeeming characteristics other than her age, but Frey still stopped immediately upon noticing her.
This wasn’t because she was looking at him, but it was instead because he felt something familiar from her.
“Can I ask you one question?”
It was a soft, weak voice.
It was then that Frey realised.
“Where did you learn the Warrior King’s Fist?”
Although her appearance, personality and demeanor were different, the intangible momentum overflowing from her body at that moment reminded him of Ivan.
(TL: so the Loli teacher appears. It seems the author is intent on adding all the common tropes in this novel.)(YH: KEK gotta love it)