Michael quickly found out that it was a good idea to allow Kaleb to accompany him on his short journey through Piloq.
Kaleb told him a lot about the happenings of the last few weeks.
“Did you know that Frederik messaged me only because you weren’t available? This little jerk picked me as a substitute to cry his heart out,” Kaleb complained, though he smiled, “At least, Frederik is finally back on his feet. He recuperated well and the healer left. Jacqueline still has a hard time getting close to Frederik, but that is mostly because Frederik is trying to get back to his peak state. I am not sure what he is going to do going forward, but he hasn’t given up on himself just yet. Maybe the thought of getting stronger for his beloved – his father and Jacqueline – pushes him to keep moving. Maybe that little jerk is not as bad or hopeless as I first thought.”
Michael observed Kaleb as he talked freely about Frederik. There was no need for Kaleb to act overly polite or force himself to behave like a noble in front of Michael. He could be himself.
“His temper is a bit problematic, but Frederik is a good guy. Jacqueline as well. Maybe, if I lecture them a little bit more, both can turn into decent human beings,” Michael said half-jokingly.
“True that. But that might not even be necessary if they can overcome this ordeal. IF they overcome it that is. My sister said that it won’t be easy. The Elders of the Orlando family garnered more influence across their extended relatives and family tree and they’re pressuring Karek and Jacqueline to terminate the engagement with Frederik. Sis is not sure how much time they received until it escalates,” Kaleb sighed deeply.
The politics, scheming, and two-faced behavior of most nobles were truly the worst. As long as you were valuable you would be used as a chess piece. Either you would be married to some other family to strengthen your relationship and increase your influence, or you would be married to someone with a similar Soultrait – or a Soultrait that could strengthen your Soultrait. If the latter was the case, the engagement would proceed quickly after the age of 20 and you would be told to procreate and give birth to heirs as quickly as possible. After evolving to Higher Lifeforms at the 4th Tier, procreating was a lot more difficult and time-consuming, after all.
It was truly troublesome.
“Putting aside Frederik’s troubles, what else happened over the last few weeks? The Investigator must have arrived to interrogate the war criminals. Did he find out something useful, or were the Dark Heavens’ members not as well informed as we were hoping for?” Michael asked, recalling the grand opportunity he had lost because he told the War Priestess and the Chieftain about the memories of the war criminals – and that the memories were imprinted on his mind. He still regretted having shared that. Unfortunately, he couldn’t take his words back anymore.
“Oh, that? The Investigator arrived a week after you departed. He spent ten days investigating the Dark Heavens members and came back with good and bad news. The Investigator retrieved various information about incidents of the past. According to his investigation, more than 200 incidents where Awakened either went missing or were found dead can be led back to Dark Heavens. That included the incident revolving around the death of Zeke’s sister. Zeke and Quinn are going crazy right now. They want to eliminate Dark Heavens, but neither of them is strong enough – and nobody knows where the headquarters is located either. That being said, two potential locations of their branches have been retrieved. Unfortunately, the Investigator cannot be certain whether it is a trap or not. He is suspicious about how easily he retrieved those pieces of information from the Dark Heavens members. Usually, it would be much harder.” 𝓵𝒊𝒃𝙧𝙚𝒂𝓭.𝓬𝙤𝙢
“A trap…in a trap? So not only hijacking Tritaenus was a trap, but maybe also easily letting them assume that they captured these Dark Heavens members was a devious trick? Is it really feasible for Dark Heavens to sacrifice so many high-ranked members?” Michael asked.
“Sis thinks that there were no high-ranked Dark Heavens Members involved in these incidents. The highest ranked members were probably the members of the suicide squad you’ve interrogated,” Kaleb explained, which resulted in Michael slowing down in his steps.
“Higher Lifeforms are ordinary members? That seems extravagant…and dangerous,” Michael mumbled as they reached Kraft Viton’s room.
Kaleb didn’t know where they’d been heading, but upon seeing Mr. Viton open the door, his countenance changed quickly. His eyes widened and he paid the old legend his respect.
Both Kraft Viton and Michael stared at Kaleb with a subtle smile.
“I didn’t expect you to bring your friend,” Kraft Viton pointed out.
“Is that a problem? I didn’t really think much about it but the Bartholomew Corporation might be bothered if our partnership is exposed.” Michael replied. He merely wanted to talk to Kaleb to be able to speak with someone about the events of the last few weeks and didn’t think much about the trades he was going to make while doing so.
“If you trust him it’s fine. You are getting exposed as our partner. The Bartholomew Corporation is not shy of revealing our partners – as long as they’re willing to step out into the open, of course,” Kraft Viton added, giving him a meaningful expression.
Michael looked at Kaleb and shrugged, “It’s fine. Kaleb probably knows already.”
“Knows what?” Kaleb asked.
“That I am a small partner of the Bartholomew Corporation’s Agriculture Project,” Michael answered lightly, only for Kraft Viton to intervene.
“A small partner doesn’t own a 21% share of the Agriculture Project’s profit.”
“You are a partner of the Bartholomew Corporation? Was I asleep when you told me that…or am I missing something?” Kaleb asked, stupefied.
‘Alice didn’t tell him? I expected her to tell Kaleb everything. That’s…a lot better than I expected.’
“Yeah, either way…” Michael turned to Kraft Viton and retrieved all the blueprints and Artifacts he’d collected and Extracted over the last few weeks. The piles of blueprints filled the room entirely, departing little space for the three Awakened to stand comfortably.
Kraft Viton released his energy with a wave of his arms and collected everything in one go. Michael then held out a spatial bracelet.
“Monster parts of roughly 10,000 Tier-1 and 1,500 Tier-2 Monsters are stored inside, and…here is the list of items I need to calm down my lovely subjects,” Michael said lightly. Now it was him who grinned with a smug expression on his face as he retrieved a small book filled with several pages of materials and goods he needed.
“You can deduct as much as you need from my bank account. I don’t really understand how much I have, either way.”
“In the worst case, I’ll deduct some from your future profits. After helping us find out about the Seed of Demonic Breed, the head of the Bartholomew Corporation decided to give you some more leeway than others, either way. Of course, only in the legal range. We won’t break the laws for you,” Kraft Viton remarked, causing Michael to smile.
“I would never request you to break the laws for me.”
While Michael and Kraft Viton discussed their future deals and the value of certain goods Michael had requested, Kaleb’s eyes flicked from the old man to Michael. They never stopped jumping from one of them to the next, but his expression worsened the more he heard.
‘Is Michael really only a few months older? How can he deal so easily with Kraft Viton, and how did he become a small – no, a major – partner of a large-scale project such as the Agriculture Project? Wasn’t that a Tier-5 Artifact earlier as well? Thousands of Blueprints…all of them looking rare and valuable… and hundreds of Artifacts. Who the hell are you, Michael? Are you really the same youth from the Golden Sun Province?’
No matter how Kaleb looked at it, it was obvious that Michael had grown a lot. From dealing with the Barbaric Couple and participating in the Saphirelake Military Academy’s exam to dealing with High Nobles, Supreme Families, and finally helping old powerhouses in Interrogating members of dark organizations and becoming a major partner of a large-scale project that could topple the power balance in the Origin Expanse, and the financial situation for the entirety of mankind.
On the other hand Kaleb did…what exactly? He manifested a powerful Soultrait and summoned a Mythical Creature as his first Summons. He expanded his territory and focused on becoming stronger. But…all of that was only possible because of his family’s support. Without the Zenovia family’s support, Kaleb wouldn’t have been able to achieve half of everything he did. His territory wouldn’t have expanded nearly as much, and without the Inheritance Technique, special tutelage revolving around Frozen Nova, and resources such as Apex Nutrition Serums and Inferior Energy Stones, Kaleb would be…a nobody.
Kaleb was happy for Michael. Michael had worked harder than everyone else. He deserved to grow rapidly and become well-known all over the human race’s territory. But that didn’t mean Kaleb could accept that Michael surpassed him in every possible aspect. He was glad that Michael was great, yet he didn’t want to see himself becoming left behind so easily.
It felt like Michael didn’t even consider him a rival…as if he was in a one-sided rivalry with Michael. Michael treated him nicely. He was the best friend Kaleb could have wished for.
But that was not enough.
‘I need to get stronger.’ Kaleb realized once again.
‘I need to use the Flag War to bridge the huge gap between us…otherwise…’
