At Elen's residence, a young servant had just rushed in that place when she said. "Ms. Elen, the young master Luke went out to speak to the patriarch."
"Tsh, it looks like it's time for me to go out and try to avoid a bigger problem…" Elen said as she left her apartment to head towards patriarch Marvin's office.
…
"What? Did you let him take one of the copies of our only Silver-grade technique?" The middle-aged man angrily spoke as he got up from his chair and hit the table hard.
"I couldn't do anything, dad. He had completely defeated me, and one of the people who was with him was very strong. I believe that only a Spiritual King could defeat that woman." Luke said as he lowered his head in shame.
The patriarch then tried to calm down for a second and then looked at Luke in the eye and said. "Tell me about these people first. Your punishment will come later."
"I don't know much about their group, only that they are not from Stone Island. In total, 11 people seem to be led by this person who defeated me."
"Most of them are at level 40, but there is this woman, who is at level 45. Because of her, the guard Brian who was accompanying me was unable to prevent that guy from running away." Luke said, trying to hide the critical 'less' details from his father.
"And are they still here in the Old Stone?" While in a thoughtful position, Marvin asked, massaging his forehead with his fingers.
Luke then said. "Yes, they are still here in the capital. In fact, they are staying at the Hotel Olson, in the central part of the city."
"Less bad. But tell me how it all happened. Why would you want to deal with this person?"
Luke looked at his father in front of him, hesitated for a moment, and then said. "He was courting one of my women. Because of that, I couldn't help myself and ended up acting recklessly against him."
"Oh! So, this guy is that kind of scum… I understand if it were me…" Marvin was speaking when the door of his office slowly opened, and a middle-aged woman entered.
She was a mature woman, gorgeous, and with curves that could cheer anyone who saw her. And even though she already had some age marks, she was still quite graceful. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress and had short blond hair.
That was patriarch Marvin's secretary.
She then walked over to the side of the middle-aged man's chair and said. "Patriarch, the young Elen is here to see you. She says that her subject is urgent and that it has to do with the young master Luke."
When he heard this, Luke felt a chill down his spine, as if someone was arming him. 'What is it that Elen wants to talk to my father about?' He thought to himself as he felt an indescribable tension.
Marvin then replied. "Oh! It is unusual for the young Elen to come looking for me. It must be something significant. Let her in."
He wasn't worried that it would mess up his affairs with Luke. After all, taking a few more minutes to clear up this situation wouldn't make much of a difference anyway.
It didn't take long for Elen to come into the office and greet patriarch Marvin before settling into one of the chairs. She was wearing a red robe, which enhanced her high-standard appearance well.
After she settled down, Marvin took the initiative and asked with a smile on his face. "How can I help you, little Elen?"
"Hmm, actually, the subject in question must be the same as what Luke was talking to you about before I got here." Elen said without showing any change in her expression.
'Oh! Shit!' When he heard that, Luke's expression froze immediately. If someone paid attention to him now, one would probably think he was severely ill.
Elen then continued. "Perhaps the patriarch has already heard that Luke has feelings for me. But I already made it clear to him that we will never have that kind of relationship. However, he continues to chase all the men I know."
"Before, I had never done anything about it because none of those people he chased away had any greater relationship with me. They were just acquaintances. But this time, he tried to arm against an ally, so I can't allow it to continue."
As he listened to this, Marvin's brows were furrowed more and more. Of course, he already knew that his son liked the daughter of the supreme elder of the Nash family, but that was their business, and he didn't care about minor things like that.
Such a reaction was very typical in the Spiritual World. Although some people still try to use the idea of arranged marriages to form alliances, most people disapproved of this type of situation or didn't even care about it.
That was because, in the Spiritual World, sexuality was quite liberal, and people cared more about having feelings for those they were going to marry. Another reason for this reality was that arranged marriages rarely worked.
That is because, in many cases, one side always tried to act dominant.
And that created many problems that could end up inciting betrayal on one side. So, it was not uncommon to find cases where an arranged relationship ended with one side being slaughtered by the other or, at least, severely damaged.
Thus, arranged marriages were not very common in the Spiritual World. And that was even more true for a commercial house like the Nash family. Because, as a group that values stability, unpredictable situations that could arise from an agreement like that were not encouraged.
So, Marvin didn't give a damn about his son's love affair.
Marvin took a considerable look in Luke's direction and said. "Luke, you said that the person who beat you up had courted one of your women. You wouldn't be talking about little Elen, would you?"
"This…" Luke ducked his head away from his father's gaze while he couldn't answer that simple question.
"Hmph, I already said that we don't have a relationship for you to call me your woman. As for the person who fought him was a new ally that I made on my last trip. He came to Stone Island just to settle some matters with me and buy items for his region."
"Oh! So, he is now an ally... Boy, what do you have in your head?" Marvin said, disappointed, looking at the embarrassed Luke.
He then continued. "But little Elen, your new ally still took the Silver-grade cultivation technique that was with this irresponsible son of mine. I cannot allow this technique to leave the family."
Elen nodded and said. "Hmm, I didn't know that before. But he does have his justification for taking Luke's things since he was attacked without any justification. However, I think that this can be resolved diplomatically. We just need to reward Mr. Minos for the inconvenience. He's very sensible, and I'm sure we can reach an agreement."
"Okay, so I'm going to let you take care of that, little Elen. But contact me as soon as this is resolved. As for you, Luke, you will first apologize to that person and stop disrupting the lives of people who don't want to be with you. Don't be immature. You are already 18-years-old!"
"But that will not be your real punishment. Before, I would send you to the Western Empire when you turn 19-years-old so that you could get to know this world better and maybe have some good opportunities. But since you don't seem worthy of the only vacancy that our family receives from the Elemental Sect every ten years, then I will open a competition for this vacancy."
"If you want to regain that chance, then you will have to be in the top 10 in the Spiritual Tournament that will take place in the Cromwell Kingdom in a few months."
"Think about it in this like a second chance for you. If you are unable to complete this requirement, then I will give the vacancy to the member of our family who has the highest-ranking after you." Marvin said with a complex expression on his face.
That was an opportunity that the Nash family had every ten years so that it couldn't be lost on an ungrateful idiot. Thus, even if Luke were his son, he wouldn't harm his family by throwing an opportunity like this out with this young man.
To give you an idea, each member of the Nash family who used this opportunity grew better and faster. Many of them managed to reach level 50 after going to that empire and helped considerably in the development of the family.
"I understand…" Luke said as he deeply regretted it. 'Shit! I truly screwed up. Now I'm going to have to participate in this competition, instead of doing my business…'
He couldn't miss this incredible opportunity to go to the Western Empire!
That's because this was not a place like the Flaming Empire. That was an empire that could be at the top of the Central Continent!