Chapter 1208 An Impromptu Meeting (3)
Chapter 1208 An Impromptu Meeting (3)
'…Ah.'
Noticing the frown that appeared on the man's face, as well as the hostile intent the man was faintly giving off, Valyr knew that his eagerness to finally clear a long-unfinished quest had caused the situation to turn awry.
Briefly glancing at Braum beside him, the young man noticed that a hint of panic on his face, asking him with his expression on how he was going to salvage the situation he'd caused.
In response, Valyr briefly gave the man a look of reassurance, signaling through his gaze that he shouldn't worry and that he'd be able to steer the conversation back to where it was supposed to be.
Returning his gaze back to Sullivan after that, the young man took in a deep breath as he briefly closed his eyes.
Feeling the hostile intent coming from the man gradually intensify over time, the young man soon let out a soft exhale as he looked back at him with a slightly bitter smile.
"Why the need to be hostile?" asked Valyr, immediately causing the hostile intent Sullivan was letting out to stop. "Were you under the impression that I was asking you such a question to intimidate you?"
"Were you not?" asked Sullivan back as he let out a bit of hostile intent once more.
"Why would I?" replied Valyr with a shake of his head, letting out a sigh as he looked at the man with a bit of disappointment. "I merely asked you the question because I was curious, not because I did so out of other reasons."
"You could ask Braum beside me if you want to make sure," he continued, pointing at the man beside him. "He'll tell you that you're the first faction I've approached out of my own accord."
"Then again, I have no reason to talk with the rebel faction after what they did to me."
"…Is that true?" Giving himself some time to collect his thoughts, Sullivan donned a calm expression as he looked at Braum for answers. "Am I… are we the first faction from the clan he approached?"
"Yes." Braum nodded as he began to expound upon the things Valyr mentioned in the words he uttered earlier.
Of course, while doing so, he also began to wonder what the young man was planning exactly. After all, information like the ambush from the Zeihardt clan's rebel faction was basically showing the supportive clan a vulnerability they could exploit.
However, as Valyr decided to show trust towards him, it only made sense for him to reciprocate the trust given.
"The rebel faction…" By the time Braum was finished explaining what Valyr meant to the man, Sullivan's expression immediately turned grim.
"They really thought they'd get away with that?"
Whoosh!
Letting the anger he felt consume him, the man radiated a palpable killing intent that made Valyr raise his eyebrows in slight interest.
'It seems… there's more to him than what Braum told me,' thought the young man to himself, feeling that Sullivan was only showing him one side of who he really was.
After all, the killing intent he gave off was only possible if one had carved out their path to power through slaughter.
"Huu…" Feeling a pair of strong auras push on his body the moment he was about to let his anger consume him further, Sullivan quickly realized what he was doing and hastily suppressed it, taking in a few deep breaths to compose himself in the process.
"…Sorry." After that, he gave both Braum and Valyr an apology, as well as a few words of gratitude for bringing him out of that state. "I let my anger get the better of me."
"No need to apologize." Valyr nodded in understanding. "Even I can't help but be angry when I think about what they did."
"Anyways, if you don't feel like telling me the usual whereabouts of the rebel faction's leader, then there's no need to," he added. "Think of it as just a question in passing."
"There really isn't any reason for me to withhold such information from you," replied Sullivan as he shook his head. "He's also usually found within the clan estate. Though, in his case, he does so out of fear of his actions being caught." n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
"And it seems that I now understand why."
Ding!
Hearing a series of notifications go off in his mind after that, Valyr inwardly felt ecstatic as he was finally able to make progress on a quest that was incomplete for a long time.
Briefly glancing at Braum beside him, the young man faintly smiled after seeing the look of shock that appeared on the man's face.
Giving him an expression that more or less said 'I told you so', the young man inwardly let out a sigh of relief as he began to tackle their conversation the way he initially intended.
"Mind if I ask one more question?" As these words left his mouth, Valyr looked at Sullivan with a slightly apologetic expression. "I'll let you ask the same number of questions I have in return."
"I don't mind." Fortunately, with the goodwill Valyr had shown through his words earlier, Sullivan was amenable to the idea. "…I presume it's not yet another question on a certain person's whereabouts, no?"
"It's not." Valyr let out a slight chuckle, only for his expression to turn serious after that. "Instead, I wanted to ask you."
"Which faction did the Nicholas clan approach in the Zeihardt clan?"
"Both factions," replied the man after some time, faintly pondering over the words he planned on saying. "One day, they brought an envoy from their clan to the Zeihardt Royal Clan estate in Algerie Kingdom, stating that they knew of your whereabouts."
"At that point, we were pondering whether or not to give up searching for you, considering how your tracks have eluded us all this time," he continued, looking at Braum with a knowing glance.
Receiving a knowing smile from Braum in return, Sullivan added, "In the end, the Nicholas clan's appearance made us thought of giving it one last shot after finally giving up for good."
"We just didn't expect that the information they gave us would prove to be more effective than we thought." At these words, he looked at the young man.
"Do you know why they decided to share that information with you?" asked Valyr after that, his curiosity on n the Nicholas clan's reasons gnawing at him.
"They didn't really say why, no." Sullivan shook his head. "All the envoy told us at the time was that their mission would be fulfilled as long as they had a chance to meet with you."
"Meet with me?" Hearing those words, Valyr had a slight frown on his face as he briefly thought back to the train of thought he had on the topic back then.
'Were my previous thoughts true? Is the Nicholas clan not doing it for the reward?'
'Wait… Is the Nicholas clan moving with Edward in mind?'
In the end, Valyr let out a sigh, getting the feeling that there was only a thin veil stopping him from finding out the actual reason the Nicholas clan made a move.
Though, with no idea how he'd be able to pierce that veil, the young man eventually pushed the thought aside for the meantime.
"My apologies," said Valyr to Sullivan with a slightly wry smile. "I was pondering over the things you've told me. Feel free to ask your questions now."
"If you don't mind." Sullivan nodded in response, contemplating in silence for a bit as he wondered what the best question to ask first would be.
"Well, I guess it's only right that I should start with simple questions."
"Would it be possible for you to tell me where you've been before this meeting of ours?"
"What do you mean by that?" Valyr raised his eyebrow in slight confusion. "Like… where I actually was before this?"
"No, not that." Realizing that his question was misinterpreted, Sullivan quickly clarified himself. "What I meant to say was… where did you usually stay before you held this meeting? Surely this village here is just a temporary venue, no?"
"Well, I do plan on staying in this village for the meantime," replied Valyr, causing Sullivan to look back at him in slight surprise. "But that's probably not the answer you're looking for."
"Algerie Kingdom."
"…Huh?"
"Before coming here, I was at the kingdom."