Ch 33 - Politics (8): Finale

The corridor was very long and stretched out there were not any twists or turns of direction.

As we passed by the guards we made our way towards the first room on the floor.

The door was shut just like all the others and we passed it without concern.

I was curious to see just how impressive each room was and if they differed in any way from each other.

"What did you hand to that security guard. The red thing?" I asked.

Just hearing me speak the first word of that sentence caused the burly man to jump.

It was as if he was a spooked cat.

"Ahem," The man cleared his throat.

"Each floor has a different colored pass to allow excess. The first being white, the second being yellow, then green, blue, and finally red," He explained with a tremble in his voice.

"I assume the pass has some coding of mana forged in it to ensure that there are no duplicates," I wanted to confirm.

"Yes," The man replied.

"I have just one more question," I said as I sped up and walked beside the man rather than behind.

He looked over at me for a split second before darting his eyes back in front of him.

"Why are you scared of me?" I ask with a devilish smile appearing on my face.

The man doesn't respond as we continue to walk down the hall passing a total of three more rooms.

"Answer!" I command.

Yet the man doesn't change his pace nor give me any indication that he wishes to answer.

"Can I guess?" I ask instead.

"This is the room," The man replies as we arrive at the fifth room.

Looking down the hall I realize that we are only halfway meaning that there is a whole other five more rooms on the floor.

The man opens the door without hesitation seeming as if he wanted to get rid of me as fast as he could.

*whoosh*

Just from the entrance, I could see how grand the room was.

But before entering I whispered something just loud enough that the man could hear. He instantly stiffened as I walked into the room. But just as quickly as he did he relaxed and shut the door.

"Noah? What are you doing here?" Brandon asked.

"Julia didn't tell you?" I say as I tilt my head to look at her.

"She said that we were waiting for the most powerful person in the town to come," The fatty replied still not putting the pieces together.

"Really? You said that!" I say with a huge grin at just how much better Julia has gotten.

Happy I make my way over to the only other chair in the room.

I sit at the head of the table.

Julia to my right and the fatty to my left.

"What are you doing? You can't sit there!" The fatty says with a look of horror on his face. "The man that we are waiting for could come in at any second!"

Ignoring the fatty I raise my right leg and place my foot over my left knee while leaning back and placing my hands behind my head.

"Shall we begin?" I ask as if I was on top of the world.

"Indeed," Julia answers.

The horrified look on the big man's face slowly fades away as a look of realization appears.

"You?!" That is all that he could stutter.

"Well, who else?" I laugh.

"By the way, good job Julia for informing the front guards. It went a lot… smoother," I say as I look into her eyes and give her yet another reminder of who the apex is.

This interaction gave enough time for Brandon to come to his senses.

So looking over at him he answers, "Let us begin!"

***

As the terribly long meeting ends and we begin to say our goodbyes the fatty abruptly stands up before doing an awkward half-bow.

The layers of fat on the man made it so fat he could not bend his whole body forward but it was pretty clear what he was attempting to do.

"I apologize for the misunderstanding at your arrival now I realize just how great it was to have you here today. I hope that our business goes on splendidly and if there is ever another point in time we could work together again," Brandon says.

"Of course," I say with a smile before exiting the room.

A moment or two later Julia follows behind me.

"I will have my hands busy for a long, long time. There shouldn't be too many mishaps but just in case take this," Julia says handing me the same device Edward and she used to share.

"It's already imprinted so if at any point you need to get in contact with me just send some mana into it and I will get your message," Julia concludes.

"Good! I have some of my own… business to attend to for the next couple of weeks. So I'll leave you to follow the plan," I say with a wave of my hand before heading towards the staircase exit.

When I get there the guard that previously escorted me was waiting.

I gave him a slight nod before he passed the red card to the security which in turn allows us to leave.

As we make our way down the stairs neither one of us speaks. And this continues as we exited the building and go down one of the back alleyways.

Once I sensed that we were alone I stopped and said, "Care to explain?"

"I am a descendent of a forgotten family, the Seers. We are just one of the many forgotten during the time of the Old Empire. People like me who have the blood of our ancestors are able to use these abilities. The Seers can see mana," The guard explains.

Magic can be seen by anyone even non-mages. It's the result of what mana creates. Whether it be flames or the wind blades that I make they all can be seen. But no matter who you are mana is invisible.

However, this man before me is saying that he can see it.