41 Chapter 41 – Unintended Opportunities 2

Asher's body was so muscular that it could not be seen as an average 18-year-old's body. It wasn't overly bloated to the point of being disgusting or huge, but the muscles were developed in every area of the body down to the most minute of details and to every small and miniscule muscle being worked out an even amount as the others.

It was literally an ideal body in every sense of the word. Asher pressed his arm muscle, he felt a firm and elastic stretchiness to his body..

"It's also just for training, you do realize that."

"That's still a little too much."

Even In his previous life, he did not gain this much muscle mass. No. it was about the same, but it was not nearly as evenly distributed and was more bulky back then. However, Asher's body had never been toned with only a year of training back then. His body had taken years of work to get to where it was back then, and yet he had reached a more 'ideal and perfect' state if you will.

'Is it because of this strange power?'

It was definitely not aura. It looked similar, and had similar effects in terms of power to some degree. But… it was far more destructive and transcended human reason at the expense of mere stamina. It was a ridiculous power in reality. The only reason Asher saw it as ridiculous, was because even if he fought against swordmasters with this power, he felt like he could definitely defeat them with it in his prime.

"Oh, come to think of it, I'll definitely get the answer out of you this time."

Reika suddenly pressed her face closer to Asher's with a straight face. It came close enough for them to feel each other's warm breath. Asher slightly took a step back in embarrassment.

"What…"

"Half a year ago. What did you do to my brother?"

"Ah."

Asher smiled awkwardly. Reika frowned.

"Don't try to brush it off again. What the hell did you do to make him so calm all of a sudden?"

When Asher left to meet Luke, Reika couldn't calm down that night. She knew what was going to happen. No. She thought she did. However, the next day Luke and Asher returned, Luke was quiet. No.. not just quiet.

He didn't even go outside. He was either stuck in his castle and studied, or he was stuck in his room like a dead rat. Then, whenever he saw Asher from time to time, he ran away scared like a prey in front of it's natural predator.

Her parents and the other employees of the estate had smiled at this development and thought Luke had finally come to his senses, but Reika knew it wasn't like that.

Luke was afraid of Asher. To the point where Luke was frightened to be even seen by Asher.

"It's not bad though. For both you and for all of the Halvark Territory residents"

"What about you?"

"Do I have to pay attention to that?"

Asher said with a gentle smile. The smile made Reika flinch.

"If I hadn't talked to him, he'd definitely be more aggressive. Then one of us would be dead. Isn't this for the best?"

"...."

Reika bit her lips. She wanted to refute it, but there were no proper words that could come out of her mouth.

"I can't make a world where everyone is happy."

That was the work of heroes. And Asher was no hero. Discarding the useless thoughts he had, he turned around and spoke.

"How's the land these days? Is everything going well for you?"

"Well."

Reika frowned slightly.

"Something's wrong with my parents."

***

"Is Luke still here today?"

"Yes."

Charon nodded at Lord Halvark's question. Lord Halvark sighed.

"I can't believe he hasn't been outside for over half a year."

Luke changed about half a year ago. After the incident with Asher, he had locked himself in a room and didn't come out. He even had all his meals in his room.

But Lord Halvark didn't give a shit about Luke.

"I never would have thought it was Motorola."

The Lord was also the village administrator. He already knew that something had entered his estate without permission. He had just been leaving them alone because he didn't know who they were or what their intentions were at first.

But it was terrible. It was the Motorola Guild of Assassins. They were every Lord's worst nightmare to have entered into a territory. Lord Halvark rubbed his temples lightly

"Luke, that fucking idiot."

"If he did something wrong, the whole estate would have been in danger."

"Thinking about it, I'm sure it's okay since it looks like he's found a sense of self-reflection. He's going to be the Lord one day, anyways. He will have to go through things like this or even worse someday, right? "

Lord Halvark glanced at Charon.

"Have you ever fought with Motorola?", Lord Halvark asked Charon with an inquisitive look.

"I did a long time ago when I was journeying the continent."

"How was it?"

"…they were anomalous, dangerous and radical people. The villages and areas where they settled collapsed because of their influence dirtying the overall population and atmosphere."

Lord Halvark smiled bitterly at Charon's words. If it had not been solved and nipped in the bud quickly, the Halvark Estate could have ended up the same way.

"I must thank Asher."

"…what the hell is he really?"

"Even I don't know sometimes, Charon."

Asher had changed too suddenly. His personality, his moral values, his sword skills. Except for his appearance, it was safe to call him someone entirely different.

Besides, not any normal person could kill over 10 Motorola assassins on their own. Both Lord Halvark and Charon both knew how difficult of a task that would be. It was… too peculiar.

"Hm… I don't know either."

Charon murmured.

"No matter how much the Swordmaster had taught him…. It's just not something I can fathom."

"I feel the same way too."

Lord Halvark didn't trust Asher just yet either.

"…It's too radical. Hm…It's definitely as if… he's someone else."

Charon lifted his head slightly at Lord Halvark's strange murmur.

"Do you think he's a demon spawn?"

"No, it doesn't make sense… but I suppose I can't exactly still rule it out completely."

"The Swordmaster denied it himself though."

Charon was a top-notch knight and a very devoted swordsman. To him, Van Ester was a legendary hero. It was impossible for Van Ester to be wrong in his eyes.

But Lord Halvark was an aristocrat, an administrator and fought on political battlefields, not real ones.

"Swordmasters are human beings as well. It's not like they would know everything, no matter how great their glory is, there are definitely some things that even they will acknowledge, they don't know."

Lord Halvark laughed out loud.

"Could you believe that Asher was reincarnated?"

"...."

Charon was silent. They both knew the kind of person Asher was from the past. Therefore, he couldn't possibly trust the current Asher.

"I mean it's just a light joke. But.. I still don't understand just what his goals are."

Lord Halvark stroked his chin. Charon opened her mouth after much deliberation.

"I don't think he's hostile to us at the very least."

"Yes, there have been many opportunities to strike at us in the back, but he didn't move to harm us at all, and rather…they helped us. So we'll need some kind of… opportunity persay, to be sure. And it just so happens that I have that very opportunity."

"What do you mean… ? Oh!"

Charon burst into exclamation. Lord Halvark spoke with a pensive expression, furrowing his brows.

"It's an unintended opportunity for certain.", Charon added.

'…I mean it's a strategy if anything.'

Lord Halvark was silent as he thought of what he had in mind, positively.