Lorenzo

The guards accompanying Felix looked curious about him, but since they said nothing, he decided to remain silent as well as they walked up the street.

Felix still didn't know about the Runesmith Guild, but the Teleportation Array was in the main street, so it stood to reason that the rest of the important buildings would also be here.

As for the Teleportation Array, it wasn't outdoors, but instead inside a large building. It was guarded by another squad of guards, who looked surprised at their arrival.

However, they seemed to know what his title was as Felix noticed their eyes linger on his ID, before he was let in, this time escorted by another guard.

Much like the grand building Felix guessed was the Royal Palace, this place was very well organized, systematized even. Not that it was under the almighty System's influence, but rather that it was neatly organized, symmetrical, and nothing was left to individual genius.

Yet, at the same time, it was different, holding a sense of the ancient within it. Although not as apparent, it held traces of the roman architecture, with a rampart like disposition, withholding the most important piece in the center, the Teleportation Array.

Unfortunately, Felix didn't get to see it, as he was instead brought to the top floor, in front of a room that looked all the other rooms at this floor, or in the building, for that matters. At least, that is what Felix could see from the door.

However, at the end of the corridor, Felix could see one door, set apart from the others. It had golden rims, and carved into its dark wood were bold Runes.

Sadly, before he could gleam into the function of the Enchantment set onto the door, one of the guards knocked on the door, which was shortly followed by a muffled voice coming from inside, "Come in!"

As the guard opened the door, Felix took a decisive step inside, looking around the room. Just as he had expected, the room itself had been built the exact same way as the rest of the rooms Felix had seen.

Practically every room on this side of the building was built the same size, except for those in the corners, which were slightly bigger.

The room was given personality by its inhabitant however. The walls, instead of the bland grey stone, not only were painted to an azure blue, but were also decorated. In particular, on the left wall was a large painting of a man's back, as he looked at the sea.

It wasn't all though as on both sides of it were skulls of creatures Felix didn't recognize, but they had an elongated skull, with a set of sharp teeth and a long horn slightly above the eye level. It looked quite intimidating, especially considering the skulls alone were half as large as the man before them.

The man himself was leaning against a table, using his hands as support as he slightly leaned forward, his face hidden by the angle. Felix could see however that he had olive skin, which was something he immediately picked up because he was the first Felix saw.

People in Margarita, as far as Felix had seen, were generally fair-skinned, with tans of different intensities. Felix did notice that the people living in Fìrma, especially, had a darker complexion, probably because they lived in the middle of a small rocky desert, but even then they could only be called tanned, at best. Not olive skinned.

The man had slick black hair, combed back, but still showing his ears, adorned by a seahorse-shaped earring. His physique actually bore some resemblance, to Felix, being a tall and relatively lanky individual, although Felix had surprisingly bulked up a little since he started playing.

It was nothing absurd, but still enough for him to notice.

The man was dressed in light clothing, wearing a white cotton shirt, which had slightly yellowed with time, and brown pants, reaching all the way down to leathery boots. He also wore a cape, but it did not make him look goofy. Instead, it brought an unexpected charm in the man.

[Lorenzo Pelici, ?, Overlord]

All of those were what he picked up with his eyes however, as he picked up something else before that. With his Mana Sense.

Standing there, the man, Lorenzo, looked harmless, but Felix could feel that he was standing before an absolute monster. He was the strongest NPC Felix had ever felt, and by quite a large margin.

Of course, Felix didn't know how strong Vaena exactly was, as he still hadn't evolved his Meditation Skill when he met her, but that did not make the man any less impressive.

However, as strong as he was, Lorenzo kept all of his Mana in as he stood there like an ordinary man, allowing Felix and the two guards to stand in his presence without being pressured by him.

Not even looking in their direction, Lorenzo asked, "What is it?"

One of the guards replied, "My Lord, an important guest is here to see you."

Lorenzo was not very responsive, however, "I don't have the time to entertain a curious noble."

"My Lord, I must insist. This is…"

He did not get to finish though as Lorenzo practically growled, "Allfather Sven, you better have brought the King of the North to explain to me why they cut all connections with us or I'll-"

He abruptly stopped his rant however as he turned around, and looked at the three men. Despite his words, he had an easy-going face, and was probably a charmer. His eyebrows were thin and high, his cheekbones pronounced and his nose thin.

The black beads adorning his face wandered about the three as he spoke, but when they moved up, they froze, and so did his voice.

There was a second of silence, before Lorenzo faked a cough, straightened himself, and extended his hand, a charming smile now spreading his lips apart.

"What a wonderful surprise to meet you, Runefather Odin! I am honored to make your acquaintance."

Felix never liked it when people addressed him over-politely, especially when adults did it when he was kid. People sucking up to him for merits that were not even his own to begin with never sat well with him.

However, not only had Felix achieved the title of Runefather by himself, he could also tell that Lorenzo wasn't kissing ass. Instead, he seemed genuinely respectful.

So Felix took his hand, shaking it firmly, "The pleasure is mine, Mister Pelici."

Being slightly taller than Felix, Lorenzo had even slightly bent his back, not enough to really be noticed, but enough to stand at Felix's level as he said, "Please, call me Lorenzo. All my friends do."

"Then call me Odin."

Lorenzo nodded, before looking at the two guards, "We will be fine, you should return to your station."

The two saluted, in the same way as the guards in Fìrma did, and left the room, closing the door behind them.

Meanwhile, Lorenzo showed Felix to a seat, before sitting himself, and saying, "I must say, I certainly wasn't expecting a venerable Runefather to visit me today. Nor that he would be an Otherworlder."

"Life is full of surprises, isn't it?"

Lorenzo laughed, "It certainly is. Though I wonder, what brought you to this humble one's door?"

Felix's smile receded as he went over his problem, "I was brought here against my will, and as you may have seen, my Level is far from enough to leave here. Not to mention I wouldn't manage to come back to Fìrma, my original location, fast enough. Then I heard about the Teleportation Gate, and thought I might be able to offer my help, and get to use it in return."

Lorenzo looked quite surprised by the story, and commented, "Seeing your garb, I guess you died. I have not personally studied the reincarnation you Otherworlders get to experience, but it does seem very unusual for you to be revived all the way here. Unless I am wrong?"

Not feeling any shame at it, Felix shook his head, "You're not. I was killed, and ended up in the Church of Astara, near the Cathedral."

This made Lorenzo chuckle, "Ah, the Cathedral. Always found it a little bit too dramatic. Beautiful, of course, but everytime I see it I feel like the Gods are gazing down on me."

"I personally would rather not be the target of their gaze."

"A most wise decision my friend."

Felix smiled politely, before asking, "You still haven't said anything about my employment, however. If it is not possible, don't hesitate to tell me so. I can handle a rejection."

Lorenzo looked nostalgic for a moment as he replied, "I'm not that good at it," before his face turned a little hesitant, "as for your employment, even as the Vice-Guild Master of Nacre's Runesmith Guild, I cannot easily bring in someone new, even a Runefather. After all, this project is a highly sensitive one, especially since we still haven't found the culprits."

Understanding he was getting rejected without Lorenzo actually saying it, Felix made a slight nod as he prepared to get up.

Lorenzo, however, had a teasing look on his face, or maybe it was his normal expression, as he added, "However, I do know who could get you in."

Felix stopped himself, narrowing his eyes at Lorenzo, who tried to look innocent, but his face wasn't shaped to make such an expression.

Chuckling, Lorenzo got up, "Follow me my friend, it is only next door."

His thoughts immediately heading to the special door, Felix happily got up. However, as he followed Lorenzo, he was disappointed to discover that they were headed for another mundane door.

Lorenzo did, however, notice his gaze.

"It catches the eye, doesn't it?"

"It does. What's behind it?"

"No big secret, I am afraid, only the office of my superior. Quite the mysterious figure, I must say, but she is very competent."

As they walked away and took a turn, the door disappeared from sight, and Felix questioned, "Could you define competent?"

"She rarely appears, but she is a bona fide Grandmaster Runesmith. The only one within the Guild. Ah, but don't look down on her because she isn't a Legend, those are not only few and far between, our Guild Leader is also very young."

This sparked a memory in Felix, of one of his conversations with Chris, as he asked, "Is she the youngest Grandmaster Runesmith, the 43 years old one?"

Lorenzo grinned, and shook his head, "She is not. I heard she was an acquaintance of the Queen, before she even took the Kingdom back, and she took the head of the Runesmith Guild mere weeks after the March of the Queen. And she was already a Grandmaster back then. That 43 years old Grandmaster only appeared 11 years ago, if I remember right."

Tilting his head, Felix asked, "How is she young then? If twenty years passed since she arrived, even if she had just become a Grandmaster and was the previous holder of the title at 44 years old, she would be 64 today. I wouldn't call that very young."

Lorenzo, however, looked almost confused as he said, "64 might be a little beyond very young, but it's not that old, especially for a Grandmaster of any craft. When you can live up to several hundred years, anything below the first century is still somewhat young."

Realizing he had been using his own world's standards, Felix decided to quickly elude the mistake as he argued, "Still, 64 is not very young. And that's bare minimum."

Lorenzo did not answer his question right away, "It is quite refreshing to speak to an Otherworlder. It's like speaking to a child, who knows nothing about the world, yet is mature enough to hold a conversation."

He quickly followed, "As for the Guild Mistress, there is one factor you did not take into account. That record holder you spoke of, while very talented, he is only the public record holder. In reality, while getting certified at the Runesmith Headquarters in the Empire doesn't require much information from you, if you want to use their influence then you need to give a great deal of detail. They can't just have someone hiding their face and altering their voices pretend to be 20 and steal every record, can they?"