War is coming

[James's Pov]

"That was easier than expected... but I guess it was enough to talk about the war to make his mind finally cave in. Still, I thought he would at least try a bit more before giving in to his greed."

Now sitting on a branch of one of the giant trees, I had a great view of the modern and nature-imbued city. However, up here I could also see that some of the tops of the trees had already started declining, showing the effects of the absence of the Elven Tear.

'But this means that I might have to speed things up a bit.'

I still had some unfinished matters in Aldon, the second major reason why I came here in the first place. The first reason, to see what kind of political and cultural landscape it had, was already done.

All in all, Aldon appeared to be a great place to live, much like Mensch. Equipped with all the modern necessities and complemented by its beautiful nature, there wouldn't be many people opposed to living here.

However, if one took a bit of a deeper look one could see the cracks in the façade. First of all, the economical situation didn't look all too good because of the fact that Mensch was the leading country in technology.

This meant that even though they were allied, Aldon had to pay a lot of money in order to get their hands on new technology and keep their nation modern.

Secondly, and probably most importantly, Aldon still had a very prominent hierarchy, with the elves sitting at the absolute top. Although this could be compared to how noble supremacy looked in Mensch, there was a very clear difference; Race.

For humans on earth, differentiating people based on "race" was a lot more problematic than dividing them based on economic and social status, and I had a feeling that this rang true even on Tella.

If there was one thing I had seen during my stay in this world, it was that the beastmen generally had a much lower status, and in Aldon, this was more true than ever. Reading a bit about the history of Aldon, it didn't take long to find out that beastmen used to be pretty much slaves working for the elves, and the marks of the past still existed today.

And there was no way I wouldn't use this information to my benefit in the future. However, right now, I had something else to do.

"Hmm... It's been a while, but I guess it's time to dive into some dungeons!"

****

[Jessica Turner's Pov]

"I don't understand... Isn't he partly our responsibility? Shouldn't we at least try to assist in the search for him?"

Standing in front of the principal's desk, with the man himself sitting behind it, I couldn't help but be confused by his decision. "As I said, we will not be using any resources to find James Jackson. Even if you want to believe that just because he was a student here for a couple of months, that he should somehow be our responsibility, the reality is not so. It was indeed partly our fault that Ms. Gray lost her life, and that is not something I will deny, however we are an academy, not a police station."

Before I could open my mouth again, the elderly man continued on, showing just how far he had already seen through me. "Also, please do not misunderstand. Even if I took you under my wing, that does not mean we could do the same for him. Your situations are not the same. Even if I don't hold the same convictions as the king, I will not allow any actions that oppose him to be conducted under my name."

Gritting my teeth in frustration, it wasn't that I didn't understand his point of view, but I still felt like I wanted another chance at talking to James. Even if it meant I had to capture him by force.

"Okay, I understand. Thank you for your time, principal."

Waving his hand, the normally stoic man showed the gentle smile that he only showed to me, "Jessica, please call me Frederick as always. After all, we have been through, I don't think it's right for you to address me so stiffly."

Seeing the man who had saved my life acting like a normal human, I was once again reminded why I had sworn to follow him. "I'm sorry, Frederick. I'll see you later."

"Mm."

And with that, I left the office and walked through the familiar corridors of our academy, my home and my salvation. Seeing all the young students walking around, smiling and laughing, I felt my worries slowly melt away, while at the same time reinforcing the regret I had about James.

Suddenly, a man dressed in a fluffy black coat appeared in front of me, showing me a face that I didn't want to see ever again, his light brown hair still sitting neatly on his head. "Greetings, my dear daughter. We need to talk."

Crossing my arms, I couldn't understand why Frederick had even allowed this man to come here, as there was no way he could come in here unnoticed. "What do you want, Mr. Naut? I think we have concluded our business since long ago."

"You're not going to address me as father? How tragic... Anyway, I need you to hide for a while, as you are the only heir with the Psion manual."

I had no idea where he got the confidence to say something like this all out in the open, and I also had no idea what he was talking about. "What do you mean, hide? Why should I hide, and who are you to tell me what to do?"

*DON!*

Suddenly, it felt like the whole academy started to shake and vibrate as red lightning started to surround the man in front of me. It was a display of power that shouldn't be allowed to be inhabited by a human, power that could only be compared to a god or a demon.

"-What's happening?!" "-An earthquake?!"

With the students panicking, the family head of the Juggernaut family spoke clearly, "I do not care if you are under the protection of Ainu, and I don't care what you do with your life. However, I will not allow you to question me this time. I swear to Theia herself that if you somehow manage to get yourself killed, I will personally erase any and all traces of this academy."

Thankfully, as I had the same manual as him and was already [A]-rank, I wasn't too affected, "Fine, I'll make sure not to die. Just stop using your powers, you're scaring the students."

Slowly, he stopped the release of his mana, the red lightning dissipating into the air, "Good, then our business here is concluded."

As he turned around, getting ready to take his leave, there was still a question I had that was unanswered, "But why should I suddenly hide? What's going to happen?"

Rotating his head, he let me show the pearly whites through a huge smile, "What's going to happen? That's simple, my dear daughter. War is coming, a war that will allow our family to reach new heights! You can look forward to it!"

****

[3rd Person Pov]

"So, are you ready to join our cause? I am ready to make the same deal as we did with the Juggernauts if you are willing to cooperate with us."

Yet another meeting for the king had started, this time with the representative of another hidden family in the form of a lanky old man, bald and skinny. Clad in a long black robe, he truly looked like the epitome of his name, Beur Viper.

Taking a sip of the tea that had been served in front of him before answering, he looked a bit disappointed, "Tch! Not a single drop of poison? No matter, tell me about the deal you made with that brute of a man."

With his forehead wrinkling, the king couldn't stop himself from thinking about just how abnormal the family heads of the hidden families seemed to be. "We promised them land if they help us. He also made us promise not to try and recruit the Daemons or the Hurricanes."

Scratching his chin, Mr. Viper pondered for a bit before speaking. "Hmm... Land, huh? That is not something that we are all too keen on obtaining. After all, we thrive in the shadows of the brightness that is Mensch.

How about this? Instead of land, we want parliamentary immunity. Of course, we have to negotiate to just what this entailed, but more or less we just want the freedom to move as we please."

It was a preposterous suggestion, even more so than the deal with Mr. Naut, but the king knew he didn't have the freedom to play choosers. So in the end, he just nodded his head as he couldn't do handshakes anymore.

"We have a deal."