Chapter 20: Marvin’s Side and a déjà vu.

[Blackbeard Searchers]

[In the VIP room]

While the Master and maid duo had left, the other duo remained in the room.

"Sir, are you alright?"

Asked the elf, who looked a lot more expressive now.

Clearly, the discontent he was suppressing back then, exploded now.

"This time they went too far, Sir. Using magic during negotiations is clearly a breach of rules. Even if he is Young Master of world's wealthiest territory, he can't treat us like this! Sir, how about I request for-"

"Okay, that's enough, Garett!"

Marvin, who was still seated in the same place while gulping down some potions, stopped the newbie with a firm voice.

"But sir, they even injured you-"

"Garett Forman! Are you defying your Superior!!?"

The manager shouted with vigor of a seasoned knight, that finally made the elf stop, as he quietly replied.

"N-no, Sir!"

In the end, Marvin sighed as he gestured the elf to sit beside him.

After finishing the half-filled bottle of purple potion, he was drinking, and asked,

"Say Garett, what is your Magical Rank?"

"M-magical rank..?, It's D+ rank sir."

The elf got confused at the out of topic question, but answered anyways.

"I see, that's pretty good, but even with D+ rank, could you feel her presence?"

Could he feel her presence?

Of course, he could.

After all, the pressure they felt was from her aura, there was no way he couldn't feel her presence when he was pushed down by her Aura.

Just as he was about to answer, he heard the Manger say, "Don't answer without thinking, Garett. Unless you can remember the exact moment you sensed it, don't answer."

What he heard was strange, what does it mean by exact moment?, he should have felt it all along.

But he followed anyways.

He had never found himself in a disadvantage after following the Managers advice, rather his respect for the man increased each time he did.

So, even though he felt that it would be a wasted effort, he recalled the whole exchange.

From the moment he entered the room, to the moment the lady left, especially focusing on the moments when she unleashed that C+ ranked aura on them.

(A/N: Amy is A+, she only used C+ ranked aura on them.)

And the more he recalled, the more he focused, the more he shivered.

Her presence... he couldn't feel it?

He could feel her aura, he could feel her power, but the source?

…it was blank, empty, as if the person herself wasn't there.

His perception wasn't blocked, he wouldn't be shivering if it was.

But it passed through her, straight through her, without resistance without feedback, as if it just passed through air.

Unknowingly, a question rang out in his head, 'Was this something a C rank or even B rank could do?'

And along with that question, an answer which he didn't want, appeared in his head.

As if reading his mind, the middle-aged manager said, "An Archmage." in a firm tone, as if there was no room for doubt.

But that was not all he had to say,

"And she is not the only one."

Rather it was just the start.

As he pointed to a possibility that the elf hadn't even considered.

"A being who has a dozen Archmages as his subordinates, there is only one being that can do that, and you have personally experienced such a being's might, haven't you?"

-Drip.

Sweat trickled down from young elf's chin as he clenched his shivering fists.

With a face devoid of expression he whispered, "A Magus..."

As an elf, as a long-lived species, and as a magic user among them, he had naturally fought in the Unification War fifty years ago.

(A/N: This is not out of the blue, I mentioned this before.)

He was still a child back then and didn't remember much, but still a single scene was carved in his mind, a scene he still couldn't forget.

Back then, his eyes were filled with confidence as he stood straight on the battlefield, being part of one of the thousands of elf legions.

But that changed as he saw the whole world lighting up.

A curtain of light fell on the battlefield, just a few meters short of engulfing him, and the single word that followed the curtain, "Perish..."

He couldn't forget it.

He couldn't forget the moment when, thousands of legions in front of him...

... disappeared.

-Clasp

"…!"

The elf almost jumped back as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

It was miracle he didn't scream.

On the other hand, seeing expressions returning to his subordinate's face, Marvin inwardly sighed in relief as he apologized,

"Sorry for that, I shouldn't have reminded you of your trauma."

"I-it's okay, it was my fault for delving too deep even at its slightest mention... sorry."

The elf apologized as regained his wits but still, he had to ask.

"Is it confirmed? That the Count is a Magus? Wait, if he is one then why is he hiding it?"

With a shushing gesture, Marvin told his subordinate to quiet down a bit before answered whispering, "Of course, it is not confirmed, but with the hidden strength of his subordinates, and the leader specifically warning me to not offend the Count at all costs, this was the only conclusion that made sense."

"I see, so we can only follow the orders?"

"Hehehe, though you have a great acumen and are a capital successor candidate, I can see why the leader sent you here under me. Listen well, it's good to not touch the fire, but one shouldn't die shivering either, a successful businessman must always stay just close enough to not get burned by it. And sometimes getting burned a bit is okay, as long as you can reap much more benefits."

"I see." the elf nodded, pausing for a bit, still digesting his superior's words before asking, "So, do I get the info about Crazy Young Master's illness, his circumstances of sleeping and awakening, along with all the info of these three people?"

"Hah, young people these sure understand things fast, yes, yes do that. Now go, go, back to your work."

Marvin said while patting the elf's back, but if you looked closely you would see cold sweat dripping down his back, as soon as Garrett said 'Crazy Young Master'.

"Yes sir!"

Garett replied as he left, his mood had improved a lot at the thought of gathering information.

But what he didn't know was that, the manager he respected was desperately praying for him, 'Go away, just go away, my disciple.'

For the existence he dreaded...

"What do you think?"

The Manager said while looking at an empty couch.

...was in the same room as him...

The light around that couch twisted for a bit, before revealing the figure of a leisurely drinking Magus.

...and he just called his son crazy.

"Hmm, you did well, instead of diverting or refusing your disciple's thoughts you accepted them and gave him an idea of reality. This will help you keep an eye on him, keep him from doing anything stupid and reduce a lot of other risk factors. It's okay, I won't interfere as long as you make sure to keep his mouth shut, or I won't mind doing the job for you."

Marvin gulped, as he knew it wasn't an empty threat.

"Yes, yes I will do exactly that! But what about Young Master's request?, What should I do about it?"

The Magus took another sip of the high-quality wine as he said, "Just do your job well..."

"…And remember this, the next time he calls my son crazy, I will be sure to make them his last words."

The Magus said in a solemn tone, before snapping his fingers,

-Snap.

And just like that, without any flashy lights or moves he disappeared.

Leaving Marvin alone, who had an amusing thought in his mind,

'Like father like son, both are crazy! But even then both are equally interesting, especially the Young Master's behavior today. Should I actually investigate a bit...'

Of course, he quickly erased such thoughts as quickly as they appeared.

For he didn't want an angry Magus on his tail.

(A/N: For any who are confused, Rayne knows that, Marvin knows that Earl is a Magus. So don't get confused at that, and neither Rayne nor Amy know that Earl was there.)

***

After a light walk through the busy streets of Ellesmere, we entered a fancy looking restaurant to have lunch.

Originally, I wanted to go to a certain place.

A certain place that should have a certain someone working in it.

But then I changed my mind, the reason for that...

...well, I was holding her hand.

Yep, Amy.

The place where this certain guy worked was a restaurant, yes, but it was, let's say, for rough guys...

Taking a girl to have lunch there, would be a disastrous idea.

And I'm pretty sure Amy won't be pleased to have lunch there too.

So, I decided to change our destination.

We walked in the direction the tavern was located, while I kept an eye open for any less crowded but fancy restaurant, after all money wasn't a problem here.

And with so many restaurants open here, I was bound to find one such restaurant, which I did.

[Summer's Taste]

Maybe it was winter that's why it wasn't as busy?

I joked with myself and perhaps with Amy too, as I heard her laughing while we entered.

After taking a cozy corner table, I checked the menu.

It mentioned quite a lot of good things, but as a steak lover I immediately ordered the 'Summer Special Steak' while Amy told me order for her.

Though this task had me in a bind for a good few minutes, I just decided to go for my other favorites, 'Earth Wyvern Fillet Steak in Sun Mushroom sauce' along with some tasty sounding side dishes.

After all, who doesn't like fillet steak?

Especially when money is not a problem?

That was one of the priciest things in the menu, by the ways.

Amy had a bit of wry smile when she heard me order that, but well, you were the one who made me choose, so bear the responsibility, I thought.

And with that we had our lunch, a peaceful lunch while have some small talks here and there.

And yes, the steak was good, and from the looks of it, Amy liked hers too.

But, as much as I enjoyed the lunch and wanted it to last, it ended with a dessert.

A dessert that I had Amy choose, partly as a small revenge and partly cause I had no clue what to choose.

Well, it's not much of a revenge, I thought after seeing Amy order dessert with a big smile on her face.

So, after eating a colorful parfait filled with unknown things, I finally said.

"That's it for the lunch, I guess?"

"Looks like it, Young Master."

"Yeah, looks like it..."

I replied, as I marked this lunch as one of the best moments of my life till now.

That was nice, I thought, as I paid the bill gave a generous tip and finally left the establishment.

***

[Ellesmere, Late afternoon]

We wasted quite a lot of time with our lunch, so to reach our destination before evening we took a city carriage.

And though it was called carriage, it was more like a train.

After using our fake IDs to make our ticket payments, we boarded it and just waited.

The train was surprisingly comfortable, there was no shaking or bumps, even though the exterior was made of wood.

The unblemished wooden body instead, gave it a sleek look that couldn't be found in modern trains, unknowingly making it look premium.

But that was that, I didn't observe the train much, rather I was wondering what I should do next.

The certain someone I wanted to check on definitely needed help, but that made me wonder, should I help him?

Personally, I wanted to.

I wasn't a heartless person who won't want to help a kid, but I had to consider many things.

The most important of them being, will he grow into the same Master Alchemist he was supposed to, if I took him in?

Or something different will happen?

After all, if he grew into a good for nothing brat, then I'd rather have him suffer and become someone useful for this world, instead of taking him in.

But I couldn't wonder for long as Amy who was sitting beside me asked, 'You look troubled Young Master, is there anything I can help you with?'

'No, no, it's nothing you have to worry about, rather there is something I always wanted to ask you.'

'Oh, what is it Young Master, ask me I will try my best to answer it?'

'Umm, you won't get angry?'

Hearing that Amy leaned in closer, as instead of talking telepathically, she whispered in my ear,

"I won't be angry even if you ask me my three sizes, Young Master~"

"That is, only if you dare to though~"

Before setting down on her seat with a smile on her face.

Unknowingly a smirk, appeared on my face as I thought, 'I don't need to ask you that, hehe, after all I already know them.'

I gave myself a mental pat on my back for remembering that, as I finally asked my question,

"Say Amy, how old are you-owwww"

Before I could finish, I felt my forehead throbbing in pain as I couldn't help but cry out.

Though I felt a distinct sense of déjà vu, I still asked in indignation, "You said that you won't get-"

"I will flick your forehead again, if you finish that sentence!"

But Amy cut me off urgently.

After a few seconds though, I heard her sigh, as she said, "I can't even get angry at this point, but still Young Master, I pity the girl who will love you."

After giving me one final pitying look Amy sank in her seat and closed her eyes, ignoring any and all of my attempts to talk to her.

Seeing her like that, I wondered if it was still embarrassing for a being who lived for hundreds of years to reveal their age.

In the novel, I had written that Amy was hundreds of years old but hadn't specified her age, so I was genuinely curious.

And what did she mean that she pities my lover!!

Of course, I have enough sense to not ask a normal girl that.

But the fact was that she wasn't a normal girl, so I tried to asking anyways.

Who knew she could be unusually girly here?

I continued to complain about that in my mind...

...until I felt the train slowing down.

Apparently, we had reached our stop.