Ch. 69 - Encountering Mage O'Neill Again

All the way to the magnificent Fenrir city gates, Paladin hadn’t seen Aberleigh’s shadow even once. Right now, Paladin was clad in a black robe. He nonchalantly passed the civilians that were coming and going as he walked straight inside this long-established city.

"Excuse me... where is the residence of the Flamel family?" Paladin asked a random passer-by modestly and politely.

"Flamel? Those noblemen who collect taxes all day long? There's a nice house straight ahead." When the passer-by heard Paladin inquire about the Flamel family, they very unhappily pointed out the way before turning their head away. Paladin deeply gazed at the passerby. It seemed that Flamel's reputation in Fenrir was worse than he had expected. However, this was all good. This way, it would be much easier to eliminate the Flamel Family.

Before entering the mansion, Paladin couldn't help but notice the vast disparity between low-ranking nobles and commoners. After gently lowering the black hood so that no one could see his face clearly, Paladin walked leisurely through the door.

"Stop! Who are you? This is the mansion of the Flamel Family!"

"Dear Sir, I have been entrusted by the noble son, Paladin, to speak with the patriarch, his father Emmet Flamel."

The middle-aged man guarding the gate let out a surprised cry as soon as these words left his mouth. He opened the door politely, greeted Paladin, and said, "So you're a missionary. Please get inside, I will go to inform Mr. Emmet right away."

The gatekeeper welcomed Paladin into the living room. Paladin sat on the couch that was covered in good wolf skin while the gatekeeper served him a cup of mellow black tea. The gatekeeper then dashed deeper into the mansion in a hurry.

Paladin inhaled the enticing fragrance and felt the soft comfort of the cushion. He couldn’t help but look at all the luxurious decorations with envy.

"From what I've read in the letter addressed to Paladin, Emmet has been sick recently. Their financial situation is also dire... and his presence is required immediately. Huh! Is this what they mean by dire?"

Paladin picked up the black tea and took a sip with distaste. His face crumpled as he abruptly turned his head and sprayed it out. The tea was very difficult to drink. Did it taste bad? No, the black tea was not only mellow, but also very sweet and soothing to the throat. It was the best black tea Paladin had ever tasted in his life. Paladin spat it out with an ugly expression because he had an instinctive rejection just now. This sensation was similar to being full, so he had a sense of resistance to eat more.

Paladin hadn't figured out what it was just now, but there was no time for him to ponder about all this.

"Cough, cough, Mr. Preacher, have you seen my son?"

Paladin slowly raised his head when he heard the weak voice. He saw two women, a mother and her daughter, supporting a kind man whose hair was turning white as he walked slowly over to the living room.

"Huh? Does Mr. Preacher dislike the black tea?"

After walking into the room, the pretty middle-aged woman who was supporting Emmet from his left frowned immediately when she saw the black tea that Paladin spat on the ground. There was a little discomfort in her tone. She was most likely Aaron Flamel from the letter, Paladin's mother. But it was understandable. They, nobles, received him as a missionary. However, he spat out the black tea inside her house. His action was really rude and uncultured.

"Hmph, why are you like this?! We kindly gave you, a commoner, a black tea but you spit it on the ground!" said the girl on the right who was wearing a corset dress. Seeing the state of the room, she immediately scolded him, as she didn’t have much social experience. This person was Paladin's sister. However, Paladin didn't care about these two. He simply ignored Emmet's eyes that were glaring at the two beside him. He quietly looked around. After confirming that there was no potential danger around, Paladin stood up while his left hand rested on his right hand, ready to erase these potential threats at any time.

"Mr. Emmet, who is this?"

Just as Paladin was about to make a move, four mercenaries suddenly walked in from behind them. When the leading warrior, who wore a shield and a sword around his waist, saw Paladin, he immediately asked. After a quick glance to the back, Paladin immediately lamented how small the world was.

These four people were the four mercenaries who escorted him when he went to Nurba a few months ago. Orkney, a warrior who had only twenty elements, someone that seemed to be a magic swordsman. Liriel, the archer, and her fiancé, the assassin. Paladin didn't pay attention to them; instead, he focused on the team's soul. The magician, O'Neill! At the moment, the well-informed Paladin noticed the ring on O'Neill's finger at a glance. It was clearly the symbol of the strongest mage society, Hellitt of the Forest of Towers!

When Emmet saw the mercenaries, he immediately broke the embarrassing atmosphere caused by the black tea by smiling and talking to O'Neill.

"Hahaha. Your Excellency Master O'Neill, this missionary is sent by my son to deliver a message." After that, he turned his head and smiled at Paladin before continuing, "These four are the warriors who escorted my son to Nurba! The other day, when my wife sent a letter, I asked them to escort my son home again for a family reunion," Emmet said with great enthusiasm.

But then, O'Neill suddenly frowned. The preacher in front of him, whom he should’ve hadn’t met before, gave him a sense of déjà vu. And it didn't feel good at all.

"Brother, what's the matter?" Orkney noticed O'Neill's strangeness and immediately muttered. However, O'Neill, who was observing the preacher keenly, saw a strange smile formed on the preacher’s exposed chin. Suddenly, a strong sense of danger spread throughout his whole body. O'Neill immediately took a step back and whispered to Orkney in a very serious manner, "Wait and protect me. Perhaps, there will be a battle soon."

"Ah?" Before Orkney could react, Emmet, who felt a little uncomfortable seeing Paladin wearing a hood all the time, asked, "Mr. Preacher, we’re protected from the scorching sun here. Why don't you take the hood off? Have I asked for your name yet?"

"Oh, is that so?"

Paladin's smile grew more terrifying and he abruptly removed the hood, revealing that black hair and ordinary face. He smiled and said to Emmet, "Paladin is too lonely there, I hope you can go to see him."

"That's good, we can leave today." Paladin's mother, Aaron said so happily. However, Paladin’s younger sister didn't like this missionary very much. She was clever, thus she noticed the expression of the mercenaries’ leader, the mysterious and quiet magician who was looking at the missionary’s extremely ordinary face right now. He looked taken aback, as if he just saw a ghost!

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