Glenn crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, putting his feet on the table separating him from Sir Reginald. The gentlemanly Cleaner looked exhausted, his mustache disheveled and his clothes rumpled. Nevertheless, Glenn needed to obtain the information he had come for; Reginald's background.
And he was going to get it.
Reginald sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly, before moistening his lips.
"...I can guess the reason for this meeting, Fixer Glenn, but I would still like to hear it," He politely requested.
Glenn inspired, taking a moment to calm his emotions, "...I want to know the truth about Redan. Who he was, who were his detractors, and the reason he was practically banned from King's Rise."
Sir Reginald looked to the side and pressed his forehead, recalling events he never managed to forget truly.
"Where should I begin...?" The Cleaner shook his head with a hint of sadness, "...I'd have preferred if Sir Redan would have told you, but it is too late to hope for that, sadly."
Glenn changed position and sat correctly, adjusting his black leather gloves simultaneously. He stared at Reginald, ready to hear the story of the legendary Ice Wolf. Reginald cleared his throat and began.
"Sir Redan was...at some point, my superior, as you might remember. I worked under him for most of my life in the Wolves Order, a military unit specialized in guerilla warfare, black ops, and assassination." Reginald played with his mustache with one hand, while pouring himself a cup of tea with the other.
"The Ice Wolf—well, he wasn't called that until the later part of his career—was a legend. One of the rare men who was able to wield both Aura and Mana and the one who managed to put a stop to the raids from Vulshai..." Reginald quenched his thirst, noticing Glenn's frown at the latter name, and added, "Vulshai is a country north of the Munirp Kingdom. It's a lawless country, ruled by countless clans that fight each other now and then. The Holy Land of the Brotherhood of Iron Blood is situated in the heart of Vulshai, fostering powerful fighters who can change the course of wars."
The young man leaned forward, listening attentively.
'Vulshai...sounds like some kind of wildlands where the strong strives and the weakest grovels...' Diamanes commented with interest. Reginald, oblivious to the entity's thoughts, continued.
"Back then, Munirp was threatened on all sides; the Pheonix of Valantor bringing his fleet of powerful warriors over the Blue Wound to conquer us, the unnamed Lich that tried to breach the Black Wall to the east, and a sudden rise of monsters in the western part of the country. The Kingdom's resources and experts were spread thin during what is named rather simplistically the War of the Four Fronts." Reginald shook his head and he smirked slightly, his mustache bouncing.
"I was only a kid and just enrolled in the Watchers, the military force protecting King's Rise's outer walls. The War of the Four Fronts gave birth to a few legends: Duke Noir, Exan the Omniscient, Harriet the King's Blade, and last but not least, Redan the Ice Wolf."
Glenn's eyes widened slightly and he asked, "When was the War of the Four Fronts?"
Reginald frowned for a moment, before replying,"...It feels like yesterday, but it's already been ninety years."
The young man almost gasped but restrained himself. Ninety years ago! Glenn already knew that high-level individuals lived longer than others, but it was still hard to look at the fifty-something-looking gentleman in front of him and think that he was alive almost a century ago. And Redan was even older than that, then? As was Exan too! How old was he when he earned this moniker of Exan the Omniscient? Glenn was flabbergasted, and that much showed on his face.
Sir Reginald chuckled and gave himself a refill of tea. "I know I don't look old, but I am, I suppose. To continue where I left off, Sir Redan led the Wolves' Order to fight the raiders from Vulshai and did it masterfully. Their first raid was countered with perfection, with barely any losses for the Order but a few dozen thousand on the raiders' side. I was sent to the Order between the second and third raids."
"We were outnumbered a hundred to one, but numbers did not matter in front of overwhelming power. Everyone in the Wolves Order was at least at the third rank, and at most at the sixth. Sir Redan was a Fourth-Circle user as he was recently, but his masterful combination of Aura and Mana made him as powerful as an Archmagi or an Aura Saint. And since the most powerful raiders sent to fight us were at most at the third rank..." Reginald chuckled and dropped a cube of sugar in his cup. "...It was a veritable slaughter. Our Front wasn't as dangerous as the other three, for there were practically no experts fighting for the enemy's side."
Glenn rubbed his chin, struggling to grasp Redan's strength at his prime. Also, how could the old man lose against Laurance and let himself be abducted, if he was that strong?
'Don't forget that this was Redan at his prime,' Diamanes reminded him, '...The old man was strong back when you first met him, but certainly not as strong as what Reginald is saying. I think age got Redan worse than you might think.'
The young man nodded slowly. Still, it felt like he was missing a piece of the puzzle, but he wasn't sure which... Reginald used a small silver spoon to stir his tea, before bringing the cup to his lips.
"Anyway, we pushed Vulshai back and came back to King's Rise as heroes. Those were the good times..." The gentleman smiled until that smile faded away to leave the place to a darker expression.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"...And as all good things, they came to an end. One day, the Commodore disappeared, without saying a word to us. A week later, we learned from an official Royal messenger that Redan was suspected of a crime of the highest treason, but had been pardoned for respect for the achievements in war he brought to the Kingdom of Munirp. He was relegated to the post of Commander of the Watchers of the Northern Gate, and then also kicked out of this post. The Court had decided to ban Sir Redan from the city, for his life was too precious but his existence too much of a bother. They wanted him far away, and so they banned him."
Glenn frowned. The Court? Wasn't that the highest Circle of King's Rise, just below the Royal Tower? Reginald was probably speaking of the nobles who lived there...like Exan, or Milena and Prince's parents... But why would they want Redan gone? Did the old man look into something he shouldn't have?
...That had to be that, right? He uncovered the secrets of the Court and managed to turn the nobles against him. He was left alive since he was a war hero but banned away from the city to stop him from looking further into whatever he was looking into.
Glenn suddenly stood up when he remembered the name of the Count who used Redan as his henchman; Count Mortelli. The now-dead Mayor Lazarre of the Eastern Town had mentioned this name as his uncle supporting him from the shadows. Could Count Mortelli be behind Redan's downfall?
'That would only give me one more reason to find that Count and kill him. Alongside Baron Howard, of course.' The young man clenched his fists in fury when he noticed Reginald staring at him strangely. He drew a deep breath and forced himself to sit down, pushing back against his anger. The Baron and the Count could wait; Redan was leagues above Glenn in terms of strength, and even he was forced to back down and kicked out of King's Rise. If he wanted to succeed where Redan didn't, he'd have to get much, much stronger than he already was.
'I can already punch above my weight, but it's not enough. I need to reach a level so high, that secrets will start uncovering themselves in front of me...Stronger than Redan, stronger than Laurance, and stronger than even the King...' Glenn's thoughts were racing as he waved at Reginald.
"...I apologize. Please, continue."
Reginald's lips curved upward with understanding and he placed his cup back on the table, before crossing his arms.
"The official reason given by the Court for the ban was that the Commodore was too much of a loose beast, threatening the safety of everyone in the city, and risking to turn to Corruption at any moment. Of course, none of these two arguments were true, and there probably was something beyond all that." Reginald frowned and shook his head, "But that's only a supposition. Sir Redan never spoke to me again, nor any other member of the Order after his demotion."
Glenn sighed and rubbed his temples. "So, we have no clear reasons for everything that happened to him, right?"
Reginald shook his head dejectedly, "Exactly. I did try to look into it and ask around, but the few that did look like they could know something had their lips sealed." The gentleman Cleaner slapped his thighs and stood up, dusting his pants off.
"Anyway! That's all I can share with you, for everything else wouldn't be of much help. And, I don't believe Sir Redan would like you to explore the reasons for his demise." Reginald walked away, grabbing the door's handle to leave, before turning around.
"...Of course, you are free to do whatever you like, in the limits of the legal, Fixer Glenn. To the pleasure of seeing you again," He tipped his top hat and left, leaving Glenn alone with his thoughts.
'It all sounds like a cesspool of political shenanigans. Boring, but certainly bloody enough. Meh,' commented Diamanes in disgust. Glenn ignored him and pulled his Exan-Egg from his dimensional pouch, grimacing at the time. It was already time to work. The young man got up and left the Dark-Gold meeting room, landing in the main hall.
'...Giselle probably doesn't know much more than Reginald, but it's still worth asking her. I'll try to visit the Black Heirs at some point; it'll be a good opportunity to see Maron's work with them. Hopefully, they're living in normal human conditions now...' He thought as he navigated the Northern Town's streets.
"Hey, remember, they're not human, they're Black Heirs! Don't mistake yourself!" Nelg commented, earning a laugh out of Glenn. The young man continued to walk for an instant, before stopping dead in his tracks as he realized. He looked at the longsword hanging off his waist with wide eyes.
"Wait, are you already back, Nelg?" Glenn asked aloud, surprised. Nelg laughed as Diamanes whistled in wonder.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm the best. Now, I did digest most of the souls, but I have yet to touch the largest piece. I'm almost done with creating my First Circle and already have access to a few features from it. Look:" Nelg said as he sent a mind file of new things he could do straight into Glenn's brain. The young man grimaced and grabbed his head. Two, new features changed drastically how Nelg worked. First, Glenn could change his Shape by willing it; the Original Shape was the longsword Shape, which Awakened in the Cut & Pull bastard sword. There was a new shape, which Glenn tried right away. He pulled the longsword out and willed it to change. The metal gleamed with a silvery hue as it melted and reformed itself, transforming into a sharp, mean-looking hand-axe with a ring for a pommel.
Glenn gave a short laugh, "Oh-oh, a hand-axe? I like that!"
Nelg grumbled, "Yes, yes, I don't have much time so hurry up and Awaken me."
Glenn rolled his eyes and injected Mana into the weapon, grinning widely as it transformed into a violent, double-headed axe with two large black blades and a spike in the center. It was a weapon built for war, to split through helmets and skulls alike with simplicity.
"Good. Then, the special ability."
Glenn nodded like a child finding new options for his toy. He glanced around for a place he could test this on, and failing to do so, he just jumped on the nearest roof and aimed at the sky. Nelg resumed his explanations.
"If the bastard sword shape has the Cut & Pull ability, the double-headed axe instead possesses the Cleave & Double it. Try it out."
Glenn obliged happily, flexing his muscles as he cleaved in the sky's direction. A deep, dark-blue sharp blade flew out from the axe, cutting through the air before splitting in two. These two slices also separated into two more parts, multiplying for as long as Glenn's Mana powered the attack. Glenn whistled, impressed as the two-headed axe reverted to a simple hand axe and the attack disappeared, lacking the necessary Mana.
"And that's pretty much it. I can't do as much as I could if I had my Circle, but I'm tackling the problem right away. I'll be back in a few, don't know when, but shouldn't take too long. Bye~!" Nelg's voice faded away as his user tried and reach for him, with no success. Glenn sighed and slipped the hand-axe in his belt.
"This is pretty impressive already..." He muttered in amazement, before looking at his left, purple hand in wonder. He pulled his black glove away and smirked at Diamanes.
"You certainly are not as cool as Nelg," Glenn stated mockingly. Diamanes sneered and didn't even bother replying, at Glenn's greatest regret. The young man refastened his glove and jumped down from the roof, landing back in the street. He dashed through the town, heading in the direction of the next bounty.
Kevin was already waiting for him, and he was probably already late. Oh well.
He was already single-handedly doing most of the work in this damned town, they weren't going to start nagging him for being five minutes late, were they?