"You're not going to tell me what the coin does?" I asked.

Chase shook his head slowly, a sly smile appearing on his lips. "It's not that I don't trust you, but the last time I explained what it does, well, we wouldn't be in this position if I hadn't."

He chuckled softly.

"The most I'll elaborate on is that even without the coin, this character was already a walking tempest, and now, with my coin in his possession, he has the equivalent of a storm's wrath in his pocket."

"Fine, but who is this troublesome character, at least? Can you tell me that?" I asked, growing frustrated at the lack of concrete details.

Chase leaned forward, his eyes intense, and whispered, "It's Claude Noire."

I blinked.

Was the name supposed to mean something to me?

Chase pronounced the name with an air of expectation, and now his gaze bore into me, obviously waiting for a reaction.

I picked up my tea and took a sip, stalling for time as I searched my memory. The tea in my cup was lukewarm now, and the flavor seemed to linger on my tongue.

"Is Claude having hold of your coin really such a nuisance?" I asked, masking my confusion with a casual tone.

Chase arched an eyebrow in response, and he leaned back, his chair creaking softly.

It would have been easier to ask who this Claude person was, but I felt Chase had a profound misconception about my capabilities, given how he was clearly expecting me to know who he was talking about. Why that was, I hadn't a clue.

But, in any case, it might be safer to play along until I figure out who Chase is talking about. Or, in the worst-case scenario, I could always ask Natalia Ashford or, better yet, Freida Stran.

My caution was based on experience. In my original life, I had another instance when my capabilities were overestimated. When I attempted to correct the misconception, it blew up in my face, costing me one ear. Being truthful was not always the correct course of action. And with this dangerous lunatic, I sometimes felt like I was treading a very thin line.

Chase's mouth widened into a grin, and he roared with laughter. The sound reverberated in the room.

"Perhaps not for you, but he certainly is troublesome for me," he said after collecting himself.

Damn it. Just who is he talking about?

I strained my brain over the countless names that Professor Whistle had covered regarding more recent times, but there were no nobles with that name that I could recount. Moreover, I couldn't presently get the System's help and access to its vast knowledge without the Whispering Necklace.

I'll have to figure out who he is another way.

"Why would he be troublesome for someone like yourself? I don't see why you, of all people, would have any difficulty getting your coin back," I said, prolonging the conversation.

"He's aware of me," Chase explained. "Claude might not have phoenix eyes, but he has a method of transferring information from one loop to another."

I frowned at this insight.

"How?" I asked.

Chase tapped his left arm. "Runic tattoos. Or at least that's what I suspect to be the case; with every loop, he seemed to have gained more and more of them on his body."

I blinked.

Could other people do that?

"How many more of such people that can remember loops are there?" I asked.

Chase shrugged, gazing at the portraits of my ancestors. "Honestly, not that many can. But the few that exist are sometimes more troublesome than those with phoenix eyes."

He paused, and then he added, "Actually, not sometimes, but practically always. The only one I've encountered that didn't spell trouble was a princess of the Barakian Empire, Ceanna."

I made a mental note to look into her.

"Can you provide me the names of the others you know of?" I asked.

"Of course," Chase responded.

He snapped his fingers, and a piece of paper appeared before me on the table. Purple ink letters wrote themselves out across the page upon his dictation. There were a total of three people and what seemed to be an organization.

Delphine Arvandus

Elrik Thornshroud

Seraphina Viper

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The Eldertree Covenant

"There might be more," Chase added. "But those are the ones I'm unfortunately familiar with."

"What makes them so troublesome?" I asked and pocketed the parchment in my pocket, intending to run them by Frieda Stran when I had the chance.

"It's simple," Chase replied. "Phoenix-eyed individuals only gain their ability to remember loops when they awaken and can only take advantage of their knowledge of the future with the subsequent loops. There's no real preparation in most cases. Contrast that with people and organizations that have planned and prepared themselves for ages, sometimes over several generations, to take advantage of a loop."

He picked up his cup and took a sip.

"In addition," he continued, "they can take advantage of the loops from the start, while not all phoenix-eyed people awaken with the first loop. Even I haven't lived through the first couple of loops. And I'm sure you know there are individuals with phoenix eyes who have yet to awaken even now."

"Damn it, and Claude is one such individual?" I muttered.

Chase nodded. "He was troublesome enough in the original loops, so after my handful of misfortunate interactions with him, I resolved not to get entangled with him ever again. Unfortunately, despite being only twenty-seven years old, he is still as sharp as in the future. I underestimated him, and he got a quick one on me."

I clasped my hands and rested my chin on them.

I now knew this mysterious man's name, age, and ability to transfer knowledge between loops. However, I was still trying to understand why the ancient warlock before me had difficulty with someone not even thirty years of age.

"Can't you simply blow him up?" I asked.

"Kill him?" Chase laughed at my suggestion. "I wish. Funny you should mention blowing him up because I actually did try that in one loop and failed miserably. I doubt you'll find an individual more protected than Claude."

Just who was this mysterious man??

"Having his organization constantly hunting for me has been quite a nuisance as well," Chase added. "You'd be surprised at some of the people that are entangled in the Spider Syndicate's web."

Clank.

I set down my cup into its saucer, my hand gripping the handle tightly.

The Spider Syndicate?

I gazed up at Chase, who had leaned in toward the window and was adjusting his light violet hair using the window's reflection. His face remained pleasantly composed despite the unsettling revelation.

When he had mentioned that a 'troublesome character' had taken hold of his so-called 'lucky coin' and asked me to die as a favor to him, I should have realized immediately that serious trouble was on the horizon. After all, Chase Daylan was by far the most troublesome character I'd come across myself. What could top that? Only the single worst possible individual imaginable.

It also explained how the Spiders Syndicate grew overwhelmingly influential in my original life. After all, Claude Noire had information from over sixty rounds to manipulate world events to his liking while keeping himself well hidden.

During Professor Whistle's history lessons, I learned that the Arkangul family, now Frey, was notorious for operating from the shadows. My family had ensured Adovoria's protection from external forces that no one even knew bore a threat to the kingdom's future. It was a thankless role. My family utilized any and all means to protect the kingdom, and yet, aside from the ruling royals of Adovoria, no one else of noble standing held any love for my family and all our sacrifices.

The Spiders were notoriously secretive as well and operated from the shadows. Except their deeds were well known and practically celebrated from what I had seen at their annual auction. Meanwhile, the ones pulling the web strings blended into the background, hiding their connection to the syndicate in plain sight. No one knew who ran the organization. It wasn't even known if its head was a woman or a man.

But now, because of Chase's insight, I knew that a young man by the name of Claude Noire was the one in charge of the most dangerous syndicate on the continent. That alone made him exceedingly tricky without the additional insights Chase provided.

I frowned.

But why did Chase assume I would already know his identity?

In any case, given the Spiders' meddling in my family's affairs, I had always planned on wiping out the syndicate in the future. It was never going to be an easy feat, considering the immense power of the organization. However, the revelation that its leader could access knowledge from past rounds suddenly made the task significantly more daunting.

"There are some surprising members indeed," I agreed with Chase's comment. "I only recently learned of someone in my own household that was under the Spider's control. Who else is within their web?" I probed, hoping for additional insight.

Chase laughed.

"Who isn't?" he said. "Even within the Daylan Dynasty, there's a number of nobles and advisors that are entangled within their web. I've taken care of a few annoyances, but it's impossible to break free. New webs constantly entangle new prey."

He sighed. "Besides, the reality is that they are a much-needed evil. The Daylan Dynasty, like many other nations, requires mages to work the fields and produce crops. Without the Spiders Syndicate, we'd face starvation. Adovoria is one of the few fortunate nations that doesn't have to rely on mages and has sufficient land untouched by pollution."

"Fortunate isn't quite the word I'd use," I muttered.

After all, a significant reason why the Kobar Empire launched their invasion into Adovoria was out of desperation. Their people were starving, and instead of facing an internal rebellion, the empire utilized their people's anger and frustration to invade nearby territories. A starved rat was as dangerous as a cornered one, and the people of the Kobar Empire were but bones and flesh.

It made Jarvis's research into healing the continent's land of its infection all the more critical.

Perhaps there wouldn't have been an invasion if the Kobar Empire's people weren't starving.

"Returning to my original request, I don't suppose you can start the next round?" Chase asked. "It'll allow me to take better precautions against Claude and the Spiders Syndicate."

I gazed out the window at the twisted black roses.

"I'll think about it," I said.

Although I believed Chase that Claude Noire having this lucky coin of his was likely to pose issues, without knowing exactly what the issues might entail for myself, I didn't personally see the urgency to die and go on to the next round.

"To reiterate, I'll owe you a favor a hundredfold over if you die in the next week or so," Chase added.

"Like I said, I'll think about it," I replied.

The returned favor from the warlock was certainly enticing but restarting had its own problems that I needed to evaluate.

"In any case, the offer stands," Chase said and stood up from his seat. He adjusted his white silk robes. "I'll see you in the next round then."

I frowned at the odd choice of words.

"Are you going away somewhere?" I asked.

The other possibility was that he was going to commit suicide, but knowing what I knew about Chase, that seemed highly unlikely.

"Yes, I'll be vacationing on the second continent for the remainder of this round—I haven't toured it in a while, and it's far away enough to avoid getting tangled up in Claude's web," he replied.

"Ah."

I frowned.

Everything else that Chase laid out was concerning enough, but this final detail was the most striking. If a powerful warlock like Chase was going into hiding just because Claude Noir had obtained his artifact, just what did it mean for me?

Perhaps there was considerable legitimacy to the option of dying and restarting the round.