4 A Meeting with the Outcasts (2/2)
”Bud, you sound just like the wimps who sucked up to the Ashborn and Dragoncrest bastards not too long ago. We haven't even begun training and they're already worrying about nothing. Weaklings like them will never make it to the top. Stop thinking about unnecessary bullshit and just go with the flow, man.” The blonde boy beckoned Reed to come and sit among his friends with a flamboyant hand wave and welcoming smile.
Reed had to reevaluate his judgment of the group; they were still weirdos, but at least they weren't spineless idiots. It was a small step up from his initial impression of them. He wouldn't decline the invitation, in any case. It was an opportunity for him to learn more and potentially befriend them in a single go.
”Excellent, excellent. From now on you'll be the fourth member of the council of sages. A prestigious honor few have ever received. Let me introduce to you our illustrious members.”
”Naturally, I'll start with the most important member of the council - myself. I'm Astor Kingscrown, founder of the council and heir to the Kingscrown name. Be amazed!”
Who? Is he someone famous or he is just bullshitting me? I honestly can't tell...
”Next up is the only female council member of the group! A powerful young lady with the inner spirit of a mighty gorill-”
Astor had been forcibly silenced before the could have finished his last words. The girl had thrown a magnificent punch that ended up connecting with Astor's jaw.
Reed was genuinely amazed. He only saw a blur of a fist when she struck Astor. It was the first time he saw someone perform a superhuman feat in front of his eyes.
”I'm Ophelia Redcliff, granddaughter of Marquis Redcliff. It's nice to meet you. Don't let Astor's nonsense get to you. Just punch him like I did if he ever gets on your nerves.” She smiled, shook Reed's hand and began browsing her tome as she ignored Astor's incessant moaning.
The last fellow spoke in a rough voice and said, ”I'm Horatio Restus, son of Duke Restus. Pleased to meet you. Don't mind Astor's behavior... Sometimes he can get a bit out of hand, but he means well. Most of the time. ”
Horatio was a classic type of man that would certainly get attention wherever he went. A sharp, brooding face and well-defined physique gave Reed the impression of that he might have prior experience in combat. Out of the three, he was the only one that looked like a genuine soldier.
Realizing that his turn had come up for introductions, Reed spoke up and said, ”I'm Reed. I have no special background or talents. It's nice to meet you all.”
”Pshhh, don't even sweat it, Reed. Who gives a shit where we come from, right? If we relied on our backgrounds all the time, we'd never grow up properly. Baby birds have to leave the nest someday. They gotta fly out into the sky and be free...” Astor trailed off into silence until Ophelia broke the awkward pause with a question.
”Say, Reed, where'd you come from? Are you from the North? You look like you're not from around these parts.”
”Yeah, I'm not from around here, as you might have guessed. I came from a world called Fairis; don't know if you've ever heard of it. I'm not a native if that's what you were trying to get at.”
Astor, Horatio, and Ophelia looked at each other for a moment and nodded silently amongst themselves. They had looks of relief when they heard Reed's response.
”We guessed you weren't a native from the very beginning, you see. Your initial reaction of us more or less gave you away, to be honest. You didn't even flinch once when you heard us introduce ourselves, either. That was what gave it away.”
”A real local wouldn't have had the spine to look at the three us in the eyes, given our backgrounds. They would have simply pretended they didn't exist and would've kept their heads pointed towards the ground. Accepting an invitation to sit amongst ourselves would have scared them half dead.”
”Does the name Kingscrown mean anything to you, Reed? What about my last name, Redcliff, or Horatio's last name, Restus? Probably not, considering it's your first day in this world.”
Reed grinned and said, ”I honestly thought that Astor had just come up with a gaudy last name for show. I mean - Kingscrown? Come on.”
Ophelia and Horatio burst into tears and began clutching their sides. It was a riot for them. No matter what Reed responded with these fellows would always end up having a laughing fit. After a solid minute of laughing, they finally calmed down and Horatio took it upon himself to enlighten Reed why they found his response so goddamned hilarious.
”You probably wouldn't know the name Kingscrown, Reed, since you're brand new, but I'm sure you learned about the four founding empires from your tome, right? You know that the four empires of Mulia are ruled by the four sovereigns, with the Moon King being the ruler of the North.”
Reed nodded in understanding, but what was he getting at? A creeping suspicion began to form in the back of his head. Horatio had already given him enough clues to see where he was probably going to with his explanation, but he didn't want to believe it until he heard the words come out his mouth...
”Ah... your face has given you away, Reed. It seems like you're quick on the uptake. The basic tomes that we've been given offer a lot of knowledge, but a good bit of it is sort of shallow in depth. But that's beside the point.
”What I'm trying to get at is that 'Kingscrown' is the Moon King's last name. Astor's a descendant of the Moon King and member of the Northern royal family. I shouldn't have to say anything else.
Ophelia is the granddaughter of Marquis Redcliff, who is widely known even outside of the North for his extreme skill in Anima control. He even challenged the Moon King once in battle and put up a good fight, enough that the Moon King awarded him with his current rank hundreds of years ago. ”
”My great-grandfather is Duke Restus, the right-hand of the Moon King and current 'ruler' in the absence of the Moon King. He acts on behalf of the Moon King's will and has been doing so since the empire was first founded thousands of years ago. It wouldn't be a lie to say that the Moon King formed the empire and my great-grandfather raised it into what it is now. As a result, my family is seen as equal to the royal family, at least in the North.”
”You get it now, right? One of is a bonafide prince, one is the granddaughter of a monstrous conqueror who can fight one of the four sovereigns, and the last one is the grandson to the King's Hand. No one in here has the balls to even speak to us out of fear of our families...”