Did she already know what I would ask her for?

Ch 221: What is this? Your masseuse’s address?

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"The thing is, it looks like the real war isn't going to happen. Never underestimate a grandfather who is concerned about his grandchild's safety," says Cael with a strange look on his face.

"I'm missing the point. Didn't you tell me that this was a battle of egos and that, once the stronger side was determined, the real war would break out?" I ask, getting more and more confused.

"Yes, that was the logical thing to do. And it was what would have happened if the kings of both territories could do what they wanted, but a king has his limits too…" Cael says, sighing.

"...I know what I told you, but in this case, no one could have predicted what happened. Who could have imagined that one single person could change the political situation of two kingdoms so much?"

"What do you mean, who could influence a king's decision?"

'Whoever that person is, he must be far more powerful than the two Admiral generals put together, but.... can there be someone like that?'

"Well... oddly enough, you did," he says, laughing out loud.

"Yeah, right..." I say, smiling involuntarily at the stupid joke.

"I'm serious. You are the one who destroyed the precious sword of Samael, the Admiral General of the Drial Cenit kingdom. For a Magic Knight his sword is the greatest symbol of his power, since not just any weapon can withstand his magics."

"Okay, I destroyed his sword, but what does that have to do with this situation you are mentioning?" I say, refusing to believe that mere me could have influenced the lives of so many people.

'Wait... Come to think of it... The full-scale battle also started partly because of me...'

The more time passes, the more I am convinced that I have to be very careful when activating the Luck profile from now on.

The boundaries of its effects are becoming increasingly blurred to me.

It's as if I'm giving free rein to the chaos of the world....

"Well, without his precious sword, Samael decided that he no longer felt confident enough to continue this fake war, let alone start a real war. Samael's sword was a priceless treasure, and you took it away from him....."

'Now I understand why there were so many people looking for me on the enemy side of the forest. Ugh... I knew it wasn't a good idea to stand out so much in the war, but if I didn't, Alessia's life could have been in danger.'

"... It will take years for him to get another one like it; if ever, do you understand now why I am so reluctant to lose your cooperation?" he says smiling warmly, but with a dead serious look.

"But even if Samael doesn't want to fight anymore… Are you telling me that one person can influence the decisions of both kings so much?..." I say, beginning to suspect that this story is a tale Cael is telling me to make me feel responsible for what's going on.

"...I mean, I'm sure he's an important figure in his kingdom, but I don't think your friend Dorian would agree with Samael’s decision. He seemed pretty determined to kill Samael."

"He wouldn't have killed him even if he had the chance. Dorian and Samael have a complicated relationship..." he says, sighing again.

"... Anyway, you're right about that. Dorian doesn't agree with what's going on, but he has no choice but to accept the situation. Samael is a cunning old fox. He knew he couldn't convince his king to surrender and hand over part of the kingdom as booty, so he moved some of his contacts in the Ephire kingdom and the Sacred kingdom to take matters into their own hands."

'The sacred kingdom... That's the first time I've heard it mentioned in a long time. I know it's beyond the Ephire kingdom and that it's where the main headquarters of the Solus Temple are, but they're so far away that people don't usually talk about it.'

"How do you know all that?" I ask, intrigued as to what Samael must have done to get the Ephire Kingdom and the Sacred Kingdom, whose territories are larger and older than the Castemira and Drial Cenit Kingdoms, interested in a small war of egos between two smaller kingdoms.

"Who do you think you're talking to? It's my job to know things, boy..." replies Cael, snorting.

"... Well, as I was saying, one person can't influence the decisions of two kings, but two other kings can. They thought this was just a temporary dispute, but Samael painted a very different picture for them. And both the king of the Sacred Kingdom and the king of the Ephire Kingdom were not happy that the kingdom of Drial Cenit could fall into the claws of the Castemira kingdom, for then the balance of power would be destroyed... whether fictitious or real."

'But... how were so many things decided in such a short time? Hmm, there must be much better ways of communicating over long distances than carrier pigeons. Damn nobles! They always keep the best to themselves'

"So the kings of Ephire and the Sacred Kingdom forced the kings of our kingdom and Drial Cenit to stop the war, did they?" I ask, beginning to understand a little of what this is all about.

'It's true that our Castemira kingdom and the Drial Cenit kingdom are smaller than the Ephire Kingdom, but not that much smaller... And if our kingdom absorbs the kingdom of Drial Cenit... in a few years it could equal in military power and resources the Ephire Kingdom, or even surpass it'

"Yes. In the end, it looks like the kingdom of Drial Cenit will have to surrender a small part of its territory to the kingdom of Castemira, and that will be that..." says Cael, sitting heavily in the armchair behind his desk.

"... Or so it seems for now... it's very recent news. Maybe in a few hours the situation will change."

"So... if the war is going to end, why do you want me in the recon group?"

'If the war is going to end, I don't see the point of the armies staying on the borders of the kingdoms, unless....'

"The recon group is mostly made up of the kingdom's intelligence network. As I told you, my job is to find out and know things before most people know them...." says Cael, smiling smugly.

"... And that's why I have a lot of tasks that someone like you could do. Besides, I don't think the tension between the two kingdoms will be resolved so easily..."

'It already seemed to me that this whole story of the war coming to an end was just a fairy tale. Probably most of it is true, but he also probably just told me all that to convince me to stay. Either way, it doesn't change the fact that, apparently, I'm still one of the biggest targets for the enemy army to eliminate'

However, although I remain suspicious, I am beginning to see the usefulness of having Cael as a 'friend'.

I would never have found out all this stuff on my own.

Not that this information will be of much use to me, but that may change in the future.

After all, one of my women is a saint, and I'm sure the Solus Temple and the Sacred Kingdom would not be very happy if they knew that a Saint was out of their control.

'It seems that the influence of the Sacred kingdom is not as far away as I imagined... It's one thing to hide Delia from the Solus temple; it's quite another to hide her from an entire kingdom'

Ignoring all the thoughts currently running through my head, Cael continues speaking, ".... The king of Drial Cenit is too temperamental for that. Probably the kingdom of Drial Cenit will try to take advantage of some loophole in the peace treaty they're going to sign or something... For the time being, I just need you to do the same thing you've been doing until now. The border of our kingdom will be changing soon, and we need people like you to protect it."

'Haa... The truth is, at the moment, I don't have much of a choice. And if I can make some profit out of this...'

"All right, but!..." I say raising a hand in Cael's direction to stop him, as he was getting up from his seat with a smile.

"...How do I know I can trust your word? I need some proof or assurance that you'll keep your word. What assures me that you won't threaten me again in the future to do something stupid and suicidal?"

At my words, Cael becomes noticeably annoyed "You ungrateful brat, if you only knew everything I hav...! Haa... I guess I partly deserve it."

Cael then pulls a blank piece of paper from his desk and quickly writes something on it.

"Here. I think it's only fair that you have this," he says, handing me the paper.

I look curiously at the paper and see that it says '437 Jazar Street'.

"What is this?" I ask confusedly, "Your masseuse's address?"

"The address of my parents' house in the capital..." says Cael reluctantly.

"...With that.... With that we're even."

"How do I know this is true and not a random address?" I say, amazed that Cael is willingly giving me this kind of information.

'If this information is correct, with this in my possession, I might as well forget about his earlier threat... He can't do anything to me without putting his family at risk. No, there has to be some kind of trap in all this.'

"You'll know if you go check it out..." he says with a sad smile.

"...I have a twin brother. The pride of the family... Not like... The point is that now we both have important information about each other. I hope this is enough to get your trust back. Or something like that... Haa... Seriously, kid, I just want to help you. This world can be very dangerous for people like us."

"What do you mean?" I ask, confused.

'I don't seem to be being very perceptive today… Or is Cael being more mysterious than usual?'

"Nothing... So what do you say?..." he asks, sighing again.

"...Are we even?"

"Alright, I agree to keep working for you... We're even."

'At least for the time being...'

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