Chapter 169 – Only Successful People Attend Class Reunions (04)

In an instant, the surroundings became quiet.

The mercenaries who were guarding next to Hollio’s angry shouts were also surprised and looked at their client.

‘Ha… Hold on to this…’

Since it was said that he was mourning my death and saddened, I felt a little grateful rather than sad, but at the same time, I was still alive and had doubts, so this was bound to be very complicated.

There is silence for a moment, and Holyo reveals himself to me, the mercenaries frowning.

“Next time… Rita should come in person, or at least bring another representative. At least… I don’t want to see Aren’s replacement.”

“Holio. I am Aren.”

“…Yes. I guess that is the role that Rita asked you to play.”

Hollyo made a difficult expression while chewing her lips.

“Don’t shake me anymore with that voice.”

“No, I’m a little taller. Can’t I be a little taller?”

Holyo’s frown frowns as he speaks in a truly unfair voice.

“No, Aren is not this tall.”

Looking at my height, which was almost the same as or slightly shorter than the tall Hollyo, he placed his hand near his lower body as if it were absurd.

“Enough.”

“No matter how much I am… Do you know what height is 1m?! Am I a 5-6 year old kid?!”

“What?”

As he began to argue in an unfair tone, a bit of suspicion appeared on Hollyo’s face her her her.

“Has Rita trained to this extent?”

“No, this guy really doesn’t trust people!”

“He had a surprisingly similar voice to Aren, but his voice was slightly higher-pitched.”

“As you get bigger, your vocal cords also get bigger, so your voice gets lower!”

“Speech style can be taught through education.”

“Who teaches this way of speaking?”

“I will be able to find someone with a similar face at any cost. Since he is the head of the [Shadow Family] Who can collect information on the entire kingdom.”

I already know this much, but isn’t this the level of intentional denial?

“And you said it earlier? Don’t call me Hollyo.”

“…”

“You gave permission, right? When I first saw you at a birthday party with Marian, I introduced you to call you Hollyo.”

At those words, Hollyo’s expression was colored with surprise.

“A Cylian takes you when you’re an adult, feeds her plenty of alcohol, and then gets so sick of her that she swears she won’t drink again.”

“…”

“And when Kay and Cylian said they would train in the dormitory, they said they would tear down the wall and hide wine in a hole in the wall, so you foamed at the mouth and opposed it. They said the wind would see in through that hole. So, Cylian… “

“It is said that wine becomes more delicious when it is exposed to the wind.”

‘…I didn’t know that much’

After hearing those words, Hollyo stumbled as if in shock and was supported by the secretary next to him.

“What… Really, you are Aren?”

“What do I have to prove anymore? I mean…”

“Call me again.”

“Huh…”

I took a deep breath and looked directly into Hollyo’s eyes and said.

“It’s me. Holyo.”

When I called her name using my voice, Hollyo had tears in her eyes and hugged me.

“You’re alive, Aren…!”

I recognized Gordon right away, but why is this guy so suspicious?

* ​ * ​ *

First, our group entered the inn toward the west where Hollyo was staying.

We already didn’t have a place to stay, but it was a courtesy as a grand prize person to invite the few people in our group to stay.

“Ugh… We just thought you were dead…”

However, I would say there is a bit of a problem with the fact that Hollyo is holding my hand and crying while holding back tears.

All the mercenaries from earlier had been defeated, and with only his friends and a woman who looked like Hollio’s secretary remaining, Hollio was literally crying.

‘But when will it end?’

I think I cried for about two hours. Why am I crying so much?

Was this guy always like this? I thought he was a bit grumpy and difficult, but he was good at his job.

“Please understand. “My husband has been through a lot of hardships these days.”

“Oh yes… Husband… Husband?”

At those words, I looked back and forth between the secretary and Hollyo.

‘No… Ah, it’s worth getting married, right? After all, you are an adult and a lot of things have happened during that time, right? Still…’

“Huh… “

Hollyo cried until his voice became hoarse, and only after his wife wiped his eyes and handed him cold ice packs to help reduce swelling did he find peace by applying cold compresses to his eyes.

“You’re out.”

After finding her peace, Holly Oh sent the secretary who looked like his wife out of her room. She kissed Holly Oh on the forehead and then vacated the room.

With only the two of us left, Hollyo was the first to start getting angry at me.

“If you were alive, you should have come to us quickly!”

“It happened a while ago.”

Originally, two years were omitted in the process of passing from Part 1 to Part 2, and although it was originally explained as a process of making a name for each faction and gathering colleagues, I spent two years reconstructing a body that almost died while going through the third route.

Thanks to you, I have grown taller. Should I say that I have lost a lot in my own way?

“Sniff… Yes, given your personality, as soon as you wake up, you’ll come to us and ask for help. You’re already impatient and can’t stand frustration.”

“I know.”

After seeing Inori at the Shadow Family, didn’t they immediately prepare a place to gather as many friends as possible and gather power?

First of all, I wanted to meet Duke Davin as well, but if I go to their territory, they may start making modifications again, so it was safer to meet with people who can keep them in check in the capital.

As for the famous sword family, when Sir Andre came, I tried to improve their armament by personally asking for support, or if that didn’t work, by receiving support from the ‘famous sword’…

‘If this happens, I’ll have to visit in person’

Just by looking at it, it seemed like they were not active.

In other words, if Sir Andre had been active, instead of having people like the Davin Dukes step forward like they are now, they would have gathered their power around Sir Andre, ascended to a position of general, and started a civil war with the Duke faction.

The fact that it didn’t work means there’s something wrong with Sir Andre.

“So, what about cooperation?”

“Sigh… Even if you weren’t there, I would have cooperated with the [Shadow Family]. It is said that Duke Davin is greedy for the [Shadow Family] And the small household owner, Rita, but if they have already absorbed many of the royal faction’s soldiers and have intelligence power, they may be trying to attract the royalists themselves.”

“…You tried to join hands to keep it in check?”

“Yes. In fact, the famous sword families would have gathered together with similar thoughts. If the [Shadow Family] Seems to have been taken advantage of by Duke Davin… They would have been thinking of doing something about it.”

As a result, the summons of the [Shadow Family Head] Was justified and meant to check the status of the Davin Dukes.

Hmm… I tried to simply bring the forces together, but it didn’t seem to be easy either.

“It looks like the Duke faction’s major offensive will begin soon. Shouldn’t we all come together as one? For now, since we’re still not claiming to be the king, let’s just pretend to cooperate on the surface…”

At those words, Hollyo shook his head as if it wasn’t worth thinking about.

“What do you think the Cylians will do to Duke Davin when they return?”

“If you fall for an imposter impersonating the royal family, you will be lucky. If it gets worse, it will be treated as treason.”

The [Prince of Light] Sailian I wouldn’t do that, but the [King of Light] Sailian who became king in Part 2 could.

No, it will definitely happen.

“Yes. Other powers could also claim that they are related to the royal family, but there is a reason why they did not do so, and they foolishly gave up their greed.”

“…”

“And just in case… If the Sailians are alive, the Davin family will naturally be pushed out of the right to succession to the throne and most of the royal faction will be lost to the Sailians. So what will the Davin Dukes do before the Sailians return?”

“It will prevent the king from returning.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Gordon won’t just wait and see?”

“Why are you trying so hard to get the cooperation of the [Shadow Family]? Just to please Duke Davin, who is just an ornament? Or…”

Using the [Shadow Family]’S intelligence and assassination capabilities, they seek out Cylian and, if he is alive, assassinate him so as not to let go of their power his?

“That would be too short-sighted.”

“Calling oneself a descendant of the royal family is also short-sighted.”

I didn’t know whether Duke Davin would actually do that or not, but I could at least know that the forces of Holyo and the famous sword family had distrust toward Duke Davin.

“And we know that Gordon tried to kidnap Rita and failed.”

“…Has the news spread?”

“I think it’s probably a rumor intentionally spread by the [Shadow Family].”

In fact, the [Shadow Family] Also had to take action to prevent the Davin Dukes from devouring it.

It’s not Inori, it’s Yujiro’s father, or… Ugh, my head is getting confused.

“Should I call Gordon and ask him?”

Hollyo smiled bitterly at my words.

“What does he know? He really went in thinking that Duke Davin could become a descendant of the royal family. Stupid…”

Well, Gordon is not the type of person who cares about politics or other aspects, but he is a knight who is passionate about protecting the people he is supposed to protect.

“In the past, the guys who came out shaking after washing up are all grown up now.”

As I was feeling regretful, wondering if nothing had changed in the past two years, Hollyo smiled bitterly and rubbed his ice pack on my eyes.

“Two years, and in a war situation like this, two years is not a short period of time. Especially in the case of Marian…”

“Marian?”

“…You’ll find out later.”

Hollyo kept his mouth shut like a clam, as if he didn’t want to comment further.

He expressed his intention that he did not want to teach me even if I asked.

After thinking about it for a while, I asked Hollyo a question I must ask.

“What other friends do you keep in touch with?”

“There are a few, but most of them are out of contact.”

“What about Alice or Melissa?”

First, they came to mind and I asked about them.

“Alice has been out of contact for a year, and she was curious to hear the news, so she went there before her territory she was taken over by the duke faction, but she disappeared, leaving only a trace near the observatory. “

“She was attacked?”

“Well… I don’t know that far. And although Melissa is our main customer now, it’s been a while since I’ve seen her face.”

Hollyo thought for a moment and held my hand as if he realized something.

“Aren, you were close with Melissa, right?”

“Hmm… We were close friends, right?”

“Then, won’t you convince me? The Golem Factory is currently selling battle golems to both the Duke and Royal factions, but they say they are neutral…”

More golems are being sold to the operative faction, which has much better financial conditions. In the end, it was the same as an act of betrayal, so I wanted to help.

“The operative faction is not actively using battle golems yet, but if this continues, they may create an army with only battle golems and attack. Before that, you must step forward and attract them as allies.”

“Is the power of the Golem Factory that strong?”

“Of course. If we do it well, we can overwhelm the troops that Duke Davin’s faction has.”

Since I was also planning on meeting Melissa and her other girlfriends, I figured I could just figure it out on the way.

It felt a little like I was being used by Hollio.

“Then, give me some money.”

“How much do you need?”

“To be specific…”

I was trying to ask for points, but I just asked for the items I needed.

Various materials that can be used to make a glass flask set and an alchemy crafting table.

“These are very specific and expensive items?”

I bought it at the teaching assistant’s office with 15,000 points.

“Can you save it?”

“…It’s not impossible, but it will take quite some time to obtain this kind of item. The Alchemy Guild has also been hit hard, and since the temple that sold potions cheaply collapsed, they are making profits by monopolizing potions.”

“It’s okay. Just save it before I come back.”

Hollyo chuckled as she looked at the list of items I gave her.

“Are you trying to make a potion with this?”

“Yes.”

“…Did you learn alchemy?”

“Yes. “I learned it?”

Hollyo’s eyes lit up at those words.

“That would be quite a bit of money.”

What is it?