Chapter 80: Information!

White Lion Club, second-floor hallway.

The windows were bright.

The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the glass, illuminating Gawain’s slightly upturned lips, instantly stretching out his paused figure.

Gawain raised his hand to signal Andy Nam to retreat, then immediately pulled out his revolver.

However, before Gawain could pull the trigger, a voice came from the room.

“Lord Mapple, don’t shoot!”

“We mean no harm!”

The voice was very young, and then the door to the shooting gallery opened.

A young man dressed in a "four-piece suit" stepped out.

The black fabric looked very ordinary, but the stitching was solid, especially the buttons, which were all made of silver.

The young man wore an apologetic smile and slightly bowed in the face of the gun barrel.

“I apologize, Lord Mapple, I meant no offense.”

“But my identity…”

“…forces me to act this way.”

As he spoke, the young man stood up straight, appearing calm despite the gun pointed at him.

But—

“Who are you?”

Gawain asked.

The calm young man was taken aback, then seemed to realize something.

“Lord Mapple, you’re from abroad, so naturally, you wouldn’t know who I am. But Andy Nam, you should recognize me, right?”

The young man smiled at Andy Nam, who was standing behind Gawain.

“I don’t know you.”

Andy Nam shook his head.

Instantly, the young man’s smile became somewhat stiff.

But he quickly adjusted and began a formal self-introduction.

“I am the youngest son of Archduke Gratz, Little Gratz.”

Little Gratz puffed out his chest, ready to receive Gawain and Andy Nam’s astonishment.

After all, he was the son of the Archduke!

The son of the renowned Archduke Gratz!

But Gawain didn’t react at all, not even lowering his gun.

And Andy Nam?

This young man furrowed his brow, seemingly deep in thought. After about three or four seconds, he suddenly realized.

“So it’s Lord Little Gratz!”

“I apologize, I did see your photo in the newspaper before, but you were standing too far back, so I only remembered Archduke Gratz and his eldest son, Lord Big Gratz.”

After speaking, Andy Nam took off his hat in apology.

If Little Gratz’s smile was a bit stiff before, now it was completely frozen.

He scanned Gawain and Andy Nam, suspecting that they were doing this on purpose.

In fact, Gawain and Andy Nam were indeed doing it on purpose.

Over the past two weeks, they had considered countless possibilities, including who might show up in front of them first.

The person and their identity were naturally unpredictable.

But whoever it was, and whatever their identity, they certainly had ill intentions!

However, Andy Nam hadn’t expected the first to appear would be the second son of Archduke Gratz.

But this didn’t stop him from trying to provoke the person.

In Gawain and Andy Nam’s discussions, they had a very clear division of labor: Gawain was responsible for sudden events, frontal attacks, and anything that required force, while Andy Nam?

He was the support!

In all situations where force wasn’t necessary, he would disrupt the other party’s plans as much as possible with words and actions.

Simply put, it was…

Taunting!

At first, Andy Nam worried that he wouldn’t do well.

But at this moment, seeing Little Gratz’s stiff expression, Andy Nam knew he had succeeded.

However, it seemed he could push it further.

So, Andy Nam looked at Little Gratz with an apologetic gaze.

“Ah, I forgot.”

“In your family, the second son has no right to inherit the Archduke’s title, so naturally, you couldn’t stand in the front row.”

As he spoke, Andy Nam shook his head in a regretful manner.

Little Gratz was beginning to lose his composure.

The situation was completely different from what he had expected.

He had planned to enter the shooting gallery, surprise Mapple and Andy Nam, then use his identity to shock them, before finally revealing the information he had, gaining enough benefits and complete control.

But…

Why wasn’t it going as he imagined?

Andy Nam in front of him was even more annoying than he had expected.

Why did every word have to mention that bastard Big Gratz!

And that Mapple, who had recently gained great fame.

Why didn’t he react at all to his identity?

Didn’t he know he was the son of the Archduke?

Didn’t he know his ancestor was one of the “Seven Heroes” who overthrew the “Dark Dynasty”?

Little Gratz was puzzled.

Almost unconsciously, Little Gratz looked toward his advisor—today, it was this advisor who suggested that he couldn’t wait any longer and needed to act quickly.

Now that the plan had gone awry, naturally, it was up to this advisor to fix it.

Just like always.

Under Little Gratz’s gaze, an elder wearing a robe but with his hood down, revealing his face, walked over slowly.

The elder’s expression was cold, with pride in his eyes, causing him to slightly raise his chin toward Gawain and Andy Nam.

“Flowing water won’t care about the boulder, flying birds won’t care about the beasts.”

“We came with good intentions, yet we were insulted.”

“This is not our fault.”

The elder spoke in a gentle tone to comfort the young man beside him, and, seemingly to demonstrate his etiquette, he used a tone similar to a recitative.

Gawain, however, bluntly added a line.

“Water wears down stones, birds end up on plates.”

This caused the elder to frown.

“Lord Mapple, as one of the heirs of the ‘Robert Family,’ is this how you treat your friends?”

The elder turned around and asked coldly.

“Good intentions? Friends?”

“All I see are enemies with ill intent.”

Under the sunlight, Gawain’s face showed a cold expression.

The elder shook his head and pointed to Andy Nam.

“You represent him, and I represent Lord Little Gratz.”

“So then…”

“Should we follow tradition?”

The elder asked coldly.

“Tradition?”

The killing intent on Gawain’s face grew even more intense.

It seemed like he was about to make a move at any moment.

Gawain naturally didn’t know what tradition the elder was talking about, but that didn’t stop him from acting.

The so-called tradition the elder mentioned could only mean one of two things.

First, there really was a tradition.

Second, they were trying to deceive him.

If it was a deception, then his current sneer and killing intent could be explained as anger after being deceived.

As for the first one?

It's also quite reasonable!

Although Goethe had no idea what the other person was saying, he was quite certain of the old man's identity before him.

An extraordinary being!

It must have been this person who just warned Little Gratz, stopping him from pulling the trigger.

Moreover, with the appearance of this person, some of Goethe's previous suspicions were confirmed!

After the downfall of the supernatural and the dawn of ordinary people, the supernatural did not disappear; rather, they changed their path: serving those in power.

They lost absolute rule.

So they became aides to those who rule.

In return, they obtained what they needed—perhaps lost knowledge, or maybe some special materials, and so on.

Or it could simply be pure power.

This was the consolation given to the extraordinary by the ordinary people who overthrew the "Dark Dynasty."

It might also be a compromise.

After all, the power of the supernatural is truly tempting.

For instance…

Immortality!

No ruler could resist such a temptation.

In short, after mutual compromise, both sides changed their roles, but it did not make them mortal enemies.

Instead, they began to cooperate once again.

As for what remains unchanged?

Naturally, it’s the common people at the bottom.

Whether it’s the fall of a dynasty or the rise of a new one, the common people are always the ones who suffer.

Goethe silently kept this in his heart.

Unless it was in his homeland, under the miracle, such things would be unavoidable, even for the once-glorious Davarish.

And in Black Sartins?

Miracles are impossible!

Because those who possess "miracles" have long since willingly fallen.

Whether in the past or now, it’s always been this way.

However, in the so-called "Dark Dynasty," the extraordinary certainly would not serve ordinary people, so Goethe guessed that these so-called traditions only emerged after the fall of the "Dark Dynasty" and the rise of the current era.

And as for the extraordinary, it’s impossible for all of them to accept these traditions!

Therefore, Goethe believed that such a response would not be problematic.

Moreover, the words of the extraordinary before him led Goethe to think of more things: if the extraordinary serve the nobles, then the scope of the one who commanded the crows earlier has suddenly narrowed down quite a bit.

But compared to that, Goethe was more concerned with the word "representative" mentioned by the other person.

The other person represents Little Gratz.

And in the other person's mouth, he represents Andinan.

Does this way of speaking imply that...

Andinan is somehow equivalent to Little Gratz?

When this speculation arose, Goethe suddenly had some new guesses.

Including the possible identity of Andinan.

And the purpose of the other person coming here.

If his guess is correct...

The other person and Little Gratz aren’t just harboring ill intentions.

They are filled with outright malice!

Goethe immediately narrowed his eyes.

He turned to look at Little Gratz.

This movement caused the old man before him to misunderstand, stepping forward to stand in front of Little Gratz—exactly where Goethe wanted him.

Since the other person harbored malice.

Then he?

Would certainly return the favor.

"If you consider yourself unwilling to compromise, then why did you come to Black Sartins?"

The old man looked at Goethe with disdain in his eyes.

"Why do you think I came to Black Sartins?"

Goethe asked in return.

He had no idea why he was here!

He simply woke up and found himself here!

"Heh."

The other person continued to sneer, not wanting to get tangled up with Goethe any further.

"If you’re not willing to follow tradition, then let’s try something different—you're quite confident in your gunpowder weapon, aren't you?"

"Then let's have a shooting contest."

"If you win, I'll tell you something."

"If I win, you’ll agree to one of my requests."

"How about it?"

The other person asked.

"Not interested."

"Why should I agree to something based on an uncertain message?"

Goethe shook his head, then said each word clearly.

"And besides..."

"Why should I listen to you?!"

After speaking, Goethe twisted his wrist, and the polished revolver in his hand immediately reflected a flash of sunlight.

When the other person heard Goethe’s words, he stared intently at him, just in time for that flash of sunlight to hit his eyes.

In an instant, the other person reflexively closed his eyes.

And then, a gunshot rang out.

Bang!