"Let's hear the report," said Noel with a serious expression.
"Understood." Dimitri nodded before starting to retell what had happened.
…
One week earlier.
Noel's grandfather, Raincart Ezenholm, was sitting in the library, reading a book. This book was none other than Noel's notebook.
He had been learning a lot from this notebook and didn't expect that Noel had this kind of knowledge.
However, he noticed that the knowledge was still incomplete.
"To think the Spirit Enhancement is the downgrade version of the runes. This is surprising since we all know how Spirit Enhancement can give so much prestige to a blacksmith.
"But if the knowledge about the runes has spread, I'm afraid that there will be a completely new job. The Blacksmiths will change from the Spirit Enhancements to Rune Enhancements.
"Basically, this book is a priceless treasure. Not only will it change the whole landscape of Blacksmith, but it will also allow normal people to get stronger without the use of Spirits. We will become more and more independent from the Spirits.
"Though, it doesn't mean people don't want Spirits anymore. After all, no one is rejecting an extra power up."
Raincart shook his head helplessly. He felt he had already lost against Noel, a young man who had just turned sixteen not long ago.
In ten years, Noel would surely become a monster that no one could ignore.
"I want to protect him, but I can't make any move right now. It's basically impossible to send experts to Noel without the help of the royal family.
"And by looking at the family tree, we can somehow convince the royal family to move as long as we present this book. But I don't want Noel to get entangled into another throne war…"
Raincart closed his eyes with a pained look. The throne war in the Muivell Kingdom had cost him his parents. If there was another throne war in the Greenwood Kingdom, Noel might get into a lot of trouble.
"…" Raincart fell silent for a moment before saying, "The one who hides in the corner over there. You better come out before I get angry."
"…" There was no sound or reply coming from the corner. But a shadow soon approached him as Dimitri came out.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Raincart. I'm surprised that you can find my presence."
"I simply realize your Spiritual Energy fluctuation. So, who are you?" Raincart narrowed his eyes, trying to observe Dimitri. The only reason why he hadn't done anything yet was because there was no killing intent from Dimitri.
The latter had the skill to not leak the killing intent, but Raincart also had enough affinity with the Spiritual Energy to realize it.
So, Raincart didn't attack him yet.
"I am Dimitri, a former Demon Assassination Squad's captain. But right now, I am here as Dimitri, the butler of the Ardagan Family. I currently serve the Young Master."
"Former captain… Ah, the rumored best assassin in the Muivell Kingdom, the Shadow. I have heard a lot about you." Raincart nodded. "I see. So, why do you come to me?"
The two looked at each other as if measuring each other's strength. Raincart, as the former chief of Spirit Magician, had enough strength to fight against Dimitri.
In fact, Dimitri felt like he would be losing if he fought against Raincart right now. His instincts were telling him that the moment he gave the wrong answer, he would die.
Dimitri didn't realize yet that Raincart had reinforced the entire library with his Spiritual Energy and created some traps in it. So, the moment he confirmed Dimitri was an enemy, he would use all of them to hunt him down.
Dimitri slowly moved his hand so that Raincart didn't think he was reaching for his weapon.
To Raincart's surprise, Dimitri actually took out a book and presented it to Raincart. "According to the Young Master, this book is the other half. It will complete the book he gave a few months ago."
"!!!" The only ones who knew about the books were Ilzen, Elsa, and him. So, Raincart knew that Dimitri was truly affiliated with Noel.
Raincart checked the title of the book and noticed the similarity. Both were the introduction of the runes.
As soon as Raincart took the book, Dimitri gave Noel's message. "The Young Master said he would like you to publish this book six months from now."
"Huh? Publish this book?" Raincart narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure he said that?"
"Yes."
"Do you know what will happen when I publish this book?" Raincart gritted his teeth. "The royal family will recognize him and there will be a high possibility of him getting involved in the throne war. And who will be the author of this book?"
"The Young Master leaves it at your discretion."
"…" Raincart closed his eyes while raising his head. He felt a headache just thinking about this matter.
He wanted to understand why Noel did all this.
"Monopoly…"
When he heard Raincart mentioning the monopoly, he actually confirmed it. "Actually, the Young Master also said that it was better to spread the knowledge to the whole world. The runes are too big for someone to monopolize."
"As expected…" Raincart sighed. "He knows the influence I have. He believes that I will be using my influence to spread this knowledge so that no one can monopolize it. Whether they can advance it to the next stage is another matter.
"It seems that the situation has forced him to take this action…" Raincart sighed. "I've failed as a grandfather for not being able to help him directly in this situation."
Raincart bit his lips, wondering why they weren't in the same kingdom. If he, the former chief of the Spirit Magicians of the Greenwood Kingdom, meddled with the Muivell Kingdom, it would be seen as a declaration of war.
So, many people would be implicated in this matter. And the only way to bypass that situation was for Noel to abandon the Muivell Kingdom.
Unfortunately, it wasn't going to happen.
Raincart thought for a moment and said, "Alright. I'll publish this book. However, I'm not going to steal my grandson's glory. The author of this book shall be him, I won't take it otherwise!"
