Nina sighed when she saw Eren wanted to continue speaking on the topic she was least interested in. So she told him everything she had learned about the topic at hand:
"Isaac's strange behaviours only increased as he grew up. Isen got the wind of this thing. The guy was worried about his image more than his grandson's well-being. So he restricted the news about his eldest grandson from spreading.
But ever since Isaac's younger brother Ivor grew up a bit, his troubled self seemed to have vanished. He started behaving like a normal human being."
Nina looked at Eren after she finished speaking. He seemed particularly curious about Ivor's background. So she told the butcher what she had learned about him:
"Ivor on the other hand started becoming more reclusive. He started his ranking practices way early and was seen to be deeply dedicated to them. His natural talent as a ranker also aided in his growth.
I don't know what must have happened between the two brothers. Eventually, Isaac would always talk about his brother endearingly while Ivor would always resent him for it.
Ivor has never spoken positively about his brother. At least that's what I heard from other people who were in touch with the family.
Then there was that incident which people in the healer association often talk about in a hushed manner…"
Eren's interest was piqued when he heard Nina giving him the prelude to the information he might use. He didn't have to say anything because she continued right after:
"One day, a panel of healers was dispatched from the healers association to Isen's residence. There was an emergency involving Ivor. His mana circuits had gone into haywire. Plus, he had some injuries.
Neither Isen, his son, nor any capable ranker from the Osan household was around at that time. So the maids had called the healers association after finding Ivor in the state he was.
The healers visited the Osan residence after treating Ivor and commented that Ivor had peculiar injuries. Of course, when Isen came back, he summoned the same healers and told them to sign a non-disclosure contract.
We don't know what happened to Ivor or the part Isen played in his injuries. But one thing is certain. Ivor wouldn't have been upset about his brother's demise."
Nina concluded and looked at Eren with a questioning gaze. The latter just shrugged his shoulder before responding:
"I was asking because Ivor's behaviour in LA was pretty erratic. He fought with a lot of people. But he also had a huge fanbase because of the way he fought in ranking wars. The guy's an enigma, aunt Nina. I just wanted to make sense of his overall personality."
Nina nodded after she heard Eren's reasoning. The latter thought of changing the subject after he learned what he needed. It didn't give him anything useful. But he knew that sometimes information just needs to be collected in fragments. It'd only make sense when all the fragments come together and make a complete picture.
Eren smiled and kept his right hand on Nina's shoulder. He gave her a side hug, got close to her ears, and asked her teasingly:
"Miss Nina, tell me today's colour, will you?"
Nina chuckled after she heard Eren's question. She pondered a bit as if recalling a bit and told him when she seemed to have remembered it:
"Shamrock!"
Eren raised his eyebrows and acted exaggeratedly surprised. He asked Nina as if he was in disbelief:
"This was the same colour you had told me about last time. Don't tell me, dirty undies?"
Nina had a blank face after hearing Eren's reply. Soon that blank face was painted with shades of anger.
Nina disappeared from her position only to reappear before Eren could understand what had happened. Out of nowhere, Eren had one of the remaining pancakes thrown on his face, which then proceeded to fall off of his smirking face.
"Little rat, I like that colour. I have multiple pairs of them of the same colour. And it's rich coming from you who didn't wear them until a few months ago."
Eren and Nina both laughed to their heart's content as they talked and took jabs at each other. The day was spent in them talking about random stuff and planning their date along with some dry action.
***************
Two days later!
The shocking news spread quickly throughout Edinburgh.
Ivor Osan was the Osan Woods Butcher!
He had killed his brother and his friends in the woods before heading to LA. He had been missing since the charges against him were confirmed.
Ivor Osan now had a cult bounty on his head. The price was enough for high ranking mercenaries to start drooling in anticipation of catching him.
Isen Osan had successfully escaped to the kingdom of Leyos, which was an adjacent yet enemy nation of the Edinburgh kingdom. He had acted fast and didn't let anybody know about his next move once he knew what the higher-ups of the kingdom were planning to do with him.
Since he held an influential position in Edinburgh and was part of the inner circle of the kingdom, he had been gladly welcomed by the elites of the Leyos. He was provided shelter. The higher-ups of the Edinburgh kingdom were extremely pissed. They had charged Isen Osan with mutiny and also placed a bounty on his family's heads.
But Isen Osan has crossed to the other side now. Edinburgh's bounty only applied to its territory. Unless some high-ranking assassin willing to upset the higher-ups of the Leyos didn't take it upon themselves to take up Edinburgh's bounty and finish Isen off in the Leyos' territory, the Osan Sr. was safe and sound.
Everybody in the Edinburgh kingdom, from mortals to rankers, had come to realize that the cultist activities in various regions would spike because of these pieces of news getting circulated. Moreover, as the cult activities increase, so would the activities of local thugs who would use the cultists' names to execute their nefarious plans.
The security of various significant cities within the kingdom, including Osan, was tightened. The army had been dispatched to various places. Additionally, soldiers have been given enhanced rights to apprehend anyone they find suspicious. As a result, some wicked element in the army had become an even bigger menace to local authorities than the law-and-order problems they were currently having.
Things were going to be tense in various regions of the kingdom for a while. The peace between Edinburgh and Leyos also started looking fragile after a long period of stagnation.
