He had known it would be intense. He had even taken some measures to handle it, preparing himself psychologically.
Yet nothing could have prepared him for the waves of people that bombarded him with all kinds of absurdly long greetings.
"The Royal Ambassador of the Jaerun Kingdom greets the Virodha Champion..."
"I bid you congratulations on behalf of the Dreemont Consortium..."
"On behalf of the East-Panamic Alliance, we celebrate your victory..."
Rui briskly and swiftly dealt with each statement as well as he could. Many offers came his way, and many were declined. He couldn't afford to give due consideration to all of them.
However, he did give consideration to some of the more powerful guests. The reason for that was not because he was actually interested in joining or partnering with them.
He just wanted everybody watching to think he was.
All so that when he did accept a private talk from a certain individual, it would not look suspicious.
"Champion Falken," A familiar voice greeted him with an unerringly polite tone and a perfect smile. "I am a Martial Commissioner of the Kandrian Martial Union, Commissioner Reze. I would like to discuss certain offers with you privately away from the banquet hall for just some brief time."
Rui stared into the man's eyes for a moment, as if considering the Martial Union's offer. "...Alright, I look forward to hearing the offers of the vaunted Kandrian Martial Union."
He glanced at Master Deivon, who gave him a knowing nod, before walking away from the banquet hall and towards an absurdly large and ostentatious carriage that pulled up right before the entrance.
It had the familiar and nostalgic emblem of the Martial Union.
Rui's senses couldn't so much as enter the carriage. To his shock, even Riemannian Echo was completely sealed. The only time this had happened was when he was on Ajanta Island due to its naturally bizarre gravitational field.
THUD
The door was closed on them, and a strange hum ensued. He instinctively felt an enormous amount of energy surging through the carriage.
"I personally arranged for a particularly high-grade sage-level anti-espionage system. It is an extremely precious resource." Commissioner Reze's formal tone was reduced in its stiffness. "It was extremely difficult to arrange this on short notice when our intelligence department detected your trace in the Seonmun Church town..."
Rui simply stared at him.
"So you can be yourself without fear, Squire Quarrier." The man smiled.
Rui heaved a broken sigh that quivered in relief.
Being called addressed by his true identity blasted him with a wave of nostalgia and sentiment that had been silently accumulating for three years. He hadn't realized how much he missed being addressed by his actual name, who he truly was.
"It's been a long time... Commissioner Reze," Rui replied, gathering his composure.
"...Indeed."
For a moment, there was silence.
"How is my family?" Rui's eyes narrowed.
This was the first question that he had decided to ask the Martial Commissioner if they ever did get to speak again.
"Alive and well," The commissioner promised with a firm tone. "They are unaware of the truth to this day."
Rui heaved another quivering sigh.
All this time, he didn't know the status of his family. He hoped they were well, and had taken some powerful measures to ensure that they were well, but he didn't know that they were well.
Now that he had gotten confirmation that nothing bad had happened in the past three years, he could go to sleep easier.
"How many attempts at kidnapping them in the past three years?"
Commissioner Reze paused for a moment. "... Twenty-six."
Rui narrowed his eyes, clenching his fist.
Twenty-six times, he had tried to harm his family.
A surge of energy threatened to break out of his control, requiring his full effort to control.
"...That's too high. He hasn't given up."
"Yes, he hasn't." Commissioner Reze sighed. "It is naive to expect him to give up."
Rui nodded with a grave expression, recalling the moniker that the man had earned in his years as a businessman.
The bloodhound.
Once he chose a target, he would chase them to the end of the world. Once he got a hold of them, he would never let go. Once he took a bite out of them, he wouldn't stop until he devoured them.
A perseverance that verged on madness.
That was the reason that he had risen to the highest echelons of the Shionel Confederation.
He had risen to power in his industry after spending nearly fifteen years dogging after his rival, the previous oligarch of the esoteric supply and technology industry. He tore the market away from him, tore away the stakes and stocks of his company before the man mysteriously disappeared after losing everything to Chairman Deacon.
In comparison to that, three years was nothing. Especially when he had the means to extend his lifespan beyond human limits. It would take far more to even consider making him give up.
"Give me an update on everything relevant." Rui narrowed his eyes.
"Very well..." Commissioner Reze nodded. "Once you left, he immediately began hunting the Kandrian Empire for the two doppelgangers that he believed were you and young master Arrancar. Simultaneously, Guildmaster Bradt applied more pressure on him when he proposed and successfully ratified the Dungeon Estate act of the year 426 PMA, which allowed for free colonization of the dungeon floors for private ownership. It forced Chairman Deacon to dedicate his burdened resources towards competing in what is now known as the colonization war within the Shionel Confederation."
Rui nodded, this made sense. Rui had already deduced most of this after deeply analyzing the few words that Guildmaster Bradt had exchanged with him.
"Because he was forced to employ much of his own capital towards the silent war within the Shionel Confederation, he was unable to employ much capital towards his personal vendetta towards you in the Kandrian Empire." Commissioner Reze explained. "He managed to overcome this impediment by forging agreements and partnerships with several industrial powerhouses and oligarchs within the Kandrian Empire with a complex set of agreements with many terms and conditions. However, they basically boil down to this..."
He paused for a moment, before continuing. "In exchange for the real estate within the Shionel Dungeon that Chairman Deacon managed to monopolize with his own capital, they would aid with helping Chairman Deacon build a powerful and solid foundation and base within the Kandrian Empire."
A look of horror emerged in Rui's eyes. "...It will allow him to conduct operations within the Kandrian Empire with greater ease, it may even allow him to shift power bases in the long run away from the oppressive guildmaster and closer towards his target..."
"...All so that he can hunt you down and kill you and your family." Commissioner Reze declared, completing his thoughts.
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