"Ragnar! You finally arrived!" Hector burst into laughter as he slapped the round table. "Come, let me introduce you to my friend." Ragnar stepped forward before giving a respectful bow.
"Greetings, senior. My name is Ragnar." The elven youth inclined his head with an easy smile. "Kaien. Nice to meet you." Ragnar returned the nod before taking his seat once more.
Hector leaned back with a grin. "So? What do you think of him?" Kaien studied Ragnar for a few moments before a faint chuckle escaped him. "He reminds me of one of my brothers." Hector blinked. "Jeremiah? I don't see it."
The very thought of that walking catastrophe made him inwardly shudder. Ragnar was violent, certainly, but Jeremiah... That man was a blade given human form. Kaien shook his head.
"No. Dante." The room fell quiet. Ragnar remained silent. He understood what his brother's question had truly meant. Potential, temperament, combat talent, ambition and even morality. Kaien's answer judged all five at once.
Hector frowned. "Wait... don't you have three sisters and 2 brothers?"
"I do." Kaien smiled but didn't elaborate. Before he could continue, the Emperor—who had been silently listening the entire time—finally spoke. "Is this the same child Justin couldn't stop talking about?"
Every head turned toward him. Only the Empress remained focused on Kaien, curiosity burning within her eyes. Kaien gave a helpless smile. "Yes, Uncle."
A faint headache seemed to spread through the room. Everyone instinctively looked away from the Emperor. Only the Empress continued staring at Kaien.
"And the mother?"
"Aunt Aurora." Kaien paused. "I would appreciate it if that remained within this room." The Empress sighed. "So we will have to visit those idiots sooner than expected." Kaien laughed softly.
"You probably won't meet Dante." That answer only deepened her curiosity. The Emperor, however, slowly shifted his gaze toward Ragnar. Ragnar noticed immediately.
"...Father?"
Instead of answering, the Emperor simply watched him. Kaien noticed the exchange and smiled knowingly. "I think your father is trying to give you the same advice I was about to." He looked directly at Ragnar.
"Dante is... difficult. He isn't reckless nor is he irrational, but he is incredibly unpredictable. He's the sort of person who smiles while laying traps five steps ahead."
"And unlike most schemers...He has the strength to back every one of them." Kaien folded his arms, "To this day, I still don't know how strong he actually is." The Emperor narrowed his eyes.
"How strong are you?" Kaien simply smiled. He ignored the question entirely. "You'll meet him at Midvest Academy. My advice is simple, don't become his enemy. If he gets himself into trouble, Father won't interfere. He also won't let him die."
"I doubt you'll ever push him that far, but I'd rather not find out." Ragnar quietly absorbed every word. Two conclusions immediately formed in his mind.
The first...This elf's father stood on the same level as his own.
The second...This Dante...was trouble. Not the ordinary kind closer to the dangerous kind. The Emperor, however, understood something Ragnar did not. Kaien wasn't truly warning Ragnar.
He was warning him. If Ragnar picked a fight with Dante...no one from Kaien's family would stop what came next.
The Emperor could only smile bitterly. Among those who had grown up with Justin, everyone knew one thing. Attempting to kill one of his own carried consequences beyond imagination.
The only recorded attempt had ended with five Mythical Beings dead.
One Ancient Sovereign slain.
Six Great Emperors wiped from existence. It wasn't merely history, it was a warning. Kaien calmly continued. "Dante is difficult to understand, to us, he's just our youngest brother, but recently... he's begun changing."
"He already has two Legendary-tier subordinates. From what we've confirmed...he destroyed nearly a fifth of an empire...and survived an encounter with a Level Six Mythical Being."
He shrugged. "Those are simply the things we know. There are probably more. We've intentionally kept this from him. He doesn't know how much we've learned. So when you meet him...don't mention any of this."
Silence.
No one spoke. Every person at the table stared at Kaien.
Even Ragnar found himself speechless.
Then Kaien added one final sentence. Almost absent-mindedly. "Oh. He's sixteen. about your age, turning seventeen this year."
The room froze. Hector slammed both hands onto the table.
"Impossible!"