Chapter 187: ’Weird Family’
Chapter 187: ’Weird Family’
"Welcome!" Mathias smiled, welcoming Auric at the airport.
Auric was quite surprised that Mathias would go all the way here just for him. He thought he would just send some people to bring him to the Relesha family.
"Thank you very much for coming here." Auric politely nodded.
"Not at all. I’m just a retired old man." Mathias chuckled. He was... or at least on the surface. Those who knew him would know that he might have retired, but he still maintained his connection and his mind remained sharp.
He was still watching over the underworld. If necessary, he would pay people some ’visits.’
Of course, looking at how carefree he looked, Auric thought Mathias had already retired.
"No problem. You are the guest of honor, so I have to come. You must be tired right now. How about we go back first?"
"Yes, thank you." Auric smiled. It was already night, considering he took the last flight. So, it was better not to waste time and let Mathias have proper rest.
"Let’s go." Mathias smiled and patted Auric’s back.
Mathias had prepared everything. He had altered the airline record and even eliminated all the agents sent to monitor him before coming here. This was the only reason Maya would agree to let Auric treat the poisoned patients in the first place.
Without such a guarantee, she wouldn’t feel safe.
Auric obviously didn’t know about their arrangements.
Nevertheless, he knew how rich the Relesha family was from the car they drove to the mansion they had.
The capital city itself was at least ten times bigger than Thunderer City. This was the heart of the country. The money circulating in this city was at least twenty times higher than in any other city.
He had seen the city from above earlier and saw so many tall buildings. It was truly making him feel like a country bumpkin, not that it was wrong.
Had he accepted Kallarnos University’s offer to permanently enroll there, he would probably encounter more customers here.
But the danger would also be higher. He heard all sorts of rumors about the capital city, including the bad ones.
Because they produced more and had a much higher capacity, they often looked down on other people. The gap was much more apparent compared to other cities.
So, Auric might have a bigger headache here. Even Mr. Popo would have trouble stopping unruly customers, as there might be someone stronger than him who would kill him.
Nevertheless, Auric wanted to shake those thoughts off for the time being. This was the first time he had seen the capital city.
He could definitely say how marvelous it was.
Ultimately, they reached the mansion where the Relesha family was staying. Considering the limited space in this city, there wasn’t a single family that had a mansion with a ridiculously large garden. After all, they had to squeeze in so many buildings in a smaller space.
Humans no longer had all the space they wanted to build their houses because of the beasts.
Still, at the level of the Relesha family, they still had quite a big mansion and a big enough garden to not only walk around but also do some practice.
Once they arrived at the mansion, Auric was taken aback by the number of people lining up to greet him.
"Welcome."
’So, they do have butlers and maids...’ Auric muttered inwardly.
"Oh my. Who do we have here?"
An elderly lady arrived at the entrance with a smile on her face. She looked like a lady in her late forties. Despite having wrinkles on her face, she looked young enough to make people not think she was already a grandmother.
More importantly, Auric could see the energy in her body. She was actually stronger than Maya.
He knew that Mathias and Arnie were at the same level, but Maya’s grandmother was also close to their level. She was probably on the verge of evolution.
Auric nodded politely. "Good evening, Auntie."
"Oh my." She smiled. "What a polite kid we have here."
"She is my wife, not my daughter."
"Ah!" Auric acted as if he were surprised. "My apologies. You look so young that I mistook you for Auntie."
She chuckled. "Hello, my name is Genetia. You can call me Grandma Tia."
"Yes, Grandma Tia. I am Auric Elfe. Teacher Maya has taken care of me."
"Have you eaten yet?" Genetia asked. "I’ve prepared a few things that you might like."
"It is a coincidence. I happen to be hungry." Auric smiled.
"Then let’s go." Tia dragged Auric to the dining room. Three people happened to be discussing something inside.
The first person was a man in his late forties. He had sharp brown eyes and long brown hair tied behind his back.
The second person was a woman who looked much younger. Her eyes were small, but that made her look even more serious when she focused.
The third person looked like the woman’s sister. Their ages didn’t look so different from each other, but there was some similarity in their facial features.
"Hmm?" The man raised his head. "Oh? Is it today?"
"This is Maya’s student, Auric Elfe."
"Good to meet you." The man stood up. "I am Edward Relesha. This is my wife, Lunaria, and my fourth child, Luriel."
"Hello." Auric smiled. "Thank you for having me. Teacher Maya has taken care of me all this time."
Auric had heard their names. Edward was the current head of the Relesha family. Even though his children were the ones managing their business, Edward remained as the supervisor, making sure that the children didn’t go astray.
Meanwhile, his wife wasn’t something to be underestimated either. She was actually as strong as Arnie and Mathias. It looked like she would be the one guarding the family if Mathias were not here.
The first daughter, or Maya’s elder sister, was the mayor of the city. There were rumors that she might even consider a presidency if she kept building her own connections. Even if she failed, she would definitely become a minister at the very least.
Auric almost forgot that this family was filled with monsters. None of them could be underestimated in their own field.
"So, this is Maya’s student?" Luriel smiled at him, scanning Auric. She grabbed her bag and took out a brown envelope. "I heard you are an evolution master and your store is doing well over there. If you want to open a store while you are in this city, you can use this building."
Bang!
The door opened, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room.
"Liam?! You need to be more careful with the door! Where is your manner?" Luriel frowned, her hands on her waist.
"Sorry, sorry!"
After hearing that name, Auric knew that the man who had just entered was Peteliam, the second son. He was the one managing the Shadow Guards.
The man had a rather gloomy expression, but he had scars and tattoos all over his body.
Auric even wondered if this man was actually a gangster. Then again, the Shadow Guards and the business around them made them seem like a mafia group.
Auric couldn’t help but tense up, watching the man.
"So, you are Maya’s..." Liam looked at Auric before taking out a box. "Take this. You are going to enter Kallarnos University, right? Those people love to compete and look down on people who lose. So, first, don’t lose out in terms of appearance. Your looks are good, so just wear that watch so no one looks down on you."
"Ah..." Auric was a bit speechless. He didn’t know how to react. The daughter gave him a building just to open the store.
When he opened the box, Auric found what was possibly the ugliest watch he had ever seen. That was why he knew it was very expensive.
"Just a watch? This is not enough." Another voice echoed from outside.
Yet another man appeared. He was a stark contrast to Liam. He had the elegance and dignity of a leader.
"Jeremy." Liam rolled his eyes.
Auric didn’t know how to react. He felt like these people just popped out of nowhere one after another. He thought people like them would be extremely busy and have little time to return home.
This time, the one who came was Jeremy Relesha, the first son as well as the face of the family. He was the one who took care of the artifact business.
"What makes a man is the clothes!" Jeremy took out a card and handed it to Auric. "Take this. Go there tomorrow. Buy as many clothes as you like. If you don’t know much about clothes, those people will guide you and make sure that you can carry yourself confidently."
Auric was overwhelmed by all these gifts. He knew these gifts were not exactly low in value. In fact, even if he used all his current money, it wouldn’t be enough to cover even just one of these gifts.
After all, even the watch was actually a magic item. Unlike the necklace his mother gave him, he could clearly see there was elemental energy within the watch.
"By the way, where is William?" Jeremy asked, noticing that the third son was missing.
"Apparently, William is having a meeting with Curea’s prime minister right now." Luriel took out another thing from her bag. "He left me with this. A burner phone. If there’s any roadblock, just call him and he will open it."
Auric’s eyes brightened. For the first time, he found someone relatively normal in this family... someone who was busy.
"Isn’t he rude to our guest right now?" Jeremy frowned. "Should I stop his money supply?"
"I should ask the Shadow Guards to bring him back." Liam nodded in agreement.
"It looks like I have to get angry this time." Mathias squinted his eyes.
"Do I need to punish him?" Edward crossed his arms.
"I had asked him about that when he gave me this phone, but apparently the situation had become quite a mess. Curea seemed to have sniffed the Sun Store and they’re probing around this country to find out the information about the gathering techniques." Luriel shook her head helplessly.
’Gathering techniques?’ Auric was dumbfounded. So, he was the cause?
"Gathering techniques? I’ve heard of that before. People are focusing too much on the fact that they can evolve without the help of an evolution master. However, the most important usage is that it can help you increase your energy safely." Lunaria nodded. "A godlike item for those who are at a high rank."
"We haven’t figured out their identity yet. It looks like the president is trying to hide the information as deeply as possible. If even this country can’t find out, other countries won’t be able to." Genetia nodded in agreement.
’So, it’s really me who is the cause?’ Auric didn’t know what to say anymore.
"Still, it’s unforgivable not to come home today." Jeremy frowned.
"Right?"
The others agreed.
Auric never thought the conversation returned to this one. He said with a wry smile, "I’m fine. I feel bad that all of you have to spend your time on someone insignificant like me."
"It’s not fine!" Jeremy glared at Auric. "There is one rule in this family, one that must be followed. Family is the strongest bond, so you need to prioritize it!"
Liam nodded in agreement.
Luriel raised her finger. "You see. Jeremy has the money and the face of the family. The business can prosper because Liam is the muscle, watching the underworld. I have also played a role as the mayor, while William took care of the government side. The same could be said for any of us. If William wants a higher position, he will need Jeremy’s money or even Liam’s muscle to search around. That’s why it’s not okay!"
Liam continued to nod.
Auric was a bit speechless. At the same time, he couldn’t exactly deny her words. Rather than accepting money from another family, it would be better to have the money from within the family. It had fewer restrictions.
Still, he couldn’t help but ask himself, ’Am I the weird one here?’
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