Return of the Runebound Professor

Chapter 903: Best of luck

Sievan didn’t mind the silence.

That wasn’t to say he particularly enjoyed it. All his years had very much taught him that enjoyment came in moderation. Life, he found, was much like a cake. He enjoyed a good slice of cake just as much as anyone else. But there was only so much of it that one could take before it became cloying.

Silence was much the same. It was the time to contemplate and think, the only manners in which true growth was ever possible. But too much of it made one think a bit too much. That was how one tied their brain into a knot. Too much thinking was bad for the soul.

All things came best in balance.

He quite enjoyed his talks with Tim. The mortal was bafflingly insightful for someone so young. And — other than Noah — there was nearly nobody else in existence who spoke to him on such an equal level. Tim didn’t care in the slightest who Sievan was.

The mortal didn’t care about politics or rank in the slightest. He was completely and utterly single-minded. And Sievan quite appreciated that. Conversations with Tim were always more than welcome to interrupt the silence.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t say the same for the specter of a woman before him.

“Sievan,” she hissed. Shadows coiled from her body, skittering across the floor around her like tiny insects before vanishing from existence. She was featureless and her form was so hazy that it may as well have been an apparition.

“The house spider emerges from its den,” Sievan said, crossing his arms behind his back. Noah was already long gone. He’d erased any trace of the mortal’s passing. But it wouldn’t hurt to buy him just a bit more time, just in case. “Have you grown bold? Or did you forget the hungry birds that circle outside?”

“Bold words for a man who hasn’t changed in hundreds of years. Why are you here? The treaty—”

“Never forbade me from paying an old friend a visit, no matter how estranged we may be,” Sievan said smoothly. “Though I must say that I am rather disappointed to find that Vivian is sending her pet after me instead of visiting herself. It is proper for one ruler to meet another… or has the leash changed necks?”

“Watch your words, Sievan. I am M—”

“I’ll not call you that laughable name,” Sievan said, letting out a small laugh. “You are mistress of nothing but cowardice. To me — you are Maria. And that is the name you will be known as until you have proven to be worthy of anything more.”

“Don’t,” the shadowy woman hissed. “That name—”

“Is yours,” Sievan said. “No matter how badly you wish to discard it. Are you really in any position to hold ire at me when the Faction Heads would pounce should they discover your involvement with Vivian?”

“Are you threatening us?” The shadows that made up Maria bubbled and hissed. A loud chittering filled the room as her smokey eyes flared with angry red light. “I will not—”

Sievan raised his hand.

The world stilled.

All the light in the room evaporated. The sound went with it. The floor fell out from beneath them. Maria’s shadows were eclipsed by sheer, utter black so dark that it made her look like the burning sun in comparison. Her magic snuffed out like a candle in a hurricane.

Sievan didn’t call on his magic. He didn’t send his domain forth to bear down on her shoulders and crush her into dust. He didn’t need to.

“Watch your tongue,” Sievan said softly. “We are both Rank 8. But we are not the same, Maria. We could not be more different. I have watched mages your strength crumble to dust more times than there are stars in the sky. Do not mistake my manners for weakness, or Vivian will need to find a new pet.”

Then the room was as it had been.

There was a long second of silence.

This text was taken from NovelBin. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Then Maria’s head bowed.

“My apologies. I did not mean to offend. Today is a stressful one. Someone has been interfering with the tournament. I spoke too harshly.”

“You did,” Sievan said. “I will accept your apology. Why have you sought me out? I had no desire to interfere with your tournament. I am merely observing.”

“Why not do it officially?” Maria asked.

“I do not enjoy the games of the Faction Heads. Vivian is not excluded from that list,” Sievan replied simply. “I do as I wish. The only ones who may protest that are those who have the strength to back their claim. But now that you have dragged me into this — what exactly is it that you pursue?”

“The Truthseekers,” Maria said. “They’ve made an appearance. Again. And it seems that one of them has managed to get their hands on something far too powerful to leave be. I cannot speak of it. Vivian herself will not tell me. But it is not my concern. I was pursuing—”

“You sought the wrong man,” Sievan said. “The only one that was present is an old friend of the owner of this body. I was simply having a brief meeting with him in private after a scuffle. He is not a Truthseeker.”

The shadows forming Maria’s body flickered.

“I followed the wrong one? You’re not hiding him?”

“Are you implying I would aid a Truthseeker?” Sievan asked, letting out a bark of laughter. “Are you certain those are the words you wish to leave your mouth?”

Maria shook her head. “No. No, of course not. But the trace of magic lead here. Is it possible the Truthseeker—”

“No,” Sievan said flatly. “I can assure you, Maria, that a mere Truthseeker would not be capable of concealing their presence from me. I removed the one whom I spoke with shortly after an altercation. He was not followed. You mistook their signatures because Spatial Magic was used twice in a very close area. Whoever you seek did not pass through this place.”

“What of this friend, then?” Maria asked. “Can I ask where he is? I need to determine what happened. If he knows anything about the Truthseeker or his location…”

“He does not,” Sievan said. “Was there anything else you wanted, Maria?”

Another long second of silence passed.

“No,” Maria said. “There was not. I apologize for intruding on your space, Lord Sievan. Please enjoy the remainder of the tournament. And if you would be so kind…”

“I will not tell the other Faction Heads of your involvement,” Sievan said. One corner of his lip curled. “I don’t have any more desire to help them than I do to help you. They will hear nothing from me. But I have to admit that I’m a little curious. Have things really spiraled so badly that Vivian needs you to play lapdog for her? How much influence has she lost?”

“Not influence. Time,” Maria said. Even though her face was nothing but indiscriminate shadow, Sievan could tell that she was grimacing. “The other Faction Heads have been colluding. She’s quite confident of it. There have been more problems than any other time the tournament has been called. The Truthseekers are just another falling domino that we don’t have time to catch. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were somehow put into motion by the other heads.”

“Can you really be surprised?” Sievan asked. His smile fell away. “I know what comes for the Coral Empire in a year. Everyone will be fighting over it. For there to be two different events of this scale within a single empire in such close proximity… it is little wonder that you find yourselves surrounded by sharks. The opportunity is too great.”

“We know,” Maria said. “But opportunity is a curse if you do not have the strength to control it.”

“I suppose not,” Sievan allowed. “And not even Vivian will be able to influence what happens within it. It’ll all be on the backs of the competitors. I suppose that would be why there is so much attention on the tournament this time around. It’ll be one of the best spots to find potential that you can actually send into—”

“Don’t speak of it, please,” Maria said. “There are too many waiting ears. The less attention directed there, the better. I don’t know how powerful our enemies have become. If you truly wish to remain impartial, then leave the conversation there.”

Sievan inclined his head. “Very well. I see no reason to generate you trouble. Best of luck with your tournament. I will be watching quite curiously. But I must ask. Do you and Vivian have your eye on any targets yet? If you want to compete with the other factions, she’s going to have to stop relying entirely on her church and begin actually taking more risks on the unknown and untested.”

Maria hesitated for a second. Then she nodded. “Yes. It was not her original intention. But things have progressed farther than any of us expected. There are a few that she is watching… and there are some that I myself have been observing.”

“Who?” Sievan asked.

Maria could have refused to answer. But she’d just asked a favor from Sievan. Not returning the favor in kind would have been rude. And when one was dealing with Sievan, being rude was rarely the wise path.

“A number,” Maria said. “But I will only speak their names if you promise not to interfere. If this is only to satisfy your curiosity, I will answer. But I will not offer up my targets if you plan to steal them away.”

“I will not interfere,” Sievan said. “That is not why I came to the tournament. Tell me the one you are most interested in so that I may know who to watch during the coming rounds. It should be most entertaining.”

Maria blew out a small breath. “There are several that hold my gaze. But right now… the ones with the most potential aligning with my skills are a pair of sword-users. A duo of Rank 4 women named Alexandra and Yulin.”

Sievan tilted his head slightly to the side. Then his lips twitched. “I see. Best of luck with that, Maria.”

“Best of luck?” Maria frowned. “What do you mean, best of luck? Is there someone else targeting them? Why did you say it like…”

Her words fell on nothing but empty walls.

Sievan was gone.

“Shit,” Maria muttered.

Then she was gone as well, and the room was silent.