After taking the pelt of the Arcane Arcadia wolf, he and the other members of his party, namely Lara and Hilda, started to pull out the teeth of Arcadia wolves as proof of subjugation. Once they were done with extracting what they needed, the party of three headed back to town. When they got back, Valdel was there waiting for them.
"Hey Ren, why didn"t you tell me you"re back."
"I had a lot of other things to do. Just wait a minute, I"m just going to report the success of the quest." Ren then went to the receptionist. He showed the proof of subjugation, and was asked to wait. While the group was waiting, Valdel looked at his best friend and sighed.
"You did a quest first."
"Among other things." Ren shrugged his shoulders, in which Valdel responded with a palm to his face.
"Whatever, that doesn"t matter. I have something important to tell you Ren." When Valdel said this, he looked at Hilda. This subtle movement made Ren aware that what they were about to talk about was regarding the underworld.
"Lara, Hilda, me and my buddy here are just going to have a little chat. You two wait here for the quest confirmation of completion, as well as the reward."
Lara and Hilda nodded in response. Hilda also noticed that subtle look Valdel gave her. She was already aware that up to now Ren didn"t really fully trust her. Well truth be told, Hilda didn"t fully trust Ren either. Still Hilda somehow felt a bit hurt, even though she didn"t understand the reason why she was feeling that way.
"Well it doesn"t matter, if we don"t trust each other right now. As long as we stick together, sooner or later we will learn to trust each other." Hilda didn"t noticed but at that moment she was actually smiling. Lara who saw Hilda"s smiling face knew that something was up.
She was really irritated that she couldn"t do anything to stop this. She really wanted to accept Hilda as a comrade, but because she was going to be Ren"s woman in the future, she was having difficulty liking her. She was thinking that Hilda"s fall was inevitable.
...
Ren and Valdel headed to an empty alley and started talking.
"So what is it, that you want to tell me?" Ren asked as he was scanning the area double checking if they were really safe from outstretched ears.
"I met the king a few days ago." Ren hearing this new piece of information had his eyes widened. This was something he had expected to happen, due to Valdel"s unusual skill. Still Ren wasn"t expecting Valdel to acquire the king"s attention this quickly.
"What did he want?" Ren asked wary of what kind of king the king of Reschbeauch truly was. Though he heard the rumors, and other fantastical tale about the man, but hearing it from Valdel would be different.
Valdel then started to tell the story of how he met the king. From how he was able to survive three strikes from the king to how he got the ring from the king. Ren who was listening to the story, found some things Valdel said extremely interesting.
"The king is obviously using Valdel as bait, to lure out those that are potential enemies to the crown. The gift he gave Valdel is more like payment than a gift. A warrior king is it... When I heard the rumors I only thought that he was a king that was the same as me, who only lives through battle, but based on what Valdel said, he"s more like my former son. A warrior that schemes is no longer a warrior, well he really isn"t one, since he is a king." As Ren mused about the king of Reschbeauch, he spoke to Valdel.
"So the king has the same ailment as Iselv, and he didn"t call it a curse, instead it"s a blessing... I see, how interesting. An ability only given to his bloodline. The more mana he has the greater the power, but he would be unable to use even the simplest of spells. Well I guess that"s a fair exchange for such enormous power."
Ren was getting excited again. This world had more races than his previous one, and they even had bloodline skills. This world felt familiar at the same time different to Ren, which really excited him. The idea that there are bloodline related abilities, made him truly excited. Was it only the royal family that had such abilities, or does everyone have one, and they just haven"t noticed it yet?
Ren wasn"t a scholar, and his abilities mostly revolved around battle, so researching such a thing was not part of his expertise.
"I can always find someone to do the research for me. So not only do I need a dwarven blacksmith, I also need a scholar to do my research. Also having dealings with the merchant guild might come in handy."
"So Ren what do you plan to do?" Valdel suddenly spoke breaking Ren"s train of thought.
"Huh? Do about what?"
"About Iselv, it is possible that he is related to the king. Seeing as he has the same ability as the royal family he must be related somehow."
"Obviously I understood that, him having amnesia is a problem, but now that we have this new lead, we can investigate even deeper. Still... I wonder what happened, if Iselv is really part of the royal family, what could have transpired for him to lose his memories and end up in the slums of Grenton? Well I"ll decide what to do, once I have a clearer picture. Thanks for telling me this Val."
"Of course, but Ren... What of your promise to Iselv? You promised him that you could enhance his mana pool, but if he really has the same ability as the king. Enhancing his mana pool is close to impossible."
Ren couldn"t help but smirk at what Valdel said. This best friend of his, even after what happened to him, still remained ever pure.
"Don"t worry about that Val, I"ll explain his circ.u.mstances to him. So is that all you wanted to talk about?" As Ren was saying this, he was already planning his next move. With this new information his plan of conquering the underworld of Reschbeauch, just got upgraded to a plan to conquer the entire kingdom of Reschbeauch.
"Yeah, that"s pretty much it... Ren I trust you... You know that right?" Valdel then suddenly said something incomprehensible to Ren. Why would Valdel suddenly say that?
"Of course I know that. Why?... Are you somehow doubting me? If so that"s great, even though we"re best friends, you should always doubt me Val. Think for yourself and see what the truth is with your own eyes. Do not always blindly follow me. I"m happy Val, it seems like you grown somehow."
Valdel wasn"t expecting Ren to say what he just said. Ren was actually telling him to doubt him. His best friend that seem like he could do anything, had now asked him to doubt him, and see the truth with his own eyes. Valdel was really confused by this.
Ren seeing the confusion in Valdel"s expression, couldn"t help but smile at his naive friend. He then patted Valdel"s shoulders.
"You can think about what I just said later, for now let"s have a meal, for some reason I"m hungry again." After saying what he said Ren headed back to the adventurers guild. Valdel who was left standing looking at his friend"s back shook his head, and followed after.