Butler Si, reappeared in the middle of some woods, but there is not a single sign of life around him. Even the trees in the woods are completely withered. There is not a single leaf in sight, and even the ground is devoid of any dried leaves.
He currently stood in a small circular patch in the middle of these dead woods and the Blood Iron Token once again came back into his hands.
There is a small path leading somewhere and he looked at that path with a complicated expression. He is quite reluctant to go there, but by now, he is already at a point of no return. He took a deep breath and started walking in the path.
He walked slowly like a normal person and it took ten minutes for him to come out of the woods and he appeared before a large stone gate.
He placed his hands on it and gently pushed.
It opened without making a single noise, even though it is literally grinding against the floor.
Inside, there is a stone-paved path that lead to the large stone house in the middle of the plot of land.
There is a string of words etched on top of the house.
"LEAGUE OF BLOOD IRON."
Butler Si, had a determined expression as he walked to the stone house and opened the door, revealing a small room with nothing but a stone table and a middle-aged man sitting behind it.
There is not a single sign of any other person or things inside the room. The middle-aged man is sketching something on a piece of beast skin with what looked like a piece of charcoal.
He didn"t even take a look when Butler Si walked.
Only when Butler Si came to the table did he look at him.
"Welcome to the League of Blood Iron. May I know what your membership status is?"
Butler Si, didn"t answer and took out the Blood iron token once again, before placing it on the table.
The middle-aged man who has a turban on his head with a face full of beard looked at the token with a smile.
"Oh, an honorary member. It has been a long time since we had one of those visits this place. Please let me verify."
Butler Si just nodded.
The middle-aged man took the token and placed it on the table as he removed the beast skin and the charcoal from there.
The token lit up and a projection came out of it. He looked through the details and smiled once again.
"Sir Si, welcome back to the league. Are you here for making your membership permanent again or are you looking for someone to carry out an a.s.signment for you?"
Butler Si pursed his lips and said.
"I would like a temporary direct membership for now. I don"t think I would be able to stay longer and I also need an a.s.signment carried out."
"Let me process that. It would take some time, please wait."
With that, he took the token and went through a door on the wall behind him. He came back after five minutes and gave the token back.
"Your temporary membership has been confirmed. You would be a full-fledged member for a month and in this one-month period, you would be able to go to the league"s common room directly through your token if you wish to.
Please take the door to your left and you would arrive there."
"Thank You."
Butler Si, said politely as he entered the door to his left. He could feel the s.p.a.ce warping around him and he reappeared in the middle of what looked like a bar.
There are over half-a-dozen people there among them three people are sitting together, while the other three are sitting by themselves separately.
Apart from them, there is a bartender at the bar counter, who is polishing some crystal gla.s.s.
Butler Si walked to the counter and took a seat.
"I would like a Sudden death."
"Right away sir."
The bartender politely said as he walked to the shelves as he picked different kinds of alcohol from which he started preparing a drink.
He poured it into a large crystal gla.s.s and served it to Butler Si who took a sip as he reminisced.
"Just like I remember. Thank you."
"You are welcome, Sir Si. Are you back in business?" Bartender asked with the same polite smile.
"No, not really. I am here for something personal. I would like to place an a.s.signment."
The bartender nodded and took out a scroll which he gave to Butler Si, who started filling out the blanks in it. This is an application form, after he was done filling it, he took out a portrait of Sivan, which means it is currently a portrait of Sam, and attached it to the scroll.
The bartender looked through the details, there are some details even regarding the body switch, Sivan made and how the current possessor of the body is not Sivan and making sure that the person has no good relations with the Mari Clan.
"That is good enough. I will place the order and inform the league members."
"Thank you."
"By the way, Sir Si. That person has come back." He said while wiping a gla.s.s with his head down. His voice is still polite, but it is not as vibrant as before.
Butler Si, stopped sipping his drink and looked at the bartender with a surprised expression.
"He came back? Why did he suddenly appear out of nowhere? I thought he lost his strength and went into the hiding in some low-level realm."
"No, Sir Si. He is stronger than ever before. He was only taking a break from all the bloodshed, but suddenly he came back.
He said something about someone crossing a line once again and this time, it seemed to have affected the secluded life he was living. He came back with increased anger and the Twelve Keys are having a hard time appeasing him."
Butler Si downed the whole gla.s.s of c.o.c.ktail and felt a bit frustrated.
"Every member of the league has let loose a bit with him not being present here for quite some time, some of them even went so far as acting as lackeys for the members of Divine League. He is really furious and is looking through the doc.u.ments one by one relentlessly."
"How long has it been?"
"A few months." Butler Si finally sighed.
"So, there should at least be some league members who are completely safe and willing to take the a.s.signments right?"
"Yes, there are."
"That is enough for me. I don"t really care what he does. Let him go berserk for all I care."
"But your issue with him. He might come looking for you."
"If he would have come for that, he would have already been at my place. Do you really think, just stepping out of the league would have given me a way out? You and I both know, what it takes to get out of that man"s sight."
"Yes."
There was some silence. Butler Si had another drink before taking out the token.
"I need to go out and get rid of my other responsibilities for a while. Even though temporary I still need to follow the league rules, so I will be busy for the next three days. Just don"t bother about the vetting and hire whoever is willing to do the job."
"Yes, Sir."
"And don"t mention my arrival to that person by yourself. Only talk when he asks for me."
With that he took the Blood Iron Token and injected his energy, it took him back to the formation in that remote planet, from where traveled another three days to go back to the Mari Clan.
He met with Sivan immediately.
"Young Master, I wouldn"t be able to serve you for the next month."
"What happened Butler Si, are you okay?"
"Yes, young master, I am trying to handle the issue regarding Sam. He is currently in the middle of the Gaja clan, even the star eye sect is unable to pinpoint his location. I will go undercover to the nearest realm and see if I can find anything.
And I also a.s.signed the task in the league, so they should be able to find his location."
"What? You went to the league? Are you out of your mind? Is that why you are leaving for the month?"
"Yes, young master. According to the league"s rules, any temporary or permanent member cannot work for any external organization. I applied for the temporary membership so that we can have more access to some high-level members. The normal members wouldn"t be able to enter the Gaja clan."
"You can just stay here. You can just resign the post and just stay here without working for a while."
"No, young master. League"s rules are absolute. If we respect them, the league respects us back. And by respect from the league, I mean them letting us survive. I hope you will go into seclusion for this month.
I already made a deal with your uncle, he would be able to look after you within the clan.
Go to your special residence and don"t come back until I am back here."