687 The Mayor

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Eos' Mayor residence was the second grandest home Varian saw.

It had around the same land area as his mansion, but the luxury was on a different level.

Precious herbs were grown in the gardens. Rare flowers filled the flowerbeds on the sides of the pathways. There was strict security ensuring not even a fly could trespass.

Varian exhaled lightly as the three of them were driven to the mansion down the main path on an exquisite hovercar.

"This feels like a noble house." Sarah sighed as she watched the maids and butlers moving all around, taking care of the household chores.

From gardening to fountain maintenance to harvesting herbs, they were doing it all and in an orderly fashion.

"Weren't you also a noble of sorts?" Sia asked after hearing Sarah's remark. She had never visited Sarah's home.

Varian too nodded in doubt. 'Anna is more like a personal maid. Other than her, I haven't seen maids or butlers around Sarah.'

"Well, my family is very m..military-oriented. I was taught fighting over etiquette. Hehe." Sarah said with a small laugh. "Though…my mother tried teaching me etiquette, my f-father was opposed to it."

Sia fell silent and looked out of the window.

'I shouldn't have asked.'

Bringing up Evander now of all time…

Varian, on the other hand, had other thoughts. 'He even put Kreo's daughter in my hands. He must be hiding, but where?'

He already tried with Boo but Evander's traces abruptly vanished on a space city.

Given Evander's prowess and influence, Varian didn't think he could find him unless he willingly showed up.

'Without him, I don't even know how the planetoids are surviving…' When that thought appeared, Varian shook his head and threw it off.

If there really was an emergency, he'd be informed of it.

Now was not the time for it.

"Welcome, young master, young ladies."

As the doors opened, two maids curtsied and greeted them before leading them in.

It seems like the security already verified their identities—fake identities—they let them into the mansion without a problem.

The waiting hall was spacious and adorned with all sorts of decorations.

Cozy chairs, beautiful flowerpots, rare collections of paintings and items—taking all of these into view, the trio slowly moved past the waiting hall and passed the hallway.

To their left were various rooms and to their right were pillars supporting the mansion, beyond which was a small garden of sorts.

Floating on the pillars were several holograms displaying various achievements.

Achievements of the mayor who changed Eos.

The person they were going to meet.

They reached a huge door at the end of the hallway and with a creak, the wooden door with a rosy scent opened.

Varian paused for a moment as he felt the aura coming from the man sitting behind the desk.

'Only level 7?'

"Please be seated." The mayor leaned forward and said with interlocked fingers.

With a nod, the three sat across him.

A silence ensued as the middle-aged man stared at them wordlessly.

Varian stared back at the man with a neutral gaze. Through his peripheral vision, he recognized the expensive cigar on the table as well as the sentences in a hologram on the wall behind the man. All of them seemed to be money-related.

More than that, he noticed the chair the man was sitting on. While it appeared somewhat plain, it was made of a very rare alloy and had nine jewels embedded in it.

The nine most expensive jewels.

Varian's first impression was. 'A bit too rich. Money minded. Not modest but not pompous.'

Sarah's attention was drawn by the styling of the room.

Plain white walls, pitch-black floor. Distance between the chairs varied—depending on the importance of the guest, and the objects—the collections in the room, the items on the table—they were all arranged at specific angles.

It's a way of arranging items to find out if anyone entered your room and touched anything.

…It was like her own military upbringing.

'Was he a soldier?' She thought.

Sia, on the other hand, was focused on the hidden auras.

'Five level 7s and two level 8s? There is a security system hm, if they try to attack, I can deal with them.'

'He's not a threat.' That was Sia's conclusion.

"Ahem." The mayor coughed lightly and broke the silence. "First of all, thank you very much for relenting to my stubborn daughter's request."

His tone was sincere. So, Varian accepted his thanks.

"I heard she said she will repay you. I want to do it in her stead. As long as it's reasonable, go ahead and ask what you want. I can give anything you want."

Even though it seemed earnest at first, Varian was irritated by the arrogance underneath.

'Ask what you want.'

By picking these words, it gave off a feeling that they were the ones 'begging' him.

If it was a kid spouting these things, Varian would've brushed it off. But as a Mayor and a very talented person at that, Varian didn't think the man didn't realize such a basic thing.

He must've simply not cared.

'Beg me and I can give anything you want.'

"Haa~" Varian leaned back in his chair and shook his head. "You're misunderstanding something here. I never wanted anything in return in the first place."

The mayor's brows furrowed and a displeased expression filled his face. "It's shameful to take favors without repaying them back. But it's insulting to reject a repayment."

"Well, I just do what I want." Varian shrugged nonchalantly with a gaze that said. 'I don't give a fuck about your philosophies.'

The mayor clenched his fist and took a deep breath. "Alright."

His gaze changed slightly and a heavy atmosphere filled the room.

"Who are you guys? You just came to Eos two weeks ago, bought the most expensive mansion, spend money without care, and coincidentally bought what my daughter likes, and gave it to her one week after she begged for it.

I thought your goal was to earn a favor from me. But it didn't seem like it. Then what else? Helping her without asking for anything…is your target my daughter?"

The moment he ended his words, seven auras shot up and locked onto Varian.

"Speak or I'll have you speak." The mayor said with a cold gaze.

Varian exhaled deeply. "…So that haughty attitude was an act, huh?"

"If you planned all of this to get a favor from me, you would've shown your true colors."

"Maybe it's all a coincidence. Why can't you think of something as simple as that?" Varian rolled his eyes.

"Coincidence? This happened way too many times for it to be a coincidence."

"I don't even know your daughter."

"You're in Eos for two weeks. No one stays here without hearing about her."

Varian's brows furrowed.

It was true. He did hear her name. And forgot.

"So? What's your objective." The man narrowed his eyes and asked.

"Ugh, I didn't want to do this…" as Varian trailed off, the high awakeners got alert and the mayor was ready to press a button on his chair to activate defenses.

Varian raised his hand and the awakeners channeled their power to attack when—

Tap!

He slapped a badge on the table.

"Huh?"

The mayor flinched in his seat before adjusting himself and glancing at the badge. The next moment, his eyes widened and he grabbed it.

"T-This…" He didn't want to believe it but after verifying it for the sixth time, he had no choice.

"Apologizes. I didn't know you were a close relative of Sovereign Irene." The mayor stood up and gave them a deep bow.

Varian shrugged.

It was something Sovereign Irene insisted on giving long ago.

'I'm not saying it can help you against abyssals. But if you ever want things done in the human domain, it can make your life easier.' She said those words with a gentle smile.

'It's been a while since I talked to her.' Thinking about the possible traitors, Varian shook his head with a tired expression.

Seeing Varian fall silent, the Mayor sighed.

With a complicated expression, he said. "My daughter was approached by too many people in the past and even her friends tried to use her. So, I grew suspicious of everyone around her."

"Hm." Varian didn't feel much angry. He should've at least gotten pissed off.

But since he recently found out about his father's prized possession and was reliving the memories with him, his current mood was one of extreme peace and compassion.

…For now.

"Do you wish to stay in the nearby guest mansion? There are well-trained servants and security." The mayor asked.

Varian shook his head. "Not rea—"

Boom!

A loud thud was heard from the outside. Sia turned around and a scowl appeared on her face.

The mayor gave an apologetic smile and tapped his table. The doors opened and Varian's eyes narrowed.

A commotion was going on at the other end of the hallway, in the waiting hall.

Since they all had keen senses, they were able to see it clearly.

"You bitch! That's my favorite shirt!" A young man raised his leg and kicked the maid on the ground.

"U-gh, s-sorry…plea...spare" The maid curled up as she felt her bones break. With tears streaming down her face, she kept apologizing.

"Sorry? Huh? Fuck your sorry! You know much that shirt costs?" Another young man, identical to the previous one, came behind her and stepped on her chest.

As he pressed down harder, the maid gasped as she tried to breathe.

The sounds of bones breaking sounded and the maid began to thrash against the ground, in a desperate attempt to break free.

A few butlers and maids were watching the event unfold from the distance with pale faces.

From the way their lips trembled, it seemed that they were too scared to even think of interfering.

The mayor shook his head at the sight and with a wave of his hand, the door was about to close.

"Are you going to ignore it?" Varian held up a finger and the door was left open.

"Well, they are—"

"I'm the rising Xander genius! You bitch! Your life is barely enough to pay for my dignity." The young man kicked the maid in the abdomen and she crashed against a wall and slid down leaving a thick mark of red.

The mayor's face formed a helpless expression. "My family is a vassal to the Xanders. I can reprimand and stop if it's a normal member, but he's a core member  of the family, one of the top five geniuses in level 6."

"…" Varian looked at the mayor for a moment before shaking his head and walking out.

Pausing at the door, he asked. "When is your son coming home?"

"He'll be here anytime now. Please—"

"I'll wait in the waiting hall," Varian said curtly and walked off.

The mayor understood what Varian was saying.

'I don't want to stay in the same room as a man like you.'

Sarah and Sia stood up before following. From the beginning, they had no interest in this meeting. They were just tagging along.

Watching the receding back of the trio, the mayor sighed.

Making Eos one of the richest cities was impossible just with his brilliance. He also needed support.

It was the Xanders.

Now, he couldn't break away from them even if he wanted to.

Funny enough, he broke away from his father.

'Son, we are from a family of soldiers. Money isn't the most important.'

'Why should I die for someone I don't even know? I want to earn money and more money! I want to live like a legend and enjoy everything life has to suffer!'

'A soldier's life is a legend. You say life has a lot to offer, but soldiers are the ones that protect that very life. If you really don't want to fight, at least go for the military industry. Our family has been in the military since Blink! It's our tradition.'

'I don't wanna. Fuck the traditions.'

'You don't understand.'

'No, you don't understand me. Goodbye.'

Ironically, his son broke away from him.

'Son, I am the most famous mayor. Eos is one of the richest cities. Why do you still want to join the military?'

'What I want is a life worth living, not one of decadence. Dad, we're rich. Too rich. After some point, I don't feel anything seeing the string of numbers grow.'

'I worked all my life building this legacy. You just want to throw it away? Are you serious?'

'Fuck the legacy. I just want to live on my terms.'

'You don't understand.'

'No, dad. It's you who doesn't understand me. Bye.'

A cold voice snapped the mayor out of his thoughts.

"Hey."

It was cold.

"Stop it."

Like a sharp needle, it stung.

The mayor focused his gaze and saw Varian standing in front of the Xanders.

'They both have Sovereign backgrounds. If I don't interfere, it'll be settled by the two of them.'

Whatever the result, he wouldn't be blamed. It was the most rational decision.

But.

The mayor hurried to the waiting hall.