Rivers of the Night

It was quite odd. Even if Theron managed to figure out that a Space Mancer might be targeting him, that wasn't enough to misdirect them.

"You're asking for something quite important," Theron replied.

"Is this your way of telling me you want to exchange information? Did I not just tell you quite a lot?"

Theron's head tilted slightly as he scanned the little girl from head to toe.

"It seems like you need my help for something. But honestly, I do not need you. Whether you tell me now, or I find out in the future, is only divided by how much risk I'll take on in the short term. And I've never been afraid of risk."

"Fair." Sadie nodded, seemingly not taking offense. "Honestly speaking, once I tell you, I know for a fact that you will decide to stay."

There was a flicker in Theron's eye. There was only one reason he would ever make the conscious choice to stay after all of the chaos he had just stirred.

His family.

"Oh. Maybe I've said too much already. It's hard speaking to someone who's as smart as you are. I'm not very used to that. Sometimes I feel like I'm surrounded by idiots."

Sadie smiled, and for the first time, Theron felt like he was actually seeing a genuine face of hers.

After he learned of her true identity, it felt like he had to erase everything else that they had been through because she simply wasn't the person he had thought her to be.

Now, however, even while looking at things through that filter, it was hard for him to see anything fake about the current face she was wearing.

His family? How could this be about his family?

Theron's mind went into overdrive.

The short sword sheathed to his waist and the necklace around his neck already told him that there was something particularly odd about his family. But it could also be the case that what Sadie was referring to was the Spirit Mancer that had killed them all instead.

It just didn't feel like it made much sense if Sadie was referring to the former rather than the latter. That was because if the Nightingale Clan was aware of his clan having some mysterious background, then it was hard to believe that they would just sit idly by.

If a mere Quasi Gold Mancer breaking into Gold Mancy could devastate his family like they had, there was no reason the Nightingales couldn't do that several times over.

Whether it was the sword by his side or the necklace around his neck, both seemed like exceptionally powerful items they might want to get their hands on.

The sword was the most obvious… but a necklace that could train your soul and improve your Third Eye so directly was maybe even more valuable than a weapon that could upgrade with your cultivation.

Just looking at things from a macro perspective, Theron's Third Eye was already infinitely close to the power a Gold Mancer might carry at that stage with theirs. With another breakthrough, it would probably be no weaker—if not stronger—than many Gold Mancers.

At that point, not only would he be able to detect a Gold Mancer's senses, but he would be able to more easily hide himself from them as well.

This wasn't the value of something that could be easily understated.

The more powerful one's Third Eye, the stronger their control, the faster they could cast spells, the sharper their senses, the more ambient Mana they could control, the quicker they could cultivate…

While it didn't always immediately translate to power, Theron would choose his necklace over his father's sword ten out of ten times if forced to make a choice.

This was all to say that there was no reason for the Nightingales to just let him and his family go. Even in the case that it was because they weren't Ice and Water Mancers and, as such, couldn't make use of it… just how valuable would they be to the right person?

Theron had literally only just learned that the Nightingale Empire was under the umbrella of the Black Clan thanks to his battle with Mason.

Just how much would the most powerful Water Mancer Clan on the continent pay for items perfectly tailored to them? How far would they help to elevate the Nightingales in return?

With these deductions running through his mind one after another, Theron was certain that Sadie must be referring to the Spirit Mancer who killed his family.

Was Merchant Greycoat related to that family?

"The questions you're thinking of… the answer is yes… but also no."

Sadie smiled a sweet smile. She wrapped her fingers around one another behind her back and rocked from the tips of her toes to her heels and back again. She seemed to be having a great time teasing Theron.

"If you know that I will stay if you tell me, then why do you want me to agree first before you explain?" Theron asked, having already regained his calm.

"Because you've been very mean to me and I want a little payback, too—"

"I agree. I will stay," Theron said calmly.

Sadie's lip twitched, but then her amusement faded into a little sadness she quickly hid.

The problem with Theron's response was that it was too perfect, too stoic. He knew that he was coming back to three infuriated, top-of-the-line Gold Mancers. He knew that he had pissed off practically all the Noble Clans of the Imperial Capital. He knew that the Thistles just might do something drastic very soon…

Yet he still replied like this.

Sadie was just joking around. While she hadn't lied at all, she only wanted him to lower his pride just a little bit as a petty hint of revenge on her part. But the fact he laid it down so easily made her heart hurt for Theron.

The Theron she knew—the real Theron—he was a man with a great amount of self-confidence and sense of self-worth. But he didn't care about his own thoughts and emotions at all when it came to his family.

In all likelihood, even if she asked him to kneel right now… he would do it. And for some reason, that really pained her.

Her lips slowly parted.

"… It has nothing to do with wind…" Sadie said softly.

It was just a single line, but Theron's pupils constricted into pinholes the instant he heard it.

Galethunder.