Noah wasn’t sure if he was meant to be surprised or not. It was no news to him that the man that had spent a ridiculous amount of gold on a potentially useless rune was from a wealthy family. He’d fully expected him to be from one of the top ones in the empire.

That said, he wasn’t so sure he’d been expecting the man to be from the top family. There wasn’t much he knew about the King family aside from their position, and even that had only been a mention in brief passing from Moxie.

“How much of a prick is he?” Noah asked, eying Otto from across the room. The glistening gemstones on his uniform weren’t doing the man any favors. Nobody voluntarily walked around like a bedazzled grapefruit unless they had absolutely no taste or all too much money and no good way to spend it.

“He’s — well, you’ll see,” Silvertide said with a chuckle. “I’ve had some dealings with him. Otto isn’t the worst I’ve met, but that really isn’t saying much. I’ve met a lot of people. Most of the ones I’ve really hated are dead.”

If that was coming from anyone else, I’d take it as a threat. From Silvertide, I think that’s just a simple fact. I’m still not sure how this guy is so powerful at Rank 5. Makes me wonder if he’s pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes and is a higher rank. There’s also the possibility that he’s managed to get really powerful Runes, but that might be even more insane.

Everything Sunder has shown me would imply that someone getting flawless runes — or anything near them — should be nearly impossible in a vacuum. Oh well. I reckon I’ll find out soon enough. I’m not stupid enough to press too hard on Silvertide or he might do the same to me.

“Well, thanks for the help,” Noah said. “I suppose I’ll go chat him up. I’ve always wanted to pitch to investors.”

“Investors?” Silvertide’s brow furrowed. “I’m not sure I follow.”

“Sorry. Made up words,” Noah said, waving a hand. “Have a good meeting. I’m gonna go bother a rich dude.”

“Hardly something new for you, I’d say,” Silvertide said dryly. “Between Father and the entirety of the Torrin family, I’d say you’ve bothered enough rich folk to last a lifetime.”

“I notice you didn’t include yourself in that list. I’m taking that as a good thing.”

“We’ll leave it as to be determined. I’m sure you’ll have more than enough opportunity to do that in the future. You’re already doing it in the advanced track. Quite impressive, really. I didn’t think you’d get to work this quickly.”

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t given much choice. It seems we’ve got as many enemies here as we do everywhere else,” Noah said. He sent Silvertide a pointed look. “Isabel in particular.”

The soldier gave Noah a grim nod. “I’m more than aware. I can’t look out for her too much. I’ve got my own responsibilities to make sure Tyler doesn’t fall behind — but I’ll keep my eyes open.”

“Thanks. We appreciate it,” Noah said. He raised a hand, then turned and headed across the room to speak with Otto. The nobleman had a slightly sour expression on his lips and was sipping on a cocktail he’d claimed from the table. His gaze was on a pair of students sparring in the corner of the room, but he didn’t look all too invested.

There are a few ways I can approach this. I don’t know which one would be the best. I could wait until after the meeting and throw my mask on, then roll up as Vermil’s teacher. That would be the safest. It would probably also be the most hassle, and I’d have to make sure nobody followed me or saw my superman outfit change.

Another option would be to come on behalf of my nonexistent teacher. That would put me at a position of lower power, though. I’d basically have to suck up to the noble or do my best impression of a corrupt lawyer’s son. That doesn’t really appeal to me. I’ve already been icky enough today.

That leaves slapping my dick on the table and not even bothering hiding my identity. It’s not like I can keep it secret forever. At some point, a teacher or some form of test in the advanced track will force me to use Formations or my violin. If I sow seeds with some people early, I can make it look like I’ve got a lot more connections than I actually do.

The King family was also unlikely to be involved with any plots regarding Emily. They were the strongest family in the kingdom, so there was no way they’d give a shit about the Torrin’s inner politics.

Isabel was another story. Otto struck Noah as the exact type of person to desperately want to get his hands on a Master Rune. He’d seemed fairly respectable during the auction, but there was no way to truly know for sure until push came to shove — and Noah had absolutely no plans of letting things ever even get to that point.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Either way, establishing contact now is the best move. I want him on my side, and getting him hooked on a supply of monster runes is the best way to do that.

Noah decided to ignore the fact that he was starting to sound like a drug dealer. He strode up to Otto, coming to a stop several paces away and sticking his hand into a pocket to grab the leather badge that he’d gotten from Otto the last time they’d met.

At least, I sure hope it was Otto. It would be really awkward if this ended up being someone else.

Otto’s gaze flicked to Noah, an expression of disinterest passing over his features. He didn’t even bother trying to hide it. “Can I help you?”

“Do the words Violet Transference mean anything to you?”

“I am not interested in selling the Rune or giving copies of it out,” Otto said promptly. “Particularly not to a member of the advanced track that only just joined.”

Yup. Here’s the bloke. He sounds similar to the guy at the auction too… but didn’t he say that ‘one of his family’ would have the abilities of Violet Transference? I suppose he counts as a member of his family. I guess he was working to hide his identity a bit as well.

“That’s fine,” Noah said. “You asked if you could help me.”

“I was being rhetorical,” Otto said without missing a beat. “I have no plans of—”

“I’m not sure if you can help me,” Noah interrupted Otto, pulling the patch out of his pocket and holding his hand out as if to shake Otto’s, “but I believe I can help you.”

The noble’s eyes flicked down to Noah’s palm. He froze and his expression locked in place for half a second. A remarkable shift passed over his features and the annoyance evaporated like a faint puddle in the desert sun.

“This is a coincidence I was not expecting to find today,” Otto said, shaking Noah’s hand with a smile. “I was wondering if I’d ever hear from you again. I must say, I wasn’t expecting…”

“Me?” Noah asked, raising an eyebrow. “Few do. There are advantages to staying out of sight.”

“I quite agree, though it grows harder to hide with every passing day. I trust you have approached me for business purposes?”

“If you’ve got the time. There are a few things I’m in the market for.”

Otto raised a hand to stop Noah from continuing. “We should continue this elsewhere. The advanced track is an interesting place, but it is not devoid of competitors. I would prefer to keep our discussions secret.”

“I can’t completely abandon my students,” Noah warned. “I have other duties.”

“We won’t be going far,” Otto replied. He turned and pressed a hand to the wall behind him. A well concealed door swung open, leading into a small room with several plush chairs arranged around a small table. “The advanced track is no stranger to the pedigree of those belonging to it. There are times when we must be able to speak in peace.”

If I go in there, I won’t be able to hear what’s going on outside. Could be a bit risky… but it should be okay for a few minutes. I think Moxie was right about Verrud and Jakob calling things off for the rest of the day. There’s only so hard they can try before it becomes completely obvious as to what they’re doing. They’ll likely hold off for a few days and then try again at either the next meeting or the one after it — or possibly just somewhere on campus.

“Convenient,” Noah said, following Otto into the room. He closed the door behind them, and all sound from the meeting behind them vanished as if it had never been there. Otto caught the look on Noah’s face.

“Sound Runes to block noise in and out,” Otto explained, taking a seat in one of the chairs and leaning back.

Noah sat down across from him, and the two of them sat in silence for a brief instant.

“I have to say, you aren’t who I was expecting,” Otto said. “I had my guesses, mind you. A number of them. I can honestly say that you were not even a smudge on the list. Tell me — do you represent someone?”

“No,” Noah replied. “I work alone, aside from those in my group. There is nobody above me.”

“An odd answer, but one where the meaning cannot be missed.” Otto interlaced his fingers. “You do not work for Father, then?”

“We have an impasse.”

“A Rank 6 has an impasse with a Rank 4. How curious. You were not lying about being apt at concealing yourself, Vermil. Is the rest of the company you keep as unique as you are?”

Otto’s words weren’t a threat, but they were far from casual conversation. The noble was searching to find where his loyalties and weaknesses lay.

“Everyone who has tried to find out has had a less than stellar time of things,” Noah replied with a small shrug. “They are all capable in their own right.”

“Capable indeed,” Otto said. “I had heard that the woman you travel with was exiled from the Torrin house. Not a common occurrence. It’s quite surprising to see her strolling around without any signs of soul damage to show.”

“I am not without resource.”

“So you have made abundantly clear.” Otto smiled and leaned forward. “You have my attention, Magus Vermil. The Monster Rune you gave me was every bit as fascinating as I had hoped — albeit slightly useless. I’m afraid it has been lost.”

How the hell did you lose it?

“Lost?” Noah asked.

Otto grimaced. “A subordinate attempted to draw it into their soul. They absorbed it safely, but did not survive the attempt to utilize its power. The Rune was unrecoverable.”

Ah. Can’t draw Monster Runes back onto Catchpaper, even if they were in a human’s soul. Not particularly useful knowledge for me considering I don’t have that limitation, but good to know.

“That is unfortunate.”

“It is,” Otto agreed. “But I suspect you have come to solve my issues. You have another Monster Rune?”

“I do.”

A smile stretched across Otto’s lips. “Then let us talk business.”