Oceanus, his mind racing, did not answer immediately after hearing what Kyran needed. He observed the latter's expression with narrowed eyes, desperately trying to discern whether he was part of the Blade Dancer Clan and was exiled.
'No, that is impossible.'
Even as the possibility crossed his mind, Oceanus rejected it at once for one good reason.
The Blade Dancer Clan was under The Emperor's faction. It would be impossible for the latter not to demand the surrender of the former's mage with the Void Core.
Oceanus frowned, 'Or... could it be that is why he is on the run? Or, to be more accurate, why he decided to run away from his clan?
Once again, Oceanus shook his head inwardly after rejecting the idea.
If Kyran was part of the Blade Dancer Clan, why would he need information about them?
'Could it be that he was from an unknown small tribe, and The Emperor found clues about his existence? Since we are talking about one of the Ancient Magic Cores, The Emperor would have definitely dispatched one of the clans he trusted, which in this case is the Blade Dancer Clan, to annihilate Null's tribe, kill him, and take his Void Core?'
Oceanus felt this idea was closer to the truth. This could also explain why Kyran thirsted for magic knowledge when he came to Ogen since he was from a small tribe, which had limited records on various branches of Magic.
Alas, Oceanus's mind was running wild with ideas that were a far cry from the truth. His misconception was understandable, however, since he had no idea that Kyran was related to the Dragon Clan. Oceanus was also unaware that Kyran originated from the Lower Realm. Moreover, he did not know that only a human could possess one of the artificial Ancient Magic Cores.
Oceanus never once considered that the tribe Kyran belonged to could birth a mage with Void core. The Emperor would not have any reason to hunt for Kyran even if he escaped because other members of his tribe could already possess it.
'... or maybe that is the case? The Blade Dancer Clan took every member of Null's tribe with Ancient Magic Core. He escaped with the hopes of freeing his tribe members before The Emperor took their Void Core... No, no, no. The Emperor does not necessarily need that many Void Cores.
One tribe member with a Void Core is enough....'
Oceanus's eyes widened as another possibility formed in his absurdly imaginative mind.
'Is the reason he strongly rejected my daughter for marriage because the member caught by the Blade Dancer Clan is his wife?'
The more Oceanus pondered about Kyran's circumstances, the crazier his imagination ran. Kyran probably would have already flipped if he ever knew about the older guy's thoughts.
"Please stop coming up with crazy ideas about why I needed the Blade Dancer Clan's information."
Oceanus jolted after hearing Kyran's cold, deep voice.
"Ahem," he cleared his throat and pretended to be unaffected by the younger man's correct guess. "I am not thinking about anything. I am only wondering why you are suddenly interested in the Blade Dancer Clan."
Kyran tilted his head in amusement, "I thought you were wondering why I asked to bring your daughter with me when I rejected your proposal for a marriage."
"!" Oceanus belatedly realized this point from Kyran's request and regretted not using that as an excuse.
"Don't get me wrong, I wanted to protect my daughter's dignity," Oceanus started after coughing awkwardly. "Since you rejected her twice— and so adamantly at that— then I will not force her on you."
"Thank you," Kyran sincerely thanked Oceanus for saying that he would no longer try to offer his daughter as a bargaining chip again.
"Ack!" Oceanus almost choked after feeling the sincerity in Kyran's voice. He hastily said, "O-Of course, if you ended up naturally falling in love with her and decided to take her as your first legal wife—."
"Since you seemed to have guessed my innate magic, at least, I'm sure you're aware of who is after me," Kyran continued rather than responding to Oceanus's nonsense.
Oceanus's expression turned solemn.
Leif did as well. But unlike her father, she was far more knowledgeable of Kyran's situation.
"I do," Oceanus admitted. "I know the risk, and while I would normally want to stay far away on matters relating to him, I won't regret agreeing to an alliance."
"Don't worry, I won't put your clan in danger," Kyran assured him. "I'll only rely on your assistance in providing me with information."
"...I see."
"Since you understand that, it is not really strange for me to be interested in one of the clans he trusted."
"True."
"But if you want information about them, wouldn't your clan be able to provide a more in-depth one?" Leif could not help but ask. "Their intelligence network is far more complete and wider in range compared to ours."
Kyran looked at Leif with raised brows, "Just to get your information straight, I'm not part of that clan."
"But isn't Ames your—?"
"!"
Oceanus jolted upon hearing the name of someone who was quite infamous in the Higher Realm.
"She is, but her clan doesn't really consider us part of theirs. I don't really care, but that is the reason I can't ask them for information."
"W-Was there another mage with a name like that?"
"But—."
"Besides, there is another reason I consider your clan to be more fitted for getting information about the Blade Dancer Clan."
"W-Wait. Don't veer the topic back on track like that. You haven't clarified anything about t-that person Leif mentioned—."
"What is it?"
Unfortunately for Oceanus, Kyran and Leif seemed to be ignoring him.
"The reason I am going there is because The Emperor planned on forcefully waking up my informants."
"!" Leif's eyes widened in realization.
Oceanus also seemed to have noticed something and frowned, "Forcing someone to wake up will require a powerful spell or a potion. However, not just anyone can do it."
Kyran looked at him and nodded, "Yes, and I remembered the only one who could cast a powerful spell or concoct a potion to wake anyone up is—."
"The Ogen Clan," Oceanus supplied with a grim expression. "One of the Water magic's nature is to seep into one's sea of consciousness. While there are other clans who have Water affinity, the Ogen Clan has been known for having the highest affinity."