"So, you are Owen?"
"I am, Your Grace."
"Jarlon, leave us alone"
Azzy sent Jarlon away from his own house for a moment to have a talk with Owen. The bodyguard was also kicked away. He was quite reluctant to leave his lord with a stranger but couldn't help but leave, after taking a glance at the six pairs of wings that Azzy displayed for them, in order to gain their trust.
As they find themselves alone, Azzy takes out a skill card and activates it, to unleash a noise-canceling barrier before conversing with the town master. "You must be wondering about the reason for my visit, aren't you?" He commented.
Owen glanced to the left and right in nervousness before slowly nodding, "Yes, Your Grace."
Azzy then said, "Truth be told, I'm not from Silver City and neither am I a candidate for the realm guardian's successor." Find exclusive content at m|v-l-novelhall.net
"Huh? What!"
"Yes, I'm from a faraway world, trying to get to Silver City cuz I believe my destiny lies there. I need your assistance," explained Azzy without actually telling the entire truth.
"It's... It's impossible..." Owen almost lost his footing but stabilized himself, commenting, "No wonder you are here. And here I wonder what a Seraphis like you is doing in our world. You must be a direct descendant of a Seraphis."
Azzy didn't correct him and further said, "I grew up in a mortal world and didn't know much about Elysium at all. I heard that I'm special even in the world of Angels. So, here's my deal. Help me reach Silver City, but without gaining attention from Archangels and I'll help you in return."
"Why me?" Owen gasped, trying to digest what he was hearing. He was also seeing a huge opportunity here.
Azzy shrugged his shoulders in indifference, "Your town is the first one I encountered. Call it fate."
Owen rose to his feet in excitement, "Yes... yes... Yes... it is fate indeed, Your Grace. I'll help you to the best of my abilities."
"Good..." Azzy gave a satisfactory nod, feeling truth from Owen's soul too, and extended his hand. "Your Grace?" Owen was taken aback, not understanding Azzy's gesture at all.
"For a pleasant partnership..." Azzy gestured for him to do the same. Owen cautiously took the hand, and Azzy shook it with a smile. Owen reciprocated the same.
After a while, Azzy bid his farewell to Jorlan while requesting Owen to reward Jorlan for his tasks. The town master awarded him a promotion and pay raise instantly, earning a kowtow from him until they left his sight.
Azzy returned to Owen's residence and met Owen's immediate family. He stayed there for a few days, understanding the ways of the Angels.
As a sword of radiance with the soul of a guardian, Lux naturally gave Azzy the appearance of a Seraphis with the temporary fusion.
Azzy knew this info from Lux, but he kept silent and let Owen go on with his explanation.
"Since His Grace is not intending to gain the attention of the Archangels, at the moment, Aurelis would be the best choice for destination. It is ruled by His Majesty Archangel Michael, but His Majesty has been rumored to be missing for a long time now.
In his absence, it is said to be governed by the son of God, Adam, who is not all an Angel. Heard that he is this race called human. We don't know much about him, though, apart from the rumor that he is as strong as Archangels and Princess Claire's master."
"Claire? You say, Princess Claire?" Azzy suddenly grabbed Owen's shoulders, interrupting his explanation and taking him by surprise. "Huh? Ah, Yes, She is the daughter of His Majesty. Heard that she grew among mortals."
Azzy calmed himself and said, "I'm sorry. Please go on. The name just reminded me of a friend who is also an Angel. But, she isn't a pure angel. Her mother was a human. So, anyways..."
"Eh? A human?" Owen was once again surprised by Azzy's words, but he continued nevertheless, as it was Azzy's personal life and had nothing to do with him, "So... uhh... as I was saying, Aurelis would be a good place to start your career as a Knight. Once his grace is officially anointed as a Knight, no one would be able to move you to the guardian quarters to become the realm guardian successor candidate."
"And what is the fastest way to become a Knight?" Azzy couldn't help but ask. He doesn't want to waste his entire youth to become a soldier, just to get closer to Claire.
Owen answered, "There are three ways to become a Knight.
One is to enroll in the military that you desire and then gain merits to climb up to the knight.
The second way is to participate in the Battle tournaments, conducted twice annually in every kingdom. As long as one qualifies to the main tournament, one would be annoited as a knight. But, for that, his grace would have to win the regional tournament first.
Third, the fastest way is to visit any of Aurelia's military barracks with a recommendation of the regional warden, state your wishes to the Grand Knight, and reveal your soul realm. As long as one's soul realm is above Tier-60, they would be allowed to take the Knight test directly. I can't properly gauge His Grace's soul realm, but according to my judgment, His Grace has reached qualifications. It shouldn't be a problem to complete the Knight test."
"Tier-60?" Azzy didn't understand the term properly. To gauge his own strength, he questioned Owen about his own. As the latter revealed that he is at Tier-54, Azzy understood the system.
Each rank is treated as tier-10 and each minor stage is treated accordingly in singular digits. Hence, by Elysium's evaluation, he should be at Tier-99.
Luckily, for him, there were no costs for traveling to Aurelis, and he was also eligible to step there as a Seraphis (fake). Moreover, the world gate is also built on Aquilonis. Hence, traveling isn't an issue for him.
After learning every bit of information about the Angel world that he needs to know from Owen, who claimed to possess the knowledge due to the fact that Aquilonis sees a lot of tourists from higher worlds, Azzy is set to get to the world gate as soon as possible, but before that, he had to fulfill his promise to this Angel with Jaguar bloodline.
And what Owen asked is neither fame nor grace shards (Elysium's currency). Instead, it was revenge for his murdered daughter against a beast that resides in the ocean.
As a result, Azzy and Owen, with the latter's giant bodyguard, departed from the town and dived into the ocean first thing the following morning.