Theo stood frozen in place.
Struggling to process the information, he couldn’t help but blink rapidly.
’’...What?’’
Jim tilted his head faintly.
anwhile, Theo lowered his gaze, one of his hands rubbing against his temple.
’’Did you say Whitmore and Blackwood?’’ he asked, glancing up briefly.
Jim nodded again.
’’Yes,’’ he continued. ’’Whitmores as in, the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General.’’
’’And the Blackwoods as in your girlfriend’s family.’’
Seconds ticked by in silence.
Theo just stared at Jim, his hand still on his temple with his eyes wide.
’’You’re joking.’’
’’No?’’
Slowly, Jim’s gaze turned strange as he looked at Theo.
’’What about all this is so surprising? We’ve been talking about everything... but your girlfriend’s family, I guess...’’
Theo opened his mouth.
Then imdiately closed it again.
For a mont, he genuinely didn’t know where to begin.
’Never mind the Whitmores,’ he thought, glancing down. ’But Iris ca from such a massive, influential family?’
’They even control an SSS-rank dungeon?’
The image of the beautiful black-haired girl flashed through his mind.
Sure, he knew her family wasn’t ordinary, especially with how strong her dad was.
But that was it.
He’d never expected them to be on a level where they stood far above most others.
In front of him, Jim let out a faint chuckle.
’’Your expression,’’ he said, shaking his head. ’’Don’t tell you actually weren’t aware?’’
Theo snapped out of his thoughts and looked up imdiately.
’’And how was I supposed to know this?’’
Jim shrugged.
’’I expected her to have told you about this and all...’’
’’Well, she didn’t,’’ Theo said, leaning forward slightly. ’’But since you know so much, you better spill all of it!’’
Chuckling, Jim waved his hands in front of him.
’’No, no,’’ he said, smiling. ’’If your girlfriend hasn’t told you anything, it’s not my position to tell you either.’’
Theo narrowed his eyes.
For a mont, he just stared at Jim.
His hand slowly moved towards the cutlery knife.
Buzz!
His phone suddenly vibrated on the table.
Theo paused and glanced at the single ssage that popped up.
’’Match accepted. Co to the arena within ten minutes.’’
Glancing back at Jim for a mont, he finally let out a big sigh.
’’We’ll continue this talk later,’’ he said, pushing himself up. ’’I have many more questions I need answered.’’
Jim nodded, a faint smile on his face.
’’That’s more than fine.’’
Following his example, Jim also pushed himself up from the table.
Just as Theo was about to walk away to the arena, Jim’s voice echoed out behind him.
’’I guess it’d be fair to tell you one thing,’’ he said, still smiling. ’’Your girlfriend is the heir to a pretty large branch family amongst the Blackwoods.’’
He paused as Theo ca to a halt and glanced back.
Then, without the slightest hint of hesitation, he continued.
’’If she’s talented enough, she might even have the chance to beco the heir to the main family.’’
The smile on his face only grew larger.
"So maybe think about her reputation before you do sothing crazy again."
For a mont, Theo remained standing there.
The words slowly settled in his mind.
Finally, he nodded, an appreciative smile flashing across his face.
’’Thank you.’’
Without another word, Theo turned around and headed for the arena.
Several people walked past him, so of whom still shot him nasty glances.
Theo didn’t even see them.
His mind was still fully concentrated on everything he’d just heard.
’Forget about that from Iris for now,’ he thought, narrowing his eyes. ’I can just ask her about it in the future.’
She probably had her reasons for not talking about it.
And to be fair, he’d never even asked her about her family either.
’The Whitmores...’
His expression gradually darkened.
They were sothing he needed to think about now.
’I always knew their family was sothing,’ he thought. ’But this is on a whole other level than what I’d expected...’
The Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney General.
He’d never really been interested in politics, which was also the reason he hadn’t kept up with who was in those roles.
But that didn’t an he didn’t know what those roles ant.
And especially... how powerful those roles were.
’Each of their decisions affects the entire nation,’ he thought, clenching his jaw. ’And I made them my enemies.’
Theo glanced up as he nearly reached the arena.
He slowly clenched his fist.
’I’ve already embarrassed them far too many tis,’ he thought. ’So there’s no way they’d let walk around freely.’
His expression darkened further.
With the full picture of their family finally revealed, he understood just how incomplete his previous expectations were.
’An SSS-rank dungeon...’ he thought. ’That’d an they have at least three Obsidian Core hunters in their family.’
The Whitmores had their hands in everything.
Theo finally realized exactly where that arrogance of theirs had co from.
For a brief mont, he almost felt a headache coming on.
Then he shook his head.
’There’s no point thinking about it right now.’
Whether they were strong or not changed nothing.
He’d already made an enemy out of them.
And it probably wouldn’t be anything that could be solved without offering up his freedom.
Worrying any more about it right now wouldn’t solve anything.
Especially with an important fight coming up.
As those thoughts settled, Theo gradually pushed them to the back of his mind.
’’Now let’s see here,’’ he muttered, walking through the participant’s entrance.
Far in the distance, he spotted the registration desk with the familiar clerk behind it.
Except now, his face had turned ghostly pale with a fearful expression plastered over it.
That’s when Theo spotted a second figure.
An extrely delicate girl stood a few yards away, her body covered in golden-white robes adorned with several golden crosses, while a hood concealed most of her face.
From beneath her hood, thin trails of snow-white hair fluttered in the wind.
Theo ca to a halt, his eyes narrowing.
’Who... is that?’
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