NOVEL NEXT Chapter 372: A Conference about Tomorrow?
[Blackridge Manor]
In the dead of night, the lights of a premium manor continued to shine. Its metal gates locked but slowly opened as a group of individuals was led through.
It was a group of four that was led through by one of the servants working the night shift. If either Lillian or Millis were here, they would find that two of the four were people they had met previously—more specifically, today.
Zeke, the captain of the guards, was dressed in formal wear and still donning his military cap. And next to Zeke was the boss overseeing the mining procedures of the Blackridge family's mines, Bob.
As for the other two, being a middle-aged woman and an elderly man, they were the managers of the Guild buildings set in the town of Blackridge—the Merchant and Mage guilds.
Their names were Catolia and Herman.
All four of them and more soon after had come to discuss the next course of action with the current head of the Blackridge family regarding the presence of a concerning monster residing inside the mines—a place where the town lives off of for profit.
While each of the wrinkles on their faces was a face, they were still calm and collected. But that couldn't be said the same for Zeke, as he was one of the few who had experienced the Alpha's overwhelming Predatory Aura.
After being shown into the manor, they were quickly brought into a large dining room, which would act as their conference room for the night. As they were seated, Zeke swept his gaze towards the entrance of the room, finding more people—of importance to the town—flooding in.
From the one in charge of the town's financial affairs, to the town's chief of police—a meeting of this scale hadn't happened in years. And unlike Zeke and the three that arrived with him, they were ignorant of the current situation.
Zeke then brought his gaze down at the long rectangular table wrapped in a white dining cloth and decorated with a variety of potted plants and such.
Zeke then turned his head to his right, finding his partner, Bob, adjusting his tie and the lapels of his suit.
Zeke then asked in a hushed manner:
"Your thoughts on the current matter?"
Bob threw the captain a look and sighed.
"I have no idea... Everything can go south with how the Blackridge family's head is like—" Bob froze, watching in the corner of his eyes that a separate door to the side opened outwards.
A man of average height exited in large strides and with his arms folded behind his back. Dressed in a luxurious suit and equipped with several rings, the man sat at the head of the table with a pompous expression.
He had dark brown hair slicked to one side, a hairy chin, and emerald green eyes. This was Wilfred Ker Blackridge, the current head of the Blackridge family.
Wilfred swept his gaze at the faces of the people seated at his table and nodded in satisfaction, noticing that everyone of importance inside his town had made it.
"I'm glad that you all could make it to this abrupt appointment." Wilfred then eyed Zeke and Bob, gesturing towards their direction, "For it seems that these two had found something quite concerning in my mining site."
Bob stiffened, and so did Zeke as the eyes of the people seated at the table settled onto them. Zeke, noticing that both he and Bob were now brought to the centre of the "stage", coughed into his fist.
"That's correct, Lord Blackridge—" Zeke stood up from his seat, but then felt something come over him. Zeke's body spasmed, causing him to jerk on the table—his knees almost buckling.
These sudden moments caused the people seated at the table to let out frightened gasps and quietly whisper to one another.
Bob immediately stood up and hooked his arm under the armpit of his colleague.
Bob then whispered with concern:
"Do you wish for me to explain it, or..."
Once Zeke regained control over his body and took in a deep breath, he adjusted his tie and suit before standing back up again. Zeke cursed the Flaw that resided inside his soul before looking towards his friend and shaking his head.
Zeke then spoke:
"I apologise for my inappropriate display. I'm sure that most of you at this point are aware of my body's condition, so I believe I needn't speak much on it."
After that, Zeke went on to speak about the Alpha residing inside the deep parts of the cavern. Zeke went on to describe its appearance, the feeling of its Predatory Aura, and whatever he could get out of his brief moment hiding around the monster.
Zeke's words attracted everyone's attention and caused their faces to turn grim and dark. And they would be right to look so.
Who would be glad that a monster with the height of a roughly 5-story building was living extremely near them?
Wilfred, who listened to Zeke's words, couldn't help but narrow his eyes with a look that said, "My time is being wasted". It wasn't because Wilfred didn't care about his people, but because this situation wasn't as dangerous as he thought.
Wilfred stopped Zeke, who was in the middle of a sentence, and looked towards Herman, the Manager of the Mage guild of his town.
"Mr Herman, how long would it take for you to request mages to my town to clean out this pest?"
Herman widened his old eyes slightly, the wrinkles on his face hardening, "Days, Lord Blackridge. From what I've heard, the entire area near the first sighting of the Alpha had been closed off by the authorities. Our town was included."
Wilfred clicked his tongue, agitated, "How preposterous. And do they know that this monster is right inside my mountain?"
"They're still tracking it, Lord Blackridge, but unless we wait a couple days, I'm sure the authorities would come by our village to check for any monster activities. Or I could send out a request, if you'd like..."
Wilfred gave an exasperated sigh and shook his head, declining Herman's offer, "If it takes approximately just a couple of days, then we can just wait for the authorities to come deal with it for no cost."
Although Wilfred wasn't glad about his cavern being used as a nest for a beast, he couldn't do much—he was just glad it wasn't doing anything that could harm his income too much...