There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 384 - 376. A Gentle Mountain

Chapter 384: Chapter 376. A Gentle Mountain

"I hope it’s not impertinent of me," Ludya looked at the blue eyes, which were as firm and clear as always. In black and white photographs, he would look like his father’s twins.

There was heartache and regret in Ludya’s chest when he heard about what happened to House Ishtera. Radia did not tell her what was the reason for the original betrayal, or what kind of power the Horins pursued in Zein which made them hunt him. But she didn’t need to know it to see the heartbreak this family had experienced for the past three decades.

He wondered if there was something they could do had they known about it. Regretfully, Ludya thought that there might be nothing. Around that time, she was busy with her own heartbreak of losing her husband.

Perhaps it was just the course of fate.

"No, thank you for coming," the Young Patriarch, the last remaining member of the House, replied gracefully. Despite spending almost his entire life in the end zones, the quality of one’s blood did not lie.

At the very least, he wasn’t alone. The loyal vassals were still there, and he had one of the most powerful new generation espers by his side.

"Then, I hope I’m not being rude by following her?" Yuria Apsoro chimed in cheekily behind Calix and Laurel, who were holding themselves back from rolling their eyes.

Zein looked at the shadow Patriarch briefly, before shifting his gaze toward another group that had just entered the mourning house. The patriarch of House Caishen and the heir of House Kamui; there was also the patriarch from House Arok, if he recalled correctly, with his grandson tugging behind wearing a sheepish smile--Zein felt like he saw the man in the annual gathering, probably.

He exhaled slowly, softly. If he had to be honest, he had never intended this to be a social event. He just wanted to have a quiet memorial service with the Ishtera household members and Bassena. He didn’t mind his friends being there if they wanted to, and by extension, the Mallarcs, who were the family of his friend.

But then Yuria was there, because, of course, he would know what happened, as a House excelling in information gathering. At least he was Calix’s friend. But he forgot what Ludya said; the matter of his father had been added to the case that would be used against Torodeo and the Horins, so in the end, the whole Council would find out about it.

"It’s not a bad thing," Radia said as he glanced toward the entrance. "It means they show you some respect. They could have just sent some wreaths through messengers, but they personally come."

"I guess..."

"Just treat them like you treat any other people," Bassen whispered behind his ears, and the ticklish sensation actually relaxed him, enough for his face to stop stiffening.

Ludya patted his shoulder before heading inside with the rest of the Mallarcs, to not crowd the entrance. Bassena stayed there, however, as well as Senan. Yuria stayed a bit to greet the uninvited VIP guests first before heading inside to follow the Mallarcs.

"Ishtera," Zhou Caishen seemed to be leading the group, greeted him first with a rather awkward expression. Seemed like Yuria had mischievously mentioned that they were uninvited guests--although he was technically one too. "I know this is not an open event, but I hope you’re not too offended by our sudden visit."

"I appreciate your consideration," Zein nodded, accepting the patriarch’s hand. "Thank you for coming."

Zhou Caishen looked at the altar, gaze deepened at the sight of Alteroan’s portrait. "I just...want to give my respect."

Strangely, Zein felt sincerity from that statement. "This way," he led the patriarch toward the Altar while greeting the others on the way there. The heir of House Kamui sent his ill father’s regard, and the grandson of House Arok seemed very eager to talk to him--but was deterred by Bassena’s stare.

It was strange, seeing people he had only met once in a formal setting gave respect to his father--whom he only met once too, in an unalive state. It was, however, not a bad feeling, Zein realized. Just weird. But he could see the Elder looking elated on the side, as well as the other Iron Shield members.

Zein came to a realization then, of why Radia said it wasn’t bad. House Ishtera had been buried in obscurity thanks to the internal feud that happened because of him--or rather, because of the vessel of Setnath. Moreover, for the past thirty years, they had been forced to live in hiding due to the Horins.

But now, seeing the other Old Houses come to the memorial service, the Elder was being reminded of the story of old; of what his father, and his father’s father told him about, when House Ishtera was still a respected House in charge of protecting the daughters of Freyja. The Ishteras never thought of glory, for their glory laid on their duty of protecting the seed of Setnath--which they had failed to uphold for a century. Still...for the name of Ishtera to be resounded and be respected again, was the dream any loyal vassal would have.

And finally...finally, they could see it unveiled before their eyes.

It would be much better if it didn’t happen in a memorial service of their dead Master, of course, but at this point, being able to have a memorial service at all was already a miracle.

A miracle brought by their long-lost young master.

The fact that they did nothing to contribute to it was a shame that they would bring to their graves; a shame that they would pay with devotion.

"The Paladin; I knew him," Zhou Caishen said when they sat at the table--which was basically a mini House Council, with the representatives of Old Houses all gathered. It scared the staff of the mourning house a little bit, so the task of serving refreshments had been delegated to the Iron Shield.

Zein looked at the patriarch in surprise. He had always been under the impression that Alteroan and his squad moved covertly, not very well known because they had to move from place to place while searching for the seed carrier. Sure, some espers might know him since they joined a lot of joint dungeon raids, but Zein didn’t think the patriarch of House Caishen would be one of them.

"He was quite well-known in the Defender community--ah, I was once active as a tanker," the patriarch explained immediately after seeing Zein’s reaction.

"I see..."

So there really was a reason for the sincerity. It made more sense now that he knew the patriarch knew of Alteroan before, instead of doing it because the Ishtera was back on the map with Zein.

It was also interesting to know that the patriarch of Caishen was a defense type.

"We’ve probably met once or twice in the tower," Zhou Caishen leaned back against his seat and crossed his arms, looking up as he dug into his memories. "I remember people were doubting him because...well, he was just too pretty for a defender, I guess," he glanced at Zein, the corner of his lips curled up.

Zein raised his brow with a smirk. "Did you?"

"I did," the patriarch laughed, and the rest of the table chuckled in response. It was kind of a stereotype that defensive type esper tended to be big, muscly, and rough--unless their defensive ability came from magic, like Rina with his ice attribute. Roan was a physical tank, and while he had a tall and buff physique, he also had a delicately pretty face. "But people who worked with him all vouched for his ability, and he was a courteous man that was hard to be hated. In the end, the only people who talked badly were the ones who got hurt because the people they liked were fawning over his looks."

Yuria looked at the portrait on the altar, and then looked at Zein. "Understandable," he remarked. There were truly people whose beauty was undisputable, objectively. "Now that I think about it, there was a talk about him before..."

"Oh?" Zein raised his brow higher. This revelation was getting more and more interesting, not to mention unexpected.

Yuria turned to look at the table next to them. "Don’t you remember Calix? About the promising defender who was predicted to reach five stars the quickest."

Calix, who had been listening to the conversation despite being at another table, tilted his head. "Ah..." his eyes widened slightly as memories surfaced. He wasn’t too active as an esper, so it took him quite long to recall.

"At that time, the quality of defense-type esper was dwindling in the Eastern Federation," Yuria continued.

"Yeah, while a lot of them appear in the Western Republic," Zhou Caishen shook his head and sighed.

Actually, Eastern Federation had only been strong in the short-range damage dealer department. Indeed, before Bassena Vaski appeared, their magician was also considered so-so--although, if it came to it, Bassena had more Southern blood than Eastern one.

"Exactly, so the community was excited for a while," Yuria nodded, before shifting his gaze to Zein. "But then, the Paladin suddenly disappeared."

Again, Zhou Caishen released a heavy sigh. "I remember waiting for him to appear for mandatory re-trial, but there was no news for the whole year," the look of regret in his eyes was a sincere one. Now he knew, that at the time of re-trial, the Paladin had already died, and his corpse was being preserved by the Horins. "In the end, we forgot about him."

After all, it was a common thing for esper to suddenly disappear; either they were dead, or no longer able to be an esper. Every year, a lot of espers met their end, and a lot of new espers awakened. Unless they were at the fame level of Rankers, like Bassena--people would easily forget them after some time had passed.

Zhou Caishen looked at Zein and smiled; the kind of smile one would give their nephew instead of a colleague. "I never thought he was the heir of House Ishtera."

Zein tilted his head, and the patriarch continued. "He applied for privacy protection, so only his first name could be seen on the database. And he worked as a mercenary with his own group, so no one truly knew his identity. His men either called him Captain or Paladin, so everyone just called him that; the Paladin."

"Hmm..." Zein nodded. A subtle smile played on his lips as he recalled what the little chicks back in the guild liked to call him. What nice information to have on a tearful day. He looked at the patriarch of House Caishen, the smile widening slightly on his lips. "I never thought I’d hear about him from someone else."

And it was truly nice. Knowing that other people thought rather highly of his father. Knowing that he was, after all, bore the same image with the gentle mountain in his dreams.

Well...

Zein glanced at the smiling patriarch, and finally admitted it.

It wasn’t bad, indeed.

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