Don't Scare the Child

A tall, handsome middle-aged man walked in, his right hand lightly twisting the Serpent Ring on his left finger, High-spirited, a faint trace of mockery on his face as he looked at Suye and said loudly, "Ha, the future Mage, how do you have time to eat in my little rundown place?"

"Mr... Mr. Kelton..." Harmon was startled, stammering.

Horton was dumbfounded. How could Mr. Kelton know Suye? Senit quietly tucked the dagger behind his back and immediately bowed in greeting, "Mr. Kelton, Mr. Hark."

Kelton and Hark merely glanced over him, not even looking him in the eye.

Kelton blinked, frozen in the doorway, scanning the few people present. He had thought Suye was dining with friends and that he'd come to express his thanks, but the atmosphere in the room was off.

Harmon's heart was full of panic, and he quickly realized that if Suye was truly on good terms with Kelton, he might be in serious trouble today.

He absolutely could not offend Kelton!

There was no way Suye could know someone as important as Kelton!

He racked his brain, soon latching onto a key point: Kelton's attitude was peculiar—not like welcoming an old friend, his tone laced with sarcasm, as if he somewhat disliked Suye.

"Could it be that Kelton doesn't like Suye? Yes! That must be it! Listening to Kelton's tone, he must be here to cause trouble for Suye, definitely!" Harmon's hand trembled as he barely suppressed the urge to wipe his sweat.

Suye remained seated, his gaze passing over Kelton and instead nodding at Hark. "Mr. Hark."

"Hm." Hark gave a soft grunt in return, nodding back.

Neither Harmon nor Horton noticed Hark's response, but Senit, who was most focused on Hark, felt a storm surge within him.

Ordinary people didn't know Hark, but he knew all too well how powerful Hark was—a Bronze Warrior who could hold his own against a Silver Warrior for a long time without losing ground.

Back then, Senit had sought a spar with Hark, who didn't respond. Losing his patience, Senit attacked first.

Three moves.

Just three moves, and Hark knocked him out with an elbow strike.

Senit knew Hark's temper well; he was indifferent even to Bronze Warriors of the same level, yet now he responded to a kid. Something was definitely off.

"Huh? Suye, what do you mean? Don't you see me?" Kelton glared at Suye, nearly twisting his nose off in anger. Greeting only Hark and not me—what does Suye take me for?

Seeing Kelton's attitude, Harmon was overjoyed, once again concluding that Kelton disliked Suye, but still, something felt off.

Suye glanced at Kelton and said, "How could I not see you? I heard Mr. Kelton has been making quite a splash in Athens City these past two days. If I'm not mistaken, you've just come back from the Pandion Family?"

Hearing Suye's tone, Harmon's body trembled slightly. Suye dared to mock Kelton openly—what did that mean? Harmon's heart sank to the bottom.

To everyone's surprise, despite Suye's obvious sarcasm, Kelton not only didn't get angry but grinned smugly, adjusting his robe. "I didn't really do much, just sent over some Salad Dressing and chatted a bit with Mr. Pels, the Pandion Family's steward."

"And forgot all about Dolphin River?" Suye asked.

Kelton had thought Suye was joking earlier, since he'd started the teasing himself, but now he sensed something off in Suye's tone. He looked at the other three and frowned. "What's going on?"

"These three were planning to trash the restaurant at Dolphin River," Suye said.

"Huh?" Kelton's stern gaze swept over the three, unconsciously exuding the pressure of a Silver Warrior.

"I didn't!" Harmon shouted frantically.

"I walked into the wrong room," Senit said, trying to leave, but a look from Hark forced him to stay put.

Hearing Senit's words, a chill ran down Harmon's back. He quickly shot Senit a questioning look.

Senit kept his head down, not even glancing at Harmon.

"These three aren't your friends?" Kelton finally shook off the joy of currying favor with the Pandion Family and began to take the matter seriously.

Suye smiled. "I thought Mr. Harmon was your good friend."

"How could that be? I've only seen this guy two or three times in total, never even spoken to him," Kelton said.

"We actually did talk..." Harmon muttered under his breath, not daring to argue.

Suye said, "Then that's strange. How did he dare say at Dolphin River that if I didn't fill this cup with blood, I wouldn't leave through that door?"

Harmon's heart raced.

Kelton instantly understood—Suye hadn't come on his own; he'd been threatened.

Kelton flew into a rage. He'd barely managed to connect with the Pandion Family through his salad, the scent of their Laurel Tree still clinging to his robe, and now someone wanted to bleed his greatest contributor in his own establishment?

Kelton struggled to contain his fury, glaring at Harmon. "You want to bleed Suye in my restaurant?"

How could Harmon withstand the wrath of a Silver Warrior? It felt like a beast was standing before him. Trembling, he said, "Sir... you misunderstand. I didn't do anything. My son and Suye are classmates. I invited them over for a normal meal, to help them become good friends. Horton, isn't that right?"

When his father named the man before him, Horton was already terrified. He had no idea what to say, just nodding vigorously.

Kelton sighed. "It seems everyone knows I'm too kind, too easy to fool."

Senit decisively said, "Mr. Kelton, here's what happened. Harmon wanted to teach Mr. Suye a lesson because Suye hit his son Horton. I owed Harmon a favor, so I came to check it out. But because Mr. Suye's words were sharp and his bearing extraordinary, my conscience told me I couldn't harm such a man, so I was about to leave when you two walked in."

Harmon clenched Both Fists, wanting nothing more than to fight Senit to the death.

Kelton didn't care about Senit at all, his eyes fixed solely on Harmon, making Harmon's skin crawl.

"Mr... Mr. Kelton..." Harmon saw a faint silver sheen appear on Kelton's body and was too scared to form a complete sentence.

A Silver Warrior could shatter a house with one punch.

Horton's whole body shook, and he collapsed to the floor with a thud, desperately trying to stand, but his Legs wouldn't obey him.

"Don't scare the kid," Suye said lightly.

Kelton snorted softly, retracting his power, and pulled up a chair to sit down.

"Whatever you say," Kelton said lazily.

Senit shot Suye an incredulous glance. For someone to make Kelton say that, they'd have to be at least a Golden Warrior. Just who was this Suye?

Hearing Kelton's words, Harmon knew he was finished. If Kelton and Suye were merely acquainted, he might have been able to call on someone he knew. But now that Kelton was obeying Suye, anyone he knew would immediately distance themselves from him and run as far as they could.