No Other Choice

"I'm sorry, Master Lai, as you know, we generally don't reveal our prophecies to outsiders."

Sean nodded, his eyes half-closed, leaning back in his chair as if he were in a difficult position.

Fran looked up and slowly said:

"But if you don't reveal it, then I think you'll have a hard time getting a satisfactory result."

A silence fell between them, and three seconds later, Sean's lips moved.

"Alright, Mage Lai, hopefully we can get a satisfactory result."

He emphasized the word "result" at the end, his pupils dilated slightly, and he looked directly into Fran's eyes, speaking as if telling a story.

"The first prophecy I received in Lorinvik was about my son, Connor."

"This is something I'll regret for the rest of my life if I miss it."

Fran raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and continued listening to Sean's story.

"You may not know my child; his name is Connor Felistin Laurence."

"He is my child, and a member of the Felistin Family..."

Fran rubbed her hands on the table. Sean talked a lot about his son Connor, the Blood Wolf Knights leader whom Fran had killed.

Although she didn't quite understand why Sean recounted Connor's experiences from the Floating City to losing contact, Fran knew it was very important information and listened anyway.

"Finally, my son Connor lost contact with me in Antir. The magical device I gave him to detect life mysteriously stopped working; he's probably already dead."

"I gave up on tracking down who killed my son because without a magical device to send a message, it would take too much effort and it's too much trouble."

"But that's not important. I think you know that I'm here because it's also related to Antir and my son."

Fran frowned and asked in return.

"There are many things related to your son. Isn't it possible that it's happening in the Floating City?"

Sean thought for a moment and then answered.

"I make prophecies every day; this is a fine quality of a prophet. We should pay attention to every piece of information beyond the prophecies themselves."

Sean emphasized that he used the identity of a 'prophet' rather than Astrology School sorcerer.

"I didn't receive any useful information before I arrived in Lorinvik, but when I got Lorinvik and was trying to collect some belongings, I suddenly got this hint."

Before receiving this prophecy that was enough to drive him mad, he would actually make a prophecy every day. After receiving it, he gave up the habit and only recently resumed it.

"Does this mean that what I'm looking for is in Lorinvik, or in the vicinity of Lorinvik?"

"While there's a small chance this could still happen in the Floating City, it's still a small chance. I think the probability of it happening is much higher, even in the vicinity of Lorinvik."

Fran frowned, a hint of hostility flashing in her eyes as she looked at Sean, but it quickly disappeared.

She pointed out a blind spot in Sean's words.

"Since you're looking for something related to your son, why don't you go find the murderer who killed him? The connection is strong enough, isn't it?"

Sean's previous reasons for not searching for the murderer were simply that it was difficult to find, he didn't want to expend too much effort Third Order Mage, or perhaps it wasn't worth it; after all, the murderer was just a child, and he didn't have such deep feelings for him.

But what about now? After learning that what he's looking for is related to his son, he should immediately think about finding the murderer who killed his son. At that point, this connection becomes very important.

"Mage Lai, you think I'm too clever for my own good."

Sean's face was stiff as he slowly spoke.

"At the time, I was convinced that what I was looking for was inside Lorinvik, so I focused all my energy on that."

"Only when I had absolutely no other choice but to resort to prophecy did I receive a hint that a clue might exist here."

"Now that you have killed Theodore, less than one-tenth of those knights remain, and in order to eliminate the resistance, most of the nobles have also been purged."

"Under these circumstances, do you think I can still find the murderer who killed my son in Antir?"

Sean blinked, indicating that his lead had been cut off by Fran, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"And the only clue I have now, unfortunately, is related to you, or rather, to those strange Priest under your command."

"So, can you tell me where you found these Priest?"

"The Lorenbu Family is willing to pay the price for this."

Sean had made his point very clear: he was willing to pay in exchange for Fran's help.

Although the Lorenzo family only has Sean, a third-tier mage, the surname Connor Felicetin from before says more.

These Mage Family would unite through marriage and other means to enhance their influence.

Fran was unaware of the influence these two families wielded in the Floating City. She had never been Floating City and had no idea how much Gold Coin their businesses there could generate.

However, according to her estimation, something a Third Order Mage desperately wanted would be very important to him, but Fran was ultimately just a clue.

She estimated that it would eventually be worth about 10,000 Gold Coin. Perhaps Sean could come up with more, but this was just a clue, and he wouldn't offer any more.

Fran blinked, a resolute look in her eyes as she gazed at Sean.

If this is a harmless transaction, then taking the 10,000 Gold Coin is not out of the question.

But the contents of the deal truly crossed Fran's bottom line—the Priest.

Once the title of Lord of Radiance is revealed, Fran wouldn't have enough lives to survive.

Besides, for Fran at this point, ten thousand Gold Coin is nothing; she doesn't need the benefits of this transaction at all.

So how about refusing Sean? Since the deal is no longer possible.

No!!

It wasn't that Fran couldn't refuse, but rather that she knew the conflict between her and Sean might be irreconcilable.

What did Sean want? He wanted to know the thing he wanted to know.

So what exactly was that thing that he would regret for the rest of his life if he missed it?

Sean's understanding of Lorinvik and Antir was only superficial, and he believed that the matter might not have been fully revealed yet; he was only looking for clues.

But Fran knew that the only major event that had happened in the areas surrounding the Alliance was her conquest of the entire Antir.

She didn't believe that a huge gold mine would suddenly appear in a short period of time; if that happened, Sean would truly regret it for the rest of his life.

This makes no sense, and Sean's prophecy already points to the group of Priest that Fran brought with her.

Fran estimated that there were two things that Sean would regret for the rest of his life, one of which was the matter of the Territory Mage.

Perhaps Sean's academic methods are not clean, and after learning about Fran's specific actions, he might try to seize the copyright of this achievement from Fran.

Perhaps it was the special circumstances of the Alliance that allowed him to obtain a large reward from the Alliance after learning the name of the Lord of Radiance.

These are all things that Fran cannot tolerate.

The other party repeatedly disturbed her, trying to probe the details of her experiment; clearly, they didn't intend to give up.

What else is there to say?

At this moment, Fran had only one solution in mind: kill Sean!!

She didn't think she could persuade Sean to back down, even if she gave Sean ten thousand Gold Coin. He would only be more convinced that what Fran was hiding was of great importance, and might even be closely related to what he was looking for.

She couldn't afford to waste any more time dealing with Sean and testing whether he would back down after receiving the money, because her trip to the Floating City was in two months.

This is far more important than Antir's matter; she can't possibly give it up just to get entangled with Sean.

That leaves her with only one quick but somewhat risky path—to risk killing a third-tier the Alliance Third Order Mage.

She had no idea what had gotten into him, insisting on getting so close to her face at that moment.

She had no choice but to take the necessary measures.

Fran composed herself and then asked:

"May I ask what the Lorenbu Family can offer?"

A happy smile spread across Sean's face as he nodded in response to Fran's words.

"Lorenzo will not treat his friends unfairly, as long as they are sincere."

Sean raised the ring in his hand; it wasn't a magic Gem, just an ordinary brown Gem.

However, this Gem was crafted with great care, featuring spikes of leaves, petals, stars arranged in crescent moons, and a simple design in the center replacing the top of the staff with an owl's head.

He tapped the ring lightly on the table three times, the clear sound dispelling much of the tense atmosphere.

"You can take this ring. The Mage Family associated with Felistin in the Floating City will do you a small favor because of it."

"Or you could choose a standard residential area on Floating City No. 29. The Transmutation School recently plans to make this Floating City a symbol of the School."

"Or perhaps you'd like some Gold Coin? I have twenty-three the Alliance standard gold bars, worth approximately nine thousand Gold Coin."

Sean's words carried a great deal of sincerity, or rather, he believed he was very sincere.

The family ring he offered could help the person enter the Mage Family circle of the Floating City. As long as they accepted the marriage, they would receive the support of the Felistin Family.

The residence in the Floating City was an investment from a long time ago, and recent news has caused its price to rise considerably. However, whether the Transmutation School will take over depends on the situation.

Funds are the last resort; some mages don't lack the former two, they just need some Gold Coin for working capital.

Sean believed he had shown utmost sincerity.

Fran smiled too, but it wasn't because Sean's offer was so attractive.

"I don't need any of these. Can you give me something else?"