Adopted Soldier

The members of the mercenary club were shocked to hear the news of Lyner getting married. Not only that but he was actually getting married to the beautiful Saintess Anita of the Southern Union. This was amazing news, that made their mouths drop open. Due to Anita not saying who she was marrying, the other people of Berdonia were trying to guess who the mystery man from Berdonia truly was.

Those in the know, knew who she was talking about. The people in the Berdonian Government were in total chaos at this very moment. On one hand some of the higher-ups didn't like the idea of the strongest being in their nation was to be wed with a VIP of another nation. On the other hand the others thought that this could be a chance for the two nations to officially have an alliance with the Southern Union.

This could make the situation regarding the Empire lean towards their advantage. Since the only reason the Empire never goes all out is in fear of the Southern Union attacking when they're in their weakest state. If the Southern Union truly stands beside Berdonia, the Granado Empire might act differently, and stop their monthly skirmishes.

Though the two factions had different reactions, the person in the middle of it all Lyner didn't really care what anybody else thought. If this statement of his soon to be wife doesn't work in his favor, then he decided to just force it.

...

The other members had a lot of question about Matthew and his relation to Alex, but when they heard the news about Lyner marrying the Saintess, the other members now have a new set of questions. They kept on bothering Matthew asking him what he knows, but Matthew simply answered with a smile.

Matthew couldn't tell them how he knew that Lyner was the person the Saintess was talking about, since the reason he knew was in relation to his master. If he told them about his master, it would put Alex's involvement with him into question.

So no matter what the others asked, Matthew never answered. After a short while most of the members gave up on finding out how Matthew knew that Lyner was getting married. The only one who remained persistent was Emily.

When everyone was done questioning the tight lipped Matthew, they left him alone and got ready to leave for home. The moment Emily and Matthew were the only ones alone on the rooftop, Emily closes in on Matthew and whispers to his ear.

"So tell me holy son, how much do you know about Sir Lyner and Saintess Anita's relationship." When Matthew heard Emily call him holy son, he knew she was someone who was part of Alex and his world.

"Not much really, I only know as much as some. Nothing special in particular." Emily hearing Matthew's response looked at him eye to eye. After looking at him for a few seconds, Emily backed off.

"Boring." After saying this Emily left Matthew standing, alone on the roof. The moment he was alone, Matthew started to smile, and after a while he started laughing. If any other student saw the handsome young teacher laughing at nothing they might have thought he has gone crazy. knowing that there was no one on the roof but him, Matthew kept on laughing.

"That group was amazing! I always thought only Alex and James would be a match for me in our generation, but who knew that there was so many from the younger generation that's nearing my level. Not only that all of them are Berdonian, I wonder if there are also some hidden gems in the Southern Union that I haven't seen. Obviously the Empire the supposed strongest must be hiding a prodigy or two in their nation."

Matthew who was getting a bit excited, remembered the members of the Mercenary club, and to his surprise the friends Alex made were as abnormal as him. He lay down on the roof as he thought of the group of youngsters.

'All of them were a bunch of little monsters, well all except for those two. What were their names... Oh, right Kei and Evangeline. Those two don't seem built to fight. On the other hand there was one who seems to exist only to fight. What was that huge monster, Oliver. Unlike Alex and I who look thin on the outside but have impressive muscles underneath, Oliver's muscles, on the other hand, were tremendous. Though there were some excesses here and there overall his muscle tone was nicely built. He also had something about him, that actually made me a little scared.'

Matthew who was checking out the members of the Mercenary Club, actually felt a bit of fear when he saw Oliver. It wasn't just because of his overwhelming physique but there was something else. Matthew would never be afraid of someone simply because they were big. Matthew has seen many others that have a bigger physique than Oliver, but none of them gave him this kind of fear by just looking at the person.

'Well it wasn't just Oliver that was amazing. There was that guy called Niel. That guy seems closer to me and Alex in general style and physique. All throughout our conversation not once did he let his guard down. His movement and way of guarding his upper torso by moving his hands while in conversation reminds me of someone... Oh, that's it! Even though his movement weren't as natural as his, but that guy Niel reminds me of Lyner. They must be related in some way, maybe Niel is his disciple of sorts... It's actually possible, well I'll just ask Alex when I get the chance.'

'The girls were amazing as well. That girl Sayaka who was clinging onto Oliver, I didn't sense her presence, no I couldn't sense her presence. At first I thought it was because she was sticking to Oliver who had an overwhelming presence, but when she separated herself from Oliver I still couldn't get a sense that she was there. My eyes could see her, I could definitely perceive her with my eyes, but that was it. My other senses couldn't determine that she was there. My sense of hearing failed me as I couldn't even hear her footsteps. My sense of smell also faltered, since even when I was so close to her, she didn't have any distinct smell, it was like she was one with the surroundings.'

Matthew then remembered his encounter with Sayaka, as she was talking to him, Matthew thought he was talking to a ghost. If the others didn't acknowledge her existence, Matthew might have thought she was a real ghost, or that he might have been hallucinating.

'Now there was Rachel, the one who holds Alex's interest. She obviously uses a similar hand to hand combat style as Alex, since her the way she moves had that distinct shift of her center of gravity. It was also obvious that she hasn't trained that much, but I can tell she is indeed stronger than most C class mercs. Still that doesn't explain Alex's interest in her. I wonder what he sees in her.'

Matthew was really intrigued by Rachel. He kept on wondering what was so good about someone of Rachel's level. Alex who was rich, handsome, and powerful, could pick any girl he wants but he chose Rachel.

'Then there was the most frightening of the bunch. Emily Hunt, I know of her brother Kyle Hunt, but I wasn't expecting his sister to be such a monster. Those eyes of hers seem to be able to see through everything. That smile she shows seems to be always concealing something. Overall she is definitely dangerous. Solely based on the sound of steel that I could hear in her body, I'm sure she isn't a slouch in a fight. I can't really say how strong she is in actual combat, but her type doesn't really fight head on. I'm not really good with that kind of opponent.'

Matthew was then reminded of that fake smile Emily kept on showing. There was even a cold glint in her eyes, when she asked how much Matthew knew about Lyner. It was at this moment that Matthew thought his master was right. He could definitely get stronger by staying here.

...

While Matthew was thinking back to his first impression of the members of the Mercenary Club, Alex and the others had fetched Lilitth from school. Now he, Lilitth, Rachel, and Evangeline were heading back to the mansion.. Unknown to them the moment they come home, a life changing event will happen.