Chapter 1250: Bodyguard

"A week from now, I’ll bring you to dive into the Dream Realm, so prepare yourself and the elites," Souta said with a serious look.

Tasman nodded at his words.

The Blood Realm was still unstable. It was still expanding, and it would take a week before it fully stabilized. At that time, the former Sovereigns and Rulers of the Land of Vanko and Reem would fight for the seats.

"So make haste in your preparations," Souta said.

"I understand," Tasman replied with a nod.

Souta and Tasman talked for a while about the development of the Everlasting Kingdom. After some time, Souta dismissed Tasman and returned to his position above the kingdom.

He floated there, looking down at the Everlasting Kingdom.

"Saya really left me a good gift."

Souta smiled for a moment, then his expression turned serious. He glanced in the direction where the Depth of Banquet was located.

"Next..."

The Depth of Banquet was filled with powerful beings. Just the Rulman Household alone was enough to flatten the entire Everlasting Kingdom, so he had to plan carefully.

Achieving [Douion IV] had boosted his chances in the upcoming fight for dominance.

"I’m looking forward to it."

...

Depth of Banquet.

Within the quarters of the Rulman Household located in Wave Bond City.

Souta was calmly sitting on a chair outside a house, watching the people of the Rulman Household rebuild houses and other structures. With elemental manipulation, skilled workers could easily build several houses in a single day.

’Building a house is easy, but...’ Souta turned his gaze toward the two people wearing white robes.

These two were Rune Masters. They were going to engrave runes onto the houses and other structures in the household to strengthen them.

’The amount of resources needed for it is astronomical,’ Souta thought inwardly.

He looked to the side and saw Wresho approaching him. He stood up and said, "Good morning, sir."

Wresho simply waved his hand and sat down beside him.

"Good morning to you too. Thanks for stepping up at that time," he said.

Souta glanced at the man thoughtfully. ’Hmm... I’m sure he could have handled those three people by himself.’

"As you can see, even though you are our guest, you were still forced to make a move and even got involved in our internal battle," Wresho explained.

"It’s nothing. Those three were nothing. I didn’t use much effort," Souta replied.

"You’ll receive rewards, but you will also receive an invitation," Wresho said, revealing the reason he came.

"An invitation?" Souta turned, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah... As you can see, the Rulman Household suffered great casualties. A total of five elders have died, and the losses are even greater among those in lower positions. The Rulman need manpower now, but we failed to eliminate all the traitors. Some of them managed to escape, and there’s a chance that they will attack again. That’s why the Matriarch wants to hire you for a while."

"Hire me?"

"That’s right. The other higher-ups have already agreed to this decision. Soon, the Matriarch will summon you to receive your rewards for saving our son. At that time, you will receive an invitation directly from her to become our son’s bodyguard."

"A bodyguard. You’re wary that those traitors will come back to target your son again, right?"

"Indeed. I want to watch over my son day and night, but I’m also an elder, so I have responsibilities. Wiptar was the one guarding my son..." Wresho grew silent for a moment, recalling Wiptar’s face. "Unfortunately, he died under my brother’s scheme."

’Wiptar, huh? The one who died in the Twisted Forest and also the Matriarch’s brother,’ Souta thought inwardly.

"So I want to know your answer. The invitation will not be mentioned in the formal meeting if you choose to reject it. In case you accept the invitation, we will prepare immediately."

"Hmm..." Souta glanced at Wresho deeply.

...

Main mansion of the Rulman Household.

The hall stretched far and wide, its ceiling supported by towering pillars carved with intricate runes. Banners of the family hung near the ceiling, and a long red carpet ran from the exquisite doors to the elevated platform in the distance, where a magnificent throne sat.

People lined both sides of the hall, and a woman with a commanding presence sat on the throne. Her expression was cold, and an oppressive aura leaked from her body.

They were the Matriarch and the elders of the Rulman Household.

"Matriarch, Atos is here," a voice sounded from behind the door.

The doors slowly opened, and Souta walked inside calmly.

Souta felt gazes directed at him as he continued walking. Then, he stopped at a certain distance from where the Matriarch was seated. He slowly bowed his head and said, "Greetings, Matriarch."

He lifted his gaze and looked at the Matriarch. Then, he secretly glanced at the remaining elders and noticed faces he hadn’t seen before.

It’s to be expected that some of the elders who were outside have returned after what just happened.

A total of eleven elders were present. That should be their full number, considering that some of them were traitors and had to be eliminated so these eleven were the only ones left.

Souta looked to the left and observed a man covered in scales. He had fins on his back, a pair of reptilian eyes, and a long tail.

’There’s no doubt about it... He’s the fifth-stage monster I sensed during the battle,’ he thought inwardly.

"In regards to your contribution during the turmoil, I, the Matriarch of the Rulman Household, will present you with an additional reward," Freida said.

The elders were quiet at the side as they simply observed the whole process. Just as Wresho had said, it seemed they already knew what was going to happen.

Freida flicked her finger, and two maids entered through the door carrying metal boxes.

"For your efforts in saving my clan and lending your assistance, these rewards will be yours."

The maids stepped forward, and one of them opened a box in front of Souta, revealing its contents.

Inside were one hundred platinum coins and a towel.

"Take it," Freida said.

Souta moved his finger, and the bag containing the hundred platinum coins floated beside him. The towel, meanwhile, was a red-grade artifact.

Red-grade was decent. They weren’t like Goddess Athena, who could give a dark-grade artifact. They were only mortals, and a dark-grade artifact was extremely precious to them. Even if they had one, they wouldn’t gift it to him as a reward.

’I’ll simply give it to the others,’ Souta thought inwardly.

The maid stepped aside, and another one came forward. She opened the box in her arms and revealed its contents.

It was a rectangular fruit. It had numerous holes, and its skin was blue in color.

Souta raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Freida smiled and explained, "This is a legendary-grade fruit called the Aqua World Fruit, one of the rare fruits that are only born in deep oceans with highly concentrated mana."

Souta had heard about it.

He had no use for it, but it was extremely useful for people with water elemental affinity. It was among the highest-tier legendary-grade items, comparable to the Divine Phaseless Fruit.

The Aqua World Fruit had a simple use. It could raise one’s water elemental power. However, it wasn’t a simple increase. If a person who hadn’t reached the Elemental Drive level consumed the fruit, it could help them reach Stage 2 Integration. Of course, it wasn’t instant, as there were shackles limiting a mortal’s body.

However, experts at the Hero rank who had reached Stage 3 Fusion of their water element desired this fruit the most. The Aqua World Fruit could help them reach Stage 4 of elemental power. Stage 4 had different names based on the continents, but it was known as Ethereal Force in the God’s Continent.

’My [Douion IV] should be comparable to it, but Douion has more uses. The Blood Realm alone is already proof,’ Souta thought inwardly.

"Now." Freida stood up and looked at Souta with a serious expression. "The Rulman Household has recognized your strength. We formally want to hire you to become the personal guard of my son, Fadu Rulman."

Souta smiled and bowed slightly. "I accept the position."

Freida wouldn’t have asked if he intended to reject it.

This was only a formality, but he was satisfied with this development.

"From now on, Atos is the personal bodyguard of Fadu," Freida declared.

No one could give Souta orders. His only task was to protect Fadu with all of his might. Since he came from the land, his position here wasn’t permanent. He could leave anytime he wanted, but for now, he had no plans to leave yet.

There were still many things he had to do.

The meeting concluded, and Souta left the room to start his job.

...

In the backyard of a small house.

Souta was sitting on a chair while the legendary-grade Aqua World Fruit floated in front of him.

"Hmm... This will be useful for Eilish, but she..." Souta fell silent for a moment as he recalled Eilish’s face. He couldn’t help but sigh. "I couldn’t do anything at that time."

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