In almost every one of his lives, Cale had spent several years in Frignez. But it was in his fourth life that he spent decades alongside the Merensen family. After finding no success in Sylve, he had come to Frignez in the form of a child with blond hair and blue eyes. His goal had been to learn the sword skills of Miguel Heriog, without considering how young he was at the time. So Cale spent countless months neglected in Frignez until Chief Merensen noticed him and took him in temporarily.
This decision ultimately gave him the opportunity to meet Master Jonat Paseru. After a few unexpected twists of fate, Cale became his second student - all while continuing to live in the Merensen family home. Aletta was still a baby at the time when Ninett officially welcomed him into the family.
No wonder Cale had never considered Aletta merely a close friend. In one lifetime, he had lived by her side as her big brother. To him, she was both the little, sometimes annoying sister with the gift of Holy Mana - and yet also the first teacher of magic he had ever had.
Seeing Ninett Merensen brought all these old memories back to life. The time he spent with Master Paseru and the Merensen family was probably among the happiest Cale had ever experienced. He had always been grateful to them, even though he had never really managed to express that gratitude - since no one remembered him or the lives he had lost.
As time passed, it became noon and movement could be seen in the underground city. Most of the time, Cale only had a rough overview of his surroundings as he discreetly drank his tea. Chief Merensen seemed to have noticed his silence, because he glanced at Cale and then sat up straight.
"How about we take a break? You must be hungry", Ninett Merensen finally said, causing the other men to quickly stop their conversation. A few moments later, their eyes also turned to Cale, who looked to Damian for help.
"I have no objection to that. We left quite early this morning", said the Eldest, much to Cale's relief, and the chief nodded in agreement.
"Well then, be my guests", Chief Merensen replied, standing up.
For a moment, all eyes were on him as he reached for his axe and turned to his colleagues. He offered them to join him, which Chief Heriog and Chief Clensen gratefully accepted. After a few brief words, the rest finally rose and reached for their own weapons - Cale did the same.
He made Karekama disappear and fastened his other sword to his belt before going to the wall. There he took both his coat and the Eldest's coat and draped them over his arm, as a palace servant would have done. With a brief nod, he signaled his colleague to stay by his side.
"Is this your first visit to Norgram?", the first chief asked after a few moments, once the group had left the office and followed Chief Merensen through the narrow paths. He led the group, followed by the Eldest, Cale, Chief Heriog, and lastly Chief Clensen.
"No", Cale replied.
"Yes", the Eldest answered at the same time, so their answers overlapped. There was a brief silence as Damian turned around and glanced at the men behind him. "The last time I was in Frignez, Norgram didn't exist yet. So I only know Osnamund."
"Really?", Chief Clensen spoke up, as Osnamund is the city under his protection.
It was only about 10 years ago that the three major cities in Frignez had built an underground connection, allowing them to travel between the regions without having to go to the surface. This tunnel was one of the largest on the entire continent, as thousands of people traveled through it every day - on foot.
"It's been a while."
"You made that clear. If Norgram didn't exist when you last visited, then it must have been over 60 years ago", Chief Merensen interjected without turning around.
"Correct", confirmed the Eldest, turning back to face forward.
"What about you, Sir Adenia? You know Norgram if I'm interpreting correctly."
"I know the city quite well, yes. Although I probably haven't witnessed one or two changes", Cale replied as dryly as possible, turning his attention to the chief in front of him. He was aware of the differences between the current city and the city 20 years ago, as he had already lived here in his fourth life. But he couldn't say with absolute certainty that he knew every corner of it.
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"Could it be that you are originally from Frignez?", Chief Heriog asked. For a moment, the hairs on the back of Cale's neck stood on end before he remembered how he currently appeared to other people.
"No, I was born in Sylve", Cale explained honestly. "I have spent most of my life in Altona. However, I must admit that I also lived in Norgram some time ago."
"I see", Chief Heriog began, and Cale could sense the man turning around to face the third chief. The only reason Cale had been so direct in his statement was that Frignez did not keep a list of residents. Even if they wanted to verify his comment, they couldn't.
Unlike in Altona, which is why he had gone to such lengths to make his story believable.
"That explains why you are so well versed in our customs", Ninett Merensen interjected, turning around so that their eyes met again. "I'm sure you hear this often, but you look like a Frignezer."
"I am aware of that, yes."
"You too, Eldest", added the second leader, giving the old man behind him a gentle smile.
"My mother is originally from Frignez."
"Really?", the three leaders said in shock, and Cale was inclined to say something similar. Suddenly, the group of five had come to a standstill, and all eyes were on the Eldest.
"Yes, my mother came from Osnamund, and after she met my father, she moved to Altona and lived there until her death."
Stunned, Cale stood behind the dark blond mage, who elegantly held his hands in front of his chest and turned around. He certainly had the features of a Frignezer, with his blond hair and blue eyes. But they were much darker than those of the natives themselves. Now learning that he was half Frignezer, half Altonaer explained a lot.
He was of mixed race.
"I must admit, that came as a bit of a surprise. It's not often that we..."
"That Frignezers leave their country? I know, yes. Mother told me how difficult it was for her to leave her homeland. But in the end, she was very happy."
Cale couldn't help but clench his hand into a fist. Until now, he thought he knew the Eldests, but this information was completely new to him. He wondered if his parents had witnessed the internal war in Altona and the collapse of the bishoprics, or if they had died before that. In his previous lives, Damian had never mentioned anything about this, and that made Cale somewhat uncomfortable.
"I'm glad to hear that", Chief Merensen said and continued walking.
The Eldest, on the other hand, looked at Cale and grinned, causing Cale to close his eyes and sigh. They followed the chiefs toward the dining rooms, from which a delicious aroma emanated. A few dozen men and women were also present in the hall and fell silent as soon as the three chiefs, followed by two unknown blond-haired men, entered the room. One of them even dropped his fork, causing a soft metallic clink to be heard in the silence.
"Don't let us disturb you", chief Merensen said, gesturing toward a free table with a wave of his hand, so that Damian and Cale walked over to it without saying a word. It was clearly unusual for the Eldest to dine with so many people in the same hall. Frignez was one big family, and everyone shared with everyone else - very different from Sylve or Altona. Since everyone here knew about their difficult situation, they tried to help each other wherever they could. This was probably one of the reasons why they were so dismissive of strangers, but still helped them in an emergency. They knew what it felt like to have to fight for their existence.
Cale carefully placed the coats on the bench next to him and took a seat, followed by the Eldest. Chief Clensen and Chief Heriog sat down opposite them again, while Chief Merensen talked to two unknown women. As Cale let his gaze wander around the room, he remembered that the place was not unfamiliar to him. When the wave of refugees came to Frignez, this large room was one of the central supply rooms he had visited dozens of times in the past.
A nostalgic smile came over him when he recognized Lance in the distance. Due to the presence of so many people, he had not paid attention to the mana sources, but when he saw his face, he remembered immediately. The man Cale had spotted was Lance Vertal. He was one of the supervisors he had worked with during the beginning of the crisis in his first life and had therefore spent more time with. He was now in his late 20s, but his face had hardly changed over the years.
"Do you recognize someone?", Chief Heriog asked as he turned around and looked at the people Cale was watching.
"Possibly. Over the years, it often happens that people look familiar to me", Cale replied, turning his attention back to the table.
"Understandable, you must have met dozens of personalities over time."
"Quite so", Damian and Cale said in unison, glancing at Chief Merensen, who was now also returning to the table. To Cale's surprise, he took a seat right next to him, so Cale made the coats disappear with his zero magic, taking care to ensure that no one was watching him.
"Are you planning to spend the night with us?", the third chief began, looking at his guests, who exchanged brief, questioning glances. It was Cale who finally spoke up.
"Well, we would follow your lead. Personally, however, I have to be back in Sylve next week - my daughter and my work are waiting for me there. The Eldest is likely in a similar situation. We traveled here without informing a single soul."
"I understand", Chief Clensen replied, before Chief Merensen joined the conversation.
"You have a daughter?"
"Her name is Ahri", Cale replied quickly. He had no intention of informing the chiefs that Ahri was one of the dragons he was in contact with. Moreover, he did not want to bring up such a sensitive topic where dozens of people could hear him.
"May I ask how old your daughter is, Sir Adenia?"
"Ahri is 6 years old."
"So young?", the man replied quickly.
"She's surprisingly mature", Cale countered with a broad grin on his face as he noticed Chief Merensen glance briefly at one of the other tables.
His wife, Delenna Merensen, was sitting there talking to some other ladies, which made Cale suspect that Ninett Merensen was thinking about his own future child. He would never intrude so deeply into his privacy, but it was more than obvious to Cale that the couple was planning to expand their little family.
And that expansion would be called Aletta Merensen in the coming year.