Unsealing Emptiness

Chapter 184: Irvin in distress.

“... I am sorry sir, but Master Irvin was not expecting a visit,” The lady said, thinking that this person must be crazy.

Ozul squinted his eyes a little. He knew a little bit of what this woman might be thinking. Just as he was about to say something, a voice rang out,

“Young Master!”

It was the old Haley. However, Ozul did notice that she did not look so old as she did before. At most, she appeared to be a middle-aged lady.

After he had removed the poison from the old couple’s Mana Core, the Mana had started to circulate through their bodies again.

And the purity of their Mana was high enough to rejuvenate their physical condition back to what it was before.

Haley was surprised to see Ozul back since there wasn’t any other way for him to inform them beforehand.

.....

She immediately approached him and bowed her head. These few months were not enough to make her forget their absolute debt to this person.

“You don’t have to bow every time,” Ozul replied as Haley smiled with sweetness.

“Madam-”

“It’s okay. You can return to your work,” Haley said to the woman before she led Ozul towards the next room.

The woman did not say anything afterward and bowed her head before leaving. She had seen her madam bowing to this person. It certainly meant that he was someone strong or influential.

Ozul saw half the people arranging files on different tables and the other half sorting those documents. They did not stop there as Haley led him to the stairs.

While on the second floor, they had yet to enter the office when “Irvin! Come here right now!” Haley shouted angrily.

“What is it now?!” Irvin’s voice sounded annoyed, but he hurriedly came out of his room in fear that he had done something wrong.

Just as Irvin had come out of the room, he looked a little dumbfounded when he saw Ozul. Immediately afterwards, he got on one of his knees as he bowed respectfully.

“Young Master.”

“Stand up,” Ozul said as Irvin stood up with a nervous face.

Although he thought he had done a great job establishing the organization in Ozul’s absence, he was unsure if Ozul would be satisfied with it.

“When did you return?” Irvin asked tensely. To his side, Haley looked at him with amusement.

“I just did. It’s not important. Let’s go inside,” Ozul said while making his way inside the office.

Irvin stood there awkwardly as it should have been his first gesture to invite him to the room instead. After a while, the three were in the room with Ozul sitting on the couch.

There was a table with thick piles of documents placed on top. Ozul assumed it to be Irvin’s table.

The couple did not dare to sit down in the presence of their Master.

“Although I was going to leave everything to you before. I now want to hurry things up a little,” Ozul stated after a while.

“If I may ask, how much earlier to be exact?” Irvin asked.

“I am not sure, but I think we should have our branches to almost every populated area under 10 years,” Ozul replied, making Irvin shoot open his eyes.

‘His surprise is valid since 10 years probably seem impossible,’ Ozul thought without minding much.

“That brings me to the point; we have allies in the Neutral City,” Ozul said, which instantly piqued both Irvin and Haley’s interest.

“Who are they?” Irvin asked. He and Haley were from the Neutral Lands, so Ozul thought that they must know of them.

“The Order of Dusk and the Ashin Family,” Ozul answered simply.

However, the two hearing his words, instinctively took a few steps back. They were both high ranked Mages, so this extent of reaction made Ozul think that something was wrong.

“Hmm? What happened?” he asked as he noticed their worried emotions.

“I... We have something to tell you...” Irvin said with a meek tone.

“Speak,”

“Remember how we told you that I worked for a powerful family?” Irvin reminded Ozul of the time when he had removed their poison.

Ozul instantly realized what Irvin was trying to say as he asked, “You mean to say that you worked for the Ashin Family?”

“Yes... I did,” Irvin replied with a distressed face.

“I don’t see what’s the problem here?” Ozul knew that the people Irvin worked for had occasionally sent men after him, but it shouldn’t be a problem after all this time now.

He had made a deal with a Rank-9 Mage of that organization. They probably would not break their word for such an old matter now.

Though Irvin did not think this way; he had worked directly under the head of the Ashin family, he was aware that rules mattered a lot in the family.

Failures in missions were acceptable, but breaking the rules was a crime punishable with the most severe punishments in there.

“You might not be aware of it, Master... but the Ashin family gives great importance to rules. Especially after that incident...” Irvin spoke the last words quietly.

Ozul heard him, but he did not ask anything since he thought it was not related to him.

He also remembered that those people did indeed give more importance to the rules. Even someone at Hana’s rank could not break the rules and buy the auctioned items without informing them about it and getting her authority revoked.

Only these simple gestures were enough to make him realize that it was indeed true.

“I have been witness to many walking out of their deals only because they had broken some rules. These people even ignored the Rank-9 Mages and instantly rejected tens of partners. Consider how many people they have already sent after me; I am sure that they would not let it go so easily.”

Irvin explained his experience in detail. This situation caused him to feel that it would be his fault if their partnership broke only because of him.

“It’s fine. Even if they do want to change things, it doesn’t really matter.”

Ozul dismissed it nonchalantly. Unlike what one would expect, it did not relieve Irvin of his distress. Instead, he was even more worried now.

“But-”

“As I said, if they don’t want to cooperate later, it is up to them. They are only required to speed up the process... Not getting support would at most only increase the time or my efforts.” Ozul stated.

Irvin could only sigh because of his so casual approach to this situation. Then again, he felt a little better knowing that Ozul was willing to break the cooperation with the giant organization such as Ashin Family only for the sake of them.

“Alright...”

“As for what they will be cooperating with us, it’s simple. The Order of Dusk will help us with financial issues, which would give us a head start.”

“And what do they want for the organization?” Irvin asked curiously.

“Heh... What else, but information from an information-gathering organization?” It was not Ozul but Haley who replied to Irvin’s question.

Both Haley and Ozul stared at Irvin like they were watching some idiot, making the latter look away in embarrassment.

“They will indefinitely use the information that we have, free of cost,” Ozul said, making both Haley and Irvin wonder why they had to give so much.

However, the two did not ask him anything as they did not have much say in it. Irvin also knew the importance of formations as he had experienced them firsthand.

“As for the organization right now, it is only so so,” Ozul commented as Irvin felt even worse.

“It doesn’t matter. Finding capable men is hard,” Ozul said, which made Irvin confused since he could get two meanings from his words.

Ozul had either said it to console him or lament that he could not find the right person for the job.

“What should I do...” He muttered to himself in distress.

“First and foremost, start picking up talented orphans,” Ozul answered Irvin’s question, who hurriedly nodded his head.

An information-gathering organization needed loyal people, and giving an orphan shelter at his worst time was one of the easiest ways to have one’s undying loyalty.

“For now, consider that the Ashin Family will cooperate. In this case, you won’t need to worry about money. So start hiring people worth their salt,”

“...And what if they don’t cooperate?” Irvin hesitated before asking.

“I will take care of it somehow. Your work is to find people who are actually good at this,” Irvin realized that Ozul was not happy with the current people from his words.

“Alright, It is a long time process, but I think I should be able to find people,” Irvin replied confidently, which made Haley smile as well.

“... I remembered something...” Haley suddenly spoke, drawing Ozul’s attention.

Noticing his stare, Haley realized that he had indicated for her to speak, so she said, “What about the name? There should at least be a proper name for the organization.”