The representatives of the Seven Sword Guilds glared at Aurelius, one of them even daring to scoff in derision.

"Are you making fun of Ashen Crown, your excellency? You made us wait for a long time, and this is your explanation?"

Aurelius fell silent for a moment before answering with a simple:

"Yes."

*BANG!* The hulking, brown-haired representative of Steel Covenant slammed the massive table with his hands, causing it to crack, despite a glowing enchantment rune protecting it from harm.

The mundanes and the mediocre bladeborns would lose their mind at such a sight, which should've only been possible in the Myriad Sword Realm.

How could a mere human destroy a finely crafted blackwood table with a mere hammerfist?

But none inside the luxurious hall was surprised, and the meeting only proceeded.

"Please calm down, Sir Vander, and allow me to explain." Hailey stepped in, knowing it was her turn.

She was the one handling Onimaru Kunitsuna's situation. Only she could provide the necessary explanation.

The representatives of the Seven Sword Guilds all turned to look at the pink-haired woman, narrowing their eyes.

Most of them were male and of similar age to Hailey. Her pleasing aesthetics helped to better the situation, if only slightly.

"Fine, explain." Vander nodded in a stern tone, closing his arms over his muscular chest.

In the next moment, Hailey adjusted her glasses, retrieving something from the drawer beneath her part of the huge table.

An old piece of paper tied by pristine white silk.

"Hoh, a Scroll of Truth?" Vander mused, his easing expression reflected across the entire room.

It seemed that the world government was indeed willing to give them a proper explanation from the beginning.

Otherwise, why would they invest a huge amount of actualizer crystals to bring a Scroll of Truth to this meeting?

Aurelius and the representatives of the Seven Sword Guilds watched as she unfurled the scroll, pricking her thumb with the ethereal needle inside the roll of paper without so much as batting an eyelid, and pressing it to the appropriate spot.

In the next moment, the Scroll of Truth lit up, enveloped by a faint golden aura.

This meant that it was now active.

But then, before any of the representatives could speak, Hailey clarified a few things:

"I will be choosing which information the government will be disclosing. I hope everyone is willing to meet me in the middle. If I feel that our authority is being completely underestimated and disregarded, then we shall stop the meeting, and you can report whatever you want to your masters."

The division head's words were clear: we're willing to explain to the extent of what we can allow, but don't push us too far, or you can talk to Saint Caladbolg's sword.

"Hmph!" Vander and a few others snorted in unison, waiting for Hailey to speak again, which she did after just a brief pause to let her meaning sink in.

"I'll take that as an acknowledgement. Now, the government's grip on Onimaru Kunitsuna is very loose. The novice is very protective of their privacy and peace. They're a talented one, no doubt, but nothing that would warrant your exalted guilds' manpower to this extent. In simpler words, you're all overreacting." The female division head adjusted her glasses once more, her habitual motion accompanied by a burst of harmless golden flames from the scroll.

This meant that Hailey wasn't lying.

"Hoh, I don't know how to feel about the scroll deciding that matter for us. Care to tell us THEIR exact rank, since you're unwilling to even say the novice's gender?" another representative responded with a straightforward question.

To their surprise…

"The mysterious novice is an S-ranker," Hailey said without hesitation, surprising even Aurelius.

But the old man fully trusted this specific subordinate of his.

If she was willing to disclose this, then there was probably something in her head that didn't cross his mind.

As much as Aurelius wanted to know, they had to show a united front, or the seven representatives would only grow more aggressive.

The moment the Scroll of Truth burned golden, the opposition was stupefied for two moments.

What the hell? They got what they came here for just like that?

But some were able to recollect their wits faster than the others.

One of the seven representatives, a bespectacled man of sternness and professionalism, reached out to grab the burning scroll without hesitation.

People of Talas's level long knew that the flames were harmless, and this wasn't even his first time doing such a thing.

He quickly examined the scroll with razor-sharp focus, snapping the other representatives from their disbelief-induced stupor.

The stern representative from the guild of madmen, Bloodbound, placed the scroll down a few dozen seconds later, brows furrowed.

"Talas, have they somehow tampered with the scroll?" asked Vander in a cold tone.

While the government is a declining power, it had its own advantages in terms of information regarding the Myriad Sword Realm, thanks to Caladbolg, the one saint who always dared venture deep in the largely unexplored central continent of Vigrheim.

They also had the power of legal authority, the order holding the world together.

There was a chance they had learned how to tamper with items like the Scroll of Truth.

But the hulking representative's guess turned out to be inaccurate:

"No." Talas confirmed, "They haven't done anything with it."

Based on the reactions of the other six, it was evident they didn't doubt the man's words one bit.

"Hmph!" Vander snorted, washing away the strange atmosphere. "An S-ranker, huh? We appreciate the honesty. However!"

Aurelius' and Hailey's eyes narrowed as the hulking man continued:

"Shouldn't we be given an equal chance to bid for his loyalty? Why are you monopolizing Onimaru Kunitsuna? The novice is clearly not a regular S-ranker. After all, how could he win the duel event a few months prior? We want a chance to at least talk to him."

It was a good thing for the government that the Seven Sword Guilds had no access to the Ranking Stones.

Otherwise, the pressure the government duo would have to deal with would be many times more than the current.

"That is not up to us," Hailey responded quickly, as though she was long ready for this specific argument from the opposition. "As I said, Onimaru Kunitsuna values their privacy and peace deeply, far more than money. They didn't want to be bothered by such talks at this early stage. If we force things, the novice would only slip farther away."

"Hah!" sneered Vander. "What can a brat do if the government discloses their identity? Just admit that you're using your authority to monopolize the novice!"

"We're not." Hailey retorted in a gentle yet firm manner. "We won't be hypocrites. Of course, the government wants such a competent individual, but to acquire them, one must not break their trust. Do you get what I mean, Sir Vander?"

The representatives gritted their teeth in frustration.

No one in the luxurious meeting hall was dumb, as they wouldn't even be here in the first place if they were.

Even Vander, who looked like a muscle-brain and acted like one, was merely using a false exterior to make the opposition think lightly of him.

Hailey's words translated as: Of course, who in their right mind wouldn't want an S-ranker's loyalty? But unfortunately, the novice was a strange one, and his service cannot be simply bought with money. If we disclose his identity, then we will lose his trust and our chance. We can't throw away ours for yours. I hope you understand.

If they force the matter, then they would be in the wrong.

They could only swallow the pill that it wasn't them who discovered Onimaru Kunitsuna's identity first.

Otherwise, they would be the ones in an advantageous position, as they could merely use this exact same argument against anyone who would try, and they would have the moral high ground.

"Tch, fine." Loran of Justicar's Edge clicked his tongue, but could only accept the answer.

They already got what they wanted, anyway, and forcing the government to reveal the novice bladeborn's whole identity was already an optimistic stretch.

'S-ranker, huh…' were the resonating thoughts in their minds.

This would at least narrow down the scope of their search...

In the end, the Seven Sword Guilds, too, had their information networks, and sooner rather than later, they would find out Onimaru Kunitsuna's true identity.

All they knew for now was that he was highly likely a student of Cluster 4, Noravia's Southern Bladeborn Academy, and they even had a few guesses already.

They just had to confirm them in an upcoming event.

After the Inter-class Representative Competition, the novice would most likely reveal themself.

If Onimaru Kunitsuna was truly not worth a complete fall-out with the government, then they shall gift the novice to the opposition.

Whether they liked it or not, they still needed the collapsing power, at least for a few more years.

They just needed to ensure that this S-ranker doesn't have the potential to become another Caladbolg, that's it.

In any case, they've succeeded in their mission of knowing the mysterious novice's rank.

The representatives shall leave it at that for now.

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