Gemville's Elites

The skinny man halted his movements and shifted his focus from Nathan to the boys behind him. Nathan could faintly sense the surprise and seriousness in his eyes.

He turned back and glanced at the people who seemed to have saved him. Three boys stood side by side, their fancy clothing and arrogant expressions enough to display their aristocratic nature. Nathan had expected something like this to happen, at the start of a new school year, many influential families would travel together to Endnest or other cities to enrol in premier academies.

The boy in the middle was tall and handsome, his tidy blonde hair resting flatly on his head. He stepped forward and spoke disdainfully. "Johnson Frederick, is that right? Listen up. Your family is more or less listed as noble, so don't bring shame upon the aristocrats, will you? Is your pathetic brain too small to realise this boy is a student? If he belongs to a prestigious academy, the Whitedawn family won't help you, you know that?"

Johnson's eyes turned cold as he lowered his voice. "Daniel, mind your own business. Even though my family belongs to yours, you are still too young to understand what true leadership means. Your father has authorized my actions; you have no right to judge what I do in my territory."

The boy named Daniel broke into laughter. "Hahaha, you're right. I indeed have no right to judge my father's decisions. I guess I'll have to step back, shouldn't I?" He smiled as he signaled for the other two boys behind him to step forward.

Seeing his gesture, the boy on the right walked up gracefully and bowed. "Greetings, my friends. My name is Joseph Gravekin."

Joseph was a composed boy with a majestic hairstyle and golden glasses. His eyes held a sense of danger that didn't match the rest of his demeanor.

Johnson's body trembled as he heard Joseph's last name, and he became even tenser as the boy continued.

"Look, we live in a world where violence and murder are strictly forbidden, so don't look so afraid," Joseph said with a mischievous smile. "But, well… accidents happen here and there. One person disappearing in this small town wouldn't make too much of a difference, would it?"

Nathan could feel the coldness in the young boy's voice. It was a sense of bloodthirstiness he had only encountered in the few maniacs in Lostburg who found joy in killing. Johnson could clearly sense the hostility and danger as well. He took a step back just as the short boy on the left spoke.

"Frederick family, did I hear that right?" He shook his head and looked at Daniel. After receiving a confirming nod, he turned to Johnson and shrugged. "You better be careful who you're messing with. If you value your position as an aristocrat, you'd better get yourself out of our sight as fast as possible."

After a short pause, Johnson took a deep breath and gestured for the other men at the back to stand up. Despite his influence and power, his family was no match for the three boys standing in front of him.

Keeping his head low, he led his gang out the door shamefully and whispered to Daniel as he passed him, "With a personality like yours, the Whitedawn clan will eventually be ruined in your hands."

Daniel scoffed and gave no reply. There was only amusement and disdain in his eyes.

As the horde of men disappeared into the distance, Daniel approached Nathan and patted him on the back. "Don't mind those scoundrels. They're a disgrace to the Gemville aristocrats."

The other two boys nodded as they walked forward, the coldness in their demeanor nowhere to be seen.

Nathan sighed and bowed slightly. "Thanks, man. I really thought I'd get into some trouble here."

Daniel paused slightly as he scanned the ring on Nathan's finger. A glimmer of surprise flashed across his features. "No worries. You come from a rich family too, don't you? If I had to guess, you're traveling from Gemville to another city to reach your academy, right?"

Nathan nodded with a friendly smile.

Daniel smiled back and introduced himself. "My name is Daniel Whitedawn. In case you don't know, my ancestors were the founders of Construction Rune Arts. Under the leadership of the founding family, my clan managed the construction of the royal palace."

"Damn," Nathan raised his eyebrows. "You must have been invited to the Imperial Rune Arts Academy of Runalond, then."

Daniel laughed and nodded proudly. He turned back and signaled the other boys to sit down at a nearby table. "It's a real fortune to be enrolled in that academy, isn't it?"

The other two boys also noticed the ring on Nathan's finger. Their expressions suddenly turned respectful as they greeted him with elegant gestures.

"Joseph Gravekin. A pleasure to meet you," the boy with glasses stated gently.

"I'm Jay Short. What about you?" the short boy asked.

Nathan attempted to copy their gestures and replied steadily, "My name is Nathan Moderson. Thank you for getting me out of trouble. I will be forever grateful." He said it sincerely.

The three boys laughed as they sat down at the table with Nathan. Moderson was not a name they had heard before. Deep in their hearts, they felt slightly suspicious of Nathan's identity.

"We are also students invited to the Imperial Rune Arts Academy," Jay said with a smile. "My family isn't aristocratic, but we're in charge of all mining industries around Gemville."

Even though Jay's description sounded insignificant, those who were knowledgeable understood what that really meant. Being in charge of Gemville's mining industry essentially signified that the Short family was the core pillar of the town's entire economy. It was no surprise that Jay had earned a position.

Joseph grinned and mocked, "Jay's family—you could tell from the name—is generically short in nature. They're extremely efficient in underground areas like mines. You could say his family founded the mining industry around this area." He looked over at Jay, who rolled his eyes in response.

Nathan scanned the boys carefully and asked Joseph, who had yet to introduce himself, "What about you? How were you invited?"

Joseph seemed to expect the question. He replied with pride, "My father is the president of the fifth department of the Rune Arts Federation. In case you don't know, the fifth department is in charge of assassination projects."

Assassination wasn't exactly a common mission issued to the Rune Arts Federation in modern times, but being the president of the fifth department meant that Joseph's father must be an extremely powerful Rune Artist in combat.

"Which academy were you enrolled in? What does your family do?" The three boys shifted their gaze to Nathan and asked in unison.

Nathan scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. "I'm also a student of the Imperial Academy… As for my family…" He paused, trying to come up with a suitable excuse. Then, remembering his father's nickname among his friends, he blurted out without much thought, "My family is a minor branch of the royal family, though so minor, you could probably say we're not related at all."

"Oh, no wonder." Daniel smiled brightly and patted Nathan on the back. "Your features do resemble the king's. I was starting to suspect you might be related."

Nathan sighed in resignation. He hadn't expected such an excuse to actually be believable to these boys.

"Don't worry, Nathan," Daniel continued proudly. "Since we were fortunate enough to meet, we've got you covered in the academy. Though we aren't representative students, our families are quite influential. If you ever need help, just come to us, and we'll sort out any problems for you."

Nathan didn't want to ruin the lively atmosphere, so he decided to keep the fact that he was a representative student a secret.

"That's a relief. I'll be relying on you guys, then…" He smiled brightly, a flicker of amusement in his eyes, one the three boys failed to notice.