Chapter 148
Lamberton Dormitory Building, Cornell Academy, City: Three Prongs Fork, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat, the Year 2041, Planet: Grimoire
This was quite the messy potential of misunderstanding that could occur at any time. Gladys Jennings turned to her father. "Father, are you going to do anything unpleasant to Tinroy?"
"Hmm?" Harold blinked at Gladys. "Good gracious, no," he shook his head vehemently when he figured out what she referred to. "That nonsense is spreading around about the possibility of his mother having been my fiancée?"
When Gladys nodded. "Yeah, it is spreading like wildfire." She laughed at his reaction. "All right, so I guess it isn't true."
"Damn right, it isn't true!" After sputtering in disgust at idiots rumor-mongering, Harold sighed irritably. "It isn't possible. The timing is far too off." He shook his head at her confusion. "I already married your mother by the time he was born." He rubbed his eyebrow. "Now, if it was one of my brothers, Roald or Nathan, which is more plausible."
Gladys grimaced. "Ick, I didn't think of them as contenders." Those uncles were far worse than her father by far when it came to harping on following conservative values. "I should be glad that it wasn't you after all."
Harold nodded with a wry sigh. "Yes, I fear they have very twisted notions of what is proper and what isn't." His eyes dimmed. "Sadly, it seems your mother favors their views far more than I thought possible." He was silent. "We're in talks of divorce. I've already separated business holdings with her family."
Gladys was stunned. "You're not regretting that decision?"
Harold shook his head. "No, that was a clause I'd inserted into the prenuptial contract." He shrugged. "We only remained together for the length of the marriage contract that kept our businesses running smoothly." He scowled. "Which never happened, although we had plenty of children who were supposed to enter the various enterprises."
Gladys rolled her eyes. "Which I never did," She recalled. "Just how many actually did that?"
Harold frowned. "All but six in total, and there were eighteen." He shook his head. "It had been a struggle to keep up with the competition."
Gladys nodded. "Yes, I recall you starting some separate industries that weren't included in the contract. Did you do that to ensure some stability for your post-marital life?"
After looking around cautiously, Harold shrugged. "Yes and no. I also created it for the children who wanted nothing to do with the contracted businesses." He heaved a frustrated sigh. "That is slowly but surely falling into disrepair."
Gladys blinked. "So, what you're saying is that you never had a say in those businesses?" She hadn't even known that was possible.
"That's right," Harold nodded. "Which is why I never forced any of you to enter them," he grimaced with disgust, "despite your mother's incessant demands that I constrain you all to those enterprises." He tapped his fingers on the cane. "They seem to be taking a long time."
True, and Gladys recognized a signal to end that topic. "Uhm, if you want..." She hesitated. "You could come with me to Danse Sombras oasis." Gladys offered it to her father. "I could use some advice from someone who's been a merchant traveler and an adventurer."
Her father glanced at her with furrowed brows. "I'll think about it." Harold scanned the hallways. "We'll miss the first events if those two lads don't arrive soon."
Gladys chuckled. "I think Firenze meant to warn Tinroy about the potential conflict that could arise between you and him." She shrugged when Harold sighed.
"I didn't want to get on that young man's bad side." Harold shook his head dolefully. "Well, I shall just have to prove my lack of enmity toward him through actions, it seems."
Right then, Grifton and Firenze appeared.
Gladys knew immediately they'd heard the entire conversation.
Firenze looked embarrassed. "Err, did we interrupt?" They looked surprised on hearing the tail end of the conversation.
Harold and Gladys shook their heads.
Grifton rolled his eyes at Firenze. "I told you there was nothing to worry about." He offered a hand to Harold. "It was probably someone trying to cause trouble with an outdated isolation tactic."
Harold shook his hand. "So, all we have to do is prove there are no hard feelings between us." He grinned. "I believe that is doable."
With that finished between them, they all chose to go into the different events.
~*~
In the spectator crowd, Hermina Marten sat with the others she'd arrived with. She glanced at the printed guide to see what would happen and frowned. "This is rather well organized for an unofficial function," Hermina remarked.
"It has to be otherwise. Certain hotshots won't step foot inside the gates," Another spectator heard her comment. "This was established as a neutral zone for all walks of life in society that would otherwise not be welcomed."
"Oh, really?" Hermina was startled. "So, who began the mediation?" She couldn't find any mention of the first person.
"Errm, see those statues where the scoreboards, official numbers, and names are?" The spectator gestured. "One of them is Grifton Tinroy. He rose from near death from all accounts to being a world champion through sheer adversity." The man shrugged. "Not only that, but he put several assassins into the ground permanently if they interfered with our peaceful gatherings."
She craned her head slightly to her left. Sure enough, a cluster of statues shows the head and shoulders of a good dozen and a half individuals. Her eyes widened when one featured horns and a hint of wings. She saw the name inscribed. Hmm, that was Grifton Tinroy? Hermina recognized that name. Then, a series of cheers and whistles exploded all around the arena.
"There he is!"
"Show us what you've learned, Tinroy!"
"Wow, this is gonna be fun."
"Finally, we'll see some decent examples of combat now."
"Huh, maybe we can pick up some tips on how to deal with guerilla warfare."
Sorrowful silence fell after that remark.
"Well, the newbies should take this time to learn from the pros and any oldsters participating."
"Heh, you are kidding? When have any oldsters bothered to join?"
"Get your eyes checked idiot."
Mild derision and taunts to several others were exchanged. However, the mood was festive as soon as Grifton Tinroy showed up in the arena.
"Wow, that statue is true to life." Harper was astonished. "Now I wish I had joined the participants." He sounded rueful and disappointed.
"Just wait and see." An escort told them. "He may look like an oversized man with horns and wings, but he's an excellent strategist."
Hermina grunted. "He's certainly popular." She was a bit off-putting that he needed to wear artifacts to blend in with the others.
"Well, he did originally conceal his appearance," a spectator glanced at her. "However, that stopped when it was discovered that families from other nations could see through the disguises that depended on magic."
Hermina shrugged. "Hmm, okay, that makes sense." His appearance was outlandish due to his unusual height and his clearly draconian heritage. "He has blue, purple, and green hair. That's not what I'd consider normal."
The man nodded. "True, he's from an ancient and rare draconian lineage. Spirit and psychic, Elementalist." He rubbed his jaw. "Let's just say that when he gets in a bad mood, it is wise to keep some space between him and whoever is the opponent."
Hermina was puzzled. Anara gasped in horrified shock. "Are you kidding me?" She looked a little green.
The spectator glanced at her in shock and looked apologetic. "Oops, are you an empath?" He glanced at a glittering lake that gleamed in the westering sunlight. "Whatever you saw, it isn't a joke. He can and will deal with rulebreakers harshly."
Hermina winced. She'd caught flashes of memories from dozens of people around her. All of them were fools that went flying, literally, out of the arena.
Faint ripples and things breaking the surface could be seen in the distance.
At last, someone else muttered. "I just hope no one is stupid enough to attempt killing Tinroy. Otherwise, someone will go flying to the carnivorous fish-inhabited lake."
So that was a thing, not just a rumor. Hermina, Harper, and others glanced at each other uneasily.
It had taken them over a year to arrive at Three Pronged Forks, mainly because of that damn war that interfered with everything, including trade. Fortunately, they'd taken shelter from neutral beings who treated them kindly.
Now, they had to wonder if that happenstance was also because they might share a relationship with Tinroy. "Well, anyway, it looks like Gladys is acquainted with Tinroy. Her father has joined them, too." That was a surprise to Hermina. She recalled Harold being quite the stuffed shirt.
"This should be quite informative and entertaining if I'm hearing everything right." Sherpa looked up some information from previous shows. "Wow, he's an unholy terror in a fight." He frowned. "Oh, this is from when he was part of the official combat examination."
There were angry murmurs and grunts before one of the spectators sighed. "Some jealous idiots decided he was too strong since he's reached S rank."
So that explained why he no longer appeared in the other programs, Hermina exhaled. "Well, shall we watch the exhibitions going on, folks?" She thought that would be more informative than anything else.