Chapter 120: Old Man Vincent
Cain, standing with poised composure upon the threshold of his house, looked out at the heated spectacle unfolding before him. His eyes then shifted to Nathan, who stood beside Vincent, dripping with heavy sweat and trembling in sheer terror under the old man’s stern gaze.
With his sharp intellect, Cain was able to decipher roughly what was taking place before him at that moment... It was overwhelmingly obvious that this old man was none other than Nathan’s grandfather, and his arrival here alongside his grandson, backed by such immense numbers and faces burning with rage, could mean only one thing.
Nathan—most likely—had suffered a slip of the tongue and uttered things he should never have spoken of!
Things like... he did not seem to belong to Earth... and that he hailed from another world.
In utter simplicity, Cain possessed the absolute power to crush them all and wipe them out to the very last man without exerting the slightest effort. For he had noticed with his bare eyes, without needing any sensory techniques, that several guards actually possessed faint sparks of Mana. However, it was exceptionally weak Mana that had not even reached the stage of "The Gap."
In other words... his five-year-old daughter, Amelia, was capable of destroying these guards single-handedly and erasing them from existence in the blink of an eye!
Cain spoke in a calm, cold tone radiating sheer indifference: "An explanation? What sort of explanation are you expecting to receive, I wonder?"
Old man Vincent was deeply irked by Cain’s dismissive tone, as though he placed not the slightest weight upon this entire crowd of powerful men surrounding him.
Vincent shouted in irritation, tightening his grip on his cane: "You are utterly impudent! You lack the decency to address those older than you and speak to the heads of noble families! Not only did you possess the audacity to exploit my grandson and take his home, but you also dared to fool our family’s Mana-measuring crystal! Perhaps you managed to take advantage of my grandson’s naivety and pass your tricks onto him, but you will never be able to deceive me under any circumstances... You are unquestionably a spy sent by that damned ’Haven’ family!"
In truth... Cain had not the slightest idea what this "Haven family" the old man was raving about even was! Were it not for the fact that he still required Nathan’s services, and that this was a public area filled with people who might get caught in the crossfire, he would have wiped out these juniors with a single touch for daring to speak to Duke Ostar in such a crude manner!
At that moment, Cain felt as though a minor Baron on the fringes of the kingdom were attempting to yell and act brazenly toward the King himself... The entire situation provided him with more than enough justification to eradicate them all; however, he resolved not to resort to this bloody alternative unless he exhausted all avenues and saw no other option.
Nathan cried out in panic, attempting to turn toward his grandfather: "Master Cain! Please forgive my grandfather... He believes you belong to a rival family trying to exploit me to leak our family’s secrets!"
Grandfather Vincent snapped, casting a searing glare at his grandson: "You unfilial scoundrel! Take him away immediately... and you shall receive your punishment for this reckless deed!"
The guards rushed forward with force and dragged Nathan aside, quickly slapping a strip of binding tape over his mouth and pulling him away against his will as he struggled and thrashed in terror, staring with wide eyes at Cain while trying to convince his grandfather, who had fallen into a dangerous and catastrophic misunderstanding!
Yet the words Nathan tried to scream emerged as muffled, unintelligible sounds behind the adhesive tape: "Mmm... Mmmm! H-He is strong! He is ridiculously strong!... Mmm!"
Cain stood weighing matters in his mind, unsure of how to deal with this senile old man seriously... A rival family? He did not even know a single soul in this world!
Trouble had descended upon his doorstep far too early. He wondered to himself whether he ought to be more reserved and discreet in his upcoming movements, or enforce his dominance through violence.
Cain had no desire to pick side battles that might trigger a butterfly effect, drawing even more adversaries to face him. He realized that after returning to Earth following all this time, he remained ignorant of many details, and he did not wish to be forced to leave this house and search for a new shelter once more... Thus, he deemed that priority dictated clearing up this confusion first through logic:
Cain spoke in a balanced, steady tone: "I do not know anyone from what you call the ’Haven family’... and your grandson is the one who offered that I stay in his home out of his own free will until I find a suitable place to lodge. In fact, I have established an ongoing business deal with him, for which he will be paid a vast fortune."
The grandfather turned sharply toward his grandson, Nathan, only to find him nodding frantically with repeated gestures confirming the truth of Cain’s words, forcing the old man to realize that Cain was not lying to him regarding the transaction.
Yet rather than the old man’s features softening, his glare returned to focus on Cain with even harsher hostility and deeper malice!
Vincent stated in a stern voice: "I have personally reviewed the leaked security camera footage from the store... and my eyes never make a mistake in evaluation! A Mana Stone assessment crystal cannot release all that bright light and intensity merely by inspecting a diamond! Not only that, but that light caused massive energy interference and completely disabled our cameras... only for your presence to be picked up by the security cameras opposite this house immediately after the store’s malfunction! I can confirm that such a rapid movement technique bears a terrifying resemblance to the ’Portals’ technique monopolized by the Haven family... even though they cannot even utilize it for distances exceeding five meters!"
Cain exhaled with a sigh of regret and bitterness... He had never expected anyone to monitor him through such advanced optical devices, nor had he factored the cameras into his calculations amidst his movements.
The old man added in an absolute, threatening tone, digging his cane into the ground: "So... how else can your possession of this abnormal power and teleportation technique be explained, short of you being a secret soldier or operative sent by that damned family?! If you do not answer me right now with absolute proof... expect no mercy from me!"