"Tell me why you''re here." Rnd stared at his son with an inquisitive look.


    Fredrinn nodded. "I visited the mining site this morning after I got this request." As soon as he said that, he handed the dossier to Rnd.


    Rnd had a powerful perception so he only nced at the dossier for a short while before putting it down. "So they are asking for a raise… What do you think?" He wanted to know Fredrinn''s opinion on this matter. In truth, he was already aware of the situation at the mining site. The reason why it was in such a neglected state was because of the constant threats from the ckcrow Household.


    Rnd didn''t want to invest a lot in the mining site since they would suffer a huge loss once the ckcrow Household attacked the site. Furthermore, most of the household''s funds were spent on training their martial practitioners.


    "Father, I know that you are worried about the ckcrow Household. However, we don''t have to worry about them for the time being." Fredrinn smiled as he interlocked his fingers on top of the table.


    Hearing this, Rnd raised an eyebrow. "Is this because of the ransom we asked?"


    Fredrinn nodded. "Precisely. With fifty of their war horses gone, they have to nurture new ones to substitute for the ones they lost."


    Rnd crossed his arms and pondered for a moment before he spoke. "We can''t be so sure that they don''t have any spare war horses. This isn''t enough to buy us some time." He shook his head.


    "What if they are involved in a major scandal that would shake the foundation of their household?" Fredrinn smirked coldly.


    Rnd narrowed his eyes. "Did you discover their involvement with that Snake Gang?" If the ckcrow Household was truly involved in such heinous activities, they would have to face the wrath of the city lord!


    Fredrinn shook his head. "It''s only a spection on my part. I already sent my subordinates to two different locations. One group went to the slums to capture the link between the Morten and the Snake Gang. I sent the other group to investigate the recent activities of the Morten Household. The people I sent to the slums should be here by now.


    We will know more once we interrogate the man they captured."


    Rnd was a bit disappointed, but he was surprised by his son''s meticulous methods. "If it is proven that the ckcrow Household and the Morten Household are working together to support the Snake Gang, I don''t mind investing more funds on the mining site. In fact, I''ll give you full control of it."


    Hearing this, Fredrinn was taken aback. The household receives an enormous supply of raw energy stones annually from the mining site. It was also because of this that the Firecrown Household managed to stand shoulder to shoulder with the city lord''s mansion and the ckcrow Household. He didn''t expect that his father was willing to let him take full control of the energy stone mine.


    Seeing his dumbfounded look, Rnd chuckled. "Don''t celebrate just yet. We still don''t know if they are truly involved in this."


    Fredrinnughed awkwardly.


    "Take this and use it during the interrogation." Rnd tossed him a device that looked like a rubix cube.


    Fredrinn grabbed the device and squinted his eyes. From his experience as a former yer, he could tell at a nce that this was a recording cube. It worked like a recording camera and it could store up to an hour of video recording. "Thanks, Father. I''ll make good use of it." He grinned.


    "Alright. You may go. Come back to me once you get solid evidence."


    "Wait. I still have one more matter to discuss with you." Fredrinn remained seated.


    Rnd furrowed his eyebrows. "What is it?"


    "I''d like to borrow the Seven Scorching Sword Style."


    "Oh? You came at the right time. I got someone trustworthy to make a copy of the book and I just got thepleted version this morning." Rnd took out a newly minted book and handed it to him.


    Fredrinn opened the book and flipped through the pages to check the content. There was nothing wrong with it and everything seemed to be in ce. "Can you tell me who wrote this copy?" He couldn''t help but ask.


    "If he wants you to know, he wille to you of his own ord." Rnd smiled. He believed that it was still too early to tell Fredrinn about that person.


    "You''re not talking about Sir Alfred, right?" The old librarian was the first person that came into his mind. He had an unfathomable strength and a mysterious past that no one in the household knew. Only an experienced person could write a perfect copy of a transcendent-rank, fire-attributed sword technique.


    Rnd''s smile froze when he heard this. "Did Sir Alfred already acknowledge you?" He thought that this was impossible in the past.


    Fredrinn shrugged. "I don''t know, but he gave me three ice-attributed techniques in exchange for a batch of wines."


    Rnd stared at him with an incredulous gaze. "He even told you about his love for wine… You''re very lucky." He smiled wryly. It took him a long time to be acknowledged by the entric old man. Even his father, the former patriarch had to please the entric old man for over three decades.


    "Since you are already noticed by Sir Alfred, it shouldn''t be long until he tells you about his story."


    Fredrinn nodded with a serious look.


    After seeing the old librarian''s weird cultivation reading, Fredrinn knew that he was someone with an enigmatic past.


    Fredrinn left the patriarch''s office soon after that. He headed straight to his study to read the next movements of the Seven Scorching Sword Style.


    He had already mastered the first movement, Burning Sword, so he skipped that part. The second sword movement was called, Esoteric me Maniption. Unlike the first movement wherein he could only strengthen his weapon with mes, the second movement allows him to directly control the fire element.


    It was different than the other fire spells wherein he had to repeatedly draw the unique spell pattern to release the technique. Once he mastered the Esoteric me Maniption, he only had to draw the spell pattern once and he could freely manipte fire until he exhausted his Qi.


    With Fredrinn''s current fire affinity, he was confident that he could master the second movement in just one day.


    Soon, he immersed himself in learning the second movement of the Seven Scorching Sword Style.