Affinity:Chaos

Grey was led by the middle-aged man into the main building in the villa. It had a very simple but exquisite decoration, but he didn't have time to appreciate it, his mind was currently filled with what to say to Gerald.

He needed his help, but he knew this was no way Gerald was just going to help him.

'How can I convince him?' He thought as the middle-aged man stopped in front of a golden double door.

Knock! Knock!

The middle-aged man knocked twice before opening the door for Grey to head in. Grey exhaled before stepping through the door.

On walking into the room, he was surprised to see three people there instead of one. He recalled seeing the other two faces at the ceremony, they sat close to Gerald during the entire ceremony. It was both ladies who were with him at the ceremony.

Gerald was seated on the chair behind the desk, the older lady was seated opposite him, while the younger one was seated on the couch in the office.

"Welcome, Zeke Hoover, or should I say Grey Dawson," Gerald said after Grey stepped into the room.

Grey was taken aback but he didn't show any change in his expression, "You seem to be very well informed,"

"For someone my age, I make sure to investigate the background of everyone who seeks my attention," Gerald said while pointing at the couch in the office.

Grey took his seat while giving the young lady a quick glance, "Since you know who I am, no need to beat around the bush, I need your help,"

"With what?" Gerald asked curiously.

"The Emperor is searching for me, and seeing how desperate he is, I don't think it will turn out to be anything good for me. If he were only searching for me, then I wouldn't be too bothered, but apparently, he's searching for my friends as well."

"I was able to get to one of my friends before his people got to him. Since you've done your research, then you should know why I'm here in Frost City," Grey explained.

"You're searching for the little lass from the Reiss family, I presume?" asked Gerald.

Grey nodded with a serious expression.

"Hmm, why do you think I will help you?" Gerald looked at Grey curiously, waiting for a reasonable reply.

"Well, to be honest, I'm not a hundred percent sure you will. This is me taking a risk for my friend. It's either I take the risk of coming to you, or sneaking into the Reiss family compound." Grey said.

"From my point of view, sneaking into the Reiss family compound seems to be a better option than coming here, at least you could be protected by the fact that you're friends with the little lass. But here, you have nothing to hide behind,"

"Two reasons, firstly, an opportunity to create ties with such a big organization, secondly, mutual benefits," explained Grey.

"Huh?" The young lady by the side looked at Grey with a questioning look.

Gerald on the other hand was watching his expression closely, and he could tell he was serious.

"What can I benefit from you?" He asked Grey.

"If my presumption is correct, the reason the Emperor is searching for me and my friends is because he sees us as a threat. I can't say I'm one hundred percent sure, but I'm at least forty percent sure. For someone the Emperor sees as a threat, I don't think I need to explain any further, do I?" Grey asked calmly.

While he was speaking with the Earl sisters, he found out from Aldreda that the reason the Lenz organization was so powerful and feared was because of the ties they had with some terrifying individuals. The organization creates ties with people they see have the potential to be great, and in turn, gets them to be on their side.

"And if your presumption isn't correct?" Gerald answered with a question of his own.

"It doesn't change anything, I don't need your help with going against the Emperor, I only need to find my friend and make sure she's alright. This is a deal where you have nothing to lose, and I'll owe you a favor. Well, that's on the premise we aren't friends," Grey replied with a smile.

"You do have the potential to be great, but do you think the Emperor will allow you to grow? From what I know, the Qilin empire isn't the only one searching for you," Gerald said.

"What?" For the first time, there was a visible change in Grey's expression.

"All four empires are searching for you, some of them have even come to us for information regarding you. So, why do you feel I wouldn't hand you over to them right now?" Gerald asked while pressuring Grey with his full Late-stage Overlord Plane cultivation.

Grey looked at him, lost for words. He didn't know what to say, because this had gone beyond his expectations.

'Why are the other empires searching for me? Could it be that they also found out about the Great Earth Essence Liquid?' He asked himself in shock.

"I assume you know why they're searching for you?" Gerald asked Grey.

Grey shook his head, he could guess it was because of the Great Earth Essence Liquid, but he wanted to see if Gerald knew why.

"You found something that will make you a threat not just to the Qilin empire, but all four empires. But it seems only the Qilin empire is searching for your friends, the others are only looking for you." Gerald explained while taking a sip of the tea on his table.

Grey sat still, looking at Gerald. This discovery was out of his expectations, never would he have thought that the other empires would be searching for him.

'But how? Other than the Darkness Elementalist, no one else knew of me taking the Great Earth Essence Liquid,' He thought worriedly.

He didn't think the group from the Blue Wind empire who assisted Quinn and his group knew the Great Earth Essence Liquid was with him, the only time he said he had it was when he killed Quinn.

"Could someone have heard me?" He muttered quietly to himself.

"You still haven't answered my question, why do you feel I wouldn't hand you over to them right now?" Gerald asked once again.