Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Folami
---
Thanks for the golden tickets SinEater and olredbeard_95
The young man followed at a distance.
Not closely enough to attract attention.
Not far enough to lose sight of them.
He walked casually, his hands behind his back.
The butler followed a few steps behind. "Sir."
"Hm?"
"The group has left."
"I can see that."
"Are you certain about this?"
The young man smiled.
"About what?"
"Approaching them."
"Yes."
"You could simply send someone."
The young man glanced over his shoulder.
"That would make it feel like an official summons."
"Would that be a problem?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I don’t want them to think they’re being summoned."
The butler understood.
His young master had always possessed an unusual way of doing things.
He rarely moved with the urgency expected of someone from a powerful family.
He preferred to observe.
To wander.
To speak to people directly.
Sometimes it made him appear careless.
But the butler knew better.
When something genuinely caught his attention, his master rarely lost sight of it.
They continued following.
---
The four eventually reached the road leading toward their compound.
They were discussing what to eat when a voice came from behind them.
"Excuse me."
They stopped.
Tolu turned first.
The young man from the tournament stood several steps away.
The same young man who had been watching from the stands.
He looked completely relaxed.
No guards surrounded him.
No servants crowded around him.
Only an older man stood nearby.
Tolu immediately became cautious.
"Can we help you?"
The young man smiled.
"I believe you can."
Akin glanced at Tolu.
Temi folded her arms.
Ore remained quiet.
The young man looked at all four of them.
"My name is Folami."
Tolu waited.
Nothing else came.
"Folami?"
"Yes."
Akin looked at him.
"Are you from a family?"
Folami smiled.
"I suppose you could say that."
The butler sighed quietly.
His master could make even the simplest introduction unnecessarily vague.
Folami continued.
"I’m from the Kolade family."
The four exchanged glances.
They had heard the name.
Everyone in this part of Ilebi had.
The Kolade family was known for one thing above almost everything else.
Blacksmithing.
Weapons.
Armor.
Cultivation equipment.
Their products were used by cultivators throughout this part of the city.
Temi’s expression changed slightly.
"Oh."
Folami noticed.
"You’ve heard of us?"
"A little."
"A little?"
Akin laughed.
"We’re poor. We can’t afford Kolade weapons."
Folami chuckled.
"Fair enough."
Tolu studied him.
"Why did you approach us?"
Folami looked at him.
"I watched you fight."
Tolu said nothing.
"You four are interesting."
Temi raised an eyebrow.
"Interesting?"
"Your teamwork."
Folami pointed casually toward Akin.
"You’ve trained together."
Akin nodded.
"For some time."
"And you’ve improved recently."
"Two months."
Folami’s eyes briefly settled on Tolu.
"Only two?"
Tolu nodded.
Folami smiled.
"That’s impressive."
Tolu wasn’t sure whether that was a compliment.
Folami continued.
"I also noticed something else."
Tolu’s expression became slightly more guarded.
"What?"
"You don’t seem to tire."
Tolu blinked.
"I’m tired."
"That’s not what I mean."
Folami stepped closer.
"Your body gets tired. Your breathing becomes heavier. Your muscles strain. That’s normal."
He paused.
"But your energy doesn’t seem to run out."
Tolu didn’t know what to say.
Folami’s smile remained.
"During your quarterfinal, you spent enough energy that most Novices would have struggled to fight again immediately."
Tolu shrugged.
"I just had enough left."
"Exactly."
Folami looked at him thoughtfully.
"You have a lot."
Tolu scratched his cheek.
"I guess."
Folami laughed.
"You don’t even know how much you have, do you?"
"No."
"Interesting."
---
Folami turned toward the others.
"And the rest of you aren’t bad."
Ore smiled politely.
"Thank you."
Akin nodded.
Temi simply watched him.
Folami looked at her for a moment.
"You fight aggressively."
"So I’ve been told."
"It’s effective."
"Thank you."
"But predictable."
Temi’s smile disappeared.
Folami laughed.
"There it is."
"What?"
"That look."
"What look?"
"The look of someone who doesn’t like being told she’s predictable."
Temi crossed her arms.
"I don’t."
"Good."
Folami smiled.
"That means you’ll probably remember it."
Tolu almost laughed.
Temi glared at him.
"Don’t."
He immediately looked away.
Folami seemed amused.
Then he said something none of them expected.
"I have a proposition."
Akin’s expression became cautious.
"What kind?"
"Come work for me."
Silence.
Tolu stared at him.
"What?"
"Work for me."
Akin looked at Ore.
Ore looked at Temi.
Temi looked at Tolu.
Folami continued as though he had said something completely ordinary.
"I need people around me."
Tolu frowned.
"To do what?"
"Various things."
"That’s vague."
"I know."
Folami smiled.
"Because I haven’t decided what you’ll actually be doing yet."
Akin scratched his head.
"Then why are you asking?"
"Because I watched you fight."
He shrugged.
"I think you’re worth having around."
Temi narrowed her eyes.
"Why would we work for you?"
Folami smiled.
"Because I’ll pay you."
"How much?"
"Two gold coins a month."
Silence.
The four stared at him.
Akin’s mouth opened.
Then closed.
Then opened again.
Tolu looked at Folami.
"Each?"
"Each."
Temi’s eyes widened despite herself.
Folami continued.
"You’ll live in my manor."
Tolu frowned.
"Free?"
"Yes."
"Food?"
"Provided."
Akin stared at him.
"Why?"
Folami smiled.
"Because I want you there."
That answer somehow made them even more suspicious.
Tolu crossed his arms.
"What’s the catch?"
"You’re my servants."
Temi immediately frowned.
"And disciples."
Folami added it casually.
The four looked at him.
"What?"
"You heard me."
Folami stretched.
"You’ll work for me and train under me."
Tolu stared.
"You want to be our master?"
"Yes."
Akin laughed.
"You don’t even know us."
"I know enough."
"You don’t know how strong we are."
Folami smiled.
"I know exactly how strong you are."
That confidence annoyed Akin.
"Do you?"
Folami nodded.
"More or less."
Temi looked him over.
He didn’t appear intimidating.
He didn’t radiate any overwhelming presence.
There was no visible pressure coming from him.
Nothing.
He looked like an ordinary young man.
Maybe slightly older than them.
Maybe not.
Tolu couldn’t even tell what his cultivation was.
And that bothered him.
"You don’t look much older than us."
Folami smiled.
"I’m not."
"Then how can you be our master?"
Folami shrugged. "You’ll understand eventually."
---
They followed him.
Not because they trusted him.
They didn’t.
But they wanted to see what kind of person would casually offer four poor Novices two gold coins each every month.
The walk didn’t take long.
The streets gradually became quieter.
The buildings became larger.
Eventually, they arrived before a wall surrounding a modest estate.
The gate opened.
The four stepped inside.
Tolu stopped.
He had expected something enormous.
Something extravagant.
Instead, the manor was surprisingly modest.
At least compared with what he imagined when he heard the word "manor."
But it was still far beyond anything they had ever lived in.
The courtyard was clean.
The walls were well maintained.
There was a small garden.
A training area occupied one side of the compound.
Several servants moved quietly through the estate.
Folami walked ahead.
"Welcome."
Akin looked around.
"This is small?"
Folami glanced back.
"By my family’s standards."
Akin stared.
Temi elbowed him.
"Don’t say anything."
"I wasn’t going to."
"You were."
"I was thinking it."
Folami laughed.
They entered the manor.
The interior was simple but comfortable.
Eight proper bedrooms.
A dining room.
A library.
A sitting room.
Storage rooms.
A small indoor practice area.
And several other utility rooms.
The furnishings weren’t extravagant.
But everything was clean.
Everything worked.
There were proper beds.
Proper tables.
Proper chairs.
The kitchen was stocked.
Tolu stood quietly.
He couldn’t remember the last time he had entered a house where everything seemed so... complete.
Ore walked into one of the rooms.
She looked at the bed.
Then at Tolu.
Then back at the bed.
"We can sleep here?"
Folami nodded.
"Of course."
Akin walked into another room.
He opened the wardrobe.
There was nothing inside yet.
But the room itself was bigger than the entire space he had previously shared with his belongings.
He looked back.
"You’re serious."
"Usually."
Folami smiled.
---
They sat together in the dining room.
Food was brought out.
Real food.
Not expensive delicacies.
Just well-prepared meals.
Enough meat.
Vegetables.
Rice.
Fresh fruit.
Tolu stared at the table.
Temi whispered.
"This is one meal."
"I know."
"We could eat this every day?"
Tolu nodded slowly.
Folami sat at the head of the table.
"You can."
Akin looked at him.
"Why us?"
Folami leaned back.
"I told you."
"You saw us fight."
"Yes."
"And that’s enough?"
"For me."
Tolu remained suspicious.
"There’s something else."
Folami smiled.
"There is."
Everyone became quiet.
Folami looked directly at Tolu.
"Your energy."
Tolu’s expression changed.
Folami continued.
"I’ve never seen a Novice with reserves like yours."
Tolu swallowed.
"How much?"
"I don’t know."
Folami leaned forward.
"But I’d estimate at least three times the normal amount."
Tolu stared at him.
"Three times?"
"At minimum."
Ore looked at Tolu.
"You never told us that."
"I didn’t know."
Folami nodded.
"That’s why I found you interesting."
He pointed toward Tolu.
"You don’t understand what you have."
Tolu looked down at his hands.
The thought made him uncomfortable.
Folami continued.
"And whatever the reason is, don’t waste it."
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