Only Wisdom Awakened - Chapter 266

Chapter 266: Similarities
Hans sat on the leather-covered seat on the first-class section of the plane and then proceeded to gaze out the window.

‘What do you think?’

He thought, talking to Caelan without speaking.

“I don’t know, it’s not something that can be solved in just one night, is it?”

‘… I guess so’

Hans was about to return to Italy.

Now that he had made the hasty decision of leaving behind Emma, the only way he had to discover what was going on was to ask none other than his grandfather.

He had been hunting the crimson lady for many years, and he held a deep grudge against her, not to talk about the fact that he was very familiar with that woman’s face.

But that wasn’t all… he was trying to find a way to better control his powers… after the deep reflection he had the previous day, he thought up many ways to utilize them…

Information gathering…. spells accumulation… maybe he could’ve even gained wisdom from skimming through other people’s memories…

But all of those had a cost… not only did entering the plain of darkness require a fairly great amount of mana, but burdening himself with other people’s emotions would eventually drive him crazy.

When Hans saw broken shards of the dead people’s memories, he didn’t automatically understand nor remember their whole life, that’s why when he had to learn certain spells from Caelan he always asked him…to avoid spending a lot of time searching for them in his memories.

But something he did completely assimilate was their emotions… their grudges… and even their traumas.

For example, when Hans entered Lirael’s memories, an elf whose whole tribe and village had been destroyed by humans, he also felt a deep resentment towards humans, which was also slightly passed onto him when he returned to his world.

In just a few words, Hans had to find a way to become a spectator and simply watch what he didn’t want to feel, but in doing so, he still wanted to have the opportunity to see things through the deceased’s eyes.

This would theoretically allow him to accumulate wisdom from learning things others have learned.

It wouldn’t be instant like it was when he learned Caplan’s spells, because he wouldn’t be able to feel what the person was thinking in their mind, nor their emotions… but it would allow him to keep his personality long enough for him to read through the whole memories of the person he wanted to see through.

‘Sigh… it’ll be a hassle… I don’t even know where to start’

During the whole flight, Hans regretted not having called his private jet in advance, because the loud noise of the plane and the other passengers made it impossible for him to focus or sleep.

Luckily, being such a high-level mage allowed him to find solutions even for such problems…

Since the sound barrier spell was stationary, Hans couldn’t cast it on the plane, he had to find a way to keep it on himself.

And to do that, he came up with an interesting idea…

He attached the sound barrier spell to the headphones they were given throughout the flight, and by keeping the headphones on his head without anything playing, he managed to cut himself some space without any disturbance.

He slept through most of the flight and landed in Italy around three in the afternoon, where he took a cab to the association defense team headquarters in Milan.

As soon as he got out of the taxi and bid his goodbyes to the man who had driven him all the way there, he couldn’t help but remind himself that the prices were too much…

It took a few seconds, but he got over this ‘dramatic’ loss and found the strength to continue heading towards his destination.

As soon as he entered the building, two bodyguards, both a dozen centimeters taller than Hans, blocked his path.

They were… peculiar to say the least.

Their skin color was the total opposite, and the same with their beards.

One of them was dark-skinned with a beard as white as snow, while the other was as white as silk, but had a pitch-black beard.

This contrast immediately piqued Hans’s interest, but he wasn’t there to mess around, so he decided to ignore his curiosity.

“May we know what are you here for?”

“No one is allowed to go any further without an appointment or a valid reason”

They said, completing what the other hadn’t said.

“I’m here to meet my grandfather”

The two men, both around thirty-five years old, turned their heads around to watch the other’s reaction, as soon as they saw that the other did the same, they both shook their heads as they raised their shoulders.

“I’m sorry boy”

“We don’t know anyone who has a grandchild like you…”

Hans understood… they were doing their work after all, but it still bothered him a little that he couldn’t just pass through as Emma did.

“Do you know anyone called Gianfranco Maglini?”

At the mention of that name, both the men widened their eyes…

It couldn’t be….

They were both incredulous.

Gianfranco’s grandchild?… that man… had a family?

They immediately reacted just like before, checking each other’s reaction, before simply staring back at the boy.

“I-We’re sorry, wait here for a second, I’ll go and call the team leader”

The black-skinned man, nervously walked away leaving the other with Hans.

A little more than a minute later, a middle-aged man dressed in a shirt and some blue trousers came out of the elevator with the bodyguard who had left accompanying him.

“There, He’s the boy”

The man had an elegant and almost beautiful demeanor, but he flinched as soon as he saw the boy.

A little bead of sweat formed on his forehead, running down his slightly wrinkled skin until it reached the tip of his nose.

And by the time that little bead of sweat dripped down his nose, his face and his clothes had already become drenched with sweat, and a muffled voice kept yelling something… something he couldn’t understand…

“-ain”

“-ptain!”

“Captain!!!”

A hand shook his arm as those words resounded throughout his head.

“Captain! Is everything okay?!”

The three people surrounding him were all surprised by his reaction… more than the others, Hans was completely taken by surprise.

He simply couldn’t understand why the man had such an expression on his face.

The seconds ticked on the man’s silver wristwatch, but he still couldn’t take his eyes off Hans…

Finally, almost two minutes of awkward silence later, a loud sigh resounded throughout the peaceful room.

“I’m sorry for my reaction, please excuse me… you said you’re Maglini’s grandson right?… follow me, I’ll explain the situation to you.

The middle-aged man led Hans to the elevator after thanking the two bodyguards for their work, leaving them astonished at his unusual behavior from earlier.

Hans and the man got onto the elevator, and while the boy simply observed, the other pushed the little button which read: 4.

Barely a second passed before the elevator’s door began closing, and the awkward silence that had been present since earlier returned to reign.

Hans went along with it, and avoided talking, eventually following the man out of the elevator into an office, where he was shown a cozy leather seat facing the man and his desk.

He sat down, and so did the elegant man, who also took the chance to let out a sigh.

“Mr…”

“Rosetti, you can call me Rosetti…”

Said the other.

“Mr. Rosetti… may I know the reason behind your reaction earlier ?”

“…. Yes… of course.

You see, I am not usually shaken easily, but there is something that scares me… there is something that hunts me even during my nights… it’s the thought of a certain lady I have yet to meet again since when she first spared my life out of pure impulse… she said… It would’ve been a waste to let my corpse rot underground, so she threw me out, sparing my life, but not my teammates’…”

“I’m quite positive I know who that person might be…”

“Mh…”

The man nodded as he said:

“The crimson lady”

‘And I’m guessing his exaggerated reaction must’ve been because of my similarities to her…

People always told me I looked like my mother when I was little, I didn’t know it would backfire after such a long time…

And that adds up….

Now, as to why he brought me here instead of bringing him to my grandfather… let’s see what he has to say.

“You seem like an honest guy, so I’ll go straight to the most important part…

Do you want to find Gianfranco? You can do it, but he’s not here…

I can tell you where he is, but if you’re not his grandchild, he might laugh at your joke or smash your head into the pavement, so be careful of what you say, is that alright with you?”