William smiled faintly, a smile carrying within it a mixture of sorrow and acceptance, before answering in a low but steady voice, "That, young master, is because our wishes no longer mean much in the face of what is happening now. The mystical world has begun to move, and the Supreme Council watches every step with an unblinking eye. Whether we like it or not... the name Leonharth alone is enough to push you onto this treacherous path."
Saying this, he paused for a moment, looking at the black envelope between Arthur's fingers as if it carried a weight greater than mere paper, before adding in a calmer tone, "If things were as they were before, I would have dissuaded you from accepting the invitation and joining Asteria. But now, with the fact that your involvement in the murky waters of the mystical world has become inevitable, especially after completing your Ethereal Awakening with such astonishing speed that only indicates your extraordinary genius, accepting this invitation will be in your favor."
"Attending the number one educational and research institution in the world is not merely an honor, but also a form of protection. Refusing it won't keep you away from this dirty world, but it will make you an exposed target. At least at Asteria... you'll have the space to grow safely until you gain enough power to walk steadily in this treacherous world."
"Hmm... Asteria Academy, the premier educational institution in the mystical world, huh... fascinating. But I think I still need some time to think carefully about the matter of enrolling in an academy that deals with everything supernatural and the consequences that come with it."
Arthur then replied with complete calm, thinking deeply about the options available to him at present.
The matter of enrolling in Asteria Academy, the premier educational institution in the mystical world, was not merely a passing decision for him. The idea of joining an academy that teaches and studies everything supernatural, while interesting on the surface, also carried many risks he could not ignore.
On one hand, there was the fact that he would gain a relatively safe environment to grow and learn everything he could about the mystical world and the Ethereal System and so forth.
But on the other hand, the very fact that the academy bore such prestigious titles as 'the premier educational institution in the mystical world' indicated, if nothing else, that Asteria Academy was a highly distinguished and ancient institution.
This would entail the attendance of many individuals from diverse backgrounds at the academy, from noble families to great houses, to those with ordinary backgrounds but extraordinary talents, which could pose many problems and challenges for Arthur that he could do without at present.
Therefore, for now, Arthur decided to postpone the matter of attending Asteria Academy until he could think things through carefully.
Instead, since William seemed ready to tell him some details about the mystical world, such as the invitation from Asteria Academy and so on, which meant Arthur had the opportunity to obtain additional details from William, using the invitation as a basis to extract more information from William wasn't really a bad idea.
"Well… setting aside the matter of attending Asteria for now, William, could you answer a few questions that are on my mind? For instance, could you explain how deeply our family is involved in the mystical world? And what exactly did you mean when you said the family holds an Elder seat on the Supreme Council?"
With this question, Arthur tried to take advantage of the available opportunity, turning directly to William and straightforwardly posing the questions that were on his mind.
William sighed for a moment, then sat on the edge of the seat opposite Arthur and looked at him with eyes that carried the weight of years of secrets.
He said in a low, meaningful voice, "Seeing how things have reached their current state, and the fact that you, within just a few days of discovering the existence of the hidden mystical world, have not only investigated it but somehow even completed your Ethereal Awakening and embarked on the path of ascension, I find that as much as I don't want to do this, there's no other choice. So yes, I'll answer your questions, at least as much as I can."
"To begin, let's talk about the extent of the Leonharth family's involvement in the mystical world. But before that, before discussing our Leonharth family, we must talk about the Ten Ancient Great Families that survived from the Mythical Age of Mystery, the founding families of the current world order in the hidden mystical world."
When William said this, he could clearly glimpse the shock that began to form in Arthur's golden amber eyes. "And yes, as it seems you've realized from the look in your eyes just now, the Leonharth family was indeed one of the Ten Ancient Families that survived since the Age of Mystery thousands of years ago, and one of the original founding families of the force responsible for the current world order, the Supreme Council!"
Arthur, who had heard William's confirmation of his suspicions that had been born the moment William mentioned the Ten Ancient Great Families, and then the other thing that piqued his curiosity which was the Mythical Age of Mystery, and the fact that his family was one of those families, and not only that but was also one of the families responsible for the birth of the current world order under the Supreme Council's supervision, was naturally shocked.
Truth be told, while he had expected his family to have noble origins and close ties to the mystical world, he actually never would have expected or even thought that his family was one of the major families in the mystical world and one of the parties responsible for the birth of the current world order!
Just from William's first answer, Arthur realized that tonight's conversation would be anything but simple and was sure to be long and exhausting.
This was indeed the case as the conversation between Arthur and William continued throughout the night, thanks to which Arthur was able to obtain a great deal of extremely important information and knowledge about the mystical world.
•••
A few days had passed in relative quiet since that conversation between Arthur and William in the late-night hours, while two full weeks had officially passed since Arthur's return to the present time.
Two weeks were more than enough to turn his view of reality upside down, irreversibly changing his perspective and outlook on the world around him and everything he had thought was true, and also pushing him to rearrange his priorities and establish his first steps in this dual world between reality and mystery.
During that period, he preferred to remain within the boundaries of the Leonharth estate, observing and learning, training to control the newly awakened ethereal powers he had just acquired, and avoiding any action that might draw attention to him prematurely.
Aside from his quick trip to the park near the estate a few days ago, where he had met that mysterious girl in witch's attire, Chloe von Zeitbrin, who apparently was a descendant of the noble House Zeitbrin, one of the Ten Ancient Great Families similar to his own Leonharth family, Arthur preferred to stay at home researching and investigating the matter of the Ethereal System and gaining insight and understanding of his ethereal power.
But today was different.
Arthur could be seen waking up with a gleam of determination in his eyes that William and the others in the mansion hadn't seen since his regression to the present time.
Today, for the first time since his return to the present, he had decided to leave the mansion boundaries, not to the nearby park that had witnessed the old lady's purse theft incident and his meeting with Chloe von Zeitbrin, but to somewhere farther, on the outskirts of London itself.
There, relying on his memories from the original timeline before his regression and his internet research over the past days, he knew of a series of suspicious disappearance incidents that had occurred in the area. At first glance, they seemed like ordinary kidnapping and disappearance cases, but in truth, they carried suspicious indications that might suggest some of these mysterious incidents, if not most of them, could be connected to the hidden, mystical world.
Since these incidents had been recurring periodically and no solution had been found for them, according to what Arthur remembered from his memories of the original timeline, he decided to investigate them himself.
Therefore, a small boy could be seen, around nine or ten years old, running throughout the streets of the small historic town of Epping on the northeastern outskirts of London.
He was indirectly asking the townspeople questions about the mysterious disappearance incidents that had been happening from time to time around the town, which had continued for nearly five full years, meaning they had started around 2004.
"Hmm... according to the townspeople, the disappearance incidents began about five years ago, but media coverage only addressed these incidents recently. As I recall, this particular case was closed in 2014 without any clear reason, several years after the media began covering these incidents. This means the disappearance of victims of various ages, male and female, continued for nearly a full decade without catching the perpetrator or learning any details about the circumstances of these disappearances, as if the victims had vanished from the face of the earth without a single clue as to where or how they disappeared. Such a mystery makes me suspect this case is actually connected to the mystical world."
Arthur sat in one of the town's cafés sipping iced coffee, thinking deeply about this case and how it might be connected to the mystical world, especially with the fact that he remembered the case had been closed without any reason or explanation after about five years from now in 2014.
In normal cases, if there are indications of a crime in a disappearance case, the case is opened as a criminal investigation, and the file remains active until it's solved or new evidence appears. Cases are never officially closed after a specific period, but may remain open for decades as cold cases.
But this case, for whatever reason, had been covered up and closed by the authorities.