Mixed Blessing System

"Oh?" Hearing Anneke's worried tone, Lothur opened his mouth and looked at her thoughtfully.

He knew trouble would come from searching for the Lost Tree Fallen Scrolls. After all, if just one of them had already awakened the impressive Physique in him, what would it be like to gather several of them?

Therefore, of course, Lothur understood that the risk must be significant, and there was no need for that beautiful geopolitics teacher to tell him so.

But still, he asked her. "Why do you say that? What have you found out?"

She sat down next to him on the couch in that room and explained after a sigh. "First, I discovered in some books I read that these metal sheets are items that have existed since primordial times and are considered relics venerated by different peoples throughout time."

"Some believed that the world's end would come by gathering them all together. Other communities thought they would avert the apocalypse by bringing the lost warrior to protect the world from invaders."

"Invaders?" Lothur tilted his head to the side, not understanding what that was about.

She then explained. "Some ancient individuals thought that extraterritorial races were preparing to invade Concordia, and only by gathering those seven leaves could they prevent the worst."

"Oh? That sounds a bit mythical..." He commented.

"Hmmm," She nodded her head in agreement. "Considering that these were visions of the ancient people of our world, I can't say about the veracity of this information and whether they are mere legends or something else..."

"However, there are people in the present who believe some of these stories and do everything they can to gather them."

Lothur remembered how easy it had been for him to get what was on the leaf Viktoria had on a necklace and asked. "Does the Frost family know about what they have?"

"No, if they knew they would not allow Viktoria to wear such a thing as an ordinary necklace..." She said. "Anyway, not many people know about it, and I found out that identifying such an item is not easy."

"So, your wife never faced any problems wearing that thing, even though people are searching for such things."

Lothur understood this and was not surprised. 'The system can identify that thing, but it can't be easy to do that without such a thing...'

"But as long as she doesn't get involved with underworld people, I think it's hardly likely to get her in trouble," Anneke said before sighing and taking one of Lothur's hands.

"But if you search for it, you will all be in danger! The people who want to find it are not weaklings and would attack your Frost family if they found out anything!"

"To make matters worse, some of those people don't have good relations with your family. And if they find out about that stuff, that will be the final excuse to justify their action!" She said while looking into that man's beautiful eyes.

"Who are they?" He asked in interest.

Anneke looked at Lothur in silence, not answering him right away. "Are you sure you want to know? Sometimes it's better to stay in the dark about some problems..."

Lothur closed his eyes and smiled. "I don't believe that. Ignorance is always a negative thing. Knowing the reality, no matter how cruel it is, is the best. After all, I live in such reality and am affected by it."

"So, yes, I want to know."

She squeezed his hand that she was still holding. "One of them is the Leopoldine family, which supposedly has one of those leaves you are looking for."

"Oh? The imperial family?" Lothur was surprised, but only for a moment. 'Well, something like that is not strange...'

She nodded and continued. "The other is House Welzel, a power openly inimical to your family."

House Welzel was a power of the Holland Province, the more extensive territory of Leopoldine. This area was where the capital of the empire and the headquarters of several high-level powers of this state were.

Lothur frowned his eyebrows upon hearing that from Anneke. "Uh? Why doesn't the imperial family take the item from House Welzel? If you found out about it, I'm sure that power already knows about it..."

"Hmm, true, but there is a problem." She smiled at him. "House Welzel is the one that has been around the imperial family the longest. So, for that family to be able to take that item from its main vassal, it would have to have an excellent justification, or it wouldn't be worth the risk."

"Since the Leopoldine family doesn't have the location of the other leaves, they simply won't act."

"Makes sense..." He commented in a low voice.

"Anyway, as for the other items, they are supposedly scattered across our continent, islands, and even Secret Realms."

Secret Realms were unique regions of space created by high-level experts. Such places could contain anything from small buildings, headquarters, or even a large forest. But, of course, this depended on the level of the one who created it or his purposes.

So, there were countless such places in this world, many of which had not even been discovered yet, since their creators did not divulge about them or did not have the opportunity.

Some did this before they died to leave a legacy and mark their existence in the world. Others simply created such things and left them to be discovered accidentally.

There were numerous reasons someone would develop something like this, and information about it would not spread.

As such, people looking for those items had the impression that part of them was in such places or more powers would have them.

But this was all speculative. After all, like House Frost, there could be other organizations with such items without even knowing about it.

Anneke then gave her final warning. "Lothur, do not go after these items. If you one day find one of them in a Secret Realm or even exploring our continent, good. Don't tell anyone about it, and move on with your life."

"But don't think of approaching those two organizations or the local underworld to track down such a thing. I only managed that myself because I have some safe contacts, but don't underestimate the underworld."

"All kinds of horror can happen to those who get too involved with this!"

Lothur looked at Anneke's worried face and smiled, still feeling the warmth of her hand on one of his own. "You've helped me a lot, Anne... What do I do with you now? I feel indebted."

Hearing those words, she relaxed a little and smiled. "Maybe it's time for you to tell me the truth about where your powers came from..."

"Don't tell me you will make more excuses? Lothur, I have already helped you more than I should have."

He heard that and thought quietly, looking at her lips. "Fine, but you must show that you are committed to keeping the secret..."

"I am. What do you want me to do to prove it to you?" She asked.

"Hehe, simple, become my woman, Anne." He smiled, looking at her lips and licking his own. "You know I will take good care of you."

"Your woman?" She exclaimed in shock.

Then she saw him approach her, quickly making her lie down on that sofa as he stood over her. "You want, don't you?" He said before advancing towards his target.

...