บท 379: Battle Of Words

They walked back to the café, the rest of Emir's cohort trailing behind, ever watchful.

Inside, the atmosphere was warm, starkly contrasting with the cold outside.

Richard led them up seven floors to a room in the corner, away from prying eyes and ears.

Only the two of them entered; the rest stayed outside the room, standing in a row with Lyra in the middle.

As they settled in, Emir felt a pang of nostalgia, remembering his first-ever intellectual battle.

It was him against a dog of the GoldLeafs, Vincent Reinfield. 

Magnus Valerius.

A name he equipped as a weapon, using it to kill the man before he could even realize that death had arrived to claim him.

Since then, and the direct call with the tenth leader of the Order, Emir hadn't noticed any more moves in their game of chess. 

Magnus got rid of a pawn of his, but that pawn's removal resulted in bettering Emir's position, not worsening it.