Chapter 149: A Familiar Name

Chapter 149: Chapter 149: A Familiar Name

They entered the main hall together.

The moment they did, Cornelius stood up.

So did the elders around him.

The representatives from Tempest Hollow also looked toward the entrance.

But Damon barely noticed them.

Cornelius walked straight toward him.

"Damon."

He smiled.

"You did it."

Damon nodded.

"We managed to stabilize Frostveil."

Cornelius didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he placed a hand on Damon’s shoulder.

"Thank you."

The words were simple.

But Damon could tell they were sincere.

The elders also stepped forward.

One after another, they thanked him.

"You’ve done something we didn’t believe was possible."

"Winterbourne owes you."

"You helped protect everyone living around Frostveil."

Damon scratched the back of his head.

"You don’t have to make it sound so serious."

One of the elders laughed.

"We’re serious."

Cornelius smiled.

"We’ll repay you."

Damon looked at him.

"You’ve already helped me plenty."

"Not enough."

Cornelius shook his head.

"If you ever need something, as long as it’s within Winterbourne’s power, ask."

Caelia stepped beside her father.

"He means it."

"I know."

Damon smiled.

"Then I’ll remember."

The hall filled with a lighter mood.

Caelia looked genuinely happy.

Her father was happy.

The elders were happy.

Even Damon found himself enjoying the moment.

Only one thing bothered him. And that was stare he was recieving.

Damon noticed it the whole time as he finally looked toward the visitors.

The Tempest Hollow representatives had gone strangely quiet.

Their expressions weren’t like before.

They weren’t relieved. They weren’t grateful. Instead, they looked confused.

Damon frowned slightly.

But he understood their reaction, they remembered him.

Or at least, they knew the name.

Cornelius finally returned to business.

"There are still several things we need to discuss."

Everyone settled down.

Cornelius looked toward the visitors.

"But before that..."

He turned toward Damon.

"I want to introduce you properly."

Damon raised an eyebrow.

Cornelius gestured toward the representatives.

"He’s the person I told you about."

The room went quiet.

"This is Damon."

Cornelius smiled.

"He is the one who can help you."

For a moment, nobody reacted.

Then one of the representatives looked at Damon again.

His eyes widened.

Another slowly stood.

"No."

Cornelius frowned.

"What?"

The man stared at Damon.

"This is Damon?"

Damon remained quiet.

He already had a feeling where this was going.

The representative looked at the others.

Their expressions had changed too.

Confusion.

Disbelief.

Then anger.

The Calloway representative finally spoke.

"You’re joking."

Cornelius blinked.

"I don’t understand."

"You told us there was someone who could help us."

"There is."

The man pointed at Damon.

"That?"

Damon raised an eyebrow.

Cornelius’s expression slowly became confused.

The representative laughed bitterly.

"This is Damon Calloway."

Damon said nothing.

"He’s a reject."

Caelia’s expression immediately changed.

The Winterbourne elders looked at one another.

They hadn’t heard that word before. At least not from someone speaking about the Damon they knew.

The representative continued.

"He doesn’t even have an elemental affinity."

His voice became sharper.

"His White Core was supposed to make him special, but what did it matter? He couldn’t use an element."

Another representative joined in.

"Exactly."

"We thought you were talking about someone powerful."

"Not him."

The Calloway elder looked at Cornelius with disbelief.

"Do you really expect us to believe that this boy can save Tempest Hollow?"

His anger was growing.

"We came here because we thought you had found someone capable of dealing with the Zone Heart."

He pointed at Damon again.

"And you’re giving us a boy who should’ve been dead already?"

Caelia’s fists tightened.

"What did you just say?"

The elder looked at her.

"He was abandoned by his own family."

Caelia’s expression darkened.

"He probably survived only because he was lucky."

Another representative shook his head.

"Maybe escaping Tempest Hollow was the last bit of luck he had."

The hall became silent.

Damon stood quietly.

He had expected this.

These people weren’t looking at the Damon standing in front of them.

They were looking at the boy they remembered.

The useless Calloway heir.

The one who had awakened a White Core but couldn’t use an element.

The one they believed had no future.

Damon couldn’t help smiling.

"Fairs, that’s how you remember me."

The representatives looked at him.

Damon wasn’t angry. And that seemed to confuse them even more.

One of them scoffed.

"What else should we remember?"

Damon shrugged.

"Nothing."

He glanced at Cornelius.

"You were right."

Cornelius frowned.

"About what?"

Damon’s smile grew slightly.

"They really are my people."

Caelia looked at him.

She didn’t understand how he could still joke at a moment like this.

Neither did the elders.

They had expected Damon to become angry.

Instead, he looked almost amused.

Cornelius finally understood.

The visitors weren’t questioning a stranger.

They were talking about the past Damon.

And the more Damon remained calm, the more confused everyone became.

The Calloway elder wasn’t finished.

"Don’t misunderstand us."

He looked at Cornelius.

"We came here desperate."

"We thought you had something."

"But if this is your idea of a joke..."

His voice became cold.

"We don’t find it funny."

Cornelius stared at him.

Then he looked at Damon.

Then back at the representatives.

He was beginning to realize just how badly they had misunderstood the situation.

And for the first time, the elders of Winterbourne were starting to wonder the same thing.

Who exactly was Damon Calloway?

Because the person standing before them didn’t look anything like the reject these people remembered.

Damon simply folded his arms as he listened for a few seconds before losing interest

He turned toward Caelia.

"Anyway, let’s continue with the report."

Caelia didn’t move.

She simply stared at him.

Damon looked back.

"What?"

She kept staring.

There was a small smile on her face, but it was obvious what she meant.

You are explaining this to me later.

Damon sighed.

"Alright, alright."

Caelia smiled.

"Good."

Only then did she turn back toward the table.

The elders exchanged glances.

They had questions too.

Quite a lot of them.

But Damon had clearly decided to move on, so Cornelius didn’t force the matter.

The elders followed his lead.

The representatives, however, were left sitting there with their frustration.

The meeting continued as if nothing had happened.