"Eren is that you?

Hahahahaha Long time no see, brother!"

A handsome man landed on Freya's deck uninvited. He was tall, muscular, and had a strong presence. He had made remarkable strides on his ranking path, thanks to his family background as well as his own relentless efforts.

This uninvited man had black hair and a chiseled face. In contrast to the butcher, his presence as an Expert ranker in the liquid stage was very vibrant and overwhelming. Under his alchemy clothes, he wore chainmail armor with intricate runic patterns that were the ranking items themselves.

It looked like the man was ready for war in the middle of nowhere. Plus, he smiled from ear to ear and approached Eren without any restraints seemingly ignoring the ladies he was with. It was obvious he enjoyed seeing Eren- so much so that he completely ignored the three Master rankers.

'This pain-in-the-ass, do-gooder, cockblocking dunce motherfucker of a protagonist will never leave me be. Damn it.'

Eren sighed in his head as he managed to plaster a smile on his face and waved his hand. This man was the last thing he wanted to see at this point.

Eren had never used so many foul words in one go at anyone since leaving LA. But somehow, this man had managed to make him look like the old Eren he was at the time of his early academic days.

"Hehe. How have you been, Ken? I'm sure Uggggh!"

Eren was about to greet Ken Riverine by offering him a handshake. But the latter swatted it away and gave him a bear hug. Eren was made to sniff the man's chest hair that was peeking out of his shirt's unbuttoned area as a result.

"Hahaha! Man, look at you! What a growth spurt! You were so tiny back then. But look at you now- you've turned into a fine man."

Ken patted Eren's back as he said. The latter also returned the gesture weakly before channeling his mana throughout his body. Lightning struck and Eren managed to get away from Ken's overly affectionate hug.

"Not everybody can be flawless from the moment they start their journey, Ken. Some of us have to work hard to make an impression in this world."

Ken smiled and shook his head as if he was expecting to hear something like this from Eren. He was about to say something to Eren when he finally felt the presence Eren was surrounded by.

"Hmm? Oh!"

Ken pursed his lips as he looked at Nina, Levine, and Jiana. The guy was a strict follower of the rankers' code of conduct so he bowed at them before introducing himself.

"Um forgive me for my intrusion Hmm?

Expert? No! Master Levine?"

Ken hadn't taken potioning classes at the academy. But he knew Levine. It was just that he took some time to remember her. Levine had also heard about an exceptional talent from Eren's batch when she was in LA.

The fact that Ken had the name Riverine only contributed to highlighting him in people's consciousness even further. The Earl's House played a special role in Edinburgh's politics. Although it was still an Earl House that was beneath the Dukedom, it still had special rights. After all, it was the House the current queen of Edinburgh belonged to.

Levine was glad that someone had appeared out of nowhere to divert her mind. She was beginning to feel uneasy looking at Eren and Nina's romance. She and Eren introduced Ken to Nina and Jiana.

Nina was shocked to see Eren had such a close male friendship in LA. Although she could feel Eren's reluctance to mix with Ken, the fact that he hadn't completely pulled away from him meant Eren had somehow made peace with Ken. Knowing him, that was a huge thing.

Ken was also using the Water of Leith to travel to Edin. But unlike Eren, he had entered the main river from the easternmost part of the kingdom using tributaries from that side. That was because he was given an on-field assignment in the Lehan duchy.

He was traveling on a ship twice the size of Freya. After looking at it closely, the butcher snorted his nose. He didn't forget to mention to Ken that he bought the ship with his own money. He felt the need to state this fact for reasons only he knew.

There was also someone else who joined Eren onboard Freya. He introduced himself before greeting Eren in a friendly manner. He was also from LA and Eren's senior.

This man was traveling along with Ken on his ship. His name was Roody- a scion of Edinburgh's Viscount House.

Eren couldn't believe that Roody was traveling with Ken at first. The two were at each other's throats when they were in LA because of the conflict he had initiated between them.

Apparently, Roody's sister was smitten by Ken Riverine when they were stationed at the same army base for their on-field assignments. House Orton approached House Riverine about a political marriage.

Lensa had just broken the political marriage between House Carren and House Riverine for valid reasons at that time, and House Riverine had just received a blow from House Carren. House Orton's proposal was accepted right away. As a result, Ken was now engaged to Roody's sister. So Roody had to begrudgingly accept Ken as well against his better judgment.

Roody interacted with Eren respectfully. Unlike Ken, he knew about Eren's accomplishments in depth because he had kept tabs on him. Plus, Eren had left a lasting impression on Roody when their teams fought in the ranking wars. So it became easy for Roody to interact with Eren.

Roody graduated from LA last year because he was one year older than Eren and Ken. But since his sister was going to participate in the graduation event, Roody decided to accompany Ken as well. He was also in the Lehan duchy so getting aboard Ken's ship was a choice born out of convenience.

Eren had to say that Ken's protagonist halo was too strong. He had managed to turn the enemy into his ally just by acting like himself.