A Triumphant Return Without a Welcome (2)

Max walked out of the office where bullets had rained down.

The Steiger members had assembled with their firearms in hand. The attack had stopped, but every muzzle was still trained on Max.

“Lower your guns.”

When a deep voice rang out all around them, the Steiger combatants lowered their muzzles in unison.

A middle-aged man emerged from among the crowd, a rifle slung over his shoulder.

Matthias Steiger, head of the Steiger family.

Contrary to his appearance, he was over eighty years old—a mage who had reached the same sixth tier as Max.

“Head of the Family. It’s been a long time.”

“Yes. You’ve grown into a dependable man since I last saw you.”

“I didn’t expect you to respond to my greeting. Isn’t this the first time you’ve ever returned one?”...