MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Chapter 682: Misconception

Seeing the smile slowly fade from Anthony’s face, Klaus spoke with a curious glint in his eyes, ”I don’t mean to pry, but how have you managed to remain single all this time? With your flawless face, impressive height, remarkable physique, extraordinary talent, abundant wealth, and undeniable popularity, I’m quite certain women would be flocking to you in droves.”

At his question, Anthony’s lips twitched ever so slightly, as though Klaus had unknowingly touched upon old wounds, wounds he had long since sealed away, wishing for them to remain hidden in the deepest recesses of his heart.

’Sigh... you just had to bring it up, didn’t you?’ Anthony thought inwardly, exhaling softly through his nose.

He understood Klaus’s confusion well enough; anyone in Klaus’s position would wonder. But what plausible explanation could he truly give the man? After a prolonged moment of silent contemplation, Anthony finally replied, voice calm yet distant.

”The same reason Vega has remained single till now, despite possessing every quality that I do.” He spoke smoothly, instantly diverting the attention away from himself by using Vega as a convenient excuse, deftly deflecting the question with practiced ease.

But Klaus, it seemed, was not the sort of man to simply let a matter drop without pressing a little further.

”Hmmm... I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s the same reason,” Klaus murmured with quiet intrigue. ”Even so, men are inherently different from women, no matter what anyone claims. No matter the era or upbringing, the nature of men differs. Even I, in my younger days, indulged in all sorts of... things before I met my wife.”

Though Klaus left his statement deliberately vague, Anthony was no fool. He perfectly understood what the older man was implying beneath the careful choice of words.

Anthony shook his head faintly as he answered, ”I suppose I’m just not built that way. I can only ever dedicate myself to one woman.”

Though he spoke simply, his words carried an unmistakable sincerity. Indeed, there was no trace of falsehood in them. Anthony had never been fond of the concept of having multiple lovers or partners. He had always considered it foolish, an illusion born from selfish desire.

Women in harems may like to convince themselves that their husband loves them all equally, but deep down, everyone knows such a belief is a comforting lie, a fragile delusion they refuse to confront. After all, even parents who literally bring children into the world, who are biologically wired to nurture them, still, more often than not, have a favorite among their children.

How then could a man, possessing five or ten wives, truly love them all the same?

But oh well... not that Anthony particularly cared about people with harems anyway. He had never been the sort to concern himself with matters that did not affect his life directly. To him, the world could burn or bloom, and he would only lift a finger if it personally mattered to him.

Klaus looked at Anthony for a long moment, then gave a faint nod accompanied by a calm, knowing smile, a smile that seemed to wordlessly say: ’I could find out if I truly wanted to, you know.’

And Anthony, in return, offered a smile even calmer, more composed, and just as silently eloquent, as if to say: ’I can conceal my truths from even the sharpest gaze if I wish to, you know.’

They stood there briefly, locked in a silent understanding. Each harbored their own thoughts, yet strangely, those thoughts seemed to align in an unspoken equilibrium.

Seeing that Klaus had nothing more to add, Anthony decided to steer the conversation elsewhere.

”Can you tell me about yourself? I realize I quite literally know next to nothing about you,” he asked gently, his tone level and curious rather than probing.

Klaus, upon hearing the question, stood silently for a few seconds. His eyes, which had been resting on the intricate mural adorning the wall, seemed to drift elsewhere, away from the present, into distant memories. Without a word, he began walking forward, his calm presence withdrawing from the mural like a shadow pulling back from the light.

Anthony, seeing this, simply followed beside him, his footsteps slow and measured, each one echoing lightly in the long hallway.

He had asked out of genuine curiosity. The man walking beside him was shrouded in so much mystery that he seemed more like an enigma wrapped in riddles than a mere mortal. Still, Anthony knew that if Klaus chose not to answer or reveal anything, there was little he could do about it.

It wasn’t as if he could simply beat the answers out of the man, after all.

”I was an orphan... or perhaps it’s more accurate to say I ’am’ still an orphan,” Klaus began at last, his voice quiet yet steady, like gravel rolling down a distant hill.

”Unlike you, I grew up without parents, without even the faintest trace of parental love. I clawed my way to the position I hold now with almost nothing ever handed to me freely. I rose through rivers of blood, across battlefields of war, through labyrinths of betrayal and valleys littered with death. Yet... life was entertaining, to say the least. It was beautiful, in its own cruel way. Something worth waking up for every day, the danger, the constant struggle for more opportunities, more power, more everything.”

As he spoke, he walked slowly down the hallway, his hands folded neatly behind his back, his voice steady but colored faintly by nostalgia.

”Do you know what the greatest misconception about me is?” Klaus asked suddenly, still walking, not once turning to face Anthony.

Anthony shook his head silently. He didn’t know. In truth, ’everything’ about Klaus could just as easily be a misconception, an elaborate lie crafted to deceive the world, concealing truths too dangerous to be exposed. Klaus was the type of man who could make lies appear as truths and truths seem like lies, all to veil whatever reality he wished to keep hidden.

But Anthony was asking this question now, during this rare father-in-law and son-in-law moment. A sacred interval where the mood had softened, and their emotions felt strangely steady and open. Though a man as experienced as Klaus likely wouldn’t be swayed by sentiment, Anthony felt this fleeting moment was the best chance he’d ever get to glimpse the man behind the mask.

If not now, then perhaps never.

”It’s my class,” Klaus replied calmly at last, his voice serene, though his demeanor had shifted subtly. His posture was straighter, more deliberate, as though the weight of unseen truths rested on his shoulders.

”Isn’t your class the Weapon Master class?” Anthony asked, arching an eyebrow. That, as far as he knew, was one of the only pieces of verified information the entire Blue Planet had on Klaus, one of the few ’facts’ about the man that had ever been publicly acknowledged.

”It is. My class is indeed the Weapon Master,” Klaus affirmed without hesitation.

”Then... how is that a misconception?” Anthony asked, unable to suppress his curiosity as it slowly deepened into bewilderment.

”I will answer your question... with a question of my own,” Klaus said evenly, his tone soft yet carrying a strange weight, as though he were about to peel back the first layer of some vast and hidden truth.

Then, with his gaze fixed ahead, he asked:

”What... is a weapon?”

At that question, Anthony’s footsteps, and his very thoughts, came to an abrupt halt, as though his mind had exploded from the weight of it. In that instant, he finally understood why Klaus had said his class was a misconception.

In the truest sense, a weapon is anything, absolutely anything, that can inflict harm or cause injury, even the smallest of wounds.

That is the true definition of a weapon.

On the Blue Planet, if one were asked to give examples of weapons, they would instinctively list items such as guns, swords, sabres, chakrams, whips, and daggers.

But a weapon goes far beyond all of that.

Even an old stick on the ground could be a weapon. A pile of sand could be a weapon. A pebble could be a weapon.

Anything, and quite literally everything that exists, can be a weapon.

Knowledge itself is also a weapon, for a weapon does not necessarily have to be a physical object that one holds in their hands.

As these revelations swirled through Anthony’s mind, his head snapped toward Klaus. His blue eyes locked with the man’s black ones, and Klaus smiled knowingly, as though he had already anticipated Anthony’s reaction.

In a sense, just like StreamGhost, whose class had long been misunderstood, Klaus’s class had also been gravely misunderstood.