The welcoming ceremony that ended the moment it began.
The cooks, who had worked overtime preparing food and wine for this day only for it all to go to waste, brightened when they heard the news and praised Rainer.
The lavish banquet was loaded onto carriages and moved to the walls, where it became a late-night meal for the soldiers.
Smiles bloomed on the faces of the soldiers as they cast off their heavy arms and armor and enjoyed wine and meat.
“Long live Lord Danil!”
“Long live Lord Rainer, lord of the castle!”
“May Kazan endure forever!”
—Clang!
The sound of cups striking together rang out from the walls, which had become the site of a victory party.
People gathered around Danil, enjoying the feast as they praised the hero of the day.
“Haha! What a shame that we can’t offer our hero a drink.”
“My apologies. But if I get drunk, it becomes difficult to use magic, so I’d rather avoid it.”
“Haha! You really are a man after my own heart. Most mages I’ve seen until now were deskbound bookworms who knew nothing of the field, but not you. You’re completely different.”
“I’m field personnel, after all.”
“Kahahaha! Yes! That’s right! Come, come, have some soda water.”
Rud, the veteran who had defended Kazan for twenty years, laughed heartily.
Look at this attitude, not letting his guard down even after victory.
Even the soldiers were busy savoring the sweet wine of triumph, yet he remained so thorough!
For the first time, Rud regretted the fact that he had been blessed only with sons. If he had a daughter or granddaughter, he could have found some way to tie them together!
“Don’t misunderstand me, Lord Danil. You’re like a knight.”
“A knight?”
“Yes. The courage to not yield an inch against barbarians, the powerful strength to protect allies while defeating enemies, and even the attitude of never lowering your guard anytime, anywhere. I’d believe it if someone said you weren’t a mage, but a knight who knew how to use magic.”
“Haha. You praise me too highly. Me, a knight?”
“I’m not the only one who thinks so. Isn’t that right, everyone?”
“That’s right!”
“I thought he was a knightly lord who used magic!”
“Then is he Sir Danil the Magic Knight from now on?”
“Oh. That’s not bad.”
“Wahahahahaha!”
For a while, the title “Long live Sir Danil the Magic Knight!” was chanted.
“Please, calm yourselves. A magic knight? That is too much of a burden. How could I, who only used magic safely from the sky, be compared to the knights who bravely faced cavalry on the ground?”
“Haha. How modest!”
—Thump, thump!
‘That hurts, old man. Please stop hitting me.’
Being slapped on the back by a hand the size of a pot lid made his organs reverberate.
Enduring it without showing it was no small ordeal.
“In any case, I was surprised. I never thought I’d see someone conduct a siege with cavalry.”
“It’s only natural you’d be surprised. You won’t see it often elsewhere.”
Rud nodded.
“The Steel Scale tribe is so famous that everyone thinks they’re the only ones who come, but the truth is different.
Countless barbarians live in the highlands. The highland peoples, the allied army of barbarians. That is the true nature of the enemy we in the North fight.”
“An allied army.”
Danil listened closely to this information he was hearing for the first time.
“There are only five tribes called Steel Scale because they handle wyverns. They’re the strongest barbarians and the ones who make up their leadership. The incidents they cause are so overwhelming that only the Steel Scale tribe remains in people’s memories. Because of that, people came to think the Steel Scale tribe and the highland peoples were one and the same.”
“I see. So the Bima tribe we fought today is also one of those highland peoples.”
“That’s right. They’re weaker than the Steel Scale tribe, but they’re still dangerous fellows who rank within the top ten among the highland peoples.”
Rud grinned.
“Though we drove them off easily thanks to Sir Danil the Magic Knight.”
“Please stop there. I beg you.”
At Rud’s mischief in teasing him as a knight yet again, Danil gave a bitter smile.
He briefly thought of paying him back, but it would be a problem if the atmosphere turned awkward for no reason.
In the end, Danil decided to play along moderately.
“They say you only understand after experiencing it, and now I understand why Northerners are strong. There is no way those who fight madmen who wage sieges with cavalry could be weak. This foolish man, who has only now realized that the Empire is at peace because you are guarding the North, pays his respects to you all.”
“Huh?”
“Puhahahaha! Listen to how this man talks!”
“As expected of a mage, even his eloquence is magic-level!”
“For a second, he really did look like a knight to me.”
“Me too.”
“Come, come! Fill your cups! We can’t just sit still after hearing that, can we? Everyone, cheers!”
“Cheers!”
Laughter and cheers burst out.
Danil’s words, humble and without arrogance, were more than enough to raise the goodwill of the soldiers and knights to its peak.
This was a man they could trust and fight beside.
That thought dominated everyone’s minds.
To them, Danil was no longer a mage of the Magic Tower.
The soldiers raised their cups high toward a reliable comrade to whom they could entrust their backs.
*
Rainer’s eyes gleamed as he watched the party from afar.
“A knight, is it. Sir Rud has quite the eye. Don’t you think so, Cyril?”
“I agree. I have never seen a mage like that before. His abilities are those of a mage, but his spirit is like that of a knight.”
“As expected of you, Cyril. I think the same.”
From what he had observed so far, Danil was unique.
From his clothes to his actions, and even his easy familiarity as he mingled with the soldiers.
Everything about him called to mind a Northern knight, one who valued practicality over formality.
And was that all? Instead of attacking the Bima tribe directly with magic, he targeted their horses first, lowering their combat power and minimizing allied casualties.
That was a judgment only a knight or commander with sharp insight into the battlefield could make.
“Cyril.”
“Please speak.”
“Can I make that man mine?”
He wanted him.
A man whose abilities were those of a mage, but whose spirit was like that of a knight.
Open greed appeared in Rainer’s eyes.
*
“Do you covet him?”
“Is there any reason I wouldn’t?”
“How far are you thinking of going?”
“I could even give him one of Willy’s offspring.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“He’s worth that much.”
Cyril was startled.
Willy was the mountain goat spirit beast Rainer had raised.
It was a spirit beast that could run faster than a horse and climb up and down cliffs, something any Northerner would envy.
Naturally, Willy’s offspring were also immensely valuable, to the point of being no different from treasures.
When Rainer found talent he truly wished to draw in, he used that treasure.
Cyril, too, was one of the top-class talents he had recruited that way.
“Cyril. Do you know what I lack?”
“I would not dare presume to guess.”
“The greatest warrior.”
“.......!”
“The North worships strength. If one is to be a ruler who governs such a North, one must possess a strength that all look up to. Of course, the ruler does not need to possess that strength personally. It is enough to have the greatest warrior, one who possesses such strength, under one’s command.”
“Do you believe you do not currently have such a warrior, young master?”
“Do not misunderstand. I know there are many outstanding knights under my command. Someday, they will grow into warriors whose names resound throughout the North. But not now. The reality is that they are still far too lacking to be called that.”
“Do you think that man is capable of it?”
“No. But I think he is suitable to stand in as a proxy until a true greatest warrior is born.”
“That is a generous evaluation.”
“It cannot help but be generous. Where would I see again a talent whose abilities are those of a mage and whose spirit is that of a knight?”
From their very first meeting, he had prepared for war, and in the night battle that actually broke out, he had rendered outstanding service.
Was that all? Look at him now.
He was mingling with the soldiers and enjoying the party together with them.
He was of a different kind from the mages Rainer had met until now.
He stood out, but that only made Rainer like him more.
There was no way he would not covet him.
“I agree with bringing him in, but it will not be easy. He is an indefinite-term contract employee of the Magic Tower. He is someone staying in the Foreign Legion because he wants to become a regular employee.”
“Then can we not also treat him as a regular employee? If it is a matter of salary, I can pay as much as—”
“It is not a matter of money, young master.”
Cyril shook his head.
“The greatest privilege enjoyed by regular employees of the Magic Tower is knowledge. The right to use the Magic Tower’s library, the Infinite Archive.”
“The Infinite Archive?”
“Yes. It is a treasure trove of knowledge where the magical histories, knowledge, research notes, and more of every mage who has ever worked at the Magic Tower lie dormant. Do you think we can provide that in their place?”
Rainer closed his mouth.
He had realized that the magical knowledge accumulated over hundreds of years was not the kind of thing that could simply be replaced with money.
Rainer, who had recruited talent with the immense wealth of the Grand Duke’s House of the North, encountered a difficult problem for the first time.
A problem he had never seen and never solved before.
Rainer began to ponder the answer.
How should one tempt talent that could not be hired with wealth?
“If he is obsessed with knowledge... it will be difficult to draw him in with money or honor alone.”
“Yes. You will need to find another method.”
The two of them were under a ridiculous misunderstanding about Danil, but it could not be helped.
Common sense said that it was strange to even imagine there could be an indefinite-term contract mage who did not want to become a regular employee.
Based on their own common sense, they began a discussion to recruit Danil.
“First, you must become close to Lord Danil.”
Cyril presented a realistic strategy.
“He is the foremost contributor to repelling the Bima tribe, so it would not be strange to grant him a reward. If you give him a gift that would delight a mage, I believe his gratitude toward you will grow, and the distance between you will shrink considerably.”
“A reward.”
Rainer fell into thought.
As usual, expensive things such as jewels or luxury goods came to mind first, but he shook his head.
‘He is not someone short on money. It will not have much effect.’
If Danil had heard that, he would have shouted that it would work like a charm, but unfortunately, he was not present.
“A magic stone, or perhaps a spiritual medicine?”
“I believe that would be appropriate.”
“Good. Mid-grade should be suitable. Arrange it at once.”
“Yes.”
Rainer looked at Danil again.
The sight of him surrounded by soldiers and mingling with them made him look not like a mage dispatched from the Magic Tower, but like a man of Kazan.
‘I must make that man a true man of Kazan.’
To do that, as Cyril said, he first had to become close to him as one person to another.
The more goodwill Danil felt toward him, the easier recruitment would become.
‘This is the first time I have had such a concern. But I like it.’
Solving the problem of obtaining the talent he desired was enjoyable no matter how many times he did it.
Rainer smiled and began his happy contemplation of how to close the distance with Danil, and how to promote him as the greatest warrior once he recruited him.