The moon set and the sun rose.
The eastern wall, which had been in an uproar last night from the surprise attack and victory party, was still bustling.
Soldiers cleared away the broken sections of wall while engineers patched the cracked ramparts with new stone.
The army physicians were frantic, treating wounded soldiers and decocting medicine, and in one corner of the wall lay a great heap of Bima corpses.
Before they began to rot, some would be taken to the crematory and others dragged to the outer moat to be burned.
“This is why I hate dealing with those Bima bastards.”
“Still, we didn’t take much damage this time. For this much, didn’t we get off cheap?”
“That’s true.”
It was annoying, grueling work, but if it was the price of victory, they could gladly endure it.
The soldiers kept working, grumbling all the while, yet never losing their smiles.
“Um, do you know where the mage mister named Danil is?”
“Hm? Aren’t you Jack? What brings you here?”
“My mom told me to bring him this. She said thank you for saving my dad.”
“Ah.”
Seeing the sandwiches in the little boy’s basket, the soldiers nodded.
To northerners, the Bima were objects of hatred and fear.
If they invaded even once, wails would inevitably echo through every street. It was only natural.
But today was an exception.
No wailing could be heard anywhere in the streets.
It was thanks to a hero who had come from outside.
It was only natural for people who had nearly lost their families to send gifts as thanks.
“Hmm. Why don’t you give it to me first? I’ll have it sent to the mage’s lodgings.”
“Mom said to hand it to him directly.”
“Sorry, but I don’t think that’ll be possible. He isn’t here right now.”
“Why?”
“Why else?”
At the soldier’s answer, the little boy had no choice but to hand over the basket.
Being summoned by the lord of Khazan carried that much persuasive power.
*
The VIP room of Khazan Castle.
“Welcome, Lord Danil.”
Rainer, receiving for the first time in a while an honored guest worthy of being invited here, wore a gentle smile.
“You worked hard last night. You rendered a great service. Seeing all the soldiers and knights praise you made even me feel proud.”
“I am honored by your praise, my lord.”
“A man who has rendered service should receive not only praise, but a reward. Bring it.”
The attendant standing behind him brought over a small wooden box.
When the elegant box opened, a neatly wrapped glass bottle appeared.
Reading the energy from the red liquid inside, Danil’s expression filled with surprise.
“Take it.”
“Could this be... a mid-grade elixir?”
“It is.”
“This is the reward?”
Danil was flustered.
He had expected to receive a reward for what had happened yesterday, but he had never imagined such a treasure would appear.
A mid-grade elixir was a rare item that could be listed among a noble’s assets.
Even within the empire, fewer than five hundred were produced in a year, so Danil was appalled and felt burdened by its appearance.
“Don’t feel burdened.”
“This is far too much.”
“It is not.”
Rainer shook his head.
“Khazan is always exposed to the threat of invasion. In a place like this, maintaining discipline, morale, and the hearts of the people is key. That is why those who render service are rewarded, and those who commit crimes are punished. It is done immediately.”
Rainer’s gaze was serious.
“Strict reward and punishment. That is the law of this place. You, too, cannot be made an exception.”
In his words was the weight of a ruler who had protected the city for many years.
When he put it that way, Danil could no longer refuse.
“...I will accept it with gratitude.”
“Good. Make good use of it.”
Watching Danil accept the box containing the mid-grade elixir, Rainer’s smile deepened.
He had not lied.
It was certainly true that strict reward and punishment was the law of Khazan.
He had simply neglected to mention that treasures like mid-grade elixirs were bestowed only when grand commendations were made after the war against the highland tribes had ended.
During wartime, rewards like famous swords or high-grade potions were the norm, but there was no way Danil, who had been dispatched to the north for the first time, would know that.
Looking at the mage who, unaware of anything, had accepted the not-quite-bribe they had prepared, Rainer said,
“Will you stay for a cup of tea?”
*
The warm fragrance of tea spread through the room.
When Danil brought the tea to his lips, he was inwardly startled.
‘Wait. Could this be?’
The sweetness and bitterness lingering on the tip of his tongue were in perfect harmony, never excessive.
If that were all, it would simply be high-quality black tea, but if it also slightly increased the recovery rate of mana, that was another story.
Black tea with the effect of a mana potion?
Among the northern specialties he had learned about while doing research before his business trip to the north, there had definitely been something like this.
“Could this be Frost Black Tea? The kind that costs ten gold coins a cup?”
“Something like that.”
“Wow.”
To think he would encounter such a supreme luxury, said to be drunk only by prestigious families who piled gold coins in their homes.
Rainer smiled and lifted his teacup.
“Don’t feel burdened. Compared to the military merits you achieved, a few cups of Frost Black Tea are mere pocket change.”
“...I’ll drink it gratefully, my lord.”
It seemed rude to refuse, so he might as well drink.
Danil drained the tea in one long gulp.
He could feel the mana that had fallen below half from his barrage of spells last night gradually recovering.
“You are quite an unusual fellow.”
“What do you mean by unusual?”
“The mages I have seen were all the same. Even on the battlefield, they concerned themselves with their attire and remained only in the safe rear, casting spells from there. But not you. You ran to the wall before anyone else in the banquet hall yesterday, and on the battlefield, you stood shoulder to shoulder with the soldiers. Like a knight.”
Danil flinched inwardly.
‘No. He’s misunderstanding it like this?’
He had simply done his best not to get caught in his lie.
His excuse of, “I came wearing something else instead of formalwear in preparation for a raid, so please don’t give me alcohol,” had become true.
Danil kept his mouth shut.
Silence was golden, and this was exactly that sort of situation.
There was not the slightest reason to run his mouth and shatter the illusion held by the powerful man before him.
“Sir Rude said you were like a knight when he saw you, did he not? I think the same. To think I would see someone whose abilities are those of a mage, yet whose spirit is that of a knight. Haha. The shaman said great fortune would come before the year was out, and he was right.”
“To say I am great fortune? Surely not.”
“That is what I think.”
Rainer’s expression was serious.
“What one needs to survive in the north is not mere strength. It is the spirit to fight together. And it is those who possess such a spirit who can be called knights and protect the city and its citizens alongside the soldiers.”
Setting down his teacup, Rainer looked at Danil.
“Like you.”
“I merely did what I had to do, my lord.”
“Even your modesty is knightly. Hahaha!”
Rainer laughed and poured more tea into Danil’s empty cup.
“I believe in you. Continue fighting alongside us and protecting Khazan.”
Rainer lifted his teacup and added one last remark.
“Sir Danil.”
“Haha. That is a bit much.”
“I am sincere.”
Danil smiled awkwardly.
The soldiers and knights could not be helped, but to think even the highest-ranking person in Khazan would call him that.
It seemed he had taken quite a liking to what happened last night.
‘Sigh. I’ll just accept it. It’s not like this is the first or second time I’ve earned some points and then been called by an overly familiar nickname. He’s probably just trying to flatter me, so he’ll stop after saying it a few times.’
Danil did not know.
Those words from Rainer were not mere flattery, but contained his sincerity that he would absolutely make Danil his knight.
Thus, another victim was added to the list of those unconsciously flirted with by this mage who was nothing like a mage.
*
“An elixir, huh. This alone makes coming to the north worth it.”
Returning to his lodgings, Danil looked down at the mid-grade elixir.
Once a mage reached Danil’s level, it was not easy to benefit from elixirs, but a mid-grade elixir was a different story.
‘The quantity of mana won’t increase much, but its purity will deepen.’
In other words, the quality of his mana would change.
One could say that magic which required 10 mana to cast could now be used with 6 or 7.
It went without saying that the power of his spells would increase as well.
“Is this year my year or something? A lot of good things are happening.”
Delighted by the unexpected jackpot, Danil took out a communication crystal orb.
When he infused it with mana, light entered the crystal orb.
[It has been three days, Danil.]
“Have you been well?”
[I think that is my line.]
Titania, reflected in the crystal orb, smiled brightly.
[Now then, let us hear your report. What happened?]
*
[Ahahahahaha!!!]
Titania laughed.
[Well done! As expected of you, Danil!]
She could not stop laughing and clapping.
She had not expected to hear such amusing and delightful news from the very first report.
[I was lucky.]
[Hehe. Lucky, you say. If the mages dispatched to other places heard that, they would be furious.]
[Pardon?]
[It seems you have not heard yet, Danil.]
She smiled.
[At present, among the dispatched personnel, you are the only one who has accomplished anything. Everyone else is making a mess of things.]
Danil tilted his head.
[The regular employees, you mean?]
[Regular employee is not synonymous with field worker, Danil.]
Smiling, she began to bring up the reports that had come in two days ago, one by one.
[The mage dispatched to the Grand Duchess’s side has caught the flu and is currently in quarantine.]
[What? How did that happen?]
[Barbarians invaded while she was attending a party, just like you. The only difference is that she rushed to the scene in a dress.]
[Ah.]
Danil, who had experienced the northern night weather last night, struck his forehead.
[The others are even worse. The mage dispatched to the Grand Duke’s relative supposedly tried to curry favor with that relative, gulped down every glass of vodka he offered, and is now groaning from alcohol poisoning. As for the mage dispatched to the Northern Grand Duke’s side, I heard he used lightning magic without knowing better and ended up injuring allied soldiers as well.]
[Wow. Is that true?]
[It is true.]
It was disgraceful behavior to the point that one wondered if regular employees had really done it.
[Thanks to that, there is a lot of talk in the Magic Tower. The mage with the flu can be written off as unavoidable, but the other two have no room for excuses, do they? There is even talk of recalling them and sending other mages, but it probably will not be easy.]
[Why not?]
[It is simple. This dispatch has several people’s promotions and necks on the line. If I say that much, you understand, do you not?]
[So it is a matter of factions and politics. They sure do live complicated lives.]
Danil shrugged.
He could easily picture what the atmosphere inside the Magic Tower must be like right now.
At present, the Magic Tower was no different from a subcontractor that had dispatched personnel to the Northern Grand Duke’s family.
But those dispatched personnel had caused trouble? Then this was a matter where blame should be placed not on the dispatched personnel, but on the subcontractor. In the end, someone had to take responsibility.
‘And that someone will inevitably be one of the higher-ups in the Magic Tower.’
Those higher-ups were probably frantic right now, passing the bomb around.
Then were the regular employees beneath those higher-ups safe?
His answer to that question was “no.”
Why, when they were not in a position to take responsibility?
‘What regular employee wouldn’t have tied themselves to some higher-up? But if that higher-up might be cut loose soon? You think their guts wouldn’t be burning?’
The higher-up who had guaranteed my path to success suddenly disappears one day?
That meant the path to success was blocked.
For a regular employee who had given everything, liver and gallbladder included, to get in that patronage line, it would be as much a bolt from the blue as hearing their stocks had crashed.
Switching lines now was also a problem.
The other side would already be packed full of people who had gotten in line first.
The fact that they would become latecomers in the race for promotion would not change.
They were at a crossroads: whether the path to success would become hellfire difficulty or not.
They were already suffering through a hell of work, and now political problems had erupted too, so there was a high chance many regular employees’ stomachs were a complete mess.
‘Phew. Good thing I’m an indefinite-term contract worker who doesn’t have to worry about that. Unlike regular employees, I don’t have to care one bit about factions, politics, or getting in line. Nice. Past me.’
Once again, Danil sent a thumbs-up and a “good job” to his past self.
[So. How did Lord Rainer react?]
[Come to think of it, I forgot to mention that. I had a private audience with him this morning.]
[A private audience! Of course. Considering the service you rendered, that is only natural. What did he say?]
[It was ordinary praise for my merits. Though when he gave me a mid-grade elixir as a reward, I was honestly shocked.]
[What???]
In that instant, all traces of laughter vanished from Titania’s face.