—Ra-Bander (RA-BANDER) of 300 years ago, from the sayings of Livias the Solar Sword
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It was a saying always passed around among the people and nobles of the Kingdom of Tian.
It might have been, in a sense, a common epithet that followed famous families in every kingdom, but there was no sentence more fitting to show where the House of Roman stood in the Kingdom of Tian.
The sentence above said two things.
First. Those born of Roman were stronger than anyone.
Second. They were that strong, but their numbers were exceedingly scarce.
Those born into the House of Roman were innately prone to having high Bander values, Bander being like a symbol of martial might.
Genetically, biologically, they were born for battle!
Throughout history, all those born of Roman had proven themselves strong.
A famed house of warriors that had produced
That was the House of Roman.
Every generation, they produced a Grand-Bander, a strategic-weapon-class warrior of whom only three or four appeared in an entire nation, so all could only marvel at the greatness of that bloodline.
Unfortunately for Tian, however, those born of the House of Roman had been renowned through the generations as worth a hundred—no, worth a thousand—but their line was rare.
Even the state strictly forbade and controlled members of the House of Roman dying in internal conflicts, which showed just how precious and rare the people of the House of Roman were in this Kingdom of Tian.
And in this Count Roman’s household, a young son was born.
At that news, all Tian stirred.
The eldest young master alone was reassuring enough, but for a second son to be born in the House of Roman, where heirs were so rare!
To celebrate it, the nobles who upheld Tian gathered at the House of Roman from every corner of the kingdom.
That was why, at the mansion of Count Roman, commander of the Royal Guard Knights, a party had been going on for three days.
☆ ☆ ☆
“Count! Truly, congratulations. To think you have gained a second son! Does this not mean the Great Emperor is watching over our Tian? Haha!”
“Mm. Thank you, Baron Kian. I heard Baron Kian also had a daughter this time! I hear she takes after your wife and is terribly adorable.”
At the party, Count Cain von Roman, the head of the House of Roman, was constantly exchanging greetings with nobles who approached him offering well-wishes.
‘Mm… This is quite exhausting… No matter what, a party for three days straight…….’
The count muttered inwardly.
Count Cain von Roman!
The thirteenth head of Count Roman’s household, and a great martial artist who had risen to the rank of Grand-Bander known as “the Great Emperor’s Blessing.”
Grand-Bander was a dream realm for warriors.
After all, even in the Kingdom of Tian, one of the Seven Great Kingdoms, only three existed.
A realm one might or might not reach only after taking innate bloodline and a high Bander value, melting into them countless efforts, talent, and technique, then tempering body and mind and honing them for decades—that was the realm of a Grand-Bander.
Moreover, considering that the average age of other Grand-Banders was sixty-five, his young age of fifty-four made his great realm shine all the more.
But even such a great martial artist had a weakness: life in high society and political activity.
Though Count Roman was a mighty warrior, he had devoted himself to training and usually had few chances to deal with people, maintaining relationships only with a few very close friends, including Count Kerbel.
But when people attended an event celebrating the birth of his child, he could not very well ignore them.
That was why Count Roman, the great martial artist said to be capable of slaying even a five-horned Harijan alone, was standing here sweating profusely and wearing a smile he had no taste for.
‘Whew… I truly cannot understand what sort of people are good at this…….’
Count Roman grumbled inwardly.
Of course, outwardly, he did not forget to diligently put on a courteous smile.
Because he rarely smiled in daily life, he was making full use of the advantage that even a social smile looked joyful to others.
‘When my first child was born, I think it was still better than this…….’
A second child was truly not a common thing in Count Roman’s household, where heirs were so rare.
Perhaps his name might be remembered for ages in the history of the House of Roman, and further, in the history of Tian. As one of the few heads of the house to have had a second child, that is.
Whenever the House of Roman had produced two or more children throughout history, Tian’s power had greatly flourished.
That was why so many people had gathered for the simple Blessing Ceremony of a young son.
“Haha! Count Cain! It has been a long time. Coming to the capital after so long, the air is quite fine. It is thanks to you. Without an occasion like this, how else would I come now and then to see the capital?”
“Oh! It is good to see you, Count Selaine. You have gone to great trouble coming such a long way.”
‘How on earth did this man… whose territory borders the Kingdom of Taran, make it all the way up here…….’
The Count Selaine before him was a typical traditional aristocrat who had built wealth and expanded his power through trade in the County of Selaine, which bordered the Kingdom of Taran. Like their own Count Roman’s household, he was the head of an orthodox prestigious power that had continued its line since the founding ancestor.
He stood between the royal family and the noble faction while far from the capital, stubbornly maintaining neutrality and taking only practical gains, thus being treated as a thorn in the side by both. For a count who would not come to the capital unless something truly significant happened to come all the way here.
That was how rare the birth of a young son in Count Roman’s household was.
‘No… A sly old fox like him would not have come all the way up for that alone… He must have come to use this opportunity to observe how the balance of power is changing…….’
Recalling the fierce confrontation currently unfolding between the noble faction and the royalist faction, Count Roman realized the count’s true purpose.
At present, all Tian was split between the “royalist faction” and the “noble faction,” their power struggle raging fiercely.
The noble faction, a powerful new force united around Marquis Narasha on the basis of practical interests.
The royalist faction, the existing vested powers united around Sword Duke Kirain.
Sword Duke Kirain, the king’s uncle, was the foremost martial artist in the entire Kingdom of Tian.
Though Sword Duke Kirain had little interest in politics, his weighty presence alone united the “royalist faction.”
The head of the “noble faction” was likewise Marquis Narasha, who had risen to Grand-Bander.
Born in the Marquisate of Narasha, which bordered the militarily powerful Kingdom of Karan and thus had to hone its military strength for generations, he had reached the realm of Grand-Bander before even turning fifty-five through astonishing talent. Based on his own martial prowess, charisma, and forces, he began unifying the noble houses and rapidly increasing his power.
Through Marquis Narasha’s astonishing ability, the scales that had been tilted toward the royal family slowly began tilting toward the noble houses, and at present they had reached an almost even balance.
Count Selaine had personally come up here to Roa-Tian, the capital, to see whether he could take advantage of that situation.
In that sense, the birth of the young son must have been an opportunity beyond compare for him.
Under the pretext of celebrating the young son’s birth, he could observe every noble in Tian and countless high-ranking figures in one place.
‘In truth, many of the people gathered here must have come with such thoughts…….’
Count Roman muttered inwardly.
Count Selaine before him was not unique.
‘Still, it is a relief that today is the last day. I worry whether Sian is tired…….’
While Count Roman was lost in thought, the party had already entered its closing stage, and only the most important final procedure remained for the protagonist of this party, the young son Sian von Roman.
The rite to confirm the Great Emperor’s blessing.
The “Blessing Ceremony.”
The “Blessing Ceremony,” performed on the final day of the party, was a blessing carried out when a new direct descendant was born into a noble house.
Originally, it had been a simple formal event in which nobles gathered to pray for the well-being of the newborn child, but the astonishing grand array provided to the world by the Exile Grand Arcane Assembly completely changed the meaning of this event.
Particles like the Great Emperor’s blessing, allowing one to break through the limits of the body and train endlessly.
Through the grand array, it had become possible to read this great potential inherent within the body.
Count Roman watched the Blessing Ceremony being prepared and wondered just what value his second child would have.
At the age when the Blessing Ceremony was carried out, training Bander was impossible. Only the Bander accumulated through one’s own innate qualities remained within the body.
In other words, the value produced by the Blessing Ceremony was directly connected to the child’s talent.
The higher it was, the more advantageous it would be later in leaving humanity behind and walking the path of a superhuman.
‘Hmm… Still, he is of our family, so it should exceed 50, should it not?’
According to records passed down, the value of the Solar Sword, that great martial artist, had been a full 85.
If a child only a hundred days old had 85, it meant Bander had increased every time he breathed in and out.
Count Roman himself was not on the level of the Solar Sword, but his own value had been 55, and the eldest young master Rian’s had been 60, higher even than his own, making him the object of everyone’s attention.
It only seemed lesser because it was compared to the Solar Sword. Considering that the average value of Grand-Banders was a little over 50 and ordinary noble houses did not reach 25, it was truly an astonishing record.
While he was thinking this and that, at last, the time for the Blessing Ceremony arrived.
‘I must hurry and bring my wife and child.’
While the count briefly left the party hall to fetch his wife and child, who had been resting nearby, a third-rank arcane practitioner dispatched by the Grand Arcane Assembly began conducting the Blessing Ceremony.
“Now! We shall begin the Blessing Ceremony for Lord Sian von Roman, second son of Count Cain von Roman, guardian warrior of the great Kingdom of Tian! Everyone, please offer your congratulations with joyful hearts!”
The form of the “Blessing Ceremony” differed somewhat from nation to nation, but its basic framework was similar.
It was conducted by a priest of that nation’s state religion and an arcane practitioner dispatched by the Grand Arcane Assembly, and depending on the status of the noble house holding the Blessing Ceremony, a practitioner of a corresponding rank was dispatched.
The House of Roman was a count’s house, so it was conducted by a third-rank arcane practitioner and the chief priest of the God of War worshipped by Tian.
The ceremony of symbolic meaning conducted by the chief priest quickly ended.
In the past it had been far longer, but just as wedding officiants’ speeches gradually grew shorter, its duration had steadily decreased.
Because everyone hated it for being tedious.
What mattered was the rite of the grand array, which measured one’s talent for “Bander.”
“Then we shall now activate the grand array. May the child have the Great Emperor’s boundless blessing!”
People looked at the grand array, and before long began examining the tiny child Count Roman had gently placed atop it.
The child had been asleep in his mother’s arms, but had just awakened as he was transferred into Count Roman’s embrace.
Seeing that his features took after Count Roman exactly, he had a plump, round image for now, but it was clear that when he grew older, it would settle into a firm impression.
The arcane practitioner finished the blessing words for the child and activated the grand array.
Then, according to the grand array designed to manipulate the flow of Bander delicately so as not to greatly affect the young child, energy entered through the child’s body and began scattering beautiful, brilliant light in all directions.
The brilliant light began circling around the child. At times it brushed past the child. It came out through his mouth, then through his nose… and as it did, it wrapped around him as though gently caressing him. As though meticulously examining every corner.
Before long, the light gradually lost its strength and faded.
The measurement was nearly over.
Once the work ended, numbers indicating the child’s affinity with Bander would spread splendidly through the air, and the Blessing Ceremony would be complete. This function had been added by the Arcane Assembly as a service to increase the enjoyment.
In the midst of that, however, a sudden change occurred. Though the time when the result should have appeared had long since passed, the array merely glowed faintly and was not functioning.
“What is going on?”
People murmured.
Looking closely, they could see the arcane practitioner flustered as he examined the array and the child again.
They had been flustered by the emergency that had suddenly unfolded.☆ ☆ ☆
Worse still, the grand magic array had not stopped operating and was continuously consuming Talic Stones. Those ridiculously expensive Talic Stones!
He scrutinized the formulas and checked whether there was anything wrong with the magic array, but everything was normal.
The Talic Stone could not possibly be running low either, since he had brought one that had been acquired only recently, just in case anything went wrong at an event hosted by the Roman count family.
He ran through every abnormal situation listed in the manual in his head and checked them one by one, but there was nothing strange.
If so, there was only one reason left…….‘Does that even make any sense?’Zeraph inwardly recalled the time when he had received the handover and training regarding how to conduct the Blessing Ceremony.
The grand magic array used in a Blessing Ceremony essentially measured the Bander inside the body.
However, there was no way a child’s body—especially the body of a child only one hundred days old—could contain a large amount of Bander. Even the highest recorded value so far was only 88. Though one might say “only,” the Sun Sword Rivias had recorded 85, and Kuradan had recorded 86.
Thus, when this grand magic array was designed, it had fundamentally been made to measure only up to 97.
This was not a number chosen at random. During research on the grand magic array, 97 had been the value up to which the flow of Bander could be adjusted most efficiently.
If more Bander than that was injected, the amount of Talic Stone consumed would increase by more than fifteen percent in order to maintain delicate control.
As stated earlier, Talic Stones were extremely expensive.
So, during the handover, he had once asked his senior above him what phenomenon would occur if there were a child whose number exceeded 97…….‘To think that phenomenon is happening right before my eyes…….’But he still could not be certain.
There was no manual for a situation like this, but he knew what he had to do.
In order to deal with Count Roman’s puzzled gaze upon him and to prevent any additional billing for Talic Stone usage, he had to resolve this situation as quickly as possible.(Additional charges caused by mistakes are automatically deducted from research funds.)A third-class law-mage’s license was not something won in a card game. Wasn’t a professional someone who could handle a situation like this without panicking?‘First, change the formula… and if I alter the flow like this…….’Zeraph swiftly modified portions of the formula and manifested his Exar (EXAR) to begin controlling the flow.
If he did this, then although the later-added function that displayed the number in the sky might not work, the measurement limit for Bander would disappear.‘There!’At last, the light that had been coiling around the child was sucked in, and the magic array began to function properly. A moment later, a brilliant radiance burst forth, and the result was measured by Zeraph.
“What? What happened?”
“It looks like it’s over, so why isn’t the number appearing?”
The nobles gathered before the dais began to murmur.
That light was unmistakably the light announcing the end of the Blessing Ceremony. After all, they had each seen it once or twice before…….
But the important thing was that no number had appeared! The Bander index that would reveal the potential of the young lord of House Roman!
While the people in the audience were bewildered, Zeraph was even more so.‘Mm……?’Zeraph began to wonder whether the measurement result that had just entered him was correct. He had never seen a number like this before.
“What is going on? How is the ceremony proceeding right now?”
Count Roman, who had approached Zeraph before he knew it, asked with a stiff expression.“Ah… well…….”‘Yes, since the number has come out anyway… I’ll tell only the Count and leave the judgment to him.’Zeraph finished calculating in that brief span.
It was not his mistake, but he would not be able to avoid responsibility for this. If that was the case, it would be better to tell the Count about a matter that could cause additional trouble and divide the responsibility.
Having made that decision, Zeraph relayed the number to the Count in a small voice only he could hear.
“……!”
The Count wore a startled expression for a moment, but quickly composed himself. Then he stood on the dais and called out to the noble families gathered there.
“Everyone! I imagine this sudden situation must have startled you. First, as the host who invited you all, I would like to apologize to all of you who came to offer your congratulations.”
“According to Sir Zeraph, a minor error has occurred in the magic circle, preventing it from properly displaying the number. However, the measurement has been completed, and he has just informed me of the result.”
At those words, everyone began to listen closely.
Although not seeing the number directly might reduce its credibility, that depended on the person.
Count Roman, whose family had preserved trust, integrity, and loyalty as their values for generations, would never lie over such a trivial matter.
“The value of my second son, Sian… is 57!”
It was certainly a high number, but at the same time, it was a subtle one, and everyone wore ambiguous expressions.
It was a suitable value—slightly higher than Count Roman’s, but lower than the eldest young lord’s. All those who had been hoping for the possible aptitude of a “La-Bandor” wore vague expressions, but soon began to applaud in congratulations.
“Congratulations, Count Roman! Roman will have two great pillars in the future!”
“You must feel reassured. May the boundless blessing of the God of War be with you henceforth!”
Thus ended the “strange Blessing Ceremony” that took place in House Roman.
Afterward, Zeraph met Count Roman separately, received an additional payment so excessive it could only be called compensation for his trouble, and the matter was neatly settled.
And the minor incident that had occurred during the Blessing Ceremony gradually began to fade from people’s memories as time passed.
In that way, the years quickly flowed by.Until Sian, the second young lord, had reached the age of seventeen…….☆ ☆ ☆『Report on Bander』
But can an ordinary human fly through the sky? Can an ordinary human fight a Harijan and lift a boulder as large as a house?
Impossible.
When we say human possibility is infinite, it merely means that humans can proceed in infinite directions. The possibilities of each individual human, in a sense, are clear.
That is, they would have been, if not for the existence of Bander.‘Bander’This particle, named after the ancient word for “blessing,” is quite literally a blessing to humanity. It is an unknown particle that exists inside living beings and helps them shatter the existing limits of humans with ease.
The more of this particle one possesses, the more one can exert power beyond common sense. The power to shatter mountains, to face storms with one’s bare body, to single-handedly contend with a thousand ordinary people.
The existence of Bander was proven only four hundred years ago, but those who proved its great potential existed even before that and have been passed down through oral tradition, murals, and legends.
The representative figure among them is the Great Emperor Broxian, who, one thousand years ago, first united the tribes that had been scattered and suffering under Harijan and the harsh natural environment.
Even after the Great Emperor, users of Bander (BANDER), commonly called
They were called brave men, warriors, and at times they acted across the lands as great generals, heroes, and kings.
This wondrous blessing of the world known as “Bander” cannot be increased by any external factor from birth until roughly one hundred days on average.
Only the child’s own innate aptitude has any influence.
Therefore, the Blessing Ceremony is a method that can measure how much talent a newly born individual possesses for “Bander.”…
This number was created by the royal family in order to keep noble houses in check.
At the time the kingdom was founded, the royal family changed the law so that the number had to be displayed at the Blessing Ceremonies of noble families, in order to identify potential rivals in advance and either restrain or eliminate them.
If they refused to change it, it would be considered rebellion, so the nobles had no choice but to perform this dangerous ceremony that laid their talents bare. In particular, powerful noble families had no choice but to carry it out even if they did not want to, as they had to be mindful of the nobles who had already performed the Blessing Ceremony.…
This was because the Talents that had to be paid to the Grand Law-Mage Association and the diocese each time were enough to make one’s jaw drop.
Therefore, in the case of impoverished noble families with many descendants, they often could not afford to hold Blessing Ceremonies for all of them and instead selected only a few who seemed talented. Conversely, even if a family’s title was low, if its power was great, it sometimes conducted multiple Blessing Ceremonies to display its influence.
-Editorial column, “This Month’s Miracle,” November issue of the regular monthly journal of the Exile Grand Law-Mage Association