If one leaves the southern gate of Loa-Tian, the kingdom’s capital, and travels by carriage for about thirty minutes, one can find a mansion with a crude yet beautiful white exterior.
This mansion on the outskirts of the royal capital has the splendid scenery of the Con-Tian Mountains at its back, while its front faces, far in the distance, the capital’s beautiful royal palace, Tobe-Tian (TOBBE-TIAN).
Anyone fortunate enough to receive the chance to visit the head of the house near sunset may also, from the lord’s office located at the mansion’s highest point, be lucky enough to admire the breathtaking sight of the beautiful royal palace being covered in red beneath the setting sun.
Judging by its location and appearance, one might mistake it for the villa of some noble family or wealthy household. But the true identity of this mansion was none other than the earldom of Count Roman, renowned throughout all of Tian as the guardian of Loa-Tian.
Those who visit Count Roman’s earldom for the first time are surprised by two things.
First, by the graceful and beautiful scenery surrounding the mansion.
Second, by the astonishingly modest scale of an earldom composed solely of a single mansion.
Though large in the eyes of common folk, considering that even a small viscount’s castle easily had one or two hundred permanent residents, the size of this mansion was absurdly small to represent the standing of the Roman family, a prestigious house that had always produced the commanders of the Royal Guard Knights.
But the House of Count Roman was devoted solely to building up its own martial strength and protecting Tian, and had little interest in expanding its influence.
Thus, with only a single mansion located on the royal demesne and a small number of retainers, they faithfully fulfilled their duty of guarding the royal family from near the capital.
Because of this, the reputation of the House of Count Roman grew all the higher.
They were said to be the very model of honorable military men who upheld their honor and remained loyal to the royal family.
Today, a guest had come to the office located at the very top of the mansion of that honorable House of Roman.
“It has been a long time since I viewed the capital’s scenery from here… When I retire, I must find a place like this and build a mansion of my own. Haha.”
Looking out at the distant view of Loa-Tian from Count Roman’s office, Count Kerbel let out a low exclamation of admiration.
The scenery from this place was quite famous among those close to Count Roman.
There were even some among Count Roman’s acquaintances who joked that, whenever they felt stifled, they deliberately stayed on good terms with him just so they could come see this view.
“Haha! Do I not always say it? It is one of my favorite treasures. In any case… how is that matter proceeding? I heard the general outline from the letter you sent ahead before you came, but…”
As he looked at Count Kerbel, the man responsible for recording the kingdom’s history and serving as the royal family’s teacher, Count Roman drank the tea prepared on the table and asked about the true purpose of this visit.
“Since I have come all the way here, I should tell you… First, you are aware that the notice for selecting the Guardians has gone out, are you not?”
“How could I not be? It concerns selecting the Guardians of the Great Northern Wall… It seems five years have already gone by.”
Count Roman wore a distant expression as he recalled that time.
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It refers to the wall located between the empire that fell four hundred years ago and the Kian Kingdom.
The forbidden grand magic used by the empire before its destruction contaminated all the remaining imperial territory, and it had long since become a den of Harijans that had crossed over from the Great Forest beyond.
Fearing that, unless a defensive line was established, the Harijans would cross over and turn the La-Sian continent into a wasteland, the Seven Kingdoms set aside their interests and, before the Harijans could take over all the contaminated land and cross into La-Sian, undertook a great seven-year construction project to modify, repair, and extend the immense wall that had stood between the empire and the Seven Kingdoms. In the end, they succeeded in erecting a barrier known as the Great Northern Wall between the Kian Kingdom and the contaminated imperial territory.
The decision to build the barrier was truly an excellent one.
Only ten years after the empire’s fall—that is, just three years after the wall was completed—the Harijans, with their astonishing reproductive power, had turned every last piece of imperial territory into their own.
Though the individuals pushed all the way to the wall were quite weak, having been too busy fighting among themselves over territory, even a one-horned Harijan was more than enough to massacre an entire village.
The Great Northern Wall played an excellent role in holding back such Harijans.
The problem, however, was that as time passed, the Harijans’ strength continued to grow. At first, most were one-horned, but as time went on they became stronger and stronger, until now even two-horned ones were the norm, with four-horned monsters appearing from time to time.
In such a situation, ordinary soldiers were of no help at all, so the Seven Kingdoms decided to dispatch not common soldiers, but armed men who had professionally trained in Vander—Vanders—to defend the Northern Wall.
Although Kian was the only kingdom bordering the Northern Wall, if the Great Northern Wall could not be defended and collapsed, the other kingdoms would likewise suffer enormous damage. Thus, setting their interests aside, the Seven Kingdoms joined forces and formed the Guardians.
The Guardians who defended the Great Northern Wall could be described by two traits.
One, it was exceedingly dangerous.
Two, but they returned with even more than that.
“Hmm… Last time, thirteen went in from Marquis Narasha’s side… and eleven went in from the royal family’s side… This year, the gap may widen even further, no?”
Count Roman answered as he recalled the selection ceremony for the Guardians five years ago.
Though the Guardians were dangerous, there was simply too much to gain.
The treasure among treasures, Talic Stones, was only the beginning.
The mortality rate of armed men who went there exceeded fifty percent, but the combat strength of those forged in life-and-death crises rose to an astonishing degree.
And those armed men who returned from the Great Northern Wall became an immense power for their families.
Because of this, each faction exerted all its strength to send its own talents into the Guardians, and it was no exaggeration to say that the number of people who entered the Guardians was roughly proportional to a faction’s power.
This was because each noble house and the royal family fiercely competed beneath the surface, exchanging favors and influence.
Five years ago, thirteen entered from the marquis’s side, eleven from the royal family’s side, and six from neutral factions. It was a clear difference from thirty years ago, when he himself had entered.
Thirty years ago, when he went in, there had been twenty-five from the royal family’s side, while the noble faction centered around Marquis Narasha had only seven. The gap in power that had existed back then had been reversed in just twenty-five years.
And this year, that gap might grow even wider.
“That is correct. In truth, those who enter are not the major issue…”
“Indeed. Once the previous cohort of Guardians comes out… the balance of power will change. They will all have ripened well, after all…”
Only talents selected with utmost care were sent to the Great Northern Wall. But their absence was not large. That was because each family did not send its core forces.
When an opponent was sharpening his blade right before your eyes, sending your core forces to the dangerous Great Northern Wall was no different from sending the sword in your hand to the smithy to be honed in the middle of a war.
But when they returned later, the story changed.
The talents chosen for the Great Northern Wall would return to the capital after five years, thoroughly refined and sharpened like steel being forged.
Having lived five years killing and being killed by Harijans, their aura and ferocity went without saying.
“…The capital will likely become a complete mess the moment they come out.”
“Then… I suppose your purpose in coming this time was not simply to visit me.”
Count Roman looked at Count Kerbel with a bitter expression as he spoke. It was because he could roughly guess why this upright friend had come to seek him out.
“Are you saying that even with Lian… you cannot suppress the situation in the capital?”
“…Yes. I know Sir Lian’s ability well, but… with Sir Lian and the Third Royal Guard alone, it will be impossible to stop Marquis Narasha’s faction from acting radically.”
“Hmm…”
Lian von Roman, the eldest son of the Roman family, had already broken through the wall of Expert, the second stage of a Vander, and entered the third stage, Master, at the young age of twenty-four.
Though young, the eldest young lord Lian, who had recently recorded a high Vander rating of 93,000, had already proven his ability in the periodic subjugation campaigns in the Con-Tian Mountains and had even earned the title “Roman’s Young Lion.”
He was also performing brilliantly as the youngest commander in history of the Third Royal Guard, which was responsible for maintaining security in the capital.
But even that would not be enough to suppress the events that were about to come.
After hearing Count Kerbel’s words, Count Roman began to ponder something seriously.
At length, seeming to have organized his thoughts, he opened his mouth.
“First, I understand what you are worried about. You are concerned about the ‘Transfer War’ that will begin because of this return.”
“Yes. Considering the disposition of Marquis Narasha’s faction… I do not think this ‘Transfer War’ will pass easily. It will likely begin in earnest once the Guardians return…”
“For now, my opinion is… refusal. This is not something I should step into. I must maintain neutrality.”
Hearing those words, Count Kerbel wore an expression of understanding.
In truth, the royalist faction had requested his support, and he himself wished to preserve peace, which was why he had come bearing this proposal. But it was too unreasonable a request to make of Count Roman, the commander of the knights.
The royal knight order had never, for generations, been able to intervene in the “Transfer War.”
After watching Count Kerbel’s expression, Count Roman added one more remark.
“However, I believe I can understand your feelings as well. Your position is that you want this matter to proceed without becoming too violent, without bloodshed. Marquis Narasha is a hard-liner, and for the sake of his goals, he can be quite extreme.”
Although there was an age difference between them, Count Roman, who had known him for a long time and had supported him as both friend and adviser, saw straight through Count Kerbel’s heart.
“Yes, that is correct. If things proceed like this… the capital will become a battlefield.”
“I will give you a solution for your sake. Take that boy Sian with you to the capital, not to the Guardians. He will undoubtedly be of great help to you.”
“…You mean the second young lord, not the eldest?”
Kerbel could not understand. What help could Sian, who was only seventeen, possibly be?
Count Roman smiled meaningfully as he looked at Count Kerbel, who did not understand the situation.
Count Kerbel wore such an expression because he still did not know his second son well.
In any case, he could no longer keep his second boy sheltered only within the house. It was time to send him out into the outside world.
Until now, his son had encountered the world only through books and learned of it only through words. Now it was time for him to feel it directly with his own body.
If so, it would be better to use this opportunity to resolve his own concerns, his friend’s concerns, and his son’s concerns all at once.
‘Hoo… I am worried. He is at an age where his blood runs hot… I hope I am not doing something unnecessary…’
He was worried, but he could no longer postpone it.
Having thought this far, the count began telling Count Kerbel the truth he had hidden until now, and they started discussing what was to come.
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『A Short Passage on Talic Stones and Harijans』
Harijan is a being so disastrous to humans that its name carries the meaning of “calamity” in the ancient tongue, but the corpse it leaves behind when it dies is like a blessing to mankind.
Its hide is endlessly tough and hard, its blood can be used as a miraculous medicine, and those who have tasted its meat will seek it out again even if they must spend a thousand gold. But the most important thing is not any of these elements.
Hope within calamity. The Talic Stone, also called Pandora by another name. This is the core among cores that comes from the body of a Harijan.
The source that allows one to command Exar (EXAR), the power that twists the world.
By systematizing the method of handling Exar—an unknown power that only a special few had been able to wield in a haphazard manner—through combining it with Talic Stones, the empire, which during the Warring States era had been nothing more than a small nation in a corner of the continent, was able to unify the continent in only a few decades and rule it for hundreds of years.
Though it ultimately perished together with Kal-Gul in war, the medium that allows one to use Exar, the crystallization of the power of the empire that ruled the continent for centuries, is the Talic Stone.
Though its name is “STONE,” it cannot be mined and comes only from the bodies of Harijans, making its rarity beyond description.
Moreover, its practical value is enough to sway the power of nations, so in a sense it is only natural that states stake their very lives on acquiring Talic Stones.
……
—Extracted from the lecture notes of the Great Law Society