Ten days had already passed since Sian, his training period over, had been assigned to a new section: the El
-Lua (EL
-LUA) district.
During the probationary period, two seniors were attached to a newcomer, and the three operated as a team. In practice, however, the three would spread out within the same district, handling patrols and public order. If an incident occurred, one person would buy time while the others patrolling nearby zones rushed over.
Sian was extremely pleased with his newly changed life. This place called Garan
-Tia felt as though it were a workplace made just for him.
With no one beside him to keep watch, there was no one to nag him, and perhaps because the area he patrolled was where the royal family and high nobles were concentrated, clashes almost never occurred.
After all, it was always the half-baked sorts who raised their voices and traded blows; true big shots did not fight in such vulgar fashion. Their battlefields were not streets like these, but sealed rooms—or actual battlefields. To be precise, wherever big shots clashed became a battlefield.
On top of that, the streets here were lined with mansions beautifully adorned as though each noble house were showing off its power, and the roads before those mansions were filled with sculptures and exhibits by master artisans. Walking through the middle of such streets made him feel as though he had become a high noble or a member of the royal family himself.
The Roman Count family was also a high noble house, but it belonged to an extremely frugal faction, so it had no interest in flaunting its influence like this.
He had heard that Count Kerbel’s influence had played a part in his assignment. This, he thought, must be why people talked about “school ties, regional ties, and blood ties.”
The El
-Lua streets were usually quiet, but for the nearly ten days since Sian had been assigned there, the atmosphere had been extremely busy. Of course, it was not because they were preparing a congratulatory party to celebrate Sian’s assignment.
It was because the day was approaching when the heroes who had been selected from each house and the royal family—those who had been defending the continent—would return, and each family was preparing to welcome them.
Rather, the El
-Lua district was only at this level because preparations were being carried out as quietly as possible so as not to offend the nobles. In other districts, the influx of people and goods supplied from outside the capital had created an atmosphere as though the entire capital were about to burst.
Sian did not know it, but the other districts were currently swept up in a festive mood.
Commoners were setting aside their work and preparing to watch the festivities, hoping to catch even a distant glimpse of the returning heroes, while merchants were screaming with joy as they tried to supply the goods needed to match the festive atmosphere people wanted. Since this was a grand event held only once every five years, they had to fill their pockets handsomely while they could.
The commoners were in a festive mood, but here, on the El
-Lua streets, the noble houses and royal family were still keeping one another in check, nerves sharpened as they watched and spied on their opponents.
All of them knew it. The moment the Guard of the Great Northern Wall returned, change would begin. They did not know how that change would lead the capital, Roa
-Tian, and the Tian Kingdom, but one thing was certain: the moment one fell behind in this change, the loser would vanish into the back alleys of history. Both camps had endured as much as they could out of fear of the damage war would bring, but once a clash broke out, no one merciful enough to spare the survivors would remain.
But to Sian, such things were someone else’s business. Whether the guardians returned or war broke out, he simply had to focus on his own work.
Though he was the son of the Roman family, which guarded the royal household, the Roman family had always protected Tian and the capital from external enemies; it had never been swept up in internal political strife.
If the Roman family had taken one side and walked a perilous tightrope, then Sian would not even have been born here by now. Strangely, his elder brother was good at everything else, but weak to affection, so their father was always worried that he might be swept along by one side or the other.
This was the path by which the Roman family had survived until now, and it was the family’s second precept, passed down only to direct descendants. The first precept, as one might know, was to produce many descendants. Sian, too, was waiting for the chance to diligently uphold the first precept if the opportunity arose.
He had given up on tempering his martial strength, but it was not difficult to uphold the other two.
First, he would do his utmost in his duty: preventing disputes and maintaining public order here on the El
-Lua streets.
However, only from eight o’clock to six o’clock, his working hours. The rest would be handled by the shift workers.
Second, if anyone violated the rules, whether noble house or royal family, he would sanction them fairly. According to the manual.
Having established these principles in his mind, Sian read the manual whenever he had time and went around patrolling the streets. He had no talent whatsoever for rote memorization, but there was no urgency, so he simply thought of it as a hobby and read it at ease.
While Sian was busily roaming the El
-Lua streets like this, on a plain slightly away from the northern outskirts of the capital, preparations to welcome the Guard were in full swing.
☆ ☆ ☆
The northern outskirts of the capital, Bashar Plain.
Here, a massive transference formation had been installed.
-Shar
-Roa (RA
-SHAR
-ROA)>
Bearing the name “Path of Light,” said to be the road upon which the sun god once walked, this great transference formation had only one purpose.
A spatial passage connecting the great formations.
The Exile Grand Arcane Society had recreated, after decades of research, a great transference formation that had not been easy to use even in the ancient empire. Because an immense quantity of Talic Stones and all manner of rare materials were required for its installation, there were not even twenty across the entire continent.
But its effect alone was worthy of the title “great” transference.
Ra
-Shar
-Roa, which connected two points while ignoring a distance of thousands of kilometers, was something every nation was still struggling to install even one more of at this very moment. This was despite the fact that an enormous amount—three percent of the yearly Talic Stone supply—was invested in maintaining Ra
-Shar
-Roa.
Using this passage, which was also installed at the headquarters of the Great Northern Wall Guard, each nation moved the necessary talent to the Guard every five years and fairly distributed and supplied the goods and manpower the Guard required.
In the case of the Tian Kingdom, one was located near the capital of Tian, and another in royal territory near the Sellaine Count’s domain.
Today, the Guard would return through one of them: the Ra
-Shar
-Roa of Bashar Plain.
The First-Class and Second-Class arcanists of the Exile Grand Arcane Society gathered on the plain, under the gazes of the surrounding nobles and royal family, were continuously operating Exar with Talic Stones as they prepared to activate the great formation.
Guuuuuu… uuuuuuuuu…
Ra
-Shar
-Roa operated with a grand sound, and as Exar flowed, the various patterns engraved into the great formation shifted and emitted a dazzling radiance.
The arcanists focused even harder so as not to lose the flow of Exar, and the sound and light coming from the great formation grew louder and brighter. Then, at a certain moment, in the middle of the great formation, there came a clink! from the air, followed by the sound of something breaking, and a crack appeared in midair.
The sound grew louder and louder, and the crack born with it also widened more and more. At last, a large dark sphere with a radius of several meters appeared in the air, as though breaking out of a shell.
Despite being in a state of confrontation, the royal family and nobles carefully watched the black sphere, for it was a sight not easily seen.
And the moment the dark sphere was complete, all the surrounding light was sucked into it. Then the sphere suddenly brightened and burst forth with light, causing those who had been watching it to frown and shut their eyes.
When they opened the eyes they had closed, the great formation, Ra
-Shar
-Roa, was already in full operation. People realized that they were no longer looking at a dark sphere.
Within the hole in the air, they could see the scene of the Great Northern Wall Guard headquarters, located far away, thousands of kilometers distant. There, several fierce-looking but familiar faces were likewise looking back at them.
“Oh… finally… they are all returning after five years.”
Viscount Tallin murmured as he looked inside. Since he himself had selected and sent most of the talent who had gone there, the feeling could not help but be special.
From around Marquis Narasha, where countless talents overflowed, Viscount Tallin had chosen thirteen people who would not betray them, who possessed high growth potential and minds like steel, and had sent them in. Even among so many talents, only thirteen had been suitable.
The royal family probably thought that because they had taken eleven spots, they had achieved a balanced negotiation result, but that was not the case at all. They had merely needed only thirteen spots. And in exchange for giving them eleven spots, they had obtained profits from various mines, so it had been a profitable deal.
But even though he had selected them so carefully and sent them off, only six from the royal family and eight from their side had returned alive. Viscount Tallin wore a bitter expression, wondering whether he had perhaps caused talents that had yet to bloom to wither, thereby weakening their fighting strength.
But that was only the thought of Viscount Tallin, who was not a military man.
The other martial commanders, despite the Guard not even having crossed over yet, felt their fighting spirit boiling up from below at the intense, beastlike scent of Vander blooming from them all the way over here, and struggled to calm and settle that feeling.
The newly selected members of the Guard standing beside them now had also been carefully chosen pillars from each camp, yet there was no comparison. People could not be compared by numbers, but if the talents beside them could return after developing like that in just five years, then even if not five out of ten, but only two survived and came back, it would still be a profitable trade.
And if one considered the Talic Stones they would bring back with them… even sending ten and having only one return would be profitable. Only then did the martial commanders seeing the Guard for the first time understand why each nation was so obsessed with maintaining balance in the numbers of the Guard.
While the people of each camp busily moved about, watching the generational change of the Guard taking place through the great formation, there were only two people who remained unshaken by the situation and held the center.
Tian’s Guardian Marquis against Karan, Marquis Narasha.
The greatest swordsman of the Tian Kingdom, Sword Duke Kirain.
Excluding Count Roman, who guarded the royal palace while professing neutrality, the giants representing the two camps of the Tian Kingdom watched the members of the Guard returning this time to join their respective factions, each with many complicated thoughts.
At last, once the transfer between the old Guard and the new Guard was complete, Ra
-Shar
-Roa ceased operation. The sight of the Great Northern Wall visible on the other side instantly changed back into a dark sphere, and then the dark fissure began to close as though an eggshell were reattaching itself to the egg. Soon, only the desolate view of Bashar Plain remained.
Now, all that remained on Bashar Plain were the opposing factions.
The first to speak was Marquis Narasha.
“Duke Kirain, it seems it is about time we entered the capital. We should return to Tian, which will be waiting for us.”
After directing words carrying a subtle meaning at Sword Duke Kirain, the marquis waited for his reply. Sword Duke Kirain gazed steadily at Marquis Narasha, then gave a brief answer before shouting toward the royal faction behind him.
“We should. To Tian, which awaits us. Now! Everyone, we return! The city must be waiting only for the festival celebrating the Guard’s return to begin.”
With a strange tension left hanging on both sides, each faction turned and began heading back toward the capital. Though today was a festival, all of them were thinking only one thing in their hearts.
☆ ☆ ☆
A royal party celebrating the Guard’s return ceremony was held.
Held in the beautiful grand garden and outer palace of Tobe
-Tian, this party, attended by famous figures from every field and all the great nobles, was splendid, but a strange tension hung in the air.
Sian stood in a corner of the party, picking at fruit and glancing around. It was his first time attending such a gathering, and he had yet to adjust. Even so, even he could tell that the current atmosphere was far from warm and friendly. ‘What kind of party is this murderous… Are all noble-house parties like this?’
Of course, that could not be true. To begin with, people often made excuses not to attend parties hosted by hostile factions, so most gatherings were among those on friendly terms, and in such cases, parties proceeded in a convivial atmosphere.
But the return ceremony of the Guardian Corps could not be like that. Right now, inside the party hall, factions of the noble houses and the royal family were mixed together, and a strange tension hung in the air. For Sian, who had been hoping for a fateful encounter with the daughters of noble families, it was enough to make him wonder if noble-house parties were originally like battlefields. ‘And those guys in the middle—why are they leaking their energy all over the place like that… So pointlessly…….’
This tension was not simply due to friction between the two camps. The stars of this party—the returned guardians. They stood at the center of the party hall, and to be precise, the aura they were scattering in every direction was heightening the tension.
The weak-hearted nobles from civil official backgrounds had long since moved away from the center and gone to the party being held in the outer garden, while those who, despite being civil officials, absolutely had to remain here (representative examples being Viscount Tallin over there and Count Kerbel, who was sweating profusely with a pale face)
remained here in the Outer Palace, their faces drawn.
Lady Charlotte, unable to leave because her father was here, stood at the outskirts of the Outer Palace where the influence was somewhat weaker, looking at him with pity.
Perhaps because Lady Charlotte was shy, she strangely did not speak much in front of him, but under her father’s strict orders, she was standing beside him and explaining the social world to him.
At that moment, Sian sensed someone approaching and looked in that direction. Judging by the sound of a dress dragging, it had to be a woman! With his animal-like hearing, Sian caught the sound and looked over with a pounding heart, but soon disappointment spread across his face.
“We meet again, Lady Celine de Kirain.”
“Why don’t you wipe that disappointed look off your face? I came to see Charlotte, not you.”
Having said that, Celine immediately looked at Charlotte, smiled brightly, and hugged her tightly. Charlotte, too, looked utterly delighted to see Celine.
“Charlotte! Hello! It’s been so long. I’m sorry I couldn’t come that day. I even bought you a gift.”
“It’s all right, Sister! But I was sad that you couldn’t come that day. I really wanted to see you. I heard something happened?”
“…
That’s right. Some wonderful person forcibly hauled me away…….”
Saying that, Celine ground her teeth and looked at Sian, who was feigning ignorance beside her.
After being hauled away that day, she was only released after Commander Rian vouched for her identity, and she was immediately dragged off to the Kirain ducal house. More precisely, to her grandfather.
After receiving a tremendous scolding from her grandfather, she desperately hoped it would end at that, but life was not so easy.
Aside from her regular days off, she had used up all ten days of vacation she could take in a year and had been dragged to her grandfather’s private training ground. She had been confined there ever since, undergoing special training with her grandfather, and had only been released today, on the day of the Guardian Corps’ return ceremony.
Crunch.
Thinking of that, Celine recalled the living hell she had endured inside and ground her teeth once more. She knew it was not the fault of this fellow beside her, Sian, but she could not help finding him hateful.
Only after hearing it from Third Commander Rian had she learned that this guy was the second son of the Roman count family. In that case, it made some sense that he had lightly evaded her fist. There was no way someone from the Roman count family would be weak. That fraudulent bloodline was already famous among martial families. ‘But no matter how I look at him… he doesn’t seem strong…….’
Having thought that far, Celine decided to stop thinking about this guy and focus on Charlotte in front of her.
“Sister, maybe it’s because the atmosphere is so heavy, but this is really exhausting. I’ve never experienced a party atmosphere like this before. Something feels sticky…….”
“Ah, right. Charlotte, you’re not a warrior, so it must be hard on you. Give me your hand.”
Taking Charlotte’s hand, Celine operated her Vander and sent it flowing into Charlotte. Then a blue mist rose from Charlotte’s hand and wrapped once around her. Charlotte, who had been frowning, looked at her suddenly lightened body in wonder and asked Celine,
“Ah! Sister, my body feels incredibly light. What happened?”
“The guys in the middle over there are competitively releasing their aura, so the atmosphere in the Outer Palace is this heavy right now. The aura of warriors has a great effect on ordinary people who don’t possess Vander… especially when the energy is that violent.”
Muttering something about ignorant fools, Celine also found herself wondering what sort of world they had lived in to come to possess such an aura. She had heard that the Great Northern Wall was a dangerous place, but to think it was to this extent…….
Most of the people in the middle were around her age. Talents between thirty and forty. Considering Vander’s nature of growing stronger with age, they were at an age that made it ambiguous to call them core forces.
Five years ago, that is.
They had returned as completely different people after five years. Before going there, they had been at the Expert level, similar to her or even below her… but now she could tell at a glance. ‘They’re all Master-class, and at a fairly high level at that…….’
They were not people who had just entered the Master realm. They were seasoned combat warriors who had weathered all manner of hardships and engraved the realm called Master fully into their bodies.
As things stood now, she would be hard-pressed to face even one of them. Only someone on Commander Rian’s level seemed capable of matching them head-on. To think that she, the vice-commander of the Third Royal Guard Knights, one of the three great armed organizations, was at this level. Celine recalled the voice of her grandfather, the Sword Duke of Kirain, who had berated her. ‘The capital will now become a battlefield. If you keep causing trouble with such half-baked skills and end up clashing with those Guardian Corps fellows, I do not know whether your limbs will remain intact. We only have ten days, but I will reform your mind.’
Remembering that time, Celine trembled. Back then, she had wondered how strong they could be, no matter how strong they had become… but now that she had seen them, she understood.
They had fought monsters in a place where monsters lived, lived alongside monsters, and become monsters of the same kind.
Thinking that she would have to fight alongside them, Celine steeled herself once more.
☆ ☆ ☆
Because Charlotte and Celine had joined forces and begun talking beside him, Sian, left floating as if stranded on an island in the middle of the sea, suddenly grew bored. ‘Ah, come to think of it, my brother should be here too. I should at least see his face for the first time in a while.’
Ever since his brother, Rian, had left the mansion saying he wanted to work for the country, Sian had hardly had any chance to see him. Even when Rian had lived in the mansion, he had practically lived inside the training hall, so Sian had not seen his face much except during mealtimes; once he left home, it became even harder.
Since he was a commander of the Royal Guard Knights, he should not be hard to find here.
Having thought that far, Sian looked around with his eyes, but there were too many people, making it difficult to confirm visually. Realizing that his brother was likely in the garden rather than the Outer Palace, Sian felt that if not now, it would be hard to see his face again, so he briefly closed his eyes and focused.
Paang!
After a brief sound rang from within Sian’s body, a strange ripple stretched outward. It was faint, so faint that ordinary people could never sense it, and in less than a second, it instantly spread past the Outer Palace and continued extending outward.
Soon, Sian could sense two familiar energies unique to the Roman family. One was here, in the direction of the Outer Palace, and the other was at his family home, the Roman estate.
There was no way his father would have come to a party at this hour, so the energy in the Outer Palace must be his brother. His father greatly disliked political gatherings like this and rarely attended them if he could avoid it (and besides, the presence was too weak to be his father’s).
He had expected his brother to be in the garden when he searched, but unexpectedly, his brother was in the very center of the party hall. It was simply that the place was packed with people, so he had not been visible.
Sian wondered whether he really had to go all the way into that chaos (that was how it looked to Sian) to meet his brother. Deciding he would go see him once the conversation ended, he moved to a corner of the party hall in search of a quiet place. But an unexpected person came to him.
☆ ☆ ☆
‘Hm?’
Marquis Narasha, who had been speaking with the returned children of the Guardian Corps before him, suddenly felt a faint ripple against his skin and flinched, glancing around.
“Is something the matter, my lord marquis?”
Jacques, the eldest son of the Kual viscount family and one of the returned members of the Guardian Corps, who had been conversing with Marquis Narasha, looked puzzled, not knowing why the marquis had reacted that way. ‘Was it just my imagination…….’
Because the ripple was far too faint, Marquis Narasha sensed no particular abnormal signs around him and decided it must have been his imagination, then returned to the conversation.
“No. Let us continue. How does it feel to return after being stationed at the Great Northern Wall?”
“Ha ha… It still does not quite feel real. This warm air and peaceful atmosphere… I suppose I must hurry and adjust.”
“Yes. Many things have changed in the meantime, but you must adjust quickly. Even more will change from now on.”
“Yes, my lord marquis. Please guide me well from now on.”
After finishing the brief conversation, the marquis left to speak with the high-ranking nobles. In any case, this was not the place for detailed discussions. The true conversation would take place after moving to the Inner Palace from now on.
Left alone, Jacques leisurely looked around before seeking out someone else. It was to grasp the surrounding atmosphere. On the royal family’s side as well, high-ranking nobles had gathered around returnees like themselves and were deep in conversation.
But the returnees were not his interest. He had seen enough of them at the Northern Wall, and he would see them endlessly in the clashes to come as well.
The high-ranking civil officials were not his interest either. He was not particularly well-versed in politics. Before leaving, he had kept his senses somewhat sharpened, but after going to the Guardian Corps, his political instincts had dulled even further, and after returning five years later, what little network he had possessed was almost gone.
But he did not care much. There were nobles separately in charge of politics and socializing. They could do their work, and he could do his. Political strife was not his field of expertise.
What he was curious about were the warriors on the royal family’s side who had held their positions while they were away in the Guardian Corps. They were the ones who would become their new opponents. Among them, the one he was most curious about was undoubtedly the eldest son of the Roman family.
Even if one belonged to the Guardian Corps, news from the outside was not completely cut off. Though not entirely free, news of the capital’s political situation and famous figures could be heard constantly even in the Guardian Corps.
Among them, the name heard most often was Rian von Roman, the eldest son of the Roman count family.
The young lion of the Roman family,
a Vander score reaching 60,
the youngest Master,
the youngest promoted to top executive of Garan-Tia,
the youngest to enter the Royal Guard Knights,
the youngest commander of the Royal Guard Knights.
A hero who had appeared like a comet, single-handedly breaking all the records evenly set by the Sword Duke of Kirain, Marquis Narasha, and Count Roman. From what he had heard, the man was only twenty-four. Considering that Jacques himself was forty-one, he was truly still wet behind the ears, yet when one looked at the records written beside his name, they were so incredible as to be hard to believe.
Because of that, every time he heard news from the Guardian Corps, Jacques had ground his teeth over Rian von Roman, whose face he had not even seen.
Born into a martial family, Jacques had trained until his bones felt ground down and his flesh torn, yet he had been blocked by the wall called Master and wandered for nearly ten years.
To overcome that wall, he had deliberately volunteered for the Guardian Corps heading to the Great Northern Wall. In the hope that if he returned alive, he could become a Master. After crossing to the Great Northern Wall and surviving dozens of brushes with death, the realm he had only barely reached the year before last was Master.
And yet this fellow named Rian, while living comfortably in the capital with a warm back and full belly, training at leisure, had reached Master by borrowing the strength of his innate talent for Vander and the Roman family’s secret Vander-Roa,
Because of that, he thought that if he could only return to the capital, he would grind every bone in this young brat’s body to pieces. He did not know for certain, but some of his comrades must have thought the same.
The deranged bitch Miran was the exception. That woman had heard that Young Lord Rian was a strikingly handsome man, and was vowing that once they returned to the capital, she would seduce him no matter what.
She was a cradle robber if there ever was one. Even if she maintained her youthful looks through the power of Vander, how could a thirty-nine-year-old think of seducing a twenty-four-year-old!
After looking around here and there, Jacques finally spotted someone in the corner who looked exactly like Count Roman, and he smiled. He had no intention of causing trouble here, but this was the man who would be crippled by his hand, so shouldn’t he at least greet him in advance?
If he had been among the royal families, it would have been awkward, but seeing him positioned in a corner of the party hall, Jacques thought the heavens were helping him and slowly walked in that direction.
☆ ☆ ☆
Seeing the man approaching him, Sian thought that his luck today was truly terrible.
When one went into high society, wasn’t one supposed to meet pretty daughters of noble houses, pretty noblewomen, pretty female knights… pretty female mages… pretty priestesses… people like that? He was sure that was how it was supposed to be.
In fact, when he occasionally heard stories from his older brother, his brother had said that he could not go to parties because he felt burdened by all the women who approached him. Sian had yet to realize the truth of the world: that some things only happened to the men destined for them.
And yet, the only person who had gotten tangled up with him at this party today was one hot-blooded female knight whose nickname was Tank—how did a woman end up with the nickname Tank… just hearing it told you how she must have acted on a daily basis—and the person who was about to get tangled up with him was, at a glance, one stinking man radiating an aura that said he had come to pick a fight.
Sian let out one deep sigh after another, fervently hoping that this man called a returnee was not coming toward him, but unfortunately, it seemed the God of War had abandoned Sian today.
The man, who had already come right up in front of him, introduced himself without preamble.
“Greetings, famous one. I am Jacques of House Kual, recently returned. I have heard much of House Roman’s fame. It is a pleasure.”
The moment Sian heard his greeting, he understood what had happened.
There was no way he, who had been stuck on the outskirts of the capital until now and had been in the capital for less than a month, could be a famous person. This fellow named Jacques before him had mistaken him for his older brother, Rian.
Count Roman’s appearance was famous enough that someone seeing Sian, who looked just like him, for the first time could mistake him for Young Lord Rian. His older brother, on the other hand, actually took after their mother and was a handsome man with fine features.
Having thought that far, Sian realized he had two options.
1. Let the misunderstanding continue and talk to him.
2. Clear up the misunderstanding and push this man named Jacques onto his older brother Rian.
Normally, this would not even be a question worth pondering. Of course it would be 2.
He hated troublesome things, and if he sent the man to his brother, his brother would handle him on his own.
The problem was that this man was openly radiating hostility. Judging by his eyes, his body was itching to cause trouble.
And unfortunately, this man was stronger than his older brother.
He could not know for certain, but if he pushed this troublesome nuisance onto his brother and the man went and picked a fight with him, it seemed likely that his brother would be put in a very difficult situation. And at a glance, this man clearly wanted to work hard to create that difficult situation.
In that case, as a younger brother who loved his older brother, he decided to try to settle things at his own level. Fortunately, this man had not directly asked whether he was Rian, so even if it was later exposed that he was the second son, if he muddled through it, it did not seem like it would become a problem.
Deciding that it would be best if no quarrel started, and that if one did, he would beat him up in moderation, Sian opened his mouth.
“Ah… greetings, Sir Jacques. Congratulations on returning from the Great Northern Wall.”
“Well now, it is good to see a junior. News about you reached even beyond the Great Northern Wall, so I was curious and came to find you.
So, how is life guarding the comfortable capital? I expected you to be quite stout from living warm-backed and full-bellied, but I see that is not the case! You look so scrawny that someone might take you for a civil official!”
Each and every word had been carefully chosen to pick a fight, enough that anyone with a bad temper would have had their expression twist at once, but from Sian’s perspective, it was all true, so he decided to agree with him.
After all, it was true that he was guarding the warm, filling, comfortable capital. And it was also a situation he was extremely satisfied with.
“Yes. Life in the capital is so comfortable that I am very much at ease.
Sir Jacques, at a glance, you seem to have lived quite a harsh life. Looking at your face, that life is written all over it.
I think you should also enjoy a more comfortable life like me from now on, Sir Jacques.”
Hearing Sian’s reply, Jacques felt that his judgment had been absolutely correct. He had gone around beyond the Great Northern Wall singing that this fellow named Rian would definitely be an obnoxious bastard, and now even Miran would not be able to refute him.
An aged face was one of Sir Jacques’s complexes. So much so that even his closest comrades, who had defended the Great Northern Wall with him, never called him old-looking.
Practitioners of Vander, which vitalized the body, often looked younger than their age. In fact, the returnees this time ranged from their mid-to-late thirties to their mid-to-late forties, but all of them looked as if they were in their twenties. All except Sir Jacques before him.
Sir Jacques had looked old ever since he was young, so from his youth, whenever he appeared in high society, the daughters of noble houses would subtly avoid him and slip away into corners.
Feeling a vein bulge on his forehead at the reply that had precisely touched on his complex, Sir Jacques could not yet cause trouble openly, so he forced himself to smile and answered.
“Ha… hahahaha! I am grateful that you think so much of my body. It would have been nice if I had met you at the Great Northern Wall.”
He swallowed the words, “If that had happened, I would have bent those flimsy arms and legs backward,” and smiled as he extended his hand for a handshake.
Seeing that handshake brimming with malice, Sian felt it was about time to wrap things up.
He had intended to toss out a remark and, if the man exploded, deal with him himself, but it did not seem likely that he would take the bait. Of course, the comment about his old-looking face had not been made up to provoke him; Sian had merely said what he saw.
He had no hobby of conversing at length with a man who wanted to break his bones, and if things dragged on and it was discovered that he was not the eldest young lord but the second young lord, matters would become complicated.
Before the man went to his older brother and caused trouble, Sian decided he should let this man—who must surely be tired after attending a party immediately upon returning—have a good rest, and he clasped his hand.
“Yes. It is a pleasure, Sir Jacques.”
The moment they clasped hands, Sir Jacques thought, Perfect, and squeezed hard enough to crush the man’s grip. At the same time, he operated House Kual’s unique Vander-Roa, “Red Chariot,” and fiercely poured Vander into the man’s hand.
Even when he had beaten down the green-scaled Kuratan with his beloved Dun-Kel Hammer in the past, he did not think he had used this much strength. Perhaps because his emotions were involved, it felt as if even greater power was going into it.
In any case, they said his opponent was also a Master, so he would withstand this much. Though he might lose a finger or two.
Ah… Were all those methods from the books Mother read to me not made-up stories? Well, this is something…
At his opponent’s terribly clichéd response, Sian let out a soft sigh. And seeing the other man’s expression, which said he intended to squeeze his hand tightly and take off a finger or two, Sian decided to do as the man wished.
Crunch.
Guaaaak!
Sir Jacques screamed inwardly as his opponent’s hand suddenly began squeezing his own with ferocious force. How could a slender-looking guy like this… The sensation coming from that grip was like the time, long ago, when he had fought Harijan and nearly had his arm twisted off in the man’s grasp.
And that was not all. The Vander he had poured in was being repelled with even greater force, fiercely invading back inside him. The violent flow of Vander struck through the inside of his body, making it feel as if his organs were being smashed to pieces.
Even as he felt the bones of his fingers being crushed, his opponent showed no sign of stopping, and Sir Jacques could no longer endure it. He prepared to swing his left fist at the man. He knew he should not cause trouble, but at this rate, he truly felt he would never be able to use his right hand again.
At that moment, his opponent released the hand holding him. The energy churning inside him also vanished in an instant, as if it had never existed.
“Urgh!”
At that moment, Sir Jacques let out a short, strangled cry, lost strength throughout his entire body, and collapsed onto the floor.
“Oh dear… Sir Jacques, what is the matter? It seems you were quite tired.
As expected, attending a party immediately after returning from the Guardian Corps was a bit too much. I think it would be best for you to go home and rest.”
Then Sian, sensing that his brother’s conversation had just ended, left Sir Jacques behind staring at him blankly and moved his steps to go meet his brother.
☆ ☆ ☆
Seeing his older brother for the first time in a while, Sian greeted him happily.
“Brother! It’s been a while. Haha!”
“Yes, Sian. It has been a while for you as well. I heard that you entered Garan-Tia this time. I’m proud of you. Yes, it makes no sense for a talent like you to be idling at home.”
His older brother, Rian, had been in the middle of conversing with the people around him, but though they had not seen each other in a while, he welcomed Sian warmly as usual.
“By the way, the noble faction has suddenly become noisy.”
Seeing people gathered and murmuring in a corner of the party hall—more precisely, where Sian had been standing until just a moment ago—Rian drew up his Vander, caught a bit of the conversation happening there, and answered.
“Ah, Brother… you don’t need to worry about it. If it’s someone like Sir Jacques, he’ll recover if left alone…”
Hearing that, Rian made a strange expression.
His younger brother had no interest whatsoever in politics or things of that sort. He had no interest in the Guardian Corps either. In other words, there was no way his younger brother would know Sir Jacques, the eldest son of House Kual who had returned this time. And yet, the fact that he knew the problem over there was precisely Sir Jacques’s problem meant…
“Sian, you didn’t make too big a scene, did you?”
Rian said with a sigh. He did not know the details, but the person lying collapsed over there was probably Sir Jacques, and the culprit was most likely his younger brother, who was smiling in front of him.
“It was nothing. Just a small little happening…? They won’t be able to say anything about it either.”
“Yes, knowing your personality, I’m sure you handled it properly…”
Rian, who understood his younger brother better than anyone, even better than their father Count Roman or Sian himself, knew very well that Sian hated troublesome things, so though he was worried, he decided to trust that Sian had handled it in a way that would not let it grow into a major issue.
Brother, you really should give me a present later. Seriously.
Since he had not done it expecting anything in return, Sian swallowed those words.
After that, they continued making small talk about what he was doing now, their parents, and other matters around them. There were gazes watching the two brothers from nearby.
Although the important conversation had ended and things had become a little quieter, there were still many people positioned around Knight Commander Rian. And they focused their attention on the person who had suddenly appeared and called Knight Commander Rian “Brother.”
The second young lord of House Roman, whom they had only heard of through rumors. They had heard his Vander score was 57. Even if he was not quite at his older brother’s level, he was presumed to possess talent comparable to his brother’s, so it was only natural that attention would gather on him.
And one of them approached.
“Oh, you must be the second young lord of House Roman, whom I have heard of only through rumors. It is a pleasure to meet you. If it would not be rude, might I ask for an introduction, Sir Rian?”
The man who stepped forward looked at Rian politely as he asked.
“Yes. Everyone, this is my younger brother, Sian von Roman. Starting this year, at seventeen, he entered Garan-Tia and has been serving there. Sian, this is Sir Ron. He is the third son of Viscount Karan’s house, and he has returned from the Guardian Corps this time.”
“Oh! So Young Lord Sian is also starting from Garan-Tia. Sir Rian, you must be nervous. Your record for being the youngest might be broken, after all. Haha!”
“Not at all. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Ron.”
Pung-gi had wondered if it might be them upon seeing the energy, but the people conversing nearby were indeed returnees from the royal faction's guardian corps. While House Roman had historically maintained neutrality, his older brother, whose loyalty to the country and royal family bordered on excessive, had already grown quite close to the royal faction's personnel.
Soon after, Sian, who had begun exchanging greetings with the surrounding royal faction guardian corps, felt as though he were sitting on a bed of thorns. ‘This isn’t right…’ Being swept to one side was not the situation he wished for. If he exchanged greetings and was introduced like this, his plan to maintain strict neutrality would collapse. Since he had already established a foundation with one noble faction guardian corps, that possibility only grew larger.
Sian, who had intended to offer a simple greeting, see his brother, and leave, felt the situation gradually growing strange. To make matters worse, he sensed a group from the noble faction surging toward them en masse. ‘Ah… damn… Did that uncle send them word this pettily?’ Reading the momentum of the approaching crowd… without a doubt. They were the noble faction guardian corps. Having sorted out Count Jyakeu’s situation to some extent and heard the story, they had to be coming this way.
“Young Master Lian! Where are you? Is it acceptable to greet our side like this and then hide quietly over there?”
At these words, Lian stepped forward in bewilderment. He had been conversing in the center from the start and had no connection whatsoever to the noble faction’s personnel.
“What is the matter? I am Lian von Roman.”
“I am Lenon, the eldest son of Count Narasya’s house. As a captain of the royal guard knights, does that mean one may crush a man’s hand?”
“What are you talking about? I have been here the entire time….”
“Hmph! Are you denying it? Count Jyakeu said that a scion of House Roman broke his fingers. I was unaware that the royal guard knights, who profess neutrality, would treat our guardian corps so poorly. We went to the Great Northern Wall risking our lives to protect the continent, after all.”
“…!”
Only then did Lian roughly guess the situation. Thinking of Sian behind him, he let out a sigh. ‘Little brother… breaking fingers. That is not something that can be settled nicely, is it.’ Sian, standing behind, thought he must correct the misunderstanding before it grew, and stepped forward before his brother could stop him.
“Greetings. I am Sian von Roman of House Roman. That matter occurred with me, not my brother, so please speak with me about it.”
At that, Young Master Lenon turned his head and looked at Sian beside him.
The second young master of House Roman. He had only heard rumors; this was his first time seeing him. That he was a person of House Roman was obvious at a glance. Because he looked exactly like Count Roman.
But Lenon also knew the second young master’s age. Seventeen. Even if he had trained in martial arts from the womb, it was an impossible age to do anything to Count Jyakeu. Even that famous Solar Sword had ascended to Master only after surpassing the age of twenty.
Having thought this far, Lenon snorted. He believed that Young Master Lian was trying to evade the situation by colluding with his younger brother.
“Sir Lian, I am disappointed. Hiding behind your younger brother. I heard the second young master is seventeen. So does that mean Count Jyakeu, the reverse-scale hero of the guardian corps, had his hand crushed by a second young master who trained from the womb? Do you think that makes sense?”
The surrounding people also murmured upon hearing those words. If it were Sir Lian, who had already ascended to Master, it might be possible, but it was impossible for the second young master, who was only seventeen.
“No, why would I do such a thing? If you ask Count Jyakeu, it will be revealed immediately.
And grip strength is not martial force, is it? I merely shook hands with Count Jyakeu, but his grip was softer than expected, so please do not get so worked up.”
Sian had spoken exactly as it was, truthfully (though he had also been somewhat emotionally hurt after seeing his brother mocked), but it seemed not to be so for Young Master Lenon.
From the start, regardless of the truth, they had come to pressure Young Master Lian using this opportunity.
But if it turned out like this, it was awkward to press further. If so, their target, Young Master Lian, would slip away completely, and Count Jyakeu would end up looking like he had been smashed by a seventeen-year-old whose bones had yet to harden. Furthermore, rumors would spread that they had persecuted a seventeen-year-old boy.
‘Was Young Master Lian this clever…?’ Thinking so, Lenon raised his guard against Lian by one level. He had thought him merely someone with high martial force… but to think he even possessed the cold-heartedness to drag his younger brother into danger if need be.
“Grgh! Fine. It seems some misunderstanding occurred… I apologize. And making a big deal over shaking hands with a young friend is not right either. I shall let this matter pass. And Second Young Master Sian… I look forward to meeting you again.”
Grinding his teeth, Lenon stepped back, and the royal faction figures standing behind him also relaxed their tension in preparation for any unforeseen incident. ‘This is bad…’ He hadn’t known a person over forty would grind his teeth so pettily.
Realizing that his peaceful life had half crossed the river due to an incident bigger than expected, Sian furrowed his brow.