The mansion of the Viscount Kirion family was located in District 11 of El-Lua Street.
Based in the capital, Loa-Tian, the Viscount Kirion family had amassed wealth by trading grain and iron ore with the Kingdom of Karan, the Kingdom of Tian, and the Kingdom of Kon. Though their title was relatively low, they had used that immense wealth to establish themselves as one of the important royalist families.
There was a saying passed down through the Viscount Kirion family, which had been a merchant family for generations.
Establishing a trustworthy armed force within the family had long been the cherished wish of the Viscount Kirion family.
But not everyone was born with talent like the Roman Count family. Each time a child was born, the viscount family held a blessing ceremony, proving that their influence remained intact, while at the same time hoping that the ceremony would reveal a child of great talent.
Then, a talent was born who would fulfill Viscount Kirion’s long-cherished wish.
Illon did not betray Viscount Kirion’s expectations and investment. She broke through the wall of Expert, climbed steadily upward, and reached the wall of Master. At the young age of only thirty, she found herself looking upon the end of Expert, but Illon, who was extremely ambitious, could not be satisfied there.
Having never known failure, she boldly volunteered for the Guardian Corps in order to lift her family one step higher. If she returned alive, then with the wealth gained through Talic Stones and her own military might, the Viscount Kirion family would be able to look beyond.
And now, five years later, Illon had returned. As a Master, with her hands full of Talic Stones.
The Viscount Kirion family was in a state of great excitement. They were filled with confidence that they had accumulated the power to take one step forward, and with tension as they prepared for the storm soon to come.
And Illon, the very eye of that storm, was currently in the mansion, looking out at the street beyond the window with an amused expression. ‘That person is at it again over there.’ Illon looked at a Garan-Tia wandering around outside on El-Lua Street. There was quite a distance between them, but for the eyesight of a Master, that much distance was no obstacle at all.
Sian von Roman. The second young master of the famous Roman family. A man who had been guaranteed from birth the military power they had dreamed of possessing.
The commotion at the party had been rather interesting. To think he had crushed the hand of that detestable Jacques. Lennon, on the other side, believed that Rian had caused the disturbance, and the others believed the Narasha Marquis family had pulled some trick to pick a fight, but she had seen it clearly. Jacques rolling on the floor after shaking hands with Second Young Master Sian in the corner.
Jacques was an unpleasant fellow, and the weakest among the fourteen of them, but he was still a Master.
Masters wrapped their bodies in an amount of Vander that ordinary people could not even imagine and smashed their enemies apart. She did not know what method had been used, but to crush the hand of Jacques, who used a hammer and had tempered his grip strength—there was no way he could be an ordinary person. To begin with, it would be even more laughable if the second young master of the Roman family were ordinary.
She was probably not the only one who had seen it. Though it had been in a corner of the party hall, it was not a place completely out of sight. But speaking up about it on the spot would bring no particular benefit, and since there was no clear information yet, everyone must have kept their mouths shut while thinking about how to make use of it.
They would all have returned to their own families and be conducting further investigations. In fact, she had done the same.
Slurp.
Drinking the tea placed beside her, Illon looked over several reports that had been investigated and submitted to her.
Carrying out a full-scale background investigation into the Roman Count family was burdensome, so she had gathered information without pushing too far. The information submitted had been filtered from what was circulating in society, but even so, there was far too little. Roughly summarized, it seemed to amount to this.
-Second son of the Roman Count family. Currently 17 years old.
-Vander value at the time of the blessing ceremony: 57. (Additional note: as the Great Formation did not operate, Count Cain von Roman personally announced the value.)
-Strangely lacking talent in various fields. According to statements collected from teachers who had visited the Roman Count family, he showed extremely meager progress in a wide range of humanities and liberal arts, including musical instruments, horseback riding, reading, history, geography, astronomy, political science, and theories of war.
-Currently residing with the Kerbel Count family.
-Currently serving in the Garan-Tia. (Additional note: during the training period, he had a work-related clash with Lady Selene de Kirain.)
-Currently assigned to Districts 3 through 14 of El-Lua Street. (Additional note: Count Kerbel exerted influence from behind the scenes.)
-Evaluations from his colleagues in the Garan-Tia are extremely low.
-No confirmed military power.
“Hahahaha!”
As she looked at the report, Illon grew inexplicably cheerful and laughed loudly.
Once organized like this, several parts were suspicious. He had clashed with the Blue Chariot, notorious for her violence, and emerged unscathed, and had even screwed over Jacques...
Most suspicious of all was his patrol area. Districts 3 through 14 were streets densely populated by royalists and high-ranking nobles. Could Count Kerbel have been unaware that this street would soon become a battlefield? Would Count Kerbel, who was close to Count Roman, have unknowingly placed his friend’s second son here?
She had a powerful feeling that there was something there. And though it was only a feeling, she thought uncovering it would be of great help.
But there was far too little material. If he were a high-ranking officer in the military or serving in the Royal Guard Knights, she could at least judge based on the Vander values that had to be measured regularly... but they did not administer such an expensive Vander value test to mere Garan-Tia.
At times like this, there was only one method left. ‘I’ll have to move with my own body.’ Looking at it, nothing seemed likely to come out through this method. In the end, core information between armed people could only be obtained by clashing bodies. No matter how long one scribbled on paper, it was dead information.
Having thought that, Illon began forming her plans for the future. In any case, the work of the merchant group was handled by her family, not by her. Then it was only right that she prepare for the fight to come. For that time, she had to gather as much information as possible.
☆ ☆ ☆
‘Good grief... they should stop watching me already... Was that house in District 11 I just passed the Viscount Kirion family’s...?’
Feeling the gaze that had been watching him until a moment ago disappear, Sian thought to himself.
The Viscount Kirion family was a royalist house that had produced one of the returnees from this Guardian Corps. The one watching him was probably one of them. ‘Was her name Illon...? This is why I shouldn’t cause trouble...’
Ever since that day, whenever he passed through El-Lua Street, he could feel gazes watching him all at once. They probably thought they were unseen, but when they watched him with Vander overflowing from their eyes like that, he could not remain unaware even if he wanted to. Most of them were returnees from the Guardian Corps he had seen that day, or high-ranking armed personnel.
He might not know if they were ordinary people, but the distinctive aura of Vanders was difficult to forget even if one wanted to. In particular, the auras of those at the level of Master gave off their unique wavelengths exactly as they were when operated, so if one had seen them even once, and if they were within the capital, he could feel their manifestation as it was. When they observed him so openly from right in front of him like this, there was no way he could not know.
But they probably did not know that he knew. Among all the people he had met, the only person capable of such a thing was himself.
In truth, he too had only become capable of this five years ago. When the world opened, and he began perceiving the world not with his eyes and ears, but with something else...
The gazes watching him felt unpleasant, but since they were not causing him harm and reacting to them would be awkward, he decided to endure it for the time being. Once he left work, that would be the end of it. Surely they would not follow him all the way to Count Kerbel’s mansion.
Having thought that far, Sian realized that quitting time was soon approaching and leisurely moved his feet toward District 14. Since the shift change took place in District 14, he had to be waiting there in advance if he wanted to go home early today as well.
Sian reflected on how complacent his thinking had been. To think she would actually follow him home!
Looking at Illon de Kirion in front of him, Sian realized he had underestimated this woman.
“Hello, Young Master Sian. Nice to meet you. We’ve met before, haven’t we? I am Illon of the Viscount Kirion family. Since we’ll be seeing each other often, I thought we might as well become friendly whenever the chance arises, so I came to visit.”
He did not know what method she had used, but she had appeared squarely before his eyes while he was lying in the garden. Recalling once again the way this woman had swept her gaze up and down over him earlier, Sian wore a troubled expression.
“Ah... nice to meet you. But what do you mean by saying we’ll be seeing each other often...?”
“You’re in charge of the security on the street in front of our home, aren’t you? As a frail woman, I feel truly reassured knowing that someone like Young Master Sian is protecting me.”
If her fellow former Guardian Corps members heard that, they would click their tongues. A frail woman? From the perspective of those who had seen Illon cut Harijans to pieces and kill them at the Great Northern Wall, it was something they could never agree with.
And Sian likewise could not agree. If this was an environment where a woman like her could fall into danger while walking the streets, then someone like Lady Charlotte ought to enter an air-raid shelter and never come out for the rest of her life. Lady Selene might be another matter.
“Ah... I’m glad to be of help.”
But he could not openly laugh at her, so he quietly nodded and agreed.
And in truth, if one excluded the ferocious presence coming from within her, Lady Illon before him was a fine beauty, so honestly, his eyes felt blessed. Despite being thirty-five, more than twice his age, her youthful face looked only about twenty, and the firm muscles covering her whole body, contrary to her innocent-looking eyes, gave off a strange charm not like a daughter of a noble house such as Lady Charlotte, but like a leopard.
Afterward, Lady Illon chatted with him about trivial things, exchanging words on this and that, and before long, seeming to feel they had grown somewhat closer, she began the real conversation.
Fortunately, Young Master Sian did not seem to harbor hostility toward her, and he easily opened the door to his heart. To begin with, he did not seem particularly wary. He merely gave off the feeling of disliking troublesome things... ‘How strange... looking at him from the outside, I really can’t see anything at all...’
Raising one’s senses during a conversation to examine the other party was one of the truly rude acts one could commit—this was taken by the other party as meaning, “I will explore your level once in order to strike you,” and was thus an extremely discourteous act—so she could not do such a thing. But the person she observed continuously throughout their conversation was far too lacking in distinguishing traits.
Armed people, especially powerful armed people, possessed a distinctive feeling. Training methods, Vander-Loa, personality—each differed from armed person to armed person, but there was one single thing all powerful armed people had in common.
This was not something one could hide even if one tried, nor something that could be read simply because one intended to read it. Their entire bodies spoke. In order to become stronger, in order to climb higher, I have worked this hard!
But this man had none of that at all. To put it favorably, he seemed free, living as he pleased; to put it unfavorably, he seemed indolent.
However, it was not as though she had never seen this type before. At the Great Northern Wall, where all manner of talents gathered and where there was no one who was not strong, she had met those who gave off the same feeling as the man before her.
Unlike the law practitioners of the Exile-Great Law Assembly, who controlled and used Exar—the mighty power capable of shaking the laws of the world—through calculation and reason, these were people who, by innate talent, could command Exar even without research, without formulas, and without Talic Stones.
Unlike the Exile-Great Law Assembly, which had developed the method of handling Exar into an academic discipline, their techniques could not be researched or reproduced. Through training, they could become skilled at using their abilities, but because those abilities depended thoroughly on talent from birth, emotion, and creativity, no one else could ever manifest them in the same way.
What abilities Exers possessed, and how strong they were, differed from Exer to Exer, but at least among the Exers seen beyond the Great Northern Wall, many were those who always pursued a life of freedom and enjoyment. (Perhaps that was why there were almost no Exers beyond the Great Northern Wall. The environment was far too harsh……). ‘Right, now that I think about it, even if he is the second young master of the Roman family and has a high Vander value, there’s no law saying he must become a Vander… He could have become an Exer.’ If so, then the events that had happened until now were somewhat understandable.
If a Vander was lazy, they could never become strong, no matter how great their innate talent. To crush Jacques’s hand as a Vander would mean he was a Master, but among all those who had ever reached the realm of La-Vander, not one had reached the Master realm at the age of seventeen.
But an Exer could become strong to a fairly high level. Moreover, depending on the type of ability, even without being particularly strong, breaking one or two joints in Jacques’s fingers would be possible.
He could not jump to conclusions, but having first set a rough direction, Ilon thought he should verify it. ‘If that’s the case… there is a way.’ Exers could sense one another.
He did not know by what principle. It was not like Vanders reading each other’s presence, nor was it like law-mages examining the traces of Exar wrapped around their opponent. But according to them… they simply felt it. Like twins sensing each other, like parents recognizing their children, they said they knew the moment they saw the other person.
Uncertain information was worse than ignorance. Thinking it would be better to find out for certain on this occasion, Ilon thought of the Exer who was staying at the Kirion family’s mansion and helping with their affairs. Their place of origin was unclear, but because their ability was highly useful and they possessed the high rank of B-rank, Ilon had offered a high salary and favorable conditions to keep them in his house as a guest.
“Young Master, thank you for inviting me like this and treating me. Hoho.”
“……? I don’t believe I invited you in particular…….”
“So in return, I’d like to invite you to our house. As it happens, our family is located in the area where you are working, so how about stopping by for a while after you finish? Please come comfortably and have a meal before you go. I’m sure the food at Count Kerbel’s house is delicious, but our family handles distribution from the Kon Kingdom to the Karan Kingdom. We have dishes made with rare ingredients brought in from there. You won’t regret it.”
At Ilon’s words, spoken with a gentle smile, Sian’s heart wavered. Since Sian had lived on only a frugal diet at his main house, he had recently awakened to the pleasures of gastronomy after tasting the excellent foods available at Count Kerbel’s house and the capital’s famous restaurants.
A delicious meal made with rare ingredients that only came into the Kirion Viscount family… Seeing Sian’s wavering eyes, Ilon smiled triumphantly inwardly and drove in the wedge.
“In particular, our chef is someone who worked for a long time in the royal palace kitchens. His Majesty, who is always presented with rare ingredients, looked kindly upon our viscount family and sent several of his own chefs to the Kirion mansion. How would dinner two days from now be? That is the day salon shrimp caught in the Great Southern Sea of the Kon Kingdom will arrive. They are intended to be supplied to the royal family, but you will be able to taste them as dinner at our mansion.”
At those words, Sian crumbled and decided to simply go enjoy himself without worry. If it was only a meal, nothing troublesome should happen.
“Ahem… Since you are asking me to this extent, it would be impolite to refuse. You said two days from now, correct? I will be there on time.”
“That’s wonderful. Then I’ll see you then. I enjoyed our conversation today.”
Having confirmed the appointment, Ilon rose from his seat with a smile, and Sian saw Lady Ilon off to the front entrance. ☆ ☆ ☆ After entering the Kirion Viscount family’s residence, Sian followed the guide, admiring the beautiful scenery of the viscount family’s estate as he headed toward the garden where the meal had been prepared.
It was something he had felt while walking along El-Rua Street, but while each family’s estate felt grand and antique, the style of sculpture and the atmosphere they gave off all differed according to the nature of the family. If the feeling of a martial house was more upright, solid, and dignified, then a mercantile house like the Kirion Viscount family had a freer and more splendid feeling.
Arriving at the garden located in the mansion’s backyard, Sian was guided to the pavilion in the center of the garden. There, the basic setting had already been completed, and Ilon was seated along with a person he had never seen before.
“Good day, Lady Ilon. Thank you for inviting me.”
“Not at all, Young Master Sian… I’m merely repaying you for inviting me last time. Ah, and let me introduce you. This is Lady Syubil, who has been working hard for our family. She is a rare Exer.
“She was helping us outside the capital and returned today, so I invited her to dine with us and introduce you.”
“Hello, Sir Sian. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“Ah, Lady Syubil. It is a pleasure to meet you. An Exer, you say—you possess an impressive talent.”
After the brief introductions, the meal began. The meal proceeded pleasantly, accompanied by light conversation. ‘How fascinating…….’ Sian thought as he looked at Lady Syubil sitting before him. He had heard a great deal about Exers, but this was his first time seeing one. A strange energy completely different from Vander coiled around her heart and brain, constantly expanding and contracting in time with her heartbeat.
The movement of that energy was also different from the law-mage he had seen before.
Law-mages used Exar rather than Vander, but their method of operation was actually similar in many ways to that of Vanders. It moved in a disciplined, calculated fashion, emerging from the heart and traveling to every corner of the body along fixed paths and in a steady flow. In particular, when they manifested miracles, that movement was like watching the movements of a well-trained army.
But although Exers operated the same Exar as law-mages, it was to the point that it did not seem like the same energy. The energy that brushed past the brain in time with the heartbeat continually spread in all directions, wrapping around Lady Syubil’s body.
And while that energy spread and shrank according to the beating of her heart, it also seemed to be influenced by Lady Syubil’s mood. Each time she put salon shrimp in her mouth and chewed, the Exar that had brushed past her brain spread sharply into the surroundings. ‘By the way, I would like the others to taste this as well. It is truly remarkable.’ He thought as he ate the food before him. To think such a flavor existed! They said the seafood brought in from the Kon Kingdom had been preserved using magical studies, and its taste was truly excellent. It was enough to make him think that later, when he had time, he absolutely had to visit Martia, the maritime city of the Kon Kingdom.
As he conversed and focused on the meal, that energy spreading from Lady Syubil wrapped itself around his own body as well. Wondering what was going on, he raised his head and looked at Lady Syubil, but Lady Syubil was merely eating in good spirits and did not seem particularly aware of it.
Then this was simply a natural phenomenon… But for some reason, thinking that he might be able to move that energy himself as well, Sian imagined pulling the Exar wrapped around him sharply toward himself.
But the moment he did so, the Exar reacted violently and surged toward him all at once.
Seeing this, Sian was startled by the unexpected situation and hurriedly cut off that flow.
When the flow of Exar was suddenly sucked out and returned, Lady Syubil’s heart and brain, which were the source of the Exar, contracted strongly as if startled, as though trying to return the flow of Exar to normal.
“Hurk!”
“What is it, Lady Syubil?”
Ilon asked worriedly as she saw Syubil clutch the area near her heart, suddenly making a sound as if her breath had stopped.
“…It’s nothing, Sir Ilon. I was just suddenly startled.”
With her face flushed, Syubil answered while calming her still-pounding heart, and seeing this, Sian let out a sigh of relief inwardly. ‘I’m glad she’s all right. I thought something terrible had happened…….’ There had been a brief incident, but the meal soon proceeded normally again. After the entire meal ended, Ilon saw Sian off and returned to the reception room, then called Syubil and asked her.
“Lady Syubil, what do you think? Do you sense the distinctive energy of an Exer from him?”
“Mm… Well… To be honest, I’m not sure. He seems like an Exer, but also not… This is the first time something like this has happened.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“When Exers meet one another, we get a certain feeling. A feeling as though something becomes entangled, and the other person’s thoughts and heartbeat overlap and cooperate in a subtle way… that sort of feeling. We can identify Exers through that feeling.
“This has nothing to do with the other person’s level or type of ability. It feels like a resonance between Exars. I didn’t feel that from Young Master Sian…….”
“Then does that mean he is not an Exer?”
“But to say that, it also felt like there was something… There was no resonance, but in the middle of it, I felt something strongly pulling me. I’ve never felt anything like it before, so I don’t know what it was……. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of much help.”
“Not at all. You must be busy with work, so I am grateful that you came today.”
Having sent Syubil away without any major gain, Ilon was left alone and sank into thought.
“Ha… There’s nothing certain… With this many secrets…….”
The thought occurred to him that he might as well ask Young Master Lian, but finding it burdensome to go that far, Ilon ultimately decided to learn slowly.
He would be busy from now on, so he would not have time to pay attention to it, but if he had the leisure, someday an opportunity to confirm it would come… And since Sian seemed extremely satisfied with today’s meal, he could invite him occasionally and build a friendship.
Feeling at ease after thinking that, Ilon stopped pondering and read the report that had been organized and sent up to him today. In truth, Sir Sian was a matter of his personal curiosity and not something essential, but other matters were a different story.
As he was about halfway through the report, Ilon frowned. ‘They’re openly asking for a fight.’ Unlike El-Rua Street, which seemed peaceful at a glance, the entire Tian Kingdom was currently seething.
No major incident had yet broken out between territories, but petitions from noble families requesting the resolution of constant local conflicts had not ceased. In the royal palace, the noble bastards, who were worse than thieves even if they had not yet drawn swords, seemed to have judged that they could now win completely, and they were endlessly asserting their rights while inching in with pressure. (The bigger problem was that these bastards might soon draw swords as well.)
Even among the noble faction, the strength of the (relatively) moderate faction, who believed they should keep a low profile and accumulate power, had been dominant until now. But even they, seeing the hardliners aggressively expanding their own forces, were competitively pressuring the other side out of fear that there would be nothing left for them to take.
Thinking this and that, Ilon decided that moving his body might ease his frustration. He set down the report and headed to the training ground underground.