Chapter 60
Heretic Inquisitor Recommendation.
They claimed to be recommending him on the surface, but their true intentions were obvious.
'They're still doubting me.'
He didn't know why they were suspicious, but they clearly doubted Callius.
However, since his status and position were different from before, they outwardly offered to recommend him for the Inquisitors, but their real motive was to interrogate him.
Once the interrogation began, it would be over.
They would fabricate crimes out of thin air.
It was utterly ridiculous.
He had no idea why they were doing this, but he wasn't a fool who would fall for such a shallow trick.
"I appreciate the offer, but..."
Just as Callius was about to say something.
Elberton, who had been quietly listening the whole time, opened his mouth.
"It's a grateful offer, but unfortunately, it won't do."
Elberton's voice was heavy.
It contained a hint of anger.
"May I ask the reason?"
Raibun asked, a little tense.
Though he was wounded, he was the Lord of the North.
The pillar of Carpe.
A knight who was only one step away from Master, a man worthy of respect.
Raibun wondered if Elberton had seen through his true intentions, but Elberton simply looked at Callius deeply and continued speaking.
"Callius is Zervan's only eldest son. It is time he receives his successor's education."
At that inexplicably deep gaze, Callius frowned.
"That means..."
"It means he is a man who must take responsibility for Zervan and the North. The succession ceremony will be held soon, so it will be difficult for him to become a Heretic Inquisitor."
At Elberton's words, not only the Inquisitor Captains but everyone present was surprised.
Naturally, Callius as well.
'This is a bit much.'
Becoming the successor, well, he had expected it to some extent.
Because he had proven himself.
Besides, at a time when Killavan had either sunk into the ground or shot up into the sky.
There was no reason to adopt another child, so it was a natural course for him to be chosen as the successor.
'I didn't expect him to even bring up the succession ceremony.'
If that happened, he would undeniably become the Patriarch of Zervan.
Not only would he become the Lord of Zervan, but he would also inherit the title, which was bound to be incredibly troublesome.
He wouldn't be able to roam around carelessly, and many restrictions would be placed on his actions.
His words and every single action would be coated with political nuances.
Of course, it would be necessary after some time had passed, but it was still too early.
Right now, the wandering life of a pilgrim was more comfortable.
'It's still annoying because of my trait, and they're telling me to take responsibility for the North?'
Nonsense.
Of course, Callius wasn't the only one flustered; the Inquisitor Captains were the same.
They thought they had presented a brilliant plan, but Elberton's move was enough to leave them dumbfounded.
"Patriarch, are you not still unwell..."
"I suffered quite a deep wound in the last war. After experiencing death once, I thought it would be nice to step down from the front lines and spend my remaining days comfortably. Spending time with my grandchildren wouldn't be bad either."
Elberton was sincere.
Seeing him glance at Emily as he spoke, it seemed his near-death experience had changed his mindset.
Because of that, it was Callius who became anxious.
'Maybe it would be better to become a Heretic Inquisitor.'
But then again, if he went along with their wishes and got interrogated, it would be full of annoyances.
Even if he somehow finished the interrogation, they would constantly nitpick.
Neither option worked.
Callius fell into thought for a moment.
'Right. I'll have to visit the North frequently anyway.'
Fatalite's holy ground was there, and he had planted Valterus's Tear there.
Even if that weren't the case, there might still be trolls hiding in the valley at the bottom of the Sunken Forest.
'Furthermore, the North needs to grow stronger.'
It had to become stronger than it was now.
To resist the Empire's upcoming invasion, its military power had to be increased.
However, merely staying in the North wouldn't be enough to prevent Carpe's destruction.
Therefore.
"Then let's do this."
Callius said, looking back and forth between Elberton and Raibun.
"After the succession ceremony. How about I concurrently serve as a Heretic Inquisitor?"
"By that you mean..."
A Heretic Inquisitor and the Lord of Zervan.
It was something he could do simultaneously.
Each had its pros and cons, but if he did both, only the advantages remained.
He wouldn't be tied down only to the North, and if he became a Heretic Inquisitor, there would be less chance of being accused of heresy out of mere jealousy.
Moreover.
'Weeding out Carpe's rotten roots is also a way to save the kingdom.'
Wasn't the Heretic Inquisitor the perfect position to accomplish that?
Besides, if he was to inherit the Countship and become the Lord of Zervan and the North.
'They wouldn't be able to mess with me easily.'
Elberton wouldn't hand everything over to him right away anyway.
"Are there any problems now?"
"...Yes. Of course not."
Raibun's trembling cheeks betrayed his thoughts.
* * *
Creak— Click.
The office within the castle.
An awkward atmosphere flowed between Elberton and Callius.
A relationship that was infinitely close, but because of that, infinitely distant.
'Being like this reminds me of the old days.'
When he was young.
He had once burned down a whole thatched house playing with fire in the countryside.
'My father was exactly like this then.'
The calm before the storm.
Elberton was quiet, as if choosing his words carefully.
However, his back seemed unable to hide his indignation, holding a silent fury.
Just when the boredom of waiting was stretching out.
"What are you thinking?"
Elberton spoke.
"About what?"
"You're going to hold a succession ceremony and then become a Heretic Inquisitor! If you inherit the Countship, you could be granted a much heavier position than just a Heretic Inquisitor."
But merely a Heretic Inquisitor.
Elberton frowned as if he simply couldn't understand his son.
In the kingdom, the Heretic Inquisitors' superficial appearance was that of those who rooted out and interrogated traitors.
In reality, they were just a group tied up in the political machinations of the Order and the kingdom.
It wasn't something someone inheriting a Countship, one of the few titles in the kingdom, should step forward to do.
"If you take my place, you will be the Lord of the North and a Count of the kingdom."
"I know."
"You say you know, yet you said you'd become a mere Heretic Inquisitor in front of them?"
"I know, and I volunteered for it. Thanks to that, we made a fortune, didn't we? You should be praising me, but instead you're scolding me."
"You only know one thing and not two. There are many things more important than money in this world. If you pursue the honor established by our ancestors, money will naturally follow...!"
Elberton, who had clenched his fists, soon let out a deep sigh and flopped down onto his chair.
"Think about the weight of your words, Callius. With a single word and action from you, Zervan's prestige is built and crumbled."
"I will take care of it myself."
"...Insolent brat. I thought you had changed a little, but you're no different."
"Yes."
When he replied without changing his expression, rather than getting angry, he was simply dumbfounded.
'Right, he's different from before.'
It was a different situation from when he would act like a troublemaker and then look at him for his reaction.
"I don't know what you're thinking. But... I won't ask. Just please, don't forget that the spirit of the North, and the blood and sweat of our ancestors, reside in your heart."
Having said that, Elberton pulled out an antique key from his bosom and tossed it.
Swish, catch.
A rather large key.
The material looked like stone, but it didn't seem like an ordinary object.
"What is this?"
"It's the key to the treasure vault of the successive Patriarchs, kept from generation to generation."
Zervan's heirloom.
Since he couldn't hand over Calis yet.
"You are now Zervan's official successor. Take whatever you want."
Zervan's treasure vault.
'I never thought he'd hand this over.'
Zervan's treasure vault, where the artifacts used by successive Patriarchs and the swords they had transformed into were displayed.
It was a vault that only the most outstanding among the successive Patriarchs and direct descendants could enter.
"In this generation, you are the second."
The first was probably.
"I heard she became a pilgrim and wandered everywhere. By any chance, have you heard any news of Violet?"
"I haven't."
"Is that so..."
An awkward silence flowed.
Violet von Zervan.
Callius's younger sister's name.
'According to the setting, she left the family after Callius devoted himself to the Order.'
Unlike him, the eldest son, she had a talent for swordsmanship but had no lingering attachment to the sword, and she suddenly left the kingdom to wander as a vagrant.
She was like a wandering merchant who gave strange items as gifts if you were lucky enough to bump into her and build up affinity.
'I wonder if she's in the Empire right now.'
Given Violet's personality.
Whether Carpe falls or the Empire falls, she wouldn't intervene, so she wasn't someone Callius needed to worry about either.
"Is that all you wanted to say?"
"Hmm."
Having received the key to the treasure vault, he wanted to escape this awkward atmosphere as quickly as possible and go see the Patriarchs' swords.
As soon as he grabbed the doorknob.
"Callius."
"..."
Looking back, Elberton was standing by the window, staring outside.
"Even so, there is one thing I want to say."
"Please speak."
"Thank you, sincerely, for saving Zervan and the North."
"...Yes."
Click.
Feeling awkward, Callius hastily closed the door and left.
Elberton muttered alone.
"What do you think?"
An old man who had been secretly hiding revealed himself.
The head butler of the Zervan family.
It was Nohitel.
"If we use the Heretic Inquisitors to turn all the orc corpses into Corpse-swords, the profit left for us would be tremendous. If we price seven parts as Corpse-swords and three parts as Masterpiece swords, it would certainly exceed sixty thousand gold coins."
"We can't sell all of them."
"If we sell half of the Corpse-swords excluding the Masterpiece swords, it would be over twenty thousand gold coins."
"Twenty thousand gold. That's certainly an appropriate amount to grow our lacking military power."
With that amount, they could repair the broken castle walls and somewhat restore the entire northern territory.
Furthermore, giving the Masterpiece swords they would keep as rewards to the knights who performed well in this war would be perfect.
Their pockets were in bad shape due to the war, but a few words from Callius had resolved all of it, making the corners of Elberton's mouth twitch.
"Moreover, we still have the Warlord's corpse safely stored, do we not?"
"We do."
If they were to turn the Warlord's body into a Corpse-sword.
Wouldn't it birth a Corpse-sword of at least the Spirit Rank?
Of course, that would belong to Callius, but since he would soon become the Lord of the North, it didn't matter at all.
"Patriarch, it seems you no longer need to worry about the young master."
The expression that had never loosened even once during his private meeting with Callius instantly relaxed.
"That brat must take after me after all. His silver tongue is annoyingly good."
"His ability to handle the Orc Warlord and turn a crisis into an opportunity to extract maximum profit was just like seeing you in the old days, Patriarch."
"I guess blood will tell after all."
Nohitel didn't miss the loosening corners of his mouth, despite his gruff face.
"A bit late, but he has finally attained a demeanor fitting of Zervan."
"Nohitel."
"Yes, Patriarch."
"Guide Callius through the treasures of the vault. There are items that can be dangerous depending on how they are used."
Nohitel was startled.
The treasures of the vault were all artifacts used by past Patriarchs. Items that each possessed their own histories and valor.
If one were to choose something beyond their capacity, the residual thoughts embedded in the weapon would leap out and show them bizarre things, giving them trauma. That was the Zervan treasure vault.
"Was it not a tradition that no guidance could be given regarding the treasure vault?"
"It will all become his anyway, so why bother with such things?"
The corners of Nohitel's mouth twitched.
He might pretend otherwise, but it seemed he still favored his own kin after all.
"Understood."
Head Butler Nohitel left the office, hiding his expression.