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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Return to Azure Sea Castle
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1.
Another passenger boarded the train on the way to Azure Sea Castle.
"Father, what brings you here?"
"Uncle! It's been a while. How have you been?"
It was Karron's father, Peil.
Peil smiled warmly as he greeted his son and nephew.
"So it would seem. It's good to see you boys after so long."
"Isn't it because of you two that my lovely nephew is suffering like this? Isn't that right, Peil?"
"Haha… Aunt Sabina. I am delighted. Are our children not already striving for the honor of the Leston Duchy? It is a fine sight to see."
Peil waved his hands and laughed at Sabina's words.
Peil, who usually managed the family's businesses in their domain, had been summoned entirely because of the matter Karron had brought forth.
The development of the mana stone mine in the Barony of Bellus.
And the various political issues that would follow—he was heading to Azure Sea Castle to discuss them all.
Peil looked at Karron and smiled broadly once more.
He had been worried sick when he first sent Karron to Azure Sea Castle.
But now, his son had grown enough to carry out missions and had even become the sole object of affection for Sabina, one of the family's great elders.
And that wasn't all.
'He seems to be on good terms with Leo, too.'
His relationship with Leo, who had assaulted him on their very first meeting, seemed to have improved considerably.
He was a son so precious he wouldn't mind putting him in his eye.
Hearing that such a son had adapted so well to Azure Sea Castle and earned the recognition of the Sea Wolf Knights brought an involuntary smile to his face.
Peil patted his son's head, then looked at Sabina and spoke.
"By the way, Aunt Sabina. Isn't Father still in the capital?"
"I hear he's on his way back now. It seems his talk with the Emperor was not satisfactory. Then again, what power does a mere scarecrow of an emperor have? He originally had meetings scheduled with the other dukes, but he canceled them all."
"The situation does not seem favorable."
"Maintaining close ties with the central political circle was your role, Peil. You must have already sensed that the atmosphere was unusual."
At those words, Peil nodded with a bitter expression.
He had known for a while that things were taking a strange turn.
The other powers, excluding the Leston Duchy, were rapidly consolidating.
Chief among them were the Duchy of Salmon and the Marquisate of Diaz.
They were the meritorious subjects who had deposed the Evil Emperor and enthroned the current one, the true powers moving the government.
Their recent movements had been peculiar.
His father, Halo, had gone to the capital to gauge their movements, but his immediate return suggested that things had not gone well.
"We will have to start making our move in earnest as well."
Only a fool would stand still in a situation like this.
After deposing the Evil Emperor, his father had merely restored order and had since taken a step back from central power.
He had wanted it that way, believing it was what was best for the Empire.
But the order he had maintained was now weathered, with cracks beginning to show everywhere.
The era of peace was drawing to a close, and those who craved more power were gathering in every corner.
Like it or not, the time had come for the Leston Duchy to take an official stance.
"Father."
"Yes."
"This is my first gift to Grandfather. Since I've given him a gift, maybe he'll overlook it if I make a mistake later?"
Karron was clever.
He must have read the situation long ago and realized what the duchy needed now.
A pretext. A pretext to begin projecting their influence in earnest.
Stationing troops in another's territory without justification was clear tyranny.
But forming a joint business venture and dispatching forces to protect that venture? What better pretext could there be?
"This is all your son's achievement. You've raised one fine boy."
"It is thanks to you, Lady Sabina, for guiding Karron down the right path."
"Stop acting so modest, you brat. Wipe that grin off your face before you say such things."
"Lady Sabina, please don't tease my father."
"He may be your father, but he's my nephew."
"If you want to nag someone, go nag my second uncle."
"Hey, why are you suddenly bringing my father into this!"
"Your father isn't my father, is he?"
Watching them bicker amicably, Peil prayed silently in his heart.
'Please, let nothing happen to Karron.'
That his son would be safe in this world of upheaval.
That was a father's only concern.
2.
They arrived at Azure Sea Castle.
As soon as they arrived, Sabina announced she had 'business to attend to' and departed for a while. Peil was summoned by his brothers and headed straight for the reception room.
Temporarily separated from the adults, the first thing Karron and Leo did was hand over the deserter captain, Michael, to the Sea Wolf Knights.
"We will proceed with the interrogation, keeping him just barely alive. We will extract every piece of information he has, so do not worry, Lord Karron."
"I'll be counting on you."
The same, of course, applied to Urhan, whom they had also brought along.
With his hands bound, Urhan cried out desperately to Karron.
"Young… Young Master. Please, spare my life. I told you everything I know… everything. Please? Just my life, please…"
Karron glanced at Urhan with a bored expression and waved his hand dismissively.
"This one's just a common grunt, you see. If you think there's not much to get out of him, just release him."
"Hmm, then why did you bring him here?"
"What should I call him? Ah, right. He's a whistleblower. Thanks to his cooperation, the mission went smoothly."
"Thank you, Young Mas—"
"Though he wasn't of much use, of course."
"…Young Master?"
The knight, seeming to understand Karron's playful tone, chuckled and nodded.
"We'll rough him up a bit and then release him."
"I'm thinking of using him as my personal servant. He's a former elite soldier who's had military training, so he should be strong, right?"
"Understood."
He seemed like he would make a good, strong servant.
Originally, Karron had considered leaving his fate to Baron Bellus, but the villagers who had been captured in the hideout had pleaded for leniency, so he had changed his mind.
He probably wasn't rotten to the core.
As a former elite soldier, he could be trained at Azure Sea Castle and then sent to serve his parents.
After handing over Michael and Urhan, they immediately entered the main fortress of Azure Sea Castle.
The first person to greet them was Jeras, the commander of the Sea Wolf Knights, who had been waiting for them after hearing the news.
"You've worked hard. I hear you completed the mission successfully."
"Aw, it wasn't even a difficult mission. Right, Brother Leo?"
"…I guess so?"
"Of course it was easy for you. All you did was smash skeleton heads. You left all the hard work to me. It's a crime to be born later. Isn't that right, Sir Jeras?"
Jeras sighed heavily and shook his head.
He had hoped Karron might have matured a little after completing his first mission, but it seemed nothing had changed.
"Having successfully completed your first mission, you are both now full-fledged members of the Sea Wolf Knights."
They had certainly pulled their weight.
Although they had Sabina's protection, knowing her personality, she likely hadn't provided any actual help on the mission.
"However, your mission is not yet complete. There is a mandatory process you must go through after a mission is over."
"Huh?"
"You must write a report on the mission. Only when the report is submitted is the mission truly finished."
They record the mission through a report and are evaluated on what they did wrong.
Through that process, their shortcomings are pointed out, and they are taught not to repeat their mistakes next time.
It was a process the Sea Wolf Knights had maintained for a very long time.
Karron smiled brightly and nodded.
"Of course, I was planning on writing a report. But Sir Jeras, do we both have to write one?"
"Not necessarily, but it will be easier if you two write it together."
At those words, Karron beamed and looked at Leo.
"Brother, honestly, I did all the hard work, so you should do this."
"No, it would be faster and better if we did it togeth—"
"What a shame. I was just trying to give you a golden opportunity, brother."
Leo stared at Karron's mouth.
What on earth was about to come out of that mouth?
The devil's tongue.
He couldn't be swayed by the words that came from it. Hadn't he learned his lesson time and time again?
"Listen, brother. You write the report from your perspective. Detail what a cool figure you cut, what heroic deeds you performed. Sir Jeras, my second uncle will be able to see the report, right?"
"Of course. The report will be submitted up the chain."
"See, brother? It's a great chance to score points with your father."
Don't fall for it.
If he falls for it, he'll be stuck with the tedious work all by himself.
But Leo found himself nodding before he even realized it.
"Can I really write whatever I want?"
"Lord Leo, the report must be written objectively and based on facts."
"Exactly, Sir Jeras. Objectively. We just have to detail his contributions objectively, right? Brother Leo. How about it? Tempting, isn't it?"
Leo squeezed his eyes shut and deliberated.
He had sworn he wouldn't fall for it this time.
"…Alright."
In the end, he fell for it again.
The idea of being able to show his father a detailed account of his exploits had finally broken him.
Satisfied with Leo's answer, Karron smiled and patted Leo's shoulder.
"I'm really making a big sacrifice letting you have this one, brother. You have to pay me back later. Got it?"
"Hey, I'm the one writing the report for you."
"It's all for you, brother."
At this point, it was hard to tell who was the older brother and who was the younger.
Jeras watched the scam unfold before his eyes and shook his head.
"If the report is exaggerated or understated, I will make you rewrite it. Keep that in mind."
"You hear that, brother? He said write it well."
"I understand, Sir Jeras."
The sun was beginning to set.
Watching the fading light, Jeras was once again reminded that they had completed the mission in a single day.
Excluding the travel time by train, they had finished the mission in the blink of an eye.
"It must have been a tiring day, so please go and rest. You just need to submit the report by the end of this week."
Though the two of them looked fine on the outside, they were probably exhausted.
They might be excited now from their success, but once the excitement faded, fatigue would surely set in.
Karron nodded slowly, then asked Jeras.
"When will Grandfather arrive?"
"He should arrive in about an hour."
A meeting would be convened as soon as Halo arrived at Azure Sea Castle.
And that meeting would determine the path Azure Sea Castle would take from now on.
What choice would Halo make?
Halo was a giant.
When a giant takes a step, the world naturally trembles.
Interesting things were about to unfold. Opportunities to become Halo's biggest headache would reveal themselves everywhere.
From then on, it would be a feast.
All he had to do was pull up a chair to the delicious spread and run wild as he pleased.
Karron grinned and patted Leo on the back.
"Well then, brother. Good luck with the report. Don't just write about yourself, you know… just do it right. Got it? I'm heading to the training hall first."
"The training hall? Why all of a sudden?"
"I used too much mana today."
With a casual farewell to Leo, Karron headed toward the annex with light steps.
3.
He arrived at the training hall.
He had pushed his mana roughly in the process of capturing Michael, putting a slight strain on his channels.
In times like these, it was best to circulate his mana moderately.
'Still, it's convenient that I can use the training hall by myself now.'
After Karron's Sea-Conquering Art entered the 4th Star, the restriction requiring him to be accompanied by a guardian was lifted.
It was a privilege Sabina had personally petitioned Halo for.
Karron held his breath and quickly focused his mind.
*Vwooom.*
Four great seas resonated, creating a massive wave.
Karron's sea was still violent.
Waves crashed ceaselessly, raging as if to devour everything around them.
But that, too, was brief.
The rough sea moved as Karron commanded. It mended the wounds etched into his mana channels and spread mana evenly throughout his body.
'It listens well now, at least.'
Despite the sea being untamably fierce, Karron was fond of it.
It had been that way since he first learned the Sea-Conquering Art. He had always thought this sea was just like him.
He was curious about what lay at the end of this sea.
Perhaps the realm Halo had reached. And something beyond that sea as well.
It was a yearning for a state he had failed to achieve, and at the same time, a desire he would surely fulfill in this life.
Losing all track of time, Karron delved deeper into that sea.
How much time had passed?
"Hoo."
Having filled his body with a satisfying amount of mana, Karron slowly opened his eyes.
"You've finished."
"Sir Jeras? How long have you been here?"
"I haven't been here long. About thirty minutes? You, Lord Karron, have been training for two hours."
As the commander of the Sea Wolf Knights, Jeras had the authority to enter the training hall.
Karron smiled faintly.
"Were you worried about me?"
Jeras shook his head decisively.
"Of course not."
He might have been worried about Leo, who was probably in his room writing the report, but Jeras had no concerns whatsoever about Karron.
"That's truly disappointing. I'm still just a kid, you know."
"Ordinary children do not call themselves children. They are desperate to become adults as quickly as possible."
"I don't know why everyone's in such a rush to grow up. Being an adult is nothing but a mountain of responsibilities. Anyway, what brings you here? I thought Grandfather would have arrived by now."
At Karron's question, Jeras nodded in response.
"The family head has already arrived and is in his office."
"Then the meeting should be in full swing."
"The family head has summoned you, Lord Karron."
"Grandfather summoned me? Why?"
Jeras paused for a moment and sighed. He looked into Karron's sparkling eyes and sighed once more.
"It seems you will have to pay a visit to the capital. You can hear the details from the family head yourself."
Upon hearing those words, Karron's face broke into a wide smile.
It seemed his opportunity had arrived far sooner than he had expected.