Chapter 74 – Invitation (2)
The principality's airship landed at a certain distance from the Rodenmeyer estate.
The Count, after sending the outsider Verden into the mansion, ordered the Rodron Knight Order, including its captain Balkan, to personally go out and receive the guests.
Watching their backs, Viscount Bailon asked the Count,
"Who could it be, I wonder?"
"I don't know, but it won't be an ordinary noble."
The retainers of the Count's house, lined up on both sides, could not hide their tension.
After all, the other party was the royal family of the principality, and they had even come with an airship by the command of the Grand Duke himself!
That meant the matter at hand was of great importance.
Whoever was inside, they could never be treated lightly.
From afar, the sound of horse hooves could be heard.
For the vibrations to be faintly felt even from this distance, it meant they were steeds of the highest breed. Soon, soldiers opened the gates of the walls surrounding the mansion.
First to pass through was the knight captain, Balkan.
Behind him appeared a new knight order in full armor.
Silver armor.
The crest of a shield engraved on the left chest.
The Bastio Knight Order, directly under the Grand Duke.
If the royal guard protected the royals from within, then this knight order served as the escort of royals and high nobles when acting outside.
In other words, they were one of the strongest military forces among all knight orders within the principality.
It was surprising, but not entirely unexpected.
Yet even the Count could not help but be startled at the sight of one knight at the lead.
On his back was a gray shield, forged from a mixture of the rare metals orichalcum and obsidian, one of the treasured relics of the principality.
There was only one man known to have received that from the Grand Duke.
The captain of the Bastio Knight Order, the strongest shield of the principality.
Lake Basilion.
He dismounted from his pitch-black steed and removed his helm.
Short, cropped hair of a purplish hue, deep green eyes, and a scar across his right jaw, cut by a blade. A middle-aged man, Lake strode toward Count Rodenmeyer.
"It has been a while, Count Rodenmeyer."
The captain's rank was equal to that of a Count.
Of course, considering his position and strength, ordinary counts found it difficult to speak to him as an equal. But Count Rodenmeyer was an exception.
"We meet every year at the grand event, so saying it has been a while is an exaggeration."
"Haha, your temperament remains unchanged. Still, it's been nearly ten years since I last came directly to your house. Couldn't you at least offer a warmer greeting?"
"What can I do? It is simply my nature. Rather than stand here, let us talk inside. Your business is not with me, but with the mage within my mansion."
"Heh, and I would ask whether it isn't the host's duty to first offer a meal to one who has traveled so far."
"Hmph, a meal?"
Inside an airship, the facilities surpassed even that of most high-class inns.
With chefs handpicked by the principality handling the finest ingredients, each meal was a feast. Not only would one never go hungry, but not even a moment's hunger could be felt on the way here.
"And besides, you surely don't have time to sit around and enjoy a leisurely meal, do you?"
"Well, that's true. As you know, His Highness the Grand Duke is rather impatient. His command is for me to bring back that mage named 'Asher' to the capital, along with you, Count Rodenmeyer."
The Grand Duke of Riviant was an excellent ruler.
He had led independence from the Kingdom of Estiria during wartime, and turned a broken land into a prosperous one within decades. His flaw, however, was a lack of patience.
To go so far as to deploy an airship, one of the nation's strategic weapons, when a carriage would have sufficed.
"...His Highness is the same as ever."
"We'll depart as early as tonight, or by tomorrow noon at the latest. The schedule is tight, but we still have time to enjoy the Count's hospitality."
It seemed the Grand Duke's curiosity about Asher was greater than expected.
This pleased Count Rodenmeyer.
He was able to send such a mage to the grand event's tournament under his name. In truth, the Count was nearly certain that Asher would seize victory at the event.
Count Rodenmeyer's golden eyes glimmered.
"Very well, I'll see that you are well treated."
***
Count Rodenmeyer took pride in his garden.
Broad and immaculate, some might call it barren, but it gave one the refreshing feeling of being upon a meadow.
The terrain caused a cool breeze to always blow. Winter came late to this region, so even now it was not particularly cold. Nor were there any bothersome insects.
It was an ideal place for a luxurious meal.
Verden, who had been waiting in a chamber, received the invitation to dine and stepped outside.
As dusk began to fall, following the Count's servant, he arrived at the center of the garden, where a round table had been set, and Count Rodenmeyer sat with an unfamiliar man.
'...?'
At that moment, he felt a gaze from the side.
Turning his head, he saw a woman in silver armor, a refined staff strapped to her back, staring intently at him.
Her gaze was so sharp it felt almost scorching.
'A mage I've never seen before.'
He ignored her and walked past.
When he approached the table, Count Rodenmeyer gestured for him to sit. As the three sat with measured distance between them, the Count spoke.
"First, introductions. This is Lake Basilion, captain of the Bastio Knight Order. By the Grand Duke's command, he has come to take you with him. On an airship, no less. He wished to speak with you before heading to the capital, and dine together as well."
'The captain of the Grand Duke's knight order… a big figure.'
The pressure he felt was unlike that from any knight he had met before.
Verden lowered his head.
"My name is Asher."
"I am Lake Basilion. I had heard, but you are younger than I expected."
Verden and Lake met each other's gaze.
It was as if they were recognizing each other as strong men, measuring the other's level with their gaze.
Count Rodenmeyer lightly clapped his hands, breaking the tense atmosphere.
"Now that introductions are over, let us begin with the meal, we can speak in detail afterward."
When Count Rodenmeyer rang a small bell, the prepared dishes began to be served one after another.
As an appetizer, sliced tomatoes topped with mozzarella cheese, with fresh vegetables drizzled with dressing for a salad, followed by broccoli soup and freshly baked bread.
Then, after a sherbet cleansed the palate, the main dish was served, aged Chateaubriand tenderloin.
As for the drink, no less than a sixty–year aged red wine, Dornetti, was prepared.
The value of this one meal reached tens of millions of Elk.
Yet among them, none were daunted by such worth.
Two were nobles, and one had once been a member of the magic tower.
When the splendid meal ended, and as Lake savored his black coffee for dessert, he subtly observed Verden.
'No matter how I look, I cannot believe it.'
The body, as time passes, weakens beyond its peak, but magic is known to deepen with age.
And yet this man called Asher, he was not simply young, he was practically still a boy.
To have accomplished the feat of subjugating the Soul Tree at that age was something out of fairy tales or history books.
Unless he had received extraordinary training as a genius among geniuses at the Academy, that is.
But a mage who suddenly appeared in the principality without a word of rumor, resolving one incident after another? Even with Lake's flexible mind, it was not easy to accept.
'He must have received training somewhere, that much is certain.'
His dining manners, refined and equal to that of nobles, proved it. Regardless of his origins, he was certainly not from a household of commoners. That was Lake's conclusion.
As he sank into thought, silence lingered.
At last, Verden had to speak first.
"You have business with me, do you not, Captain Lake?"
"Hmm? Ah, forgive me. I heard you subjugated the Soul Tree alongside the Blood Sword, so I thought to exchange words… but honestly, it is hard to believe."
"Is it because of my age?"
"From common sense, yes. Which is why mere words will not suffice."
Lake fixed his serious gaze on Verden.
"The reports say you wield fire, wind, earth, and even the higher element, lightning."
He spoke precisely of the elements Verden had used in the Soul Tree subjugation.
For elemental magic, any element could be handled, but Verden had no reason to go out of his way to clarify.
"That is correct."
"I see. But merely handling various elements is meaningless. What I, and His Highness the Grand Duke, want to know is whether you truly possess the power to slay such a monster."
As the strongest shield of the principality, it was Lake's duty to test the power of an enigmatic mage and verify the truth.
This was why he had come here himself.
Of course, it was not a demand to fight with their lives on the line.
It was simply to measure the mage's true strength with a clear proof.
Whether he was capable of making the principality's grand event flourish,
And beyond that, whether he was someone the principality should embrace, or at the very least not oppose.
"If you cannot prove yourself, then the principality will not acknowledge your strength."
Lake, issuing the threat, leaned back into his chair.
He had seen countless spells, and blocked them all with a single shield. From the speed of casting or the scale of a spell, he could estimate a mage's level.
Clink.
Setting down his teacup, Verden asked,
"Must I prove it with magic?"
"Anything will do, but casting here would greatly damage the garden. I would rather not see Count Rodenmeyer's wrath. So why not step outside? And if you wish, I myself shall be your target."
"I understand. Then, let us prove it here."
"…Hm?"
Puzzled by the reply, Lake tilted his head.
At that moment, magic power began to surge from Verden's body.
'There is no need to show spells.'
All of his mana circuits activated.
Overflowing mana seeped outward, glowing blue. Like fire, it blazed around him, and the force of it pressed down on the surroundings.
Crack.
Seeing a teacup crack, Lake widened his eyes.
'His magic power exerts physical influence?'
At the third tier or higher, one could materialize mana.
But only a handful of mages could cause physical phenomena with mana alone. For that, not only was immense mana required, but also an exquisite control to condense it.
Neither condition was easy.
Yet Verden was different.
Even while releasing such overwhelming mana, his face was calm. As if it were natural.
'At this level…'
Judging by sheer mana, he was on par with, if not superior to, the royal mages of the principality.
If he played the decisive role in the Soul Tree's subjugation, then it was somewhat believable.
"Hooh."
Count Rodenmeyer, watching from the side, let out a sound of admiration.
Lake too was the same. With mana alone, Verden had surpassed the standard Lake had set. He was curious about his spells, but as proof, this was sufficient.
But Verden thought otherwise.
This was not enough, or so he believed.
With eyes shining clear, he gazed at Lake.
"…?"
Only then did Lake realize.
Verden's proof was not yet finished.
Mana oppression.
The ocean–like flood of mana engulfed Lake whole.