Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 71 Morgen, the capital of Arabion, was a city built upon the most ideal conditions for a metropolis.
First, it sat at the heart of the Dakein Plains, a region with a vast capacity to support a massive population. Second, there were no mountains nearby to hinder urban expansion, and the voluminous Ribel River flowed directly through the city's center. Third and finally, it was protected by the Storm Bloodline of the Arabion family, one of the most powerful Great Houses in the world.
While the capitals of other Great Houses typically held populations between one hundred thousand and five hundred thousand, Morgen's population exceeded one million. Consequently, no one paid any mind to a stray traveler or two entering or leaving the city.
This was why a certain middle-aged traveler was able to slip into Morgen so naturally.
Perfectly disguised, Turan surveyed the world's greatest city with the wide-eyed wonder of a country bumpkin.
Even seeing it again, this place is staggeringly huge…
He had visited Morgen once before, but back then, he had only watched a departure ceremony from the outskirts before turning back. This was his first time actually entering the city interior.
As Turan walked deeper inside, he could see that the city was designed with meticulous precision.
Starting from the residential areas for commoners, there were nearby entertainment districts and commercial zones featuring theaters, gambling dens, bathhouses, and brothels. Further in, there were sophisticated cultural facilities for those of higher status, such as libraries, debate halls, and athletic fields.
Noisy and odorous establishments like blacksmith shops, paper mills, and dye works were situated far from the residential areas, yet they were connected by well-paved, wide roads where large carriages constantly ferried people back and forth.
The entire city felt like a well-crafted work of art.
The various pollutants generated by such a massive gathering of people were washed away into the city's river through a well-maintained sewage system. These were naturally purified as they flowed downstream by the influence of magic devices installed within the river. It seemed that several top-tier magic devices, utilizing the power of the Purifier Bloodline, had been commissioned for the task.
While admiring the urban design, Turan did not forget to activate the senses of his Mimic Relic to check the mana and bloodlines of the people passing by.
As expected of a Great House's capital, knights and nobles were easily spotted among the crowds. Surprisingly, a fair number of them were dressed in commoner's clothing, just like Turan. Some were likely just wanderers who didn't want to cause a stir or reveal themselves to Arabion, but others were almost certainly criminals or spies.
After walking for several hours while observing the passersby, he finally reached the heart of the city: the Arabion main estate.
At the brilliant sight of it, Turan instinctively shielded his eyes and muttered.
"Ah, it's blinding…"
It wasn't a metaphorical expression about it being too flashy; the white castle walls were literally blinding because they were densely embedded with glowing mana lamps. If a Zahar noble tried to infiltrate that place using stealth magic, their mana would be completely depleted the moment they stepped near.
Turan slowly circled the perimeter, confirming that the Arabion estate was perfectly enclosed by this 'Wall of Light.' The only open passage for entry was a single massive gate.
Four nobles and about forty knights were stationed there, with inspectors verifying the identities of everyone passing through. Of course, this area was also filled with mana lamps, making it impossible to pass through while hidden. Furthermore, there was a high probability that detection magic devices, similar to the ones Meisa had used in the past, were active.
What if one tried to fly over the walls? Naturally, defenses were prepared for that as well; the entire open space above the walls was covered by a mana net. Since there were no Barrier Master bloodlines among Arabion's vassals, they must have used magic devices or commissioned outside experts. This mana net even extended underground, likely to account for those attempting to tunnel through using earth manipulation.
I can't even perceive the interior with the relic.
Currently, when Turan activated the Mimic Relic to its limit, he could sense mana within a five-hundred-meter radius and bloodlines within fifty meters. However, neither detection ability worked past the checkpoint. It seemed to be one of the powers of that barrier, or perhaps a separate defensive measure against detection was in place.
After surveying the surroundings for a long time, Turan admitted that a direct approach using stealth was impossible. It made sense; if it were that easy, the Zahar nobles would have turned this place into a shambles long ago.
Of course, that didn't mean he was giving up.
*
"Name and occupation."
"Beka. I'm a gardener."
When the man, who looked to be in his early thirties, gave his name, the inspector flipped through the 'Gardener' section of the documents beside him. Before long, he found the page containing information on a gardener named Beka.
Short red hair, brown eyes, bulbous nose, buckteeth, average height with a protruding belly, one leg slightly shorter than the other, long scar on the cheek.
Not only did all the physical characteristics match perfectly, but the face was identical to the portrait precisely drawn with magic. Finally, after checking the entry pass, the inspector nodded.
"Pass."
"Thank you!"
Beka the gardener gave a spirited greeting and passed through the checkpoint into the main estate.
The buildings were elegant and refined, befitting a place where the core members of a Great House resided. Watching the people passing by, Beka—no, Turan—smiled.
That was easier than I thought.
After taking a room near the Wall of Light and staying for a day, Turan had circled the gate area, changing his appearance several times to avoid drawing attention while he figured out the inspection system. As a result, he realized that Arabion wasn't controlling access to the main estate as strictly as one might expect.
Of course, with over a hundred nobles, a thousand knights, and more than ten thousand servants to attend to them, it was practically impossible to control every entry and exit with absolute precision. Even just drawing portraits of everyone and creating entry passes was a level of security unheard of in ordinary families.
Turan had approached several servants who were least likely to be noticed. Eventually, he found a gardener on leave, got him completely drunk, stole his appearance, entry pass, and clothes, and left three silver coins in their place.
The gardener would have a hard time when he woke up and realized his pass was gone, but since there was no record of him leaving, the chances of them noticing the same person entering twice were slim. The inspectors checked hundreds of people every day; even if they remembered him, they would likely dismiss it as a mistake.
Besides, I'm not going to keep this face anyway.
Though he had shared a drink and conversation with Beka, he hadn't learned the details of his personality or his relationships. In other words, if he ran into any of the man's actual acquaintances, his cover would be blown immediately.
To avoid such a situation, Turan hid in the shadow of a building closest to the wall and crafted a new face by mixing the features of several Arabion knights he had seen at the checkpoint. He made himself look like a youth in his mid-to-late teens with blond hair and brown eyes, slightly short and of a slender build.
After stuffing his original clothes into his high-capacity pouch and donning the training uniform he had brought from the Berk estate, a young Arabion apprentice knight was born.
Walking down the main road with an air of utter confidence, Turan thought to himself.
So this is the main estate of a Great House.
As he heightened the senses of his relic, he felt the presence of countless mages and magic devices. Turan paid close attention, analyzing their strength one by one.
Among the nobles, there are about fifteen at the Lowest rank, thirty at the Low rank, forty-two at the Mid rank, seventeen at the High rank, and about five at the Top rank. The knights are too numerous to count…
Originally, after obtaining the Mimic Relic, Turan used to roughly categorize the strength of nobles by looking at their mana. Recently, after discussing it with his companions, he had divided them into five major stages to make it easier to communicate the strength of an opponent.
First, the knights were excluded, as they were all similarly insignificant from a noble's perspective.
The 'Lowest' rank consisted of those who were still young and hadn't fully awakened their mana, or those among ordinary nobles who were exceptionally untalented and had barely awakened their bloodline ability.
The 'Low' rank was the average for ordinary nobles, or the level of those with the least talent among the Great Houses.
The 'Mid' rank was for those with relatively superior talent among ordinary nobles, or the average level for nobles of a Great House.
The 'High' rank was the level of a Family Head of an ordinary house, or the elite level within a Great House.
The 'Top' rank was the domain of the few truly powerful individuals even within a Great House—those who, if young, would be considered candidates for the next Family Head.
And finally, there's one more.
Turan looked toward the interior of the largest building in the estate, at a mass of light in human form. Even the Top-rank noble in the adjacent building—whom he presumed to be Meisa—seemed small compared to this manifestation of immense power.
That person had to be Meisa's father and the strongest of the Storm Bloodline: the Head of the Arabion family, Badal Arabion.
It wouldn't even be surprising if that man's true identity was one of the Frea Divine Clan.
The mana of a Great House's Head, observed directly for the first time, was that formidable. Was it even possible for Meisa to accumulate that much power, even if she lived for hundreds of years? And what about the Head of the Zahar family, who was said to have fought this monster as an equal?
Harboring these questions, Turan slowly confirmed the overall structure of the Arabion estate.
The largest mansion in the center was likely the Family Head's residence, and right next to it was Meisa's slightly smaller residence. He wasn't entirely sure, as some buildings felt empty—perhaps their occupants were out on business—but it seemed the higher one's status, the closer their residence was to the center.
The relatively smaller houses only gave off the presence of knights and commoners, so they were likely the quarters for knights, their families, or servants. Since Beka, whose identity he had stolen, had mentioned being the son of a knight, it was highly probable that most of the servants here were family members of the knights.
Passing by the area where young knights were training with loud shouts, he saw the mansion he presumed to be Meisa's. It was the second-largest building within these walls, situated right next to the main mansion where the Family Head resided.
Inside that massive mansion, he could only sense the presence of five commoners and Meisa herself. Compared to the other mansions, which housed several knights and nobles along with dozens of servants, the number was strangely small.
Wondering if there were alarm magic devices like the ones Lida used to use, he investigated cautiously, but he couldn't sense any magic devices other than the ones Meisa herself possessed.
Is it a trap?
The security seemed far too lax for the residence of the Arabion heir, but no matter how much he thought about it, there was no reason for them to be setting a trap. He hadn't left any signs or clues during his infiltration so far. Surely they weren't staying on guard every single day for a Zahar noble who might never come?
After much deliberation, Turan used stealth magic in the shadow of the mansion's wall and hopped over it. Fortunately, no alarms went off, and dozens of nobles didn't come charging out.
It worked.
Sighing in relief, Turan inspected the interior of the mansion.
The first thing he saw was a garden where unkempt trees were tangled together. Ivy grew thick over the walls and windows, and many of the dozens of windows were either broken or filthy. If he hadn't known there were people inside, he would have thought it was an abandoned mansion.
He entered through a broken window into a room that was completely empty of furniture. Upon stepping out into the hallway, he saw that all the surrounding rooms were in the same state. He could tell because all the doors were wide open. There were no tapestries or paintings—the usual decorations—hanging on the walls or in the corridors.
The maids gathered on the first floor were all old women in their fifties or sixties who looked like they should have retired long ago. They were lethargic and didn't even exchange a word of gossip as they went about their tasks, making it difficult to gather any information.
Turan watched them for a while as they half-idly embroidered or read books, then he headed up to the second floor where Meisa was. Passing several more empty, open rooms like those on the first floor, he saw the only closed door.
Creeak.
He cautiously opened the unlocked door and stepped inside to find old, dusty, and shabby furniture. In a corner of that dust-covered room, Meisa lay asleep under a blanket, her thin, emaciated body curled up.
If not for the brilliant magic devices wrapped around her, she would have looked more like the daughter of a poor laborer than the heir of a Great House. And one who looked like she was on the verge of death after months of starvation, at that.
No matter how I look at it, this is strange… In such a shabby place, in such a defenseless state?
At this rate, it was no wonder Meisa was paranoid about assassins. It felt as though the Berk mansion was far better defended than this. For what reason was the heir being neglected like this?
If Turan had been a Zahar assassin, this would have been the perfect opportunity. Though, it would be difficult to kill her in one blow due to the various magic devices protecting her body.
Turan considered speaking to Meisa immediately but decided against it, fearing there might be secret surveillance he hadn't noticed. Even if his relic didn't sense anything, there could be techniques in the world capable of deceiving even that.
For now, he thought it best to use this sparsely populated mansion as a base and observe the surrounding situation further.
Fortunately, it seems they haven't put much thought into the possibility of a Zahar noble infiltrating the interior.
If they had embedded mana lamps densely inside the estate as well, it would have been difficult to move at night, but it seemed they didn't want to go that far. They likely disliked the glare as much as anyone else, and it would be hard to sleep if the night were as bright as day.
Of course, it would be difficult to approach the main house where the Family Head resided as easily as he had here. What Turan had in mind was investigating the mansions of other influential figures within Arabion, like Kadram, whom he had met before. He would be able to eavesdrop on their conversations or steal internal documents.
Just as he was thinking of finding a place to stay in a corner of this mansion, he sensed a presence approaching from afar. It was a mage with mana at the High-rank noble level.
Judging by the silhouette, it was a woman. The moment she got close enough for him to check her bloodline, Turan's face hardened.
This is…
The mage who entered the mansion naturally exchanged greetings with the other maids, then headed up to Meisa's room on the second floor carrying something.
Knock, knock.
The way she knocked seemed familiar, as if she visited often.
"My Lady, I've brought the books you asked for."
After a few seconds, she opened the door and entered. She stared silently at the soundly sleeping Meisa for a moment, placed a few books on the desk beside her, and then left.
Turan briefly checked the books she had left behind, then immediately began to cautiously shadow the mysterious High-rank noble.
Who is this woman?
On the surface, she looked like an ordinary maid in her early thirties.
But in reality, from within this woman who possessed mana at the High-rank noble level, he sensed the darkness and eye symbols unique to the Zahar.
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