The sound of clinking glasses, cheers, and gasps mingled as the banquet resumed.
However, the atmosphere was entirely different from before.
The surrounding gazes pierced like needles.
Some nobles openly twisted their lips in disdain, while others hesitated as they passed by me.
“A duke… isn’t he being a bit hasty?”
“The puppy is sitting on top of the tiger.”
“Well, he won’t last long. Being a war hero doesn’t add to one’s dignity as a noble.”
Their gazes were filled with hostility or mockery.
It was a perfectly natural reaction for humans.
No one would believe it without proof, no matter how great the achievements brought forth.
To them, my accomplishments would likely be treated as exaggerated rumors.
I wasn’t particularly interested in them either.
The need for proof indicated a lack of information.
That was tantamount to incompetence, and incompetent nobles are unnecessary.
Moreover, the Red Star were the ones who most readily cut away such “useless blood.”
One of the main adversary factions of the players, the Red Star.
On the surface, it appeared to be a social group of high-ranking nobles, but that was just a façade.
In reality, they were spies rooted throughout the Empire and traitors inciting chaos.
In other words, they were a cult-like group that sought to transcend “original sin,” referring to energy and magic.
They possessed a doctrine that energy and magic were the fundamental causes of human corruption.
From what I heard, they seemed like prophets who had grasped the essence of energy and aura.
However, if that were the case, they wouldn’t be the kind of fools who simply killed for no reason.
They had not concluded that we should discard energy and aura and seek other powers.
Rather, they had reached the conclusion that the transcendent power had devoured humanity, and true restoration of humanity began with transcending that power.
Here, transcendence meant transforming into a third race by merging human and magic.
The continent crumbled before any measures could be taken because of those fools.
“Skipping the dregs.”
Another group of nobles approached me.
Unlike at the start of the banquet, this time it was middle-aged nobles rather than young ladies.
It seemed they were eager to seize an opportunity and clustered around me.
“Your Grace, may I ask if you are self-taught in swordsmanship?”
“An epic depicting your achievements is about to be published. May I present you with the draft?”
“Our youngest daughter wants to learn swordsmanship…”
Every time they opened their mouths, there was a demand for meaning beyond the words.
Speaking only of swordsmanship while secretly rolling their eyes.
Typical behavior from Empire nobles who only engage in politics while eating.
I responded to them with a smile.
At the same time, I glanced around the banquet hall like they were doing now.
Characters that had appeared as members of the Red Star in the original work began to gradually reveal themselves.
Some were the same, some had become ugly, while others had become even more beautiful.
The reason I could recognize the changed appearances was that they were maintaining a semblance of their original looks.
It was also for the same reason that some were difficult to recognize.
I couldn’t properly understand why such changes were occurring.
At that moment,
“Enough.”
“Ian is tired.”
Two familiar voices rang out simultaneously.
Freya Nordelheim and Irene Krause.
The two approached me seemingly in sync and silently pushed away the nobles clinging to my sides.
“Your Grace, I will speak to you again later…”
“Oh, Duchess Nordelheim is here. Hahaha…”
In an instant, the surroundings became quiet.
Freya spoke to me with a wink.
“They’re clinging on too much. It’s making me jealous.”
***
The day after the banquet, Freya, Irene, and I stuck together, wandering around the capital for a while.
It was due to Freya’s opinion that only going to the battlefield would render me a waste.
I didn’t say that I had been wandering the battlefield for nine years and had not become a waste yet.
Irene seemed to have a similar thought but chose not to voice it.
The weather in the capital, Arcen, was sunny.
The sunlight slid over the red brick roofs, and the sky was clear without a cloud in sight.
“Wow, the weather is really nice. It’s warm, unlike the North.”
The streets were bustling with people, and the shopping district was filled with vitality.
The atmosphere was different from the North.
Freya raised her chin haughtily and adjusted her newly bought hat.
“I’ve been here a few times when I attended the Academy back in the day.”
“Oh, Commander, you graduated from the Academy? I had forgotten. How was the Academy?”
“I’m curious too since I haven’t attended the Academy.”
“Really? But I only studied, so I don’t remember it well.”
Irene reminisced about her past and described how the Academy was.
It was a fervent story about how she trained and studied hard to secure the top position.
She mentioned it was quite tough to get the second position too.
“Ian, you’re all about practical experience. You should build some emotional culture too.”
“I don’t quite see how that relates to the old bookstore.”
“I’m quite knowledgeable. I graduated from a university, albeit a local one.”
“University? Didn’t you say you didn’t attend the Academy?”
In a small alley, the old bookstore was cool and quiet.
Freya held ancient manuscripts filled with incomprehensible characters, while Irene opened a swordsmanship book.
“The flow of divine power within the spell… Duchess, do you understand this?”
“There were changes needed on the Northern Front, so I studied.”
“So, can you use spells?”
“…”
Next, we headed to the market street to satisfy our hungry stomachs.
Vendors lined the streets.
Fish cakes, roasted chicken legs, and nut pies were abundant.
“Here, try this. Ian, ah~”
Freya used a fork to offer me a small piece of cake.
“Ah~ is a bit much for a duke…”
“We’re both dukes, so it’s not a big deal, right? Ah, Commander, you were a viscount. My apologies.”
“…”
After hesitating for a moment, I placed it in my mouth.
The sweet strawberry jam and savory cream spread through my mouth.
“Mmm… it’s delicious.”
“Right?”
“Now, this is mine. Roasted jerky pie. I heard it’s a taste that all men love.”
It was more like a mass of protein than a jerky pie.
Irene chewed on it casually.
“This is better than the cake. Try it.”
“This is tasty too.”
***
“Ian, I think I need to go to another place today because of the supply issues in the North.”
“I also have to return to the Knights Order today.”
We can’t always stick together.
I originally came to the Central region to prevent disaster, not to stay in the North.
Before starting activities in earnest, I decided to address the most urgent matter.
The reason for the changed appearances of the Emperor, Sword Saint, and other key NPCs.
I needed to figure out why this was happening.
The place I sought out was the House of Balthazar.
If this world flowed according to the original story, it should have inevitably become a lair of monsters and disappeared.
However, what appeared before my eyes was a mansion just like the one I had encountered when I first ran away.
It was neat and kept, the same in form as it was eleven years ago.
It didn’t convey a gloomy atmosphere due to magic.
“Why?”
I repeated the question I had asked countless times.
Why was the House of Balthazar still intact?
Perhaps due to the lurking threat of monsters, I raised energy.
At that moment, an old man appeared, opening the main gate of the mansion and stepping outside.
Even from a reasonable distance, I recognized the old man immediately.
He was the attendant who had been by my side when I first possessed this body.
The moment I saw the old man, I realized.
The House of Balthazar had not perished yet.
Was it because the head of the family was not insane? Or was it because I had run away?
Various branches of possibilities arose and vanished.
In that instant, my eyes met those of the old man, who was about to start cleaning.
“…Excuse me, what brings you here?”
The old man did not recognize me.
“I have come to see Count Balthazar.”
“May I ask why you are looking for the Count…?”
Is he still alive?
I spoke to feel him out.
“I heard that he was in poor condition.”
If things flowed as in the original, Count Tiran would have gone insane.
To the extent that he would turn all his employees and hired hands into monsters.
“Well… the Count’s condition has worsened, and he has withdrawn from his position as head of the family. The one currently leading the House of Balthazar is Silvia…”
The old man, who had been speaking calmly, suddenly stopped.
He stared at my face with a look of shock, as if he had seen a dead person, and hurriedly stepped back.
His face turned pale.
“I-Ian young master, how…!!”
“Hmm, so both of them are still alive. Then, would it be alright if I visited those two myself?”
Although I asked for permission, I had no intention of asking.
I entered the mansion without any resistance.
The gazes of the servants tending to the garden all turned toward me.
I stepped inside.
