Chapter 228. Childhood Friend – Hands Behind the Back
“Nice to meet you. But… Marquis, who is this person?”
Lev pretended not to know him. The Marquis of Guidan answered with a troubled expression.
“This is Count Soarel Demetri Ogerton. Let’s go inside and talk. We have been waiting for you.”
The Marquis of Guidan led the two into his office, rather than the reception room. In a somewhat barren room for a great noble’s office, the three sat facing each other.
“Have you decided?”
Lev was the first to speak.
He asked the marquis, feigning disinterest in the count, although he already knew the marquis had decided to rebel.
The Akine had taken place two days ago.
No doubt, the twin princes had issued an ultimatum to him, leaving the Marquis of Guidan with little choice. That must be why he brought Count Ogerton.
The Marquis Harvey gave a slight nod but revealed there was an issue.
“Marquis Drageen won’t join us. He doesn’t want his name listed among rebels without a cause. He says he will remain neutral.”
“A cause… It seems liberating oppressed natives isn’t enough of a cause for him. That’s troubling. Is there no way to persuade him?”
“Unfortunately, no.”
How could things never go as expected? The supposedly easy-to-persuade Marquis Ebeny Drageen refused, while the difficult-to-persuade count came of his own accord.
Feeling increasingly anxious, Lev turned his attention to Count Ogerton.
“Understood. We’ll find another way to persuade Marquis Drageen. Count Ogerton, was it? Judging by the name ‘Demetri,’ it seems you are a wizard affiliated with the Bolinu Tower… What business do you have with me, a wizard?”
Count Ogerton maintained his manners. Despite being asked to clarify his intentions again, he spoke with a certain eagerness.
“Show me your Aura Blade. It may be a difficult request for a busy Swordmaster, but if you could allow me to study it for two months… no, just one month, I would greatly appreciate it. I heard you plan to start a rebellion. If you agree, I will fully cooperate.”
“…The curiosity of wizards is indeed boundless and unpredictable. What do you intend to research about the Aura Blade?”
Seeing Lev’s interest, Soarel didn’t just speak. He snapped his fingers, summoning small spheres that served as examples to aid the understanding of non-wizards.
“Mana is invisible to those with less sensitivity, but it is free. Wizards merely show a path to this free force; saying that wizards control mana isn’t quite accurate. However,”
The count clenched his fist in the air, causing the spheres to gather and fix in one place.
“Mana absorbed by living beings rarely leaves. Mana tends to keep a certain distance due to the wavelengths it emits, but within living beings, it overlaps in a peculiar way. This phenomenon is the ‘Mana Overlap Phenomenon,’ the primary interest of our Bolinu Tower. Through centuries of… ahem, experiments, we have established the ‘Mana Overlap Theory’ in recent years. However, one mystery remains unsolved.”
His eyes, so intensely pink they appeared almost purple, scanned Lev and the Marquis of Guidan. Count Ogerton seemed to lose a bit of his composure.
“What could it be?” — It seemed he was hoping someone would ask, so Lev did, and the count was delighted.
“Is it the Aura Blade?”
“Exactly! To be precise, it’s the Aura. Aura doesn’t necessarily manifest only as a blade. It could be on the head of an axe, for instance… as showed by Baron Arpen Albacete. In any case, the phenomenon of mana binding to non-living objects can’t be easily explained by the Mana Overlap Theory. So, I’ve sought out Swordmasters to uncover this.”
Lev thought about how this man had been away from the kingdom for five years for this reason and offered advice.
“The reason an Aura can manifest on a sword is quite simple. It’s just a phenomenon where the swordsman considers the sword an extension of their body.”
“Count Jacob Mordred said the same… no, he explained it that way. But that makes it even more fascinating. To think that mana can be moved solely by perception, without any formula or mana rod… Is the mastery of mana something only those with high mana sensitivity, like a Swordmaster, can achieve? Because that falls under the realm of ‘sorcery.’ In any case, I want to research that and also understand how the Aura Blade possesses such powerful cutting power. The Bolinu Tower has developed a magic called the ‘Pulsing Orb,’ modeled after the heart of a living being. It’s destructive, but it can’t cut anything.”
The count, despite his intellectual appearance, spoke rapidly in his excitement. Lev asked calmly.
“It sounds like you’ve met other Swordmasters. Did they not assist you in your research?”
“No. They all said they didn’t have the capacity to concern themselves with such matters. It’s understandable, given how busy they are…”
“Then I must decline as well.”
“…”
“I’m kidding. If you join the rebellion, I will cooperate with your research for one or two months. However, it’s not possible right now. I’m too busy at the moment.”
“How long will I need to wait?”
“A year will suffice. If the Bolinu Tower assists us, everything will be over by this time next year.”
Lev subtly assigned a task to Count Soarel, hoping he would persuade other wizards to join the rebels, but the count looked troubled.
“Well… hmm… let me be honest. I can’t say for sure. Since I’ve decided to join the rebellion, I will contact my tower and peers, but they won’t be pleased.”
“…Why is that?”
“It’s awkward to explain this to you, who claim to represent all natives of this land. Hmm… Do you know why there is no tower in the Holy Kingdom of Jerome? Excluding the Kingdom of Aster, since the Astin Kingdom, which split from Aster, has a tower.”
Count Ogerton hesitated, rubbing his chin, then continued. Lev waited as it wasn’t a question that needed answering, and the count responded on his own.
“It’s because there is no slavery.”
As the count pointed out, there were towers in the other five kingdoms, except for the Holy Kingdom and Aster.
The ‘Cornell Tower’ in the eastern Kingdom of Eisel, the ‘Regd Tower’ in the northern Kingdom of Aslan, before it split into two, known for its barrier magic, the ‘Kamitz Tower’ in the central Kingdom of Belita, renowned for its attribute imbuing theory, the ‘Iver Tower’ in the southeastern Kingdom of Conrad, which still retains a shamanistic aura, and the ‘Bolinu Tower’ in the southwestern Kingdom of Orun, known for its mana overlap theory.
While the Kingdom of Aster lacked a tower because it was left in the Astin Kingdom after the Aslan Kingdom split, the Holy Kingdom of Jerome had no tower because the heavily influenced Holy Kingdom abolished slavery.
Towers required slavery to function. Wizards conducted experiments on slaves, but there was a more fundamental reason.
The essential talent for magic, mana sensitivity, wasn’t inherited.
Since this extremely rare talent manifested randomly, one of the primary tasks of the towers was to find and take children born with this talent.
However, the vast majority of the population in this world were serfs bound to nobles.
This included children, so towers would pay the local nobles to take these children. Unlike other kingdoms, the Holy Kingdom of Jerome didn’t condone this.
The Holy Church deemed this practice human trafficking, preventing a tower from being established in the Holy Kingdom.
This was why the towers opposed the abolition of slavery. Now that Lev intended to liberate the potential slaves, the barbarians of Orun, his relationship with the tower was bound to become strained.
‘This is a headache.’
Listening to Count Ogerton’s explanation, Lev realized he would have to completely revise his plans.
In the worst case, only Count Ogerton might side with the rebels, while other wizards would side with the Lognum royal family.
Already at a disadvantage in terms of knights, losing the wizards would leave them with no chance of victory.
Lev briefly considered suggesting, “It’s fine to take children showing talent in magic,” but it conflicted with his previous actions.
… I can’t compromise before even starting.
Lev remained silent for a moment, tapping his index finger on the armrest of his chair. Finally, resigning himself, he spoke up.
“Marquis Guidan.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Tell Prince Algeo de Lognum that you cannot marry your daughter to him. Instead, it would be better to let something else slip.”
“What would that be?”
“…Before that, do you know who the knight was that attacked Phallas Tertan?”
“Yes, it was a man named Sir Bart… I heard he was a former bodyguard of Prince Leanne de Yeriel.”
“That’s correct. But have you ever considered why that knight attacked Phallas Tartan?”
“…Wouldn’t it be to avenge the duke who helped overthrow his master?”
“Well, I don’t think so. If revenge were his goal, it would make more sense to target Prince Eric de Yeriel, who directly ousted his master. The fact that he now targets the duke’s grandson suggests he has another motive.”
Please. Don’t know anything.
Fortunately, the marquis seemed uncertain about Sir Bart, tilting his head in confusion. Lev swallowed a sigh of relief and continued.
“I suspect that Prince Leanne de Yeriel might still be alive. I have a feeling there will be chaos in the Conrad Kingdom soon. Hence, I advise you to tell Prince Algeo de Lognum that you are determined to capture and kill Sir Bart, even if it means attacking the Conrad Kingdom. You might get an interesting reaction.”
“…I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Haha.”
Lev laughed nonchalantly.
As if he were a prophet or a person of great insight, he spoke of things no one else could possibly know with confidence.
“Why do you think the twin princes are so desperate to marry your daughter? It’s not like they lack women. They must need the power of Marquis Guidan… and it’s obvious why.”
It’s not obvious at all.
The marquis waited for an explanation with a perplexed expression, and Lev confidently declared,
“The princes want to annex the Conrad Kingdom.”
“That’s quite a leap.”
“You’ll know if it’s a leap or not once you probe the prince. Tell him your daughter’s condition is not good. Since Marquis Drageen has not joined us, we need more time. Just try saying it.”
“What if it’s not true?”
“Then I’ll rush to the palace and cut off the princes’ heads. I may not come out alive, but you won’t have to marry off your daughter. I’m not speaking lightly. Trust me, and go.”
There were some minor skirmishes afterwards, but they weren’t significant. On his way back to his quarters, Lev had other thoughts.
– I want to end the war with minimal damage.
Perhaps it was because of the {Strategy} skill he gained from the last scenario, but he didn’t want to wage a crude war like before.
He wanted to outsmart the twin princes more elegantly, without suffering any harm.
To do that…
‘I should hand over command to Cesar.’
Lev walked with his hands behind his back.
