Chapter 193
Chapter 193
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 193
Chapter Title: Cat
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After a day filled with powerlessness and cruelty had passed, the Estate Lord gathered the core figures of the territory.
Knights, administrators, and even the few remaining elders.
Looking at the assembled group, the Estate Lord inwardly sighed.
‘The initiative has already clearly shifted.’
The knights and mages all followed Eloise—or more precisely, Arsen. That alone meant the territory’s entire military power had perfectly fallen into their hands.
Even the quick-witted administrators seemed to be trying to align themselves with Eloise’s side.
Arsen, son of Lenoc.
Gazing at the young knight, the Estate Lord recalled the distant past when he had first arrived in Belluan.
A small boy who, even after being washed and changed into new clothes, still carried a grimy air, but whose strange violet eyes shone clearly, exuding an extraordinary presence.
Over the past few years, that young boy had grown into a powerholder who gripped the territory’s real authority and a formidable knight capable of easily defeating Ramun Knight.
It was growth that had happened in the blink of an eye.
“Thank you all for gathering like this.”
“We congratulate you on your recovery, my lord!”
The Estate Lord raised his hand to halt the effusive greetings laced with flattery.
Then, he declared firmly.
“This is regrettable as my first statement upon returning, but I intend to step down from the position of Estate Lord.”
“My lord!”
At the Estate Lord’s declaration, the elders cried out in surprise.
An elderly retired knight spoke up.
“My lord, you’re still in good health...”
“I may be a bit younger than you, but I’m no longer at an age to call myself hale. Above all, after seeing that state of things, I lack the energy to continue as Estate Lord. Just being here tires me out.”
No one could bring themselves to say he was still vigorous or could lead the territory further, seeing his gaunt, frail body and the melancholic expression that suited it.
They, too, as family men, understood well how much mental strain the Estate Lord must have endured.
In contrast, the knights from Arsen’s faction—newcomers to Belluan—didn’t show much emotion.
They saw it as only natural for Eloise to become Estate Lord, and thus for Arsen, their lord, to effectively rule Belluan.
“No objections, then.”
“......We shall obey.”
“Glory to Belluan!”
Confirming everyone’s agreement, the Estate Lord declared flatly.
“Then, the next Estate Lord shall be Eloise. We’ll hold the ceremony soon. Administrators, prepare the formal rites properly.”
“Understood!”
“Eloise, stay behind a moment.”
Once everyone had left, the Estate Lord called Eloise in a softer voice, unlike his rigid tone from before.
“Eloise.”
“Yes, Father.”
She now called him Father instead of Dad. The Estate Lord felt both reassurance and a pang of loneliness at that fact.
The child who would now carry on after him. Yet he had taught her nothing.
His two sons, who had been ‘normal children,’ had received heir training in preparation for if something happened to one of them, but he had never even dreamed his mage daughter might become the successor.
Thus, he had to leave something for the child who would become the territory’s legitimate master.
An old man’s wisdom wouldn’t be a bad gift.
“You will now become Belluan’s Estate Lord. Mountains and fields, rivers and streams—all shall be yours.”
“Father, I...”
“I want to rest now. Besides, you have a powerful companion, don’t you?”
Just mentioning Arsen brought a flush of color to Eloise’s face, and seeing it stirred complicated emotions in Lord Nut’s expression.
Observing that face, the Estate Lord broached the uncomfortable topic he had prepared in advance.
“I didn’t want to say this, but since you’ll be Estate Lord, I called you to give some advice on what to watch out for.”
“Please speak.”
“First, always be wary of your future husband. You must hold the reins of power absolutely.”
Eloise’s face stiffened slightly at the Estate Lord’s words.
Sensing it, he didn’t stop his advice. Even if his daughter didn’t take it kindly, he saw this as the last thing he could do for her.
“Of course, don’t show it outwardly. On the surface, make your words and actions sweet as honey, and never directly reveal anything that might displease your husband. First, draw the knights and mages to your side to secure military power. Whenever you bestow anything, always do it in your name...”
Do disreputable acts in your husband’s name—
Before he could continue, Eloise raised her hand to stop him.
The Estate Lord didn’t scold her for daring to interrupt her father. He simply gazed at her silently.
Meeting her father’s eyes steadily, Eloise countered.
“I know you’re saying this out of concern for me, but I don’t want to hear it.”
“I know how much affection you hold for that young man. I know saying this feels like a betrayal, as someone whose life he saved. But power is a blade. If you don’t hold the hilt, you must entrust your life entirely to him.”
“Then I’ll entrust it.”
Eloise declared, looking her father straight in the eye.
“Arsen could succeed anywhere if he set his mind to it—not just Belluan. He might even become the lord of a vast territory in the distant central continent, commanding hundreds of knights.”
Her words contained knowledge the Estate Lord couldn’t comprehend.
For Nut, who had been born and lived as a ruler confined to the narrow confines of Belluan his whole life—where the world had shrunk to that place—it was a sensibility beyond his grasp.
“Yet Arsen returned to Belluan with me, saved you, Father, and decided to make this place livable together. If Arsen were to stab me, it would mean I deserved it. It would mean I’d done something to make someone who cherishes me that much turn against me.”
Nut stared at his daughter in unfamiliar astonishment as she spoke clearly, facing him.
After a moment, he nodded calmly in response.
“......Yes, I could be wrong. Do as you think best, my daughter. May your trust be rewarded.”
The Estate Lord sighed and looked to the sky.
Now truly relegated to an old man in the back room, he lamented inwardly.
* * *
While Eloise was having a private talk with the Estate Lord, Arsen was meeting and conversing with another person.
Latis, the elder and current head of the Star Burmi.
He was also to become the first chairman of the newly formed Mage Association.
Originally, Arsen had planned to nominate Luden, but Luden had refused, saying he hated such troublesome positions.
Latis mainly stayed inside the library.
He and the other Star Burmi mages, in collaboration with Luden, were aiding the territory’s reconstruction and miscellaneous tasks requiring magic, while searching the library for technologies helpful to territory management.
Arsen had made the library transparent for their access and floated it at the top of the mage’s tower where Luden resided.
“You’ve come, Sir Arsen.”
“Yes. You said you found something remarkable.”
At Arsen’s words, Latis grinned and unrolled a sheet of paper.
It seemed to be a copy of something from the library’s knowledge.
“We found something truly incredible. I was going to wait until dinner, but I couldn’t hold back.”
“To say that much—it’s got me excited.”
“I mentioned before that restoring the purification magic circles has to be done sequentially, right?”
“Yes, you did.”
It would be ideal if fixing the root cause of the southern kingdom’s collapsed purification magic circle could purify the entire continent at once, but that was impossible.
For one, the south was still a dangerous zone for them to operate in, and crucially, they didn’t yet have the technology to touch the Estate Lord’s residence.
Even in the distant ancient Second Era, when magic technology was most advanced, it hadn’t been possible.
“We found the fundamental technology to connect purification magic circles.”
“Connect them... Could you explain in detail?”
“It’s about linking the territory and surrounding fortresses to create a larger magic circle. Small in comparison, but still enormous.”
“Of course it would be. If it covers Belluan and the surrounding fortresses.”
He couldn’t measure precisely, but the distance from Belluan to the encircling fortresses was dozens of kilometers at least.
If the entire region commonly called ‘Belluan’ fell within the magic circle, its scope would be unimaginably vast.
“This is probably how the ancestors started when they first created the purification magic circles. First phase: cover all of Belluan—the fortress zones surrounding the territory—as the purification area. Then expand gradually, territory by territory.”
If successful, it would truly change the world.
Belluan’s population wasn’t precisely tallied, but somewhere between ten and twenty thousand; adding the nearby fortresses would likely double that or come close.
But if the entire Belluan region became a purified zone, allowing unrestricted farming?
Mobilizing the library’s advanced agricultural tech, the food produced there could sustain hundreds of thousands, even millions.
Just imagining it was thrilling.
“Think of those violet plains outside turning entirely into wheat fields...”
“Humanity’s paradise would bloom here.”
Naturally, as Latis optimistically put it, overflowing resources didn’t automatically make a paradise. Arsen knew that better than anyone.
On Earth, were any resource-rich developed nations paradises?
But one thing was certain: places lacking resources were hell, even if abundant ones weren’t paradises.
Creating an environment free of starvation was an immense achievement in itself.
“I’ll support you.”
“We’ll definitely make it happen!”
Just then, something popped out from behind. Something much smaller than a person, walking on four legs.
Some might call it a cat. Aside from not being made of flesh and blood, its appearance was quite similar.
But its body was smooth metal, and gems were embedded in its eyes.
A strange mechanical sound emanated from the cat’s mouth.
-Will someone pay attention to me too?-
“Barkran?”
-Yeah, it’s me.-
The metal cat’s identity was the ancient, Barkran Kedow.
After acquiring the library, Arsen had promised to give Barkran a simple movable body first.
To be precise, Eloise and the other mages had made the body. They found blueprints for a Jin—specifically, a simple form—and used the orb containing Barkran as its core.
The Star Burmi mages were thrilled at the chance to converse with a living ancient spirit.
Thanks to that, progress was faster than expected, and soon after arriving in Belluan, Barkran gained his new, clumsy metal cat form.
At first, he’d been delighted by the novelty, but it seemed he’d grown bored of the cat body quickly.
-Haven’t seen your face in a while, huh?-
“I’ve been busy.”
-Yeah, sure. I get that.-
Barkran, who had mumbled awkwardly at the firm reply, soon got straight to the point.
-So, when the hell are you making my real body?-
“You said you could wait generations before.”
Sensing the nuance of impatience, Barkran turned his head sheepishly.
He seemed embarrassed, having contradicted his own words.
-No, I said that, but back then I didn’t know this existed. These mages here are only looking into stuff besides biotech. Purification magic or weapon crafting. At this rate, it’ll take decades to even have a chance at my body...-
“That’s because those are the fields we need right now. We can’t tell people dying to magic beasts or starving, ‘Sorry, but our friend hates his cat body, so we’ll develop tech to save you later. Hang in there another thirty years or so.’”
-Damn it.-
At Arsen’s response, Barkran shook his head but acquiesced.
Seeing that, Arsen subtly changed the subject.
“Work’s going okay, I take it?”
-It’s not hard. Less boring than being stuck in that orb.-
To sum up Barkran’s library role: living encyclopedia and search assistant.
As an ancient rich in that era’s common knowledge, he explained ancient concepts and terms modern mages couldn’t grasp.
According to Latis, it was quite helpful.
“Once territory management stabilizes, I’ll prioritize your body, so cooperate for now. A few years is nothing, right? You’re not aging.”
-True, but still.-
Barkran replied sullenly, assuming a loafing pose.
Since the body wasn’t as flexible as a real cat, it looked somewhat eerie.
-Feels like I’m getting screwed over.-
Spinning his head 360 degrees, Barkran left the room with a suspicious air.
Latis, the elder watching from the side, burst into laughter.