Flying Sword (1)
That old man is so fucking cool. I might actually fall for him. *Gulp.* Saliva slid down my throat. That was how sweet the taste of power and connections could be.
I barely stopped myself from reaching for the laurel wreath emblem. Even dogs know to wait for the right time and place, so a human primate like me couldn’t possibly be worse than a dog.
My hand stopped, but the corners of my mouth trembled with delight. It wouldn’t have been this hard to hold back a smile even against my wives’ cutest antics.
Calm down. Deep breaths. Deep breaths…
When Cornelius handed me the emblem, he had said he would cover for me “as much as possible” until the day he repaid the favor I had shown. In other words, if I used this emblem to cross the line, there was a chance he would cut ties completely.
He would take responsibility for disputes between nobles, but if I went and punched a member of the Romanian imperial family, it would be a hundred percent over for me. It was an extreme example, but it meant his help had clear limits.
When I thought about it, it was obvious. This was compensation for saving his grandson and daughter-in-law’s lives. Asking him to take responsibility even if their lives were threatened again would be the deranged rambling of someone with zero conscience—a mother who abandoned her own child, that kind of person.
In the end, this was a consumable item with obvious limitations.
So for the love of god, let’s calm down, you stupid mouth.
I deliberately filled my head with negative thoughts to force myself to stay cool. If I didn’t, it felt like my excitement would launch me straight into orbit.
“Huuu…”
I took a small breath so no one else could hear. No matter how much I tried to downplay its value internally, the worth of this emblem refused to diminish.
It belonged to a Romanian noble house, but one from the Senate. The weight of this crest carried influence even abroad.
The basic rule of investment is that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
The more money someone had, the more chances they got to earn even more. A senior senator would obviously serve as a major sponsor for global organizations like the Hermeion Guild.
After all, companies don’t stand alone—they survive on the support of major shareholders and patrons. Even setting everything else aside, if the Armaals family sponsored only the mage guild and adventurer guild alliance, that was already enough. This emblem would work in most countries.
…This is better than being an honorary noble with no backing.
After all, a pathetic senior bragging that his cousin is a lieutenant colonel was nothing compared to a new recruit whose grandfather was a two-star general. A section chief pushed out of the company line couldn’t compare to the chairman’s own grandson.
A commoner backed by the Senate from the shadows was far more dangerous than an honorary noble in name only. The Armaals family crest would be extremely effective against nobles or corrupt merchants that would be difficult for me to handle alone.
Simply receiving this emblem and leaving had already made the visit to the Armaals family worthwhile.
It seems you like it. That’s fortunate.
Cornelius leaned back against his chair.
The benefits for the recipient will be prepared by the butler in contractual form. It would only tire you if a noble like myself explained it personally.
That won’t be necessary at all, but I cannot trouble the head of the family. I will gladly receive it in written form.
Wow. His consideration was off the charts. How on earth had I ended up getting beaten like a dog by someone I could communicate with this smoothly?
I had assumed he was a rigid old fossil, but he turned out to be a proper macho man in his own right. I hereby award you second-class tail-macho status. This is your fault, Kang Bukho. If such a respectable elder had swung the rod, there must have been a proper reason.
Anyway.
Do so. By the way, you said you were an archaeologist. What is your main field of research?
…Language interpretation was my major at university, but I am currently working in the field.
Even if we were talking about research, I only had a vague goal of eventually transitioning into dimensional travel studies. If he asked what I was doing right now, I would honestly be at a loss for an answer.
Cornelius stroked his white beard.
An adventurer who explores ruins as a scholar? Sharpening your own abilities while seeking artifacts that slumber in the world.
“Yes. You understood perfectly.”
I sponsor quite a few adventurers and scholars like that. Many of them have produced notable results.
He interlocked his fingers once more.
If you need a budget or support during your research, submit it for review. If the family’s administrative officers determine it has investment value, the approval will reach my desk.
“…Thank you.”
When he mentioned a budget, I considered bringing up the Elixir business, but thought better of it.
Starting something without talking to Selena first feels wrong.
The other party was a Senate family. If I wasn’t careful, the entire business could get swallowed whole. I would wait until I saw how the business progressed and whether the budget felt tight before bringing it up. There was no need to do it right now.
With that, the sponsor discussion is largely finished. Let us move on to another topic.
“That’s fine with me, but… what other topic do you mean?”
The gift and the family’s sponsorship were promises our daughter-in-law made to you, were they not? Naturally, you should speak with me as well. Surely you don’t intend to leave empty-handed after being invited as a guest to our house?
Wow, shit. They’re even throwing in a souvenir on top of everything?
I felt genuine emotion at this natural flex—like a jobless man beating off. This was what real wealth looked like. Spending money like it was water.
It’s only worth a penny or two anyway. Take it with you. A man should occasionally show his capable side in front of his wives, puff out his chest a little, and return home with some dignity.
As I sat there dizzy from being bombarded by bundles of money, the elder spoke with infinite coolness.
When an adult offers something to the young, they should simply accept it gratefully. Do not worry about it. A grown man like you probably doesn’t have to worry about being looked down on by his wives anyway.
“C-Cough. Thank you, Patriarch Elder.”
I bowed humbly, expressing my gratitude. Respect welled up so strongly that my palms practically rubbed together on their own.
He might be thinking of marking promising talents with his scent in advance, but for a master’s degree holder whose only experience of “being marked” was getting physically chomped on by his wives, this was still an incredible blessing.
When he calls it pocket change, he means from his perspective. By normal standards, it would still be a huge sum.
You’ve made it, Bukho. The days of getting furious over three copper for a request fee feel like a lie now.
Even on Earth, the truly rich who never knew where to spend their money would split such “pocket change” and hand out sponsorships everywhere. Becoming one of those beneficiaries made genuine, unfiltered emotion overflow in my chest.
It felt like I had been recognized for my abilities and admitted into Baekgyeong University. So this was why people risked their lives to pledge loyalty.
In the future, if the elder called, I might even fly over using intercontinental teleportation.
Now then… is there anything you desire? If it is in the warehouse, I will give it to you immediately.
I thought for a moment at the elder’s words. Something I needed…
“…Do you have equipment suitable for an adventurer?”
Armaments? Of course we have them. However, I would not recommend them.
I opened my mouth, then closed it again. I wasn’t sure if it was all right to ask why.
The elder quickly read my inner thoughts and answered.
You are an archaeologist, are you not? Compared to the artifacts of ancient civilizations, the magic items made in the present day are not suited for true battle.
“Excuse me? Is that so?”
I had never once considered modern magic items inferior, so I asked without thinking. The elder pointed at the knight commander standing like a statue behind him.
This friend’s armor is the same. It is mithril armor enchanted with defensive magic, designed so the wearer’s stamina surges and they never grow tired. They say one could fight for three days and nights straight without fatigue.
“It is a wonderful treasure.”
Just hearing the description made me gasp. This wasn’t a golden Lamborghini—it was a jumbo jet. But what did he mean that it wasn’t suited for battle? An armor with stamina recovery should be incredibly useful.
This armor is a gift from the Nidavellir workshop I sponsor. However, I had to reject the first one they sent. Why do you think that is?
I smiled awkwardly, unable to answer. He chuckled.
Because powerful attack magic had been cast on it. His Imperial Majesty has placed restrictions on the number and power of magic items enchanted with offensive spells.
“On magic items…? Because of the danger?”
Exactly. A magic item with attack magic has the same power no matter who uses it, as long as mana can be supplied.
The elder drew the staff-sword he had used to beat me earlier and showed it. Could that blade be a magic item too? It was unfortunate I couldn’t use Odin’s Eye during conversation. I didn’t sense any mana, but it was a sword hidden inside a staff. They had probably concealed the leaking mana. An expensive self-defense weapon, no doubt.
We cannot interfere with artifacts found in ruins, but Romanian nobles are regulated in the number, distribution, and production of offensive magic items they possess. Those damnably strict civil officials sometimes come for inspections.
“I-I see.”
Our elder’s language became rather crude when no one else was watching. Was this really someone who had received family head education from childhood? It felt more like talking to a rich merchant or guild master.
Voices in the Senate have called it an evil law and pushed for its abolition for generations, but they have never succeeded.
—*Sring.* The elder sheathed the blade back into the staff.
Therefore, unfortunately, giving you a powerful weapon would be difficult.
“I understand. Not only does the family possess few weapons, but since you can hire adventurers for tasks that require force under the name of sponsorship, there are regulations on their distribution and gifting as well.”
If that loophole were allowed, nobles could claim “this guy and I are unrelated, he’s not my subordinate” and distribute insanely strong weapons to agents placed outside the family. The number of magic weapons held by nobles would then exceed the legal limit.
Correct. You are a very wise young man.
The elder smiled with satisfaction. This kind of talk was beyond ordinary common sense, so it was my first time hearing it, but once explained, it made perfect sense.
Mana potions are in a similar position.
As I had said before, if there were no addiction effect with potions in this world, mana recovery potions would never be sold on the market. Why? Because skilled mages could hoard them and spam infinite fireballs.
Mana is basically petroleum. Depending on how it’s used, it becomes a military resource.
The orichalcum pillars in the City of the Dead were, to be blunt, mana generators used during wartime. Mana—the all-purpose wonder of this world’s civilization—was gunpowder, petroleum, and electricity all in one.
Imagine me storing mana potions by the tank and using Absolute Celestial Domain dozens of times. I would become the ultimate human storm known as Nord. Romania itself might be reduced to ruins.
Similarly, if hundreds of weapons that emitted attack magic were handed out to peasants? A magical☆ peasant uprising would be entirely possible.
Honestly, thinking about it this way, it was strange that other countries were so lax about managing mana and magic items. If this were a world without monsters or dungeons, things definitely wouldn’t have developed like this.
“Um… I’m not sure if it’s all right to ask, but… are the circumstances different in other countries?”
As far as I know, the only country that strictly regulates it is our own.
I nodded. I could roughly guess why.
…Because the first Senate divided power using Arma Shunas’s strength. They want to prevent that event from repeating.
So that weapons similar to Arma’s “armaments” would never be born.
I see. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a magic item with attack magic cast on it.
I had seen things like the illusion mask or flying throwing knives, but never the fantasy classic of a flame-spewing magic sword. If Romania’s policy was the reason, it made sense.
The mage guild—the headquarters of magic in this world—is a guild belonging to Romania. If they don’t want to fall out of the emperor’s favor, even their foreign branches probably avoid producing offensive magic items.
Germania or Nidavellir might produce such weapons, though.
Therefore, the only things we can give you are sturdy swords or armor. But at this point, how much help would the standard equipment of our Flying Sword Knight Order be to a warrior of your caliber?
The elder spoke as if concluding the topic.
He was right. They couldn’t give me something on the level of the knight commander’s armor, and it was too expensive to shamelessly ask for it. Even if I received equipment like what Lias used, the only physical damage dealer in our party was me.
Rather than half-assed equipment, it would be better to ask for something else.
Having thought that far, I spoke.
“In that case, I would like some processed mithril ingots and to make one small request. Would you hear me out?”
Mithril… We recovered several ingots when we swept away the Holtares family. A few should remain.
The elder, who had muttered something that sent a slight chill down the listener’s spine, nodded willingly.
I will give you a few. Tell me this request of yours.
“I wish to receive training—no, instruction.”
…Instruction? From you?
“Yes.”
I put on the expression of a humble warrior and continued.
“From the knight commander standing over there.”
If he commanded a knight order, he would naturally possess proper martial arts and methods for training mana. Unlike Stella, the warrior chief of the Ulster tribe whose explanations had been clumsy, he was a warrior who had reached mithril class through systematic training. If I could observe his martial arts and training methods with these eyes that could read and see through a master’s techniques, making that essence my own would not be a mere dream.