Ashel Gronhilt (1)
Level 70.
All things considered, I needed an escort of at least Level 70. It was a paltry figure compared to the Lords, but they were monsters who existed outside any reasonable scale to begin with. Even Level 70 was, in truth, a formidable powerhouse. If a Level 30 could single-handedly massacre a hundred ordinary soldiers without breaking a sweat, a Level 70 could slaughter those Level 30s in droves, no matter how many of them came.
Finding an escort itself wouldn't be a problem...
If I simply went to the castle in the Seventh Lord's territory, I could easily find someone who met the requirements. The real issue was how much I could trust them. What I wanted was an ally who would stay at my side at all times and protect me — and trust, naturally, mattered far more than raw ability. If only for the worst-case scenario, I needed someone I could reasonably believe in as my escort.
"...This is going to be complicated."
This was how crushing a position could be when it didn't match your actual power. I hadn't even done anything yet, and already just thinking about what lay ahead had me hitting a wall. I let out a small sigh and sank back into the chair. Then a thought struck me, and I called for Kaylen, who was waiting outside the room.
"I'd like to do some reading. Does the castle have a library?"
"Yes, my lord. It does."
I'd asked just in case, and the answer came back in the affirmative. There wasn't just one — there were several, and even a central library of its own. Come to think of it, there was nothing strange about a castle having libraries. The Grand Lord Castle was, in Seintean terms, no different from an imperial palace. The name just sounded a little different because it was called a Lord's castle.
"If you would tell me the kind of books you desire, I shall have them brought at once—"
"That won't be necessary. I intend to go myself. Show me the way."
"At once, my lord."
Kaylen said something to the attendants nearby. The startled servants scurried off somewhere in a hurry. I'd only asked to be shown the way — what were they even doing? In any case, I followed her toward the library.
As we walked the corridors, some of those we passed flinched in surprise and offered silent bows. I could feel eyes on me here and there. I hadn't even done anything — I'd barely shown my face — and already rumors about me seemed to have spread quite thoroughly through the castle.
Still, though.
Elves, beastfolk, dwarves, giants, and even a handful of rarer races besides. Humans were still the majority, but Calderic truly was home to an astonishing variety of peoples. The scenery still felt alien, but I'd get used to it given enough time.
The central library was several buildings over from the one that housed my chambers. The plaza where I'd seen knights training from my window earlier was along the way, so I glanced over as we passed.
The moment we arrived and stepped inside, I saw an old man standing at the entrance with formal courtesy, as if he'd been waiting. Judging by his small frame and the tail behind him, he appeared to be of the murine beastfolk — a ratkin.
"Welcome, Seventh Lord. It is an honor that you have graced the central library with your presence."
...So that's why they'd been in such a rush. They'd gone ahead and announced my visit even here? The ratkin elder, who introduced himself as the chief librarian, offered to personally guide me through the library, but I declined. I didn't need it. Leaving the two of them behind, I slowly made my way inside.
The interior was completely empty — not a soul in sight — and silent as a tomb. Whether it had always been this empty or they'd cleared everyone out before I arrived, I had no way of knowing.
It's enormous.
After a cursory look around, I understood why the librarian had offered to guide me. The books weren't classified all that precisely by shelf, so finding anything specific would take a fair amount of time. But that didn't matter. I wasn't looking for anything in particular. Any swordsmanship manual or magic tome would do.
This should be it.
I soon found a shelf packed with magic tomes and stopped. I pulled out a book at random and started skimming through it. Reading the text itself wasn't a problem at all. The common tongue of the Lakironia Continent — a language I'd never encountered in my previous life — had, for whatever reason, been as naturally comprehensible as my native language from the very moment I first possessed this body.
"..."
That said, I couldn't understand a single word of what I was actually reading. Magical theory... it seemed to involve some kind of mathematical principles, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it.
Figures it wouldn't work.
I flipped through to the last page, clicked my tongue softly, and closed the book. I hadn't come looking for magic tomes because I wanted to casually pick up some spells. When I'd played the game, there had been the occasional book-type item — magic tomes and the like — from which you could learn skills. I'd just been hoping, just in case. But of course that had been too much of a free lunch. If it actually worked, it would have been a complete cheat.
I browsed a few more volumes, then cleanly let the idea go. Since I was already here, I spent some time looking through other books as well, then left the library with Kaylen, who had been waiting at the entrance.
I'm getting hungry. Maybe I should ask them to make me a snack.
Idle thoughts like that occupied me on the way back to my room, when the knights caught my eye again. A considerable amount of time had passed since I'd first seen them, but they were still in the thick of intense training.
"...?"
I'd been watching them without much thought when my gaze suddenly locked onto one spot. I'd spotted something that didn't belong among the knights.
A white-haired woman knight, crossing blades with another knight in what looked like a spar. She was the anomaly. And for good reason — among knights who were at most in the Level 40s, she alone stood at a completely different level. I wondered if she was their superior, but there was someone else who looked the part.
More than anything, that face... I felt like I'd seen it somewhere before...
"Is something the matter, my lord?"
I'd stopped walking and stood there for quite some time, and Kaylen looked puzzled. I pointed at the knights and asked.
"Who are they?"
"They are apprentice knights of the castle's White Scale Knights, my lord. It appears they are conducting their midday training."
The White Scale Knights were the elite force stationed directly at the Grand Lord Castle. An ordinary knight of a typical noble house was around Level 30, and yet here at the Grand Lord Castle, even those over Level 40 were still apprentices...
"...!"
Ah. I remembered. That pure white hair. A knight of Calderic. There was naturally a vast difference between the game's graphics and how people looked in reality, but it was more than enough to stir a strange sense of familiarity.
"Is that man their commanding officer?"
I pointed at a man who was walking among the knights, apparently instructing them.
"Yes, my lord. He is the vice commander of the 5th Division of the White Scale Knights—"
"Could you call him over here for a moment?"
Even I knew it was an extremely abrupt request, and Kaylen looked momentarily flustered. But she immediately answered that she would, and approached the knights. She seemed to exchange a few words with the man, then promptly brought him before me. So this was power.
"It is an infinite honor to be in your presence, Seventh Lord! I am Kamson, vice commander of the 5th Division of the White Scale Knights!"
The man, rigid with tension, snapped off a stiff salute. His name was neither here nor there.
"I have a question."
"...Yes, my lord! I shall do my utmost to answer anything you ask!"
"That white-haired woman over there."
I pointed at her.
"What's her name?"
It was clearly not the question he'd expected. Vice Commander Kamson's face flickered with confusion for an instant before he answered quickly.
"That is Ashel, an apprentice knight. She joined three months ago and is currently undergoing her apprenticeship as a new recruit."
...I knew it.
The moment I heard that name, a faint chill ran down my spine. I'd wondered if it could be, but what were the odds of a coincidence like this?
Ashel Gronhilt.
One of the most central figures in RASA's main story. She first appeared as an enemy, but as the story progressed she gradually joined the allied camp, becoming a powerful force for good who provided tremendous aid.
So at this point in time, she was an apprentice knight at the Grand Lord Castle.
A natural question followed. Why was she serving as a mere apprentice knight? At a level over 80, she was more than qualified to surpass even a White Scale Knight commander and join the Black Scale — the Grand Lord Castle's most elite order. That was how she'd first appeared in the game, too.
...I have a rough idea why.
But I knew her background. I knew her circumstances. Which was why a plausible guess came to me almost immediately. Was she still wary of her surroundings? Was that why she'd enlisted while hiding her true power?
What do I do about this?
After the spar ended, Ashel sheathed her sword without the slightest sign of fatigue. She brushed her disheveled hair aside and glanced in this direction. I fell into a brief, intense deliberation.
This was an opportunity of the highest order. I was already in a position where I needed a trustworthy escort — and she was someone whose character I could trust completely. She was already more than strong enough, and if I could make an ally of someone with the potential to grow to Lord-class levels in the future...
The problem is how to persuade her.
Ashel was currently a knight of the Grand Lord Castle. Of course, with a Lord's authority, taking a single apprentice knight — even one belonging to the Grand Lord Castle — wouldn't be difficult. But that wasn't the issue. Ashel had become a knight of the Grand Lord Castle for a very specific purpose. If I ignored that and forcibly took her as my escort, she might well harbor hostility toward me rather than any goodwill.
"..."
I'd give it a try. If I hadn't seen her, that would be one thing. But having found her like this, she was far too valuable a person to simply walk away from. Having made up my mind, I spoke again.
"When does the training end?"
"It is scheduled to continue for approximately one more hour, my lord, but..."
"I'd like to speak with her. Would it be all right if I took her with me once it ends?"
At my words, the vice commander's face went blank. The reaction I'd expected. In Calderic, a Lord was the sky itself. And here was a Lord saying he had business with a mere apprentice knight and intended to take her with him personally.
"O-of course, my lord! You may take her at once—"
"No. In one hour."
I said it as if driving in a stake. I needed time to organize my thoughts before speaking with her.
"I'll head back first. Once training is over, bring her to my chambers at a leisurely pace."
I felt Kaylen's gaze take on a slightly peculiar quality at my words. A beat too late, I realized I might be inviting an unnecessary misunderstanding.
"I merely wish to have a conversation."
I added the clarification, and she bowed her head as if apologetic. I looked at Ashel one last time, then turned away. My mind raced. How was I going to talk her into becoming my escort?
Ashel arrived at my chambers about an hour later.
"It is an honor to be in your presence, Seventh Lord. I am Ashel, apprentice knight of the 5th Division of the White Scale Knights."
She saluted with an expressionless face, dressed not in the light armor she'd worn for training but in ordinary clothes.
"Sit."
I gestured toward the seat across from me. Ashel stood in silence for a moment, then sat. A table with just the two of us facing each other. Silence hung over the room.
I took a quiet sip of tea and glanced across the table. Ashel, who had been staring down at the teacup in front of her, seemed to sense my gaze and lifted her head. I could faintly read the emotions held in those vivid amber-orange eyes. Tension. Wariness. And questions. Eyes that said she had no idea why she was sitting here.
...Honestly, I was the more nervous of the two. The woman sitting in front of me was a monster over Level 80, and what I was about to say would certainly provoke her in a major way. But this was the best approach if I wanted to persuade her. I opened my mouth.
"Are you hiding your power?"
No beating around the bush. Straight to the point.
"..."
Ashel's expression slowly hardened.
"I can't understand why someone of your caliber would be serving as an apprentice knight. I'm curious why you're concealing your strength."
"...I do not understand what you mean, my lord."
A voice with a faint edge to it, clearly laced with wariness.
"If you intend to deny it, I'll get straight to the heart of the matter."
At those words, her eyes went wide.
"...!"
"I'd heard they were completely annihilated. I never expected a survivor. What brought you to the Grand Lord Castle?"
Sharply honed hostility stabbed through my entire body at once. It paled in comparison to the aura I'd felt from Noehu at the Lord Council, but that was only relative — the pressure was still tremendous. Meeting the gaze of her fiercely contorted face, I spoke with composure.
"Don't bother with any foolish ideas. You're not strong enough."
It was, of course, a bluff. If she drew her sword and swung it here, I would die without even registering that I was dying. But I had faith that she wouldn't. For one thing, Ashel wasn't the type to kill indiscriminately. Even if this was the past, it was only a few years — her nature wouldn't be any different. More than that, she wasn't so reckless as to charge blindly at someone far stronger than herself. No matter how much she prided herself on her own skill, she would know that a Lord of Calderic was a being of an entirely different caliber.
"..."
Whether the bluff had landed or not, Ashel bit down hard on her lip and withdrew her aura. Blood even trickled from her bitten lip, which made me feel a little sorry. She was probably more confused than she'd ever been. How I knew her identity. What my purpose was. She would be completely at a loss.
The persuasion started now.
All right. Time to talk my way through this.