Guests from the Capital - 1
The explosion rang out like a flash of lightning. That was the only word that fit its speed. The strange, oddly-shaped daggers in Isabel's hands sliced through the air, sending out a crescent of blue light along their path. Her magic power control was nearly flawless, born from countless real battles. Because she had far more experience fighting monsters than people, her ability to manipulate magic freely and her evasive instincts—always accounting for the unexpected—surpassed even Chloe's.
“Haaaaah!”
Chloe swung her longsword, which was nearly as long as she was tall, and erased the incoming slash. A wide wave of magic power scattered Isabel's attack, then she exploded forward with a burst of magical propulsion.
-BOOM!
Monsters with magic power often evolved in bizarre directions, even among the same species. That adventurer-like trait showed clearly in Isabel's movements. Hit-and-run tactics. Attacks that ignored distance, from close range to long range. Fluid motions that let her retreat at any moment if things went south. In contrast, Chloe was solid. Steadfast, yet supple. In emergencies, she chose defense over evasion to protect her lord. Her style was that of a true knight—enduring, redirecting, and holding the line against noble-level threats.
“Hup!”
A burst of magic power created an instantaneous dash. Chloe brought her longsword down with explosive force, using her momentum. Isabel sensed it immediately and made her decision. Blue light flared violently around both of her daggers.
-KWAaaaaang!
A massive explosion erupted where their weapons clashed. I waved my hand lazily to clear away the dust that had reached even this far away.
“Not bad at all.”
I sounded like one of those arrogant experts from manhwa. I chuckled and glanced at Triana, who was watching beside me.
“What do you think? If you had to fight her, could you win?”
“Hmm…”
Triana stared at the two with serious eyes. Both Chloe and Isabel were among the upper ranks of knights. Chloe was even praised as one of the most outstanding new talents in Franz. Strong magic power, meticulous control, and excellent swordsmanship. Isabel, who was holding her own against her, was clearly powerful too. But she still felt a little short of being a representative knight for the territory. She would make a fine captain for the next generation of knights, but she wasn’t quite ready for the role right now.
The person best suited for that position in Muller at the moment was Triana.
“I’m not sure. I know my magic power is stronger, but…”
Yet the way Triana trailed off made it obvious. This woman had almost no real combat experience. She had learned body reinforcement useful for assassination and daily life, and her basic magic control was excellent, but that was it. She had never fought a proper battle. Still, the fact that she had noticed me the fastest showed she had talent.
“Of course your magic power is higher. You’re from a viscount family, after all. What did you expect?”
“Yes… I’m sorry.”
The shadow that fell across her face, those mysterious purple eyes filled with melancholy. A beauty with an aura of mystery. Seeing such a woman make an apologetic expression didn’t make me angry at all. In fact, because she was a beauty, I could forgive anything.
Anyway, according to Triana, she had never received that kind of training. She probably didn’t want to speak ill of her father, but he seemed to have been quite patriarchal. Women with outstanding magic power like the Queen of Bahen faced no issues in society. Yet despite possessing viscount-level magic power, Triana had barely gone outside. Her role had been limited to helping with her father’s work.
“Start training from now on. No matter how strong your magic power is, basic physical ability isn’t something you can completely ignore. You don’t have to learn proper swordsmanship, but anyone with magic power should at least know how to use weapons. It’s the same with monsters. The saying ‘if you don’t know, you die’ exists for a reason.”
“Yes. I understand.”
Triana nodded at my words and turned her attention back to Chloe and Isabel’s spar. Since she had talent, just watching two people with completely opposite styles of magic control would be very helpful.
“Isabel is good, but Chloe’s movements would suit you better.”
“That’s what I felt too. If it were me, I could make it a little more solid.”
“Being solid isn’t always better. There’s a saying that what breaks easily before a powerful force is a great tree, while what survives is a flower that bends with the wind.”
“I see.”
The magic power of Muller was firm. Firmness was good. It made it easier to block strong attacks and made one’s own strikes hurt more. But becoming too obsessed with it wasn’t wise either.
While I was giving advice and watching their spar closely, Zeke approached.
“Lord Leoric.”
“What is it?”
“A guest has arrived.”
“A guest?”
There was only one person that came to mind. But already? My expression must have shown it, because Zeke nodded.
“It’s the priests of the Earth.”
At Zeke’s words, Triana turned her head as well. So it had finally come.
The two who had been sparring stopped their movements.
“Both of you, wash up and get ready. We’ll prepare as well.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
I hoped it wouldn’t be anything troublesome.
This world was based on a medieval setting, but there was surprisingly little worry about famine. In real medieval times, great famines were the biggest problem, and the saying that any country that couldn’t solve hunger would collapse wasn’t empty words. But this world was different. Not completely, of course. The northern region had its issues, and beyond the wasteland in the eastern region, I didn’t know, but the nearby areas were too barren for proper farming. The western region had so many rivers and lakes that even with farming, it couldn’t support the entire population.
Then what about the Brahms Kingdom?
The southern region had been called the continent’s granary for generations, and Brahms, which occupied most of that land, had been exporting large amounts of food since long ago. There were many reasons—weather, soil, and so on—but magic power couldn’t be left out. That was the Blessing of the Earth, one of the duties that many nobles had to perform without fail. Literally, it meant physically tilling the land and granting new vitality to soil exhausted by farming. During the period when farmers rested until the blessing settled, the entire territory often held festivals. Truly, this world would be almost impossible to live in without magic power.
I wondered how the Red Blood bastards planned to replace it.
And the ones who led the Blessing of the Earth were the faction that followed the royal family—the Earthrain ducal house, known as the Brown Moles. They were the priests of the Earth.
“Can’t you perform it yourself, my lord?”
“Of course I can. So can you.”
As we headed to the outer castle to greet the guests, Triana asked the question. Strictly speaking, both Chloe and Isabel could do it too. The only issue would be efficiency.
“If you were the one doing it… for a territory the size of Muller, wouldn’t it take more than a month?”
“…Even with my magic power, it would take that long?”
I smiled at her surprised expression. She was competent, but perhaps because she lacked real-world experience, she sometimes showed clumsy sides in both combat and administration.
“That’s right. Even with viscount-level magic power, it would take over a month. Since you’ve never done it before, it would take even longer. Franz could probably finish in under a month, but that’s partly because their fields are smaller than Muller’s to begin with.”
The efficiency was different. The Earthrain ducal house, which boasted the power of the earth. The magic power of their direct and collateral lines—called the priests of the Earth—was so different that it could easily ignore one or two ranks of nobility.
“And that’s one of the ways the capital keeps the southern powers in check.”
“Hmm. I’ve heard the stories, but…”
The Earthrain ducal house had apparently been worshipped as gods in the very distant past. Something like the God of the Earth or the God of Abundance. With such legends behind them, they had been active mainly in the southern region for a long time, and many farmers still believed in them.
“But while other territories finish the blessing in less than a week, we would take over a month? Especially during planting season? It’s quite damaging to a noble’s pride, isn’t it?”
It was also a task they had traditionally performed. In game terms, it would be an event that lowered the people’s sentiment or the loyalty of vassals. This was also why both Franz and Bolang, core powers of the south, had poor relations with the capital. Bolang had always focused on commerce, so their territory itself was small. Franz had most of its land connected to the Great Mountain Range, so they rarely needed to do it anyway.
Yet the second son of Franz had now obtained an agriculture-centered territory. What did that mean?
“Will the checks be severe?”
I couldn’t be sure. We had sent gifts under the name of bribes with the meaning of ‘please treat us well,’ but how the capital would respond was still unknown. Zeke and I had pondered it quite a bit.
“Since it’s a vassal territory of Franz, they might try to keep us in check.”
Or there was a decent chance they would try to win us over.
“Win us over? You don’t mean a title, do you?”
“The possibility is low, but…”
They might just observe the situation today. For now, I had prepared bribes just in case. There were cases where they dragged things out with mind games after coming all this way, or simply left. It was rare, but it happened. As a lord, even if the people’s sentiment dropped, self-sufficiency wasn’t completely impossible.
“We’ve arrived!”
At those words, I stepped down from the carriage and looked around. The rumor that the priests of the Earth would arrive today had already spread. Many farmers had gathered at the castle gate that the residents had cleaned, offering prayers. It wasn’t something I could stop even if I wanted to, so there was no need to worry about it. There was no absolute rule that the lord had to greet them personally, but it was tradition…
-Zzt!
“…Hm?”
My senses sent me a signal. The priests of the Earth were usually made up of collateral lines and a few direct descendants. Since Muller had fairly large fields, it wouldn’t be strange for a direct descendant to come, but…
“My lord?”
“…Just a moment.”
I focused a little more and looked at the distant group. By pouring magic power into my eyes, I could just barely make them out at this distance as they slowly approached. I could see them, and…
“This is…”
I immediately called Zeke.
“Send someone to politely confirm who is coming. We need to prepare the appropriate reception. And Triana, get ready to greet them even more respectfully. Use the knights if you have to.”
“Pardon? …Understood.”
“Yes!”
Watching the two move immediately at my command, I looked back at the distant priests of the Earth. I had prepared to welcome them, but this seemed insufficient. Because—
“My lord!”
I felt Zeke approaching with an urgent expression, but my gaze never left them. Far in the distance, someone was riding at the front of the group.
“The priest of the Earth visiting Muller this time is…!”
“Yeah, it’s fine. I know. I can see. Just prepare to welcome our guest.”
“Yes!”
Our eyes met. I saw the smile forming on their face. I smiled back and showed proper etiquette. Of course I had to show respect.
“To think the duke would come in person.”
Whether it was good or bad, things were about to get troublesome.