Chapter 199
Chapter 199
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 199
Chapter Title: Baron of Olivia
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"……!!"
Prince Julius's proclamation was met with utter silence in the banquet hall.
Though the lowest of the five noble ranks, Jerome was a young man of just twenty, freshly come of age.
The Ikenia Kingdom boasted a thousand years of history, but had there ever been a precedent for granting a title the moment one reached adulthood?
Unprecedented.
There was no other word to describe the situation.
"Y-Your Highness! What is the meaning of this?!"
The Sword Family's Second Young Master, Dephos, finally regained his composure and demanded an explanation from Julius.
"Is there a problem?"
"Of course there is! Granting a barony to Jerome, who just turned twenty and barely reached adulthood? Even if he has merits, this has no precedent!"
"Precedent... precedent, you say."
Julius mulled over Dephos's words before fixing him with a steady gaze and countering.
"Then, does saving the kingdom from a great famine in one's mid-teens have a precedent?"
"……!!"
"Does playing a decisive role in quelling a rebellion in one of our kingdom's key allied nations in one's late teens have a precedent?"
"Th-That's...!!"
Dephos desperately wanted to shout that those were just rumors, and his frustration was plain to see.
Of course. In Dephos's mind, I was still that pathetic fool.
But facts were facts, regardless of his thoughts, and Dephos wasn't so irredeemably stubborn as to cling to his preconceptions without evidence.
Had he been that narrow-minded, he never would have come to the spring festival in Victor's place to begin with.
"Merits come in all shapes and sizes. The accomplishments Jerome has achieved are greater than what even the seasoned nobles leading our kingdom today could easily claim. If we deny a fitting reward to such a capable individual simply because of his youth, who would ever pledge loyalty to the royal family?"
"……."
Dephos had no rebuttal to Julius's pointed questions and could only gnaw at his lower lip.
"Of course, I imagine there are others in this hall who share young master Dephos's views. But let me be clear: the fief I am granting is Olivia. Among you all, is there anyone willing to take up the post there? If so, speak freely. I shall order him—Jerome, no, Baron Carviot—to yield it to you at once."
Not a single noble in the hall met Prince Julius's calm, sweeping gaze.
They had all heard the infamous tales of Olivia, the Ikenia Kingdom's notorious place of exile.
"No takers, then. In that case, young master Dephos, does this resolve your concerns?"
Crunch!
Dephos wanted nothing more than to claw the smug look off Prince Julius's oily face, but he gritted his teeth and held back.
'Arguing further here is pointless. It might even cause trouble for my brother.'
Drawing on his boundless respect for Victor, Dephos forced himself to speak.
"...You are quite right, Your Highness. I was short-sighted and caused a disturbance. My apologies."
"No need to apologize. Your opinion wasn't without merit."
Julius drove the final nail home, sensing a decade-old indigestion finally easing at Dephos's subdued response.
"Baron Carviot. I was deeply moved by your fervent oath to become a shield protecting the kingdom and its people. Since I've granted you your title, allow me to assign you your first mission. Are you prepared to carry it out?"
What fool would say no in this situation?
"I swore to be a shield for the kingdom and its people until the moment my soul fades. I shall gladly accept any mission for the kingdom, so please, Your Highness, give your orders without reserve."
"Your resolve is truly reassuring."
This was more than enough justification to show the young nobles in the hall.
Prince Julius turned to the banquet hall and raised his voice once more.
"Baron Carviot, eradicate the pirates plaguing our southern coasts of late! The crown shall spare no manpower or resources in supporting you."
Julius's words filled the hall. With this, Prince Julius—no, King Horn van Ikenia—had officially framed granting me Olivia not as a check on the Sword Family, but as a mission to suppress the island pirates.
Now that the justification firmly favored us, the Sword Family wouldn't dare act rashly, even without Victor's blunder.
"Furthermore, the crown hereby dispatches the wise and talented Princess Seira alongside you, to lead by example in upholding the noblesse oblige!"
Prince Julius wore an expression of utter reluctance, while Princess Seira beamed with satisfaction.
The stark contrast between their faces hinted at just how much scolding must have gone on after she slipped out of last night's banquet.
As everyone in the hall grappled with the unexpected declaration, pondering their mental arithmetic and how to report to their families...
One person had gone paler than all the rest.
Plop!
It was Saladin, in the corner, dropping the chocolate he'd forgotten about onto the floor.
His expression suggested he'd just heard his nation and house had fallen. 'Sorry, Saladin. Think of it as a sacrifice for the greater good.'
I did regret turning you into the cow a bit.
But what can you do?
While Jerome arrived at the royal capital's Audra Palace and became the talk of the town...
A major incident was unfolding in a cave on the eastern coast of the Osiris Kingdom, the other great power in the Continental Alliance, farthest from Ikenia.
"...What did you just say?"
A young man leaned against the cave wall, one leg propped up, breathing heavily.
He despised repeating himself, so he rarely asked for clarification.
But even with his temperament, he couldn't help questioning this time.
The result was that unexpected.
"Ghost Shadow Unit Squad 7 Leader reporting once more. We found no trace of the original power spoken of by Black Wing in the elves' lands. Instead, we discovered traces of White Wing's power, the Beast King."
The squad leader repeated his report verbatim before Veras.
"...Hah."
Veras let out a hollow breath at the unchanged report. He hadn't misheard.
"A bolt from the blue, indeed. I sent you to find traces of the original flow, Maya, and you come back with traces of that wench Rampang out of nowhere?"
"……."
The Ghost Shadow Unit Squad 7 Leader said nothing in response.
He knew the words weren't directed at him.
The Ghost Shadow Unit were Veras's—the great lord of the turbid flow's—hands and feet, not his brain.
"Good work. Go rest."
As the squad leader backed away quietly at Veras's gesture, Veras addressed the empty space.
"Crow, how do we interpret this?"
Shhh!
-...When we sent the Ghost Shadow Unit to track in Vatican, there was a report of a Shield Family delegation visiting. At the time, with no signs of contact between White Wing and the Shield Family, we couldn't connect the dots. But this situation points to one conclusion.
"I see. Now it makes sense."
Crack!
Veras gripped the cave wall, and the stone crumbled like sponge.
"The place with Maya's traces was Elrunheim. And Elrunheim is closest to Banten in the Ikenia Kingdom."
Banten, one of the continent's most famous regions. Veras knew well who ruled it.
The land guarded by the Sky Shield, one of the continent's strongest warriors whom even Veras wouldn't challenge lightly.
That alone was why Veras had tried to recruit Jerome before killing him.
Of course, that idiot Vladimir had ruined everything.
"...Looks like the priest met the old man and that wench after all."
Finally, the severed link from Vatican connected.
They had infiltrated Vatican, joined the priest Jerome, and relocated to Banten. That explained their sudden disappearance.
But what didn't add up was the complete erasure of Maya's—the original flow's—traces.
Of course, with only White Wing's traces left in the World Tree, it wasn't hard to guess.
That damned White Wing, Rampang, must have teamed up with the Queen of the Forest to wipe them out. Nothing else explained it.
His head understood, but his heart couldn't accept it.
Maya's mercury—his original power—was a force that sent shivers through even him, the Black Wing, the more he mastered it.
Even if two who reached the throne faced it, and even if the remnants weren't the true essence... Could they really erase it so easily?
When the Ghost Shadow Unit, whose tracking surpassed any organization on the continent, found not even a trace?
If it were that weak, they couldn't have tormented the World Tree for so long, no matter their elemental advantage.
'Too pathetic for their reputation... Hm?'
Lost in grim thought over the nagging doubt, Veras suddenly noticed Squad 7 Leader reappearing at the entrance.
-What's going on?
Crow, at Veras's side, sensed the anomaly too and silently stepped in front, questioning the leader.
"Let me see... You look plenty shady, so you're clearly not one of my descendants. Step aside, minnow."
-……?
When something's too absurd, the reaction stalls.
The voice and face were unmistakably Squad 7 Leader's, but the words were so unforeseen that Crow's mind blanked momentarily.
-...What did you just say?
"Thought you were just mumbling, but your ears are clogged too? I have business to settle quickly with my descendant, so don't block the way. Time's short. Tsk."
-...You've lost your mind.
Rumble!
Black shadow energy began rising from Crow's right hand.
The telltale sign of invoking his heterogenous power, Ghost Yin.
-For your insolence before Black Wing, you'll pay with death.
"Crow, calm down. The vibe alone screams this isn't Squad 7 Leader."
Veras gripped Crow's shoulder and pushed him aside.
-...But.
"You're great in every way, but you heat up too fast when it involves me. Cool it."
Swish!
Veras pulled the agitated Crow back and turned to the squad leader.
"So, who might you be, hitching a ride on one of my Ghost Shadow Unit to get here?"
"Ho, not as startled as I expected?"
The squad leader seemed pleased, eyeing Veras who had regained his calm in the time it took to sip tea—or rather, a single gulp.
"If you'd planned to attack, you wouldn't have shown yourself so blatantly and oddly."
"Quick on the uptake too. Nice, nice. Your descendant's top-notch. Good thing he's not a hothead."
Descendant.
Veras didn't miss the repeated mention.
"Descendant... I see. You're Maya's lingering will, then?"
"Oh? How'd you figure?"
The squad leader—no, Maya—smiled, delighted at Veras's deduction.
"I sent Squad 7 to Elrunheim to find your traces. And the leader who went there suddenly calls me 'descendant' upon return? Only an idiot wouldn't piece it together."
"Hahaha! Spot on. That's right."
Maya slapped his forehead as if it all made sense.
"No wonder the traces vanished so cleanly. You hid yourself?"
"Bingo. I was dying to know which lunatic devoured my power, mercury. Figured if they did, they'd track my traces. You found me quicker than expected, saving me trouble. Hahaha!"
Joy gleamed in Maya's eyes.
"But your power... I get it. Same base of myriad phenomena, but different. Your imagery didn't match mercury. You wielded the power of diligent study, didn't you?"
To discern his secret in that instant. No doubt—this was Maya.
"Hahaha!! Excellent. Devouring my imagery with something as paltry as diligent study wasn't enough; you remade it to your taste. I like it."
Step, step!
As Maya advanced slowly toward Veras, startled Crow tried to block the way.
"Tsk, what's this guy doing without a clue? Annoying."
-……!!
Veras sighed and reined in Crow as he bristled at Maya's taunt.
"Crow, it's fine. Step aside for now."
He then stared straight at the squad leader—no, Maya.
"Looks like my predecessor has something for me."
"Kekeke! Sharp as ever?"
Maya grinned and extended his hand to Veras.
"Take it. Your descendant's body looks rough. I'll pass on my remaining power. Not much left after those bastards looted me recently, but it'll show you what happened."
-No, Black Wing! We don't know what trickery—
"Your subordinate's not wrong. Scared? No need to take it."
After a silent stare at Maya's provocation, Veras grasped the offered hand.
Grip!
"Scared? Perish the thought. I'll gladly accept the power my predecessor left for me and put it to good use."
Grin!
"Excellent choice."
Hummmm!
Through their clasped hands, the squad leader's—no, Maya's—memories and remaining power slowly flowed into Veras.