Chapter 201
Chapter 201
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: Part 2 Chapter 1: A New Beginning (2)
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Ding—
With the sound of the elevator arriving, Jamie stepped out from inside.
The 73rd floor of the Central Mage Tower in the Magic Realm.
Just two floors below the topmost level was Jamie's private office.
Gazing at the panoramic view of the Magic Realm beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, Jamie headed to his office with an expressionless face.
The view had been breathtaking enough to leave his jaw on the floor at first, but after five years, it barely registered anymore.
Since the entire 73rd floor was his exclusive space, only the quiet echo of his footsteps reverberated through the air.
He unlocked the door with a fingerprint scan and entered, where a familiar face finally greeted him.
"Good morning, 3rd Elder."
"Good morning to you too, Hera."
The woman named Hera was Jamie's dedicated secretary—and a 4th-class mage, no less. Elders in the Magic Realm could only appoint mages of 4th class or higher as their secretaries.
It was necessary for them to have the skill to keep up with an Elder to some degree.
"Where are those brats?"
"Your disciples haven't arrived yet."
"Those damn slackers. When their master shows up, they should come running barefoot to greet me first."
Their mental discipline had completely gone to rot.
He'd been letting them slack off a bit lately.
They had each reached a stage of enlightenment, after all.
Even so, they should have come early to prepare a proper welcome for their arriving master!
Jamie resolved to give them a harsh mental reconditioning later.
His old-man instincts were still alive and well.
"Any other issues?"
"I'll brief you inside."
Once Jamie entered his office and took a seat, Hera began her report.
"There's some major news."
"Major news?"
"Yes. The Harmonia Kingdom on the Arisha Continent has sent a request for support to the Selldam Kingdom."
Harmonia Kingdom.
It was a nation where the people, fed up with rampant corruption, had formed a liberation army to topple the current dynasty.
As far as Jamie knew, the 'Frontier' faction was backing that liberation army.
"What kind of support are they asking for?"
"They want us to dispatch a Master from Selldam."
"And it's come to the Magic Realm."
"Yes. It seems the non-mage Masters are all focused on the Cariren side..."
The eastern continent of Cariren.
It had long been under the Zenith Church's influence, but now it was practically their stronghold.
He didn't know exactly what they'd done, but currently, the northern Olbia and eastern Cariren were bitter enemies.
Small skirmishes were commonplace, and the tension hung heavy enough that a full-scale war could erupt at any moment.
That's why most Sword Masters were stationed there, and today, even Count Welton was heading to the royal palace over that very issue.
In the Magic Realm, only the 7th Elder Siegfried had been dispatched.
"So, with things like that, the requests have gone to the great mages who have some leeway."
"But His Majesty didn't reject it outright and passed it here, which means..."
"Yes. As you suspect, Harmonia offered compensation that's hard to refuse. We'll discuss it in full at the upcoming Elders' Meeting."
"Got it. Thanks for passing it along."
"Just doing my job."
Hera smiled faintly in response, and Jamie returned the smile as he stood from his seat.
"Shall I head up first, then?"
"Please do."
The two headed to the top floor, where the Elders' Meeting would take place.
"It's awfully empty."
"Can't be helped with so many Elders away."
"If one more seat goes vacant here, it'll feel downright hollow."
Three mages seated at even intervals around the conference table were chatting idly early in the morning.
The 2nd Elder Linmel rolled a pen between his fingers as he spoke.
"Still, the 1st Elder's return isn't far off."
The 1st Elder Oppen Jinzer hadn't emerged from seclusion since the incident five years ago.
But just days ago, he'd sent word that he'd return soon.
"Adel will be ending his closed-door training shortly too."
The 6th Elder Adelhart had suddenly attained enlightenment two months prior and had entered seclusion to break through to 7th class.
No one could say exactly when he'd emerge, but the other Elders expected it soon.
"The 8th Elder is away from his territory handling some business, so he'll be back quickly..."
Something unsavory had cropped up in the 8th Elder Simon's territory of Rizen.
As both an Elder and a capable lord, he'd likely return to the Magic Realm sooner than anyone.
"It'll get crowded here in no time."
"Looks like one's already heading up."
The three turned toward the conference room door as they sensed an approaching presence.
The door soon opened, revealing a familiar and welcome face.
It was Jamie Welton.
"You're all here early."
"Us old folks don't sleep much."
"I'm not quite an old fogey yet."
Raymond's joke drew a pouty denial from Luke.
"You're fifty now— that's old."
"Exactly. No point denying you've gotten on in years."
"Ugh."
Luke groaned pointlessly under the combined assault from Linmel and Raymond.
Jamie chuckled at the trio's silly morning banter.
But without further delay, he cut straight to the point.
"Harmonia's requesting a Master?"
"So it seems. Things must be pretty dire there."
"The liberation army's pushed back the royal forces rapidly and seized half the territory."
"So, who's going from our midst?"
The Elders exchanged glances at Luke's direct question.
King Friedmeier had already accepted Harmonia's request, so dispatch was all but certain.
There were only four Masters left here.
But the 2nd and 4th Elders handled core Magic Realm duties and couldn't step away easily.
The 5th Elder Luke was in a similar bind.
With Vice Leader Adelhart away, even Leader Luke couldn't afford to leave.
That left just one option.
"...Just me, then?"
"It's about time you started getting active."
Linmel spoke with a serious expression, and Jamie's face turned pensive for a moment.
As he'd said, Jamie had devoted himself solely to training for five years since his appointment as Master, with zero external activities.
But he hadn't reached his goal yet.
'Still, some realms are hard to reach through training alone.'
And now, a chance to deploy to a battlefield had arisen.
Moreover, he knew the Frontier faction was sponsoring Harmonia's liberation army.
He had no idea why they were meddling in another nation's affairs, but it might offer a chance to make contact.
Jamie made his decision swiftly.
"I'll do it."
"Good choice."
"But I've got a question."
"What is it?"
"Harmonia's been dealing with the liberation army for five years now. Why request aid only at this point?"
Harmonia was a minor kingdom in the western Arisha Continent, but it still boasted four Masters.
That had allowed them to hold off the growing liberation army without much trouble.
So Jamie couldn't fathom why they were now begging aid from another nation—let alone a superpower from another continent.
Raymond explained.
"One of their kingdom's Sword Masters fell."
Jamie's expression twisted slightly at the news of a Sword Master falling.
No matter how minor the kingdom, taking down a superhuman monster like that would have cost the liberation army dearly.
But if so, Harmonia wouldn't need to request aid—their enemies' strength would have taken a hit too.
The answer that came, however, was unexpected.
"The liberation army has a Sword Master too. The problem? Theirs won handily. And the opponent was the king's knight, no less."
"Harmonia's king's knight... Sir Cyril?"
"Likely."
Sir Cyril Owent, the king's knight.
He was a Sword Master so skilled that he seemed wasted on a kingdom like Harmonia.
For such a powerhouse to suffer a one-sided defeat...
It must have delivered a massive shock and terror to Harmonia. Now Jamie understood why they'd turned to the Selldam Kingdom.
There were no Masters on the western continent superior to Cyril Owent.
'Frontier.'
The liberation army couldn't possibly have a Master of that caliber on their own.
Given the sudden appearance and sinking of the king's knight, Jamie was certain it was a Master dispatched by Frontier.
Separately, he found Harmonia arrogant.
"They don't want to sacrifice any more of their own Masters, so they're asking us to send one."
"Arrogant bastards."
"But we have no reason to oblige, so why did His Majesty approve the dispatch?"
"They're offering a national treasure."
"Harmonia's national treasure..."
"The Music Box of the Morning Star."
Harmonia's current king and officials were utterly rotten, but the kingdom had once been one of the continent's most storied nations.
Among its treasures, the 'Music Box of the Morning Star' was tied to its founding myth: playing it would conjure a new cosmos in the sky.
Its other effects remained unknown, but its mythic origins and immense magical value made it coveted by mages everywhere.
"They're that desperate to offer up such a prize."
"Hilarious. A pack of corrupt fools who ruined their own people's lives, now flailing to survive..."
Luke grumbled with profound dissatisfaction.
As someone who championed class equality, Harmonia was a nation he believed deserved to fall.
Jamie somewhat agreed.
Setting aside the reward, Harmonia really ought to vanish.
He felt a twinge of reluctance at having to help them.
Reading Jamie's expression, Linmel smiled.
"Truth is, this is where the real mission begins."
"...Suddenly?"
"Harmonia's reward is tempting, but we're not the type to bend over a mere national treasure from some podunk kingdom."
Selldam was the undisputed hegemon of northern Olbia.
They could ignore a minor nation's proposal outright.
And what that implied was...
"We'll dispatch someone to Harmonia, but we don't have to actually help them."
"Meaning..."
"His Majesty's decree is for the 3rd Elder to assess the situation firsthand and handle it as he sees fit."
In other words, the dispatched Master would hold the power to decide Harmonia's fate.
Simply put, if Jamie wished, he could ignore their request and do whatever he wanted.
It would breach the agreement gravely, but Selldam was a superpower that didn't need to kowtow to Harmonia.
The king himself had endorsed ignoring such trifles.
"What's in it for us, then?"
"Think simply, 3rd Elder."
Raymond smiled faintly, and Jamie instantly grasped what King Friedmeier wanted.
"If we aid Harmonia, we've helped stabilize their regime and earned a debt. If we aid the liberation army, we've helped establish a new monarchy... another debt."
Selldam stood to profit no matter what.
And even if—unlikely as it was—something happened to Jamie on the battlefield, it would give Selldam grounds for direct intervention.
"So..."
Jamie grinned.
"I just go flex some power, right?"
He had a good feeling this dispatch would be quite enjoyable.