Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: The Governor-General's Gift
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Loan arrived at the rear garden of the main building.
The administrative staff member who opened the gate for him looked surprised to see Loan. It was, after all, an incredibly rare occasion for a low-ranking member of the Union to have a private audience with the Governor-General.
Plenty of members had never even seen the Governor-General once since joining.
It was said to be even more unusual, coming right after the Governor-General had refused to mentor the crown prince.
The rear garden was a peculiar place.
It was as if all the plants and trees in the world had been gathered there.
Every color imaginable was present, yet it was almost blindingly brilliant.
The density of mana was higher than any place Loan had ever been.
And there, ever unchanging, stood the Governor-General.
"This is your first time here."
"Yes."
The two walked side by side.
Loan took a very deep breath, held it for a moment, and then exhaled very slowly, completely.
The silence between breaths was so profound that one could hear the rustling of blades of grass.
And then, Loan's breathing synchronized with the Governor-General's.
It was a strange experience.
It felt as if the two of them were becoming one.
A moment came when the rhythm, which had felt somewhat awkward, suddenly became comfortable.
Loan suddenly felt a sense of fulfillment.
Even his heart, which always beat faster than necessary, grew calm for a moment.
"It would be wonderful if you could be like this on the battlefield."
The Governor-General said this with a faint smile.
Loan felt he had received a great boon. It was as if he had been taught a new method of mana cultivation.
Just when he thought this was more than enough, the Governor-General began to get to the real point.
"I promised you a gift. It is here."
She stopped amidst a thicket of overgrown vines.
Loan could barely make out its true form through the scattered haze of light.
"Ah…"
What he had thought was a tree with a very wide base was actually a grayish-brown wall, and what he had mistaken for a massive knot was a door.
The Union's treasury.
"Let's go in."
It was a room like a hallway with a low ceiling.
The shelves on both sides were glittering with treasures, but his first impression was, 'This can't be all of it.'
He would probably have to pass through several more doors to reach the truly rare items.
However, even the weapons, jewels, accessories, and ornaments immediately around him all looked precious.
Imbued with great age, fine craftsmanship, and dense magic.
"The items here are Grade 5. What I intend to give you is in the next room."
He had thought there wouldn't be anything he particularly wanted among the Grade 4 items, but he realized he had been mistaken.
The elixir he'd encountered before hadn't been a suitable standard for judgment.
With his heart slightly swelling with anticipation, Loan followed the Governor-General.
Then, just as the Governor-General was about to open the door.
He suddenly stopped, his gaze fixed on one side of a shelf.
"..."
There was a necklace.
It had a small pendant, and the symbol engraved on it was incredibly familiar.
His gaze naturally drifted down to his waist.
To the first scabbard for Sheville that Sienna had made for him. To the brooch attached to it.
The same symbol had been on the brooch recovered from the asylum's vice director.
'Could it be... a family crest?'
Thinking back, Director Lazarus had seemed to recognize it.
He had been bewildered at the time, having just arrived at the Union, so he had let it pass.
Loan carefully picked up the necklace.
He was so focused that he didn't even ask for the Governor-General's permission.
'It contains mana, but...'
It wasn't a significant amount.
Could it have some special function or use?
He was curious, but he also had a feeling that it didn't matter.
A feeling that it was simply his. A desire not to leave it here. A thought that he didn't need to see anything else.
It felt inevitable, natural.
"Why did you choose that?"
The Governor-General knew Loan had made his choice without him having to say a word, without even looking.
Loan wasn't confident he could properly explain why.
"I'm not sure. The symbol felt familiar, and... I just felt drawn to it."
"..."
The Governor-General, uncharacteristically silent, slowly opened her mouth.
"Yes. Some things are like that. Difficult to explain. As if they are connected to something..."
Her last words trailed off softly, almost like a whisper to herself. It was a different side to the usually steadfast Governor-General.
He mustered the courage to ask.
"Do you happen to know anything about this symbol?"
"I do."
"May I ask what it is?"
"You've been asking questions all along, and only now you decide to be polite?"
"My apologies. I'm just feeling strangely excited."
The Governor-General, like before, neither responded nor moved for a moment.
Then she spoke.
"That symbol. The two large arcs in the center represent the tree that filled the world in the distant past, and the two overlapping stars within them represent a human and an elf who became each other's sanctuary."
"Ah..."
Loan stared blankly at the symbol.
"So it's something like the crest of an elven family?"
"Yes. A very old family."
"I wonder if it's related to my bloodline."
"It's possible."
Loan was about to ask something else, but stopped.
The thought felt like it would be crossing a line.
After a brief silence, it was the Governor-General's turn to ask.
"I heard you relied on a foster mother at the asylum. Do you have any memories of your birth parents?"
"No. I remember my wet nurse. She left me at the asylum and passed away."
Wet nurse.
It was a word he had never uttered in his life, but before the Governor-General, it seemed to lose its weight and slipped out on its own.
"I see."
The Governor-General nodded, and that was the end of it.
When no more questions followed, Loan gently held up the necklace and spoke.
"Then I'll take this as my reward."
He had decided, even though it was an unremarkable necklace.
"It's a Grade 5 treasure. You could choose something better."
"This is enough for me."
"Is that so."
"Uhm... then, if it's alright with you, in exchange for choosing a Grade 5 treasure, may I ask one more question?"
The corners of the Governor-General's lips curled up gently.
"I wonder what you used as collateral for all the questions you've asked so far. Go ahead."
Loan's face flushed slightly as he asked.
"Why did you not accept His Highness, the Crown Prince, as your disciple?"
"Because I can."
"..."
She does it simply because she can; what other reason could there be?
The logic of an absolute being is this simple.
Loan found her words both cool and somehow amusing.
Perhaps because her answer had put him at ease, he made a bold request.
"If I have the chance next time, I would be honored if you would observe my skills."
"I will look forward to it."
He hadn't yet achieved anything he could show off with confidence, but he was excited at the thought of progressing.
He was glad he had spoken up.
"Now, I must keep my other promise. I've relayed your mission to the Administration Bureau and the Faith Division. If you achieve merit, there will be a fitting reward."
"Is a promotion possible?"
The Governor-General laughed silently.
"Go."
Loan placed the fist clutching the necklace over his heart.
His heart was once again pounding powerfully.
***
The assignment hall, where members of the Faith Division gathered to receive their missions.
"Loan, a mission for you."
Loan took the directive from a senior member of the Faith Division.
Unfortunately, it wasn't a mission to Cion. But it was an assignment of comparable importance.
He was to go to Varcino, where the Stability Division was stationed, as support.
The mission also included checking on problems at various branches along the way and determining if additional support was needed.
Of course, this wasn't a mission assigned to Loan alone.
He didn't yet know who would be going with him.
'Meeting the Stability Division is fine too.'
The Stability Division was, in fact, sometimes called the second Cion.
That was because more than half of its members were disciples of Cion.
So, he would be able to research the authority he sought.
'She said she'd give me a mission that would help me achieve my goals...'
Perhaps it would be more comfortable to learn from the seniors of the Stability Division than from Cion. They were also members of the Union family.
"The Varcino support mission will be Sienna, Loan, Lucas. And me."
Loan and Lucas were joined by Sienna, their nanny and instructor.
That was how the seniors put it, anyway.
Vice Commander Oscar joined them, lending the mission the appropriate level of seniority.
Loan, for his part, was very satisfied.
The experience of having worked together once before put him at ease.
Lucas was also thrilled to be joining, but his spirits dampened a little at the fact that he would be going with his father.
Vice Commander Oscar continued assigning missions to the other members.
After sighing for a while, Lucas composed himself and asked Loan a question.
"By the way, why is it so hard to see the Stability Division?"
It was something he should have learned long ago if he had been aiming for the Union. Moreover, it had been covered in the orientation after he passed the entrance exam.
As always, Lucas was unabashed in his ignorance.
A senior member who overheard their conversation looked at Lucas with a shocked expression, but to Loan, it was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Just as we specialize in reconnaissance, the Stability Division specializes in regional stabilization, peacekeeping, and damage recovery. That's why the Faith Division is the 1st Division, and the Stability Division is the 4th."
Usually, the Faith Division acts as the vanguard, the Harmony and Honor Divisions form the main attack force, and then the Stability and Responsibility Divisions follow as the rearguard to manage the aftermath. Once things have settled, a few members of the Utility Division remain behind to provide local support.
The 7th Division, the Liberty Division, which is under the direct command of the Commander and undertakes independent missions, is a separate case.
Even if two or more divisions unite to fight an enemy, strategies and tactics are generally executed on-site according to each division's specialty.
"Hmm... now that I think about it, that's what happened when we fought Le Tell in Ollen. The seniors from the Faith Division attacked from the left and right, and the Honor Division provided fire support from the rear."
"Thankfully, you're getting quicker on the uptake."
Sienna suddenly interjected into Loan and Lucas's conversation.
"But what's needed for a mission isn't quick wits. Feel the weight of it."
"The weight?"
Lucas asked, scratching his head.
"This is a world where law is becoming meaningless and force is becoming everything. Since you have been given the authority to execute judgment, I expect you to feel the responsibility that comes with your power."
"Ah, yes. We understand."
Loan and Lucas straightened their posture and looked at Sienna.
Sienna turned and said.
"Good. Prepare to depart immediately."
***
This was the first time Loan had left the Grafton Kingdom's territory to travel to another duchy.
Varcino.
An independent duchy located at the southwestern tip of the continent.
The four of them rode in a diamond formation with Oscar at the lead.
Loan and Sienna were positioned side by side.
Glancing to his side, a vivid memory surfaced.
Loan spoke.
"When I was heading to the Union, you gave me a ride on your horse. Now we're traveling the same road like this."
"Yes. You still are, but you were exceptionally pretty back then."
"..."
A thoughtless comment.
Sienna felt the gazes of the three men on her.
Her face flushed red.
"That is to say, I held your determination—a mere child wanting to join the Union—in high regard."
"Ah, yes."
"Of course."
"Is that so."
Sienna needlessly spurred her horse forward to the front.
The formation changed again, with Loan and Oscar now riding side by side.
Oscar, who had been staring blankly at Sienna's back, changed the subject.
"We'll be stopping by the branches on our way."
"The branches in this direction..."
"Yes. We'll be stopping in Dengton."
A few days later, Loan arrived in Dengton, a place that was as good as a hometown to him.
And then, the asylum.
The Union's branch office was said to be in the main building.
"So this is the place where you grew up."
Loan simply nodded in response to Lucas's question.
Five years is a long time.
The high, thick outer wall that had surrounded the asylum was gone.
Even if it had remained, it probably wouldn't have seemed as tall as it did back then.
Thinking this, he turned his gaze.
The area once overgrown with thickets was now neatly covered in green grass.
"It's completely gone now, torn down, but that's where I first met Loan."
Oscar, too, seemed lost in reminiscence.
While the group was looking at the site of the demolished annex, a Runner from the Utility Division, dressed in plain clothes, came out to greet them.