Chapter 178
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 178
By the time Arabion’s messenger arrived, the nobles of Lavitas were deep in a state of relaxation, their guards lowered as they recovered from their lingering exhaustion.
Unlike the Parsha family, who had returned to the Jade Mirror immediately following the Baraha War, the Lavitas nobles had been forced to endure over a month of sailing. Shortly after that, they had traveled by land to confront the Zahar family before finally making the long journey home.
Naturally, a guest arriving under such circumstances was hardly welcome.
Osel, the Head of the House, didn't even bother to leave his quarters to meet the visitor. Instead, he left the reception to a few elders and the younger nobles currently in their prime.
"The Head of Arabion speaks," the messenger began. "Turan, the Head of Parsha, is a low-born scoundrel and a villain who has never properly learned the decorum of the nobility. If the nobles of Lavitas possess any pride, they should rightfully distance themselves from him..."
The message was adorned with all sorts of flowery rhetoric, but the subtext was trivial.
We find the rising new powers, including Parsha, offensive.
We plan to crush them properly from now on. Are you going to keep playing nice with them?
If you don't take our side, we'll consider you part of their lot and subjugate you as well.
Naturally, the reaction from Lavitas was icy.
"What utter nonsense."
"If we're talking about who the real villain is, wouldn't it be your own House Head?"
"Coming from the people who invaded without so much as a declaration of war."
One could argue that Arabion hadn't declared war because Turan and the Arabion family were already sworn enemies, but the general consensus remained unchanged.
As the room turned cold, the messenger looked around and spoke with unshakeable confidence.
"I expected you to react this way. That is why the Head of Arabion has promised a gift to ensure Lavitas makes the right choice."
"A gift? Let’s hear it."
"I wonder what grand thing you've prepared..."
"Immortality."
A single, brief word.
The shock it sent through the Lavitas nobles was profound. For those possessing bodies that did not age, overcoming the limits of their lifespan was a task more desperate for them than for anyone else.
While everyone stared with wide eyes, Lida, the highest-ranking noble present, stepped forward.
"And how, exactly?"
"You have researched the soul for ages, so you cannot be entirely without knowledge," the messenger replied. "We already possess the knowledge and technology to resolve the decay of the Spirit Chain."
Realizing this wasn't just an empty boast, the Lavitas nobles exchanged startled glances.
Ever since Turan had provided the basic teachings of soul magic to Lavitas, they too had realized that the death of a Lavitas noble wasn't caused by simple aging, but by the soul itself.
If what he says is true...
Isn't it worth listening to, at least once?
Of course, the Head of the Parsha family had accomplished much in cooperation with them, and the bond between the two houses had grown deep through several battles. However, the weight of immortality was heavier still.
Just as the Arabion messenger’s lips began to curl into a smirk at the sudden shift in atmosphere, Lida crushed the desk with a casual gesture and shouted.
"Get out!"
"Lady Lida?"
"To think you'd try to shake our alliance with such a clumsy trick. Is Arabion finally starting to feel the walls closing in? How faithless do you take us for!"
Lida’s rare display of fury left the other nobles too bewildered to speak, and the meeting ended then and there.
Once the messenger had withdrawn, the Lavitas nobles finally turned to Lida, their voices bordering on an interrogation.
"Lady Lida, wasn't it worth hearing him out a bit more?"
"She's right. If they know that much, they might have actually found a clue..."
Among those present were nobles even more powerful than Lida—those who would barely scrape into the top tier by Turan’s classification—yet none of them dared to vent their anger openly.
They merely expressed their disappointment passively. Such was the power afforded to her as the House Head’s beloved cousin and former wet nurse.
Lida explained herself to the grumbling nobles with the patient tone one might use for a child.
"If such a method existed, they would have used it themselves long ago. While our bodies not aging is our unique privilege, there are other ways to delay aging itself."
In the past, Lida had offered Turan and other wandering nobles the Lavitas relic, Simple Wish, in exchange for delivering a White Elf. Its effect was to continuously grant the wearer the power of the Healer and Purifier bloodlines.
This meant that if one kept a Lavitas noble close and forced them to use their power, the recipient of that healing and purification would similarly cease to age physically.
If they truly had a way to prevent the decay of the Spirit Chain, they would have invaded long ago to kidnap Lavitas nobles and use them as slaves, or assigned a Healer and a Purifier to each of their own to use their abilities indefinitely.
"In the first place, those people wouldn't let 'noble discipline' stop them if immortality was on the line."
"Hmm."
"Now that I think about it, that's true..."
The high-ranking members here knew a fair amount about soul magic and the immense power generated by combining it, even if they didn't know the full truth of the fallen old gods. Naturally, they also knew that the power of the ancient Great Families who could wield such magic was far greater than their own.
Unfortunately, even after hearing the explanation, some were not easily convinced.
"Still, I believe we should have talked more, just in case. If—and I mean if—they could truly provide that as a reward, wouldn't we need to reconsider our current alliance?"
Such was the magnitude of the desire for immortality held by the Lavitas nobles.
Eventually, the faction arguing for further dialogue with Arabion relayed their opinion to Osel, and Lavitas was effectively split in half in an instant.
*
"...And in the midst of all that, a letter from the Head of Parsha arrives. What a perfect opportunity! I immediately declared to my kin that I would be researching the secrets of the Spirit Chain, so there was no need to listen to those Arabion bastards, and then I came up here."
"Is Lord Osel’s control over the family wavering?" Turan asked.
"He is still a child, after all. He hasn't been the House Head for very long."
Osel was well over a hundred years old—an age considered a full adult even by noble standards—but among the heads of the Great Families, he was exceptionally young. He had only ascended to the position a few years ago.
Because of this, many still viewed the House Head’s judgments as overly rash or immature. Of course, the authority of the position meant they couldn't say it to his face, but compared to those who had reigned for centuries, his authority was bound to be lacking.
"If it were blatant rebellion, it would be one thing," Lida continued, "but since they are offering opinions for the sake of the family, it's difficult to simply suppress them by force. Internal, festering discontent is always the most dangerous kind."
"That is true."
If it had been the Turan of the past, the one who lived as a wanderer, he would have found Osel’s attitude frustrating and suggested cutting off the heads of those supporting Arabion immediately.
But now, having spent time as the head of a house himself, Turan could understand the sentiment. Unless they were blatant traitors who had turned their backs on the family, purging them simply for having a different opinion would deplete the family’s strength and invite suspicion from his own allies.
"Anyway, if it's alright, I'd like to send word back to the House Head through Bije soon. I need to tell him that the Spirit-Caller is here and that research is proceeding smoothly. That’s the only way he’ll be able to shut down the opposition."
"Understood. Bije, is that okay? You seem to be working very hard lately."
— That much is fine!
"She says it's fine."
— Thank you, sweet child.
When Lida rubbed her nose against Bije’s beak, the eagle lifted each of her legs in turn before sharply turning her head away.
"By the way, Lida, I feel it might be a bit rude to ask this, but..."
"You want to know why I rejected Arabion’s offer so adamantly, don't you?"
"Yes."
Lida was currently one of the oldest elders in the Lavitas family. She was among the top three oldest out of more than a hundred nobles.
While the decay of the Spirit Chain generally happened slower the stronger one's mana was, there was significant individual variation. It wouldn't be strange if she were to die tomorrow. Tomorrow, or perhaps the day after.
In other words, she was the person who should have welcomed Arabion’s proposal the most.
"A few others have asked me that as well. As for the reason... well, it's a bit difficult to put into words..." Lida pouted, as if unsure how to explain her feelings to Turan. "Once you reach this age, people generally fall into two categories. Those who enjoy life and want to live longer, and those whose lives are miserable but want to live longer because they fear death."
Ordinary mages or humans, as they aged and their bodies withered in constant pain, usually moved from the first category to the second. But the nobles of Lavitas were different. To them, with their unaging bodies, death was merely a guest that arrived suddenly amidst eternal youth.
"I truly enjoy my life as a noble of Lavitas, where I can enjoy all sorts of pleasures and respect as I wish. But even if I were to extend my life... how enjoyable would it be if I had to live sitting atop the blood and flesh of my friends? Even the small vices I've accumulated over the years keep me up at night."
She added that, as she had told the others, she didn't believe those people actually possessed such a secret technique anyway.
"I suppose. If they truly knew the secret to slowing the decay of the Spirit Chain, they would have tried to devour Lavitas long ago."
Through the testimony of the Baraha half-elves and the fallen gods, Turan now knew how they infiltrated the Great Families.
First, they would kidnap a noble of relatively low status—someone with few close friends and infrequent contact—and swap bodies. Then, the person inhabiting that body would expand their social circle, adopting a different persona to build rapport. They would target someone who wasn't particularly strong themselves but was deeply connected to the family’s leadership.
Once they identified their second prey, they would spend time with them, cataloging their speech, relationships, and even minor habits. Then, they would secretly kidnap them and have their most skilled actor possess the body.
By that point, the takeover of the Great Family was practically half-finished. It wasn't difficult for two nobles—especially those who could use skills—to set a trap and subdue a third. It was even easier if they were close enough to make the target lower their guard.
Once three or four of them had infiltrated the family and occupied key positions, they would wait for the right time to build a relationship with the heir, consume them, and then ascend to the position of House Head. That was the end of it.
There were cases where clumsy attempts were discovered and an entire Great Family was wiped out, but generally, this was their method.
"In any case... thank you, Lida."
Turan had experienced many times in his relatively short life that kindness was not always returned in kind. Compared to that, the attitude Lida was showing was truly noble.
"Don't make me blush. Now, let's talk about something else. Meisa, have you tried playing music for the baby yet—"
Embarrassed by Turan’s sincere gratitude, Lida blushed slightly and changed the subject, unlike her usual sly self. She pivoted to the one area of knowledge where the Turan couple was most lacking: childcare.
*
The next day, Bije flew back toward Lavitas with a letter written by Lida tied to her leg.
Turan had granted Lida nearly unrestricted access to the Parsha estate, giving her authority virtually equal to his own. Thanks to this, she was able to have quite an interesting time, in addition to analyzing spirit-calling with Nia in the basement.
"Oh, so this is a weapon?"
"Yes. It still has many shortcomings, but..."
"Incredible! If we had things like this, we’d truly have nothing to fear."
She was particularly interested in the firearms being researched under Melo’s direction. Since the Lavitas bloodline was relatively incompetent in combat, she felt a strong attraction to weapons that could easily unleash massive firepower.
Seeing her great interest in the weapons, Meisa personally used enchantment magic to craft a pistol for her.
Naturally, even amidst this, Lida did not neglect her research into spirit-calling. After collecting various data by having Nia use spirit-calling repeatedly for several days until she was exhausted, Lida produced significant results faster than expected.
"Ah, I see. So this is how possession through a living spirit works."
The one speaking to Turan was not Lida, but a death row inmate who had recently murdered his entire family in a drunken stupor in a Kalamaf back alley. Having seen and heard things he shouldn't have, he would naturally not be leaving this experiment alive.
"I knew the connection of the spirit body wasn't physical, but it's even more profound than I thought. Should we consider that all connections between body and soul are essentially linked through that distant Sea of Spirits...?"
While Turan had more raw talent for soul magic, Lida possessed the knowledge and experience of centuries spent exploring the secrets of the soul. After asking Nia to demonstrate spirit-calling a few times and conducting some independent research, she had suddenly developed a secret technique for soul possession.
This was different from the existing techniques in soul magic, such as the way the fallen gods moved between vessels. They turned their own bodies into a type of spirit to dwell within another's spirit body, whereas this technique used one's own living spirit to temporarily suppress the opponent's living spirit and control their body.
In a sense, what Lida had invented was a way to use spirit-calling through soul magic.
"How can a human possibly use spirit-calling...?"
"I have a rough idea of the knack required to learn it. I should write it down carefully and give it to the Head of Parsha. Now, on to the next experiment, Princess."
"I want to rest a bit more..." Nia groaned.
"Tsk, a young person shouldn't be so lazy."
"I'm pretty sure I'm a hundred years older than you."
While they were bickering and passing the time, a reply arrived from Osel.
The content was that many were skeptical about whether the Parsha family had truly secured a White Elf Spirit-Caller, and he asked if he could send a few people to see for themselves. Bije had to fly once more with Turan’s letter of acceptance.
After the golden eagle had suffered enough to clock tens of thousands of kilometers in flight over a few days, a period of relative peace followed.
Of course, that didn't mean Turan was idle. He was personally filling the void left by the forces dispatched to the East, researching the method of using spirit-calling through soul magic and the secrets of Spirit Chain recovery with Lida, and brainstorming ways to improve the firearms...
Just as he was in the thick of his labors, the army finally returned through the Jade Mirror installed in the Parsha basement.
"Reporting to the House Head! The Ruban Expeditionary Force has returned safely in its entirety!"
Haram, who had acted as the commander of the Parsha army in Turan’s stead, saluted and shouted with discipline. Over the past month, they had stabilized the Ruban lands alongside Solif before returning to Helio City and then back home.
Turan welcomed the returning soldiers, healed a few who had been injured along the way, and then called Haram aside to ask how things had gone.
"Is the cleanup in Ruban finished smoothly, Master?"
"Yes. Of course, many problems remain, but it seems almost everything that needed immediate attention has been handled."
If the Ruban family were completely wiped out, there would be a severe lack of mages to protect the people of the Frostwind Forest region from magical beasts. Therefore, Solif had established a sort of puppet government, installing a relatively young and talented Ruban noble as the House Head.
Of course, regardless of who started the war, the Ruban family would likely hate Baraha for slaughtering their kin. However, considering the treaty between them and the power imbalance between the two forces, there would likely be no room for conflict for several generations to come.
"Above all, the House Head’s mana was stolen."
"I suppose so..."
There was a reason why the heads of the Great Families possessed transcendent strength. It was because they inherited the mana of the House Head—a power on a completely different level from even the highest-ranking nobles—from generation to generation.
But since the Ruban family had lost the corpse of Kalais, who had inherited that power, the next House Head would naturally lack the strength to inherit, even as time passed. This was a problem that could only be resolved after several generations—perhaps ten or more—as the number of nobles increased and the amount of accumulated mana grew once again.
"Then we can consider the Ruban family handled. Since Solif probably won't be back for another few weeks, it'll be a period of rest for a while. Please relay that to the others."
"Understood."
He figured they could rest for about a month and then target either Carmine or Arabion. Turan personally judged that targeting Arabion would be better. Since Meisa was with them, they could cause internal division to bring them down easily, and the moment Badal was defeated, Arabion's strongest card would be neutralized.
But as if to mock his order for rest, grim news arrived just two days later.
The one who brought the news was Berit, who had come through the Jade Mirror.
"House Head."
"What is it?"
It was a time when she should have been busy leading the Baraha family in Solif’s absence, especially with the current gap in their military strength.
In response to Turan’s questioning gaze, Berit spoke with a pale face.
"We haven't confirmed exactly what happened yet, but it seems a major change has occurred within Zahar."