Chapter 79, I, to You (3)

Translator: Lizzz

Editor: Hedge

 

Kalian stood still, his gaze lowered.

 

Ian recognized this expression – it was the one Kalian wore whenever he had a lot to think about. And he knew precisely what had led him into such deep thoughts.

 

Therefore, Ian quietly waited for Kalian’s thoughts to conclude.

 

The time they stood there in silence stretched.

 

Then, whatever had given Kalian such deep contemplation moved again and made a sound.

 

“Welcome to the home of Archmage, Allan Manasil!”

 

Kalian covered his face with his palm, watching as the statue sang cheerfully while dancing a slow, writhing dance.

 

He was trying to hold back his laughter.

 

Earlier, Kalian had recounted his confrontation with Sillike to Rmain, revealing his suspicion that Sillike might be responsible for Aisha’s death – something that still required verification. He also confessed everything about his alliance with Plants and admitted how coldly he had spoken to him.

 

After listening to Kalian’s words, Rmain responded that he had much to apologize for.

 

Because of Rmain’s apology, Kalian arrived at Allan’s mansion in an even more subdued mood. It was because there were people to meet ‘outside’.

 

And then, the statue standing in front of Allan’s mansion entrance suddenly started dancing and singing.

 

“This is insane.”

 

As Kalian barely held back his laughter with these words, Ian, who had been holding in his own laughter to match Kalian’s mood, pursed his lips and said:

 

“I said exactly the same thing when I first saw this.”

 

“When did you come to Master’s house?”

 

To Kalian’s question, Ian briefly looked around to see if anyone else was present.

 

They were now outside the Royal Palace.

 

Since they had secretly come out using Allan’s carriage, Ian was not dressed as a servant.

 

So, Ian briefly became Siroian Siegfried and answered:

 

“The day someone said they didn’t like poisoned tea, only to still drink the poison.”

Ian carried the weight of that day more than anyone.

Beside him, Allan nodded as if he deeply sympathized with Ian’s feelings. Behind them, Kyrie let out a small laugh.

Kalian blinked, momentarily caught off guard – first reprimanded by Allan and Arsene, and now facing Ian’s pointed words.

And so, time pressed on once more.

“Welcome to the home of Archmage, Allan Manasil!”

 

Finally, Kalian’s laughter burst.

 

“Since you like it so much, Your Highness, I’ll place one in front of your room as well.”

 

“No. No. That’s fine, Master.”

 

Kalian hurriedly waved his hands and quickened his steps.

 

Inside Allan’s house, which they had finally entered, several people were already gathered.

 

Veronica was preparing lunch, while Melpir, the director of the Pollun Magic Academy, and Euria, the principal of the same academy, were deep in discussion about its operations.

 

And right next to them, Arsene was helping with Veronica’s Magic Academy assignments.

 

“I offered to help first out of boredom, Your Highness.”

 

Arsene, working freely on a student’s assignment right beside the director and principal of the Magic Academy, offered his explanation, which sounded almost like an excuse, to Kalian, the Academy’s true owner. Kalian decided to half-believe his words.

 

After everyone gathered had finished lunch together, Kalian, Arsene, Melpir, and Euria sat around the reception room table.

 

“I heard everyone had a hard time while I was away.”

 

While Kalian had experienced quite a few incidents outside Cyriesus, those who remained inside had also had a busy time. It was due to the matters Kalian had set in motion before he left.

 

Kalian truly felt sorry looking at Melpir’s face, which was no longer round. He had become much thinner from not resting properly.

 

“Viscount Reddington has arrived, Your Highness. Thank you for sending such a good person. Thanks to him, we now have some breathing room.”

 

Although the busyness was originally Kalian’s fault, Melpir still spoke such considerate words.

 

Kalian nodded in response to Melpir’s thanks and opened his mouth.

 

“I intend to meet Nobles who command Knight forces at this hunting competition. It seems the time has come to look for forces that can replace the Beurisen Knights.”

 

With those words, Ian handed a piece of paper to both Melpir and Euria. It was a list of noble Knight Families who had sent gifts to Kalian.

 

Kalian continued speaking as he watched the two scan through the names written on the paper.

 

“Baron Pollun.”

 

“Yes, Your Highness.”

 

Kalian pointed to the paper.

 

“Please select those among them who would be difficult to trust by your standards.”

 

Melpir, who had conducted countless dealings with each Noble Family while running his Trader’s Guild, answered as if it was not a difficult task.

 

“Yes. I will check.”

 

Afterward, Kalian looked at Euria.

 

It was a request for Euria to conduct the filtering, not as the head of the Arcane Enclave or the principal of the Magic Academy, but as the leader of an intelligence organization.

 

Euria nodded even before Kalian spoke and said.

 

“I remember the contents I investigated about Beurisen well enough. I will exclude those associated with Beurisen from the list.”

 

Kalian looked at both of them with trusting eyes and conveyed his gratitude.

 

Of course, the best method would be for Kalian to meet each person directly and make judgments, but Kalian, who was not free to move about, found it difficult to face so many people individually. Therefore, he was trying to borrow Melpir and Euria’s eyes and ears.

 

Only trustworthy individuals would remain after Ian’s initial filtering was further refined by Melpir and Euria. Even if the screening wasn’t flawless, it was still acceptable.

 

[The only people I can trust completely are those gathered here right now anyway.]

 

Kalian’s closest confidants: Allan, Ian, Kyrie. And Arsene.

 

These were people Kalian could completely entrust his back to.

 

In a slightly wider circle were Melpir and Euria, who were right in front of him, as well as Rmain and Sleiman. It would be fine for Kalian to reveal his inner thoughts to these individuals.

 

And the Nobles he would meet from now on would belong to a circle slightly further away than those mentioned above. He would have to join hands with them while keeping in mind that any of them could turn their back on him at any time. That was why he thought it was fine even if the screening was not flawless.

 

“I’ll be here until evening, so please let me know by then.”

 

After saying this, Kalian looked at Arsene with a smile.

 

“Lord Hertz. Would you consider five days enough to get a good rest?”

 

Arsene, who could not stand boredom and had finished with the assignments, sensed that he would be busy again and smiled widely. Whatever it was, it would be more fun than Magic Academy assignments.

 

“Yes, Your Highness. It’s sufficient.”

 

Kalian smiled back at Arsene with a similar expression.

 

* * *

 

From early morning, Melpir Pollun had sent a gift.

 

His gift this time also caught Kalian off guard.

 

When Kalian came out after finishing his breakfast, having heard that a very special gift had arrived, he burst into laughter again seeing ‘two large ones’ and ‘one small one’ in front of Chermil Palace.

 

“As always, Baron Pollun.”

 

It was a gift sent to congratulate Kalian’s return and to express gratitude for sending Tessyd Reddington, a talent who was just what Melpir wanted.

 

The first gift Melpir had sent to Kalian was Raven’s necklace. It was something more expensive than any accessory Kalian owned, which he still had not dared to fill up.

 

But this gift was not for Kalian either.

 

Thanks to this, Ian’s grin stretched nearly to his ears. Kyrie did not show it, but he did not seem to dislike seeing this gift either.

 

“How does one come up with such ideas?”

 

The ‘two large ones’ were none other than Raven’s brothers.

 

It seemed Melpir Pollun had also contracted with the stable that first sent Raven to Plants when he acquired the Beurisen Trader’s Guild.

 

One was a light brown and the other was a dark brown, and they were gifts for Ian and Kyrie respectively. The interesting fact was that both horses were extremely gentle.

 

[Wait, then why is Raven alone like that?]

 

“Your was originally intended for Prince Plants. They say they had no choice but to send Raven because Prince Plants liked him so much.”

 

Hearing Ian’s words, Kalian scratched his cheek. It meant that he had taken Plants’ favorite horse from him.

 

Coincidentally, Plants had injured Ian’s hand that day with the knife he had thrown, so Kalian decided to consider it compensation instead of feeling sorry.

 

In any case, it was a fortunate turn of events. Ian and Kyrie would now have more opportunities to leave the Royal Palace, and Kalian had solved his thoughts of providing each of them with a horse.

 

“You can ride them straight out to the hunt today.”

 

Thus, Kalian nodded to Ian, permitting him to accept the horse, and then chuckled looking at the ‘small one’.

 

“I was wondering whether to buy a bird or a dog?”

 

When Kalian met Melpir, he had asked if the Trader’s Guild sold any animals suitable for Kyrie’s little sister to raise in the Royal Palace. After all, he had made a promise to Hina.

 

It seemed he had sent the answer to that question as a gift.

 

It was a silver-white kitten with odd-eyes, one blue and one brown. At a glance, its fur mirrored Hina’s hair color, while its eyes resembled Kyrie’s eyes. It was amazing how he had found such a kitten in such a short time.

 

“Baron Pollun is remarkable in many ways.”

 

Kalian nodded, agreeing with Ian.

 

The one who loved the meowing kitten the most was, of course, Hina, the recipient of the gift. Watching her, Kalian picked up the kitten and handed it to Hina.

 

“This cat can stay in Chermil. Make sure to take good care of it.”

 

Hina’s face brightened up. It was a smile that made everyone who saw it forget their complicated feelings.

 

“Tell Baron Pollun I gratefully accept these gifts.”

 

“Yes, Your Highness.”

 

At first, he had gifted something for Kalian’s beloved horse, and now he sent gifts for those Kalian cherished.

 

“I wonder if the day will come when the Baron sends me a gift?”

 

Kalian, who had technically not received anything from Melpir, said this and burst into laughter again.

 

[Well, Melpir is an interesting person. I can just look forward to it.]

 

* * *

 

The rain had already stopped.

 

The late autumn weather was very nice, and the hunting competition was not canceled.

 

“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness. I am Aizen Aprin.”

 

And so they finally met.

 

The hunting competition followed a format where nobles formed teams, with the championship prize awarded to the group that caught the most game.

 

Previously, Ian had finalized the list for Kalian, excluding the names flagged by Melpir and Euria. What had once been nearly thirty Nobles had now been whittled down to just eleven after three rounds of screening.

 

That was enough.

 

When each of their Knight Orders and the Mage Order gathered, he would have enough power to adequately respond to the forces of Beurisen and the Nobles who were on friendly terms with Beurisen.

 

Kalian immediately delivered that list to Rmain. As a result, all the individuals on the list were grouped together with Kalian as one team.

 

Kalian smiled warmly at Count Aprin, who had sent an abundance of sour, heavy rye cookies.

 

“The cookies were very delicious. I enjoyed them.”

 

As Kalian met the eyes of the other ten nobles gathered around him, there was an unusual gleam in his eyes. The look in the eyes of the nobles staring back at him was different from those who had come merely to participate in a hunting competition.

 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

 

By now, they would have understood the true purpose of this gathering by seeing the faces of those who they were grouped with.

 

Kalian was preparing to launch a full-fledged fight against Beurisen.

 

“I am Kalian.”

 

And for the second time, he introduced himself by name.