Chapter 32. Nigel Viscounty (2)
Translator: Warriormonk
Editor: Isleidir
Angela and the knight captain of the fiefdom, Lapal, were taking a stroll in the training field. Angela"s eyes widened at the ferocity with which Luke and Kurotan bashed and hacked at each other.
"Oh my… What a fierce and harsh training method."
The knight captain"s eyes were glued to the training field.
"What do you think, Sir Lapal?"
"It"s hard for me to say with certainty, but…"
Lapal frowned in concentration as he began to explain what he was seeing.
"It"s certain that Kurotan, who will be competing in the knight"s compet.i.tion, is an aura expert. Those kinds of movements are simply impossible to execute without the control of your aura."
"I see, so I was right."
"His swordsmanship, however, is fundamentally at a basic level. It seems that it hasn"t been that long since he has started training in the sword."
"And what about Sir Luke?"
"He is the complete opposite of Kurotan."
"How so do you mean?"
"He also seems to be an aura expert. However, his control over aura seems to be shaky. His swordsmanship is excellent, however, making up for this lack of control."
Angela let out a short sigh in amazement.
"How impressive, to have become an aura expert in his mid-twenties."
"It would be a stretch to call him a genius, but he is definitely talented. It is by no means easy to become an aura expert by your mid-twenties."
Angela suddenly blushed as she continued to watch Luke and Kurotan train. Lapal gave her a knowing smile.
"Even the lord would not object to a talent of that level."
Angela started at Lapal"s words and hurriedly shook her head.
"I-I don"t know what you"re talking about!"
Lapal only smiled wider as he remarked.
"I would agree as well, my lady. He is truly talented enough to become my heir as knight captain of the fiefdom. He seems to know how to deal with people as well, seeing as how he has already taken a va.s.sal under him at such a young age…"
"Pl-Please don"t joke about such things. I have no special feelings for him…"
Angela quickly rubbed her face as if it would make her blush disappear. She continued to steal glimpses at Luke unconsciously.
Luke and Kurotan continued to train without rest for ten days, when the day of the knight"s compet.i.tion approached.
The location of the knight"s compet.i.tion was near the mountain where the controversial mine was, and both parties had agreed to meet there on a certain date, along with a representative sent by a great n.o.ble.
"Earl Jason"s younger brother, Viscount Luter has been chosen as the Earl"s representative."
Both Baron Tarpan and Viscount Nigel were paying taxes to the great n.o.ble, Earl Jason, who would be a fair judge of the compet.i.tion.
"That"s good. We just have to be victorious at the knight"s compet.i.tion to win mining rights to Hols Mountain."
Viscount Nigel narrowed his eyes as he shot a questioning glance at his butler.
"Have there been any signs of Baron Tarpan hiring knights from outside of his fiefdom?"
"There hasn"t been any signs so far, my lord. We know that the Baron has made a couple of offers that have been refused."
"It makes sense. Few lords would be willing to throw away the lives of talented knights for a foreign affair."
Viscount Nigel currently had two aura expert knights under his command, Lapal and the vice knight captain, Jeff. Baron Tarpan also had, at least publically, two aura expert knights under his command.
Viscount Nigel smiled in leisure.
"We were very fortunate to have been able to hire another aura expert, thanks to Angela."
Viscount Nigel nodded and rose from his seat.
"My escort is ready, I presume?"
"My lord, fifty cavalry men await your orders."
"Good. Let us embark."
Kurururung.
The castle"s gates rumbled open as two carriages emerged from the castle. Dozens of soldiers on horses surrounded the carriage.
At the front of the party were knights. They were knights that would take part in the compet.i.tion.
Dudududu.
The party traveled at a rapid pace on the main road leading away from the castle. Luke and Kurotan were at the back of the formation of knights.
"Does the armor fit you?"
"Yes. Heuheuheu, it fits me perfectly."
Kurotan"s grin threatened to reach his ears. The castle"s blacksmith had pored over the armor that Kurotan was currently wearing, there was no questioning the armor"s quality.
Kurotan was decked out in full plate armor. Viscount Nigel had been rather generous, seeing as how Kurotan would be fighting for him in the knight"s compet.i.tion. Kurotan scanned himself from toe to shoulder, suddenly looking bitter.
"You said I could only have the helmet and chest plate?"
"Yup. We have to return the rest to the Viscount."
"Can"t we just keep the armor and forego the reward money?"
"Don"t kid yourself. Full plate mails are for wartime anyway."
"Well, I suppose."
Kurotan shook his head sadly. It had taken him an entire hour with two servants sweating over him to get in to his current get up. To wear it on a daily basis was impractical.
"d.a.m.n, I guess I"ll have to give it up."
"Don"t get too disappointed about it. Once you reach a new level with your aura cultivation, there may be another answer."
Luke nodded his head seriously.
"There"s a type of magic armor that only aura masters can wear, called Hershion."
"Do you remember the aura master that ma.s.sacred the holy knights, when we were chasing my fiancé?"
Kurotan"s face tightened slightly.
"I do. He was a terrifyingly strong human."
"The armor he was wearing was Hershion. It"s normally a chest plate, until the aura master injects his aura into it. It transforms into a full plate mail when the aura master does so."
"If that"s true, it should be extremely expensive."
"It defies your imagination."
"Then how will you buy it?"
Luke smiled.
"If you become an aura master, I will buy one for you one way or the other."
Kurotan"s eyes burned ferociously.
"I will double my training time from today on. I will reach the aura master level."
Luke rolled his eyes at the determined look in Kurotan"s eyes.
"Simple fool. Does he think that becoming an aura master is that easy?"
If one became an aura master, the king of his country would usually reward him with the t.i.tle of a great n.o.ble, land, and also allow him to marry a royal princess, bringing him into the royal family.
In other words, aura masters were rare to find and harder to become.
"Well, I suppose it wouldn"t be too difficult to buy him a Hershion if he did become an aura master."
Luke smiled bitterly as someone approached him.
"What is it?"
"Lady Angela wishes to see you for a moment."
"I see."
Luke jerked on the reins of his horse, careening off to the carriage in the back.
The window of the carriage opened to reveal Angela.
"h.e.l.lo, Sir Luke."
"My lady. Why did you call for me?"
"Well, it"ll be a while before we reach our destination. Would you mind being a conversation partner while we travel?"
"Ah, gladly. My b.u.t.t has been hurting from riding."
Luke smiled and unclasped his feet from his saddle.
"Would you back up a little bit?"
"That"s dangerous, Sir Luke. I will stop the carriage…"
"No need, my lady."
Luke handed his reins to the knight riding beside him before jumping from his saddle and landing on the steps of the carriage. His acrobatics were only possible due to his reaching the aura expert level.
"Oh my…"
"Then, excuse me for a while."
Inside the carriage were Angela and two maidservants that had followed her. Luke stretched after plopping himself on the seat across from Angela.
"Looks like I"ll be able to ride comfortably thanks to you, my lady. I don"t know how I can repay you for this generosity."
Angela covered her mouth as she laughed.
"You are a very easy going person, Sir Luke."
"I used to be scolded a lot due to my care free nature. Is there anything that you are curious about?"
"I wish to hear about Hansel Kingdom, the kingdom from which you hail."
"As you wish."
Luke had always been friendly and talkative. He didn"t need much time before capturing Angela"s interest and full attention.
"Amazing. I could never have imagined that Hansel Kingdom would have an academy solely for the children of n.o.bles."
"It"s only possible because we are a small country. It would be impossible in a country as large as the Sith Empire."
"Still, I think the concept itself is very inspired. The most important thing for n.o.bles is to build connections after all."
Luke continued on from stories about the Academy to his time as an officer at the front lines of the war with orcs, fully enrapturing the attention of the three women inside the carriage.
Even the expressionless maidservants couldn"t help but pay attention to Luke"s enthralling story.
"You talk very well, Sir Luke."
"Ah, my professor at the Academy said this."
"What did he say?"
"He said that I would not drown even if I sank. He told me that my mouth would float around in the water."
"Hohohoho."
Angela laughed with a hand over her mouth before straightening up and looking at Luke.
"It seems that you"ve been doing all the talking. Is there anything that you would like to know about the Sith Empire?"
Luke"s smile thickened. He had been aiming for this moment ever since he had entered the carriage. What he needed most was some advice about the state of affairs in Sith Empire from the knowledgeable Angela.
"To be truthful, I came to Sith Empire with large ambitions."
"I a.s.sumed so."
"However, it turns out that getting a start in a country where you know no one is not so easy."
"No, I don"t suppose it would be."
Angela stared at Luke silently.
"If you wish, Nigel Viscounty can back you on a lot of matters."
"That would be too much generosity on your part, my lady."
Luke smiled as he politely refused Angela"s offer.
"Since I"ve come to this country with a goal, I wish to make it on my own. I will gladly accept the good will behind your offer, but decline the offer itself."
"Well, if that is your wish."
Angela did not hide her disappointment.
"May I ask you just one thing, my lady?"
"Anything."
"What would be a good way for two knights at the aura expert level to make a lot of money?"
Angela started and stared at Luke with surprise.
"A-A lot of money?"
"Yes, my lady."
The maidservants who had been listening began to frown. It seemed that they had pegged Luke for a narrow-minded and greedy fool. However, Angela"s reaction was different.
"There is no way that Sir Luke could be a lowly person manipulated by money."
Angela smiled shyly as she continued to look at Luke.
"Well, first I would like to hear your reasons for needing to make a lot of money."
"As you"ve already seen, my lady, my training method with Kurotan is extremely fierce and dangerous."
Angela nodded immediately. She had observed Luke and Kurotan duel ferociously during the past ten days. Just as Luke had said, their training method truly was dangerous, as they did not hold back their blows. Injuries had been unavoidable.
The pair of aura experts had each broken a bone five or six times during the past ten days that they had trained. If they were normal knights, the training would have stopped there. Thankfully, there was a rather talented priest residing in the castle who was able to heal them.
The priest, from the church of Leines, G.o.ddess of the Lake, healed Luke and Kurotan"s broken bones very quickly. Once they were healed, Luke and Kurotan immediately resumed their training.
"The priest seemed to be near collapsing from exhaustion at the end of ten days of your training, sir Luke."
Angela shook her head as she remembered the pale skeletal face of a priest who had spent too much holy power.
"That"s why we need a lot of money, my lady. We must purchase healing potions in order to heal ourselves when priests are not around."
"Ah, I understand now."
Angela nodded sternly.
"But I"m afraid I can"t easily think of a way that two aura expert level knights can earn a lot of money quickly."
"Yes, I"m afraid I can"t either."
"Our Sith Empire experiences quite a few knight compet.i.tions or even territory wars. We also have many lands where monsters roam. I"ve even heard that a skilled mercenary can bring in a rather large sum of money."
"A mercenary?"
Luke frowned slightly. Most knights considered themselves as superior to the common mercenary. It was mainly because of their code of conduct, chivalry, was so different from the mercenary"s willingness to do anything for money.
"You don"t seem to be that enticed by the option?"
"Yes, to be honest, my lady. If I become a mercenary, I will have to carry out missions even if they do not necessarily fit my moral code."
"Then how about a mercenary knight?"
"A mercenary knight?"
Luke stared blankly at Angela.
"A mercenary knight, in the Sith Empire, is an occupation that allows you to take requests or missions even without a mercenary registration."
"How intriguing. There isn"t anything like a mercenary knight in Hansel Kingdom."
"If you are a registered mercenary, you absolutely must join the Mercenary Guild, but a mercenary knight does not have to. They can still receive missions, however, from the Mercenary Guild."
Luke"s eyes began to shine as his interest piqued.
"Can you tell me a little more in detail?"
"Mercenary knights usually take on missions that are deemed too difficult for regular mercenaries to complete. They often hunt boss level monsters, or even fight in knight"s compet.i.tions for a price. It"s more dangerous than regular missions, but they are compensated extremely well."
"Well, this is extremely useful information."
"And…"
Angela lowered her voice.
"What is it, my lady?"
"I"ve heard that two officially knighted aura experts can form an Order of mercenary knights."
"An Order of mercenary knights!"
Undeniably attracted by this idea, Luke silently memorized this information.
"It"s not easy to maintain an Order of mercenary knights, however."
"Why is that?"
Angela stared at Luke with serious eyes.
"Do you trust Kurotan, Sir Luke?"
Luke nodded without hesitation.
"Yes."
"That may be true for now, but may not remain true in the future. A knight of the aura expert level will receive welcome and good treatment wherever they go. It means that there are many opportunities for their loyalties to be tested."
"n.o.bles stop at nothing to take more talented people under their wings. Money, power, and beautiful women. Sir Kurotan will experience all of these things in the future, and his loyalty may wane."
Luke smiled bitterly at Angela"s truthful words. There was no way that a human could not be swayed by temptation or selfish thoughts. With power and strength came ambition and corruption, a change of heart.
"To this day, countless Orders of mercenary knights have collapsed due to their members" betrayals. It was because the mercenary knights making up the Order could not resist the temptations offered to them by n.o.bles."
"I see…"
"On the other hand, if you can maintain an Order of mercenary knights, you are sure to be able to grasp fame and money within a single hand."
Luke stared outside of the carriage as his thoughts raced. He was looking at Kurotan, who was silently riding on his horse.
"Would an orc in the guise of a human be swayed by the temptations of n.o.bles as well?"
Luke smiled bitterly as he shook away the thought and turned to Angela.
"Thank you for this valuable information, my lady."
"It seems that you"ve decided on forming an Order of mercenary knights."
"Yes. It seems that it is the road most fit for me as I am right now."
"You will need to officially knighted as well, Sir Luke. The minimum requirement for forming an Order of mercenary knights are two officially knighted aura experts."
"I see…"
Angela"s voice turned soft as she made the offer once again.
"If you wish, I will ask my father to officially knight you… As a free knight, of course, with no obligations to our Viscounty."
"Perhaps, my lady, when there is a chance in the future."
Luke politely refused again, and Angela did not hide her disappointment from showing on her face.