Chapter 34
“I’m thinking of finding the people of Felmon and gathering them together. Once we finish bringing in the dry wyvern, I’d like to start that right away. If we can locate Felmon’s people—and if we’re lucky enough to find any sword masters among them—I’d like to give it to them.”
At that, Kasia nodded, as if it was something she hadn’t thought of herself.
“That’s a good idea, Your Highness.”
“It’s not exactly what I’d call a great sword, though.”
When Luzenvique added that comment, Kasia promptly nodded again.
“That’s true. Everything is relative.”
Luzenvique left with Kasia, and I went to the room assigned to us with Beatrice.
After soaking in warm water and stepping out, I found fresh nightclothes prepared. This place seemed to have no shortage of anything, selling even items most places wouldn’t carry.
“Hestia, I’m so glad you returned safely.”
Beatrice’s voice was filled with emotion when the steward came to see me.
Once Beatrice stepped outside, word came that Erkan had arrived.
“Oh, could it be that my brother’s sword is finished?”
At Beatrice’s words, I also thought that might be the case and hurried outside.
We gathered in the merchant guild’s small meeting room. When we arrived, Erkan was already showing Luzenvique the sword and explaining it.
“Deputy Leader, I’m glad you’ve returned safely. I heard you went through a lot.”
Erkan gave me a sympathetic look before turning back to his explanation.
Had he not done so, Luzenvique would probably have asked him to explain anyway.
Curious, I went over to them and saw mysterious patterns engraved on the blade.
“Is this what you call a magic circle?”
When I asked, Erkan confirmed it and told Luzenvique to try infusing his mana into it.
Luzenvique looked uncharacteristically tense.
“Luzenvique was really amazing. Even when the enemy was right in front of him, he didn’t prepare to fight immediately. I think that threw them off completely—made them feel ignored. They lost their composure and fumbled. But even if they had stayed calm, Luzenvique still would’ve won.”
“Really? To be honest, I didn’t expect the prince’s swordsmanship to be that level. Then, when I saw the armor get sliced, I was truly shocked.”
Kasia seemed interested in my words as well.
Luzenvique only smiled and didn’t respond, his attention fixed entirely on the magic circle engraved in the sword.
“So, I just need to put my mana into this?”
“Yes, Your Highness. Just your mana—don’t swing the sword. We just want to see if the magic circle activates properly.”
“Understood.”
I could feel Luzenvique gradually infusing mana into the sword.
It wasn’t something visible, but the changing color of the magic circle made it clear.
It was as if light surged up from within the patterns, and we all stepped closer to watch.
“It’s better to keep your distance. You could get hurt.”
When Erkan said that, I pretended to listen for a moment, but before long I was back at Luzenvique’s side, staring at the sword.
The light emanating from the blade faded and then flared up again repeatedly.
Thinking of the aura that had clung to Chase’s sword, I realized again just how great the gap between their skills was.
Unlike Chase, who couldn’t control it precisely, Luzenvique’s mana control was smooth and masterful.
Even I, who knew nothing about such things, could sense it—and the others looked on in open admiration.
Since Kasia and Erkan seemed like people who’d seen plenty in their lifetimes, their astonishment meant this must be truly exceptional.
“I knew you could do it, but I’m a little surprised you did so well,” Erkan said with a smile.
“If this much is possible, I’m tempted to push a bit further. I wanted to engrave more magic circles, but I couldn’t gauge how much mana it would take to activate them, so I left them out. For now, I just inscribed a few as a test, and His Highness managed to activate them all.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Luzenvique looked satisfied as he gazed down at the sword.
“Even without the magic circles, this sword alone is an excellent weapon. I want it.”
“As expected of Your Highness. This is not something that can be easily obtained—or recreated. I’m glad to meet someone who recognizes its worth. Until now, I’ve shown this sword to many people, but none have recognized its true value.”
I listened to their conversation with fascination.
“In that case, I’ll take this sword back for now. Also, rather than staying at the villa, how about living here instead? What do you think, Deputy Leader? It’s much easier for me to travel here using spatial movement magic because of the mana concentration in the air. If you stay here, I could visit three or four times a day without trouble.”
At Erkan’s words, I looked at Kasia.
I worried that moving here might put Kasia in danger.
If the king couldn’t let go of his obsession and kept hanging around, there was no telling what trouble might follow.
“I’m worried about you, Kasia, and the Jeifron family. They’ll want to protect me completely, which worries me even more.”
Kasia laughed loudly.
“Deputy Leader, isn’t that only natural? The whole Jeifron merchant guild depends on you—how could we possibly let you come to harm?”
It didn’t seem like he was going to change his mind.
And it wasn’t just his decision alone—this felt like something the entire Jeifron family had already agreed on.
I couldn’t decide so easily about moving into the merchant guild’s base.
Once I did, they would be tied to me completely, sharing my fate.
But Kasia showed no sign of hesitation and answered Erkan before I could.
“Kasia, are you sure about this?”
“There’s absolutely no problem, Deputy Leader.”
Kasia still wore a smile, and I let out an involuntary sigh.
Luzenvique chuckled and reassured me.
“It’ll be fine, Hestia. We just have to become stronger. We’ve never stopped growing stronger, have we?”
For a moment, I wondered if this was really the same Luzenvique speaking.
Beatrice seemed to have the same thought, glancing at me.
“I never thought my brother would say something like that. This must be your doing, Hestia.”
“What did I do?”
“That’s a kind of magic only you can use.”
It sounded ridiculous, but somehow the others agreed.
“Then, you do realize the king will come here, right, Kasia? I’d rather avoid pointless clashes. I really hate the idea of anyone getting hurt because of me.”
“Yes, I understand. Unless you’re in clear, direct danger, we’ll stay out of it.”
Only after Kasia said that could I relax a little. Luzenvique, meanwhile, had gone back to infusing mana into the sword, activating the magic circles again.
People who once seemed completely incompatible now trusted and relied on one another, sharing the same dream.
The people at the villa returned to their previous routines.
The villa was temporarily closed, in case the people sent from the palace caused any trouble.
Those who had come to find us there eventually tracked us down to Kasia’s merchant guild.
I summoned the servant the king had sent and met with him directly.
By then, Erkan’s magic had made my face hideously deformed again, so the servant couldn’t even look at me properly and wore an expression of disgust.
“How dare you make such a face in front of me? You insisted on seeing me, yet now that you are here, you react like this when I show you my face to report to His Majesty?”
I scolded him more sternly and harshly than I had ever done before, and the servant went pale, utterly at a loss.
“Look at my face properly. You have to see it clearly if you’re going to give an accurate report to His Majesty. If you just take a quick glance and tremble like that, what are you going to tell him? That you couldn’t look because it was too disgusting? Then you’ll end up making things up yourself, won’t you?”
“T-that’s not what I—”
“No more excuses. Look directly at my face.”
The servant had no choice but to comply.
I could imagine how tormenting those moments must have been for him.
Erkan had promised to make me look so dreadful that the king would never want to see me again—and he had succeeded. Even Kasia had winced when he saw me then.
Strangely, though, Beatrice and Luzenvique didn’t look away or frown.
They only said they were glad it was magic, because it meant the effect would soon fade and I wasn’t actually in pain.
Seeing that, even Kasia admitted, “Those two really do like you, Deputy Leader.”
For the king’s servant, it must have been like torture.
But I knew he had to feel it vividly if he was to describe it to the king accurately and possibly change his mind.
When I finally dismissed him, the servant clutched his chest, face twisted as if his heart were pounding wildly, and fled.
