novelraw Chapter 84 : Chapter 84
Chapter 84 : Chapter 84
Chapter 84: Delegation (1)
A magical item like a round pebble.
'The Stone of Regression.'
As Elaine of the past life explained, it was an artifact passed down in the north.
A magical item passed down through generations of Serzila, its efficacy preserved through the blood of the Grand Duke.
'Replacing the blood of a specific lineage with magic power.'
Just hearing about it made it sound like an extraordinary magical item.
No wonder its effect was regression.
'Come to think of it, that must be a 6th Rank level magical item.'
I don't know who made it, but it must have been a 6th Rank.
And one deeply connected with Serzila.
I couldn't guess its identity.
I know the history of Serzila.
In that history, there is no precedent of Serzila and mages joining hands.
'There must have been another mage like me.'
If the north of the past life hadn't fallen, I, too, would have remained in history simply as the Grand Duke's guard knight.
It was neither surprising nor important.
What's the use of exploring history? What's important is that the Stone of Regression is gone.
'The Grand Duke seemed unaware.'
He might have been hiding it, but I didn't think so.
It seemed unlikely that an absurd event like regression would be a multi-use thing.
'There is no Stone of Regression in this life.'
I had to move on with that assumption.
Nothing would change. I was already doing so.
Suddenly, I felt a presence.
It wasn't Ellen. She had left my annex last night. She hadn't put away the bedding. Saying she might use it again.
The visitor was a servant.
Not an ordinary servant, but a servant of the Grand Duke's residence.
All the servants of the Grand Duke's residence were former knights.
Only then could they withstand the Aura the Grand Duke usually emitted.
The visiting servant was an old man with white hair, but as expected of a former knight, his eyes were sharp.
The old man silently handed me a letter and left.
It was more of a note than a letter.
A scrawled message on a small piece of paper.
-Do nothing.
It was Grand Duke Aratus's handwriting.
It must be an order not to be seen by the Imperial delegation.
Just as Toremot and Arika had said, the order to go to the 3rd Knights had been cancelled.
'A delegation.'
Come to think of it, there was such a thing.
For me, it was a memory that couldn't help but be faint.
The Harad of the past life had never greeted a delegation.
That not-so-old tradition disappears around the time the me of the past life overcomes his freeloader days.
'Did Grand Duke Aratus tell them to get lost?'
I couldn't remember the reason.
Well, it probably wasn't a big deal.
Because of that, the tradition of the delegation naturally transformed into an invitation to the Imperial Palace for Elaine's birthday.
The Grand Duke didn't stop that. It was to let Elaine experience the Empire.
To be precise, to see how pathetic the Imperial Family, Enverque, was.
* * *
The already harsh north becomes even harsher in winter.
For such a north, the Empire sends a delegation on the first day of winter every year.
A delegation that includes a considerable amount of food and supplies.
It is a sign of friendship and a tribute to their hard work.
It was also a way to show the continent that the Imperial Family was above Serzila.
Because the continent was tacitly aware that Serzila, which stood against the Otherworld, was certainly under the Empire but did not follow the Imperial Family's words.
It was also to curry favor.
To the Empire, Serzila was a threatening force.
-What a load of crap.
Regarding the Empire's delegation, Elaine of the past life had said so once.
It was in the same vein as Grand Duke Aratus never having greeted a delegation.
"What a... load of things they do."
Ellen stopped herself from swearing.
This was Kubel's annex. Shura was on the second floor, but she might hear.
"Food and supplies."
"We don't need them, we're not beggars."
Ellen disliked the Empire's charity.
Though the north is harsh, it is not poor.
What plagued this land was not money, but the cold.
There is a limit to the cold that can be solved with money, and Serzila had long been at that limit.
It meant that whatever the Empire did now would not be of any help.
"Which family is coming this year?"
The delegation changes every year.
And it is composed of noble families, not the Imperial Family.
Sometimes members of the Imperial Family are included, but more often than not, they are not.
Because Serzila dislikes the Imperial Family.
On the other hand, the Imperial Family wanted to win Serzila's heart.
So the family chosen for the delegation is usually a military family.
It was an expression of the hope that if they sent military families, there might be one that could win Serzila's heart.
Because Serzila likes the strong.
"A knightly family or a military faction will probably come."
Contrary to the Imperial Family's expectations, Ellen didn't seem to know which family was in this year's delegation.
I didn't particularly expect anything either.
There was nothing for me to do anyway.
'It must have passed quietly in the past life too.'
The delegation stops coming in five years.
If something had happened before then, Elaine of the past life would have brought it up as a drinking story.
"Isn't it a, a big deal?"
Kubel, who had been fidgeting, trembled his lips.
"If we, if we get caught..."
"We'll be burned at the stake. Ah. I'll be impaled, I suppose."
Because I don't burn.
I laughed lowly.
Shu, Shura! Kubel, who had shouted his daughter's name instead of screaming, curled his large body into a small ball. It was still large.
"I'm kidding. There's no need to worry, the security of the Inner Fortress is top-notch."
"How do you know that?"
"Am I not the proof?"
Half a year had passed since I had started living in the Inner Fortress.
The Harad of the past life had lived there for fifteen years.
The knights of Serzila know I am a mage.
Even those who work in the Inner Fortress, those who should know, all know.
But the fact that I am a mage was not known in the domain.
It was the same in the past life. There had never even been a common rumor.
It was partly thanks to my cautious attitude, but more than that, the security of the Inner Fortress was formidable.
No, not security, but loyalty.
The loyalty of the northerners, especially those who worked in the Inner Fortress, was strangely great.
"There's probably a reason for sending the delegation. Because they lack information."
There isn't a single spy in the Serzila Inner Fortress.
If there's a suspicious or loose-lipped person, the workers will beat them up first.
'Except for Cassion.'
That bastard was deliberately let go by Grand Duke Aratus.
"Of course, it would probably be better for you and Shura to be out."
There are two ways to identify a mage.
A mage kills a mage, or they materialize magic.
Until then, no one can identify a mage.
However, to do that, you had to have a thick skin.
Kubel was still lacking in that qualification.
"What about you?"
"I can even have a meal with the Pope."
My thick skin was already completed in my past life.
I turned my gaze to Kubel.
"Or, this is a good opportunity to gain experience. You can't avoid it forever."
"..."
"Think about it. We can leave Shura with Arika for a while."
Of course, Shura was better at putting on a thick skin than Kubel.
I was just planning to entrust her because Kubel would worry.
"...What do you think, Harad? Do you think I should do it?"
"It would be better to do it. That is the fate of a mage living on the continent."
As long as they lived on the continent, mages always had to put on a thick skin.
They had to feign composure on the outside while being nervous on the inside.
"As you well know, our current environment is special."
How many lands are there where a mage can live so peacefully?
"As it is special to us, we must be especially careful. If you get caught, it won't end with just you and Shura."
If Kubel were to be discovered, Serzila, who had allowed him, would also be in danger.
"The delegation will be a good practice opportunity. Who would suspect a mage to be in the Serzila Inner Fortress?"
* * *
In fact, it was more likely that we would pass by without even meeting.
What reason would a delegation have to come to a remote annex?
But I didn't bother to say that much.
'It's not urgent right now.'
In any case, Kubel had replied that he would try.
That answer itself was satisfactory.
Shamelessness can be developed to some extent with just will and imagination.
Of course, experiencing it firsthand would be the best.
The delegation's scheduled arrival date was tomorrow.
But the north was a land where it was difficult to keep appointments. They could arrive today, or in a few days.
So, for now, I had to entrust Shura to Arika.
"I can go by myself."
"I can go with you."
Ellen, who was walking holding Shura's hand, looked back at me following behind.
"Didn't His Grace the Grand Duke tell you not to do anything?"
"That's when the delegation is here."
"..."
For some reason, Ellen seemed displeased.
"Do you dislike me following you?"
"It's not that I dislike it."
"Then why are you being like that?"
"What am I being like."
I tilted my head.
We were on good terms until yesterday.
"Unni, did you fight with oppa?"
"No, we didn't fight. Why would we fight."
"Then why are you being like that?"
"..."
Ellen didn't answer.
Looking at her expression, she was clearly hiding something.
'It must be with Arika.'
I don't know what she's hiding, but it seemed like she was planning to get it while dropping off Shura.
"Aren't you busy? You must have a lot to prepare."
"If it were the main branch, maybe, but is it really necessary?"
So you should go.
"Will the Grand Heir be attending?"
"He usually did, but I don't know about this time. He said it was a bother."
"Is that okay?"
"Everyone will like it. His Grace the Grand Duke too."
Right.
If even the Grand Heir ignored the Imperial Family, the north would be pleased.
The rift between the north and the Imperial Family was deep.
It was already considerable, but the Grand Duke's Sabbatical Year was the final straw. Because he had placed restrictions on the Boundary.
The Grand Duke and the line of death.
The Imperial Family had suppressed