Chapter 131
Even though Neil had arrived at the banquet hall much earlier, he didn’t enter immediately and instead observed the atmosphere inside from a place where he could see the interior.
He was curious how Karl, who was making his debut in the central social circles for the first time, would deal with the old foxes, so he decided not to enter the banquet hall quickly.
-I will provide support with supplies and gold coins from the central administration.
That should make settling down easier for you.
I'll also try to connect the roads as far as possible.
-I'll contact you soon to arrange a meeting.
Karl had skillfully persuaded Count Pirlo to promise material support for the Arthur Domain.
He acted as if he was going to expand his own power, which perfectly suited the tastes of the central nobles who needed an additional check on Ellenhower.
‘I don’t know what he’s thinking deep down.’
There was nothing for Karl to lose by receiving aid.
Of course, the central nobles could also see it as no particular loss for them.
Karl was clearly not Ellenhower’s subordinate, and newly emerged powers were always bound to clash with their surroundings politically, so the central nobles must have weighed the pros and cons and decided to support Karl.
In any case, considering his rough and direct manner of speaking and behavior, the demeanor he had shown a little while ago could be considered an intentional act, and from the 1st Prince’s perspective, it was quite an interesting sight.
Just then, another interesting situation unfolded before the Prince’s eyes.
Yoanna Volkov, with whom the 1st Prince himself had discussed marriage and thus knew well, approached Karl.
‘Was this Yevgeny’s intention? Or is it her own will?’
For the eldest daughter of the Duke Volkov family, her marriage was almost certainly to be determined by political decisions.
Of course, rumors said that she wanted to decide her own marriage according to her own will.
But would that be possible?
-Hey, even if a woman is this aggressive, shouldn't you at least respond!?
The 1st Prince was quite surprised by Yoanna’s behavior, something he had never seen from her, who had always maintained a lofty demeanor.
‘Are women attracted to that kind of man?’
Just as he was about to entertain a fleeting, useless thought, Jean Verer, hailed as one of the Empire’s greatest talents, stepped forward in front of Karl.
He was a knight called a genius with the sword, to the extent that there were talks he might become a Master before he turned thirty.
Neil, intrigued by this interesting setup, settled back down from his half-risen posture and looked at the banquet hall again.
Kooong!
After a brief exchange of words, the moment Jean, who had approached Karl, was slammed into the floor, Neil froze in his seat from shock for a moment.
‘I couldn’t even see it.’
Neil himself was a Superior-grade knight and had been thinking that if he trained to death, he might become a Master before he died.
That even he couldn’t see how Karl had moved was a shock.
‘He’s far above Count Pirlo.’
The shock from that single movement was greater than he had thought.
Karl was said to be in his mid to late twenties, yet to possess such absurd martial prowess at that young age.
He had heard rumors, but seeing it in person was another shock altogether.
He had thought the rumors were somewhat exaggerated, as rumors often are, but the reality he witnessed seemed to surpass the rumors.
Neil shot up from his seat and walked towards the banquet hall to see that peculiar hero again.
He felt that if he didn’t step in, Karl might leave the banquet hall.
“His Highness Neil Gloster, the 1st Prince of the great Empire, is entering!”
With the familiar introduction, Neil entered the banquet hall, and everyone bowed their heads towards him.
Among those who bowed was Karl.
However, after giving Neil a nod, Karl immediately turned around and walked straight out of the banquet hall.
‘Heh.’
Watching that indifferent retreating figure, Neil felt, what should he call it, a sense of yearning.
He heard Karl was returning to his domain tomorrow.
Would there be no more chances to talk?
He wanted to talk once more with that man who was more unrestrained than anyone.
Such a thought blossomed in Neil’s mind.
He desperately wanted to ask how on earth one could walk only the path one desired like that.
However, the object of his curiosity had already left.
-I like you, Your Highness, so if you ever become unemployed, come to the County of Collo. I’ll prepare a position for you.
The words Karl had spoken replayed in the Prince’s mind.
‘I should really pay a visit there soon.’
Thus, an amusing thought popped into the mind of the Prince who was arduously supporting Gloster.
***
“Bastien, I don’t know much about this, but how skilled is Sir Karl?”
“Well, I’d have to cross swords with him properly to know for sure. But I’m not confident I could win.”
“What!?”
Nigel was utterly astonished by what his old friend was saying.
What kind of man was Bastien?
The moniker ‘General Lionheart’ contained admiration for his world-shaking command abilities, but it also included his undefeated personal martial prowess.
There were rumors that Karl was included in the Continent's Top 10, but many doubts still followed whether he should be recognized as one of the Top 10.
In contrast, Bastien was one of the great swordsmen firmly established as one of the Continent's Top 10.
For such a man to say he couldn’t guarantee victory against Karl.
“Is he that good?”
“He is. That fellow is truly something else. I had a slight uneasy feeling when I couldn’t properly gauge his presence the first time I saw him. I became certain after seeing him move just now.”
“Hah!”
The two meritorious retainers once again felt a deep sense of admiration for the man named Karl Meyer, whom they had seen for the first time.
“Looking at him earlier, he seems quite adept at political games too. Though he probably hates it inwardly, he doesn’t show a hint of it on his face.”
“Well, I was just thinking about my dying days. But now I feel like there might be some interesting things happening in my later years.”
Bastien momentarily looked at Nigel and his eyes widened.
“You…?”
He was surprised by the words suddenly uttered by his friend, who had publicly declared his retirement from politics to step back.
“Aren’t you curious? About the future that child is creating.”
“Hmm… He doesn’t seem like he’ll become Emperor, though?”
“I know that too. I don’t want to make an emperor either. I’m just curious about what kind of world he’ll create.”
“Indeed… Looking back now, unifying the continent and becoming emperor, what meaning does it hold?”
How long did the empire established by the first unifying emperor last?
And now, what great meaning could a fragmented empire hold?
The two men, now old enough to feel the transience of time, looked at each other and nodded.
And the direction of the decision forming in both their hearts was moving towards somewhere.
***
As Karl left the banquet hall, he felt the suffocating feeling lift.
“As expected, I can’t be a man of power.”
To become a man of power and a noble of the central administration, one eventually had to get used to such political scenes and the forming and dissolving of alliances.
And Karl didn’t want to push himself into such tiring matters.
Even without such politicking, Karl had too much to do.
Now he had people to protect and even his own land.
Karl knew he couldn’t completely build a wall against politics, but he resolved to involve himself minimally.
‘By the way, I feel like I left something behind.’
[Quest: Reveal Your Presence in the Heart of the Empire. Completed.]
[A Dragonslayer’s Chainmail is given as a reward.]
Looking at the quest completion window that popped up, Karl turned around with a nagging feeling that he had left something behind.
***
“I heard you’re the mage who came with Sir Karl?”
“Uh… yes, that’s right?”
“Yes, it seemed like you were saying you’re close acquaintances with Sir Karl. Is that correct?”
“Well… since I’m teaching him magic….”
“Teaching him magic? Then does that mean Sir Karl can use magic too?”
“He’s not great at it, but he can use it at least….”
“A Master-grade Knight and a mage!”
Once Karl disappeared, the nobles rushed towards the young mage named Oliger who had come with him.
Hearing the conversation with Count Pierre, it seemed the central nobles were inclined to support Karl, and seeing Marquis Bastien and Marquis Nigel also favor Karl, they were eager to form a connection with him.
Finally, his martial prowess, which had overwhelmed the Empire’s genius knight, also served as an opportunity for them to see Karl in a new light.
“So, you said you were Sir Oliger?”
“Sir? Ah… Yes, that’s right. Haha.”
Oliger, who had interacted with nobles a few times while following his master but had never been in a place crowded with such high-ranking nobles, felt dazed as he drank the alcohol they offered and mingled with them, his mind growing hazy.
Although he was a mage, he wasn’t very experienced yet, so he quickly got caught up in the atmosphere and was swayed.
“So, I…! This Oliger… am Karl Meyer’s master… that’s what I’m saying…!”
“Oh! That’s amazing!”
The seasoned nobles of the central administration quickly charmed the young mage.
However, the problem was that Oliger, whom they were charming, didn’t have much substance to offer.
The nobles couldn’t imagine that Oliger, the only one who came with Karl, was such an empty shell.
“Huh…? Strange…? Why am I here…?”
Oliger moved from pub to pub with the nobles for a second and third round, indulging in the entertainment and pleasures of the imperial capital to his heart’s content.
And the next day, he jolted awake in some alley.
By the time he opened his eyes, Karl had already departed for the County of Collo.
“I don’t know what I’ve forgotten.”
And Karl still couldn’t recall what he had left behind.
***
Returning from his trip to the imperial capital, which was short if you considered it short and long if you considered it long, Karl had to face a completely new challenge, different from anything before.
[Quest: Restore the Arthur Domain.]
Until now, the missions given had always been related to rescue or extermination, but this time, a quest in a completely different field of reconstruction and management was assigned to him.
‘Could this be called the true start of Phase 2?’
If it had been a survival role-playing genre until now, it felt like a construction & management simulation genre had been added to the role-playing genre.
“So, you’re saying you ultimately have to manage the domain.”
“…That’s right. I’ll have to seek Count Vito’s advice.”
“Of course, I must help you. First, for us to form any group, whether a nation or a domain, three things must absolutely be fulfilled, and a lord must know this.”
I thought I had heard something similar before.
When I was attending university in Korea, there was talk that a nation is formed when the three elements of a state – sovereignty, territory, and people – are present.
To put it in medieval terms.
Sovereignty would be the qualification to be recognized as a lord by the emperor or high-ranking nobles.
And accordingly, it would mean that territory and domain residents must exist.
Karl slowly unraveled the thoughts in his head.
“You understand well. Then, what is Sir Karl lacking right now?”
“Domain residents, I suppose.”
“Exactly. Additionally, money and supplies to feed the domain residents will also be necessary. Collo will provide overall support, but that alone will be difficult. You must gather the Arthur Domain, its subordinate vassals, and domain residents. You’ll need to select those among the northern nobles who didn’t flee and stayed, and gather talented individuals with Sir Karl’s fame.”
Count Vito was one of the most outstanding lords on this continent, and Karl deeply engraved his teachings in his heart every day.
And a short while later, an announcement that would shake the continent was made.
[Come to the Arthur Domain, the land of opportunity and blessing.]
The numerous bonds Karl had forged throughout his journey began to move with that single announcement.
***
“Sir Karl has become a lord, wouldn’t it be alright to build the second Vatican there?”
The proposal initiated by Cardinal Thomas’s remark was immediately approved by the Pope’s giant hand, and the church’s accumulated wealth promptly headed towards the Arthur Domain.
“We will accept volunteers for bishops and priests to go to the Arthur Domain.”
The moment the announcement was made within the Order, Inquisitors, bishops, and priests rushed to volunteer.
They were all individuals who had been inspired by Karl or had witnessed miracles alongside him.
“The 3rd Knight Order must go there!”
Among the numerous volunteers, the name of the Order’s 3rd Knight Order was at the top of the list.
Not long after, numerous figures from the Order departed for the Arthur Domain.