Chapter 78

Lucas answered various questions with consistently brief replies.
‘That is correct.’ Or, ‘That is not correct.’
On the rare occasions when he could not answer with those two responses, he answered, ‘I will think about it.’

Once the crowd had gathered, it showed no sign of shrinking,
and the center of the banquet hall was crowded with people hoping to speak with Lucas.

Smiles rested on Lionel’s and Berisa’s lips as they watched the situation.

“How many times has the Commander shown himself at a banquet now?”

Berisa asked with eyes curved like crescent moons.

“Probably five.”

Lionel’s gaze also held satisfaction.

“If it was the Commander, he must have been invited to at least twenty banquets a year.”
“The Commander is not the sort of person who enjoys banquets.”
“Well, yeah. He’s someone who prefers sitting before a fire to attending a banquet.”

The two looked at Lucas.
The sight of him mixed into the crowd looked awkward, but it was true that it was pleasant to see.

“Right. Talking with other people once in a while is what makes life feel human.”

Berisa swallowed a sip of wine with a satisfied expression.

“I don’t see the boy.”

At Lionel’s words, Berisa looked around the banquet hall.
The two of them were thinking the same thing.
There was no way Lucas would attend a banquet without a special reason.

And if there was a reason, they thought it would be Serpens.
Because the only change that had come to Lucas was that boy.

After turning their heads diligently, even narrowing their eyes, they soon shrugged.

“Well. We can feel his presence, can’t we? He must have gone out to the outdoor garden or something.”
“Most likely.”

The two quietly enjoyed the banquet.
They also lightly received people who came to greet them from time to time.

Just as they were listening to the sound of the string instruments.
Berisa suddenly turned her head.

“But, Lionel.”
“Yes.”
“Did you say you helped with that child’s training over the past month?”
“Once or twice a week.”
“Hmm…….”

When Berisa rolled her eyes,
Lionel asked her the reason.

“Why did you suddenly ask that?”
“Because the child seems to have grown surprisingly fast.”

Berisa put a biscuit into her mouth.

He was a fascinating child.
No matter that he had the Sword Saint as his master…….
his rate of growth was astonishing.

Once someone became skilled enough to be around Expert level,
they could roughly estimate another’s level when they saw them.
Through the sense of danger felt through their energy sense.
Or through the opponent’s Aura that faintly leaked out.

The power she had felt from the boy one month ago and the power he had shown in today’s battle.
The difference was enough that she could believe they were from two different people.

Did Lucas have a talent for teaching?
No, that did not really matter.
Because when it came to learning, the talent of the one receiving the teaching was more important than the one teaching.

“He is a child with the strongest in history as his master. It is only natural that his skill improves quickly.”
“Even considering that, it’s too fast.”
“I see it as the result of the child’s effort.”
“You’re actually praising someone?”
“I don’t give unnecessary praise, but there is no need to withhold it from someone who deserves it.”

Lionel also took a bite of a biscuit, following Berisa.

He recalled the training he had done with the boy over the past month.
No matter what training he was made to do, he followed without complaint.
Furthermore, he poured in time and passion and quickly produced results.

Both the process and the result were pleasing to see.
It was, one might say, a chance to understand a little why Lucas took that child around with him.

“A new star will rise in the empire.”

Berisa muttered to herself with the corners of her mouth raised even higher.
Lionel silently nodded as he chewed his biscuit.

Time passed like that,
and by the time new music had begun playing two or three times.

Lucas walked toward the two Knight Commanders.
Was it because he was directly under the light?
The dark circles beneath his eyes looked especially deep.

“Commander. You must be tired?”

Berisa giggled.
Lucas indifferently brushed off the joke.

“Is Muto Mariposa not coming to today’s banquet?”
“Muto? Why are you looking for her?”
“There is something I need to confirm.”
“Hmm……. She’s probably here, though.”
“…….”
“As you know, that one’s presence cannot be felt at all. She is, how should I put it……. an eerie person.”

Lionel warned Berisa, who was frowning.

“The person you are calling ‘that one’ is a Sword Master. In a public place with many people, use an honorific.”

Berisa grumbled that she understood.

“Cannot be felt, is it?”

Lucas spread his energy sense widely and searched the area.
He could feel the presences of various knights.
However, there was nothing at a level that felt like it could belong to a Sword Master.

When he had encountered Muto Mariposa before.
An inexplicable sense of wrongness had made him tilt his head.

‘Was this why I felt that sense of wrongness back then?’

Until now, there had been no one whose presence Lucas could not confirm.
Even the two Knight Commanders before him were said to be hiding their presences,
but he could still feel their power, however faintly.

But Muto Mariposa was different.
A lot, or a little.
Dense, or faint.
That was not the issue.
There was simply no power to be felt at all.

“Lionel. What was Muto Mariposa doing while we were on the battlefield?”
“If you mean today…… I do not know either.”
“……Then Berisa. Do you know?”
“I don’t know either.”
“…….”

Lucas focused on his energy sense once more.
However, nothing changed.

“I will change the question. Not today, then. What is she usually in charge of?”

Lionel and Berisa briefly exchanged glances.

“To be honest, we don’t know either. We have never actually seen Muto Mariposa hold a sword.”
“Is her skill certain?”
“Her skill is guaranteed by House Levvels. The knights who have actually gone on missions with her all praised her in unison. They said it was a kind of strength they had never seen before, or something like that.”

Lionel’s answer.
Lucas quietly exhaled.

“Why are you suddenly asking about her?”

Berisa set down her wine glass.
But she immediately picked up a new one.

“……This is not something to discuss here.”
“Ahh, understood.”
“I will visit the knight order tomorrow.”
“Yes!”

Lionel quietly handed Lucas a biscuit.
Lucas stared at the gesture of goodwill directed toward him, then soon accepted it.

“I will go see the emperor. I will see you tomorrow.”
“……Please get back safely..”
“Take care, Commander!”

Lionel could not hide his surprise as he watched Lucas walk away.

He had accepted the biscuit.
Lionel had handed it to him,
but he had not thought Lucas would accept it.
Because he had only been observing courtesy as always.

“Good for you, Lionel.”

Berisa lightly nudged his side.

“……I feel more unsettled than pleased.”

Lionel had handed Lucas countless items and foods until now.
Water needed in battle.
Meals after training.
He had handed him various things in various situations.
However, Lucas had never accepted his goodwill.

Even so, Lionel continued handing him items and food.
Even when his comrades gave up, he alone continued.

Half of it was the desire to show courtesy to someone he respected,
and half of it was stubbornness born from repeated refusals.
After that feeling continued for years, it had simply become a habit on its own.

“It seems the Commander has gained something like a human touch in the years we haven’t seen him.”
“……It seems so. Only a little.”
“What does that matter? Going from one to two, or from ten to eleven, is something you can take in stride! But zero becoming one is something worth commemorating.”

Berisa sipped her wine.
Her cheeks were faintly flushed with drunkenness.

As Berisa, now in a good mood, bobbed her upper body to the sound of the performance,
her sea-green hair gently swayed.

“Right……. That is true.”

Lionel agreed, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly.

Now it did not matter why Lucas had attended the banquet.
It was simply fascinating that he was slowly changing.
And at the center of that change.

‘As expected, is that child at the center of it?’

Lionel blankly looked in the direction Lucas had walked.

“I wonder what he will talk about with His Majesty the Emperor.”

After raising the mood of the banquet hall, Kerum left the place.

“Phew…….”

In his heart, he too wanted to stay in the banquet hall for a long time.
But his body would not follow his heart.

“I truly am tired…….”

He sat in the chair in his office and let out a heavy sigh.

His stamina had declined to a strangely severe degree.
He was not at an age one could call full of youthful vigor, but he was still in his forties.
Was that not an age still far from old age?

Had fatigue built up?
Yes, no matter how he thought about it, that was the only reason.
After ascending the throne, the fatigue that accumulated had increased severalfold.
Even more so after Lucas stepped down from his position as Knight Commander.

He had responsibly ignored the fatigue, thinking of it as the weight of the throne,
but before he knew it, the deterioration of his health had reached a level he could no longer ignore.

‘Even so, I must do what needs to be done.’

Kerum slowly turned through the documents on his desk.
The letters looked blurry because of his headache,
but because it was a familiar pain, he frowned and read through them.

Just as time was passing in silence.

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

“…….”

Kerum immediately stared at the door.
His eyes slowly narrowed at the silence created by the knock.

Knock knock.

When the sound of knocking came again, Kerum grabbed the sword behind him.

“Who is it?”

A voice with an edge.
Kerum rose from his seat and took a guarded stance toward the door.

Two knights stood before the door.
Anyone with business in the office had to explain the purpose of their visit to them.
The knights would judge the matter first,
then announce the visitor’s purpose to Kerum.
Only after that would the door be knocked on.

However, no knight’s voice could be heard now.

In other words.
It was an intruder.

“I asked who it is.”

Shring.

Kerum drew his sword and dropped the sheath.
The clattering sound scattered the silence of the room.
It had probably reached the being beyond the door as well.

Click.

The door handle turned.

Creeeak-

The door slowly opened.

The intruder slowly revealed himself.
Kerum put strength into his body in preparation for a surprise attack,
but at the familiar face that soon appeared, he let out a sigh of relief mixed with irritation.

“I apologize, Your Majesty.”

The one who opened the door and entered was a solidly built man draped in a black robe.
It was Lucas Liberator.

“What is the meaning of this, Lucas?”

Kerum sighed and lowered his sword.

Lucas stepped into the office and closed the door.
Through the closing door, two knights could be seen leaning against the wall, unconscious.

Clunk.

“No one must know that I came here.”

Lucas spoke quietly.
Kerum turned away from him and picked up the sheath he had dropped earlier.

After returning the sword to its place, Kerum sat down again.
Then he looked at him, silently asking for the reason.

“Cut out all unnecessary words and speak only of the main point. I will decide your punishment for knocking down the knights after hearing what you have to say.”

Lucas blinked for a moment, then nodded.

“Your Majesty, prepare for a rebellion.”

Kerum’s eyebrow twitched.
At the same time, his expression slowly twisted into a frown.

“I told you to cut out unnecessary words, not to leave me with only the conclusion.”