VOLUME 10: CHAPTER 4

Author's notes: There will be some changes to the name of the Morton Twins in the previous chapter. Also, sorry for the delay.

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VOLUME 10: CHAPTER 4

With Kalavinka at the lead, the envoys entered the port village. The masons and laborers fixing the roads and the houses stopped what they were doing and openly stared at the envoys passing by. 

“Hey, who are they?”

“Not so loud! Didn’t you hear, they’re envoys from the Empire!”

“Stop chitchatting!”

“Your hands aren’t moving! Stop gawking and work!”

“Alright, alright. Stop nagging, old man!”

Murmurs and chatters were heard as the envoys passed through the village. The Great Empire and the Kingdom of Lukas had been waging war against each other for decades now, an antagonistic relationship dating back to the era of the Tyrant King. 

Tens of thousands of lives had been lost since then. 

Princess Luna knew that they should be grateful that the Lukasians were civilized enough not to immediately attack them the moment they learned that they were from the Empire. 

“T-The building where Commander Mokuva is staying at is a bit farther from here,” said Kalavinka. “I apologize that we’re unable to provide you with a carriage, Princess.”

Princess Luna gently smiled. “It’s nice to take a walk like this every now and then. Please don’t worry about it, Lord Kalavinka.”

Kalavinka’s face flushed. The letters that had formed on top of his head revealed his thoughts. 

[What an angel. How kind! As expected of a Princess!]

For a moment, Princess Luna felt a tingling sensation in her heart. She felt guilt for deceiving such a pure boy. But in the end, she shook off such thoughts. She wouldn’t be able to survive this mission if she revealed her true emotions. 

As they were walking, Jacob Fraser suddenly halted in his tracks. Subconsciously, Princess Luna followed suit and also stopped walking. She followed the gaze of the royal court magician. 

‘A stone pillar? What’s so interesting about it?’ she thought. 

Fraser was staring at a large stone pillar. Judging by the foundation, it seemed that the Lukasians planned on making it into a large tower or something similar. The foundation spanned a hundred meters in diameter, and almost a hundred workers moved about to complete it. 

‘A dwarf?’ 

Princess Luna caught sight of several people who appeared to be dwarves. There were three of them, and they kept hollering at the workers to move the stone blocks faster. They also saw several armored knights carrying massive slabs of stone, wood, and iron. It was a bizarre sight: knights, human laborers, and dwarves were working together to build a single structure. 

“Lord Fraser?” said Princess Luna. 

Since the Princess and the Royal Court Magician suddenly stopped in their tracks, all of the envoys also stopped walking. 

Jacob Fraser frowned, as though displeased that his thought process was disrupted. He looked at the Princess, at the structure the dwarves were building, then back. 

Fraser said, “It’s nothing. I apologize for suddenly stopping, Your Highness.”

Princess Luna gazed at the letters that were forming on top of Fraser’s head. 

[The design… it looks strangely similar to the blueprint we’ve recovered from the ruins in Everfrost.]

[Is it a coincidence? No… the semblance is too uncanny.]

[I should look into this later.]

“We’ve recently established an alliance with the dwarves,” explained Kalavinka. He mistook Fraser’s gaze. He didn’t expect the royal court magician to be more interested in the tower than the dwarves building it. “They were sent here by His Majesty few months ago. Without their help, it would have been hard for us alone to restore the village this quickly.”

“I see,” said Fraser. He carefully added, “That structure they’re building. Does Lord Kalavinka know what it is?”

Kalavinka placed his index finger on the corner of his lips and lightly tilted his head.

“I… I heard that it’s supposed to be a tower. But it’s too large, don’t you think? Once completed, it would probably be large enough to cast a shadow over the port,” said Kalavinka. 

Judging by the boy’s words, it seemed that Kalavinka did not have an idea of what kind structure the King of Lukas tasked the dwarves to build. 

“King Lark told me that this place will soon become a battlefront. And we need to build those towers to stand a chance of defending this region,” said Kalavinka. “Even in the capital, they’re—”

“—That’s enough,” said a voice. 

Kalavinka’s mouth gaped open. He looked at the man walking toward them. “Ah, Commander Mokuva!” 

The envoys looked at the man walking toward them. He looked frail, and with his long hair tied to a pony, it was easy to mistake him for a woman. Walking next to Mokuva was a two-meter tall steel armor with crimson eyes. Unlike the other knights they’d seen before, this one looked more imposing, and it emanated an air of carnage around it. 

It was a strange feeling.

It felt as though the knight in steel armor was capable of ripping their bodies into shred with just a single strike of its fist. The elite soldiers escorting Princess Luna subconsciously held the hilt of their swords upon meeting its gaze. 

“Admiral Kalavinka,” said Mokuva in a stern voice. “Please do not carelessly divulge privy matters to outsiders. I believe we’ve already discussed this before.”

Mokuva didn’t hesitate to use the word ‘outsiders’ despite being in the presence of the envoys. 

“I-I apologize, Commander,” said Kalavinka. 

Mokuva sighed. “Please be careful next time.” He turned to the envoys, placed a hand on his chest, and introduced himself, “Mokuva Boris, direct vassal of His Majesty, King Lark, and one of the leaders of the Blackstone Legion.”

Princess Luna noticed that the soldiers escorting her were still holding the hilt of their swords, wary of the knight in steel armor. 

“How disrespectful,” said Princess Luna to the imperial soldiers. “Lower your hands. There’s no need to draw out your swords. Do not sully the dignity of the imperial envoys.”

Only after hearing those words did the imperial soldiers break out of their stupor. 

“We apologize, Princess.”

The soldiers lowered their heads in apology. 

Princess Luna knew that these men were elite soldiers, and they must have been more sensitive to bloodlust and danger than anyone else. 

If these elite imperial soldiers were reacting like this before a single knight, then that person was clearly unordinary. Whoever that knight in steel armor was, he was probably at least a swordmaster or something similar. 

‘But… the most dangerous person in this entire region must be him,’ thought the Princess as she gazed at Commander Mokuva. 

This person before her was clearly in control of the knight in steel armor. With just a single command from him, that monster wouldn’t hesitate to slaughter them. Just the thought brought shivers down her spine. 

Princess Luna greeted back, “I apologize for the rude behavior of my men. I am Princess Luna Lockhart Mavis, daughter of the Sun and the Moon of the Empire, Emperor Sylvius Lockhart Mavis.” She paused and added, “Leader of the imperial envoys.”

Mokuva nodded his head. “An imperial envoy. Admiral Kalavinka told us that a ship would be coming here in several days. Impressive, as always.”

Princess Luna was bewildered upon hearing this. 

That boy, Kalavinka, knew that they would be arriving at the port several days beforehand? 

Was he capable of reading the ebbs and flow of the seas and ocean to such extent? 

No, that shouldn’t be possible for a human. 

Mokuva fell silent for several seconds as he pondered over his next words. 

“A word of warning, Princess,” said Mokuva. “The knights stationed in this port had been given the order to kill all and any intruders on sight. And this rule applies even to the members of the imperial envoys. Please remember that.”

It seemed that Mokuva noticed the reaction of the imperial soldiers before. 

“How impudent!” snarled one of the imperial soldiers. 

“Is that a threat to Her Highness?!” spat another one. 

The soldiers guarding Princess Luna did not take those words kindly. As members of the elite troop, they did not fear such threats – especially if it came from a Lukasian like Mokuva.

“Like I’ve said, it is a warning,” said Mokuva without flinching. 

“This basta—”

“—Stop!” said Princess Luna. “That’s enough!”

Princess Luna’s head started to ache. She said, “We didn’t come here to wage war!” She lightly lowered her head, “Once again, I apologize for the rude behavior of my men.”

She gazed at the words forming on top of Mokuva’s head. 

[They're so easy to rile up. But at least this Princess is reasonable. His Majesty, King Lark, entrusted this region to me. I can’t fail him, no matter what.]

It was amazing that the leaders of this territory were this loyal to the king. For a moment, Princess Luna wondered exactly what kind of man the king was that these men were willing to serve him wholeheartedly. 

After clearing the small dispute, Jacob Fraser and the merchants also introduced themselves to the commander. After some discussions, Mokuva ended up giving lodgings to the envoys. Several recently restored houses near the village outskirts were given for the envoys to stay the night. 

***

It was late in the evening. Most of the members of the envoys were already sleeping. Jacob Fraser laid awake on his bed, unable to sleep as he recalled the events that transpired the moment they reached Kalavinka Port. 

Initially, he wasn't expecting much from this Kingdom, but now, his thoughts were different. 

"That tower," said Fraser. "I want to see it."

This single thought had been going through his mind for several hours now. Fraser was certain that out of all members of the imperial envoy, he was the only one who recognized the grave importance of that structure. 

It was no ordinary tower. 

The formations, the stone foundations, and the carved symbols on its stone walls bore striking similarities with the blueprint they'd recently smuggled from the uncovered ruins in the Republic of Everfrost. 

He wanted to see it up close. 

Fraser stood up, swept aside the curtains and opened the window of his room. He looked outside, in the direction where the foundation of the mysterious tower was being built. 

Using mana, he heightened his senses severalfold and willed it to spread through a large portion of the port village. 

As expected, he easily felt the presence of the knight in steel armor from here. Its unnaturally heavy presence made it possible for Fraser to pinpoint the steel knight's exact location. It was currently inside the building where Commander Mokuva was staying at. 

"Should I do it?" said Fraser to himself. 

Should he go out and take a closer look at the tower?

Although that steel knight felt ridiculously strong, Fraser was confident of fighting it head-on. Unlike other magicians, Fraser was well-versed in melee and ranged fights. Coupled with his 'Triple Cast', he should be able to suppress any opponent, no matter how powerful it was, as long as it was a one versus one. 

"No, it's too early," Fraser shook his head. 

If he was caught, it would negatively impact their mission. The damned Lukasians could easily use this as a pretext to shun the envoys. 

His intuition was telling him that the knight in steel armor was capable of seeing through his stealth magic. Going out there now, while it was on watch, would be too foolish. 

He still needed to obtain the cure for the monsterization, not for the Emperor, but for the sake of his little brother. 

In the end, Fraser decided to stay inside his room for the night. The next day, the envoys departed for the Kelvin Duchy -- their final destination was the capital of the Kingdom.