January 20, 2022Ā iokiokaĀ Honing Magic Arrow to the LimitĀ Leave a comment
The Kingdom Festival ended, and the Academy went back to its usual, daily routine, as if the undead disturbance had never even happened.
And the same went for me, too.
Ever since I talked things over with Kyria, the nobles stopped approaching me all together.
As a result, Iām living out the same life as I did during the first semester.
Itās just me and Laura, enjoying our academy lives.
But I didnāt feel lonely, not in the slightest. Why would I? My daily routine was peaceful and pleasantāI couldnāt ask for more.
Iām sure Laura was thinking the same.
I wish this would last forever. I genuinely hoped that.
While we spent our time doing this and that, days became weeks, and the months slowly got colder.
Right around then, a letter was delivered to me.
āLaura, I got an interesting letter yesterday.ā After we finished up our meal at the cafeteria, I brought up the letter to Laura.
āAn interesting letter?ā
āDo you remember Lihilt, the noble?ā
Lihilt Strahm was a man we met at the engagement that Alencia commanded; he fought alongside us as the captain of a disposable detached squad. His hard work and perseverance paid off, resulting in his promotion from Baron to Viscount.
āThat goes without saying!ā
āThe letter I got was from Lihilt, you see.ā I took out the letter from my breast pocket. āHe was granted a territory as a reward. From what Iāve read, his total lack of experience in territorial management is giving him serious grief.ā
āI seeā¦ Sounds roughā¦ā
āHe also wrote that he wants me to give him some advice.ā
āWell, youĀ areĀ a fellow nobleman, after all! Are you gonna give him a lesson or two on managing territories as his experienced senior?ā
āNo, not at all.ā
ā¦Iād end up just as confused as he is if I tried. While IĀ amĀ a noble, Iāve lived my life freely up until now; I donāt know a thing about the know-how of managing a territory.
āApparently, heās gotten into a bit of a disagreement with the neighboring noble. He wants me to hear the full story in person, and if need be, act as a witness to their talks.ā
I wondered if I was really the right person for the job, but my title as the Luminous householdās successor carried significant weight. Besides, I previously fought alongside Lihilt on the battlefieldāIād be more than glad to give him a hand.
āIām thinking of heading over to his domain in December. If youād like, you could come tooāā
āIāll go!ā she replied instantly. Her eyes were sparkling, and she was shaking her arms up and down, unable to contain her excitement.
She was completely raring to go.
āā¦But is it really alright? Weāll be leaving in December, which is before winter break. Youāll have to take time off classes, you know?ā
When nobles need to attend to their other responsibilities, they can send a request to the Academy and take extended time off. There wouldnāt be any penalties on her attendance record, but I assume someone as diligent as Laura would rather not go.
āFine by me!ā Laura replied without a hint of hesitation. āThisāll be an enlightening experience. Commoners like myself donāt usually get the opportunity to step foot into the world of nobles, anyway. Also, umā¦ā Laura seemed embarrassed as she continued, āIād feel a little lonely if I got seperated from you again!ā
āRightā¦ā
Iād almost forgottenā¦ I was led around the nose by my noble classmates, leaving Laura all by herself.
āYouāre right. Letās go together. Iād be happier if you came as well.ā
āThat settles it then!ā Laura nodded, visibly in high spirits. āIām looking forward to it!ā
Once the clock hit December, Laura and I headed off for Lihiltās territory.
Normally, nobles make use of Transportatorsāwhich are those buildings that instantaneously teleport you from one point to anotherāwhen traveling long-distance, like I did when I returned to my parentās estate.
Fundamentally speaking, only esteemed nobles have Transportators set up in their territory; as such, Lihilt wouldnāt normally already have one. However, because the territory lent to him was originally under the direct control of the royal family, it happened to come with one.
Transportators were quite useful, and the nobles whoĀ didĀ have one saw their fame reach new heights. Any noble would kill to have a Transportator, and one falls into Lihiltās lap, just like that.
He has the Devilās luckāthat much is certain.
Upon arriving at Lihiltās territory, a well-dressed middle-aged man called out to us. āI am a butler serving Sir Lihilt. You two must be Albert and Laura. Iāve come to welcome you to our estate.ā
We then boarded a carriage and began making our way to where Lihilt was.
The capital of his territory had a tranquil air to it. It was a stark contrast to my hometown, Luminous, which was more commercialized. The citizens walking about all looked relaxed and carefree, too. Being a tiny territory under the direct control of the royal family, developing the economy mustāve not been a high priority.
I wonder how Lihilt planned on changing that, now that heās the new Lord.
āYou all saved my life! I canāt just hog all the glory to myself!
āBut for real, I canāt apologize enough. I only got rewarded cuzā Iām Captain and all. You did most, if notĀ allĀ of the heavy lifting, Albert.
ā¦Well, if heās compassionate enough to say all that, then Iām sure heāll make for a fine Lord.
We arrived at a tidy, splendid-looking mansion.
āā¦Thank goodness. Itās not a castle this timeā¦ā Laura muttered, relief written all over her face.
āThis way,ā the middle-aged butler said, leading us inside the mansion. A familiar face was waiting for us in the room we arrived at.
āAlbert! Laura! Long time no see! Good of you both to come all the way here!ā
There stood a young man in his twenties who didnāt quite carry himself with the majesty of a Lord. His clothes were a little fancier, but his friendly tone and bright smile hadnāt changed in the slightest since half a year ago.
And although I hadnāt known him for very long, seeing him felt nostalgic. His good-hearted personality and fighting with him on the battlefield mustāve strengthened our bond.
I spoke, āItās been a while, Lihilt.ā
And so did Laura, āItās been way too long, Lihilt!ā
Thus, after fighting together on the battlefield, the three of them reunited in what felt like ages.
Already explained in the chap yesterday, but for those who havenāt seen, TLDR I was busy with exams/finals in November/most of December, went on a trip to the states for all of winter break, then came down with COVID (fully vaccinated, omicrom) after getting back around the beginning of January, which is why I was gone for so long. Doing fine now and Iāll begin regular posting but the schedule will most likely see some changes. Thatās all, will post again tomorrow and add the new section to the chapter list since its a new arc, see you guys then.