WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

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Chapter 162: The Red Banquet (1)

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The distance from Rier to Renavik was not very great.

One was the Grand Duke's small city in the rear of the Kingdom of Valone, while the other was the Federation's greatest metropolis, located in southern Kalov Kingdom.

The journey took only a few days, so the procession was modest. There were no more than ten escort knights, and they guarded only a single carriage belonging to the Grand Duke. At a glance, it looked less impressive than the procession of an ordinary noble house.

A few of the knights were not even wearing proper armor. They were Hermann and Walter. The Grand Duke did not care in the slightest. There was no one near Renavik who would dare ambush his carriage, and even if there were, it would make no difference. Hermann and Walter alone could handle most knight orders without the other knights needing to step in.

Inside the Grand Duke's old-fashioned carriage as it headed for Renavik.

"You look bored."

Adrian, who had been diligently reviewing documents, spoke up. Kyle, seated across from him, had been staring out at the scenery passing beyond the window.

"Do I?"

Kyle replied in a flat tone. The Grand Duke's carriage was large and comfortable, with all kinds of Spell formations set within it. The fact that Adrian was working inside it made that clear enough. Still, sitting all day did leave his body aching.

"There's no point hiding it. It's obvious."

"..."

"Of course, as a knight, Sir Kyle would be more comfortable riding a horse than sitting still. But didn't you suffer a serious injury? No matter how quickly you recover, being pierced through by a greatsword is bound to leave some aftereffects."

"I'm already healed."

"Healed?"

Adrian looked away from the document in his hand and stared at Kyle.

"An injury that could have killed you, healed in less than a month?"

"At least it won't hold us back when the time comes."

"Hmm... I don't know. To be honest, I still wonder how Sir Kyle survived. The Duke Mortein I know never leaves loose ends. I've never heard of someone who stopped breathing coming back to life. You said you absorbed the Dragon Heart?"

Kyle did not answer. His silence was confirmation.

As Adrian narrowed his eyes, Kyle looked down at his chest. Nothing remained where the Dragon Heart had hung until recently. There was nothing on the middle finger of his rough, callused left hand, either.

"If that's true, the Emperor must be in quite a difficult position."

Adrian let out a quiet laugh. Duke Mortein rarely failed. Not only had he failed to kill Kyle, the last Commander of the Knights of Ash, but he had also failed to retrieve the Dragon Heart. He would be greatly displeased.

"Once we reach Renavik, we'll meet the hardline nobles first."

Kyle had been silently looking at Yurian's sword resting on his lap when Adrian continued, returning his gaze to the documents in his hand.

"Exchanging letters and meeting face to face are clearly different matters."

"What will you do if a traitor appears?"

"There's no need to worry about that. The King of Valone has always been a hardliner to the core. He's a man who hates the Empire with every fiber of his being. If someone collaborated with the Empire, he'd cut them down without hesitation, even if they were royalty. He has let them remain until now only because he had no justification."

Adrian's voice was firm. Kyle asked what he had been wondering.

"Is the Commander of the Chevaliers among them as well?"

"Godfrey? That's right. Duke Servier is a noble from the Kingdom of Valone and the Federation's greatest knight. He's long insisted that the council strengthen its military forces. It all came to nothing in the end, though."

Unlike the Empire, the Federation's leadership had decentralized power. A king could control minor policies within his own kingdom, but the overall direction of the Federation followed the council's decisions. The High Council had six members, including Adrian.

Felbric Chergar, the King of Calorf and the neutral chairman. Excluding him, there were four kings and one exiled Imperial royal. Their opinions were always evenly divided. Russel and Selaine favored the Empire, while Valone and Rustin opposed it.

Russel and Selaine had always traded frequently with the Empire. Because of that, they had remained friendly toward it. Valone was the opposite. Rustin's main industry was trade with the southern continent, so it had no reason to defend the Empire, which had invaded first.

Since Adrian entered the council, the conflict between the two factions had grown even worse. If Russel and Selaine did not change their stance even after the Empire's surprise invasion, they could no longer coexist. One side would have to disappear for this conflict to end. That was why this Grand Assembly and banquet, held for the first time in five years, were the perfect opportunity for both sides to act.

"They know it too. The banquet before this Grand Assembly begins will be a turning point. Even nobles unrelated to these reforms, if they're perceptive enough, have probably figured it out. They may already be calculating which side would be best to join."

Adrian spoke calmly. Kyle carefully ran a hand along the sword on his lap.

"The calm before the storm..."

"Even so, we still have the advantage."

Adrian added. His blue eyes moved over the documents, calm and without the slightest tremor.

"The Council Knights have likely already infiltrated Renavik. Most knights won't be a match for them. Besides, don't we have another trump card?"

Adrian glanced meaningfully at Kyle. It was obvious what trump card he meant.

"The fact that the Ash Knights who survived the Northern War are staying in the Federation is classified information. Only a very few on our side know of it. Though the entire continent will learn soon enough."

"Are they already waiting there?"

"Unless something unusual has happened, yes. Like the Chevaliers, they should already be waiting in Renavik."

"..."

"If you're that curious, ask Sir Hermann. Or see it with your own eyes. It won't be long now, will it?"

Instead of answering, Kyle looked out the window. Hermann and Walter were slowly riding alongside the carriage not far away.

"It does seem faster to go and see for myself."

Kyle muttered quietly. Adrian glanced at him. Beyond the window Kyle was looking through, Walter gave a small nod with a faint grin.

Kyle turned away from him and immersed himself in training with Prisia's mana as he had before.

* * *

Renavik was the Federation's greatest metropolis, rivaling Archandia, the Empire's capital. On the fourth day after leaving Rier, Kyle had no choice but to acknowledge that fact he had only heard of before.

The silhouette of an enormous city, faintly visible in the distance.

Renavik.

Once the scenery that had repeated for days changed, a vast plain appeared before them. Renavik, the capital of Kalov Kingdom and the Federation's greatest metropolis, stood in the middle of that flat land. As time passed and the distance closed, Kyle came to understand Renavik's scale. It was on an entirely different level from the major cities he had seen before.

Overwhelming.

No other word suited it better. Kyle looked at the view of Renavik through the window.

Its total area seemed comparable to Archandia.

No, perhaps it was a little larger.

"Is this your first time in Renavik?"

Adrian asked from across from him. Kyle did not deny it.

"In a manner of speaking."

"For someone seeing it for the first time, your reaction is rather dull. Most people who see Calorf's capital for the first time have their eyes go wide."

"I've already seen a city like this once."

"Where?"

"Archandia."

Adrian's body flinched.

"...I heard Baldheim was quite a large city as well."

"It's the largest city in the north. Have you been there?"

"No. Unfortunately."

As the two spoke, the city drew close enough to touch. Renavik was vast, but its structure also differed from that of an ordinary city.

There was the royal castle where the King of Kalov resided, along with the central district containing the Federation Council and many other important buildings. Countless structures spread out from it like a spiderweb. Beyond the towering outer wall surrounding the huge city stood another city built around that wall.

The Grand Duke's carriage moved through the streets of that chaotic outer city. Before long, they came upon a wall that looked at least fifteen meters high, with soldiers guarding its gate.

Naturally, there was no inspection. They passed through without any formalities and soon entered Renavik proper. The land and buildings were far larger than those in Marent or any other major city Kyle had seen. The carriage they escorted traveled through the city for nearly an hour before finally coming to a stop.

"Your Grace."

"We've arrived."

The coachman knocked on the carriage door from outside. Kyle followed Adrian out of the carriage.

"This is..."

"My villa. More precisely, it belongs to Gilbert."

Before them stood a classically styled mansion that looked as though it had been built long ago. It was not openly lavish, but it had the proper dignity of a typical noble estate. The surrounding streets were quiet, and similar mansions stood in a row, suggesting this was a district where nobles lived.

The royal castle isn't far away.

When Kyle turned his gaze, he could see the royal castle nearby. That meant the mansion stood in the city's central district.

"From here, it would be best if we act separately."

Adrian dusted off his shoulder, glanced around once, and spoke.

"Be careful."

"About what?"

"The Knights of Ash being in Renavik is a secret among secrets. Officially, you are escort knights under my command. You may move freely since there is still time before the banquet, but avoid doing anything that could expose you."

"Are you going to meet the hardline nobles now?"

"First, yes. I'll be staying at this mansion for the time being, so call the servants if you need anything. If anyone approaches you to recruit you, handle it wisely. Though you have plenty of experience with this sort of thing, so perhaps I'm worrying for nothing."

Adrian whispered from close beside Kyle, then gestured in one direction. Hermann and Walter were there, dismounting their horses and approaching.

"Then I'll see you later."

Adrian exchanged looks with Hermann and Walter before leaving with two escort knights. The only people remaining in the mansion's front yard were servants organizing the knights' horses and carriages, Adrian's escort knights who had not left with him, and Kyle, Hermann, and Walter.

"How's your body?"

"I'm fine, except for a little dizziness."

"Still, well done. I thought you'd lose patience and get out halfway through."

"It's not that bad. I was able to train my mana during the journey."

"If the dizziness gets bad, you can rest in the mansion. The banquet isn't tomorrow, and it's not that urgent."

"It doesn't matter."

"Are you going straight there?"

Hermann asked. Kyle nodded.

"Yes."

"Then there's no reason to delay."

The three left their horses with the servants and departed from the mansion. They went from the city center, where the royal castle stood clearly in view, toward the outskirts near the wall. The farther they went, the larger the crowds and louder the bustle became. The wide avenues were packed with carriages bearing nobles from all over and processions of knights.

"There are a lot of people."

"More will keep arriving. It'll stay this way until the banquet is over."

"Neither of you is visiting Renavik for the first time?"

"No. We've stopped by a few times. The same was true this time. We needed places to negotiate, and this was where Imperial agents were most active."

Renavik's scenery differed from that of other cities. It was not simply crowded. The architectural styles of its buildings were mixed together in many different ways.

It isn't solely Calorf's culture.

Unlike the Empire, the Grandecia Federation was made up of five separate kingdoms joined together. Naturally, their various cultures had no choice but to mix. The Kingdom of Rustin, which traded with the southern continent and the distant continent of Azaril, was like that. So was Kalov, whose capital, Renavik, was the Federation's largest city. Rather than following one uniform style, the cultures of many places blended together in a strange harmony.

And in the middle of it all.

After moving quickly for more than thirty minutes, Kyle followed Hermann and Walter into the outskirts of the city. The farther they moved from the main avenue, the quieter the streets became.

When Kyle looked up, the sun was already setting. A faint orange glow spread across the late afternoon sky. The alley Kyle walked through was no exception. The sounds around them stretched out beneath the dreamlike scenery dyed red.

"This is it."

Hermann, walking in front, came to a stop. Kyle stopped as well.

"Don't be on guard. They're all allies."

Walter said with a smile. At nearly the same time, Kyle sensed presences all around them. He instinctively moved to grip his sword hilt, then stopped.

One, two, three, four, five, six.

From around alley corners. Or atop the buildings. People emerged one by one. Like Kyle, they wore black cloaks and had their hoods pulled over their heads.

Each had a sword at their waist. The swords differed in outward appearance, but their blades were made from the same material. Stellarium, or star iron. Amid the orange stillness, the knights in black cloaks stared at the three of them.

At the end of their gazes stood Kyle.

Footnotes:

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