101 – Reunion (1)
“Umm–! Yohan has now become good at cooking. “It’s been a long time since I wanted to have an aunt cook it for me.”
“I decided to feed you from now on. And you can use the room you slept in today as Aunt Lana’s room from now on. “It’s not that far from the academy, so you can live here.”
“Is that so? Mom is doing well thanks to my son, right? “I have a house in the ecliptic, hehehehe.”
Aunt Lana fussily eating the breakfast I prepared, and the comrades I had drinks with last night.
Sharon, Meron, and Lena were all emptying their dishes with care as they had worked hard since morning. Yes, eat a lot. Eat a lot and exercise hard later to burn it all off.
Surprisingly, Stella, the owner of the merchant, and Eleanor, a noblewoman since childhood, also enjoyed the meal I prepared. Well, the combination of eggs, bacon, and salad on toast may be more difficult to like and dislike.
“The food is simple, but grilled just right. “The woman who will stay with Lord John will be happy.”
“It’s delicious… Bacon was not usually given at the castle. The grilled one was so overcooked that there was almost no juiciness… “
Eleanor ate a lot of bacon earlier. Was there a reason for that? Isn’t it too much for the duchess to not even give their kids enough bacon? You have to be frugal in moderation, you gentlemen.
After finishing the meal by putting more of the prepared bacon on Eleanor’s plate, we continued the story we shared with everyone last night.
“Aunt Lana. Are you really okay with what you said yesterday? Ivorys Territory is not yet a territory of a high enough level to accept the ‘Knight of Dawn and Sunset’ as a vassal. “We will make some money in the future, but until the territory is on a certain level, it will be difficult to provide her with a fief or money commensurate with her skills and reputation.”
“……”
Last night, Aunt Lana told me that she seriously wanted to live her knightly life as my vassal. She didn’t say it while she was drunk, she said it seriously.
She didn’t think it was something to talk about while drinking, so she withheld her answer, and as a result, she sat down to have a serious conversation with the lady.
The ‘Knight of Dawn and Sunset’ was occasionally mentioned by named NPCs and boss monsters in ‘Carnia Chronicles’.
If one of the prestigious top knights of the North were to join my side, there would be no better news than this.
Her success as a knight was separate from her personal connection, so while I was trying to figure out how to attract Aunt Lana to the estate, it was both happy and unbelievable that she made me this suggestion first.
Because she had other relationships than just me.
“Even our territory is in the south. “If you become a vassal of Ivorys, it may be difficult to go north.”
Although Aunt Lana is said to be a top knight with a high reputation, it has been quite a while since she was at the height of her fame. Outside of the North, not many knights remember that name anymore.
From her perspective, following my journey south meant giving up many things. Her Northern colleagues, those who recognized her, and even her own archenemies.
“This is the situation… “Can you really come to the Ivory Estate?”
She revealed everything with utmost honesty, but I asked her with a hint of anticipation.
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After hearing what I said, Aunt Lana took a sip of her water and smiled at me.
“Okay. You are definitely right. While I was raising you, I wanted to become a knight. I have never forgotten the North. I’ve never been to the South. “My comrades still remain in the North, and I still like them.”
“But John. You are my family. You are the most precious being to me in the world. Watching you get caught up in the impending war is more painful than giving up on everything.”
War. The word is now both light and heavy. It is light because it is natural considering the chaos that will soon occur, but the impact it will have is heavy because of its size.
The current emperor, who had devoted all his energy to the war for succession to the throne when he was young, has lost his strength and has been in bed for seven years. And after eight years in bed, the emperor dies.
For a long time, the Burtion Empire was torn apart by the merging of the princesses, princes, and local nobles with the right to succeed to the throne, each of whom had been growing in power, and the logic of power came to dominate the continent. This is the game story I know, and now the reality that confronts me.
There was no one here who did not know the meaning of Aunt Lana’s words, and the friendly atmosphere that had existed until now had suddenly been replaced by the cool-headed spirit of the knights.
“I don’t want to lose anything anymore. And the best way I’ve found to do that is to be by your side, Johan.”
“It’s true that the Ivory Territory is insignificant right now. But John, you are there. The first male master on the continent. Just as you reached your current level with your brilliant talent when you knew nothing, and will one day reach an even higher level, so will your territory.”
“So please accept me into the Ivory Estate. Instead, if possible, I hope to help you someday when the North is in danger. I won’t ask too much. It’s enough if you can just help them to the extent you can at the time. Sure… “Can you do it?”
Looking at Aunt Lana, whose eyes were slightly watery, I nodded at her.
And when she saw that I nodded, she smiled and stood up.
-Kkiik…
Aunt Lana got up from her chair and stood in front of me, then she got down on one knee.
Lena and everyone else were shocked and tried to say something, but an overwhelming spirit came out of Aunt Irana and silenced her.
“Knight Lana Sartien, from today onwards I wish to offer my loyalty to Baron John Ivorys and ask for your grace. If it is at your command, my sword will cut down your enemy at any time, whether at night starting from sunset or in the morning when dawn begins. Please consider my heart and allow me to pledge to stay by your side for the rest of my life.”
After hearing Lana’s oath of loyalty, I stood up and took out the ceremonial sword that was nearby.
Then he placed it on her shoulder and solemnly declared.
“I, Johann Ivorys, accept the oath of you, Lana Sartian. I will not forget your promise and will treat you with faithfulness and sincerity. Even when the twilight of the world comes, you will be my knight and I will be your lord. “I swear that I will protect and protect you forever.”
From now on, Lana Sartien is the knight of me, Johann Ivorys.
It was the moment when the most reliable ally after my teacher was definitely recruited to my side.
* * *
With Aunt Lana joining, our course of action for the time being has been decided.
“Let’s all graduate from the academy next year. “Until then, I will eat as much as I can from the academy.”
The reason we came to the Imperial Knight Academy was to become knights.
There is no point now that I am already a baron and can appoint Lena and everyone else as vassals and knights.
Even in terms of military power, it is difficult to see efficiency in the academy anymore. In the first place, the Imperial Knight Academy in the game was just a place to develop your knight character during the tutorial stage.
And if it weren’t for the sword master, it would have been difficult to achieve the current level of strength so quickly.
Of course, there is something about the master’s swordsmanship that makes it feel like the world’s genre has suddenly changed to martial arts, but… You have to use everything you can. Now is not the time to hide anything.
The first thing we need to secure in such an academy is talent to work in the territory.
Including engineers as well as other administrative personnel.
“Then, starting tomorrow, I will make an effort to recruit talented people among the second graders. Even if you look at me like this, I am currently a 2nd year senior, so my feet are a bit wide. Of course, you may no longer be the top student after the midterm exams.”
Stella’s eyes turn to Lena and Eleanor.
For sure, those two would be able to win in a fight with Stella, the top student of the second year. Of course, this assumes that Stella fights silently. Knight Stella’s strength clearly lies in her magic.
“Don’t worry about first graders! Among the already talented kids, some with some ambition came to us and asked us separately the other day. “Is there any room left in John’s territory?”
“Of course, I immediately eliminated the kids who brought up marriage, so don’t worry!”
Sharon and Meron, who are friendly and have wide feet, decided to recruit prospects among the first-year students.
The first year students are filled with people who are so talented that they are called the golden generation. Of course, most of the part was taken up by me, Lena, Eleanor, Sharon, and Meron, but that by no means meant that the rest of the team was lacking in skills. If anything, it would have been better than previous years.
It was just a setting in the game Carnia Chronicles, but you would be a fool not to use it in real life.
There is a problem that you have not been ordained yet, but that is just a problem that will not matter at all if you come under me.
It is a territory with the Sword Master Baron as its lord. It is a self-evident fact that the earlier you enter under the territory before it has developed, the greater the profits you will receive.
Of course, right now, I don’t seem to have fully realized that I am a sword master yet, so I feel a little less responsive, but as time goes by, my skills will be fully proven.
If kids with excellent sales skills like Sharon and Meron join in, it’s safe to expect that recruiting promising first-year players will also yield quite a bit of profit.
And here is where everyone needs to give their strength.
“Okay, everyone. Then, let’s do our best to prepare for the upcoming exchange with Sherrington Magic Academy.”
“At least everyone in this room should be in the starting lineup, right? Right?”
“Should we just be satisfied with the number of people selected? Of course, among the selected players, you should take the top five spots. “Don’t worry, Johan and I will train you thoroughly to make that happen.”
“Ah, ah… “
Everyone’s faces seemed a little gloomy at Aunt Lana’s words, but there was nothing they could do. To be honest, I doubt if Master Swordsman will teach them this semester as well, and even if he does, it would definitely have been better to have Aunt Lana and myself as assistants to handle it. Even if the schedule is a little tight, stick with it with all your might.
My short-term goal was to send our personnel to an exchange match with Sherrington Magic Academy in a month.
“Everyone, please give us a little more strength. Since our territory is in the south, there aren’t many opportunities to bring in high-quality power from the south.”
The empire is vast and powerful, occupying about 80% of the continent, but it does not dominate all of the continent.
What I felt after spending a week as a professor at the academy was that the balance of power in the empire was already divided into several places.
Even if I start now to acquire talented people, there is no way that I can monopolize all the talented people. To begin with, there aren’t that many main characters here.
“Okay then, let’s just keep doing what we can.”
Training at the academy taught by the sword master, conquering dungeons every weekend, searching for talent, and persuading them to join Ivorys.
The work to be done has been decided, now all you have to do is run.
* * *
With such a busy schedule, a month passed.