Protector

A powerful natural mage.

The first thought anyone would have when they connect all of what they learned about Kara was how dangerous he was. And how mysterious he was. But that was not all.

What would someone of his status be doing here?

A wandering mage?

It might be.

But like Astrid said, they thought Kara was from the Ten Factions or a powerful organization. But that might not be the case. If what Kara told them was true and he was only a wandering mage…this could only mean one thing!

Many wandering mages in this world could destroy cities. They were super powerful that there were constant rumors of the Ten Factions trying to recruit them, offering them lands, political power, wealth, fame, and anything they wished to take. 

After witnessing Kara's abilities, surely there would be only a hundred who could be as strong as him on the continent!

So what was his purpose of being here? 

Most wandering mages love to be independent and free, wandering the lands. 

But there were many stories. What could have happened if a wandering mage stopped wandering and settled at a specific location? If they were not a part and did not join any faction or organization, what were they planning to do?

There was only one possibility that everyone could think about!

If they were powerful enough, they must have decided to become a King! In their case, a mage king!

Powerful mages becoming a king was not a rare story. There were many royalties in this world that were written in history and they used to be wandering mages. They became King by marrying the princess of a kingdom or built a kingdom from scratch. 

When they looked at Kara, he had lived a mere sixteen years.

If they get on his good side, surely it would not be bad at all.

Not at all!

The knights of the special operations squad noted this and could only fear for the future. If Kara became a king and their relationship had not turned sour, it would help the Duke's authority more than to become his enemies. 

Angering him would just be irrational. Knight Faller had witnessed his power, and it was many miles away compared to the Duke, the King, and the Mages of the kingdom.

For the adventurers? Creating a guild even out here in the boonies would be the best move for them, that meant they could become the pillar of a great country in the making.

'King?'

Naturally, Kara knew what a king was. And seeing how earnest these groups were combined with how the world perceives powerful mages he could understand. When Kara thought of May and his rather entangled situation with her now against the Church, he would have to secure security for his own.

He could do that by settling silently in some other community, pretending to be a normal human. But that would not last for long for May's anger tendencies. Kara had understood the unnatural burst of anger coming from the girl inside him when meeting certain things.

Those foreign emotions inside him were all coming from May.

'Although we don't share the same mind, we share the same heart and because of that, we could feel each other's emotions. I don't feel emotions as intense and real as others, but that is not the case for May.' Kara thought.

If he remembered the Forest of the Darn, May was the culprit for the silence and darkness there, right?

'She created that atmosphere so she could get away from seeing other people that would automatically affect her wave of emotions. Back in the past, she must have wanted to supress herself so much.'

Seeing the people bowing on one knee, Kara was silent for a while.

Kings?

Not once had he never thought of becoming a king. But he could understand their confusion. He was indeed mysterious, and it was very suspicious of someone of his power to say he would just live alone and be away from the world. Most mages were not like that. 

"I'm sorry, but you have the wrong idea. I'm not planning to become a king…"

Everyone stared at the floor with mixed emotions. They were disappointed. But they were also confused. Could it be that they were not qualified in his eyes to become his servants? 

But Kara was not finished talking yet.

"But I indeed want to live permanently somewhere for a long time. I chose this place. I actually wanted to live silently here, but I decided. As a part of this town, I would help protect this village when necessary."

That worked, as it removed the disappointed and confused look on everyone's faces, changing it to puzzlement but positive. 

"I cannot thank you for more, My Lord," the mayor said with almost a tear on his eye.

In human communities, having a mage would increase security, making trade and hunting extremely easier, especially in dangerous and faraway places like the town of Salienc. Having a mage as a protector was good for the town. 

Like Kara realized earlier, he could not possibly remove the suspicion from others, especially the adventurers and the knights.

A powerful mage wanting to live silently?

'What a lie!' that would be the general reply in their thoughts. Thus, he decided he would have to go on that path after all. 

"However, I will not do it for free. I would like to be thanked for it. What would I get for staying here from now on? What would you give me?" Kara asked.

That did the trick. Their puzzled faces disappeared, and they nodded at each other, understanding the situation and smiling.

Gary was the first one to give a firm, echoing response.

"I would give My Lord my loyalty!"

His declaration were followed by Doctor Angelo and the adventurers who were going to be working under Kara from now on were the first group to give a firm response.

"We would give Lord  Kara our loyalty!" 

This was followed by the Mayor of the town who was flustered. "As the mayor of the town, the entire town of Salienc would give Lord Kara our loyalty. This loyalty would also be unending. Please grant this town your protection!"

Kara's face looked at his new subordinates and cursed inwardly. 'Shit.' After that, Kara asked everyone to remain in the room for a conversation he thought would be very helpful to him from now on.

First, he asked the Mayor for money. That would put the Mayor and the town at ease when they would hear of this. Even if he had already lowered their suspicion, it would be better for everyone to think and see that he was also doing something like this for commercial gain.

The next thing he asked was his actual intention: to ask for information. Kara talked to the adventurers and the knights of the special operations squad for this. They told him everything they could say to someone like an immigrant.

Kara deemed that if he was ignorant about this territory and the Main Continent, it will bring heaps of trouble when he would meet powerful organizations, especially political leaders that might be as powerful or even more powerful than him.

From now on though, Kara would go with the story with his identity as a wandering mage who had travelled long enough that he settled down here in the Town of Salienc as the protector.

Kara saw how the mayor must have believed everything he said. But that might not apply to the knights and the adventurers.

'I need to take caution of them,' Kara thought.