Unofficial Exile

After Haalfrin returns to the capital, the news quickly sweeps through the noble circles.

They say the necromancer of Aurella Forest was the Archmage's own long lost senior brother, and that the same man was slain in his own stronghold, along with his entire cult.

They say this massacre was carried out "single-handedly" by the Archmage's young, inexperienced apprentice.

Some of the necromancer's unfortunate victims had actually stayed behind and witnessed Lord Querries demise. Though they saw it from a safe distance, they say they beheld the Archmage's disciple almost effortlessly send the foul villain into hysteric madness, before the villain was summarily tortured and executed for his crimes.

With this news, suddenly everybody, including the king himself, is paying attention to Haalfrin. The boy is no longer just a "potential powerhouse." The man was already a beast on par with an archmage. How much stronger is he going to be in the future?

It's truly no exaggeration to say that Haalfrin had set off a wave of fear in the court.

Of course, the person most upset by all of this is Prince Kanus himself... and frankly, he's at his wit's end.

Kanus knows he can't possibly do anything to the Haalfrin directly now. After all, the king's investigators found tens of thousands of skeletons in the necromancer's fortress. The news got out among the public, and the archmage's apprentice is being hailed as a hero by the commoners and an extremely valuable ally by the nobles. Plus, the archmage himself is VERY overprotective of the boy.

… On top of that, with how powerful the man is proving to be, Prince Kanus doubts he actually CAN do anything to Haalfrin, even if he was willing to suffer the consequences.

Sitting at his desk with a dead look in his eyes, Kanus rubs his temples out of frustration. He really can't think of anyone more dangerous than that necromancer to make Haalfrin fight.

With the necromancer gone… how was he supposed to get rid of the eyesore? Ugh... such a headache.

Then, in a moment of clarity, Kanus's eyes brighten up. He's not a successful politician for nothing! Despite being a bit cold and psychotic, he's at least an intelligent man. 'If killing him doesn't work, I can just get him out of the way through some other means...'

Kanus sits back in his chair and thinks, 'Once Haalfrin gets his 3rd gate, I can try doing everything I can to get the man out of this Kingdom; I'll send him to Brancotte to fight in their Threshold Fortress.'

He thinks some more and realizes a few things. 'No… our kingdom has a treaty with Brancotte; we'll send all 3rd gate mages and above to the Threshold… but we'll be allowed 1 3rd gate mage at a time. Currently, Kalastros is old and ready to die, while Haalfrin would be the only 3rd gate mage in the kingdom. There's no way to get him out with that method… I'd have to somehow raise up another 3rd gate mage from another family… Ugh.'

'In case that doesn't work,' he keeps thinking, 'I can just get him out of the way another way… Haha!'

Finally, he concludes, 'The archmage just wants Haalfrin to be able to study in peace... I can use that. I can convince Father to send the little barbarian off to the countryside where he can't stir up any trouble or rack up any more achievements. At this rate, I can't afford to let his reputation grow any further. I don't want my brother or his children to gain any more leverage at court. Besides, father favors me, so if I convince him that Haalfrin is a threat to the stability of the kingdom, he'll definitely listen to me - especially since it doesn't involve souring relations with our archmage.'

Of course, this plan won't involve killing Haalfrin off, but in Kanus's mind, assassination is only one method to get rid of someone.

Moving Haalfrin away from court is just as good as killing him. If he's far away, then Haalfrin can't support his younger brother. That's a win for Kanus!

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A few days later, Haalfrin receives a royal decree, giving him a new assignment out to the Borin province – a fertile farmland on a VERY peaceful border with a friendly nation, as Haalfrin had learned during one of his geography lessons.

"... Far away from trouble AND from the court..." Haalfrin mutters sourly.

Despite being a "Kareen barbarian", he's spent long enough by his master's side and learned enough political language to understand what's really going on.

Haalfrin crumples his orders out of frustration, yet he still resolves his heart to go.

"I know this is what Master would want… Master only has another 50 years to live," Haalfrin thinks, "So it wouldn't hurt to at least make him happy."

Haalfrin frowns a little more deeply. "Besides, this was an order. I'd normally have no problem protesting to a higher authority, like the king… but I got nothing to argue with, as far as I know."

Truly, in Haalfrin's mind, it's a little uncomfortable disobeying orders without having a valid reason.

'Of course... I can always think of abandoning my 'very important post' after my master passes away. It's just 50 years; I can afford to wait...,' Haalfrin decides as he puts away his crumpled orders in his pocket. 'Until then, I'll study well and behave myself.'

The next moment, another flash passes through his mind. It was the image of an unknown woman at his side and children around his feet.

'That's right. I don't need to be in a hurry to look for trouble. Maybe I'll meet some people and make some friends?'

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After traveling several days west - the absolute furthest corner away from the capital, Haalfrin enjoys beautiful rolling hills and clear weather…

… It's as if Fate's trying to tell him that absolutely nothing interesting is going to happen on this trip.

…And ironically, the province he's sent to live in is called "Borin".

After a boring trek through the countryside, the famous Archmage's apprentice arrives at his destination.

According to the lessons he learned from his Master, Borin is a very wealthy province – what with it feeding most of the kingdom and even parts of the neighboring kingdom.

Knowing how wealthy this place is, Haalfrin had imaged one thing when he walked through the streets… but he sees something completely different.

As he walks down the road, instead of well-kept houses lining the streets and well-paved roads, there's dirt on all the roads with cracked or missing tiles, potholes, and overall disrepair.

Lining the roads are run-down wooden houses barely holding themselves together with mismatched slabs of wood, nails, and broken clothing draped over the holes that the residents can't afford to fix themselves

The people in the houses and on the inexcusable roads are wearing rags, and most of them are unhealthy looking. 'How in the world are these people poor? I mean, anywhere else would make sense, but not here.'

Frowning, Haalfrin presses forward and arrives in the next town in the province towards the local baron's house.

As he sees the baron's mansion come into view, Haalfrin grips his letter of introduction, wondering how this is going to go...

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After showing his letter of introduction to the guards, Haalfrin strides into the manor. Looking to the sides, he sees gold-plated archways over the manor's front entrance. The garden is nearly 3 acres large, and the mansion itself is several stories high and a few hundred feet across.

…Clearly, this outrageous property is far larger than what a baron SHOULD be living in, considering his lowly station as a noble at the bottom of the hierarchy. Frankly, this looks more like a Count's property than a simple baron's.

If any higher-ranking nobles ever visited this place, the baron here would receive a tongue lashing at the very least, and rumors would circulate in the court about how the baron of Borin is overcompensating for something. If they saw the golden decorations, he might even be fined by the kingdom, as gold and silver are colors strictly reserved for the royal family.

Of course, Haalfrin is annoyed himself, though for different reasons. Well… looking at the baron's over-the-top mansion… 'I mean… Is there a reason for that?' Haalfrin wonders irately.

Frankly, Dukes and kings HAVE to have impressive castles and palaces – not only for protection, but to maintain status and reputation too. Reputation especially is a powerful political tool; if a duke ever lived in a small and shabby house, the other kingdoms and rivals at court would exclude him and announce, "He can't even afford a big house, so his lineage must have failed."

The moment the important people stop believing in you is the moment you lose your power.

A baron on the other hand… a baron has no justifiable reason to have a house this big. THAT, more than anything else, is what annoys Haalfrin.

… Of course, there are the poor suffering peasants outside that the baron is obviously screwing over, but that kind of ruthlessness has a hard time annoying Haalfrin nowadays; after working for nobles for so long… he has a hard time getting angry over things he's grown to expect.

Nobles do what's best for them first, the province, second, and the people third. Nobles are just like that… so why get annoyed?

Even more than that, Haalfrin is simply the type of person to not get angry over things that make sense to him. If there's a logical reason, then it's normal. If it's normal, then you should just accept it. If you accept it, then you don't get angry over it.

The baron having a house too big makes no sense to Haalfrin – hence, why it annoys him.