Chapter 3

Lark received news about the irregular. The soldier capable of using healing magic more than a dozen times. His interest piqued; he summoned the man into his room in the mansion. "Young Master," said a servant. "They're here."

"Come in."

Lark put down the document he was reading. Two men came into the room.

One of them was Captain Qarat, a brown-skinned man wearing leather armor. The other one reminded Lark of a walking twig. He was tall but thin, and the tunic he was wearing had several holes in it. Judging by his sunken cheeks, cracked lips, and protruding eyes, this man had not eaten anything decent for the past several weeks. "Is he the one?" Lark went straight to the point. Captain Qarat made a salute. "Yes, Young Lord."

Under the scrutinizing gaze of Lark, the thin man shrank his shoulders. He tried to imitate the salute of the Captain but failed. "I… I'm Austen, Sir! It's a pleasure to meet the Young Master!"

Despite stuttering, Austen managed to dish out a decent greeting. He tried his best to avoid the gaze of the Young Master. For some reason, the man's pair of blue eyes felt eerie. It was looking at him as though he was some fine specimen. There was a momentary silence. Did he greet the noble the wrong way? For a moment, Austen was worried. "Interesting," Lark finally said, a smile forming on his lips. "Have you ever used magic before this?"

There was no need to think. Austen immediately shook his head. "No, Sir."

"Then it's probably inherent," said Lark. "I heard you have several siblings?

I want to meet them after this."

Austen swallowed. Why did the Young Master wish to see his brothers and sisters? Austen heard that all nobles had their own quirks and peculiarities. The worst possibilities started coming to his mind. He shivered at these thoughts. The fear within Austen's eyes were apparent. Lark reassured the aspiring soldier, "Don't worry. I won't harm the kids. I'll just be… confirming a few things."

Lark stood up and approached Austen. "Do not move."

Lark touched Austen's forehead, and immediately, something turbulent erupted within Austen's chest. It was as though a plug within his chest had been removed, and a raging river suddenly flowed through. Austen felt queasy. He almost vomited on the carpeted ground. The moment Lark removed his hand, the turbulent sensation vanished in an instant. "What a lucky find," mumbled Lark. He stared at Austen, his eyes glimmering with curiosity. "Captain Qarat," said Lark. The Captain had been standing there quietly for some time now. "Young Master?"

"Remove this man from the military," said Lark. Austen flinched. He looked at Lark, then at Captain Qarat, then back at Lark.

There was a moment of hesitation, but Qarat eventually replied, "Understood."

Like Gaston, the Captain had come to realize the greatness of the Young Master. The recent war with the beastmen have solidified this belief even further. He had come to learn not to question the Young Master's orders. "W-Wait!" Austen was flustered. "What do you mean, Young Master? I haven't failed the assessment test yet! I haven't given up yet!" Lark gazed at him with eyes filled with understanding. "That's not it. Ah, what was your name again?"

"Austen, Young Master."

Lark smiled. "Austen," he repeated. "Listen, you'll be wasting your talent if you join the military."

Austen shot a quizzical gaze. He could not understand what the Young Master was trying to convey. "What do you mean, Sir?"

"You have innate talent in magic," said Lark. "Well, to be precise, it's not really talent… it's more of potential."

Austen was becoming more puzzled as time went by. When Lark tried making contact with the flowing mana of Austen, he had come to learn of a couple of things. First, this man had never used magic before coming to this town. The impurities of his mana proved that. Second, this man had an incredibly large mana pool that surpassed even that of Lark's. By the size of mana pool alone, this man should be able to cast one to two Grand Scale Magic on his own. Lark did not know how the man came to possess such massive reserves, but back in the Magic Empire, there had been cases of people being born with larger than normal mana pool. He was probably among them.

Even if this man did not have a talent in casting magic, him learning even a simple fireball spell would boost Blackstone Town's military might. After all, even such a simple spell would be lethal when backed by massive reserves of mana. As such, it would be a waste for him to stay in the military without any proper guidance on using magic. "Fifty silvers a month," said Lark. "Plus your own house in the eastern border. How does that sound?"

Austen's jaw slacked. What was happening? Was the young master trying to offer him a better job? "Ah, sorry." Lark realized that he had not explained enough. "Leave the military and become my apprentice instead. Fifty silvers a month is the starting salary. Of course, there's room for a raise later on. How does that sound?"

Become the apprentice of the Young Master? The butler of this town held so much authority, how much more if one was a direct apprentice of the Lord? Not only that – the offered monthly salary was four times as those of the military. Austen swallowed dry spit. He bobbed his head thrice. "If… If you're alright with me! Then, yes, Young Master!"

"If you're alright with me?" imitated Lark. He chuckled. "What a wonderful find, and he doesn't seem conceited, which is a plus."

Lark fumbled in his pockets and took out ten silvers. He handed it to Austen. "Here."

Austen stared at the coins in his hand. "This is…" "Pocket money," said Lark. He frowned as he scrutinized Austen's body.

"You're too thin. Gain some weight. Buy yourself some food and clothes.

You can't train with such an emaciated body."

The so-called 'pocket money' was a massive amount. Austen could not believe he was receiving it just like that. "Chantless magic is too advanced for a beginner," said Lark. "We'll start with the basics. Runes and hexagram formation. If we have time, or if you'll learn fast enough, we'll proceed with voice incantations."

Lark tapped him on the shoulder. He grinned. "For now, go back home and rest. We'll start the basic training tomorrow morning."

*** [Golden Wheat City] Lord Chase and all of his officials busily moved in preparation of the King's arrival. Just a few hours ago, they received news that the King was coming here to personally inspect the state of Golden Wheat City, the Kingdom's main source of wheat. The streets where the convoy will pass through was swept clean, and soldiers lined up to form a barricade. Even off-duty soldiers were deployed to secure the protection of His Majesty. Of course, this puzzled the citizens. Such tight security meant that the person coming was of a very high status. Was it one of the Dukes?

Numerous rumors began spreading among the citizens. Soon, the anticipated guests arrived. The entire convoy was heavily guarded by cavalries and knights. When they saw the insignia of the Royal Family, everyone was stunned upon realizing that the King had personally come to inspect the city. The window of the cart slid open, and an old man started waving at the commoners. It was a familiar face – the same face engraved on copper coins the residents use in their everyday lives. "I-It's the King!" "The King has personally visited us!"

"Long live His Majesty!"

"Long live His Majesty!"

The curious murmurs from before quickly escalated into shouts of glee.

Everyone was thrilled upon knowing that the King took the trouble of coming here despite the distance. After all, it would take at least a week by cart to arrive here from the Capital. The soldiers, briefed beforehand that someone very important was going to come, successfully suppressed the eager crowd. The officials of Golden Wheat City were glad that the procession went perfectly well despite being notified only a few hours ago of the King's arrival. When the King arrived at the Lord's Castle, dozens of officials were already waiting there. "Greetings to Your Majesty," the officials said in unison. Most of the officials in this city were of common birth. To a majority of them, this was the first time they'll be meeting someone from the Royal Family – and not just anyone! They were meeting the King himself! They could not help but stiffen from nervousness. Lord Chase bowed his head. "Your Majesty, thank you for visiting Golden Wheat City. We've prepared a feast upon hearing of your arrival. This way, if you please."

King Alvis had heard of Lord Chase's feats before. A commoner who climbed the ranks of hierarchy and eventually became the Lord of a city.

The same Lord who transformed the vast forests surrounding the city into wheat fields. The Lord who did not discriminate between commoners and nobles. The Lord who hired officials based on their abilities. Truthfully speaking, if possible, he would have loved to include Lord Chase among the candidates for the throne. But that single decision would spark civil war in this Kingdom, and thus, the King decided to settle with just the children of the three Dukes. "A feast, huh?" The King shook his head. "There's no need for that. I'm only staying here for a short moment. I merely want to see with my own eyes the state of Golden Wheat City."

It was understandable, since this city produced almost half of all the wheats in the Kingdom. Lord Chase looked conflicted. If possible, he wanted the King to take a short rest. Eventually, he conceded, "As you wish, Your Majesty."

"Bring the Knights. We'll escort His Majesty," Lord Chase said to the officials. "Yes, my Lord!" With over a dozen knights guarding the King, they went out of the City and inspected the fields. The King smiled refreshingly upon seeing the farmers working tirelessly. "I'm glad this territory is untouched by the swarm," said the King. "Those farmers worked very hard just for this moment, for the harvest season to arrive."

Now, the farmers were reaping what they sow. Tons of wheats were being harvested each day in these fields. Lord Chase nodded. He also liked this tranquility. The simple joy brought forth by peace. "I have to thank His Majesty for that," said Lord Chase. "If not for His Majesty, the swarm would have destroyed all the fields in Golden Wheat City."

If they had been late even for just a day, all of these fields would have been dead by now. Whenever Lord Chase thought of that, shivers would crawl down his spine. Had the swarm consumed the fields, his people would have been on the brink of hunger by now. "The swarm, huh?" said the King. He looked up and saw the clouds covering the sun. "There's actually no need to thank this old man. After all, I merely copied the technique used by the Lord of Blackstone Town."

Lord Chase's eyes grew wide. Seeing this, the King nodded, "That's right.

It was not me nor the Ministry of Research who came up with the method to deal with the Black Famine."

The King chuckled. "Living this long surely has its merits. Who would have known that the second son of Duke Drakus is so capable?"

Lord Chase immediately linked the pieces of the puzzle together. "Your Majesty… You mean to say that the method of killing the Black Famine came from… that person?"

King Alvis smiled. "Correct."

Lord Chase's eyes grew even wider. The second son of Duke Drakus was quite famous. Lord Chase heard that that person was the devil incarnate – a vindictive noble who treated commoners like dirt. Last time he heard, that damnable kid was thrown away by his father to some remote village or town. Out of all people, Lord Chase never expected that the method to kill the swarm came from him. "Chase," said the King. "In theory, if I were to give you five thousand soldiers to battle against a ten to fifteen thousand strong beastmen army, are you confident in winning?"

The question of the King caught Lord Chase off-guard. "No, sir," Chase shook his head. "Even if we have the same number of soldiers, victory's still uncertain."

"I thought so," the King mumbled. He once again looked at the distance, his eyes radiating wisdom. "You see, there're actually two reasons why I came here," said the King.

"First is to see with my own eyes the status of Golden Wheat City. This is the lifeline of our Kingdom, after all."

Chase silently listened. "And second, I want to temporarily escape from all the politics in the Capital," said the King. "I'm too old. I want to take a breather once in a while."

Lord Chase smiled at this. He had not expected the King to confess that he was actually temporarily running away from his responsibilities as the King. Well, King Alvis was human too. He needed to take a break every now and then. "You can stay here for as long as you like," said Lord Chase. He resisted the urge to chuckle. "I'll give word to the Capital that you're inspecting the farmlands."

"Hahaha!" The King heartily laughed. "If only you're not of common birth, I would have made an exemption and thrown you into the competition for the throne!"

Lord Chase did not take offense at this. He knew the repercussions if they broke the tradition of the Kingdom – that only males of noble birth were allowed to sit on the throne. Sparking a civil war right now would give the Empire and the Mullgray Islands a chance to swallow the Kingdom. "I'm honored, but I would have to respectfully decline," said Lord Chase. "I do not have any intentions of leaving Golden Wheat City. My people need me here, Your Majesty."

The King already knew this, and it was not such a bad thing that a competent official was staying as the Lord of this very important region. "Ah, by the way," said King Alvis. "I'm turning sixty-five soon."

The King's eyes glimmered. Was it excitement? Lord Chase was not sure. "Two months from now, on my sixty-fifth birthday, I plan on holding a grand celebration at the Capital. And Chase… I plan on inviting all twenty-eight candidates for the throne."

Kalavinka, Lark, and Lui. These three candidates has piqued the King's interest lately. King Alvis chuckled mischievously. "It'll be an interesting feast, don't you agree?"