Chapter 232: You Haven’t Heard The Rumor? (3)

The knights of Sefira who lined up on either side of the party’s main gate were almost two meters tall. It was partly because they were from the Order of the Galaxy, the elite knights selected from Sefira’s largest warriors, but partly because they wore thick-soled boots.

Clack, clack.

However, the woman who entered, clicking her heels, was a head taller than the knights. She wore a revealing purple gown, and her long black hair streamed in the wind.

“L-Lord Krona...!”

The guests who recognized her dropped to their knees and lowered their heads at once; they were nobles from the west. Other nobles snapped to attention and also fell to their knees.

“We meet the Lord of the West!”

Krona, the Lord of the West, lifted her purple finger. Then, those who had knelt were suddenly standing back up.

“Huh!”

She hadn’t used telekinesis—the moment itself had rewound, and the kneeling nobles were restored to the instant before they dropped to their knees.

Krona was the Lord of the West and the Space-Time Wizard in her eight-circle.

“Don’t be so stiff. It’s been twenty years since I last attended a party, so it’s a little awkward. Treat me as an ordinary woman today, not a lord, okay?” Krona asked in a soft voice.

“Y-yes, of course!”

Krona swept along the carpet and scanned the crowd as if searching for someone. The nobles shuffled about in confusion.

Why is the Lord of the West at Sefira’s party?

Were Sefira and Krona acquaintances?

Could it be Keter? No, Keter has never been to the west!

Princess Iris’ attendance was already an extraordinary event, and now the Lord of the West had appeared as well. The nobles in attendance were both anxious and equal.

Is Sefira a nest of monsters?

They sensed that something historic was going to happen right here, right now. Krona’s arrival had stunned even Sefira, as no one had heard anything about her coming. She hadn’t been sent an invitation, and yet here she was. The Sefira members at the party were extremely nervous, watching Krona’s every move.

Clack.

Finally, she reached the platform and looked at Hissop.

Gulp.

The platform was on the second floor, yet Krona was staring straight at Hissop rather than looking up.

“Hm, are you Keter?”

At Krona’s single remark, everyone understood why she was here: for Keter. Hissop was the deputy patriarch of Sefira, so he might have felt jealousy that Krona sought only Keter, but he kept his composure.

“My apologies for the late welcome, my lord. I am Hissop El Sefira, the deputy patriarch of Sefira.”

Hissop stepped down and reached to kiss Krona’s hand, but she pulled it back.

“You still haven’t learned that purple is dangerous, have you?”

“Even if it’s dangerous, I thought showing respect was more important, my lord.”

“Haha, that’s commendable. Consider it accepted. I don’t want to turn your handsome face into a crumpled old man.”

Krona gave Hissop a moment’s attention, then turned her gaze back to searching for Keter. Myle and Taragon introduced themselves in turn to make sure she knew they weren’t Keter.

Krona pouted as if disappointed.

“Too bad. If one of you were Keter, I was going straight to meet Eslow and cause a scene.”

“...!”

That line revealed why Krona had come: Eslow, the Lord of the South and Weaponmaster, had sent the Lord of the West here. Others might wonder why, but Daat and Keter knew why. It was a reward—a repayment for treating Ryze, his son, which Keter hadn’t received yet.

Eslow knew Sefira was hosting the party and that Princess Iris would attend. That was why he met Krona and had a conversation with her.

“Krona, I found someone at Sefira who seems to be your type. Go meet them.”

It was the first time Eslow, who was always cold to her, had ever suggested she meet someone, so she couldn’t refuse. Intrigued, she went at once. In doing so, Eslow introduced a lord to Keter and could also expect her to protect Keter from Princess Iris.

“So where is Keter, then?”

Hissop felt his heart drop at her simple remark. Keter hadn’t come back, even today, the day of the party. He had been doing his best to hide it, and it was actually going well, but Krona’s comment made the other nobles realize that Keter wasn’t here. If Hissop hesitated in answering, it would be an admission that Keter was absent. Just as he was about to answer...

“Keter is running a bit late, my lord.”

“Oh? Who is this cutie?” Krona asked.

Daat, Sefira’s supposed advisor and Keter’s trusted right-hand man, stepped forward to Krona.

“I am Daat, my lord.”

“So Keter will be late? When I’ve come all this way? What is he doing, not coming at once?”

Krona treated Daat like he was a small kitten, but Daat was bold.

“It’s a secret.”

“A secret? Hahaha, are you telling me to wait until Keter arrives?”

“Yes, that is what I am asking, my lord.”

“Hmm...”

Krona leaned in and examined Daat. Her long black hair brushed against his face.

“You’re cute... but also a little cheeky. I should punish you.”

As she raised her hand to stroke Daat’s cheek...

“I can use space-time magic as well.”

“...?!”

The nobles’ eyes widened at once. Krona also scoffed at his audacity.

“How? I’ve never taught such an adorable student like you.”

“One hour.”

“Hm?”

“Please teach me for an hour, and I will show you space-time magic, my lord.”

Daat’s declaration sent the nobles into an uproar.

“What nonsense is that kid spouting?”

“How dare he speak like that before the Lord of the West!”

The nobles panicked, but Krona actually looked amused.

“That’s a lot to ask just to stall. It’s bold to demand my space-time magic for free, but you claim you’ll use it in one hour... Can you back that up, child?”

“Yes. Please be my teacher for an hour, and I’ll steal space-time magic from you, Big Sister.”

“Big Sister?”

“You asked to be treated as a woman today, not as a lord, so I’ll call you Big Sister.”

“What? Ahaha.”

Krona covered his mouth with her hand, then gestured to a tent at the side of the hall.

“One hour. If you fail to learn space-time magic, I’ll accelerate your life by a hundred years.”

Although the other nobles weren’t being spoken to, they felt a chill. Aging a hundred years at once would certainly be death; if not death, then something worse.

Daat, however, responded boldly, “Then promise me one thing, Big Sister.”

“A promise?”

“Actually, two.”

“Hoho, speak.”

“First: please wait for Keter.”

“Of course. I will. Keter deserves punishment for making me wait.”

“Second, no matter how much you fancy me, you cannot take me as your student.”

“...What?”

“I don’t want to become a mage.”

Nobles’ jaws dropped. Krona was an eight-circle wizard—the pinnacle of magic—as well as one of the Four Lords. To say that he didn’t want to be a student of someone so prominent was unheard of.

“Are you out of your mind?” one noble shouted.

Krona, though, stared at Daat with curiosity.

Hmm. This kid... is he really that confident?

Space-time magic was a school that even many prodigies gave up on. Krona had taken a few exceptional talents—once-in-a-century geniuses—as students over the years, but they had all failed. Even a prodigy who reached three-circle within a year couldn’t grasp the fundamentals of space-time magic after a decade. It wasn’t a skill learned by talent alone, yet Daat claimed he could learn it in an hour.

“Very well. If you truly master space-time magic in one hour, I will wait for Keter and I won’t insist on taking you as a student.”

“Thank you. Shall we begin?”

Daat led the way to the tent. Krona bowed to avoid hitting her head and followed, and the whole hall’s atmosphere shifted.

“...”

“...What just happened?”

“Did I drink too much? I need to stop.”

The Lord of the West had suddenly appeared and demanded to see Keter; then Sefira’s advisor, who was just a child, marched into the tent asking to learn space-time magic from her in an hour. No ordinary person could comprehend this.

* * *

Anyway, the party continued. Nobles kept arriving one after another. Vector, the third son of Browning—the kingdom’s best Masters of Swordsmanship—came. Burgundy, the deputy director of the Liqueur Regional Mercenary Headquarters, arrived. The second-eldest son of the Oaxford, who was also a six-circle mage, was present. Yet...

Clap... Clap...

Only dry, polite applause echoed through the hall. Krona’s presence, as the first to arrive, had been so overwhelming that everyone else who followed simply failed to hold their interest. It was something the other guests accepted: how could their presence match the Lord of the West? Most would glance toward the tent where Krona stood, then quietly take their places.

Time passed, and the nobles’ expressions began to warm again, not just from drinking, but because the moment everyone had been waiting for was finally approaching.

“Lord Volus, deputy patriarch of the Bydent house, will now enter.”

Even when the eldest son of a family long at odds with Sefira entered, the nobles paid him no attention. Everyone knew what came after Volus: Princess Iris, the evening’s centerpiece. All those in the hall wondered what would happen when the two met. On top of that, both had come for one person: Keter.

“...”

Yet, for some reason, there was still no sign of anyone else even thirty minutes after Volus’ arrival. Not a carriage wheel clattered in the distance, and the nobles seemed resigned.

“She’s not coming, it seems.”

“As expected, the princess won’t come to Sefira.”

“Maybe she’s staying away because Krona’s here...”

“What does that matter?”

“Rumor says the princess and Krona aren’t on good terms... This is a secret, so don’t tell anyone.”

As the nobles muttered and the room grew louder...

Whoosh! Voosh!

The sky suddenly ripped open, and a strong wind blew throughout the hall.

“Woah!!”

The wind was so strong that even a grown man staggered. The weaker women were hastily shielded by Sefira’s knights.

“L-look at that!”

Someone pointed at the sky, but everyone had already been looking up anyway. Each beat of the enormous wing sent a blast of wind through the air.

“It’s a dragon!”

“A dragon!?”

A dragon was not treated as a monster but as a spiritual beast. One appearing at a party was unthinkable.

That was when Veiga stepped forward to calm everyone.

“Please remain calm. That isn’t a dragon—it’s a drake.”

A drake was a lower class of dragon, yet still an extremely powerful S-tier monster.

“Isn’t a drake more dangerous? What are the Sefira’s knights doing?! Shoot it down already!”

One middle-aged noble berated the Sefira archers in fear. The archers loaded their bows, but did not shoot.

“That drake is not wild; it has a saddle on its back.”

“What?!”

Like the Sefira archer said, the drake had a saddle, which meant someone was controlling the monster.

“Clear a path. Her Royal Highness is arriving,” Veiga shouted after having thoroughly enjoyed the crowd’s reaction.

In a daze, the nobles formed a space in the center of the hall, and then the drake descended rapidly. It had looked huge even from afar, but up close it seemed even larger, almost as big as a small mountain. Even nobles who had once been knights trembled like ordinary people before the drake’s overwhelming presence.

Thud!!!

The crimson red drake landed with a heavy thud. It exhaled a scorching flame, which made the nobles scramble backward in alarm.

Clank.

A heavy metallic sound rang, echoing in the ears of those overwhelmed by the drake’s presence.

“T-that emblem!”

“The Royal Dragon Knights!”

“H... Her Royal Highness is here as well!”

People dropped to their knees and bowed. It was partly in deference, but mostly out of a fear of being Charmed by meeting the princess’ gaze.

Exactly as rumored, Princess Iris appeared in a mask. She had hair that was pink like a peach, and a beauty that even a mask could not hide. The flowers in the hall seemed to tilt toward her.

“Greetings to Her Royal Highness.”

Hissop, the organizer, kneeled and bowed deeply.

“...”

The princess scanned the crowd in silence like Krona.

“Where is Keter?” asked a dragon knight in her place.

His words carried immense weight. The Royal Dragon Knights were personally tied to the crown; every member was a Swordmaster, and the knight escorting the princess was the lieutenant-captain and a Grandmaster.

Hissop could barely breathe, but he forced himself to calm down.

“Keter... is expected to be a little late.”

“How dare he make Her Royal Highness wait—”

The knight frowned in anger, but Iris lifted her hand.

“It’s all right,” she said.

“Ha!”

Several male nobles clutched their chests and swooned at her single word; Even her voice carried the power of Charm; any man who had entertained even the slightest impure desire for her could not withstand it.

“I’ll wait.”

The knight immediately bowed and obeyed.

“Yes, Your Royal Highness.”

Iris’ graciousness calmed the room. Hissop quickly clapped once, and music began to fill the hall. Now that everyone was here, he was trying to start the party, even if Keter—the central figure, was absent.

“It has been three years, Your Royal Highness.”

Veiga approached with a graceful bow. Iris nodded and acknowledged him.

“Would you like to see Sefira’s night view? It’s unlike anywhere in the kingdom.”

“That sounds nice.”

Iris allowed Veiga to escort her, and Hissop exhaled with relief.

“

Sigh...

”

Daat was handling Krona, but it was only for another thirty minutes. Music started and food was set out, but the atmosphere still struggled to ignite.

Hissop licked his dry lips and murmured, “Keter, please come quickly.”

He tried to appear composed, but his heart felt as if it might burst.