Chapter 142

"This is Kalamaf? It's smaller than I thought. The location isn’t bad, but it still feels like some backwater town."

In the middle of a procession crossing through downtown Kalamaf.

At the words of the young woman sitting in the carriage, the man sitting opposite her gave a bitter smile.

“Please don’t say things like that once we get there, young lady. Right now, we’re in a position where we have to flatter them and try to make a good impression.”

“Do you think I’m a fool? I’ll bow my head in front of them, don’t worry. Even so, it’ll be more comfortable than staying at the main house. Besides, men will give you their livers if you just smile at them."

The woman’s arrogant remarks weren’t empty words when measured against her appearance.

Short dark brown hair cut around her shoulders, mysterious light violet eyes, and a petite, slender frame like a fairy.

She was the kind of beauty who would draw instant affection from anyone, and her noble status matched her looks, enough to enchant any number of men.

A short while later, when the delegation from Zahar arrived at the lord's manor in the center of Kalamaf, the woman stepped down from the carriage.

Amid everyone’s gasps of admiration, she looked at the welcoming party and smiled.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Berit Zahar."

Gone was the arrogance from moments before, and in its place stood a figure like a shy flower.

In response, the nobles of Kalamaf who had come to greet her let out exclamations of admiration.

As she smiled bashfully, Berit realized that the man with gray hair standing in the center of the group was her arranged marriage partner.

‘That man is Turan? He does look delicate, just as I heard... Not really my type, though.’

Immature girls might go crazy for men with refined looks, but she preferred a more rugged, masculine type.

For example, the silver-haired man standing awkwardly off to the side.

Of course, it wasn’t just about looks. He would also need abilities that suited someone like her.

While she was privately evaluating them, Turan approached her as she got out of the carriage and greeted her politely.

“Welcome, Berit. I hope you’ll have a wonderful time in Kalamaf.”

As Berit took his hand while getting out of the carriage, she caught his scent and inwardly gasped in surprise.

She realized that despite being in contact with a beauty like herself, he wasn't feeling any sexual impulse whatsoever.

At the very least, it was clear he wasn’t someone she could charm easily with a half-hearted effort, as she had boasted.

*

On the surface, Berit’s visit was framed not as a meeting for an arranged marriage but as a simple exchange journey to strengthen friendly ties between two great noble houses.

Thus, her official status was merely that of a guest.

As a guest, leading an armed escort was inappropriate, so the Zahar wizards who had accompanied her thus far returned to the desert.

Even her attendants were all to be replaced by locals from Kalamaf.

In truth, what both Turan and Zahar hoped to gain from this exchange was more complex.

Turan wanted Zahar to at least remain neutral in order to confront Aravion, while Zahar sought to assess the internal strength of Turan and the Kalamaf faction and establish a binding link to restrain them.

In that sense, Berit had come here as a potential arranged marriage candidate, a hostage, and a spy.

Even that alone made things terribly complicated, but on top of that, she had one more role to play.

"You're Rahman's daughter?"

“Yes, that’s right.”

"I believe you would be my sixth cousin or so."

The only surviving successor of Zahar at present, Rahman.

His relationship with Turan was incredibly delicate.

Turan had helped eliminate Rahman’s rival successors, though they was unaware of his part in Ferga’s death, but if Turan were ever to join the Zahar household, he would become an even more formidable competitor.

Of course, considering Turan had no intention of joining House Zahar, it was all just a meaningless hypothetical.

If he did join, he would likely end up as the new body of the Zahar family head anyway.

In any case, the fact that Rahman’s daughter had been sent here as a hostage likely carried a message of its own.

It was a message: we’ll promise you the status of the future Zahar family head’s son-in-law, so go build your own independent faction over there.

Berit, who had obediently answered the question, glanced around and spoke.

“There are a lot of light orbs both inside and outside the manor.”

“Even if it’s not Zahar, we have to stay alert for the possibility that someone might try to sneak in.”

The Kalamaf manor had originally been designed to block covert infiltration, especially from Zahar in their attempts to capture Turan. Later, the followers of the Berk family mixed in their own techniques to remodel it once more.

On top of that, Turan had personally attempted infiltration and reinforced its weaknesses, making it an incredibly stifling place for any Zahar noble.

At those words, which subtly implied that her discomfort wouldn't be catered to, Berit nodded her head.

“It’s fine. The main house is built with a similar structure anyway.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. If anything, it’s even stricter.”

From Berit’s words, Turan realized that the Zahar main house was, surprisingly, extremely well-prepared against stealth abilities.

It was the kind of valuable information one couldn’t obtain without visiting in person.

‘So they live like that because they’re scared of someone sneaking in and listening... even amongst themselves.’

That the stronghold of a house specializing in stealth would be thoroughly protected against stealth, what an absurdity.

But if he thought about it, they too wouldn’t want to be plagued by paranoia that someone was eavesdropping right next to them.

Considering what Meisa had once gone through, how could anyone even go to the bathroom in peace?

After exchanging a few more words, Turan dismissed Berit with a polite suggestion to rest in her quarters.

To her suggestion of having a light drink together, he gave a firm rejection, saying he was busy with work.

On her way back, Berit recalled his refusal and inwardly gritted her teeth.

'He's even more of an ice wall than I thought. What's with him?'

She had heard rumors that Turan already had a woman.

The runaway heir of Aravion, that famous Skeleton Princess, wasn’t it?

She'd heard the woman had put on some weight and become somewhat attractive now, but Berit didn't consider her a real competitor.

At most, Turan was probably just drawn to her power.

While she was thinking that, Berit’s gaze met with a woman emerging from the corridor ahead.

Long auburn hair, blue eyes, and a tall, elegant figure, completely different from her own.

Berit, who had never once felt inferior in looks among nobles her entire life, instinctively felt small upon seeing the woman.

It wasn’t just because the woman was more beautiful than her. It felt more like facing someone of a higher status, an overwhelming presence.

“Berit Zahar?”

“...Yes.”

“I’m Meisa Aravion.”

At Meisa’s sudden extension of her hand, Berit hesitated on whether to take it.

She was already aware that the other was a powerful high noble, and worried that her hand might be crushed the moment they clasped.

Given the history between the two families, it wouldn’t have been strange at all.

But contrary to such thoughts, Meisa’s scent held no hostility.

If anything, it was the kind of affection and faint sympathy one might feel toward a cute animal.

"You must be tired from your long journey. I hope you enjoy your stay."

"Thank you for your hospitality."

After exchanging greetings and parting, Berit looked down at her hand as she walked toward her quarters.

For some reason, it felt as if a strange warmth still lingered there.

‘This is weird...’

That kind of warmth was unfamiliar to her.

Those of lower status didn’t dare treat the daughter of a successor with such fondness, and those of higher status viewed Berit only as someone to be cautious of.

She lingered in that ticklish warmth for a moment, but then reminded herself that the woman she just met would inevitably come to hate her.

Because she had to seduce Turan by any means necessary.

Only then, only by making him the head of House Zahar, could she seize power as his wife.

***

After sending Berit off, Turan entered his office and placed a small iron plate on the desk.

Then, he lightly channeled electricity through it.

Zzzt- weak current flowed, and not long after, the iron plate gently levitated.

It rose and fell on his palm, spun in the air, and then settled back down as the current was cut off.

‘As I thought, it consumes more magic power than expected and the force is underwhelming.’

After the fight with Badal not long ago, Turan had asked the Librarian about the "power to move metal", and came across a new clue called magnetism.

Apparently, if one manipulated electricity properly, they could exert an attractive force on metal?

Unfortunately, that was as far as the Librarian's knowledge went, he didn't know the detailed methods of generation or application.

His knowledge came from books authored by the Preah God Tribe or their vassals during the old empire and archived in the library.

So, either no one at the time had fully grasped the concept, or they considered it a secret and kept it hidden.

Just like with Thought Acceleration or Light of Judgement.

Still, even just knowing it had to do with electricity created a cause-and-effect basis, and now Turan could, albeit faintly, manipulate metal using electricity.

Of course, it wasn't yet usable in real combat, and to develop further, he would need to continue honing it or dig deeper into its underlying principles.

After all, magic becomes more efficient and powerful the more you understand it.

His training was short-lived, though, as people started gathering in his office.

Meisa, Solif, Melo, Ashiz, and Haram, the core members of Kalamaf’s leadership.

Before long, his office had become a full-fledged meeting room.

Once everyone had gathered, Solif was the first to ask Turan about Berit, whom he had just met moments ago.

“You two talked alone just now, how was it?”

“She’s quite the viper.”

From the very first moment, Turan could tell that Berit didn’t feel even the slightest sexual attraction toward him.

And yet she subtly tried to seduce him, acting shy, averting her eyes, brushing against him, demonstrating practiced, natural techniques.

Had Turan not already been emotionally committed, and had he not seen through her real nature, he might have been swayed a little.

Of course, now that he had caught on to everything, even if they were the last two people on earth, he wouldn’t fall for her.

At Turan’s words, Meisa responded curiously.

“Really? She seemed fine to me.”

“You met her?”

“Just in passing. She looked really cute and kind. Seemed pretty shy too.”

Apparently, Meisa didn’t have much of an eye for people.

Then again, the reason she could see Berit so positively was likely because she didn’t consider her a rival in the first place.

That’s how much certainty Turan had given her repeatedly.

That this exchange was purely political, and that she was the only one he truly saw as his partner.

After briefly exchanging smiles and reaffirming their affection, Turan turned to Solif.

“Actually, I think she liked you more than me.”

“What?”

“Though I doubt she’s your type.”

“Hey, let’s not go there.”

Turan made a sly jab, referencing Solif’s romantic preferences he’d come across in old records from the Varaha.

Of course, Berit wasn’t a married woman nor was she in her forties, so she was completely outside of Solif’s taste. But beautiful women had a way of transcending personal preferences to a degree, didn’t they?

If she happened to take a liking to Solif, it might be something they could use politically.

Especially since Solif himself was a noble with high-level magic power.

Though not exactly a handsome man, he was attractive enough by noble standards to be useful.

Imagining the idea of pulling in a Zahar noble of some value by turning the tables, Turan offered a brief summary of the situation.

“Well, for now, she’s basically here for show, so there’s nothing much to worry about. Just don’t do anything reckless. It’d be a hassle if I had to kill her and ask them to send another.”

At that remark, everyone stared at him with slightly horrified expressions.

At the very least, it was clear from his attitude alone that there was no chance of him falling for any seduction.

That was the end of the talk about their newly arrived guest.

As Turan announced the start of the regular meeting, Ashiz gave a small cough and pulled out a stack of documents.

“First, here’s a summary of Kalamaf’s recent military strength updates.”

After the Aravion attack, the Berk family had been reorganized with Melo as its new head.

Naturally, Ashiz, who had gone from being the son of the family head to the younger brother of the new one, found his position somewhat displaced. Thus, Turan accepted him as his steward, and as a future retainer for the house he planned to establish.

Ashiz, who had lost both parents, had changed significantly from before.

The ever-positive and cheerful smile that once bordered on frivolity had become rare, and instead of just playing around, he now dedicated himself to studying and training.

He had even gone through Haram's hellish physical training regimen that he had previously run away from.

Furthermore, unlike many nobles who avoided such tasks, he actively participated in and tried to learn administrative work, and to everyone’s surprise, he showed real aptitude for it and had made notable progress.

Thanks to this, Turan was able to entrust him with such duties and secure more time for his personal training.

“For now, the total number of nobles in Kalamaf is 27. Among them, three are top-tier, five are high-tier, eight are mid-tier, and eleven are low-tier.”

The classification criteria were something Turan had come up with on the spot with his friends in the past, and he had personally measured them using his sacred relic.

The three top-tier were, naturally, Turan, Meisa, and Solif. The five high-tier nobles included Haram, Melo, Ashiz, and two of House Berk’s retainers.

Melo and Ashiz had barely made it into the upper ranks by absorbing magic power during the last battle.

It was a painful truth, but in the world of wizards, the death of one always served as the foundation for the growth of another.

The mid- and low-tier nobles were either collateral relatives of the House Berk or people dispatched by various families from the Gray Zone who had volunteered to become retainers.

Thanks to those same families also sending knights, the total number of knights had increased to over two hundred, compared to the mere seventy-five who had belonged solely to the House Berk before.

Melo murmured as he listened quietly.

“Looking at it this way, our overall strength hasn't diminished as much as I thought. No, it might even be fair to say we’ve grown stronger...”

One might wonder what middle and lower-tier nobles or knights could do in battles involving sky-high-level nobles, but their presence actually had a surprisingly significant impact.

A group of knights could pressure a low-tier noble, allowing that noble to in turn harass a mid-tier one, who then had the room to interfere in fights between high-tier nobles.

Such a chain reaction could lead to a tipping of the scales even in battles among the highest elites.

In fact, the previous battle had also effectively ended due to the sudden intervention of the House Lavitas army.

“It’s a shame the Lavitas nobles returned.”

“They have to take care of their own matters too. They couldn’t afford to leave that much power idle.”

The Lavitas reinforcements that had flown in with Turan had recently returned to their main house.

As a result, communication between the two houses had become partially severed.

Still, Lavitas was expected to send a delegation soon with Rida as its representative, so they could use that opportunity to discuss how to manage their alliance going forward.

After briefly discussing their broader strategic direction, Turan turned to Ashiz with a question that had come to mind.

“By the way, how’s the control over the new arrivals?”

“Well, they’ve split into their own factions as expected... but they’re listening to us. All thanks to you.”

Wherever three people gathered, factions would form. That was human nature.

Naturally, the wizards gathering in Kalamaf had also divided into sides and caused minor disputes, but fortunately, none had caused any major commotion yet.

After all, Turan’s reputation as the man who stood toe-to-toe with and drove back the head of House Aravion still echoed loudly.

Of course, that fame would undoubtedly fade with time.

Humans are creatures of forgetfulness, just look at Aravion’s retainers, who eventually rebelled even after witnessing Badal’s overwhelming power.

Time passed quickly as they continued discussing a wide range of topics, from city administration to methods of training spies to monitor the movements of nearby great noble houses.

Of course, they were only setting the direction here, specific tasks would be handled by the officials below.

As their conversation began to wind down, a topic came up that, while seemingly trivial, was in fact incredibly important.

It was the naming of their group, the new great noble house they were forming.

“Hmm.”

“A name...”

The problem was that they couldn’t settle on a name.

They went through all kinds of idioms and famous quotes from ancient records, names of places, even people’s names.

Countless suggestions were brought up, but none of them felt quite right to everyone.

Considering that this name might last thousands of years into the future like Aravion or Zahar, it was only natural to be cautious.

In particular, they had to avoid anything that gave a similar impression to those two families, because Turan was a mixed-blood born between them.

Although the fact that Turan carried the power of Aravion wasn’t publicly known, if the name sounded too similar to either one, people might naturally assume he was closer to that side.

“I liked ‘Artos’.”

“Sounds way too much like Aravion.”

“What about ‘Cologa’?”

“It’s too meaningless. Doesn’t sound good either.”

Since this topic had come up several times already, the same names and the same rebuttals were repeated again.

Eventually, when everyone fell silent with nothing more to say, Ashiz, who had brought up the subject, looked around at them all and spoke.

“Since we couldn’t find anything that felt right even with all the suggestions, I asked the civil servants when I was giving them instructions. I asked if they could collect some ideas for a name.”

“From the commoners?”

“Those people may not have power, but they’ve all got brains. Honestly, they might even be smarter than us.”

Still, leaving the naming of a great noble house to commoners was certainly not something a typical noble would have thought of.

Ashiz then unfolded a sheet with several names written on it and pointed to one that had been highlighted.

“So we got a few hundred candidates, but there was one that stood out. I thought Turan would like it, so I brought it.”

“What is it?”

"Parsha. It refers to someone who leads a flock of sheep. It also means guide or ruler."

It wasn’t a name one could bring up easily unless they knew that Turan had been a shepherd up until a few years ago, and that he still identified with that role.

Normally, mentioning a relatively humble former occupation to someone who had risen in status would provoke anger.

But Turan was deeply pleased with the name.

Even for those who felt "shepherd" was a bit too rustic, meanings like "guide" and "ruler" made it an excellent name for a noble house.

“I like it.”

“It doesn’t sound anything like Zahar or Aravion, the sound is solid, and the meaning is great...”

“Should we just go with this?”

Half because they genuinely liked it, and half because they just wanted to wrap this topic up, everyone agreed.

And so, the name of the great noble house that would rule the Gray Zone was decided in a somewhat haphazard manner.

Turan Parsha.

That would be the new name he would use in public from now on.