Chapter 152.1

About a month had passed since the Parsha-Lavitas Allied Forces occupied House Varaha.

The Land of the Lakes, the territory ruled by House Varaha, after a period of turmoil, began to regain a certain degree of stability.

Of course, it was not the same as before everything had happened.

Due to the last war, the number of Varaha's wizards had drastically decreased, and as a result, it was impossible to assign wizards to remote areas that were not core regions.

Dozens of small villages near the Mist Region at the eastern end were destroyed by the attacks of magical beasts, and the fall of one city was nothing but a trivial matter for the ruler.

Although for the people directly involved, it would be the story of their lives collapsing.

Just as stabilization was progressing, a diplomatic delegation arrived at Helio, the capital of Varaha.

They were people from the great noble house in the north, House Ruvan.

*

"We from Ruvan have come to request the compensation according to the contract."

"Compensation?"

"The previous family head of Varaha promised to transfer the Garam region in the northwest and the warship Galefiosa in return for dispatching twenty-one nobles from Ruvan. Since you have inherited the name of Varaha, we believe it is only proper for you to fulfill the agreement as well."

In the reception hall of the Temple of the Sun.

Solif, the new family head of House Varaha, clicked his tongue as he looked at the woman in front of him who was really spouting nonsense.

The Garam region she was talking about was a high-quality iron mine zone that had once been offered as Solif’s ransom.

And the warship Galefiosa was the magic-imbued ship that Reshion had taken when he moved to Lavitas.

"No, seriously... have you bastards forgotten who your army fought against? You are demanding compensation from me for an operation that interfered with me? Are you crazy?"

"Family head, please speak with more dignity—"

"But this person is making me angry! Do you think I am in the mood to talk with dignity right now?"

An old noble of Varaha, who had cautiously tried to restrain Solif, flinched and stepped back at the rough reply.

Originally, Varaha was the house that obsessed most over formality among many great noble houses, but since Solif’s ascension, that tradition had significantly declined.

It was inevitable since the very family head who should have been the model for everyone was behaving like this.

Facing Solif, the woman from Ruvan continued her shocking remarks without blinking an eye.

"The head of House Ruvan has decided not to claim blood money for the death of the main house’s nobles in that battle. We hope House Varaha will respond to this kindness with kindness."

"My goodness."

"Is she crazy?"

Even the Varaha nobles who had been trying to maintain their dignity could not help but be agitated by that remark.

At this rate, it was as if they were outright provoking a fight.

Solif, realizing that fact, asked calmly unlike a moment ago when he had flared up.

"Let’s keep it simple. What do you want? Do you want a war?"

"If the family head of House Varaha refuses to honor the former contract of your predecessor, we will have no choice but to retrieve it ourselves."

"So you want a fight. You should have said that from the beginning."

With that short reply, the atmosphere in the reception hall instantly grew heavy.

The family head of a great noble house.

This was due to the anger of one of the few strongest beings in this world being directly reflected in magical power.

"Ugh..."

In fact, it was laughable for a family head to directly handle such diplomatic events.

Usually, one of the trusted lieutenants would take care of it.

However, Solif was personally handling it because he still lacked trust in the nobles of the main Varaha house and also lacked trained loyal subordinates.

"Fine, I will give you the empty shell answer you want. Reshion was a fucking bastard, and the new Varaha, which killed and replaced him, does not care about any of those dumb contracts. If you do not like it, come and fight."

"...I will convey that."

Watching the retreating noble, Solif suddenly thought.

If he killed that woman now, it would be slightly more advantageous when the war broke out later.

And realizing that thought, he was reminded that it was no different from the way of thinking his closest friend often had.

Was it because they had spent so much time together that their ways of thinking had become similar, or was it because he recently pulled all those needles out of his head?

"Have I been infected?"

"Yes?"

"Nothing. Anyway, you all heard it, right? Prepare for war!"

At Solif’s words, the faces of the Varaha nobles gathered there darkened.

Over the past few years, after suffering through all kinds of disasters, the strength of their house had fallen to a level that could not even be called impressive, even as flattery.

The upper and high-ranking nobles, who could be considered the backbone of the house’s power, were practically annihilated.

Although quite a number of middle and lower-ranking nobles still remained, it was nonetheless a weak force to boast of as a proud great noble house.

Considering that it was difficult to even recover the magic power lost during the last war, it would likely take at least one to two hundred years, or three to four generations, to restore the prosperity of the past.

And now, to wage war again against a neighboring great noble house under such circumstances?

"Um, Family Head. Would it be possible to receive support from another house...?"

"Support from Lavitas is impossible, but we might be able to get help from Parsha. I will look into the details myself."

"Understood."

The reason they could not resist their new family head was not merely because he was the strongest in Varaha and a powerhouse on par with the former family head, Reshion.

Turan Parsha.

The head of the newly risen House Parsha and the great wizard who earned the nickname "Invisible Sword" during the battle in southern Helio.

No one was unaware that this overwhelmingly powerful being now reigned as the sponsor and de facto ruler of Varaha.

Solif had publicly stated that he always considered and consulted Turan’s intentions whenever deciding on major matters within the house.

For this reason, while many lamented that the once-great Varaha had fallen under the control of another house, some rather saw it in a positive light.

At least now, in times of crisis like this, they had a strong backer to rely on.

After the meeting ended, Solif returned to his quarters, sealed the entrance, and recited a magic spell in his study.

"Om Amoga Bai... ah, damn, it is so hard to memorize."

In the middle, he again forgot the spell and had to glance at the recorded notes, a regrettable blunder, but anyway, Solif finally crossed the space and arrived in a secret underground location beneath Helio City.

Passing through a giant mirror installed there, he emerged into a basement room in Kalamaf, the capital of House Parsha in the northwestern Gray Zone.

Opening a magically sealed door, he saw a mermaid floating leisurely in a large bathtub.

"Still soaking yourself?"

"My body has been drying out a bit lately."

Greeting the mermaid boy, Armania, Solif could not help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

The family head of a great noble house using a hidden spatial transfer gate in his own residence to travel to the capital of another house, only to be greeted by a mermaid who could transform into a Great Sea Serpent?

Would he have believed it if someone had told him a few years ago that such a scene would ever exist?

"Where is Turan?"

"I heard he went to a meeting. I didn’t know this, but apparently strong devils are incredibly busy. Well, Father was always busy too."

Armania, who, thanks to the mask made by Ashiz, could now freely roam about, nonetheless usually preferred resting in Turan’s residence, which was considered the safest place.

Because of this, although unpleasant rumors had once spread that Armania was not just Turan’s relative but his male concubine, nobody really cared, so it was not a big problem.

"Alright then, see you later."

"I'm about to go to sleep, so I won't see you."

"The sun is still at its highest, and you are already talking about sleep?"

After exchanging trivial chatter and parting ways, Solif walked out from the family head’s residence and strolled through the corridor.

Servants and wizards passing by bowed their heads in greeting.

"Greetings, General."

"Good afternoon."

Nobody paid any particular attention to the fact that the family head of House Varaha was wandering freely around House Parsha.

It was inevitable, as one month was far too short a time for the events that had taken place in the eastern Land of the Lakes to have spread all the way here.

Stories like a war breaking out or the family head of Varaha being replaced were only rapidly circulated among the upper echelons who could gather information quickly.