Chapter 152.2

To ordinary people, Solif was just a guest of the house who appeared suddenly every few days and then disappeared again.

'Honestly, I kind of prefer it this way.'

Although Solif had taken the seat of House Varaha's family head as needed, by nature he found this kind of position more to his liking.

A position where there were no great rights but also no great responsibilities, where he could throw everything away and leave at any time.

Even if he acted informally on purpose, as the family head of a great noble house, there were inevitably some restrictions placed on his behavior.

Now, it was difficult to go gambling while hiding his face or to drink freely with strangers in taverns as he had in the past.

Of course, it was not a situation where he could afford to complain about such trivial reasons.

Even though they had worked hard to build their strength, the enemy was still powerful and numerous.

Lost in thought, he walked for a moment until he finally arrived at his destination.

The office of the family head of House Parsha.

Ordinarily, he should have knocked cautiously and waited for permission to enter, but Solif opened the door and entered casually.

"Good morning."

"We already had lunch; what are you talking about morning? What brings you here? You should still be in House Varaha at this time."

"Something came up."

Greeting Turan, who was busy flipping through documents, Solif threw himself onto the sofa beside him.

Seeing this, Turan frowned slightly and said.

"You're getting dust everywhere."

"It is nothing to fuss about... more importantly, Ruvan is picking a fight with us. They want to battle."

It was hard to deliver the news that a war between great noble houses might break out in a cheaper manner than this.

At Solif's nonchalant attitude, Turan also replied calmly.

"Over there too?"

"What do you mean, over there too? Do you have news from another side?"

"Zahar suggested a face-to-face talk. About this recent matter."

Turan immediately used Telekinesis Magic to send the document he was holding toward Solif.

Receiving it and reading it, Solif let out a low exclamation.

"A meeting between family heads...?"

"Yes. They suggested meeting directly at the border between the Gray Zone and the Enril Desert. Considering the travel distance, you could say they made a bit of a concession."

Ordinarily, even family heads of ordinary wizard houses did not leave the cities they ruled, making it difficult to meet one another, and for great noble houses, this went without saying.

Without a war, it was normal for them to never see each other's faces for a lifetime.

Of course, now Turan and Solif could meet and talk whenever they wished, but that was thanks solely to the power of the Jade Mirror brought by Armania.

Without that, and without a magical beast like Bije who could serve as an excellent means of transportation?

Even for them, traveling just to see a friend's face would have taken a month or two at the very least, making it an impossible endeavor.

"There is a suspicious smell about this. Could it be an ambush after luring us out? Since Reshion once did such a thing, my thoughts are drifting in that direction."

"I already suggested a three-party meeting because of that. Together with Lavitas."

"Oh."

"Of course, we cannot be completely reassured by that alone, so I plan to take various precautions beforehand. We also have to settle the conflict with House Ruvan before then. So that we can receive Varaha’s support if needed."

Additionally, this suggestion had the effect of delaying the meeting time.

Currently, Osel was returning to the headquarters by traveling through the South Sea aboard the family’s warship.

Once he returned to the main house and finished organizing the accumulated work, it would take at least another two to three months for him to travel up to the border between the Gray Zone and the Enril Desert.

"Well, anyway, you will get to see your great-grandfather’s face once. Was it Caesar? Nazi?"

"They call him both. The former carries a slight meaning of respect, and the latter is used in a derogatory sense."

Through Reshion and the other half-elves of Varaha, Turan had roughly understood the meaning of those two words.

Although it was difficult to fully master the historical background behind them, he understood them to some extent.

As they chatted for a moment, Turan let out a small exclamation and pulled out another document.

"More importantly, take a look at this."

"What is it?"

"News from the spies we sent to the north."

It had been a few months since the founding of House Parsha.

Turan had gradually succeeded in establishing at least a minimal intelligence network through several surrounding wizard houses.

What greatly helped in this endeavor was the power of the Tamer, one of the abilities of the Nagin Bloodline.

Even if they were not as smart or strong as Bije, simply taming some aerial-type magical beasts with a certain level of functionality was enough to make them valuable means of communication.

Originally, the binding power of a Soul Contract would enhance the magical beast’s sense of intimidation and obedience depending on the strength of the Tamer involved.

Since the one who directly brokered the contracts was none other than the head of a great noble house, the spies of Parsha could use birds that were astonishingly obedient compared to others for communication.

"...Great Sea Serpent?"

"That's right. Looks like Armania's relatives have done something big."

Upon reading the news sent by the spy, Solif let out a sound that was somewhere between an exclamation and a sigh.

In it, it was reported that Avacha, the capital of House Carmine, had been half-destroyed by an attack of Great Sea Serpents.

*

Central-eastern Enril Desert, the capital city Axum.

This ancient city, which had been notoriously known as Zahar's stronghold for thousands of years, didn't appear at first glance to be built in the middle of a desert.

The surroundings were colored green by vast fields, the air even felt somewhat humid, and there was a large lake visible just outside the city.

This was the result of the nobles of House Zahar tirelessly striving over thousands of years to make the city at least somewhat more livable.

After countless years of effort by powerful wizards, what was once close to barren land had become an environment capable of supporting a metropolis of several hundred thousand people.

In the deepest part of such Axum.

Inside the only dark and gloomy secret room, two people were having a conversation.

"He said to meet in about four months? I felt it before, but your grandson, as you said, is quite bold. How dare he delay a request from the head of House Zahar as he pleases."

"I don't think we need to give him that time. As written, if the head of Lavitas participates, things will become troublesome, and we don't know what tricks he might pull in that time."

At Talis’s words, the elderly man sitting across from him shook his head.

"There is no need to be so calculating. If his true identity is what I suspect, it won’t matter whether we have four months or not, and if it is not, we will crush him easily."

Along with his low voice, a grinding sound echoed.

The old man was grinding dried leaves in a small mortar where he sat.

"Besides, is the lack of cooperation from the Lawyer's side an excuse or real?"

"At least it is true that Avacha was half-destroyed. Although we cannot entirely rule out the possibility it was staged."

"It would be nice if we could plant more capable spies... well, there is no helping it. They also devote considerable effort to counterintelligence."

With a low grumble, the old man stood up, revealing a surprisingly tall and sturdy frame.

Even Talis, who was not exactly small himself, had to look up slightly as the old man was nearly half a head taller.

The old man spoke sharply.

"Accept the request. Four months from now, we will meet at the border between the desert and the Gray Zone."

"Do you really think that guy is 'that one'?"

Talis’s voice trailed off slightly, mixed with faint fear.

As if he did not even want to mention that being.

Sensing this, the head of Zahar grinned and deliberately uttered the word Talis had tried to avoid.

"Until the invasion of Varaha, it was in the realm of suspicion... but now I am half convinced. That Turan Parsha is the reincarnation of Otas. If I meet him and speak directly, I will know for sure."