Chapter 78

The plains, which had been noisy due to the words of Badal, the head of House Aravion, fell silent in an instant.

No matter how angry they were, it was difficult to raise their voices recklessly in front of that powerful wizard.

["Regarding this matter, I will entrust all authority to Lin Aravion, my dear cousin and the hero who led the Battle of Dakan to victory in the past. Please consider his words as my own."]

After saying that, Badal closed his eyes and took a few steps back, like an old man whose strength had been drained.

Even though he had personally come forward in such an important situation, no one among his vassals dared to protest against his decision to appoint a proxy.

If the head of the house stepped forward directly, they would only be intimidated during the conversation. This way, it was more advantageous. More than anything, Badal's face, as he stepped back, looked genuinely exhausted.

A moment later, Lin, the elder of House Aravion whom Badal had just introduced, stepped forward to take his place.

"Now, everyone, listen. The document in question this time is..."

To their utter dismay, it was claimed that a noble from House Zahar had infiltrated the main residence not long ago, stolen several confidential documents, and even forged them.

Except for the fact that the noble in question did not actually belong to House Zahar, the claim was fairly close to the truth. However, such a story was not convincing to the vassal houses.

"Since when has the stronghold of House Aravion been so lax? What about the Wall of Light?"

"Doesn't the information in the documents match exactly with my younger brother’s death? We have already captured and interrogated someone who witnessed the magical beast on our side! Forgery? What nonsense!"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Unlike the head of the house, the elder seemed easier to challenge, and so the heads of the vassal houses raised their voices in succession, refuting the claims.

Taking advantage of the commotion, Turan called Ashiz, who was standing beside him.

"Ashiz."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"That person over there, do you know what bloodline they belong to?"

Turan pointed toward a robust middle-aged woman standing among the young nobles of the Frost Bloodline.

The reason he singled her out was because the emblem within her body was the same clenched fist shape he had just seen from Badal.

"Uh... She’s probably someone who married into that house, like Uncle Haram. I think she's specialized in close combat."

"Can you find out for sure?"

"Is it important?"

"Very."

"Wait just a moment."

Without asking further, Ashiz immediately approached them and started a conversation.

The nobles of the Frost Bloodline, who had been in the middle of a serious discussion, showed signs of annoyance at the unexpected interruption. However, it did not take long before they were swayed by Ashiz’s sociability, their expressions softening into smiles.

It took less than three minutes for him to return with an answer.

"She's from the Fighter Bloodline. But why does that matter all of a sudden?"

Turan was about to answer but then glanced at Badal, who was standing a little distance away, and closed his mouth.

The bloodline ability of House Aravion was merely reading the flow of the wind, not enhanced hearing. However... somehow, he had an uneasy feeling that a person of Badal's caliber might be able to control all the wind around them and listen in on conversations.

"This place is too open. I'll tell you later."

"When we get back?"

"Yeah."

Soothing Ashiz, Turan recalled the bloodline of Badal, the head of House Aravion, that he had just seen.

A storm-cloud mixed with lightning and a clenched fist, symbols representing the Storm Bloodline.

In other words, he possessed not just one, but three bloodline abilities: wind, lightning, and strength.

'But Badal's parents were nobles from House Aravion and House Carmine.'

Of course, the genealogy he had seen in the library did not specify the bloodlines of Badal’s grandparents. It was possible that a latent trait had surfaced after several generations. However, Turan instinctively suspected that this Fighter Bloodline was the result of some artificial manipulation.

After all, both Solif and Meisa had only possessed two bloodlines.

Perhaps the "mental processing" work they did was a necessary condition for granting new bloodline abilities.

As Turan remained deep in thought for a long while, a sharp voice suddenly rang out from behind, it was Midella, the head of House Berk.

"I have no desire to speak further. Lady Meisa! Those who tormented my niece must be appropriately punished! Just how cruelly did you treat her for the heir of a great house to flee from her own family?!"

At her outburst, Solif, who was standing nearby, flinched, while others immediately chimed in with a resounding, "Indeed!"

The documents detailing the corruption of the Aravion nobles were filled with records of the vassal houses gathered here, specifically, those that had not aligned with them, being subjected to various disadvantages. However, the most substantial portion of the documents concerned the harassment of Meisa.

It was customary for matters within a house to be handled internally, but wasn't this going too far?

Moreover, a significant number of the people here were distant relatives of Midella, meaning they were also related to Meisa by blood.

From the beginning, ensuring the safety of the next head of a great house was a matter of great importance to the vassal houses.

At this, the elder hesitated for a moment before bringing up something unexpected.

"The document states that Meisa… that is, Lady Meisa fled on her own. However, that is not the truth. Lady Meisa was kidnapped while taking a walk outside the city, by those damned Zahars."

"What did you just say?"

"What nonsense is this now...?"

"Are you saying that House Aravion is full of idiots who failed to notice dozens of Zahar nobles invading? Or what, are you claiming that the head of House Zahar personally set foot in the Takein Plains?"

At the last remark, the gathered nobles instinctively turned their gazes toward Badal Aravion.

If the Zahars, those murderers from the Enril Desert, had truly come, then they would need the power of a mighty head of house to stand against them.

However, instead of speaking, Badal simply closed his wrinkled eyes in silence.

Sensing the growing tension, the elder cleared his throat with a loud ahem to draw attention before speaking.

"We are currently investigating who was responsible for the abduction. But if all of you continue to distrust us and remain divided like this, the matter cannot be properly resolved. Please cooperate. If House Aravion stands united, how could those filthy desert hounds dare to target the descendants of the Thunder Lord?"

It seemed that the main house of Aravion had decided to shift the blame for this incident onto the nobles of House Zahar.

After all, there was no better way to mend internal fractures than by emphasizing an external enemy.

Besides, given that there were already connections between some within Aravion and House Zahar, even in the worst-case scenario, they could simply stage a controlled conflict to make it seem credible.

"Could this really all be a scheme of the Zahars?"

"If it is, isn’t that an even bigger problem? That would mean House Aravion was completely unable to respond to their schemes…"

"Now that you mention it, that’s true."

However, there was something the elder had not anticipated, the vassal houses were interpreting his claim as proof of Aravion’s loss of leadership.

Ordinarily, no one would dare say such things in front of a powerful head of house. But now, with him aged and feeble, the situation was different.

As murmurs of discontent spread, a flicker of realization crossed the elder’s face.

"Now, wait a moment-"

"Step back for a moment, Lin."

The elder, who had been about to speak further, quickly withdrew at the command of a low, aged voice.

Badal, who had until now remained still with his eyes closed, had stepped forward.

As the old head of house took the lead once more, the members of the vassal houses ceased their protests and turned to face him.

"As I stated earlier, it appears that the nobles of House Zahar were involved in this incident. However, some of the disadvantages suffered by the vassals are undoubtedly the responsibility of our own kin. Thus, I will form an investigative group that will include some among you to look into this matter."

Even without using wind magic as he had before, Badal’s voice carried much more strength and clarity than before, reaching even those standing at a considerable distance.

And that was not the only change.

As the once clear sky gathered clouds and thunder rumbled in the distance, a display of power unfolded, one reminiscent of the time when the Dark Elf subjugation force had been dispatched.

The vassals, witnessing a mere fragment of that overwhelming power, hesitated before nodding in agreement.

"If... if the head of the house is willing to concede that much..."

"That would be acceptable."

Had he simply wielded his power to threaten them outright, their pride would not have allowed them to yield. However, Badal, while demonstrating his strength, had also extended his proposal in a way that respected them, leaving them an avenue to retreat.

As a result, though the vassals still looked somewhat reluctant, they could not openly oppose him any further.

"Hey, is this really okay? The atmosphere feels off."

Solif murmured to Turan, stealing a glance at him.

But Turan could not answer.

That was because he had perceived the changes occurring within Badal, changes that differed from his previous, weary demeanor.

'That is…'

The moment Badal stepped forward and wielded his magic, something new emerged between the scattered storm clouds and the clenched fist.

A hammer and an anvil, the very symbol of the Enchanter Bloodline, the same one associated with House Berk.

The clenched fist lifted the hammer high and then brought it crashing down onto the anvil. As it struck, the lightning and wind that erupted from the impact swirled violently within Badal.

Turan immediately grasped the significance of this.

'The Thunder Lord…'

A wielder of a great hammer who commanded the storm and lightning.

What was occurring within Badal's body at that moment was a manifestation of the very figure that House Aravion revered as their progenitor, the mighty Preah god known as the Thunder Lord.

*

After showcasing his power once, Badal once again withdrew, resuming the appearance of a frail old man. The vassal assembly then continued discussions with the elders for several more hours before finally reaching a compromise.

As originally promised, Cadrum and the other middle-aged nobles would be temporarily stripped of their power, and a thorough investigation would be conducted, including members from the vassal houses. Furthermore, they secured an agreement that no one would suffer any repercussions under the pretext of the recent gathering and display of force.

To Turan, this was likely the most realistic outcome.

House Aravion was not about to be completely overturned, but at the very least, with the middle-aged faction partially weakened and the vassals’ demands met, House Berk no longer faced an immediate threat.

However, the faces of the Berk nobles upon their return to Zavilin were far from bright.

After all, their relative and the next heir of House Aravion, Meisa, was missing, whether she had run away or been abducted. On top of that, they had directly confronted their ruling house.

Even if an agreement had been reached to overlook the matter, it was still an unpleasant situation to have fallen out of favor with their superiors.

Upon returning to House Berk, Turan did not discuss the Thunder Lord with Solif and Ashiz.

Having witnessed someone truly wielding divine power, he was reluctant to speak of it so openly, even in a relatively safe location.

Fortunately, both of them understood when he promised to explain once they were in a more secure setting.

A few days later, just as expected, House Aravion’s investigative team came looking for Turan.

"You are Turan, the wandering noble of the Barrier Master Bloodline, correct?"

"Yes."

One of Meisa’s few external friends.

A person who had coincidentally been near the area just weeks before the incident and had even sent her a letter.

On top of that, someone highly skilled in magic and possessing considerable magical power.

Looking at these facts alone, he was undeniably a suspicious individual.

Officially, the matter had been attributed to a scheme by House Zahar, so the extent of their suspicion was merely whether he had been a collaborator.

Of course, their investigation soon hit an unexpected roadblock.

"He was flying through the sky on a swing pulled by a golden eagle?"

"Yes, I saw it myself."

"And just a week ago, too?"

"That’s right."

The city’s residents had testified about Solif’s actions while he was pretending to be Turan, and even the household servants of the Berk family consistently claimed they had seen Turan every day.

This was thanks to Ashiz spreading the story in advance.

Of course, if they had resorted to torture, a few people might have broken and confessed, but House Aravion was hardly in a position to attempt such a thing.

The investigation team had even assessed how strong and fast Turan’s golden eagle, Bije, was. However, the clever Bije deliberately acted weak, displaying less than a tenth of her usual strength in front of them.

“Bije, faster! Fly as fast as you can!”

Even as Turan, seated on the swing, sharply reprimanded her, Bije let out strained noises and struggled to fly, barely managing to stay aloft.

Seeing this, the investigation team had no choice but to conclude that the golden eagle was not particularly useful for escaping.

No matter how intelligent a magical beast might be compared to ordinary animals, it was difficult for them to imagine that Bije was deliberately ignoring commands as part of a prearranged deception with his master.

Only after Turan also verified his identity as a noble of the Barrier Master Bloodline did the investigation team finally acknowledge his innocence and withdraw.

Through this process, he realized one more thing...

‘As expected, their connection with the Zahars isn’t as strong as I thought.’

If the middle-aged faction of House Aravion had truly maintained deep ties with House Zahar, at least one of them should have recognized Turan’s face or been reminded of his father or grandfather upon seeing his portrait.

The fact that they hadn’t meant that they either lacked access to the faces of Zahar nobles or, even if they had met them, it wasn’t frequent enough for them to recognize them.

Ideally, Turan would have liked to infiltrate their main estate again to conduct further reconnaissance, but doing so a second time would be difficult.

Given his last stunt, they would now be aware of the existence of magic artifacts capable of forging false faces and voices.

After staying for another month, Turan finally informed Midella of his intention to leave House Berk.

Considering that he had initially used meeting Meisa as an excuse to stay, his departure was actually overdue. Midella, however, expressed her gratitude.

She knew that Turan had remained to increase the family’s numbers, helping them endure House Aravion’s pressure.

"Well then, shall we go?"

"I swear, I never want to ride this damned swing again."

With Solif grumbling about how sick he was of the swing after riding it nonstop for days, Turan departed from House Berk in the dead of night, seated on it.

By now, Bije could fly at such an altitude that they would appear as mere specks from the ground, ensuring that their movements could not be tracked.

Passing over the Takein Plains, they traveled through the reforested lands being rebuilt by pioneers, then crossed the wasteland, eventually reaching the Siraf Wetlands.

Even though the swing had been reinforced and was now heavier than before, they managed to reach the hot spring region in just three or four days of flight.

“…Turan?”

"It’s been a while, Meisa."

After two months apart, Meisa was now looking after a baby monkey. However, her face and body had not gained much weight, suggesting that she had struggled to feed herself properly.

Considering how quickly she had regained weight when food was directly pushed into her stomach, there was no way she would be in this state if she had been eating even a little properly.

"Has life here been alright?"

"Yes. Aikul has been treating me well."

Aikul, the Monkey King who ruled over the hot spring region, let out a loud hmmph through his nostrils at her words.

Unlike his rough demeanor toward Turan in the past, he was surprisingly gentle with Meisa. It almost made Turan suspect that Aikul simply had a preference for women.

"What are you glaring at, you bastard?"

Yet, judging by the way Aikul showed clear displeasure toward Solif, that suspicion only grew stronger.

After exchanging brief pleasantries, Meisa's expression turned slightly anxious as she asked,

"How is House Berk? And my aunt?"

She had likely spent the past month here worrying most about their safety.

Turan and Solif, as high-ranking nobles, had no trouble taking care of themselves. However, Meisa and her family were relatively weaker and had many things to protect.

The reason she had never complained about the harassment she endured was out of fear that House Berk would be crushed under the power of House Aravion.

Understanding this, Turan carefully explained to Meisa everything that had happened in the Takein Plains after she left.

"So, for the time being, things should be safe. At least as long as the external tension with House Zahar remains."

"That’s a relief..."

Hearing his explanation, a bright smile spread across Meisa’s face.

She had likely been deeply anxious during her time here, practically confined to the hot spring region with no news from the outside.

Just as Turan nodded in agreement, she suddenly pulled him into a hug.

Although she had gained some weight since before, her frame was still so thin that he could barely feel any weight.

"I was so overwhelmed last time… But after coming here, I realized I never got the chance to say this. Truly, truly, thank you. For pulling me out of that hell."

Turan hesitated, unsure of how to respond, before simply patting her back a few times.