Chapter 117
Arcadia was in the middle of the Avalon Empire’s territory, while Reinhardt was located on the easternmost tip of Avalon’s territory, more specifically, it was on Hubalt’s border. However, the distance between Arcadia and Reinhardt was actually bigger than what a map could depict.
As one of the three great powers on the continent, the Avalon Empire possessed a relatively extensive area in comparison to other nations. The duchies, estates, and big cities of Avalon had warp gates, but there were many cities without them.
The quickest way to go from Arcadia to Reinhardt was to utilize the warp gate at Duchy of Tremblin, then travel the rest of the way by land.
There was one portion of the path that couldn’t be avoided, and it was a desolate area of cast-aside baronies.
“Tripia Region.”
Joshua’s eyes were filled with guilt as he stared right ahead.
There was a warp gate swirling with mana in front of him.
The mage dispatched from the Magic Tower stood beside Joshua with an anxious look. “Lord Joshua, Haiburi Castle Town is pretty far, so the way will be a bit bumpy. Thank you for your understanding, and please be careful.”
At that, Joshua walked into the activated warp gate after nodding at the mage's instructions.
Flash!
The blue glow enveloped Joshua and flickered for a moment before fading away as if it were a lie.
When Joshua was nowhere to be seen, the mage in charge of the warp gate sighed deeply.
“Haaa… I have heard of the rumors, but this is the first time I felt like this since I met the Thunder Mage.” The mage, Shawn had also encountered Jack Steropes back then, so he sighed in relief and revealed a tired smile once Joshua was finally out of his eyes.
Upon meeting Joshua for the first time, Shawn was struck with this indescribable sensation.
‘How should I say this? I was ‘afraid’ of Jack Steropes because of his infamy, but when I met the current most popular person in the Avalon Empire, Joshua Sanders…’
“I got so scared I felt like collapsing. Even worse, it felt natural! As if that was how it was supposed to be…” Shawn paused upon recognizing the feelings he had upon meeting Joshua.
He had felt something only those who had been at the summit could emit. Shawn felt like he was standing in front of the Magic Tower Master or His Majesty, and in the face of Joshua’s presence, he bowed unknowingly.
“How embarrassing… a fifteen-year-old kid actually terrified me…” Shawn groaned.
Of course, it wasn’t like he was feeling humiliated or pitiful. It was more like there was this dissonance between Joshua Sanders in the rumors and the real Joshua Sanders, whom he had just met.
“He radiates an aura similar to that of His Majesty… I wonder, just how far can he go?”
Shawn shook his head and shrugged his thoughts. He finally realized that he was still staring at the warp gate.
“It seems that people like him truly live in a completely different universe than me.”
With that, Shawn went back to his post.
***
Aside from the Tremblin Estate, Haiburi Castle Town was the biggest territory in the Tremblin Duchy.
There was an inn located in the heart of Haiburi Castle Town’s busiest district, and the first floor of the boisterous inn was packed with individuals since late afternoon.
The three loudest people in the inn were at one table.
A mercenary-looking man with a rugged visage and a gash on his cheek spoke. “Hey! Did you even hear what I said?”
The man next to him with a bushy beard asked, “What are you talking about?”
“I was talking about the upcoming Masters’ Battle. The applications for each nation are about to close, and Reinhardt is about to release the list of participants as well. I heard that the participants are pretty shocking!”
“The Masters’ Battle roster?” A seemingly courteous bearded mercenary showed his curiosity as he asked, “So, who's going to be there?”
“You know this is valuable information only high nobles can access, right?”
“All right.”
Ting!
The rugged-looking mercenary grinned upon capturing the coin tumbling through the air.
“It is always a pleasure to work with you.”
“Hurry up and tell me.”
The rugged-looking mercenary, Bear, lowered his voice and muttered, “First of all, the number of participants taking part in this Masters’ Battle is apparently record-breaking. There are apparently more than twenty participants.”
Smiling, the bearded mercenary asked with a smile, “More than twenty? Seriously?”
One had to become an A-Class Knight before they could participate in the Masters’ Battle, and it was just the bare minimum.
In addition to being an A-Class Knight, the individual would also be subjected to a thorough selection procedure by the nation or organization they would represent. As a result, the Masters’ Battle only had an average of ten participants whenever it was held every few years.
A-Class knights, high-ranking mages, or high-level spirits weren't common appearances.
Bear was ecstatic to see the others paying attention to what he had to say, so he continued. “From the Hart Kingdom, the Knight of Steel, Babelon. Terra’s Chief Mage, Force Mage Astello. The pride of mercenaries and the holder of two diamond cards, Akshuller, will also be participating!”
The mercenaries gulped as the members of the prestigious roster grew.
“In addition, I’ve also heard that one of the Seven Mages of the Magic Tower will participate. I have no idea why they want to participate, though. There are also some rumors that the ruler of the Swallow Empire’s northern region’s wild king, Duke Altsma, will participate in the Masters’ Battle as well.”
“Is the rumor true? Duke Altsma is going to participate?” another guy exclaimed and jumped up from his seat in amazement.
“Well, anyway, take a seat. The Wild King’s participation is apparently motivated by vengeance because the Knight of Red Flame, as well as the ruler of the Thran, Ulabis, is part of the roster. In addition, the Hubalt Empire is said to have a secret talent representing them.”
“Oh, my god...” The guy sat back down, seemingly disoriented. After recovering from the shock of it all, he seemed to be in tremendous sorrow. However, it was understandable for him to feel this way since the number of individuals permitted entry into Reinhardt during the Masters’ Battle was limited.
He was just a mercenary, and just like the others, he had no option but to listen to stories to calm his churning blood.
“...”
In one corner, a figure silently sat while listening to the mercenaries’ remarks. More accurately speaking, the figure was not actively listening to the men; rather, the mercenaries were so loud that anyone around them was forced to listen to their remarks.
The figure was dressed in a ratty robe, and they ate an equally ratty salad. They seemed to be eating solely for survival. Beneath the hood of their bedraggled robes were a pair of unfocused and dull eyes. They seemed like they were absolutely not interested in anything in this world.
‘Shut up,’?the figure inwardly muttered. They could still hear the mercenaries talking.
“Wait, wait, wait… Those great nations have their own representatives, but how about Avalon?”
“That’s…” Bear lowered his voice even more. He seemed like he would only speak about it once. “This is top secret, but Avalon’s representative is a fifteen-year-old boy.”
“What?” one of the mercenaries calmly listening revealed a stupefied look. “Bear, we paid you too much for us to hear this kind of nonsense—”
“Listen until the end! You might understand it better!” said Bear.
“All right, let’s hear it, then,” replied the stupefied mercenary.
Bear seemed afraid to utter the name of Avalon’s representative, but he eventually said it.
“Joshua Sanders.”
Everyone, including the figure in ratty robes, abruptly stopped what they were doing.
“Avalon’s monster? Joshua Sanders?”
“I’m so excited, I can’t—Oh my God.”
Bera’s mouth stretched into a toothy grin as his peers broke into whooping and hollering.
Bear saw that one of the mercenaries was simply drinking with an uninterested look, so he couldn’t help but speak, “Greg, are you not interested at all?”
“It’s useless to talk about men we will never get to see. I’d rather we talk about gorgeous ladies…”
“Oh, oh! The Empire's three most gorgeous ladies!” exclaimed the bearded man. Obviously, his curiosity was piqued.
“Dirk… are you curious about them?”
“Huh? Of course, I am.”
At that, Greg extended his hand and grinned at the bearded man named Dirk.
“Deposit.”
“Here!”
Bear saw that and shook his head with a dismayed look. “He’s going to get rich at this rate. At least we can listen in for free, though.”
Greg cheerfully said, “You won’t be disappointed. From now on, the person I'll be talking about isn't going to be one of two very well-known ladies, but someone else.”
“You mean the other one?”
Greg nodded at Bear with his eyes wide open as if he had expected it.
However, Bear seemed unconvinced as he said, “Nonsense! There’s no way you know anything about a lady who has gone missing for more than three years now with her family devastated as well. Could it be that someone else has replaced her without my knowledge? Well, I heard that Avalon’s great strategist, Icarus, is really attractive—”
Greg interrupted. “No! I’m talking about that lady who went missing. The information I have is pretty accurate because it came from the priest who investigated the site where traces of black magic were discovered.”
At that, Bear's eyes widened.
“Ohohoho—” Dirk smiled and chuckled.
“...”
However, the bedraggled figure stood up. They left the inn without anyone particularly taking note of them. The boisterous inn remained unchanging, and since only one figure stood up, paid, and left—the inn was still filled with noises as discussions continued unabated.
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