And so, while battling boredom and making sure not to neglect my training along the way, we headed toward the Bahen Grand Duchy, where the Subjugation Festival would be held.
“Your mana control has certainly become more precise than before.”
“It needs to be at least this good.”
“And I can feel cold within your mana. This is the first time I have encountered something like this......”
Watching Tarian fall into serious thought was at least one source of entertainment.
‘At least I was lucky my Trait was good.’
Just thinking back to when I first started swinging a sword made me shudder.
Compared to then, my body had developed by leaps and bounds.
I spent a moment salivating over what kind of Skills I might obtain in the future.
Then the carriage gradually began to slow.
“It seems we are nearly there.”
“Have you been here before?”
“Yes. I came here briefly as an instructor.”
“Figures.”
My brother had called Tarian a famous swordsmanship instructor, after all.
Come to think of it, I still wondered exactly what kind of fame he had meant.
‘Wasn’t he kicked out of here?’
Harboring that perfectly reasonable suspicion, I stepped out of the carriage.
Belburg.
The capital of the Bahen Grand Duchy, and the largest city in the North.
It certainly looked quite similar to what I had seen in the game.
The difference was that unlike the rather gloomy atmosphere in the game, the city was full of life.
‘There’s no comparison.’
The atmosphere was different, and so was the scale.
Our territory was not particularly small either, but seeing this place with my own eyes made the difference feel real.
“Next is Young Master Ian Rashid.”
“I came to participate in the Subjugation Festival.”
“Thank you for gracing the Subjugation Festival with your presence.”
I entered as the guard captain bowed and immediately waved us through.
“Whew.”
“Are you nervous?”
“I am looking forward to it.”
“As expected.”
I chuckled as Tarian nodded.
-Little warrior, I shall give you your next trial.
-Become the brightest star upon this stage.
-Do so, and all of my hidden power shall be yours to wield.
At the sudden voice brushing past my ears, I looked at Frost Fang hanging from my waist.
Frost Fang remained perfectly still, as though it had never spoken.
The smile on my lips deepened.
‘I was planning to do exactly that.’
It was the goal I had wanted from the start.
We crossed Belburg and headed toward the Grand Ducal Residence, where the banquet was being held.
“Oh, it’s huge.”
“Young Master...... No, never mind. Let us go inside.”
When I voiced my genuine admiration, Tarian subtly averted his gaze.
“What? Do I look like some country bumpkin?”
“That is not what I meant......”
I laughed at Tarian’s flustered reaction and stepped inside.
Countless nobles were already gathered there.
Among them, I spotted my brother, who had arrived before me.
I almost waved out of sheer delight at seeing him, but he looked busy talking with other nobles.
‘Right. He said dealing with the materials we brought back would be work too.’
Of course he would be busy.
Our eyes met briefly, so I gave him a small nod before looking around for any familiar faces.
Perhaps because it was still a little early, there were not that many people yet.
‘Still.’
Getting here after setting a goal was all well and good, but there was one problem.
The Rashid Family held even less influence than I had expected.
“The second son of the Rashid Family? That is a name I have never heard before......”
“Why, surely you know. The one who supposedly lives like a shut-in.”
“Why would someone like that come to the Subjugation Festival?”
“I hear he is participating, but I doubt we should expect much.”
“Would that not be obvious? I hear he lacks talent compared to Baron Rashid.”
I could tell just from the voices of the nobles chattering loudly enough to reach my ears.
No matter how much they enjoyed gossiping, they would not have spoken so openly if they considered our status comparable to theirs.
“Yaaawn.”
“Does it not bother you?”
“Something like that? Not really.”
I did not particularly care what people like them said.
I had come to the Subjugation Festival for the rewards anyway.
Besides, a good number of the people here might not even be alive five years from now.
‘The corpses are talking.’
That was about the only impression I could have.
“By the way, what is with the mask?”
“There is no better way to avoid troublesome encounters.”
More than those nobles, I was bothered by the fact that Tarian had suddenly put on a mask.
He had always worn one in the game, but seeing it in person felt rather strange.
“Troublesome encounters?”
“I am somewhat famous, after all.”
“Well, of course you are.”
He was the sort of teacher who started his very first lesson by beating his student under the pretext of sparring.
Even setting that aside, his skill alone was enough to make him famous.
‘Considering all that, I’m not sure whether I was lucky or unlucky.’
Either way, he had not rejected my offer to become a retainer.
To be honest, I wanted him to accept as soon as possible.
‘I want it.’
Tarian’s swordsmanship.
The sharp sword paths he occasionally showed me were impossible to imitate with Northern Swordsmanship.
“Haa, now I’m itching to move again.”
“Already?”
“You can never train too much.”
I had not been able to bring many weapons with me, so I had not been able to complete any Pacts on the way here either.
Thinking about that, I slowly made my way deeper into the banquet hall.
This was a massive social gathering held to pray for the success of the Subjugation Festival.
Since the Bahen Grand Ducal House itself was hosting it, the scale was enormous.
‘I can’t even see Brother anymore.’
There were so many people that it felt as though every noble in the North had gathered here.
I wandered around at leisure and helped myself to the food.
“Oh, this is good.”
“......Young Master.”
“Damn, the Grand Ducal House really is different.”
The Rashid Family’s banquet had certainly been good, but this was better.
It felt as though the tables were lined with food that would have been difficult to eat even in the modern world.
“Not bad.”
“I suppose I should inform our chef that you enjoyed the Grand Ducal House’s food so much.”
“Don’t do that...... Our chef would actually be hurt.”
I looked at Tarian, who was grinning beneath his mask, then shifted my gaze around the hall.
‘Looks like it hasn’t properly started yet.’
The members of the Grand Ducal House did not seem to have taken their places yet.
I leisurely continued looking around while helping myself to more food.
It was not that I had no intention of speaking with the nobles, but no one worth approaching had appeared yet.
In the end, any meaningful conversations would probably have to wait until after the Subjugation Festival.
For now, eating and enjoying myself was more worthwhile.
“Hah. How vulgar.”
I was tearing into a greasy lamb chop right off the bone when a voice came from beside me.
I glanced over and found a silver-haired young man standing there.
His face was quite delicate, but beneath it was a clearly trained physique.
‘Oh, I didn’t expect this.’
It was not difficult to recognize him.
Johannes Bahen.
The third son of the Bahen Grand Ducal House, and a fairly decent companion even in the game.
‘He definitely looks younger five years earlier.’
If I remembered correctly, he had been on the younger side even in the game.
“I do not know which house you are from, but mind your dignity.”
He handed me a handkerchief as he spoke.
I gave him a brief nod and accepted it.
He was aristocratic to the core, but naturally kind at heart.
He could be frustrating at times, but he was not a bad guy.
‘And he’s pretty capable too.’
He had never been particularly popular with male players because he was a pretty-boy male character, though.
I accepted the handkerchief and lightly wiped my hands and mouth.
“Thank you for the kindness. But who are you?”
“I am Johannes Bahen. What is your name?”
“Ah, I’m Ian Rashid.”
Johannes Bahen.
I had heard he would be participating, but I had not expected to meet him here.
‘This’ll be fun.’
I was looking forward to the Subjugation Festival even more.
***
“Ian Rashid......? Was there someone by that name in the Rashid Family?”
“Lord Johannes, a moment.”
I chuckled when the servant beside him quickly leaned over and whispered something.
It was understandable.
I had spent an entire year shut away in my room, and I had not been particularly famous before that either.
It made sense that he would not know me.
“Ahem, ahem. I see. You are the second son of the Rashid Family.”
“That’s right.”
His face reddened as he held out his hand toward me.
It was obvious that despite pretending otherwise, he was interested.
‘Well.’
Families in the North rarely had opportunities to mingle outside major events like the Subjugation Festival.
The mountain terrain was harsh, Monster attacks were frequent, and people rarely had chances to meet others their own age.
By the time the game began, the situation would be even worse.
“Ahem.”
Maybe that was why his interest was so obvious.
But after what he had said when we first met, he seemed unsure how to act now.
‘He is an amusing guy.’
Perhaps because he was young, he was the kind of character whose awkward side often showed.
In particular, it was obvious that as the child of a high-ranking noble family, he lacked real social experience.
Even so, he was someone who never gave up and always fulfilled his duties to the end.
He could occasionally act unlikeable, but at his core, he was a good person.
“We look about the same age, so let’s speak casually.”
“Sure.”
I had already felt oddly familiar with him anyway, so speaking formally had been uncomfortable.
Johannes looked slightly startled when I immediately switched to casual speech, then studied me.
“Is the man beside you your escort knight?”
He subtly looked Tarian over as he spoke.
Tarian merely stood there in silence behind his mask.
Johannes clearly seemed curious about him, but remembering the troublesome situation Tarian had mentioned, I cut off that line of attention.
“No. Rather than an escort...... my master? Instructor?”
“An instructor. Interesting. If he is skilled enough to teach a noble, he must be quite capable.”
“Well, he’s not bad.”
“You seem confident in your skills.”
I chuckled at the competitive edge in his words.
Considering that I knew what would happen in the North, it was not exactly wrong either.
“Confident? What, do you want to spar?”
“......!”
At the single word spar, Tarian, who had been averting his gaze, raised his head.
“Young Master, you must not.”
“Hah. It seems your instructor is trying to stop you.”
Tarian whispered his warning while Johannes smiled broadly.
I looked between the two of them and shrugged.
“Fine, then. We’ll find out tomorrow anyway.”
Johannes hesitated slightly at the word find out.
It showed that he was only around high-school age.
“Indeed. I suppose we will.”
“Here. Thanks for this.”
“......Keep it.”
He frowned when I tried to return the handkerchief.
To be honest, I wanted to spar with him right then and there.
‘I wanted to see the Bahen Grand Ducal House’s swordsmanship.’
But the actual Subjugation Festival would begin tomorrow.
I could guess why Tarian had stopped me, but that did not make it any less disappointing.
‘It wouldn’t be good if I accidentally injured him either.’
Just as I was about to pick up a dessert, another figure appeared.
Frost-colored silver hair.
A little taller than Johannes.
And a face utterly devoid of expression.
“Johan, let’s go.”
“Sister, there is still time before it begins......”
“Prepare early.”
Her voice carried so little emotion that she almost seemed like a doll.
And I had no trouble recognizing who she was.
‘Larissa Bahen.’