It was only a simple combination of words, but the meaning was easy enough to understand.
“You took what I said more seriously than I expected.”
“Yeah. A northern alliance. You said you were going to create one.”
“As I said, I’m aiming for more than that. But first......”
The title of baron and the small territory of a barony carried far too little weight to form a northern alliance.
For Ian, who was not even a lord himself, that was even more true.
‘Then I’ll have to grow the family first.’
Until no one could ignore it.
That was why Ian had wanted to earn the favor of the Bahen Grand Ducal House.
Of course, Bahen could not step forward directly.
Ian recalled what had come up in his conversation with Luke Bahen—that they had to remain mindful of the central authorities, in other words, the Emperor.
‘If they did, it could actually trigger a civil war.’
The current Emperor had many problems.
He had sat on the throne for far too long, lost the wisdom he once possessed, and become a ravenous fiend consumed by his lust for power.
‘That damned destruction scenario comes from him too.’
A madman who launched a reckless war of conquest despite being plagued by illness.
That was one of the reasons he ranked among the most hated characters among players.
“Understood.”
‘If anything, this works out well.’
Build influence.
Expand the territory.
Those were things Ian had already intended to do.
“Ian, what are you thinking so hard about?”
“Ah, Brother.”
There had been four official banquets over the course of the Subjugation Festival.
They had practically held one every day.
Considering it was the largest gathering in the North, perhaps that was only natural.
Thanks to that, the shadows beneath my brother’s eyes had grown noticeably darker.
“Are you all right?”
“No. To be honest, I am tired.”
“I thought you’d say that.”
“You brat......”
He said that, but there was an unmistakable smile at the corners of his mouth.
“If you’re tired, you should’ve rested. Why did you work so hard to attend every one of them?”
“That is how noble society works. They wear foolish expressions, but they will not open up easily unless you approach them first.”
“I see.”
It was an awkward thing to answer.
In truth, aside from a few people, I had not been paying much attention to the northern nobles at all.
“The Rashid Family is small. But you are trying to step onto a larger stage.”
“......”
“I do not know what you discussed with His Grace the Grand Duke. Even so, I cannot allow the family to hold you back.”
My brother spoke with a smile that had lost at least a little of its exhaustion.
“Besides, I gained plenty of practical benefits as well.”
“As expected of you, Brother.”
He really was much better at this sort of thing than I was.
Putting on a mask and talking for the sake of profit simply did not suit my personality.
“Anyway, the official banquets are over, so I intend to return to the territory soon and rest. What about you?”
“I’m planning to stay a few more days.”
“I see. You seem to have made some good connections, so I will not interfere.”
“......Brother.”
“I was joking, you brat.”
With that, my brother left ahead of me.
The official banquets had ended today, but the excitement had yet to die down.
It was one of the largest events in the North, so everyone was probably still busy socializing.
‘Just showing my face drained the life out of me......’
How the hell did Brother endure all of that?
Even after all the banquets ended, I remained in Belburg for several more days.
There was only one reason.
“Whew......”
Pacts.
There was no way I would let an opportunity to use the Bahen Grand Ducal House’s weapons slip by.
‘I’m going to scrape every last bit of marrow out of this.’
My whole body was already drenched in sweat.
But rather than exhaustion, I felt far more satisfaction.
Because countless voices from the weapons brushed past my ears.
-Yes, this is it! Kids these days don’t even have the basics!
-Damn, look at that arm when he swings.
-Extreme Cold Art...... Hngh, I could die happy like this......
Even the Bahen Grand Ducal House’s training weapons were of considerable quality.
‘Good thing I got permission to use the training equipment.’
I was making excellent use of the privilege I had obtained in exchange for returning Winterbane.
As expected of a prestigious house renowned throughout the North, they had an absurd number of swords.
Thanks to that, I steadily raised the proficiency of several Skills.
‘Northern Swordsmanship might reach S-grade soon.’
A+ was the stage of Mastery.
One step beyond that lay completion.
Completing multiple sword arts was practically the path toward Sword Master and beyond.
[You have successfully completed your Pact with a Bahen-Style Steel Sword (Normal).]
[You have successfully completed your Pact with a Bahen-Style Training Black Sword (Normal).]
[The proficiency of ‘Northern Swordsmanship (A+)’ increases.]
[The proficiency of ‘Frost Step (A)’ increases.]
Frost Step’s proficiency was rising steadily as well.
Maybe it was because the swords here were higher quality, but even the amount of proficiency I gained was different from the weapons back home.
‘Still, I’m not getting any new Skills.’
That was a little disappointing.
If I remembered correctly, there were still quite a few Skills that fit the northern warrior build.
Still, there was no reason to be disappointed.
Remaining here offered more than one advantage.
“Baron Rashid, may I ask you for a spar?”
“If anything, I should be the one asking for the honor of crossing swords with a knight of Bahen.”
I had gained the opportunity to cross swords with many of the Bahen Grand Ducal House’s knights.
Their level was certainly high.
It felt like only yesterday that I had been sparring with soldiers back home.
I never imagined things would change this much so quickly.
‘The gap isn’t overwhelming.’
I still had areas where I was lacking, but even that distance was shrinking quickly.
Of course, I could not ignore the difference in realm between a Sword User and a Sword Expert......
‘Still, they’re easier than Tarian or Larissa......’
Well, considering how skilled those two were.
It was only natural that an ordinary knight would feel a little easier by comparison.
“Baron Rashid, could I ask you for a bout?”
“Of course.”
I did not spar only with the knights of Bahen.
The promising children of northern nobles also came to test their martial skill against me.
Promising youths who genuinely wanted to see my ability for themselves as fellow seekers of martial prowess.
‘I kind of want them.’
That was why I pushed them even harder.
So they could understand my strength properly.
“There was a reason you shone during the Subjugation Festival. I have lost.”
“It was a good match.”
This, too, was something I could only do because I had come to Belburg.
Knights.
Northern nobles.
And beyond them, even Tarian and Larissa.
‘What I’m lacking now are passive-type Skills.’
I had Cold Heart and Frigid Hide, but I needed something beyond those.
Especially something I could obtain in the North.
A calm mind and a strong body.
Swordsmanship and footwork.
A cultivation method and buffs.
“Hmm......”
As I thought about what should come next, I heard footsteps.
I glanced over and saw Larissa Bahen approaching.
“You’ve improved.”
“Thank you.”
“That wasn’t praise.”
......Then what was it?
“I was only stating a fact.”
Larissa answered my puzzled expression in a languid voice.
My Skill combinations had certainly become smoother, but beyond that, it felt as though my mindset and posture in battle had changed as well.
‘Still, something feels off.’
That was why I had been thinking.
About which direction I should develop next.
“Does something feel uncomfortable?”
“Do I look like it?”
“Yeah. You do.”
Larissa had kept watching me exchange blows with others.
Hearing her say that made me realize the vague dissatisfaction I had been feeling came from discomfort.
‘Then why?’
Why did it feel uncomfortable?
It was not a problem with my state of mind.
Larissa hardly seemed perceptive enough to notice something like that.
Then it had to be a problem with my movements.
‘I only started feeling it relatively recently.’
I worked through the pieces one by one, as though assembling a puzzle.
As a test, I swung my sword without using Extreme Cold Art or Frost Benediction.
WHOOSH—
The swordsmanship flowed naturally.
There was no reason for it to feel uncomfortable.
I had repeated these movements countless times.
‘It was the output!’
Only then did I understand clearly.
The synergy between Extreme Cold Art and Frost Benediction was nearly perfect.
Efficiency, affinity, maximum output.
Together, they covered everything.
‘But the swordsmanship is different.’
Northern Swordsmanship was certainly good swordsmanship.
But ultimately, it was a foundation.
Its strongly defensive nature meant a mismatch was inevitable.
In other words, I needed new swordsmanship capable of handling this level of output.
And I happened to have an extremely capable swordsmanship instructor.
“Thank you. I figured out what the problem was thanks to you.”
“......You’re still better than Johan.”
Johannes was grinning like an idiot while receiving discipline disguised as instruction from Tarian.
At least I was glad to hear I rated better than him.
“It’s all because of your help, my lady.”
“Sister.”
“......?”
“Call me Sister Larissa.”
Larissa spoke expressionlessly with her arms crossed.
I awkwardly looked away.
‘Sister, seriously?’
No matter what, calling her Sister was a bit......
Come to think of it, Larissa had only just undergone her Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
‘Adulthood is twenty in this world too......’
This little brat.
Of course, this body had not even undergone its Coming-of-Age Ceremony yet.
Still, there was such a thing as mental age.
“More importantly, I’d like to speak with the Grand Duke......”
“......”
“My lady?”
“Hmph.”
She turned her head away with the same expressionless face.
I immediately realized what she wanted.
“Larissa...... S-Sis... my lady.”
“Father is probably waiting for you too.”
She still looked slightly dissatisfied, but she responded immediately.
I let out a small sigh.
When I first met her, I had imagined her as the very embodiment of a northern knight—cold and expressionless.
Reality was completely different.
“But when you say he’s waiting......”
“Exactly what it sounds like.”
So she meant it literally.
I quietly nodded.
This time, he was probably calling me because of what I had said before and because of Winterbane.
‘A union of the North is impossible as things stand.’
That meant there had to be appropriate conditions.
I needed to hear them.
Directly from the Grand Duke himself.
‘Moving in the North without Bahen’s approval is practically impossible.’
“What Ian needs to do right now is become stronger.”
“I know.”
“Just knowing isn’t enough.”
She slowly adjusted her grip on the training sword and looked at me.
“You need to become so strong that no one can object.”
“......”
Emotion entered Larissa’s usually expressionless eyes.
Heat.
The heat of a beast that had been hiding in the North for a long time.
The heart of a swordswoman eager to swing her blade at any moment.
“Then how about one more spar—”
“Ian!”
Just as I was about to raise my sword, someone rushed toward us and shattered the atmosphere.
“Johannes?”
“Huff, huff—wait.”
“Johan, did you come to interrupt?”
“S-Sister, that’s not it! Ian! F-Father is calling for you!”
I smiled slightly at Johannes’s words between ragged breaths.
It seemed the time had finally come.
Time to speak directly with the Grand Duke.