As Iriana intended, the fact that Lloyd had met with the Master of the Hertina Guild spread rapidly through word of mouth.
Naturally, the news reached Count Bled as well.
“Lloyd met with the Hertina Guild Master, who has never once met anyone in person?”
“Yes. What is more, they say the Guild Master requested the meeting first.”
“Why would the Guild Master seek out Lloyd……?”
Count Bled could not understand it.
Not long ago, Lloyd had suddenly gained mana and reached the realm of a Sword Expert, but that was all.
It was not enough for the Master of an Information Guild to break their long-held mystery and meet with Lloyd.
“Whatever the reason, this is good news. Were you not looking for a trustworthy Information Guild because of the Chimera?”
“Hmm, it would be best to speak with Lloyd first.”
Count Bled nodded as though agreeing with his butler, then rose from his seat.
***
“T-The Master of the Hertina Guild was Sister Hye-mi!?”
Vector’s eyes widened in shock.
Even someone as ignorant of worldly matters as him knew the name of the Hertina Guild.
It was an Information Guild famous throughout the Empire.
“T-That famous Master was Sister Hye-mi…… More importantly, why did you go by yourself? I wanted to see Sister Hye-mi too.”
Although he knew Lloyd had not deliberately left him behind, Vector could not hide his regret.
Then—
Knock, knock.
After several knocks sounded at the door, it opened and Count Bled entered.
“I have something to say. Can you spare me some time?”
Lloyd’s brow automatically furrowed at the unexpected visitor who had come to his room.
This was a man who had not visited even when Lloyd had been unable to regain consciousness for some time after sparring with Hailed.
If he had come in person now, then……
“Is this about the Hertina Guild Master? If so, I have nothing to say.”
His expression and voice were firm.
He did not appear to have the slightest intention of speaking about his relationship with the Guild Master.
In the end, Count Bled gave up on asking about it.
That was not what mattered right then.
Count Bled revealed the true reason he had come to see Lloyd.
“I need the help of an Information Guild because of the Chimera. Arrange a meeting between me and the Guild Master.”
“If that is all, can you not simply submit an official request to the Hertina Guild?”
Count Bled shook his head and replied.
“Since the safety of the territory is at stake, I want to make certain of it.”
Why did so many nobles seek to meet the Guild Master even if they had to pay more?
It was for faster, more accurate information processing and guaranteed confidentiality.
That was also why Count Bled wanted to meet with the Master of the Hertina Guild.
“I do not know…… I think that would be difficult.”
He could not force such a request on someone who did not wish to reveal herself.
At Lloyd’s firm answer once again, Count Bled let out a troubled groan and stroked his beard.
After thinking for a moment, he finally spoke.
“Then submit the request directly to the Guild Master on my behalf. You can at least do that, can you not?”
“I can, but I have one condition as well.”
At Lloyd’s words, Count Bled frowned.
He was displeased that Lloyd would attach conditions even to the request of his own biological father.
But what could he do?
The hilt was already in Lloyd’s hand.
Besides……
‘I have no right to say much at this point.’
He had rarely acted like a father toward Lloyd when the boy had suffered from having no mana.
If he wanted Lloyd’s help, he had no choice but to accept his conditions.
“……Tell me what this condition is.”
“I need a personal training ground.”
He had been in need of a space of his own where other people’s eyes could not reach him.
Spending all day in his room with the door locked while exploring dungeons was gradually reaching its limit.
‘On the other hand, if I have a personal training ground, it will not be strange even if I do not come out for several days.’
However, personal training grounds were rarely given to mere illegitimate children.
Lloyd did not think he would obtain one easily, but Count Bled unexpectedly accepted his proposal without hesitation.
“Very well. I will arrange your personal training ground soon, so submit the request to the Guild Master as quickly as possible.”
“Understood. You said this was about the Chimera, correct? Will you tell me the details?”
“Very well.”
Since he needed Lloyd’s help, Count Bled could not keep anything hidden.
He told Lloyd everything about the Chimera and the man in black robes.
The man in black robes had died after forcibly attempting to cast magic during his interrogation, causing his mana to backflow. As for the Chimera’s corpse, it had rotted away so badly that its form could no longer be recognized.
With a low sigh, Count Bled continued.
“All we have learned so far is that the man in black robes created the Chimera and that some organization stands behind him.”
“Hmm, with only that much information…….”
It was practically the same as knowing nothing.
Even the Hertina Guild would likely struggle to discover anything.
As Lloyd wondered whether he should truly submit this request and whether it might blemish Hye-mi…… Iriana’s reputation for no reason, Count Bled spoke again.
“Ah, and this was one of the belongings of the man in black robes. I do not know whether it will be of great help, but perhaps investigating it as well might reveal something.”
As he said that, Count Bled took something from his clothes and handed it to Lloyd.
What Count Bled had given him was a bronze identification token, the sort that could be commonly seen around them.
“A raven…….”
Lloyd frowned.
The raven crest reminded him of the Institute.
‘The Institute’s symbol was a raven.’
To be precise, it was the Three-Legged Crow, which was said to connect the divine world and the human world, that served as the Institute’s symbol.
But the crow engraved on the token was an ordinary raven.
Pushing aside his thoughts about the Institute, Lloyd pocketed the identification token.
“Understood. I will submit a request to the Guild Master at once with this identification token.”
“Then I leave it to you.”
After Count Bled left the room and Lloyd was alone, he immediately wrote the details of the request on paper. Then he took a small whistle from his clothes.
‘She said that if I blow this, a messenger bird from the Hertina Guild will arrive, correct?’
Lloyd blew Iriana’s whistle with all his strength.
But perhaps it was broken.
No matter how many times he blew it, he heard only the sound of air leaking. The whistle made no sound at all.
‘That is strange. She clearly said that if I blew the whistle, a messenger bird from the Hertina Guild would come.’
As he inspected the silent whistle from every angle, the sound of flapping wings came from the window he had opened beforehand.
A white bird sat on the windowsill. It looked similar to a pigeon, but it was almost as large as an eagle.
It was a Dove, this world’s version of a pigeon.
“KRAAAWK-.”
As though announcing its arrival, the Dove let out a bizarre cry and stared at him.
‘Even the pigeons in this world have unusual cries.’
Thinking that, Lloyd placed the request letter and the identification token inside the small bag around the Dove’s neck.
But the Dove did not leave.
Far from leaving, it was staring intently at one particular spot.
When Lloyd turned his head to follow its gaze, he saw the cookies Anna had brought.
“……Do not tell me you want to eat those?”
“KRAAWK.”
The Dove cried as though answering Lloyd’s question.
It seemed rather intelligent, so Lloyd slightly raised the corner of his mouth and broke the cookies into easy-to-eat pieces.
“KRAAWK, KRAAWK!”
Flapping its wings happily, the Dove greedily pecked at the crushed cookies as though it had not eaten for days.
After devouring the cookies in an instant, the Dove looked regretfully at the empty plate.
“KRAAWK…….”
But it soon seemed to remember its duty. After looking at Lloyd once as though bidding farewell, it flew away.
‘What an unusual bird.’
Lloyd watched the direction the Dove had flown for a while before closing the window again.
***
A few days later, Count Bled prepared a personal training ground for Lloyd, as promised.
But its location was strange.
“Underground? Are you sure…… this is the right place?”
Martin had been full of anticipation when he heard Lloyd was receiving a personal training ground.
But this place was underground, where not a single ray of light entered.
Lloyd himself, however, remained calm.
Martin spoke in an exasperated tone to Lloyd, who was looking around the training ground without concern.
“Young Master Lloyd, are you truly not bothered by receiving such a dark and remote place as your training ground? This is treatment that completely disregards you…….”
Lloyd interrupted Martin’s rapid tirade in the middle.
“There is no need to get so angry. I like this place.”
For a moment, Martin thought he had misheard and asked again.
“Pardon? You like this place?”
“Yes.”
“Are you serious? Please reconsider. A place like this is not an environment suitable for training.”
Vector, who had silently listened to the two of them, carefully spoke as though he agreed.
“I-I also think training here is a little……”
Certainly, a place that was dark and humid was not a good environment for anything.
But none of that mattered to Lloyd.
“Where is it that we train?”
“That would be the Dungeon…… Ah!”
Only then did Martin realize that the training ground’s location and environment did not matter at all.
After all, the place where they trained was inside the Dungeon.
In fact, a place like this meant they would not have to worry about people and could come and go comfortably.
“From now on, we can enter and leave the Dungeon as much as we want. There is no better place than this.”
Martin and Vector nodded as though agreeing with Lloyd’s words.
***
Several days passed, and the day of Lady Yuria’s coming-of-age party arrived.
After learning that Lloyd had received an invitation as well, Count Bled suggested that they ride there together in the same carriage.
Nothing would look worse than traveling separately to the same party.
Since there was no particular reason to refuse, Lloyd readily accepted Count Bled’s suggestion.
Naturally, the faces of Countess Bled and Hailed twisted at this.
That was how Lloyd came to ride in a carriage with the Bled family.
Naturally, the atmosphere inside the carriage was awkward and uncomfortable.
In the end, it was Count Bled who broke the heavy silence first.
“……Lloyd, how is the personal training ground I prepared? Are you truly satisfied with it?”
Count Bled carefully broached the subject.
It seemed to weigh on his mind that he had given Lloyd an unused basement and called it a personal training ground.
“It is certainly secluded as you requested, but it is underground…… If you do not like it, I will change it.”
Thinking there could be no place more secluded than that one, Lloyd shook his head and replied.
“It is fine. I like how quiet it is.”
“That is a relief…… By the way, what happened with the request?”
“I sent the request through a messenger bird two days ago, so I believe a reply will come within a few days.”
“Hmm, very well.”
There was no more conversation after that.
Count Bled was not normally a talkative person, and neither was Lloyd.
Lloyd turned his head toward the small window attached to the carriage.
After staring blankly out the window for a while, Lloyd suddenly remembered that he had not checked his Status Window.
‘Why have I not checked my Status Window until now?’
Since he had nothing to do inside the carriage anyway, Lloyd opened his Status Window.
[Status Window]
Name: Lloyd von Bled.
Age: 14
Level: 38
Stats: Strength (28), Stamina (20), Agility (26), Mana (42)
(Remaining Stat Points: 0)
‘Hmm, would this be roughly the level of a D-Rank Hunter?’
The numbers were certainly lower than before, but that was only natural.
Lloyd’s physical abilities had been so woefully low that he had been called incapable.
‘It would be better if my physical abilities were stronger, but…….’
In truth, physical ability did not have much impact on Lloyd.
Even when he had been S-Rank before, his physical abilities had not been exceptional.
He had become an S-Rank Hunter solely because of Telekinesis, and nothing had changed now.
Even if his physical abilities were low, he only needed to cover for them with Telekinesis, just as he had done until now.
While Lloyd looked out the window and considered various thoughts, the carriage carrying him entered the Seid Duchy.