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Volume 1 Chapter 1 Part 7

For a while it was still jerking slightly, and then it didn’t move at all anymore.

From the demon dog’s corpse, something like black steam began to rise. After Theo smothered the fire on his clothes with some dirt from the ground, he rose back up with his sword acting like a support cane.

He was completely exhausted and seemed unable to speak until he could catch his breath.

He then directed his reproachful gaze at Siluca.

「You did a great job. 」

Siluca puts away her wand and applauds Theo.

「Oh, I seriously thought I was going to die… 」

Theo said while still being out of breath.

「I honestly was not expecting you to be able to dispatch a summoned monster with such an ease. 」

「If we don’t hurry, the Chaos Core is going to spread. 」

Orthros’ corpse was covered in darkness that was shaped like a large sphere, and it gave off black steam that looked like it was about to evaporate.
「Jeez… 」

After Theo sighed heavily, he thrusted his right arm into the sphere…

「Ugh! 」

And gritted his teeth in pain.

After a while, the sphere of darkness began to shrink, and finally emitted a strikingly bright light. When it disappeared, the Chaos Core was completely gone, and on the back of Theo’s right hand, a pattern of light emerged.

Siluca approached him and ran her finger through the markings. There were more lines on it than before, and the pattern was more complicated now.

Siluca smiled with satisfaction.

「Congratulations. Your Crest has reached the rank of a Knight. With that title, you can make a contract with a single Mage. 」

「Can I ask someone other than you for a contract? 」
Theo said sullenly.

「Eh? What are you talking about? I’ve already signed a contract with you. If you want to make a contract with another Mage, then wait until your next life to do it. 」
「Why are you only saying that now?! 」

「Eh? So you are saying that you don’t want to make a contract with me? Even though I owe you a favor for helping me when I was in danger? That is so… 」

「But you said earlier that you weren’t in danger, and you didn’t want to be saved?!」

「Oh, woe is me! Master Theo is now going to force me into a contract with his Crest! 」

Siluca continues speaking her words in a tone that sounded as if she was reading a script from a book, then forcibly grabbed Theo’s right hand and pulled it to her chest.

She then continued, staring right into Theo’s eyes.

「I, Siluca Meletes, accept a contract with the Crest of Knight Theo and hereby pledge my eternal loyalty to him. 」

Siluca bowed respectfully in front of Theo, still holding his right hand.

「You are a real pushy one, aren’t you? 」

Theo let out a big sigh.

「It is what fate wanted, so just surrender and accept it. 」
Siluca answered meekly.

「Well, whatever I guess. It’s not like there is a particular Mage that I want to make a contract with anyway, and I heard that Mages Association won’t introduce any good Mages to a wandering Lord like me… 」

「Oh, why would you say that? The Mages Association is neutral and treats all Lords equally. 」

Siluca says in a voice void of any emotions.

「Well then, shall we go? 」
Siluca corrected her tone and put her hand on Theo’s arm.

Theo sighed with a resigned expression.

「It’s decided then. Onwards to the place of the Lord who sent his army on us earlier. 」

「What are we going to do? Protest against the violation of the agreement? 」

「I would never do something as pointless as that. 」

Siluca replied with a laugh.

「We are going to wage war against him. 」
* * *

「You failed? And you dared to run away and come back here with your tails between your legs?! 」

Knight Mesut Medric, who owns three villages along the eastern border of Clovis, yelled at the soldiers who have returned to the castle.

「We are sorry, our Lord! 」

The soldiers bowed their heads.

「When we tried to kill the Mage, a wandering Lord suddenly appeared. That Lord was terrifyingly strong, and we couldn’t stand a chance against him… 」

「Wandering Lord? Who the hell are you talking about?! 」

「W-We don’t know that either. 」
The soldier’s commander shook his head.

「Mesut-sama, what is it about killing a Mage? 」
The old Mage who was listening nearby made a worried face. His name is Saturus, and he has served House Medric since he succeeded the post from his predecessor.

「A Mage with a contract with the Earl of Artuk tried to pass through Lord Mesut’s territories, so Lord Mesut ordered us to kill that Mage. 」

At the commander’s words, Saturus’s face turned pale.

「By the Gods! What the hell were you thinking?! Attacking a Mage who has not yet made a contract with a Lord is a serious violation of the agreement! If the Mages Association learns of this, then you are going to be stripped of your title and everything that you own! 」

「It’s only title that would be stripped from me, not my Crest itself. Why should I be tied up by the rules of the Mages Association? 」

Mesut replied sullenly.

「Because that is an old custom… 」

「Then the old customs should be changed. In the first place, the Great War is about to begin because two Archdukes were killed in the Magic City of Elam, responsibility for which rests with the Mages Association, so it should be dissolved as punishment. Or will all members of the Sage Committee pay with their lives for it? 」

「Such absurdity….「

「What’s part of this is absurd? Mages should obey the orders of their Lord. Strength is justice and law. With the protection of the Crest, Chaos can be calmed down. 」
Mesut became enraged and glared at the old Mage.

「Anyway, we need to consult Lord Shakes, the leader of Clovis about this and pass judgement on you… 」

Viscount Shakes is the greatest Lord of Clovis and is known as King Clovis. However, there are many independent Lords like Mesut in his territories. The situation was the same in Sevis to the east and Fovis to the south. All of the Lords in this region belong to the Factory Alliance, but before that they had a history of repeated power struggles in their neighborhoods for hundreds of years.

However, the region to the east, Artuk ruled by Earl Constance, is a powerful member of the Fantasia Union, to which countries like Regalia, Kirchs, Haman, and Mansur also belong.

The small continent of Dartania across the sea is also an independent nation, but it is leaning more towards the Factory Alliance’s side, and to the west there is Ismeia, a large country belonging to the Union, and Sistina, an island to the south, also belongs to the Union.

On the other hand, there are voices from the Alliance side that they should destroy Artuk, which is in contact with Waldrind, which is ruled by the current leader of the Kreische family, Marine Kreische.

Saturus felt despair at the head of the Medric family, wondering what was going t happen now that he violated the agreement in such a volatile situation and turned against The Mages Association.

The Lord from the previous generation was also a greedy person, but he was by no means incompetent. He was good at fighting and negotiating, and he became the Lord of three villages, which he always defended. However, he only conveyed his greed to Mesut, who succeeded him. He had been an educator, so Saturus knew it all too well.
He feels responsible, but he can’t help it because Mesut opposes everything Saturus says. On the other hand, when something goes wrong, he always orders him to clean up the mess. Because of that, he was honestly fed up with him and was going to ask for his contract to be terminated because of his old age.

「It’s okay to wait for King Clovis’s judgment after the problem comes to light. We also haven’t received an official notice from the Mages Association yet. 」

Mesut said, and he strongly nodded at his own words.

「You’re just postponing the problem, aren’t you? 」

「Relax, would you? What might happen in the meantime? 」

「It seems to me that it will only make matters worse… 」

「Who do you even serve, huh? All you have to do is follow my orders! When your father passed away, don’t forget that it was I who renew a contract with an old man like you out of the kindness of my heart! 」