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Volume 1 Chapter 2 Part 1

CHAPTER 2: AMBITION

From the window of a small castle built on top of a small hill, Theo looked over a beautiful land surrounded by forests and meadows.

There is a village in the distance, surrounded by a number of farmlands.Two other villages, not visible from this window, were also near the castle.

「Is all of this my territory now? 」

Theo muttered to himself, still not believing in it.

Until recently, Theo was nothing but just a wandering squire. He traveled around the world, exterminated monsters wherever it was needed and cultivated his own Crest. Even so, no matter what he did, he was still far away from obtaining the rank of a Knight that he coveted so much.

Monsters that pretty much anyone can defeat will only cause the power of the Crest to grow by a marginally small amount, and the stronger monsters that would make for a bigger contribution to his Crest’s cultivation were often beyond his own ability to take care of.

The two-headed demon dog Orthros, whom he fought the other day thanks to Siluca, was an opponent he could just barely beat with his own power. Thanks to that, the power of his Crest grew to the point where he was given the rank of a Knight, and he made a contract with a Mage.

When Theo turned around, he let out a big sigh.

A certain girl was standing behind him, wearing the black uniform that is said to be the standard uniform issued by the Magic University to its students

「Well, it is better than that other robe… 」

Her name is Siluca Meletes, a Mage who, according to her own words, has just graduated from Elam’s Magic University. From what Theo saw of her until now, she was certainly a talented Mage… but that did not stop Theo from giving her the nickname 「Witch」in his mind.

That is because he did not know what could that Witch be thinking, breaking her promise to become a Mage contracted with Villar Constance, the Earl of Artuk and instead making a contract with a wandering Lord like himself. He also did not know what her plans for the forseeable future were and what she was planning to do with him.

Ever since they drove out the previous Lord of this castle and took his lands, she has been working non-stop for the past few days with all her might. She scoured the castle and inspected all of their new territories, gathered all of the essential people and explained to them that the Lord and their current management has changed and explained to them how things are going to be ran for the time being.

It would seem that the University of Magic not only taught magic to its students, but also all the knowledge that might be necessary for the Mages to properly serve their Lords.

Even if the Lord will not be able to do much by himself, the management of the territories will be carried out without any major issues as long as he is going to leave anything related to that to the Mage that he made a contract with.

「Lord Theo… 」
When the meeting with the influential people from his new territories was over and they left with satisfied expressions, Siluca came to Theo’s place.

「What?」

For some reason his voice sounded incredibly displeased, but Siluca didn’t seem to care about that all that much.

「The citizens of the three villages in your territory have pledged their loyalty to you. It seems that a good governance of the land has not been practiced ever since the Lord from the previous generation took over, so admittedly they said that this is going to be a welcomed change for them. I promised to distribute some of the Lord’s personal belongings that are left in the castle to each village, as the taxes placed on them were apparently heavy. As well… 」
「You don’t have to take it easy, you can distribute all of his personal property. I can make as much as I eat in the courtyard of this castle. 」

「That’s not going to happen. 」

Siluca replied coldly.

「Governing a territory costs money. You have to hire soldiers, and you have to reinforce your castle. You also have to equip yourself with better weapons and horses… 」

「So that we could go to war with our neighbors? 」

Theo said dejectedly.

「Lord Theo, regardless of whether you want it or not, the battle will inevitably happen. 」

「Well, what did you expect from a scenario where a wandering Lord suddenly drives out the local Lord and declares that he will join forces with the group that is hostile to the surrounding Lords? 」

「Even if it weren’t for that, there would have been wars in this land someday. No, actually, I am sure that the entire continent is going to be engulfed by war soon enough. 」

「I guess so… 」

Theo nodded.

The two main leaders of the Fantasia Union and the Factory Alliance died at the same time, and the enormous amount of power form their Crests was also lost. As a result, all Lords who were subordinate to them were forced to become independent.

The Union and the Alliance themselves have survived under the leadership of the heirs of the two Archdukes, but it is an unstable relationship where there is no master-servant relationship based on Crests. Both powers were now strengthening their forces, and there was a disturbing atmosphere within each of the two opposing camps.

「But I don’t care about war. I just wanted a title that would allow me to become the Lord of my hometown. 」
That’s why he set out on a journey to exterminate monsters to begin with.

「If it’s just about the title, then shouldn’t this be enough? 」

Siluca answered him.

「You have contracts with three villages and two Mages now. I don’t know how big Theo’s hometown is… 」

「It’s a small, poor village. Disasters occur there frequently, and monsters often appear. The fields are always poorly harvested, and most of the harvest is taken away by the viscount. Everyone works desperately to just to afford a living, but even so, many die. I couldn’t stand it, so I left the village as soon as I got myself a Crest, because if I was caught with it, I would have been killed. But I intend to one day return to the village and rule it myself. 」

「I think it was a wise decision for Theo to leave the village. Nothing good would have come out of it if you stayed there and got yourself killed. 」

Siluca lined up next to him and looked in the same direction as Theo.

「Lord Theo, could it be… could it be that you’re thinking that it might have just been an excuse for you to run away from home? 」

「Sometimes I really do think like that. 」

Theo’s face twitched as if he felt something stuck in his chest.

「In that case, was your vow to become stronger and save your hometown also an excuse? 」

「You are merciless, you know that? 」

Theo groaned. That’s exactly what he disliked about her. He thought that this witch can read other people’s minds.

Scared a little, he glanced at Siluca’s profile. He thought that he was going to be scorned by her, but her expression was normal. He couldn’t help it but feel like he was always looked down on by her.

「I’m a little relieved. I won’t choose any means to achieve my goals. But if Lord Theo was too virtuous, then you may not be able to endure it. 」

「If it’s your personality we’re talking about, then I think I’ve already understood enough. 」

Theo nodded firmly.

「Sorry to trouble you. 」
Siluca turned his way and bowed without changing her expression like a portrait. For some reason, Theo got chills down his spine.
「So, what exactly is your goal in all of this? I kind of understand that you don’t want to make a contract with the earl of Artuk, but surely there’s more to it than that, right? 」

「It is true that I did not want to sign a contract with the Earl… 」
Siluca nodded.

「But it’s not just about the Earl. To be honest, I didn’t want to make a contract with any Lord at all. Whether it’s the Union or the Alliance, all the Lords just repeat the same political disputes and wars just to steal the powers of the Crests of others for themselves while there are still many demonic realms on the continent, and there are people who are suffering from monsters and disasters. 」