小婕子的第一次好紧

Chapter 55

Sara was outside playing with Blata. She seemed completely over her earlier anger.

Watching Sara play, Kane spoke. “How much can we help Sara grow with a month of training?”

Without hesitation, Anna replied, “If we train as if it’s real combat, she’ll reach Mid-Tier 4th class easily.”

“That’s fast.”

“The young lady’s foundation is exceptionally solid.”

“Her bloodline is a cheat.”

The blood of Rehinar was in a league of its own, as if born for mana. The flow of mana was incredibly natural, almost like water—extremely flexible.

“Anna, take care of Sara until I return from the capital.”

“If that is your order.”

Anna could only be taken as a subordinate once she reached 4-star. Initially, she was a 2-star character called “Head Maid Anna.” Despite her character being a Beginner-Tier 7th-class, the limitations of being a 2-star were too numerous to be of any use, so she was not chosen.

To make use of her, the secret 5-star character, Anna Werner the Ghost Soul, had to be selected.

‘But by indirectly giving her tasks like this, she’ll accept.’

Anna was worried about Sara’s reckless personality and the danger it could bring her, which is why she readily accepted Kane’s order. This was only possible because it was Sara.

“And send this letter to the royal palace.”

“Is it news about Rehinar?”

“Yes.”

“The royal palace will be in an uproar.”

Her status was that of a Ghost Soul. Just as Hatzfeld had its shadow, Rehinar had the “Ghost Soul” as its shadow. She was excellent in every way. With just one letter, she immediately understood Kane’s intention.

“Are you leaving that fatty, no, that tiger cub behind?”

“If I leave it here, it will cause a commotion, so I plan to take him with me.”

“He seems useful, but… where did you get him?”

“In a hidden place called the Cave of Species.”

“You found a rare hidden place.”

“Thanks to that, I got the magical beasts.”

Kane is referring to the Blood Tigers, Rare, strong, and unique mutated monsters were also called magical beasts.

“You need to be careful.”

“Of that guy?” Kane pointed to Blata, who was grinning like a dog.

“Yes. It possesses mana that even I can’t understand.”

“Like this mana?” A purple liquid swirled in Kane’s open palm, the mana created from the Breath of the Blood Tiger.

“…So, it possesses the same power as you, my lord.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not a bad creature for now.”

“I see, but-”

Anna was watching Blata.

“Hehe. How dare you pinch my cheeks! Wahaha. Haangbook!” Blata was happily being squeezed by Sara’s hands.

“We’ll need to keep an eye on him,” Anna said thoughtfully.

Anna considered Blata to be of the magical beast species, a type that could cause disasters if it got out of control.

“Keep an eye on him for now. It’s probably just a mutt,” Kane reassured her.

He felt a bit embarrassed. This supposedly Evil beast was lying on its back in Sara’s arms.

Watching Blata made him wonder how foolish other Evil ferocious beasts might be. It seemed unnecessary to find out.

“Kyaa! Kane, stop this girl! It’s disrespecting me, the guardian spirit of greatest evil! Wahaha.”

Kane shook his head and left Blata behind.

“Kanee!”

Blata’s joyful voice echoed through the household.

* * *

About five days later, early in the morning, Camilla brought two letters. Kane opened one of them.

“A letter from the Second Prince,” he remarked.

Camilla’s eyes sparkled with curiosity about the contents. The letter bore the seal of the Fresia royal palace, something not just anyone could receive.

“What does it say?”

“It’s a half-hearted threat telling me to come under his command.”

“A threat?”

Kane tossed the Second Prince’s letter to the floor and opened the other letter.

“At least the First Princess is more polite than the Second Prince.”

The letter started by praising Rehinar’s achievements and mentioned that if the damage was severe, the palace would provide some support. The last part was the most important.

“She wrote what she wants.”

“What is it?” Camilla asked.

Kane handed the letter to her. After reading it to the end, her eyes widened.

“The Ball of the Stars!? This is an event attended only by the most distinguished young men and women of each noble family!”

Camilla was excited. Since Rehinar’s fall, they had always been excluded from the Ball of the Stars. But now, they had received an invitation.

“And it’s an invitation from Wendy von Fresia, the First Princess herself!”

Wendy von Fresia specialized in light magic and was a high-ranking mage of High-Tier 6th class. Her magic was similar to that of Dyer’s healing wood-attributed magic but stronger.

She was known as the Saint of Fresia, the woman most revered by the empire.

“Calm down.”

“Don’t you understand why the First Princess sent you an invitation?”

“I do.”

“This isn’t something to speak lightly of. This means the First Princess is considering you as a potential husband.”

The true purpose of the Ball of the Stars was to facilitate connections. However, the real intent was to find spouses for the royals.

“I’m not interested in her.”

Camilla looked at him in disbelief.

“Have you seen the First Princess? She’s one of the three most beautiful women in the Fresia Empire and a High-Tier 6th class light mage.”

As a potential spouse, she was perfect in every way. Background, looks, abilities—everything was flawless.

For the noble children of the Fresia Empire, these were irresistible conditions.

“With the First Princess, Rehinar could shine even more brilliantly than it did at its peak,” Camilla remarked.

The First Princess wielded that much power. She was a woman revered by everyone. Her mere words could fill the desolate Rehinar with imperial citizens. Such was the strength of her influence.

“She only needs the name Rehinar; she doesn’t care about this place. Getting involved with her won’t end well.”

The First Princess had already allied with other external forces. She needed a justification to ascend the throne, and the ancient house of Rehinar would provide that. Being the home of one of the Twelve Star lords of the continent, it would give her the legitimacy she sought.

“And my goal at the Ball of the Stars is not to mingle but to see the Emperor.”

The Emperor, like Duke Carl, was also poisoned by the mana crystal herbs, but his condition was far worse. If left untreated, he wouldn’t last more than a month. He needed to be saved to obtain the Bloodstone and to get approval for establishing the Bellmore Military Academy.

“We’ll leave for the capital tomorrow, so prepare yourself.”

“I’ll inform Chief Administrator Daniel to make grand preparations,” Camilla responded.

“No need. We’ll just take simple provisions. It’ll be just you and me.”

“Without a carriage?”

“Do you have any objections?”

“It takes at least ten days to reach the capital by carriage. Wouldn’t it be better to travel that way?”

“There’s something much more comfortable and faster,” Kane said with a mischievous grin.

That playful expression made Camilla uneasy.

“You don’t mean—”

* * *

“Ahhhh!”

Camilla screamed as she clung to the back of the Blood Tiger. The beast raced forward at an incredible speed, the scenery around them constantly changing.

Kane, observing Camilla’s panic, spoke, “You’ll need to get used to this. We’ll be riding these into battle from now on.”

“Aaahhh!”

But Camilla couldn’t hear him at all. The Blood Tiger’s speed far surpassed that of any regular horse or even a combat horse. Only spirit horses or ghost horses could come close to matching its speed. A magical beast was the ultimate mount, superior in both speed and attack power.

Blata, however, looked uninterested from Kane’s side. In fact, he seemed reluctant to go.

“Kane, why isn’t Sara coming with us?”

“You were begging for help when she was teasing you, and now you miss her?”

Unlike Camilla, Kane rode the Blood Tiger with ease.

“No, it’s not that. I just think Sara might be bored without me.”

In a short time, Blata had become close friends with Sara. While others ignored him. Sara had always given him special treatment, even going so far as to call him by his full name. This made Blata seek out Sara every day.

“If you stayed with Sara, you’d just disrupt her training.”

“Come on! I can help boost Sara’s mana.”

“Really?”

“Of course! I’m the greatest guardian spirit of the ferocious evil, remember? For me, it’s a piece of cake.”

Kane had heard about the abilities of evil beasts. Each had its own specialties, and one of those was the ability to forcibly enhance a human’s mana. Unlike the black magic of cultists or the demonic energy of lower demons, this was purely about amplifying power, forcibly drawing out potential, and adapting the individual to that strength.

“But don’t you need to form a contract for that?”

“How do you know about that?”

“If you make a contract with Sara without my permission, you’ll end up roasted.”

Kane’s eyes flashed, and the mana of blood surged around him. The purple light flickered and then vanished, causing Blata to flinch.

“Do you think threats work on me? Even though I look like this, I have my principles as a guardian spirit. Even if Sara wants to, without your consent, I won’t make a contract. Hmph.”

Contracts with ferocious evil beasts involved exchanging pure magical power for the contracted individual’s life. It was a pledge that evil beasts made to turn humans they found worthy into their subordinates.

“It’s not because I’m afraid of you, Kane. It’s my… um, what was it?”

“Conviction?”

“Yeah, belief! So, don’t misunderstand. Got it?”

The little kitty reacted to the mana of blood.

Its twitching body was cute.

Its ears were pressed back in nervousness.

“Yeah Yeah, okay.”

Kane stroked Blata’s head.

He had been pondering something all along.

“I thought about developing the territory before the invasion… It was a good decision not to. I need to save up gold for now. Opening the Grotto will unlock

many characters. I’ll need to recruit them too. Building Bellmore Military Academy is essential for rapid growth.”

Rewards achievable through developing territories.

After Double and Triple rewards, he aimed for Quadruple rewards.

The rewards got bigger as he progressed further.

That’s why he postponed minor territory developments.

“Now is the most crucial time. It’s a fork in the road to see if Rehinar can explode in growth based on my actions.”

He had already planned how to proceed with the story.

That’s why he was moving discreetly.

“Ugh, Let’s smash through the cliché as expected.”

There was always a predictable story.

Stories that were painfully repetitive.

He would start that story.

But swiftly and succinctly.

He planned to charge ahead without giving the enemy a chance to think.

“First, I’ll deal with the Royal Military Academy where my siblings are.”

The Fresia Royal Military Academy.

Hatzfeld’s secret agent was hiding here.

Also the corrupt teacher responsible for his siblings.

This was a subplot.

It was a story that didn’t necessarily need to be pursued.

Unique rewards also came from the subplot.

That’s why Kane was starting with the story of the Royal Military Academy.