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153. Engagement – Manubiul

Lena, Leo, and the Five Warriors of Albasete Tribe passed through the two gates of the Austin-Aster Kingdoms.

The border between the two northern kingdoms was based on the Antalop Great Gorge, and thus, the gates were built between the divided gorge and the valley.

The security was tight.

Despite serving the same Klaus royal family, the two kingdoms had been at war a decade ago.

Lena and Leo passed through the gate easily with the mercenary badge they received from Uncle Elson. They were asked why they were there, but Leo lied, saying they came to find work, and no further questions were asked.

On the other hand, the five warriors had a bit of trouble. Identifying their status wasn’t difficult, but when they straightforwardly said they came to participate in the Letii Tournament, they were asked why they didn’t join the Maunin Tournament held in the Austin Kingdom.

“I told you, there wasn’t a tournament in the Austin Kingdom because of the war. How many times do I have to say it? If you’re still suspicious, just send a message and ask. Do you think I don’t know there’s a priest at the gate? Even though I look like this, I am the next chief of the Albasete Tribe.”

“Uh, please wait a moment.”

The very young gate guard was flustered. He went to his superior and blurted something before returning to ask.

“Can you swear on your honor as a warrior?”

“What? Swear my warrior’s honor on this? Come on, just call a priest.”

“W-well… The priest is currently not here. This question is for your convenience, so please answer honestly.”

“Ugh, fine… I swear on my warrior’s honor—there’s no Maunin Tournament in the Austin Kingdom. Is that good enough?”

The five warriors grumbled as they passed through the gate. And not long after, they found themselves standing in front of a massive fortress.

“Wow…”

It was Manubiul, the capital of the Aster Kingdom. Except for Drokza Albasete, the great warrior who had been here once, and a somewhat unimpressed Leo, the other five were in awe.

Even from a distance, the castle walls looked enormous—entirely made from rock that glistened white, resembling a waterfall cascading down.

In fact, this impregnable fortress wasn’t built to serve as a capital; it was constructed solely to fend off the invasion of the Aisel Kingdom.

The so-called magical kingdom, Aisel Kingdom, and the elder states of the two northern kingdoms, Asran Kingdom, had a rocky relationship.

Aisel Kingdom was established by the royal family that fled to the eastern marshlands after the collapse of the Acaian Empire, and naturally, the royals didn’t have a fond view of the Asran Kingdom. They thought that these lowly barbarians had led a rebellion that divided the Empire.

The Asran Kingdom, for its part, had its own disdain for the rulers of the Empire who had oppressed them, and over decades, the two kingdoms built up conflicts until they finally clashed.

A full-scale war erupted in the northeastern part of the continent where the two kingdoms met. This was the start of the “Moritania War,” named after that region.

In the early days of the war, having experienced the ‘Northern Independence War’, the Asran Kingdom, which accepted the barbarians as citizens, was at an advantage. They quickly occupied the Moritania Wilderness and moved southward, but…

What turned the Moritania War into a “Magical War” were the wizards.

The appearance of wizards as key players in the war occurred at this time for the first time. Back then, the term “wizard” was still unfamiliar; there were sorcerers who could wield mana floating in the air just through talent, but their magic wasn’t suitable for the battlefield.

However, a great sorcerer named Cornus changed everything. Born in the eastern marshlands, he devised a method to inscribe formulas in the air.

He forced the free-flowing mana to flow in a specific direction at a constant rate, which became the foundation of modern magic known as the “Mana Road.”

The Asran army that had been advancing triumphantly was taken aback.

Spatial spells lighting up the world. Flames, lightning, typhoons, and earthquakes rained down on the army, and the established principles of warfare were completely overturned.

The tightly packed phalanxes holding spears. The archers armed with shields, shooting from a distance. The cavalry breaking formations and annihilating fleeing enemies.

None could be maneuvered. The soldiers’ sturdy formations became merely delicious appetizers for the wizards.

The Asran army retreated. They not only lost the Moritania Wilderness they had swallowed but also their own territory was reversed and taken from them.

The invigorated Aisel army, following the imperial decree, advanced towards the capital of the Asran Kingdom, Barnau. A proposal from the Asran Kingdom to cede ample land in exchange for peace was dismissed. The Aisel royal family was determined to wipe out the pesky Klaus family.

However, their advance came to a stop at the Antalop Great Gorge. For some reason, in that place rich with the white mineral known as “Manubium,” magic could not exert its power.

Without magic, the Aisel army was no match for the Asran army, leading to a stalemate at the gates of the gorge.

Peace was a long-gone dream. With emotional scars deeply entrenched, the Asran Kingdom felt that if Aisel Kingdom had no magic, and if they had no gorge, they could easily suppress each other.

The Aisel Kingdom began looking for ways to circumvent the Antalop Great Gorge.

There might be a way to cross the frozen sea to the north, but it was far too perilous to carry heavy weapons, so they considered returning to the territory of the Belita Kingdom for negotiations.

But the Asran army found a breakthrough first.

Those defending along the gorge were occasionally launching sorties to gather information on the magic. Subsequently, the generals of the Asran Kingdom devised new tactics and began advancing their troops once more.

It was a peculiar advance. Their divided forces of thousands swept broadly, hitting dozens of outposts simultaneously.

A war pushing the front lines.

It was a form of warfare that had never before existed. Traditional battling methods, where soldiers rushed in masses to engage in pitched battles, had transformed due to the introduction of wizards.

Moreover, the generals of the Asran Kingdom broke down their cavalry units. Fearing the widespread magic from the wizards, they joined two or three of their precious knights together and sent them into the front lines.

This strategy bore fruit. The Aisel army began to slowly retreat.

With the front blocked by the gorge, their paths forward were blocked, while the Asran army expanded rapidly, consuming vast territories around them, forcing the Aisel army to split their forces and knights.

However, the cavalry of the Asran Kingdom was overwhelmingly larger. It was about double that of the Aisel Kingdom, and the citizens of the Asran Kingdom, particularly the barbarians in the recently occupied territories, became the supply lines for the Asran knights who infiltrated the rear.

Desperately struggling to maintain their frontlines and supply routes, the Aisel army, unable to withstand the ferocious northern winter, proposed peace.

The drawn borders resembled those before the war across the Moritania Wilderness. It was a war that left only scars.

The two kingdoms reflected on what they had lacked in each other, vowing for next time, and the Asran Kingdom, now acutely aware of the terror of wizards and the usefulness of the mineral known as “Manubium,” built a fortress called “Manubiul” to defend against wizard attacks.

Sadly, they couldn’t construct it on the bordered Moritania Wilderness. For some unknown reason, Manubium would fail to exert its effects if it were too far from the Antalop Gorge.

Lena, Leo, and the five warriors settled at an inn on the outskirts of Manubiul. With the Letii Tournament just a week away, the inn was bustling with warriors from throughout the Austin Kingdom.

“The Letii Tournament winner will be our tribe’s great warrior and my friend, this Drokza Albasete! Anyone disagree, come and drink my liquor! Hahaha!”

Bahatar Albasete, having a few drinks, boisterously declared. It was a thoroughly predictable provocation, but the surrounding warriors pretended to be angry and approached, saying, “The victory will be mine, so hand over the drinks!” starting a drinking party.

Leo stood up, seemingly fed up, and said, “Lena, I’ll be stepping out for a bit.”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“Just… for a walk.”

Lena wanted to follow him, disappointed to leave the newly formed drinking party. But Leo sat her back down.

“I’ll go alone.”

“Why? If it’s because of me, it’s fine. Today isn’t the only day. Let’s go together.”

“It’s okay. If I take you with me, I’d feel bad for the other gentlemen. I’ll be back soon.”

“Hmm~ Alright. Don’t get lost, and come back early.”

– Peck.

Lena wrapped her arms around Leo’s neck as he stood to leave, turning her head to give him a light kiss. It was a natural display, as if they were a newlywed couple.

Leo also gave her lips a few more pecks before saying, “Wow~ that’s warm!” brushing aside the teasing of their fellow warriors as he exited the inn.

He ambled around without a specific destination in mind. However, his eyes were scanning restlessly in search of any sign of Asin.

What if, like in Barnau, there was some trace of Asin hiding somewhere? He was checking the surroundings in advance.

The capital Manubiul had a wider outer area than any city he had experienced so far.

Since the fortress of Manubiul was built without regard to its function as a capital, commercial and residential districts had to be constructed outside of the fortress.

After wandering around the city for quite a while, Leo returned to the inn, either unfulfilled or happily relieved that nothing significant had been found.

Upon entering the room, he was embraced by the tipsy and cheerful Lena Ainar, who pulled him in close, and Leo readily swept aside her hair affectionately.

*

Leo wandered outside frequently after that. Although Lena occasionally grumbled about him leaving alone, one day she suddenly exclaimed, “Ah?!” with an expression full of strange anticipation, saying, “Okay. Have a good trip,” while beaming as she waved him off.

What was that about?

It was puzzling, but since Lena Ainar often did unexpected things, Leo busily wandered around for the week leading up to the Letii Tournament.

He couldn’t explore the entire massive capital, so he focused on the four cardinal directions. Naturally, he even entered the inner fortress, but it felt heavily fortified with guards on high alert.

Unlike other capitals that would let you in to ask questions leisurely, showing off their hospitality, here, Leo found the mercenary badge and the documents that claimed he was a mercenary (though a lie) were incredibly helpful.

After thoroughly checking the rather narrow inner fortress, Leo felt relieved when he found nothing there either.

He thought it was amusing how he had worried that Asin might be lurking everywhere.

It looked like the crisis had passed.

I did leave everything I thought might connect to some {event} back in Barnau, so Lena and I would be safe. Now all that was left was to live happily with Lena and get married.

In a good mood, Leo chastised himself as he exited the castle. Only then did he appreciate the magnificent, snowy white castle walls, but… a crisis loomed.

Lena was glaring at him with pointy eyes. It was clear she was upset about something.

Unable to let go of her attachment, she subtly revealed her feelings.

“Hmmm… Nothing happened today either~?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m saying it’s not good to keep making me wait too long. Just, well, that. If the expectations get too high, I might get disappointed, you know?”

“…”

In this situation, it’s best to keep my mouth shut. For some reason, Lena seemed to be hoping for something from me.

Leo chose to remain silent, observing her closely.

“Just how incredible could it be that you’ve been out and about for a week~”

Sure enough, when Leo didn’t speak, Lena started dropping hints like they were confetti.

Her expression looked somewhat annoyed. Her gaze kept drifting to his waist. Yet, her tone was laced with expectation…

Aha.

Leo barely managed to hold back a laugh that was about to burst out.