Chapter 167

BOOM!

The loud thunderous sound shook the hall.

After a moment, as the dust settled, the knights widened their eyes in shock.

The reason was simple.

It was because Erhent was upside down.

“……!”

“Y-Your Majesty!”

It wasn’t just them who were startled.

Noa’s eyes had also gone wide.

Of course, it made sense. Regardless of how threatening he was, Erhent was a monarch of a nation.

Plus, considering this scene happening in front of his loyal subordinates, the aftermath was as predictable as it got.

“Seize him at once!”

Shouts erupted from all around.

Of course, they knew it was futile.

The fact that he had flipped the only Master of the duchy meant that the opponent was also a Master.

But with their lord being humiliated, they couldn’t just sit back. Thus, the knights prepared to form a formation and attack.

At that moment.

Woosh!

A shimmering starlight enveloped Ulan.

Stellar Magic, the veil of constellations.

Only one person could use star magic here. The knights gasped in shock.

“Whoa, it’s the princess?!”

Delia stood in front of Ulan as if to protect him.

There were numerous magic formulas inscribed in the air around her. Should the knights make a wrong move, she was ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

“Why are you protecting him?!”

“That guy attacked His Majesty!”

They shouted in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Delia remained unfazed. With a blank expression, she stared at the knights and clarified her reason for blocking them.

“This is for you, guys.”

Ulan was strong.

Strong enough that the knights couldn’t even scratch him. So she split them apart to avoid unnecessary casualties.

“So just stay quiet.”

Her eyes seemed to say she didn’t want them to get hurt for no reason.

As the knights hesitated, a sudden fierce gust of wind whipped through. The remaining dust cleared, and soon a low voice was heard.

“No need to make such a fuss.”

It was Erhent’s voice.

Shaking off the dirt on his face, he displayed his palm towards the knights.

A gesture to step back.

The knights obediently followed the order, and Erhent, loosening his body, focused on Ulan.

“So you are a Master too?”

“…….”

“Impressive. You still look young.”

A strange light glistened in his eyes.

In truth, he hadn’t been paying attention to Ulan or Noa until now. They were just outsiders to him. Plus, he hadn’t felt any power from them, leading him to think they weren’t worth his time.

‘But could it be…’

That they were hiding their true strength?

Of course, it wasn’t out of the ordinary.

Any Master could conceal their aura. However, what astonished Erhent was Ulan’s age.

A face that had just shed its youthful innocence.

Reaching the realm of a Master at such a young age was something he had never heard of. He probably wouldn’t find a precedent even if he searched through records.

So he asked with a curious face.

“What exactly is your identity?”

“I am Ulan.”

The answer came back bluntly.

He immediately introduced himself.

“I’m a Prairie Warrior and a student at Arsen Academy, as well as Delia’s friend.”

“Friend?”

Erhent’s eyes widened.

A look of surprise.

It was a similar response to when Ulan invaded his domain. But before he could recover from the shock, he regained his composure.

“I was slow to introduce myself.”

Clearing his mind.

He locked eyes with Ulan again and then continued in a powerful voice.

“I am Erhent Rune Mond Arpen, the king ruling this duchy and the father of Delia.”

“I’ve heard of you.”

Erhent raised an eyebrow.

It’s only natural for someone to become a bit more polite when meeting a friend’s parents.

But Ulan was different.

He didn’t look surprised or disturbed at all. His overly nonchalant reaction made Erhent frown.

“Anything else to say?”

“Well, as for what to say…”

Ulan fell into thought.

But his contemplation didn’t last long. As Delia’s friend, he had a clear purpose.

So he said right away.

“Give me Delia.”

“W-What?”

“I need Delia. So let’s go back to the academy together.”

As soon as the shocking statement finished, the surrounding area was engulfed in an eerie silence. Erhent, who had just been staring blankly, soon turned to look at Delia.

To ask what that meant.

But he couldn’t get his answer. Right after Ulan spoke, Delia turned red in the face and shyly averted her gaze.

“…….”

No need to hear an answer now.

He had roughly grasped the situation from Delia’s reaction. Letting out a short sigh, Erhent looked back at Ulan and spoke.

“What if I don’t allow it?”

“Your permission isn’t needed.”

“What?”

“This is a notification.”

With that firm answer, Ulan met Erhent’s gaze head-on. And he continued confidently.

“Since Delia has chosen and decided, you have no authority to stop this.”

Such a blatantly rude statement.

Erhent’s face scrunched up in anger.

“You arrogant fool.”

Anger glistened in his eyes.

A fierce aura surged back like a wave, yet Ulan didn’t budge an inch.

As a tense standoff continued.

Suddenly, Erhent nodded.

“Well, considering you’ve reached the realm of a Master at such a young age, it’s natural you’d be overflowing with confidence.”

Ever since he became a Master, he had likely received countless praises. And indeed it was an achievement worth boasting about.

“But you lack something.”

“Lack something? What is it?”

“Experience.”

A response filled with strong conviction.

Then Erhent drew his axe.

A golden shining hand axe. One of the magical weapons treasured by the Arpen Duchy.

“A true warrior grows through combat, traversing deadly battles. This holds true even for Masters.”

Spouting the most natural words.

Erhent aimed the axe at Ulan.

“So allow me to teach you.”

That strength is less important than experience.

As their fierce gazes locked, Ulan also drew his axe. Once both had unsheathed their weapons, there was no need for further conversation.

In a flash, the two men clashed against the ground.

As their domains overlapped, both unleashed assaults simultaneously.

CRASH!

The collision of axes imbued with aura and spirit released a powerful shockwave that swept through the hall.

“Gah! What wind is this……”

“Move back a bit!”

It was truly an astonishing impact.

The knights quickly distanced themselves further.

Noa and Delia weren’t exceptions either.

As the battlefield unfolded, Ulan and Erhent began to clash intensely.

‘Since they share the same domain…’

The advantage of their territory became meaningless.

From this point on, the outcome would be determined by the individual powers and experiences of the Masters.

Erhent, with his extensive experience from countless battlefields, was supposed to overwhelm Ulan. But that was the plan; it wasn’t going as expected.

‘What’s this?’

A strange sense of discomfort struck him.

At first, he didn’t recognize it.

But as more time passed, he finally realized what it was.

“…!”

Since the battle began, up until now, Ulan had not taken a single step back from where he originally stood. That meant he had accepted every one of Erhent’s attacks without evading.

‘What’s going on…’

But it didn’t stop there.

Even all the unpredictable attacks he had unleashed had been dealt with effortlessly by Ulan. Every ambush that would usually only be managed through experience was all blocked.

The moment he realized the nature of his discomfort.

Erhent sensed it.

Something was seriously wrong.

As soon as he understood the situation, he suddenly widened the distance between him and Ulan.

“I’ll ask you one thing.”

“…?”

“How many battlefields have you experienced up until now?”

It was a blunt question, simply begging for the answer.

After all, being a friend of Delia meant he had to be around her age. Even if he had opportunities to step onto the battlefield, it would hardly be numerous.

But the return answer was unexpected.

“Too many to count.”

He spoke it plainly.

Erhent’s eyes began to tremble.

He had realized from Ulan’s gaze.

This was no brag or lie. As he stared blankly at the face before him, he found himself overwhelmed by the astonishing reality.

“I’ll wrap things up soon.”

Ulan’s eyes changed.

There was no point in fighting anymore.

Meanwhile, Erhent, snapping out of his thoughts, gritted his teeth. He understood the true meaning within that brief notice.

“I won’t go down so easily…”

Erhent was about to say.

But he couldn’t.

“…What?”

Suddenly, the world flipped upside down.

Shortly after, a loud noise filled the air.

BOOM!

It was the same sound he had heard earlier.

After being slammed into the ground, Erhent looked utterly bewildered.

‘How did this happen?’

His shocked expression was well justified.

Just moments ago, he had dialed his senses to the utmost limit, preparing for battle.

‘And yet…’

He hadn’t realized.

That Ulan had come near him, gripped his face, and flipped him without him being aware of the whole process.

‘It’s like…’

The mastery of realm.

But it didn’t make sense. Because their domains were clearly overlapping.

The unresolvable questions continued to swarm his mind.

Then, out of the blue.

“Excuse me.”

A suddenly appearing unfamiliar voice interrupted him.

Erhent pulled his head out of the ground.

He wiped the dirt off his face and looked towards the direction of the voice.

“Now that it looks like the fight is over, may I say a word?”

A girl with black hair.

She was certainly the one who had been with Ulan. Erhent squinted at her.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Noa, a friend of Delia.”

After finishing her brief self-introduction, Noa smiled brightly.

9.

When the battle between Ulan and Erhent was in full swing.

Unlike Delia, who wore a tense expression, Noa showed no signs of worry at all.

‘Anyway, Ulan is going to win.’

Without a doubt, there isn’t a single person in a one-on-one battle at this moment who could take Ulan down. So Noa put her mind to what would happen afterwards.

‘Once we take down Erhent, I can return to the academy with Delia.’

Since it would mean the obstacle had been eliminated.

However, thinking of the original Erhent, if they return like this, there’s a high chance troublesome problems will arise in the future.

‘When Delia left the duchy secretly to join with the other heroes in the original story…’

There had been quite a tricky situation.

He had issued a massive bounty and a widespread wanted order for Delia. Considering that, she could roughly imagine what the future might be like.

‘So I can’t let this happen.’

Furthermore, the Arpen Duchy would be a considerable help in future wars against the Abyss. So it would be best to settle things as smoothly as possible.

While finishing her thoughts.

“What do you want to say to me?”

Erhent spoke up.

Seeing him having wiped off the dirt from his face, Noa raised two fingers.

“It’s nothing much. I just wanted to explain why Delia needs to attend the academy.”

With a beaming smile, her explanation continued.

“First of all, Delia needs learning.”

“Learning?”

“Yes, just as experience is important for Masters, High Mages need opportunities to learn new magic.”

Just because one becomes a High Mage doesn’t mean they automatically grasp advanced magics.

To learn high-tier magic, one needs related spellbooks, and it takes unfathomable amounts of money.

“But there’s no need to worry. Because Arsen Academy has the best library on the continent, loaded with tons of magic books!”

Thus, it is perfect for learning magic.

After Noa ensured Erhent wouldn’t react just yet, she stated the second reason.

“Second, the academy has many talented individuals. Just comparing Delia alone, there are at least seven who are certainly her equals.”

“That many?”

“Yes. Oh, and by the way, I’m also one of those ‘Bestowed by the Love of Mana’ just like Delia.”

“……What?”

Erhent’s eyes went wide.

At that moment, Delia beside her silently nodded. As if to affirm Noa’s words were true.

“Also, while Ulan is a strong Master, he enrolled in the academy to reach an even higher realm.”

This time Ulan nodded as well.

Noa spoke in accordance with that; the reason he enrolled in Arsen Academy was to find clues to the realm beyond mastery.

“So, it means Delia still has room for further growth from her current state.”

“…….”

Erhent’s gaze wavered.

His look mirrored confusion. After a moment, he turned to Delia and asked.

“Is everything she said true?”

“Yes, I can swear to it.”

With eyes that didn’t exude any falsehood.

Erhent kept his mouth tightly closed.

After some time.

A quiet sigh escaped from his tightly shut lips. After resolving his prolonged thoughts, he turned his gaze away.

“Delia Arpen.”

His dry voice sounded as it brushed against her ears.

Delia swallowed hard. As she awaited with a tense face, his answer came soon.

“I will postpone your duties.”

“……!”

“Let’s set the deadline to when you’ve acquired sufficient knowledge and magic as a High Mage.”

Her golden eyes popped wide open.

Upon meeting an expression laden with surprise from her, Erhent quietly articulated his words.

“If you promise to return to the duchy afterward and fulfill your duties as royalty, I will allow you to attend the academy until you graduate.”

“Yes, I promise.”

It was a condition without any reason to refuse.

As Delia was born as royalty, she naturally held the intention to serve the duchy.

“I understand. Then it shall be as such.”

Along with the answer that resolved all conflicts, Erhent turned as if he had no further business.

But just for a moment.

After walking a few steps, he abruptly paused.

“You said your name was Ulan?”

“That’s correct.”

“The words you spoke to me earlier, wanting Delia, were they truly sincere?”

“Of course.”

A reply without any hint of hesitation.

As Erhent nodded at Ulan’s unwavering scarlet eyes, he seemed to come to a decision.

“Alright. Then after you graduate from the academy, come to the duchy. As Delia’s bridegroom, you’ll need the proper education.”

After hastily finishing that response.

Erhent turned to head back to his estate.

As Ulan watched him distance himself, he muttered curiously.

“What’s a bridegroom?”

Is it an abbreviation for magical sorcery?

He tilted his head.

But there was no need to worry. If there was something he didn’t understand, he’d just ask Noa about it.

With that, the situation eventually settled down.

The next morning, joyful news arrived.

Delia’s half-sister, Rudine Arpen had regained consciousness.

Chapter 40. Banquet