Having roughly wrapped up the matters tied to the Praszkeak Guild, I was finally able to enjoy a moment of leisure.
Thanks to that, I could also check on the condition of Amiel—the promising young assassin from the slums I had left in Estriel’s care for training.
“It’s been a while, Sub-Master.”
The boy had become a full-fledged young man in the short time since I last saw him. An extraordinary aura radiated from his entire body, yet his expression remained perfectly calm and composed.
“You’ve grown a lot, Amiel.”
“It’s all thanks to the elixirs you sent me, Sub-Master.”
<Amiel Brever> [Level: 33/58] [Vitality: 11] [Strength: 08] [Agility: 15] [Mana: 08] [Spirit: 10] [Sense: 11] [Divinity: 01]
[Traits: Light Body (S), Weapon Genius (A), Stealth (B), Dexterity (B), Apprentice Priest (C), and 2 others]
[Skills: Tranquil Heart Method (A), Islem Soul-Stealing Palm (A), Silent Realm (A), Comprehensive Assassination Techniques (B), Mirvana Strong Wire Art (B), Desert Empire Weapon Arts (B), Circulation Church Basic Holy Magic (C), and 4 others]
[Description: Age 16, human race. A promising member of the Blispiel Clan currently training in assassination arts at the main headquarters of the Alsigima School.]
The A- to B-grade elixirs we had thoroughly looted from the Dragon Horse Cult had proven extremely useful for Amiel’s growth as well.
It was only natural that his progress had been explosive—he had been gulping down rare medicines that were normally impossible to obtain while receiving intensive private lessons from Estriel.
What stood out most was that his [Spirit] stat had already reached 10.
If he manifested a Soul Imprint similar to the Unique trait Imagination (U) he had awakened in the original story, it would be perfect. Of course, since his environment had changed so drastically, there was also the possibility he would awaken an entirely different Soul Imprint.
Either way, this was far better than the original history, where his identity had been so faint it was practically nonexistent.
Is this really the same pathetic Amiel? Just remembering the pitiful feats he had shown in the original story made my chest swell with pride.
“I heard from Estriel how much your skills have improved. You’ll be able to return to the clan house soon, so just wait a little longer.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
A spark of determination flashed in Amiel’s previously calm eyes.
After that, I left the Holy Nation and returned to the Blispiel Clan house, where I handled the mountain of accumulated work.
Camillo was managing the most important financial affairs flawlessly, and the clan’s coffers continued to grow richer by the day. Still, as Elanore’s representative clan, it was necessary to mediate the various conflicts occurring around the city and to sponsor the local merchant guilds.
I also officially brought Visanya into the clan and had her begin training under Professor Blake.
I could feel Clara’s warm gaze boring into my back, but I deliberately ignored it.
As a longtime reader of Reca Chronicles, I fully supported Clara as the heroine. However, if Epio and Visanya started sticking together because they liked each other, there would be nothing I could do to separate them. All I could do was hope Clara would work harder…
While I was spending each day productively like this, Arent called for me.
“Hey, Aiden. How about reconsidering that matter I mentioned before?”
“What matter?”
“The handover of the Clan Master position.”
Arent looked at me with a solemn expression.
In truth, the work I was already doing was no different from what a Clan Master would do, so there was no problem with me taking the position immediately. However, separate from practical duties, officially becoming the head of a major force meant I would have to attend many bothersome and largely meaningless ceremonies.
The current Blispiel Clan was aiming for hegemony in the central continent. For such an organization, the title of Clan Master was a position others would kill to obtain—yet for some reason this man kept trying to push it onto me.
“Is there a particular reason you’re in such a hurry to retire?”
“Before watching the rematch between Regenshauer and the Sword Saint, I feel the need to broaden my perspective as a martial artist. Those two are surely on a level I can’t even compare to right now.”
“………”
“And since we happen to have Professor Blake—the unrivaled expert in this field—staying at the clan house, I intend to step back into an elder role and devote myself to studying the martial path alongside him.”
Arent’s eyes gleamed as he spoke.
It seemed he had made up his mind today. I let out a small internal sigh and nodded.
“…Alright. It wouldn’t be bad to begin the handover process now.”
“Haha! Thank you for accepting. I’ll send the official statement to the Church of Utility right away, so you should be able to officially assume the position of Clan Master before the year is out!”
The contents of the official document the Blispiel Clan sent to the Church of Utility quickly leaked out, causing a huge stir among the powers watching the central continent.
“…Clan Master at the age of ten? And the head of a promising clan that could rise to become one of the Five Great Clans at that.”
“Aiden Stroke’s name value is already piercing the heavens, so they must be aiming for that ripple effect.”
“No matter how you look at it, handing the leadership of an entire faction to a kid whose blood hasn’t even dried yet is ridiculous.”
Some viewed it as a hasty decision, but they were simply ignorant. Any major power with a proper intelligence network—including the Four Great Clans—nodded in approval, calling it a wise move.
“Camillo Rubio, the ‘Golden Hand’ who controls the economy of the central continent, and Bailey Millis, the ‘National Treasure Forger’ who has recently begun making a name for himself in the open as well. It is estimated that Aiden’s capabilities were what drew in all these top-tier talents.”
Standing at the center of that spider-web-like network of connections, Aiden’s ascension to Clan Master was simply the natural course of events.
Of course, this development created an unexpected headache for the people involved.
“Who do you think will become the new Sub-Master?”
Inside the Blispiel Clan’s training hall, Professor Blake asked Arent in a relaxed voice while sparring. Arent answered while barely deflecting the sword strike.
Clang!
“Huff… huff… Since I’ve already left most of the practical work to Aiden for a long time, I… really don’t know. He’ll probably decide on his own, won’t he?”
“Haha! Look at you—retirement is right around the corner and you’re already slacking off.”
Chesa, Linia, Epio, Clara, Amiel, Kurt, Visanya… Excluding Arent, who was stepping back into an elder role, and Aiden, who would soon become the new Master, the Blispiel Clan currently had exactly seven official members.
The ghost members who had only been on the roster during the clan’s decline had already been formally expelled after receiving recommendations to leave. The only ones left were teenagers and children.
Clara spoke up.
“Sub-Master, huh… Hmm, what about Lady Linia? She’s the eldest.”
“If you entrust it to me, I will do my best… but it might become difficult for me to stay by Young Master’s side at all times…”
“Then how about Epio?”
“You want another knuckle sandwich?”
“Sorry.”
Quick apology—excellent.
“Then~ obviously it has to be Lady Chesa, right? Aiden, you’re so obvious! You keep laying the groundwork while clearly planning to favor your future wife!”
“…No. I’ll voluntarily step down. I prefer staying by Aiden’s side like Linia, and personally I’m not interested in the position.”
Chesa shook her head at Clara, who was dramatically puffing herself up.
She had never liked being in a position where she had to lead or instruct others. In the original story, followers had gathered after seeing Chesa’s magic talent, but it had been her sworn sister Valerie who took charge of commanding them.
Clara, who had been pondering with her arms crossed, suddenly jumped in surprise.
“W-Wait, does that mean you’re going to hand the Sub-Master authority to me?! To think you recognized my hidden qualities as a leader—how surprising… Ow!”
I felt the sudden urge to give her a knuckle sandwich and delivered one. As expected, one knuckle sandwich per day was exactly right for Clara.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, you idiot. I already have someone in mind who I think would be perfect for the Sub-Master position.”
“Who are you talking about? Don’t tell me…”
“She’s not in the clan yet. I’m planning to go recruit her right now.”
“Right now…?”
“Yeah. We’ll depart for the Volestrum Union in two days, so pack your bags quickly.”
Dragon God Year 985, July. Aiden and the Blispiel Clan members set off for the northwestern region of the Prima Continent.
“Less than half a year left.”
“…What do you mean, Young Master?”
“Nothing important.”
By the thirteenth month of this year, it would mark exactly four full years since I had possessed Aiden.
Becoming the Master of a clan aiming for hegemony in the central continent after only four years of possession… So far, everything was proceeding smoothly according to plan.
In the original story, this was also the period when Aiden’s father, Foden Stroke, had died. However, Ridle had recently written in a letter that Foden was healthy enough to cause no worry, which was a relief. I would probably be able to reunite with him around the time of Delphina’s wedding to Ridle.
Snapping out of my thoughts, I looked over the faces of my companions.
The troublemakers Epio and Clara.
Chesa, who didn’t mind and even encouraged them.
Linia, who only ever paid attention to me.
And Visanya, who was so timid she couldn’t do anything.
I had felt it for a while now—the party’s overall tendency was leaning far too heavily toward the free-spirited side. Since I myself was closer to a hands-off leader, I thought it would be good to recruit at least one person who could instill some discipline in the group.
In that sense, Raykadi was an extremely suitable recruitment target.
She had spent a long time in a knight order with a strict hierarchy, and in Part 3 of the original story she had kept Epio from causing trouble.
The carriage was currently heading toward the Volestrum Union in the northwest.
The heroine of Part 3, Raykadi, was also there.
The Volestrum Union, formed by nine allied countries, was home to the clan house of the Dayorvek Clan—one of the Five Great Clans—as well as the main headquarters of the famous Dearside School. I had also promised to meet the phantom thief Iron Mask soon.
There would surely be plenty of things to handle.
In a corner of the Volestrum Union, Lenska Kingdom.
“I am Aiden Stroke, as previously announced.”
“Welcome, Sub-Master of the Blispiel Clan.”
We entered the Order Knights’ grounds within the kingdom as guests.
In the world of Reca Chronicles, a knight order referred to a group that enforced a specific ideology or belief through force.
Just as clans operated under the authorization of the Church of Utility, knight orders were forces authorized by the Church of Struggle.
The churches placed more importance on the ‘struggle’ itself required to achieve the ideology rather than on the soundness or benefit of the ideology, but that was a minor detail and could be set aside.
In any case, the Order Knights had been founded by Mirka Olin, who was known as the “Demon-Crushing Hammer” and the “Heroine of Lenska Kingdom.”
Unusually, due to the nature of the techniques passed down in the Order Knights, they only accepted female members. Even more unusual was their founding ideology. They were known for an extreme tendency: any group that threatened the norms and order established for the benefit of the absolute majority would be presumed guilty and annihilated without exception.
Thanks to this radical approach, they had achieved considerable results and spread their fame across the entire northwest. However, the massive prestige and authority they had accumulated gradually softened the order’s disposition.
Two hundred years later, there was now little difference between them and other knight orders that had grown complacent with power. Still, their long-established reputation remained, and more and more young noble ladies from martial families sought to join the historic Order Knights to build up their “specs.”
Of course, there were always exceptions.
Raykadi Shafeck was one such exception.
She had joined the Order Knights out of admiration for the founder, Mirka Olin. It was only natural that she constantly clashed with the other members who dreamed of personal glory rather than contributing to the development of the nation and the world. Eventually, Raykadi became isolated within the order.
Yet she refused to bend her will and continued her activities—until a certain incident occurred, after which she was forced to leave the Order Knights in disgrace.
…
Now that we had arrived, the timing should be obvious. That incident was about to happen right now. I planned to get involved in the matter, protect Raykadi’s honor, and immediately attempt to recruit her.
While I was walking through the knight order’s grounds lost in thought, a mocking voice suddenly rang out nearby.
“Lady Raykadi! I heard through the grapevine that you caused trouble outside again?”
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