Chapter 54: Finalizing terms

Alaric of course did not seriously entertain the thought of rebellion. It was but one of the stray thoughts which appeared when he thought about having a not-hostile Paragon in their territory.

Calm down. A Paragon Mage hasn’t even agreed properly yet.

He leaned closer to the communication artifact.

"Senior Orwin, when you say you’ll bring your Magic Tower here, what exactly does that mean?"

There was a pause from the other side as Orwin thought before replying.

"A Magic Tower is an organization first and a building second. I have Mages, Mage Apprentices, researchers, servants, workshops, laboratories, libraries, research materials and enough equipment that moving everything would take at least a month even with my connections."

Orwin continued explaining.

"I would first move the people and equipment necessary for my current research, then slowly relocate the rest after establishing a suitable place in House Orlen’s territory."

Alaric nodded when he heard that. He had seen the scale of a Magic Tower in person when he saw Arcanum, the Magic Tower headed by Champion Mage Kyle.

A Magic Tower of a Paragon Mage would certainly not be worse than that.

He needed to contact his mother and relay this to her immediately.

Situations regarding Paragons weren’t what he could handle with his authority. He needed to get Marchioness Orlen’s thoughts on getting a Paragon as an ally and for establishing a Magic Tower in their territory.

"And what were you saying about your daughter?" Alaric asked after he wrote about things to relay to his mother.

Orwin sighed.

"Sophia is the Holy Maiden of the Rathen Empire, but also my daughter.

"I said you’d have to deal with the aftermath because if I relocate here permanently, there’s a very high chance she’ll want to come with me too."

He paused.

"But the problem is that the Rathen Empire might be willing to let me go without much trouble but the same cannot be said for Sophia."

Alaric took a deep breath and asked. "What exactly is this Holy Maiden title and what would the empire do if they came to know Sophia shifted here?"

Orwin patiently explained. "Holy Maiden and Divine Son is the title given to their greatest talents. There are currently three Holy Maidens, and Sophia is one of them.

"In normal cases, if someone poached a talent of this calibre, the empire would make things difficult for the recruiter in things like trade and politics but since it is Rowena who stands behind the House which recruited Sophia, things might be different.

"Honestly? I don’t know how they would react either."

Alaric carefully listened to the Paragon Mage and asked with a sigh of relief. "So it’s like this. From what I understood, the Empire doesn’t rely on killing recruiters who poached their talent right?"

"No. They don’t want to give off the impression that they were keeping their geniuses in the empire by force, both to outsiders and to the geniuses themselves.

"For a period of time afterwards, the other geniuses of the empire might even receive higher funding so as to not be poached."

"There’s nothing to worry about then." Alaric replied.

"If you say so."

Alaric then shifted the topic.

"House Orlen can provide you with land large enough for your Magic Tower. We can also guarantee that your research won’t be interfered with by outsiders as long as whatever you’re doing doesn’t threaten the territory."

Orwin didn’t interrupt him.

"And you can teach Evan."

Evan glanced toward the communication artifact but said nothing. He would be Young Lord Alaric’s personal retainer until the man himself removed him from his post.

Alaric continued after a moment.

"But he remains my personal retainer. You can become his teacher, but you don’t get to take him away from House Orlen."

Orwin’s eyebrow twitched.

"So I’m doing all this, moving my Magic Tower across kingdoms, getting House Orlen a genius at the level of my daughter and you still keep the brat?"

Alaric shrugged even though Orwin couldn’t see him.

"You wanted to teach him because he’s talented. You never said you needed to own him. Right?"

Evan coughed when he heard that.

Young Lord could’ve worded that better.

But after thinking about it, Evan spoke.

"I don’t mind learning from Senior Orwin under those conditions."

Orwin’s head toward the young squire who had stayed silent all this while.

"You’re willing?"

Evan nodded.

"I’ve already decided to remain with Young Lord Alaric. But that doesn’t mean I would reject instruction from a Paragon."

That answer immediately improved Orwin’s mood.

"Good. At least you aren’t stupid."

Alaric felt like he was on top of the world as he almost laughed.

So this is actually happening?

Before he got too excited, however, he knew that this wasn’t final yet.

House Orlen wasn’t truly his to make permanent decisions over.

He was only acting as temporary head while Marchioness Orlen remained at the southwestern border.

Allowing a Paragon Mage and an entire Magic Tower to establish themselves inside House Orlen’s territory was absolutely something his mother needed to approve.

He didn’t have enough authority for something so big.

"Senior Orwin, I can agree to these conditions personally, but permanent land rights and agreements involving House Orlen will need my mother’s approval."

Orwin replied immediately.

"Obviously."

Why do you sound like you thought I’d forget that?

Alaric ignored him and contacted Marchioness Orlen through another communication artifact.

The first time Alaric had contacted his mother was through Zephyr who carried the message from him, relaying to Marchioness Orlen the plan he had made by swapping those corpses.

This was the second time he was contacting her, although this time he had directly sent her a message.

Alaric gave her a short explanation regarding Orwin Vale, Evan and the possibility of his Magic Tower relocating into their territory.

Her reply came several minutes later.

"The reinforcements have finally reached enough positions for me to begin transferring command. Unless another major problem occurs, I should be able to return soon."

Alaric’s eyes immediately lit up.

Finally!

He had been waiting for that news for far too long.

The next part of the message concerned Orwin.

"Orwin Vale may come if he wishes."

Alaric smiled as he continued reading.

"You will not promise him permanent land, House Orlen’s military protection, authority within the territory, access to House resources, or anything else in my name before I personally read the agreement."

Alaric’s smile stiffened.

Why is that list so oddly specific?

It sounded like his mother genuinely believed he might give away half the territory if someone dangled enough benefits in front of him.

He was the reason House Orlen had gotten out of their predicament! He was capable and smart enough not to do that!

Did she not trust him even after everything he achieved?

Another message arrived after a few seconds.

"And tell Orwin the same applies to him. Neither of you will make promises involving me before I return."

Alaric cleared his throat and relayed everything to the communication artifact which was connected to the Paragon Mage.

Instead of taking offense, Orwin simply replied.

"Reasonable."

With the broad agreement settled, the conversation finally calmed down.

Evan received the communication artifact from Orwin and sat back down inside the mine.

He had been constructing mana channels before Orwin interrupted him, and now that everything was over, he wanted to finish the process and become a Knight.

Orwin watched him for several minutes before his eyes narrowed.

"Stop."

Evan opened his eyes and waited for the old man to continue. He couldn’t have stopped him for no reason right? Did he want to run away with him?

"You’re forcing too much mana into the channel near your upper chest." The old man’s voice snapped the young Squire out of his thoughts.

Evan considered what the Paragon was saying and stayed silent.

Orwin pointed toward the area.

"The channel isn’t stable enough yet. You’re trying to compensate by pushing more mana through it, which is only making the flow rougher."

"What should I do?"

"Reduce the amount slightly and change the breathing rhythm during the third circulation."

Evan didn’t waste any time and followed the instructions, and indeed, it worked!

"Feeling better?" Orwin asked with hands behind his back, to which Evan nodded.

"I may not have practiced the body path but I still possess plenty of knowledge. As long as it doesn’t concern things which require deep specialization, I can answer your doubts."

Evan thanked the Paragon Mage before going back to what he was doing.

He continued circulating mana for another few minutes before suddenly stopping again.

"Senior."

Orwin looked up from his desk.

"If the problem is caused by pushing too much mana through an unstable channel, then wouldn’t the same issue happen near the lower abdominal channel as well?"

Orwin paused to think, but Evan had already closed his eyes again by then.

He adjusted the mana flow himself, and a moment later, the circulation became smoother.

He opened his eyes and answered his own question. "Fixed it."

Orwin stared at him silently while a chill ran through his spine.

He had only corrected one problem, but the brat had understood the principle behind it and found another mistake by himself almost immediately.

As Evan continued constructing mana channels, Orwin watched him without saying anything.

The troublesome matters like moving the Magic Tower, the stress of Sophia leaving the Empire and the headache of dealing with Rowena passed through his mind.

But as Evan corrected his mana channel construction again without being told anything, Orwin’s irritation slowly faded.

Maybe the brat really is worth all this trouble.