Omen (2)

The domain war between Bellen and Vanhart quickly reached the ears of the Deoric family head, Logan Deoric.

“Count Bellen, acting so foolishly…”

Logan never imagined he would lose in the domain war this quickly.

He thought, since House Bellen is a prestigious family, at least both sides would take heavy losses. But Logan didn’t expect Bellen to be defeated so one-sidedly.

“I heard Clay Vanhart brought in mercenaries from Eintban.”

Leon Deoric’s expression wasn’t good either.

The fact that Vanhart beat Bellen itself wasn’t the issue. In fact, given the situation, he was almost hoping it would turn out this way.

If the mithril mine and mana stone mine held by the Vanharts were to pass into Bellen’s hands, all of their careful plans would have gone awry.

The problem was how quickly the victor had been decided.

“It seems the power of House Bellen weakened more than we expected, which must have affected the outcome.”

Both Logan and Leon had assumed, of course, that House Bellen would take the upper hand.

If things went against Vanhart, they planned to offer support with conditions attached.

Namely, to receive either the mithril mine or the mana stone mine in return.

After that, things would be simple.

Having lost the domain war, Bellen would destroy itself.

And with one of their core resources cut off, Vanhart would lose momentum and collapse.

They envisioned a situation where both houses could be devoured effortlessly.

“But can you believe it ended with a single battle?”

When his schemes unraveled, Logan’s irritation was barely held in check.

A domain war isn’t child’s play—how could it end as soon as it began?

It was clear just how much Count Bellen had underestimated Clay.

Or maybe, his confidence born from wealth had vanished, clouding his judgment.

“… What are you going to do?”

“I can’t just hand Bellen’s territory over to them.”

With the vast lands added to the funds from those two mines, house Vanhart would inevitably become a threat.

He couldn’t let that happen.

Watching his father grind his teeth, Leon let out a faint sigh.

‘Ever since Baian died, father’s lost his composure.’

Their honor had been decimated because of Baian, and if things kept going like this, even the dominance of southern Talua Kingdom might slip away.

He couldn’t help but understand his father’s feelings.

“But Father, it’s not wise to antagonize House Vanhart now. It’s better to step back and plan for the future…”

“Silence!”

Logan sharply cut off Leon, who had carefully offered his suggestion.

“You soft-hearted fool! Is this because of some childhood attachment? They are our enemy. I value your levelheadedness, but one must know when to act.”

Leon had never seen his father this agitated before.

The Logan Deoric he knew had always been composed and viewed situations calmly.

That had changed after Baian’s death.

Or rather, as the specter of the abandoned Vanhart drew closer.

‘So it’s karma after all.’

Leon sighed inwardly.

He never imagined that abandoning the Vanharts would come back to choke their own necks this way.

‘Father, please, just don’t do anything against your conscience.’

That was all Leon could say to his father, who was raking his hair in frustration.

* * *

Having lost the domain war, Bellen was required to pay us a massive sum in compensation.

“But that won’t happen, will it?”

At Maria’s calm tone, I nodded.

“They’ll report to His Majesty the King that they’ve given up their domain and declared bankruptcy.”

Usually, when a nearby domain goes bankrupt, the empty territory is divided up among surrounding lords.

Sometimes, it gets granted to nobles without fiefs, but as there aren’t many such nobles now, the land will likely just remain vacant.

“Most of the territory Count Bellen managed will essentially fall under House Vanhart’s jurisdiction.”

Considering the compensation House Bellen should have paid us, the rights to the territory were effectively already ours.

Other nobles would just divvy up the scraps of land we didn’t take…

“The Deoric family won’t sit idly by.”

“Logan Deoric isn’t the sort to let any profit slip by him.”

Conversely, if he saw no gain, he’d cut loose sharply—just as he had with our house before.

“For now, I’ll handle things here. I’ll let you know if the Deoric family reaches out.”

“Thanks, Maria. I’ll count on you.”

“It’s nothing.”

When it came to money matters, there was no one as reliable as Maria.

“Clay, are we heading to Kiten Forest now?”

“Yes. And this time, Riya needs to come too… Are you ready?”

“Of course!”

Riya pointed happily at her outfit with a bright grin.

Like the first time she visited our territory, she wore exceedingly light clothes.

Maria, seeing us, spoke in a slightly worried tone.

“But you said you need the Princess’s help. What’s happening in Kiten Forest? Is it a calamity, perhaps…?”

“It’s not a calamity. But something almost as terrifying will occur. By the way, has Rutia had any dreams lately?”

“No. She says her prophetic dreams come unbidden and without warning.”

“I see…”

Truthfully, I was curious about Rutia’s prophetic dreams as well.

In the original story, Rutia should have died by now.

So would Rutia have such dreams afterward? Or not at all?

Given that she still has the ability, there’s a chance it could activate, but if it does, will she see the ‘original story’ as a dream, or will it be based on this changed world? I wondered.

‘For now, I’ll just have to wait and see.’

Rutia’s ability was an auxiliary factor at best.

It would be good if it activated, but if not, there was nothing I could do.

I couldn’t plan around such an uncertain factor.

“Anyway, let’s go. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Yes! Let’s go, Clay.”

With an excited face, Riya followed right behind me.

As she scurried after me, she suddenly turned and stared at Maria, who was still sitting at the table.

Heh.

Just as I thought I heard a little laugh, Maria’s pupils quivered slightly.

[… Dragons do seem to love showing off their treasures. I guess not being able to until now must have frustrated her.]

‘…’

I didn’t know why Riya was directing that toward Maria, but she looked positively delighted.

When we’d been discussing Maria and the domain, she didn’t seem that happy at all—her mood really did swing quickly.

* * *

“Clay, you surround yourself with such special children.”

Beatrice, whom I met in the fairyland of Kiten Forest after a long while, greeted me with those words.

“Last time you brought a child of fortune, and this time, one with a dragon’s blood… No, it wouldn’t be strange to call this human child a dragon itself.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t mention it earlier.”

“Not at all. It’s my first time seeing actual imperial blood, so this is fascinating even for me.”

As she said this, Beatrice looked at Riya with eyes full of curiosity.

Riya also looked at Beatrice with curiosity, though she wasn’t bouncing with excitement like Monet.

She just looked around with interest.

After surveying her surroundings, Riya bowed her head to Beatrice.

“I’ve heard stories from Clay, queen of the South’s Fairies. I am Riya Asktalin, Princess of the Empire.”

“Hoo, what a delightful child. I never expected to see a rare human who can speak Dragon Tongue.”

Beatrice let out a genuine chuckle at Riya’s graceful greeting.

“But coming here means you have a request for me, don’t you?”

“That’s correct. It’s a bit embarrassing.”

“No need to be! Surely it’s to help us as well. It must be about Lugal.”

“… That’s right.”

Since things had come to this, I decided to go straight to the point.

“May I request an opportunity to meditate near the fairywood?”

“Ah, so it’s to gain magic power.”

“Yes.”

Agatram increases the user’s magic power absorption rate.

And the most efficient place for it is right by Beatrice’s fairywood.

“It’s not difficult at all. You may use it as much as you like. In fact, with that child’s help, you’ll see even better results.”

“Pardon?”

“Dragon Tongue is a power that touches the very order of the world. With her help, you can infuse Dragon Tongue into the fairywood and absorb magic power several times faster.”

What, such a method existed?

I glanced at Riya in surprise, and she nodded with a puzzled look.

“I’ve never tried it before, so I guess we’ll have to see.”

Riya made sense.

But if Beatrice was right…

‘I’ll be able to cut the time needed and achieve even greater results!’

Why didn’t I think of this before?

I wanted to try right away, but today, the goal was just to get Beatrice’s permission.

“Understood. I’ll begin tomorrow, then.”

“Hm? Not starting today?”

“No. I need to check Lugal’s seal first.”

At my reply, Riya tugged gently at my sleeve.

“The person you want to introduce me to isn’t just the Fairy Queen?”

“There’s one more. I think you’ll be very surprised, Riya.”

Riya’s glance told me she thought nothing could surprise her any further.

Well, after meeting the Fairy Queen, it’s hard for anything to shock you.

But the one she would meet next was indeed someone beyond ‘anything’.

* * *

Now that I had Solaris, I didn’t have to use complicated methods to cross the corridor as before.

Like Sior had done, I could simply cut through the boundary of space and travel through it.

‘Honestly, Solaris might be the most versatile thing out of them all.’

It really was broken enough to be considered a cheat.

With Solaris, most long-range skills could be blocked, and it was simple to hide myself or avoid attacks.

At any rate, Riya and I crossed through the corridor and entered the familiar cavern.

And there, as expected, Riya’s eyes widened when she saw Damian waiting.

Of course—Damian was a willful death knight, and anyone could sense the extraordinary aura he gave off.

“Clay, may I ask who this person is?”

“You’ll know as soon as you hear his name, Riya.”

Looking calmly at Damian, who was gazing at us quietly, I spoke.

“Sword God Damian Viet. It’s really him, though that’s hard to believe from his current appearance.”

“… He’s as amazing as the Fairy Queen herself.”

Of course.

He was one of the original Seven Heroes, Sword God Damian.

Unlike Beatrice, Damian didn’t show much interest in Riya.

“A mage with a unique presence. If you’ve brought her here, you must have a reason?”

“Yes, of course.”

Thinking ahead to the coming battle with Lugal, I needed to bring Riya here and explain the situation in advance.

“Sir Damian, dark King Lugal was a mage, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s why I’ve brought her.”

I slowly introduced Riya.

“No matter how powerful a mage he is, before a dragon who commands Dragon Tongue, he’s powerless.”

Magic is the power to interfere with the laws of the world via one’s own magic power.

And dragons not only freely wield such magic—they can control it with mere words.

In other words, no spell could override the suppressive force of Dragon Tongue.

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