Cale opened his eyes to see a magic teleportation circle under his feet. Frigid night gusts whooshed past his ears. Death Canyon was extremely windy, but Cale ignored the blustering gale and turned to the person who’d come to greet him. “Wonderful to see you after so long apart, Your Highness.”
Fenn, Rosalyn’s youngest sibling and Brek’s fourth prince, awkwardly returned Cale’s respectful greeting. “Ahem. Yes, it’s good to see you again.” His gaze drifted down to the vicinity of Cale’s chest, where Cale held a certain item in his hand.
It was a cookie.
That triggered flashbacks of the drenching Rosalyn had given Fenn when he previously went to visit her in Henituse territory. The crunching sound of Cale munching on the cookie accompanied the memory as if it were a live background track.
“Do it right, little brother. Otherwise, you’ll lose your life on the battlefield.”
Recalling Rosalyn’s advice, Fenn shivered, feeling cold all over. When Cale smiled gently at him, he forced an uncomfortable smile in return.
‹If that crybaby whines again, it’s a fiery thunderbolt instead of water for him,› Raon declared. ‹I’m practicing the thunderbolt right now.›
Cale ignored Raon, of course, and looked past Prince Fenn. There were five or six tents behind him. The wind howled again, blowing toward them from Death Canyon. This gorge was known for its never-ending gales. Powerful natural gusts had transformed the valley’s steep sides into a cradle of death. Tonight, the formidable winter winds of February even carried sheets of snow, making it difficult to see.
As Cale watched the white snow flutter through the darkness, he heard another voice.
“Are you the Lord Cale? Of Henituse territory?”
Cale’s gaze found the person next to Prince Fenn: Count Ecross, the number-one disciple of Brek’s royal mage. People considered him the royal mage’s obvious successor.
‹Human, why is that stupid-looking guy giving you the stink eye?›
Count Ecross was indeed staring at him.
“That is correct, Lord Ecross,” Cale responded in a genial, aristocratic manner. “Cale Henituse, at your service.”
“Ahem! So you do know of me, yet you didn’t greet me first.”
“I apologize. This is my first time visiting Death Canyon, and I was awestruck by the sight.”
Fenn felt disconcerted. For some reason, Cale was behaving like a respectful gentleman. Why is he acting like this? He looked at Count Ecross, silently begging him to stop.
Unfortunately, Ecross didn’t catch Fenn’s signal. He sneered at Cale, casting one judgment after another. A twenty-year-old. Ecross frowned upon Rowoon sending a twenty-year-old punk as their representative. He also didn’t like the way Cale used his Ancient Powers to play at being a hero. Those abilities could be acquired with just a bit of luck, as opposed to magical talents, which required years of effort to hone.
He’s just a typical punk who relies on his connections to make himself look good.
What the count disliked most was that this talentless son of a noble had such a strong personal network. Although he didn’t know the details, Ecross had heard that this punk was close to former princess Rosalyn, Crown Prince Albert Crossman, and even Commander Tunka.
The count clicked his tongue at Cale, who remained courteous despite Ecross making no secret of his disdain. He’d determined Cale was an expert suck-up.
Ecross then went out of his way to introduce the people around him. “These are the mages from our side. The one over there is a baron, and that one is a viscount.”
He’d emphasized the word “mages” on purpose. Rowoon’s dearth of magical talent was well-known, yet they had summoned Whipper’s mages and Princess Rosalyn to their country to teach their mages.
Master was happy about it, but…
The royal mage had been pleased, saying it was a great opportunity for all of them. Ecross didn’t deny the advantages either. Still, we cannot let go of this power. Brek had to take the initiative.
Ecross examined Cale’s retinue. He didn’t bring many people with him. At Cale’s side, there was only a man who appeared to be a knight and a feeble boy.
We need to live up to Brek’s reputation.
Rosalyn had told Fenn and Ecross to take good care of Cale, but Ecross wasn’t her brother. He had no obligation to obey Rosalyn, who was no longer royalty and now lived in Rowoon. Prince Fenn gets weird whenever she’s involved, so I’ve got to step up. Otherwise, there was no reason for Ecross to come to Death Canyon and clean up after this titleless punk.
Turning back to Cale, Ecross cleared his throat. “I heard about your plan from Rowoon’s leadership. You’re thinking about installing magic bombs in Death Canyon?” Behind him, the baron and viscount stared Cale down as though trying to intimidate him.
Upon seeing as much, Fenn frowned. This is why my sister should return.
Ecross had only become the royal mage’s number-one disciple because he’d gotten lucky with his knack for magic. Even if Fenn had no chance of succeeding the throne, he couldn’t believe Ecross would disregard him. At the same time, he was amazed at his sister’s foresight.
“Lord Ecross won’t listen to you.”
“Then what should I do?”
“You? Nothing. Just let it be. At least he cares quite a bit about Brek.”
“What about Lord Cale?”
Rosalyn had laughed at that. Once her giggles subsided, she’d told him, “You don’t need to worry about him. He’s got the world’s strongest mage for protection.”
The world’s strongest mage. Those words lingered in his mind. Fenn already knew the knight beside Cale, so his gaze drifted to the feeble boy. When they made eye contact, the boy flinched and turned away. Is he the mage?
Brushing his question aside for the moment, Fenn returned his attention to Cale and the count. Ecross had spread his arms wide, full of bravado. “You don’t even have a mage with you, so how are you going to install the magic bombs? We’re mages, and we’re more familiar with Death Canyon. We’ll do it.”
Ecross was dead serious. This was a matter of protecting his kingdom. Even if he wasn’t trying to take charge, it still made sense for him to do it himself. Though I do feel bad treating someone who just arrived in this manner…
He felt a bit guilty for acting this way when Cale had yet to leave the magic teleportation circle, but time was of the essence; he needed to take care of this and return to the capital as soon as possible. The count kept his arms open as he awaited Cale’s reply.