Chapter 43. Meeting

Returning to the castle, I received a brief summary of the current situation from Siron, the butler dispatched by the Imperial Family.

“So, you're saying that more than 70% of Shylock’s residents have expressed their support for me?”

“Yes, My Lord. While the Imperial Family's direct support has had an impact, Lady Elfriede's contributions have been significant.”

I slowly examined the report Siron handed me.

It was a list summarizing the progress of the Grand Duke Castle's construction and the current state of Shylock Territory, essentially the core administrative matters of the Lord's Territory.

From trivial complaints of the residents to a roadmap outlining the long-term development plan for the 6 Grand Duke Territory, countless responsibilities that I had to shoulder upon ascending to the Lord Position were neatly organized.

The only consolation was the small population due to the territory's proximity to the Magical Boundary, but for some reason, the population figures on paper had shown a noticeable upward trend over the past month.

The cause was none other than Elfriede's bizarre actions.

I simply attributed her frequent absences to her wandering nature, without harboring any particular suspicion.

However, it turned out she had been traveling around, providing treatment free of charge.

Calling herself a Saintess, she spread all sorts of heroic tales about me, the new Lord.

“……”

Shylock, bordering the Magical Boundary, was situated in an extremely harsh and remote area, with frequent Monstrous Beast appearances.

Due to this environment, crime was rampant, and to make matters worse, there was a shortage of professional medical personnel, leaving the residents to suffer without proper treatment.

But now, as she went around treating these people in the name of God, the size of the group following her had grown larger than expected.

There was no justification to tell her to stop at this point, and since she was actually doing good deeds, there was no reason to stop her.

“6th Lord."

“What is it?”

“An official letter has arrived from the Holy Order. They state that Lady Elfriede's impersonation of a Saintess is seriously damaging the Holy Order's reputation, and they demand that you, the 6th Lord, immediately put a stop to it and compensate them for the damages.”

The problem was that her actions had attracted the attention of the Holy Order.

The Holy Order, which strictly regulated even the use of Divine Power, considering it the exclusive domain of God, saw her impersonation of their symbol, the Saintess, as a deliberate provocation.

Moreover, the woman they had banished to Blackmore to die alone and unnoticed was brazenly walking around impersonating a Saintess, so their fury must have reached its peak.

In fact, if you analyzed each point, they were the fake Saintess, and she was the real one, but expecting common sense from a group of swindlers was as futile as it gets.

There were two options.

Bow my head, apologize as they demanded, and offer appropriate compensation, or deliberately make an enemy of the Holy Order.

Of course, the smoothest path would be the former, but I had no intention of doing so.

The Holy Order wasn't a group that would stop making demands after a single submission, and frankly, I didn't like their nature.

Their incredibly selfish and malicious behavior reminded me of my advisor from my graduate school days in my previous life.

From the moment I saved Elfriede, a confrontation with the Holy Order was already foreseen.

I took out a luxurious piece of stationery from the drawer, wrote a few words, and handed it to Siron.

“Siron.”

“Yes, 6th Lord.”

“Send this reply to the Holy Order. From today onward, all communication from the Holy Order, without exception, should be met with silence. This means you don't need to report it to me anymore.”

“I will immediately carry out your orders.”

Siron promptly took the letter, bowed respectfully, and quickly left the room.

Carrying out orders blindly without any questions or hesitation was typical of someone from the Imperial Family, especially the notoriously thorough Ministry of Internal Affairs.

“Sigh.”

I turned my head again and fell into contemplation.

Becoming hostile with the Holy Order wasn't a major issue in itself, but I had to prepare for the future.

The Holy Order was a typical otherworld religious group, exploiting people's wealth in the name of God and resorting to despicable and vicious means – a cliché in itself.

Therefore, they could attempt assassination or poisoning at any time, and in my current state, I had no way to prevent it.

Without the Rune's Power, I was no more than an ordinary human, from dynamic vision to cognitive abilities.

What good was the Rune's Power, however overpowered it was, if my body was just that of an ordinary human?

My body was so frail that if I were ambushed in a moment of vulnerability, I could be killed before I could even use the Rune's Power.

In the past, I wouldn't have even bothered to think of a solution since I lacked Mind's Eye anyway, but now, having absorbed Ouroboros's Inverse Scale, I no longer needed to worry about Mind's Eye.

I needed a new countermeasure.

‘…This is really urgent.’

More than anything, I was the 6th Lord of the Lord Council.

My status itself attracted attention, meaning I would be facing numerous powerful individuals in the future, increasing the likelihood of encountering dangerous situations.

The problem was that they knew nothing about me.

If they had witnessed me using the Rune's Power even once, they wouldn't dare treat me carelessly, but the number of people who had seen my abilities firsthand, including Arkan, could be counted on one hand.

In other words, in the eyes of others, I was just an ordinary human who suddenly ascended to the 6th Lord Position.

This meant the possibility of being unexpectedly attacked, like with the Gwonseong who wanted to test my abilities, couldn't be completely ruled out.

‘There must be a way.’

I had absorbed two Runes.

The Rune of Time and the Rune of Space.

Time and space, and infinitely circulating Mind's Eye.

Even in the original story, no one possessed these three abilities simultaneously, so I was still clumsy in applying them.

However, if I combined them well, I felt like I could create a constantly active defense system.

“Acceleration.”

As I muttered the Activation Word, a golden shimmer bloomed from my fingertips.

It spread thinly, becoming a translucent golden membrane that enveloped my entire body.

“Mind's Eye… is sufficient.”

If it were like before, just maintaining this state would have plummeted my Mind's Eye to rock bottom, but now, having acquired the power of circulation, the depleted Mind's Eye was multiplying, entangled in the cycle.

Having confirmed that my Mind's Eye wouldn't be depleted, I opened my mouth again.

“Separation.”

The tattoo below my left eye glowed gold.

The surrounding space cracked like glass, and the golden membrane enveloping me began to separate from the world.

The space I occupied itself was being separated from reality.

I clenched and unclenched my hand, finding that moving my body felt no different than usual.

Checking in the mirror, there were no noticeable changes in my appearance either.

With this, most physical impacts wouldn't be able to penetrate my body.

But it was too early to be relieved.

There were all sorts of special abilities on the continent, and among them, there was a type of Sorcery that would inevitably 'reach' its target regardless of spatial constraints.

No matter how much I separated space and created an independent Territory, as long as there was a flow of time, gaps could form in some way. Nothing was eternal.

Additional safety measures were necessary. I chanted the Activation Word again.

"Reverse."

The tattoo under my right eye emitted a golden light.

And I layered the Activation Word once more.

"Reverse."

…Time within the separated space came to a complete standstill.

Normally, the consumption of Mind's Eye was too great, so I only used the double "Reverse" as a one-time invincibility move, but now, having absorbed the Rune of Space and reached the final stage of the Five Stars, and with the power of circulation, I no longer needed to worry about Mind's Eye depletion.

A space separated by a transparent membrane, and completely stopped time.

Now, this space was in a state of perpetual stillness, devoid of even the flow of time.

Although my Mind's Eye was instantly depleted by 30%, there was no further depletion, and even the lost Mind's Eye was slowly recovering due to Ouroboros's self-devouring cycle.

“……Did it work?”

Testing my new abilities was a necessity.

Just as I was about to move,

“Lord, it’s Siron.”

Siron, who had just left, returned and called me.

Wondering what it was, I looked over, and he spoke with a bewildered expression.

“A guest has arrived at the castle.”

“A guest?”

“…The First Lord has come. He said he wishes to see the Sixth Lord and asked me to relay the message.”

First Lord, Magician Ecion.

Standing at the continent's pinnacle, he was the first man to earn the title of Magister, the apex of Magicians, befitting his moniker.

It seemed Gwonseong's words about the other Lords visiting in turn weren't false.

With no justification to refuse a meeting between fellow Lords, I replied with a sigh.

“…Guide him to the reception room.”

****

First Lord, Magician Ecion.

He was clad in a black robe, quietly following a man who introduced himself as the Butler.

'It's far too shabby to be called a Grand Duke Castle.'

He observed the Grand Duke Castle, looking around.

The news that an ordinary human, an official of the Imperial Family no less, had been appointed to the Sixth Lord Position, which had been vacant for hundreds of years, was enough to pique his curiosity.

Of course, he hadn't thought it warranted a personal visit, but the news he had recently received from the Great Lord had changed his mind.

'An outer existence...'

Ouroboros.

A fragment of an Outer God existing on the outskirts of the world.

Ecion had once seen a brief record of it in an ancient text.

And now, he was told that Ouroboros's corpse was at Headquarters.

For him, a Magician, the corpse of an outer existence held immense research value.

He had requested it from the Great Lord for research purposes, but the only reply he received was to meet the Sixth Lord and obtain permission.

That was why he had set foot here.

“Greetings. I am the First Lord, Ecion.”

“…Luke Richter.”

Ecion narrowed his eyes, closely observing the Sixth Lord before him.

His body, the energy he emanated, nothing about him was special; he was a perfectly ordinary human.

He felt no Mana, nor the characteristic gloomy aura possessed by Sorcerers.

Only possessing exceptional looks, outwardly he was truly the very image of an ordinary human.

But something was strange.

Ecion felt cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

A Magician who had reached his level possessed extremely sensitive senses, and all his senses were blaring warnings the moment he faced Luke.

He broke the silence and spoke.

“…I’ve heard the stories. An official belonging to the Imperial Family, they say.”

“What’s your business?”

“You're impatient, unlike your appearance. Let’s talk slowly. It’s fate that we’ve met like this.”

Ecion extended his hand, offering a handshake.

Among Magisters, there was an unspoken rule to exchange Mana through a handshake to confirm each other's level.

It was a fairly common practice, so the intent to ascertain the opponent's level wasn't particularly rude.

"Alright."

The Sixth Lord, with an impassive face, took Ecion's hand.

Ecion immediately drew up his Mana and channeled it through their clasped hands.

He tried to grasp the opponent's level, but...

"...?"

He sensed nothing.

More precisely, the Mana he channeled completely vanished.

Like a jar with a hole in the bottom, the poured Mana disappeared without a trace.

'What in the…?’

Mana was the fundamental energy of the world, connected to the laws of the world, so it was impossible for it to vanish without any Causality.

Neutralizing or diverting an opponent's Mana was possible, but for the Mana itself to be severed and disappear mid-flow was impossible.

Even the Great Lord couldn't perform such an Art.

“…!”

Ecion continued to pour Mana.

But no matter how much Mana he drew from within, the moment it flowed into the Sixth Lord's hand, it vanished as if sucked into another dimension.

His eyes wavered at the phenomenon that defied logic.

He glanced up at the Sixth Lord, and…

"!!!"

With one corner of his mouth slightly raised, a chilling smile.

Jet-black pupils, as if urging him to continue, were looking down at Ecion.