Limit Breaking Genius Mage Chapter 74

Episode 74 Invitation (2)

The principality's airship landed a certain distance from the Rodenmire mansion.

The Count sent the outsider, Verden, to the mansion, and ordered the Knights of Rodron, including their leader, Balkan, to personally go out to greet him.

Looking at their backs, Viscount Bailon asked the Count.

“Who on earth is here?”

“I don’t know. But I don’t think he’s an ordinary noble.”

The people of the Count's family lined up on both sides could not hide their tension.

Of course, the opponent is the royal family of the duchy. And they even brought an airship here on the duke's orders!

That means there is a lot of interest in this matter.

Even if I don't know who's inside there, I'm sure they're not someone I'd dare treat laxly.

The sound of horse hooves can be heard from afar.

Even though it was this far away, if the vibration was so slight, it must have been a high-class breed of horse. Soon, the soldiers opened the gate of the wall surrounding the mansion.

The knight commander Balkan who passed earlier.

After that, a new, fully armed knight squad appeared.

Silver armor.

The shield symbol engraved on the left chest.

The Knights of Bastio, directly under the King.

While the Knights Templar protect the royal family from within, this order is responsible for protecting the royal family and high-ranking nobles when they are active outside.

In other words, it is a military group that competes for supremacy among the many knightly orders that exist in the duchy.

It's surprising, but not unexpected.

But even the count could not help but be surprised by the sight of a knight standing at the forefront.

A gray shield worn on the back. One of the duchy's treasures, made from the rare metals orichalcum and obsidian.

As far as he knew, there was only one person who had received that from the King.

The commander of the Knights of Bastio and the strongest shield in the duchy.

Lake Basilion.

He dismounted from his pitch-black horse and took off his helmet.

A middle-aged man with short purple hair, dark green eyes, and a scar from a sword cut on his right jaw. Lake strode toward Count Rodenmeyer.

“It’s been a while, Count Rodenmeyer.”

The rank of Captain Lake is equivalent to that of a Count.

Of course, since location is location and force is force, it is difficult for even the most powerful counts to talk comfortably. However, Count Rodenmeyer was an exception.

“I see you every year at the annual event, but to say it’s been a while is an exaggeration.”

“Haha, your personality is still the same. But it’s been almost ten years since I’ve been to the Count’s house in person, so what’s the harm in saying hello to him?”

“What can I do? That’s just my personality. Rather than standing there, let’s talk as we go in. The business is with the wizard inside the mansion, not me.”

“Huh, since you came from far away, wouldn’t it be proper for you as the host to offer me a meal first?”

“Huh. What about food?”

The airship is equipped with better facilities than most high-end hotels.

The duchy's carefully selected chefs use the finest ingredients and prepare a feast for every meal, so you will not feel hungry, not even for a moment, while coming here.

“And you don’t have that much time to leisurely eat a meal, do you?”

“Well, that’s true. You know, His Majesty the King has quite a temper, don’t you? His Majesty has ordered us to return to the capital with that wizard named ‘Asher’. And you, Count Rodenmeyer, who is with him.”

The Prince of Libyan is an excellent ruler.

He became independent from the Kingdom of Estyria during the war, and in just a few decades, he turned the country from a mess into a good place to live. However, his only flaw was his lack of patience.

They could have brought them in by carriage, but they even mobilized an airship, one of their important strategic weapons.

“……Your Majesty is still the same.”

“We’ll be leaving tonight at the earliest, or before lunch tomorrow at the latest. It’s a tight schedule, but there’ll be plenty of time to have dinner at Count Rodenmeyer’s.”

It seems that the Duke is more curious about Asher than expected.

On the contrary, Count Rodenmeyer was good.

Now that he could send such a wizard to the agency's tournament under his own name, the Count was actually pretty sure that Asher would win the agency's tournament.

Count Rodenmeyer's golden eyes sparkled.

“Okay. I’ll treat you with care.”

* * *

Count Rodenmeyer took pride in his garden.

The wide and clean garden could be seen as desolate depending on the viewer, but instead it gives a refreshing feeling like being in a meadow.

In addition, due to the geographical characteristics, there is always a cool breeze blowing. Since it is an area where winter comes late, it is not that cold even at this point. There are also no annoying bugs.

This means it is perfect for a sumptuous meal.

Verden, who had been waiting in the room, accepted the invitation to dinner and went outside.

Early evening, when the sun was beginning to set. Following the Count's servant, I saw a round table in the center of the garden, and Count Rodenmeyer and a man I had never seen before were sitting there.

'… … ?'

Then I felt a gaze from the side.

He turned his head in that direction and saw a woman wearing silver armor and carrying a luxurious staff on her back, looking intently at Verden.

So much so that I felt the gaze was stinging.

'This is my first time seeing the magic mountain.'

I ignored it and passed by.

As they approached the table, Count Rodenmeyer gestured for them to sit down. When the three sat down at an equal distance apart, the Count opened his mouth.

“Let me introduce myself first. This is Lake Basilion, the leader of the Knights of Bastio. I have come to fetch you by order of His Majesty the King. He is even on an airship. He wants to talk to you before taking you to the capital. And we can have a meal together.”

'He's the commander of the knights under the direct command of the King. He's a big shot.'

I feel a different sense of intimidation from the knights I've met so far.

Verden bowed his head.

“My name is Asher.”

“It’s Lake Basilion. I’ve heard of him, but he’s younger than I thought.”

Verden and Lake locked eyes.

It was a gaze that seemed to gauge the other's level, as if they recognized each other as strong.

Count Rodenmeyer lightly clapped his hands to lighten the mood.

“Now that the self-introductions are over, let’s start with the meal. We’ll talk about the details later.”

As Count Rodenmeyer rang a small bell, the prepared meals began to be served one after another.

For the appetizer, we had a salad of sliced tomatoes topped with mozzarella cheese, fresh vegetables and dressing, followed by broccoli soup and freshly made bread.

And to cleanse the remaining taste in the mouth with sherbet, aged Chateaubriand sirloin was served as the main dish.

For drinks, we prepared Dorneti, a red wine that has been aged for a whopping 60 years.

This one meal is worth tens of millions of elk.

But among these, no one was frightened by its value.

Two of them are nobles, and one of them was once a member of the Magic Tower.

After a delicious meal, Lake, who was savoring black coffee as dessert, took a quick look at Verden.

'No matter how I look at it, I can't believe it.'

It is common sense that while the physical body tends to weaken as it ages, magic becomes deeper as it ages.

But that guy named Asher, he's not just young, he's just young.

At that age, accomplishing the feat of subduing the Soul Tree is something that only comes from fairy tales or history books.

What if he had received an excellent education and been called a genius among geniuses at the academy?

A wizard who suddenly appeared in the duchy without a word and solved several incidents. No matter how flexible Lake's mind was, it was difficult to accept it.

'I'm sure he was educated somewhere.'

You can tell just by looking at their table manners, which are on par with those of aristocrats. Even if you don't know their origins, they definitely aren't from a family of commoners. Lake was certain of that.

There was silence as I sat there thinking.

Berden had no choice but to speak first.

“Didn’t you have business with me, Captain Lake?”

“Hmm? Oh, I’m sorry. I was thinking of having a conversation with you since you said you conquered the Soul Tree with the Bloody Sword… Honestly, I find it hard to believe.”

“Is it because of my age?”

“If you think about it with common sense, that’s true. So, simply having a conversation won’t do.”

Lake looked at Verden with serious eyes.

“It has been reported that it deals with various attributes such as fire, wind, earth, and even the high-level attribute of lightning.”

What he was referring to were exactly the series that Verden used in the Soul Tree conquest.

If it was an elemental series, it could handle all attributes, but there was no reason for Verden to come forward and reveal them.

“Yes.”

“I see. But simply dealing with various attributes is meaningless. What I and His Majesty the King want is proof that you have the power to kill such a monster.”

Test the power of the unidentified magician as the strongest shield in the duchy to confirm the truth.

This was why Lake, and no one else, had come here.

Of course, it wasn't like we were going to risk our lives fighting each other.

The main purpose was simply to determine this wizard's power through solid evidence.

Whether it is enough to make the principality's agency a success.

And furthermore, whether the principality is worth embracing, or even whether it is worth not being hostile to.

“The duchy’s response is that if you can’t prove it, they can’t be convinced of your abilities.”

Lake, who had put out his grimace, leaned back against the chair.

He had seen countless spells and blocked them with a single shield. He could guess the level of the magician just by looking at the speed and scale of the spell cast.

widely.

Verden asked, putting down his teacup.

“Do I have to prove it with magic?”

“Anything is fine, but if you use magic here, the garden will be badly damaged. I don’t want to see Count Rodenmeyer angry. So, how about we leave the mansion? And if you want, I can be the target of the magic myself.”

“Okay, then I’ll prove it here.”

"……hmm?"

Lake tilted his head, puzzled by the answer.

At that moment, magical power began to boil within Verden's body.

'There's no need to show magic.'

The magical circuits of the entire body are activated.

The overflowing magical power began to take on a blue hue as it flowed outward. The magical power surrounding Verden burned brightly like a flame, and the magical power with physical force suppressed the surroundings.

Damn.

Lake glared as he saw a crack in the teacup.

'Magic power can have physical effects?'

It is possible to categorize magical power as long as it is at least 3rd tier or higher.

However, there are only a few magicians who can create physical phenomena with just magic power alone. This is because they need to have not only a large amount of magic power, but also the ability to manipulate that magic power in a delicate way.

None of the conditions were easy.

But Verden was different.

Even though he was releasing so much magical power, his face was calm. As if it was a given.

'To this extent.'

In terms of magical power alone, it is comparable to that of the royal magicians of the duchy. No, it may even be more than that.

It's somewhat understandable to say that it played a decisive role in the subjugation of the Soul Tree.

“Hoo.”

Count Rodenmeyer, who was watching from the side, was amazed.

Lake was the same. He had surpassed the standard he had set simply by magic power. I was curious to see how far his magic would go, but this was enough proof.

But Verden thought differently.

Because I thought that this wasn't enough.

He looked at the lake with his clear, shining eyes.

“……?”

Only then did Lake guess.

Verden's proof is not yet complete.

Magic pressure.

A magical force like the ocean swallowed up the lake entirely.