Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 45 Marriage is a sacred ritual where a man and a woman form a bond as husband and wife.
While this has been the custom of human society since the days of the Old Empire, the reality for the nobility was somewhat different. Unlike commoners, they were considered descendants of the gods and felt a divine necessity to propagate their magical bloodlines as much as possible.
There were two primary forms of marriage among the nobility.
The first was Companion Marriage, a union between mages of relatively equal standing, similar in form to the marriages of commoners.
The second was Subordinate Marriage, where several mages of inferior standing were bound to a single, superior mage.
The proposal currently offered by the seven families was the latter. They intended to marry off daughters of knights—women who possessed a certain degree of latent potential—to Turan. Naturally, they would be mere concubines and would not dare interfere with the governance of Kalamaph.
"They are, of course, young ladies who lack for nothing in beauty or refinement, having been thoroughly educated to serve as concubines for noble lords."
Young ladies raised under strict management from childhood specifically to be taken as noble concubines...
Turan recalled reading about the management of mage families in the library. He remembered it mentioning that they selected those with exceptional beauty from among the children of knights who either lacked mana entirely or possessed an ambiguous amount of it, born between a knight and a commoner.
Of course, carnal desire was not exclusive to men. Since not every man desired women, there were men who served a similar role. However, it was said that the demand for them was much lower due to issues regarding pregnancy and other factors.
"Before anything else, I would like to know why such a proposal is being made now. This is quite sudden," Turan asked, his face remaining expressionless as he listened.
It had been nearly a month since he became the guardian of Kalamaph. It was a significant amount of time, yet the other nearby families had remained silent, neither attempting to stop nor engage with the mysterious brat who had seized control of the city.
And now, they suddenly appeared—not to gradually get to know him, but to make such a blunt proposal?
Hearing the question, the noble from the city of Labana spoke up confidently.
"We are aware that the Lord of Kalamaph faces many difficulties in managing the city because he has not established a family! Even now, you cannot even use the central mansion, can you? If you father descendants through these seven concubines, quite a few capable knights will be born among them. They will be of great use in your future rule! Furthermore, since half of their bloodline will originate from us, it will be a great help in strengthening our mutual friendship!"
What he spoke of was the fundamental reason why nobles formed families.
Even a mage as powerful as a god was, in the end, only one person. No matter how vast a territory they ruled, they could not fend off magical beasts appearing simultaneously from all directions, nor could they issue orders to commoners scattered everywhere at once.
In contrast, a noble who commanded four ordinary knights could station them in various places and rule a vast territory without lifting a finger. The more nobles and knights one secured, the easier it became to govern a large territory.
Turan sat quietly, lost in thought. Why had this proposal come now, of all times?
Recalling recent events, it wasn't hard to guess.
They heard the news that the threat from the west will disappear. They're trying to secure a stake in Kalamaph's future.
Not long ago, after contacting the Arabion Army and discovering the nature of the western threat, Turan had made the information public. He believed that knowing the threat was tangible and would soon vanish would put the people at ease. There was no reason to keep it a secret, as it was unlikely the Dark Elves or Dwarves had planted spies among the humans.
The lords of the Gray Zone, upon hearing the news, were clearly trying to stake their claim on Kalamaph before its value skyrocketed.
The distance between cities is usually three days to a week on foot... for a knight, it varies, but they can travel it in a few hours to a day. Did they consult each other quickly using knights as messengers? No, they might have discussed this in advance.
Either way, the fact that the lords of the seven neighboring cities were acting in unison was significant. They had clearly agreed to coexist with Turan by mixing their bloodlines with his, rather than attempting to oust him.
Turan, who had been listening quietly, shook his head.
"It is a generous offer, but I decline. In fact, I would like to make a counter-proposal while everyone is gathered here."
"A counter-proposal...?"
"It concerns the sovereignty of this city, Kalamaph."
As the nobles' eyes gleamed, he calmly stated his conditions.
He wanted them to find the trail of a young woman who had traveled through the Gray Zone about twenty years ago. The condition was that the identity of the person requesting the investigation must remain a secret, and the sovereignty of Kalamaph would be handed over to the family that brought back the most useful information.
Upon hearing this, every single noble looked bewildered.
"No, that's absurd..."
"You would hand over a city for such a trivial condition!?"
To any noble family, a city held high practical value alongside its prestige. The tributes offered by the hardworking commoners formed the foundation for maintaining a luxurious lifestyle. Yet, he was willing to give up such a city just to find the whereabouts of a single woman? It was as ridiculous as gifting a warship in exchange for someone picking up a copper coin from the gutter.
Is he really some kind of secret weapon for Arabion?
Since they had heard he was in contact with the Arabion family, that seemed the most plausible explanation. Otherwise, there was no way a man claiming to be a fallen noble would just hand over a city. One of the things wanderers desired most was to obtain their own city, settle down, and establish a family.
"If that isn't enough for you, I will add one more thing. Whoever takes this city must swear in the name of the Frea Divine Clan to diligently protect its citizens as their ruler. The moment this oath is broken, the right to rule the city will be revoked."
Turan recalled the sights of Murei, the first city he had visited. He remembered how they had pushed the work onto monster hunters, claiming it was too much trouble, even as magical beasts devoured children outside the walls. He felt it would be deeply unpleasant if this city ended up like that after he handed it over. After all, hadn't even the family that originally ruled this place perished while fighting for that very protection?
The expressions on the nobles' faces turned strange at Turan's words.
Diligently protect the citizens? It was an archaic sentiment that sounded like something out of the Frea scriptures.
One noble asked, as if unable to understand.
"Why... would you go that far?"
Though they didn't speak, the other nobles seemed to harbor similar questions. Why open the central mansion to vagrants, live in a shabby city hall dormitory himself, and set conditions like the protection of citizens in exchange for a city?
To nobles, commoners were subjects who needed protection for religious and practical reasons, but they weren't beings that required such extreme devotion. Even if a shepherd cherished his sheep, wasn't it ultimately to slaughter them for their meat and hide?
In their eyes, Turan was a bizarre shepherd who, instead of slaughtering his sheep at the right time, let them sleep in his own bed until they died of old age, and then even buried them with care.
Turan thought for a moment, then replied with a smile.
"I wonder. Why indeed."
Afterward, the nobles of the seven cities whispered among themselves for a moment before requesting to leave.
"We know it is rude to depart without staying even a single night, but this is an urgent matter. We will speak to our lords and bring back an answer as quickly as possible."
"Please do."
By the customs of hospitality, it was rude to simply state one's business and leave, but since putting up high-born nobles in the city hall was equally rude, it could be considered a draw.
Once the nobles had all departed, Daruk, who had been waiting outside the meeting room, entered and asked.
"You have worked hard, Guardian. Do you have any commands?"
"I'm calling a meeting."
"Everyone is already gathered on the floor below."
It made sense. If the nobles of all the neighboring cities had visited, word of a significant discussion regarding the city's future would have spread. It was only natural for those leading the city to gather.
A short while later, Turan informed those gathered in the meeting room of his intention to transfer the sovereignty of Kalamaph to another family in the near future.
The faces of everyone present darkened at the news.
"But Great Guardian, this city still needs you..."
"The threat to the west will soon be defeated by Arabion, and the other families will take sufficient care of the city, given the terms under which they gain sovereignty. It will be maintained well enough without me."
The influential figures of Kalamaph secretly hoped that Turan would establish his own family here. Unlike other nobles, Turan did not exploit them; he was a devoted shepherd who used his abilities for the city—a kind of leader they had never even imagined.
However, whether to keep or hand over the sovereignty of the city ultimately rested on the will of the nobility. In the end, it was humans who bought and sold sheep and ranches; the sheep did not get to choose who would raise them.
*
Naturally, the seven noble families did not return with an answer immediately after receiving Turan's proposal. They would likely agree only after secretly gathering information about his mother from their cities and surrounding villages, and once they felt certain they could win.
Since the talk of transferring sovereignty was kept under wraps, the citizens of Kalamaph continued to live their days hopefully, unaware that their master might soon change.
Turan would sometimes sit on the roof of the city hall and look down at their lives.
"Everyone works so hard, don't they?"
Bije, who hadn't brought her iron plate, had nowhere to write, so she simply replied with a chirp.
Turan looked at the citizens of Kalamaph—people who would have died helplessly if not for him. He recalled the question he had been asked by the noble not long ago.
Why go that far...
In his childhood, when he had just awakened his magical powers, his mother had told him he was nothing more than a sheepdog driven by a shepherd. Because of that, Turan never considered himself particularly superior to ordinary humans, the sheep. In the end, he too was just a dog living in hiding, fearful of the shepherd's tyranny.
Then he met Keorn, who taught him that he was actually a shepherd, not a dog—and that a shepherd didn't have to be a figure of fear, but could be a noble one. A benevolent shepherd who looked after knights and commoners, sheepdogs and sheep, protecting them from the wolves that were magical beasts and other races...
Turan wanted to become the kind of ideal being that the old knight had spoken of. Not the wicked shepherd he had feared as a child, who drove his sheep and dogs to their deaths.
While lost in thought, he sensed the presence of a fairly powerful knight a short distance away.
Who is it?
At first, he thought it might be a messenger from one of the families, but if that were the case, one of the civil servants would have found Turan and reported it first. Nobles and knights almost always announced their presence immediately upon entering another city. The fact that there was no report even as the person approached the city hall in the center of town meant that no one had noticed his presence.
Did he sneak in?
Turan had done the same many times, so it would be hypocritical to criticize, but in mage society, it was generally considered rude. One could hardly complain if they were accused of infiltrating for an assassination.
"Bije, can you stay here for a moment?"
After hearing a chirp in response, Turan vanished and leaped down from the roof.
Before long, the stranger's face was revealed. Turan's eyes widened at the sight.
"Ah..."
He slipped into a nearby alley, deactivated his stealth, and called out to the man as he walked out.
"Elder!"
The head of Keorn, the knight of Arabion, whipped around toward Turan. A look of delight appeared on his wrinkled face.
"It really was you! I came here on a whim, but I never expected it to actually be you!"
His joy was brief, however, as Keorn cleared his throat and straightened his posture to offer a formal greeting.
"My apologies. Lord Turan of Kalamaph."
"Please, don't call me that. You know I don't like that sort of thing."
"Your body has certainly grown, but you haven't changed a bit."
Keorn chuckled at the playful grumbling and dropped the formal speech.
Turan felt strange, having been told by Meisa recently that he had changed a lot, only to hear now that he hadn't changed at all. Especially since the physical difference was much greater now that he had trained his body.
A moment later, Turan led Keorn to his quarters in the city hall to avoid public attention. Had it been about half a year since they last met? Come to think of it, they had only known each other for a few days, so why was he so happy to see him? It was a testament to the profound influence Keorn had on him.
"I never dreamed I'd meet you here. You must have taken a massive detour to get here."
For a knight, traveling from Hisaril Hill to here in half a year wasn't that difficult, but since the west of the Gray Zone had become a battlefield, the travel distance would have increased tremendously. Since the north was blocked by mountains, he would have had to pass through the south.
At Turan's words, Keorn's expression turned slightly awkward.
"Ah, about that... I didn't just come here while traveling."
"If not for travel, then why?"
"Actually, I heard news of the war while traveling and went to the subjugation squad to request a return to service. I've already fought the Dark Elves a few times."
"Ah..."
So, the old knight before him had come here not as a retired traveler, but as an Arabion knight belonging to the subjugation squad. Likely, after meeting Meisa and her uncle, Turan's name and description had spread within the squad, leading Keorn to learn of his presence.
"Did you tell Arabion about my bloodline?"
"I did not. I heard a rumor that you didn't particularly want to live as a Zahar noble. Was I overstepping?"
"No, you were right."
The old knight's calm reply didn't carry even a hint of the tension typical of someone lying. Turan smiled in relief, but his smile faded as Keorn cleared his throat and brought up his main business.
"Now, I must do my duty as a messenger of Arabion. More specifically, I am acting as a messenger for Lady Meisa."
"Are you personally acquainted with her?"
The status gap between a mere knight and the heir of a Great Family was wider than that between most nobles and commoners. Of course, Keorn was no ordinary knight.
"Not extensively, but we are somewhat acquainted. Somehow, I ended up wearing a title that doesn't suit me..."
"You mean 'Hero Keorn'."
"Did you... did you see that play?"
Keorn looked at him with a mix of embarrassment and self-loathing before forcing a change of subject.
"Let's talk about that later. First, I must deliver Lady Meisa's proposal."
"Yes."
"There's been a problem with the subjugation of the Dark Elf Necromancer... the self-proclaimed Necromancer King. She wishes to ask for your cooperation."
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