Raising the Northern Grand Duchy as a Max-Level All-Master
Chapter 152

152. The Land of Magic (2)

The capital of the Duchy of Renslet is the High Tower.

Its original name was "Renslet Fortress," but since the entire northern region came to be known as the Duchy of Renslet, the name “High Tower” has effectively become the capital’s official name.

“It’s already been eight years since I came to this city.”

Eight years felt like an eternity.

It was a long time for me, who once struggled desperately to find a way back to Earth. It must have felt just as long for this land, the former Northern Grand Duchy, as it endured my turmoil firsthand.

Somehow, I’d become an honorary citizen of Renslet, married its ruler, and become a husband in this foreign land.

What was once known as the Northern Grand Duchy had transformed into the Duchy of Renslet, now the world’s most advanced magical city.

“The only thing that hasn’t changed… is probably that house.”

After parting with Arina, I headed home instead of the industrial complex.

“Welcome back, Chairman Jin!”

When I arrived, Jarvis, the estate manager, greeted me warmly at the entrance.

“No issues while I was gone?”

He must have somehow caught wind of the fact that I was heading straight home after the theater.

“Well… you have a guest.”

“A guest?”

“Yes, some old noble has been waiting in the first-floor lobby for quite some time. He claims he had an appointment with you…”

“An appointment?”

“Yes, yes! And he had, uh, a mana potion with him.”

Perhaps fearing I’d question him, Jarvis hastily added more details.

“I don’t know much about magic, but a mana potion isn’t something just anyone carries, right?”

“Ah… I know who it is. Got it.”

Nodding, I made my way toward the lobby.

Click.

I discreetly activated the enchantment on Arad’s Love, the ring on my left hand, concealing its magical properties to make it appear as an ordinary piece of jewelry.

Swish.

Then, with a subtle hand gesture, I signaled to the guards that the guest was someone I knew.

The security staff, who had been ready to storm into the lobby, sheathed their half-drawn swords. Even the Frost Knights, prepared to intervene from the shadows, withdrew.

“I’m planning to work on something alone with the old man. Sorry, but could you all wait outside for a while?”

I tossed a silver coin to Jarvis. It was my way of telling him to warm up at a nearby tavern with a beer.

“Do you need me to run any other errands?”

Jarvis tilted his head, puzzled by the generous silver coin. These days, even with rising prices, a single silver coin was far more than what a few beers would cost.

“Take the security staff with you. Grab something light to eat while you’re at it.”

“What? That could be dangerous!”

“With the Frost Knights here? Don’t worry about it. Just go.”

“Well, if you insist… Then I’ll be at Aesop’s Tavern with the security officers. Call for us anytime.”

“Got it.”

Once Jarvis and the guards were out of the house, I stepped inside.

“You’re here.”

Waiting for me in the first-floor lobby was Yulkanes, dressed as a moderately aged nobleman.

“Did you come with the imperial delegation?”

“Well, yes. But why call me ‘the old man’? What’s with ‘the old man’?”

“For someone your age, your ears are awfully sharp.”

“Tsk tsk tsk… Kids these days have no manners…”

“I’m not exactly a kid.”

“Still young, aren’t you?”

Young… I glanced at the mirror hanging in the lobby.

Eight years had passed since I arrived in this world, but my appearance hadn’t changed much.

Like a master or a magician, I seemed to age very slowly.

“You’re not using transformation magic? What if the Emperor finds out?”

“Why bother with transformation magic? A simple perception-altering spell works just fine.”

“So the delegation doesn’t know your true identity?”

“Of course not. To them, I’m just an unremarkable old bureaucrat.”

Come to think of it, this guy always did prefer using mental magic.

“In any case, it’s good to see you.”

“Good to see me? We just talked through magic communication not long ago. But I must say, the north is developing at an astonishing pace.”

There was an odd sense of familiarity in my interactions with Yulkanes. It seemed the feeling was mutual.

Ever since our second encounter in this very house, the Archmage of the Golden Tower and I had occasionally stayed in touch via magic communication.

“For someone visiting the world’s most advanced magical city, your reaction is surprisingly subdued.”

“If the Empire put its mind to it, we could achieve the same. Tsk tsk…”

“It’s always the vested interests that get in the way.”

“My apprentices don’t listen to a word I say. Makes me understand how Haran must have felt back in the day.”

“Apprentices defying an 8th-circle Archmage? That’s rare.”

“There’s someone similar right in front of me, isn’t there?”

“I’m not your apprentice, though. If anything, it’s the other way around.”

“Tsk… kids these days…”

“I’m telling you, I’m not a ‘kid.’”

Yulkanes’ grumbling was half genuine and half exaggerated.

If he wanted, he could easily establish a magical academy in the Empire, just like Renslet Academy here.

But he deliberately held back.

As an 8th-circle Archmage, the political entanglements surrounding him must have been extraordinarily complex.

“By the way, you’ve finished the snacks but barely touched the tea.”

“The steward here has no skill in making tea.”

“I’ll make it for you.”

I brought tea and refreshments to Yulkanes, who was seated in the lobby.

“You’re better suited to being a chef than a mage.”

As Yulkanes sipped the tea I had prepared, he gave a brief comment.

“That’s an incredible waste of talent.”

“Not for the Empire, though.”

“How’s the atmosphere in the Empire these days?”

“What do you think? It’s at its worst. Do you think I’d be hoarding mystic mana stones for teleportation otherwise?”

“You’ve still been sending familiars occasionally, though.”

“Don’t worry about that anymore. Soon, I won’t even have the luxury to send those.”

“It’s that bad?”

“We’re on the brink of civil war. I’ve even prepared to teleport out if things fall apart.”

“Come on, an 8th-circle Archmage running away? That’s hard to picture.”

“If two Sword Masters team up, even I’d be in trouble. I’m not a Battle Mage, you know.”

For someone who wasn’t a Battle Mage, his skill in handling practical magic was impressive. I thought so but chose not to voice it.

“How did you manage to trade with the United Kingdom?”

Yulkanes suddenly threw out the question, catching me off guard.

“I’ve told you countless times during our magic communications—by sea.”

I answered nonchalantly, as I always did.

“I still find it hard to believe.”

“I just poured all the funds I saved into greenhouse magic, that’s all.”

“With that amount of money, you might have been better off building an airship like those from the Golden Age.”

Thump.

His words made me flinch slightly, but I quickly schooled my expression.

“This old man…”

It was clear he was probing me. He might have even been attempting mental magic or telepathy, something he couldn’t do over magic communication. Not a chance I’d let him succeed.

“An airship, huh? To make one, you’d need a magic engine.”

“Is that so? I suppose even you couldn’t build an airship without one. It doesn’t make theoretical sense.”

“Well… it’s not theoretically impossible.”

I threw up a smokescreen, evading his question as smoothly as possible.

“Really?”

“However, the mana stones, resources, and time required would be astronomical.”

“…On second thought, perhaps a greenhouse barrier is the better investment.”

Yulkanes nodded, seemingly convinced. He likely recalled the defensive barriers he’d seen in High Tower’s skies and the magical streetlights scattered across the city.

“If circumstances allowed, I would’ve visited the Jin estate myself to see the harbor.”

“That wouldn’t have been possible.”

“You’re quite the fanatic, blocking familiars entirely with that barrier.”

It seemed Yulkanes had already sent familiars to the area, only for them to be intercepted.

“Thank you for your high praise of the work by Her Highness and myself.”

“Praise? It’s nothing but underhanded tactics! That barrier’s just spirits stationed permanently, isn’t it? It’s downright sneaky.”

The existence of the airship had not yet been revealed to the public.

Not even the 8th-circle Archmage of the Golden Tower could confirm its existence, thanks to the impenetrable barriers set up around the Arad Shipyard and the surrounding coastline.

These barriers were comparable to those installed at the Palace of Glory.

“Killing familiars, though? That’s excessive. Even I get headaches for an entire day when I lose one.”

Yulkanes grimaced, likely recalling the loss of his familiars to the stationed spirits.

“Stop spying, or better yet, just immigrate to Renslet.”

“You’ve always got a comeback, don’t you?”

“Anyway, welcome to Renslet.”

“You make it sound like I’ve defected or something. I’m just here for a side job. I’ll leave with the delegation.”

“Why not defect? I hear the Emperor’s been pestering you to create something like Mary’s Blessing.”

The Emperor had recently been pressuring the Golden Tower to develop not just magic engines but fertilizers like Mary’s Blessing.

“Tsk… Honestly, I’d like to. No, wait. What am I even saying?”

Yulkanes shook his head and gave me a sharp look, to which I simply shrugged.

“So, how’s the Empire’s version of Mary’s Blessing coming along?”

“Ha! If it were easy, I’d have done it ages ago!”

When I pressed him slightly, Yulkanes sighed deeply, as though weighed down by frustration.

“Mary’s Blessing requires the cooperation of spirits. It’s an absolute necessity.”

I nodded along, encouraging him to continue.

“And currently, the only group capable of performing diverse spirit magic is the Renslet Magic Society.”

Neither Yulkanes nor the Golden Tower had been able to meet the Emperor’s demands for a version of Mary’s Blessing.

They had, as always, cited budget and time constraints, repeating the excuse like a mantra.

In response, the Emperor had significantly cut the Golden Tower’s funding. With the Empire already short on money due to its trade war losses, he probably saw this as an opportunity to save costs.

“From what I hear, relations between the Golden Tower and the Imperial Court are at an all-time low. They’ve slashed your funding significantly.”

“That’s why the magical academy project we’d just begun had to be canceled. The Golden Tower mages refused to cooperate.”

It was clear that the Emperor’s authority was teetering.

“That’s odd. The Emperor I know isn’t usually this emotional. Something seems off…”

“He’s lost a lot of motivation after this failure. Even the court’s confidence in him has been severely shaken.”

Yulkanes gave me a look that seemed to say, And whose fault do you think that is?

“Apparently, he’s taken to bouts of anger and even violence. Rumor has it he can’t sleep without alcohol.”

For a fleeting moment, I considered creating something akin to a drug to weaken the Emperor further but dismissed the idea.

Weakening the Emperor’s power too much could disrupt the balance of power within the Empire.

“So, how are you making money these days?”

This situation, after all, worked entirely to my advantage.

“You already know the answer, so why ask? Isn’t my being here all about money?”

I had effectively outsourced work to an 8th-circle Archmage.

“Well, enough chit-chat. Let’s get started. I’ve got money to earn.”

“Of course. Let me guide you to the workshop in the basement.”

“And don’t forget to pay the full amount we agreed upon. I even turned down a research request from the Bishop Merchant Guild for this!”

It might seem strange for an Archmage to be so money-driven, but that’s just how mages were.

They earned large sums but spent even more on their training and research. The higher their circle, the more pronounced this tendency became.

“The payment may vary depending on how quickly the work is completed.”

“Quickly? Ha! Do you know who you’re talking to? Just don’t come crying to me later when your wallet’s empty!”

Yulkanes had come to assist with a recent project of mine: crafting magical equipment for Renslet’s elite knights.

“Such confidence! I’m looking forward to it!”

I couldn’t help but feel my expectations rise.