Episode 80: Less than a week after Logan and the Sword Duke returned from their audience with the king, what everyone had been waiting for happened.
The swordsman who heard the news during training was startled and ran into the main house.
And on that day, the heir to the Esperanza family was born.
“Hahaha!”
Even though I wasn’t even close, I heard a familiar sound of laughter.
If it were a commoner’s baby, it would have been a day when it would have been laid in a warm blanket and blocked from outsiders.
The Sword Duke’s mansion was bustling with preparations for a party for the Sword Duke’s ‘daughter’ that had been prepared for several weeks.
A birth party is a tradition of the Grandia nobles and is usually held only when a son is born.
Although they thought it was a swordsman’s special love for his child, most of the nobles in the capital accepted the invitation.
And of course, Logan, who had come to the capital for this party in the first place, also attended the party.
– Heir to the McLane family. Logan McLane Listen to Confucius.
As the door to the banquet hall opened with the servant’s name being called, people were seen staring at Logan from all over.
Things have changed so much since last year when I came to Seoul for Imporik and snooped around the capital’s party scene.
The swordsman’s disciple.
With that title alone, there were a lot of people interested in him.
“You look really young…”
“They say you’re twenty-one now.”
Murmur.
A lot of curious gazes poured in.
Of course, it wasn’t just gaze.
“Princess Logan. Let’s talk for a moment…”
“Prince Logan. It’s an honor to meet you. I…”
There were many aggressive approaches to the point that Logan was embarrassed.
But fortunately, the attention on him did not last long.
Coincidentally, the most important guest of the day came right after him.
– Bishop of the United Church of Christ in the Kingdom of Grandia. Crimson Matthew is visiting!
An old man with a benevolent appearance, wearing a long white magistrate’s cap atop his neatly combed pure white hair, enters with a shout from an attendant.
The robes he was wearing were also pure white except for the nine circles drawn on them.
At the appearance of the old man, who was like a symbol of kindness, all the nobles bowed their heads towards him.
And the old man also slightly bowed his head towards the host of the party at the head table.
“I congratulate you on obtaining a descendant, Your Excellency the Duke.”
“Thank you, Bishop. I consider it the honor of my third life that you came here in person.”
The swordsman also stood up and bowed his head.
This was because the status of a high priest or higher in a religious order was not something that could be ignored as a swordsman.
The old man smiled broadly at the polite manners.
“How can I send an inferior person? The son of a swordsman, a mainstay of this country, has been born, and I must bless him myself.”
“Haha. Thank you so much again.”
Not only Grandia, but most continental nobles made it mandatory for children to receive God’s blessing when they were born.
People believed that the blessing would influence the abilities and character of later generations.
Not being able to call a priest to consecrate a child was considered a characteristic of a fallen noble.
Among them, he is the fifth of the nine great gods. The blessings of Agna, the god of trees and life, are something that all parents wish for, even for the health of their children.
Among them, it was the consecration of Bishop Crimson Matthew, who could be said to be the highest-ranking priest, so it was no wonder that the swordsman liked it so much.
With everyone gathered in the banquet hall concentrating, the bishop slowly walked towards the head of the table.
A high seat in the innermost part of the banquet hall.
Normally, it would have been the seat of the Duke, the host of the party, but now there was a small bed with an elegant shape that did not fit the party hall.
On top of it, a small child was sleeping, wrapped in a soft-looking blanket.
The child with curly blond hair was sleeping peacefully until his mother, who had a rather pale complexion, carefully picked him up with her hands, but soon he felt the touch of a stranger and woke up and burst into tears.
“Aaaah!”
“I ask you, my humble servant, from the nine gods who look down on the world…”
Bishop Crimson begins to mutter while holding the child.
As his soft voice rose above the child’s cries while everyone held their breath, the white light that had been obscured by the pure white priest’s robes gradually became stronger and began to surround his body and the baby.
‘That’s divine power.’
Logan concentrated his senses as he saw divine power for the first time in his life.
In my past life, I just thought of it as a miracle where the situation suddenly changed without feeling any movement of force.
Because the sacred power of middle and lower-level priests was not even visible to the naked eye.
But the sensation I felt now was different.
‘It is closer to the source than force and more secret than mana. I guess that’s why other people don’t feel it.’
He had already sensed that his senses were something special, far beyond the scope of his cognitive abilities.
So, I simply admired the construction process, engraving in my mind the characteristics of the newly felt divine power.
“Oh oh!”
“Indeed, Bishop!”
“That’s such clear divine power!”
As the surroundings became noisy, the baby in the bishop’s hands stopped crying and stared at the surroundings with his big blue eyes blinking, as if the light was amazing.
“In the name of Agna, the god of life, I bless Esperanza’s newly born descendants.”
Flash!
Finally, when the white light that poured in filled the banquet hall and then disappeared, applause began to pour in from those around them.
“Your Excellency the Duke. Congratulations!”
“With such strong light, you must be a big person!”
“I salute you, Your Excellency the Duke!”
Amid the pouring applause, the swordsman smiled brightly and repeatedly bowed his head to the cheers of the guests.
But out of all the people gathered in the banquet hall, only two people.
Only Bishop Crimson and Logan weren’t smiling.
‘Divine power bounced out of the baby’s body?’
Logan was able to accurately read that the bright light at the end was not the blessing maximized, but the light that protruded from the baby’s body.
He felt it too, so how could the bishop who was involved not know it?
The bishop, with a perplexed expression on his face, soon gave the baby, who started crying again, to his birth mother, awakening his pure white light once again.
“Thank you for your hard work, Duchess. Please rest in peace for a while with your child.”
Pure white light pouring in again.
The duchess, who had been forced to leave the party, looked a little more relaxed, and the baby also stopped crying, probably enjoying the warm light.
but.
‘also?’
The child’s body still repelled divine power.
This time, the bishop, who had been pretending to be calm, also hardened his complexion.
“What’s going on, Bishop?”
“Oh no, Your Excellency. I think I was momentarily entranced by the child because she was so pretty.”
But the bishop’s countenance was anything but comfortable.
The swordsman must have sensed that too, but his complexion hardened slightly.
“Oh, it’s been a while since I gave a blessing, so I guess I’m tired. Sorry, I guess I’ll have to go in first.”
I could not stop the bishop of the denomination from wanting to go back.
“Everyone! Enjoy the party! Let’s celebrate the birth of new life! Everyone, raise your glasses!”
The Duke of Swords was busy cheering up the party, leaving the Bishop’s sudden departure behind.
Even though the bishop returned, leaving doubts in the minds of a few people.
A ray of anxiety lingered in Logan’s heart as he clearly saw the scene.
‘…Why?’
It could have been just a random coincidence.
No, in some ways it was more likely.
In the grand scheme of things, divine power is a type of supernatural ability, and isn’t it possible that the baby has a unique constitution that rebels against it?
Logan tried to think about it, but the uneasy feeling did not go away easily.
And then.
“It’s been a while, Logan McLane.”
A familiar voice reached his ears.
When I turned my head, I saw a blonde-haired, blue-eyed middle-aged man raising a glass with a cold smile.
“Yes. Long time no see, Count Bipros.”
“Yes. I’m afraid your complexion looks better than I expected.”
Logan chuckled at the childish argument of a man as old as an earl.
“Thank you.”
“…Your tongue is still smooth.”
“Because I’m healthy.”
“You’re still as cocky as ever.”
“That’s my charm.”
Logan deliberately grinned. To the point where it’s ridiculous to even think about it.
Kwasik.
Cheer up.
The wine glass the Count was holding broke and fell, attracting attention from all around him.
“Ah, such a mistake. As I get older, my hands keep slipping.”
Roger Bipros let out a small sigh, then called an attendant with a sly look on his face and wiped his dirty hands.
Soon after, people’s interest faded and the attention that had been focused on him shifted back to Sangseok’s swordsmanship.
The Count came a little closer to Logan and whispered secretly.
“Recognize that your life was saved because you happened to become a swordsman’s disciple. Thanks to that, you attracted the attention of high-ranking people, so you are a very lucky person.”
“Of course, I know very well that I am lucky.”
Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to return.
This wasn’t meant to be sarcastic, it was sincere.
But that answer was also enough to distort the Count’s face.
“Yes. I hope you continue to maintain that attitude even when you meet a high-ranking person.”
“…A high-ranking person?”
“Romain von Grandia. His Majesty the Second Prince wants to meet you. Of course, I hope you won’t accept it.”
Although the words were slightly twisted, it was something that anyone who wasn’t an idiot could understand.
2Stand in the prince’s camp. If you don’t want to get lost.
In fact, it was nothing short of a threat.
But Logan smiled again as he looked at the count’s stern expression.
“I would be honored if you could introduce me to His Majesty the Prince. I will think carefully about your offer.”
“Insolent… Are you taking the prince’s command as a suggestion?”
“Are you actually suggesting this? Or do you want me to go over there with Master?”
When Logan gently pointed to the other side of the party, the Count’s expression hardened even more.
Roger Bipros, who was silent for a moment with a slightly trembling face, gritted his teeth and turned around.
“I will contact you soon. If this is also a deception, you will pay an unimaginable price.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Logan smiled to himself as he watched Roger Bipros walking away.
‘What can’t I say at this point?’
There are only a few months left until civil war breaks out.
If you just postpone the meeting every day, after that you won’t have time to worry about him, whether he’s a prince or a duke.
It was just funny how Count Bipros acted like a messenger for the second prince, even though he only had the status of a margrave.
Since we would end up becoming enemies anyway, threats just didn’t pay off.
‘It’s not like he said it because he wanted to. ‘Maybe…’
Logan’s eyes turned to the large man standing in the center of the party hall where Count Bipros was heading.
He is well over 2 meters tall and has enormous muscles visible through the huge custom-made party suit.
A giant with dark gray hair that looks like a rock.
‘Flame Sword Jordan Waltermime.’
One of only three dukes in the kingdom, a superhuman Auror user, and the maternal grandfather of the second prince.
He looked back for a moment as if he felt Logan’s gaze, but he just passed by as if indifferent.
It’s as if you don’t deserve to talk to me yet, and you don’t even care about you, you bastard.
‘Well, you probably want Master, not me.’
As Logan watched with a smile, another familiar voice sounded in his ears.
“That’s right. It’s best to make decisions carefully, nephew.”
“hmm?”
A middle-aged man with a slightly pale complexion, with neatly slicked-back black hair.
As soon as he saw him, Logan’s expression suddenly distorted.
“Veron… Lord Kairos?”
Although he was being respectful, his tone clearly showed that he was not pleased.
However, despite such an uncomfortable answer, Veron was pleased and approached.
“Hahaha. It’s been a while, Prince Logan. Seeing you grow up so much makes me proud as the adult of the family. But what you said earlier was too hasty.”
Logan couldn’t help but gape at that proactive appearance.
– uncle? who? I? haha. Little master. Let’s keep our line.
The confident young man who left a big mark on Logan’s heart when he was very young has grown a little older, and his confidence has been replaced by a lot of shamelessness.
Of course, Logan had no intention of simply accepting what he wanted.
“The adult in the family? Who are you talking about? You?”
“Of course, you and I are not directly related by blood. But who doesn’t know that McLane and Kairos are in-laws?”
Veron Kairos was a person far short of the Roger Bipros who appeared earlier.
However, in the 1st Prince faction, it was at least a family that had ties to McLane.
of course.
“Hmm, wasn’t the relationship already broken?”
From Logan’s point of view, their relationship was worse than that of others.
