21st Century Archmage

“Raise your head.”

“I await thy imperial command!”

In the great throne room of the Laviter Imperial Palace, where the Emperor was having a meeting with all the nobles, one man raised his head at the emperors words. He was a nervous-looking man with a skinny frame and a wicked scar near his right eye.

“Did you say your name was Lukence?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

It was Viscount Lukence, the man who had at one point been called the master of Nerman. He had been the first to smell the danger and flee during Laviters failed invasion, and now, he had entered the palace at the summons of Emperor Hadveria.

“I summoned you because I heard you are well-informed about Nerman.”

Emperor Hadverias voice was as quiet as usual, but carried an invisible dignity that everyone in the room could feel. At that voice, Lukence lowered his head and awaited the next words.

“Let me ask you. What kind of person is the Lord of Nerman, the man named Kyre?”

Hadveria asked about Kyre without preamble, his expression and words unreadable. However, those who knew the Emperor knew how angry he was right now.

“Your Majesty, the man named Kyre is an impressive person. As such, he is also someone who must absolutely be killed.”

Because the Emperor was asking, Lukence uttered the frosty feelings hed buried deep in his heart regarding Kyre. Lukence knew that this was the last opportunity he had in his life. He had a grudge that absolutely needed to be fulfilled before his death. Lukence began conversing with the Emperor with his wits fully about him.

“Mm… a person who absolutely must be killed…”

“O mighty and sagacious master of the Great Laviter Empire! This humble one will speak the honest truth.” With a thud, Lukence knelt. “The Lord of Nerman, Kyre, is a truly terrifying person. He appeared alone in Nerman with a single wyvern and transformed Nerman, a territory even the Bajran Empire had thrown away, into the best place to live in merely one year. Moreover, something truly incredible is occurring in Nerman right now.”

Lukences hot words spilled out as if a dam had burst.

“The treacherous and dangerous Lord of Nerman established an alliance with the Temir tribes and Kesmire pirates and stabilized the territory, and he somehow learned a wyvern taming method to turn captured wyverns into his own. The number of wyverns under his control have already exceeded 200. Not only that, but as one saw with the recent Nerman invasion, he used dwarven-made ballistas to hold wyverns and soldiers in check, and has begun accumulating wealth using his personal magic knowledge to develop a salt farm that exists nowhere else in the continent.”

Lukence knew the ins and outs of Nerman through the spies he had planted in Nerman. He revealed everything he knew about Nerman to the Emperor.

“That is not all. He is an open-minded person who used the Laviter Empire soldiers captured as prisoners to subjugate monsters, and a wise person capable of using demihumans like dwarves and elves for territory development. In addition, recently, an enormous castle being called the “Great Nerman Castle” is approaching completion within just a few months of construction. He used the dwarves and elves to achieve the feat in a short period of time.”

“Dwarves and elves… so that information was true.”

Emperor Hadveria nodded at Lukences words. He had been informed in advance about this through the empires information network. Not only had the dwarves and elves come out of hiding in the territory, but they were actively helping Nerman. The dwarves and elves that appeared only in legends would probably be dismissed as a tall tale by regular commoners, but every empire, kingdom, magic tower, temple, and countless other places were craning their ears to determine the truth or falsehood of that information. The demihumans had hidden their whereabouts because they had been defeated in the past war with humans, but politicians and mages alike knew that dwarves and elves possesed tremendous abilities. And Nerman, a territory receiving the active support of such races, was an extremely dangerous existence.

“In addition to that, it is said that there are even beastmen in his service. And they are magic swordsmen beastmen capable of 5th Circle magic at the least.”

Lukence revealed important knowledge he thought was exclusive to him.

“Huhu…”

However, the Emperor was already aware. The fact that the Second Prince had almost lost his life to Kyre because of beastmen was a secret that only the Imperial Family and high-ranking nobles knew.

“Do you have the confidence?”

After a brief chuckle, Hadveria suddenly asked Lukence whether he had the confidence.

“What does that…”

Lukences head whipped up with a dazed expression at the Emperors sudden words.

The master of the Laviter Empire, Hadveria von Laviter the Third… was an absolute ruler regarded as a god by all of the nobles and knights. Not a single person dared to oppose the Emperors authority or say anything irreverent. No matter how wise a king was said to be, politics was a field where nobles inevitably had complaints, yet not a single person dared to express them. That was simply how much respect and fear the emperor commanded.

Lukence felt that he could finally understand how those nobles felt. The emperor looking down on him was a little ordinary in appearance, but in his gaze, one could feel an invisible, suffocating power of mana, an aura that only a person of true strength could exude.

Lukence made himself small and awaited the Emperors next words.

“I shall give you the power, so do you have the confidence to occupy Nerman.”

“!!”

The Emperors tremendous proposal made Lukence exclaim wordlessly in shock. That the Emperor would give him power was a statement more impactful than any other. Moreover, by asking Lukence if he had the confidence to occupy Nerman, it was akin to granting him the responsibility of a commander, a position only a noble of at least count or higher could assume.

Thud!

Lukence kowtowed with a loud thump.

“Your Majesty! If Your Majesty would do me the benevolence of believing in me, I will devote all my life to bring destruction upon Nerman!”

Lukence had thought it would be good enough if he could relieve his grievances, but the world had granted him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He had kowtowed so heavily that blood flowed onto the ground.