章節 20: Golden Lion Villa (1)

In Melvinger City, the arrival of Lady Azareth had already turned things upside down. Most merchants would make the majority of their sellings during the [Knight Festival], but Lady Azareth's arrival was a never-seen-before event. The amount of goods and its variety far exceeded what the small, independant merchants, could ever hope to offer to their clients, not to mention that Lady Azareth had an incredible reputation in the kingdom.

The amount of profit she would make was staggering, to the point that she had been allowed in the core area of the city, even though she no longer possessed a noble title. The Azareth Household, originally a knight household, had been disbanded after its family head had been mysteriously killed, the mansion burned and its territory destroyed by an alliance of four or five nobles neighbour to the Azareth fief.

Although Lady Azareth's arrival and her army of merchant subordinates found its way into most conversations happening in the city, the mysterious young master who had purchased one of the most expensive villa in the inner area of Melvinger City had gained some interest from the mayor, high-ranking officials and 'mysterious entities', who were wandering acolytes using their magical skills to earn a living.

Although Melvinger City did not possess an official magical organization, there were more than a dozen wandering acolytes living in the city. Some of them inherited their magical spells and knowledge from their family, others were just resting for a while in this city. After all, Melvinger City was very active, and you could enjoy life in many ways. The food, the shops, the entertainment streets...Even George, who came from the modern world, was finding it difficult to be bored in this place.

Even though there were thousands of sources of distraction, George was staying in his mansion most days. Occasionally, he would receive a few guests, and learn more about the Melvinger Knight Festival, but that was the extent of it.

In the middle of the garden, the sun was rising, gently illuminating the garden on which George was practicing his knight breathing technique.

[You have successfully completed a [Lionheart Breathing Technique] Cycle]

[The [Silver Church Holy Water] seems to react as a catalyst for your breathing technique. Effectiveness of the breathing technique has been increased by 68%]

[You have practiced the breathing technique near Elerys Trees, the spores acting as a catalyst for your breathing technique. Effectiveness of the breathing technique has been increased by 36%]

[Your strength, dexterity and vitality is expected to increase by 0.011, 0.013, and 0.015 respectively. Internal energy has increased by 0.02 point]

'Body Scan', George ordered

[Name - George Lionheart | Status - Healthy| Title: Knight

Attributes :

Strength - 3.8 | Dexterity - 3.6 | Vitality - 4.0 |

Internal Energy - 6.0 | Spiritual Force - 7.1

Knight Killing Technique: [Lion Beheading - Deals [Strength*2 + 3] degrees of damage]

Knight Secret Technique: [Lionheart Strength - Increase Strength and vitality by 30%]

Perk: Sword Master

Spells: Underworld Hands, Shadow hands]

Just as he finished, George was immediately greeted by the butler James. During the past month, James had proved extremely proficient at what he was doing, making George satisfied with every bronze coin he had invested into buying the Golden Lion Villa. The meals he asked for, as extravagant as it was, were always perfectly cooked. There was not even a speck of dust in the various rooms, and the mansion was definitely one of the most beautiful that he had ever entered, making him look forward to the day he would make a trip to the Lionheart Household.

"Here is your towel, sir", James said while bowing

George accepted it, and spoke: "Have the guests arrived?"

"Yes, sir. Miss Billing has answered your invitation, and greeted you with your presence. Of course, she did not come alone, and brought her younger brother, the first heir of the Billing Household, with her", James spoke

"Then, I shall not make them wait too long"

"This should be for the best. The chambermaids have given them elven tea and biscuits already, but they seem to be more interested in the sculptures and paintings you have acquired"

George nodded. James was the perfect butler. George often invited guests, but sometimes, his training took too much time. Most butlers would have aged greatly because of George's lack of respect for his guests, but James was different. He had an amazing arsenal to make the guests wait, while avoiding to offend them in the slightest.

The paintings and sculptures that James was talking about, was actually the payment George had received from escorting Lady Azareth. Although his skills with a sword were not put to use, Lady Azareth seemed to favour him considerably after he showed the Sarad Kingdom Etiquette. She had misunderstood his identity as that of someone who was similar to her, from a fallen noble family. However, she could not be any more wrong, for the Lionheart County was still alive, and better still, it was extremely prosperous.

As George arrived, he immediately followed the noble etiquette, and greeted his two guests, by bowing slightly, and kissing the hand of Miss Emma Billing, an act that earned him the admiration and blush of Miss Billing, as well as a death stare from her brother John Billing.

"We have been waiting for a couple of hours...", John groaned, "But I will forgive you since you are obviously of noble origins. I originally had my doubts, especially when my sister told me about an incredible young noble who had settled in the inner city, but looking at your taste in painting, books and sculptures, as well as your manners, you definitely come from the Sarad Kingdom. May I know your family's name?", John spoke

"You put me in a difficult situation...I am actually in the city without my father's approval...But you have seen through me. My father is a count", George spoke

Immediately, John and Emma Billing bowed slightly. As they came from a Viscount family, they obviously had an inferior rank. In the nobility, hierarchy was respected.

"So...George. You promised you would make me visit the mansion! I can't wait to see your office, your experiments and everything else!", the young lady spoke with enthusiasm

John was like a father, looking at George with a dangerous glare. Of course, ever since George revealed he was from a count family, the glare had turned much less threatening.

"Of course! Please follow me..."

[Beep! Scan complete!]

[Name - Emma Billing | Status - Healthy | Rank 2 Acolyte

Attributes :

Strength - 0.6 | Dexterity - 1.0 | Vitality - 1.3 | Spiritual Force - 4.6]

The reason why George wasted so much time inviting important guests was not purely for information purposes. Actually, gathering information about the knight festival was quite secondary to his true purpose.

George was inviting every single acolyte from the Melvinger Magical Society, and sold them [Spiritual Potions] for a very high price. Since most of them were living in the Core Area, George could only resort to inviting them over, rather than sneaking into the Core Area, which was strictly overseen by knights and soldiers patrolling. Of course, he could always try to prove his identity but this would include long hours of conversation with the mayor and officials who would then think that he owned them a debt.

He could not be bothered by it, and thus invited guests one after the other. Ever since he sold his first batch of potions, there were no longer any wandering acolyte in the city who would not try to get in touch with him, not to mention refuse an invitatino to the mighty Golden Lion Villa.

John, a full-fledged knight, was oblivious to his own sister's true identity, and thought of her cheerfulness as that of a young lady's carelessness. However, George was not someone who could easily be impressed by a knight.