14 Grand Wyvern Kingdom

"Hahaha! Let's get going then!" Roland exclaimed heartily as he left towards the throne room, not bothering to explain himself further.

This envoy from the Grand Wyvern Kingdom truly picked a good time to come! What a life-saver! Looks like I really should give the envoy a warm welcome!

The Grand Wyvern Kingdom was located north of the Great Manta Kingdom, with their territories directly adjacent to each other. The countries' borders were marked by a long stretch of grassland, left undeveloped due to the mutual understanding of both sides.

The two kingdoms were similar in nature, but most people were of the opinion that the Great Manta Kingdom was slightly stronger. But the difference, if any, was insignificant when placed on the scale of a kingdom's military might.

However, that was before the great war.

During the great war, both sides had stood together in a united front, and both sides had incurred huge losses.

But in the midst of war, who would properly measure the degree of loss of their allies?

They were far too busy trying to win the war!

Even within the Great Manta Kingdom, the different nobles had no tangible estimate of the state that each other's armies were in, not to mention those from another kingdom!

Thus both kingdoms needed time to reassess their current standing relative to the other, resulting in a delicate political situation at the moment.

While the two kingdoms seemed friendly on the surface, it was inevitable for two adjacent kingdoms to have a rivalry between them that was well concealed under the surface pleasantries.

And this rivalry was exacerbated by the current delicate political climate.

In a bid to gain an upper hand, spies from each kingdom had since long been active in each other's territories, trying to gather as much information as possible.

Of course, Roland who had always skipped out on royal court sessions was oblivious to this complex political relationship between the two kingdoms. All that he could see was a friendly kingdom who had braved through the great war along with their Great Manta Kingdom.

The envoy from the Grand Wyvern Kingdom was accommodated in a comfortable holding room, but Roland headed straight for the throne room instead.

It was customary for a king to first greet envoys while basking in the full majesty of their throne room as a show of status, and Roland naturally adhered to this tradition.

"Announcing the arrival of the envoy from the Grand Wyvern Kingdom!" Veronica's voice bellowed across the empty throne room.

The huge chamber that could house hundreds of nobles was now almost void of life.

Roland's siblings had gathered upon notice, but Duke Ivan was away from the palace and thus was not present to receive the envoy. Other than them, there were a mere few guards and maids on standby.

The sound of footsteps echoed out as a group of four walked briskly into the throne room, heading down the red carpet leading up to the throne.

Leading the group was a young lady who donned a light flowy dress. Her facial features were sharp and distinct, and her eyes were big and shone with a brilliant light. Her long black hair was tied up in a bun and secured with a pin. Every step that she took left a trace of flowery scent.

Even the greatest of critics could only praise her as a true beauty if asked to assess her looks.

Walking slightly behind her was a young man dressed in leather armour. His face looked stern and prideful, which was further emphasised by the powerful gaze in his eyes. His hair was black as well, but it was kept short. His body was muscular but lean, and every step he took was firm, giving off the air of a seasoned warrior.

Behind him were two men who donned normal armour representative of the Grand Wyvern Kingdom infantry. One of them was holding onto a wooden box which was around the size of a basketball.

The group made their way forward until right in front of the steps that led up to the throne.

"Olivia, daughter of His Majesty King Charles of the Grand Wyvern Kingdom, pays respect to King Roland," the lady did an elegant bow.

The three men behind her promptly bowed respectfully as well, showing not the slightest flaw in terms of etiquette.

"Please be at ease, envoy from the Grand Wyvern Kingdom," Roland's voice was deep and majestic, a result of hard practice in preparation for situations like this.

"Thank you, King Roland," Olivia straightened her back to face the young king before continuing. "His Majesty King Charles had heard of the coronation of Your Majesty, King Roland, and thus sent Olivia as an envoy to present a congratulatory gift."

"Hahaha! King Charles is too kind! It must have been hard on you, Princess Olivia!"

Roland originally had a good impression of the neighbouring kingdom. Upon hearing that the other king had sent his daughter here just to present gifts to him, Roland had clean forgotten that he was still feeling depressed just a while ago.

"Not at all, Olivia only regrets not being able to make it in time for the coronation ceremony," her voice was gentle but clear at the same time. "Bring the gift forward."

Upon hearing her instructions, the man holding the wooden box stepped forward and stretched out his hands to reveal the box.

Without the need for any prompting, Rose started moving from Roland's side down towards the infantry.

Seeing her movements, the man dressed in leather armour opened his eyes wide in shock. But that only lasted for a fraction of a second as he quickly regained his composure.

But no matter how subtle it was and how fast he recovered, how could it ever escape Roland's keen eyes?

"It seems like this young man is well trained. It is truly a wise choice to have him come along," Roland smiled approvingly.

"Deepest gratitude for Your Majesty's compliments," Olivia gave a gentle smile in return. "This man is Drake, the Champion of the Grand Wyvern Arena."

"I see, that explains."

Roland was not acting this time. As a warrior, he was especially interested in anything to do with battles, and the Grand Wyvern Arena was famous for attracting warriors from all around the region to do battle.

He had once thought of heading over to temper himself in the Arena as well, but had decided against it in the end.

At this time, Rose had brought the wooden box up to him.

"Open it."

Rose nodded before tilting the box to face slightly away from King Roland. This was to prevent any possibility of hidden traps striking the king from close distance.

As the lid on the wooden box opened, spiritual energy streamed out of it like a gentle wave of cool air, slowly spreading out across the room.

"That is…" Roland had to consciously remind himself not to walk over to take a closer look at what was in the box.

"This is an Arcane Stone," a smile spread across Olivia's face as she saw Roland's look of surprise. "His Majesty King Charles heard that King Roland has always pursued the pinnacle of magic and combat, and after great effort finally discovered a gift fitting of King Roland."

Rose brought the box nearer to Roland who picked it up to observe it closely.

Arcane Stones were naturally forming objects found in areas that were rich in spiritual energy. These areas were ideal for training, but they were usually also home to dangerous beasts, making these areas extremely dangerous.

Coupled with how rare it was for Arcane Stones to form even within these areas rich in spiritual energy, it was extremely difficult to obtain an Arcane Stone.

Yet some people still risked their lives to venture into these areas for it, simply because of the great benefit that Arcane Stones pose to warriors.

Using Arcane Stones as a catalyst during meditation could directly increase the rate at which an individual condensed mana in the body, greatly aiding the expansion of the mana reserve.

With such great benefits on top of its rarity, the price for each Arcane Stone was astronomical!

Roland was truly impressed by the thoughtfulness of the other party!

If that was the case, then shouldn't he try to do something in return?

But what would be a good return gift? He honestly had no idea.

Roland put the Arcane Stone back into the wooden box and Rose promptly kept it away.

"It heartens me to see the generosity of King Charles! If there is anything that you need of me, do tell! I will try to fulfil anything that is within my means!"

"This is a congratulatory gift for the coronation of Your Majesty, so His Majesty King Charles naturally had to choose a fitting gift. Olivia is only here to deliver the gift, and dare not ask for any personal reward."

"Is that so? Then I will not insist then! If there is nothing el-"

"W-Wait, Your Majesty! There is another matter that Olivia wishes to suggest," Olivia's tone almost sounded panicky at first, but it was probably Roland's imagination.

"There is?" Roland frowned.

She just said that she had nothing to request, yet now suddenly said that there is something she wanted to suggest. Why is this lady so fickle? Can't she just speak her mind?

Seeing the frown spread across Roland's face, Olivia flushed a little in embarrassment.

She had initially rejected his offer out of courtesy, but according to how things usually go, shouldn't he have continued to insist on rewarding her?

When he asked her again, then it would be time for her to calmly make her suggestion!

Why was this King Roland so insincere in wanting to reward her?

Or could it be that he was deliberately toying with her?

What a difficult person!

But despite her embarrassment, Olivia still replied in a dignified manner.

"With the passing of the great war, His Majesty King Charles is deeply concerned about the states of our armies, and has suggested that the two kingdoms hold a joint military drill in order to learn from each other and better familiarise ourselves with each other's practices."

Roland's frown disappeared instantly upon hearing that, "That is a brilliant idea! I was still pondering over how to further improve the armies of the Great Manta Kingdom, but this would be a good start! Did King Charles mention how he wanted to handle this?"

"His Majesty King Charles had left the matter to Olivia. If Your Majesty is agreeable to it, can Olivia have the honour of touring the facility of the armies within the Great Manta Kingdom in order to gain a good gauge of what kind of drill would best suit the armies of both sides?" Olivia's eyes gleaned with a strange light as she asked that.

Hearing that, Roland nodded approvingly.

But before he could reply, Erin spoke out from the side, "The Royal Army facility is currently undergoing renovation works due to the new incorporation of an academy. So it might not be the most convenient. As a replacement, the Captain of the Royal Guards can tell you everything you need to know instead."

Olivia creased her eyebrows as she turned to look at Erin, "That is truly unfortunate. It seems that Olivia has arrived at a rather unfortunate time. But surely hearing about it would not be the same as seeing it personally? If it is possible, even if it is a little inconvenient, visiting the facility would still be helpful."

"Indeed you have come at an unfortunate time, Princess Olivia. But fret not, the Captain of the Royal Guards is as detailed as ever, so feel free to ask about anything you need to know," Erin displayed an emotionless smile as she faced the other party.

"I-Is that so?" Olivia forced a smile in response.

This woman!

It was supposed to be a flawless reason to openly check out the state of the Great Manta Kingdom's armies, and the king even seemed like he was about to approve of it!

But now she had to sit down and ask some Captain of the Royal Guards about everything? If she were to just hear everything from somebody's mouth, how was she supposed to know how much of it was the truth?

If that's the case, then she might as well not waste her time!

But what else could she do?

Just as she was deep in thought, a voice came from the direction of the throne.

"But isn't the Royal Military Academy lying in just a small part of the Royal Army facility? Surely its construction would not hinder Princess Olivia's visit by much?"

"Eh?"

Both Erin and Olivia turned to face the young king with surprise in their eyes.