Eventful dinner

After John joined the table, a heavy silence had settled in the room.

Eventually, it was Frederick who broke the ice.

"So, Arthur...What don't you tell us more about your experience in the mighty Ivory Tower?", Frederick asked, "Did Count Elderwood supported your studies like he had promised?"

Arthur smirked in his mind. He did receive some support from the Count, but it was all meaningless in front of his real expenses. In total, the Count did not even contribute to one percent of his total expenses. The fact that he had signed a contract binding him to his interests with so little investments in return was a mistake in itself.

As for his own father describing the Ivory Tower as a 'mighty' magic academy...It made Arthur sick. He had been condemned to death by his own family, exiled by his peers. Now that he had returned, everyone knew that it meant that he had somehow graduated from it and reached a sufficient realm of strength.

"I did, Father. I reached the intermediate acolyte realm. In the eyes of the Porfield Kingdom, I am as strong as you are, although my achievements are only related to Naarth Island, and completely unknown to people", Arthur spoke

Frederick started to frown: "Intermediate Acolyte Realm? Does it mean that you are as strong as the old Baron Lark? Count Elderwood will try to use you in the incoming war. He will probably order you to fight against him"

Arthur smiled: "Father, do you know what role I used to embrace in the Ivory Tower?"

Frederick Landragon shook his head with excitement

"I used to be part of the Law Enforcement Faction, the leader being Dorian Sylvester. He is my close friend, and I can definitely tell you that any business that you have with the Sylvester Household will be fruitful in the future. This is how deep our friendship is"

John's eyes widened: "Do you mean, the Count Sylvester knows of your existence, and even consider you their ally? This...Father, it might solve our salt supply's crisis! Baron Lark has always been our salt supplier, but ever since his relationship with Count Elderwood deteriorated, the man has increased the price of salt threefold. We just didn't have any relationship outside the Southern Region of the Porfield Kingdom, but the Sylvester Household is located in the West, with one of their main source of income being the sell of salt"

Frederick nodded: "Do you think it is a request that could be accepted?"

Arthur smiled: "Of course, the Count Sylvester has never stopped managing the course of events within the Ivory Tower. Dorian is merely the middleman in spite of being an intermediate acolyte himself. Anyway, Dorian has invested a considerable amount of wealth in me and my subordinates. Thanks to him, we have become one of the strongest offensive acolyte team in the tower. We have carried a certain number of subjugation missions, including the destruction of an orc settlement, and the assassination of many acolytes. Some of these missions were comissioned officially, others were personal requests of acquaintances"

John gulped: "This is impressive"

Frederick nodded: "I will write a letter to the Count, and bring up your friendship with Dorian. If this succeeds, then you will have contributed greatly to the Landragon Household"

John wasn't even feeling flustered. In his eyes, anything contributing to the Landragon Household would contribute to him, since he was the most likely to inherit it. Still, Arthur's arrival had threatened his position somehow.

Until now, John was the strongest new-generation knight. Arthur changed that. John was prideful, but he still attended the [Royal Knight Academy] and knew that the gap between the beginner realm and the intermediate realm was like heaven and Earth.

As if Arthur saw through John's fears, he simply told: "I will make the Landragon Household strong, stronger than it has ever been. In the incoming battle, I will not fight the Baron Lark with all my strength. Without me, it is unlikely they ever manage to conquer his land anyway. I will make it so that their losing position becomes a stalemate. The more difficult the battlefield, the easier it will become for you to make contributions"

John bit his lips.

Frederick frowned: "Count Elderwood is a brother to me...We are the Guardian of the South! And he never asked for money despite the fact that we taxed every single southern merchant"

Arthur laughed: "Count Elderwood might be a brother to you...But he doesn't consider you the same. What about [Starlight Alloy]? Do your soldiers wear normal heavy armour, or items crafted through magical means? You are knights, so you have never witnessed true magic. But I have seen incredible things. I can show you incredible strength. The incoming war is the opportunity for our territory to earn a tremendous amount of wealth, along with rights to excavate [Starlight Ore] from the Elderwood mines. Count Elderwood is blinded by glory and Baron Lark's farmlands. We just have to give up on these two things and ask for the Elderwood mines in exchange"

John nodded: "I support Arthur's decision"

'My brother is quite interesting...Even though it threatens his position more to support me, he still went with it since it is the right decision for the Household...', Arthur thought

Frederick sighed: "My sons will never cease to amaze me. First, John managed to graduate the [Royal Knight Academy] and is likely to become an intermediate knight in the coming years. And now...my other son who I have treated wrongly my whole life returns with overwhelming strength for a sixteen-years-old and brilliantly sly plans to raise our status in the Porfield Kingdom"

Arthur scanned John.

[John Landragon - Level 7 Beginner Knight]

He was indeed close to becoming an intermediate knight. While it was quite insignificant in Arthur's eyes, it was an incredible achievement for someone his age.

"However, I will not believe you until you prove your strength to me. Baron Lark is a monster. I saw him fight against those southern cavaliers. A single one of his fireballs was enough to kill dozens. Worse still, he has a few mage disciples that wield similar magic. One night, they burned a whole settlement to ashes in a surprise raid. Regular soldiers can't do anything to them. Regular Knights won't be able to approach them either as Baron Lark has three intermediate-rank knights protecting him day and night. Count Elderwood is aware of his strength, and this is the reason why he never attacked the Lark Barony in spite of having more than one thousand soldiers in his army, which should be more than enough to completely crush the Lark Army", Frederick spoke

Frederick stood up, and invited Arthur and John to go in the training room.