Cap. 4

"So they call me from the castle?"

Less than three days have passed, and they are already summoning me for some political scheme.

--Yes, Mr. Zenit, the Viceroy wants to formally present it to the nobles and members of the army...

--Alright, let's go… [I'll eat well, and I'll play along… I spent the whole morning reading… although I can't read anything that was written, I could barely learn a few words and numbers]

"Follow me to the carriage, we'll leave right away..."

--Okay…

I got into the carriage which was more discreet than I expected, the only thing that stands out is that it was pulled by three rather large black horses. War horses, perhaps? We traveled the main road to the castle quickly thanks to the three horses since no one got in the way of the carriage that was running through the streets, I'm sure it shouldn't run inside the city, but he is the coachman and I don't know the laws of transit of this place.

The castle of the Viceroy or rather the castle of Granada, being sisters is quite beautiful, it has a moat ten meters wide and a wall five wide by another ten high, all beautifully plastered and carved, the castle as such has about 50~60 meters high to the last tower or so I calculate, it is quite large all full of columns, stained-glass windows and domes and beautifully decorated ceilings, if I had to compare or give an example it would be like the Palace of Versailles crossed with the Basilica of San Pedro, is a work of art more than a castle. If I had to give an inconvenience, it is that it does not have watchtowers or turrets for archers, it is merely decorative.

The carriage stopped at the entrance to the inner palace, where the old High Priest was waiting for us accompanied by an entourage of two priests and two nuns, the priests are obviously a couple of old aide-de-camps, but those nuns are a bit provocative? This gives me a bad feeling, after living five years in a building where three of the five neighbors are prostitutes, one learns to identify that aura of lust and decadence that carnivorous women have and these nuns are anything but NUNS.

--High Priest, Good afternoon...

--Mr. Zenit, I was waiting for you... as you know, the Viceroy is still a little offended by what happened yesterday, so I have taken the liberty of receiving you in his place.

--Don't worry…it was just some constructive criticism, plus I was pretty upset about spending so much time in "that" place…

After a quick greeting we began to walk towards the throne room, the silence was uncomfortable and even more so with the constant winks of the two nuns.

--Yes, please excuse us, it is the fault of our incompetence...

--Don't worry... but High Priest, it's not bad but those "Sisters" are really nuns? [Come on man I know you got it…]

"Oh…I see you have good eyes, they're just a couple of youngsters of matchmaking age some upstart nobles affiliated with the church are trying to push them towards you as a hero.

--Hmmm?... can I refuse?

--That will be a problem, since it is something that had already been agreed upon, after the official greeting and some bureaucracy, there will be a party for the young people, among whom you are of course...

--High Priest, I think I'm already a few years older than that "Sisters" over there.

--Mr. Zenit, how old did you say you were?

--Twenty-seven years old... I'm at least 8~10 years older than that couple over there.

--That is not a problem Mr. Zenit, in our culture as long as the age difference is not more than twenty it is not frowned upon, besides the age of majority is sixteen, I think that any man likes young women …

--You're a pretty knowledgeable Priest right?

--Wisdom comes with age, Mr. Zenit...

-- Seeep … you are quite a knowledgeable High Priest, but I am sorry to inform you that I don't like little girls I have my standards.

--And those would be?

--Are you serious about looking for a wife?

--Or wives, you have the title of Viscount, you can have a legal wife and two to three lovers without any legal problem, besides there are many young and marriageable women interested in you after your little show of force in the square...

--Women brains of muscle?...

"Actually… yes, there are quite a few female knights and adventurers looking to have an audience or a marriage interview with you.

"All I did was shake the scaffold, is it that impressive?"

--The scaffold is made of alloy steel and Mithril normally doesn't move even during tremors.

--Eh?... well that explains it, well I have no problem with getting married but only one thing High Priest... I choose, no political tricks, or I'll leave, you must already be informed of what happened to your guards, I appreciate your cooperation with my training. I think I can destroy a lot if I get serious.

I cracked my neck as I smirked, mimicking a certain white-haired protagonist with a centipede fixation.

--No-don't worry, we won't interfere in your decisions, but you must understand that if any young woman of high nobility is interested in you, she will have to give us a little face.

--If it's going to happen, it will happen, I don't promise anything, changing the subject, don't you think that the castle doesn't have much military functionality, it's beautiful and with an impeccable artistic sense, but I think I can attack it with only a thousand soldiers and about three catapults or fewer.

--Yes, you are not the first to see it, the castle is not really a castle, it is an artifact, a relic from the time of ancient magic, the castle was built more than 600 years ago and has several hundred defensive barriers that we do not know how they work they just work, the castle has survived every single sieges it has faced.

--Is it a magic castle then?

--That's basically how it is, Mr. Zenit.

--It's interesting... but I think we're there...

--Indeed this is the door to the throne, allow me to enter and introduce it to everyone.

-------------------------------------------------- --------------------

[Laziness…]

The only word I could find to describe my state of mind during the audience with the Viceroy and the generals, the Viceroy was still upset about yesterday, the generals thought he would either magically solve all their problems, and he was cheering and bragging all the while, the nobles were the worst just throwing praises left and right, in short a simple boot licking atrium, the high priest and some nobles from the church faction were more demure and cautious, only one of the generals did not join the pointless discussion and spoke mildly about the current situation of the territory.

--The Crusaders of the empire are marching towards the northeast fields through the forests and there are rumors that they have already taken some border bases in the three corners valley, the Veritas soldiers are reinforcing their side, and we have evacuated the surrounding villages and reformed the militia preparing for an exploratory attack…for its part the Kingdom of Veritas has sent a couple of hostile raids to the southeastern border trying to gain space, but they have been repelled.

--General Brise, have you greedy any movement from the enemy heroes or the demons?

--There hasn't been any movement on the front lines and the demons are skirmishing here and there but mostly they're targeting the Empire, so it's best for us not to get involved in their raids.

--Well.

General Brise, a young man in his thirties, blond with blue eyes, the prototype of Prince Charming with his white horse, except for the huge scar that runs from his forehead to his cheek, a little more, and he would be one-eyed but apparently the helmet saved his eye a hardened warrior indeed.

After the introductions and briefings, I was able to talk to General Brise with the help of the high priest.

--General Brise, I am Edward D. Zenit and I think you are the only serious military man in this room.

I spoke quietly while laughing a little.

--You have good eyes, those nobles and office soldiers haven't cut anything but their food in a long time.

--General, could you help me with something, I'm a bit rusty, I don't know how things work in this world but I personally have some knowledge of combat and since I came to this world I feel a bit uncomfortable [Too much strength and energy it's worrying…] So I was wondering if you could lend me some training facility?

--The Hero wants to train, well that's not a problem...I've received certain reports, did the hero really beat up the secret guards stationed near his house?

--Indeed, it was just a small warm-up.

--Perfect, we need that force, come with me tomorrow to barracks number seven there are some soldiers under my command who need a good lesson...

--Crush little fools? I like the way you think...

--Ha hahahaha Boy you do understand how the army works.

--The end justifies the means, do your duty and nothing more... why complicate our lives, a soldier is just that, and war is just war, nothing more nothing less.

--Perfect, truly perfect, ha hahahaha... that's the mentality of a good soldier.

--Even though I'm the hero?

But that doesn't make it any less fun...

--I can't argue with that, hahahaha.

The general and I hit it off quickly and started laughing as we tossed around ideologically referenced jokes about war, the army, and soldiers.