Great Journey: Whims of Fate

Bastion arrived at the castle a week later after a long journey and immediately threw himself back into training. Mornings were spent sparring, afternoons were focused on lessons, particularly horseback riding, and evenings were dedicated to magic practice.

After three weeks of idle waiting, he welcomed the return of muscle soreness and the headaches that came with intense training. He had lived like this daily for 13 years, so going three weeks without tasting dirt or breaking bones felt unnatural.

He also received an update from Sibelle detailing the incident in the city. In total, three thousand demons had been summoned into the sewers, causing the most harm to those whose jobs kept them out late at night.

Though many innocent civilians perished, even more criminals were reportedly killed during the so-called invasion. From a certain perspective, one might argue that the civilians who died could have otherwise fallen victim to those same criminals. It was a grim way of rationalizing the situation, but still preferable to admitting that thousands of innocent lives were lost for nothing.

The authorities analyzed the ritual circles left behind and confirmed they were the work of cultists devoted to the sealed Demon Lord. As a result, the city of Aurenthal underwent a major security overhaul.

To be fair, the kingdom had grown complacent due to its long-standing peace. Monsters were almost unheard of in the central regions. The three dukedoms, however, still faced seasonal surges of monsters from their respective borders.

One critical detail of the attack was that its apparent target had been Prince Julius himself. During the chaos, a Rank 2 Blood Knight infiltrated the palace grounds.

Fortunately, the front entrance of the prince's palace mysteriously exploded, delaying the knight just long enough for Captain Rhogar, a Rank 2 Knight, to recover and slay the invader before he could reach the banquet hall.

Bastion had a strong suspicion that Seraphina was involved somehow. Perhaps she had used Fire Crystals to craft a bomb. But Fire Crystals were only Rank 1 materials, and wouldn't be enough to seriously harm a Rank 2 Blood Knight. At best, the explosion would knock him back with superficial injuries, nothing fatal.

And yet, the assassin had been reduced to a cloud of blood mist.

Whatever the case, the attack served as a much needed wake up call for the royal family. The enemy had only sent one Rank 2 Knight and a horde of disposable summons. Who knew what else they had prepared?

As a result, security across the major cities and the Royal Academy had been tightened. Even the resting place of the Sword of Power, where the Demon Lord was sealed, was now under heavy maintenance, receiving upgrades to both its defenses and offensive capabilities in preparation for the Demon Lord's eventual release.

But none of this directly concerned Bastion. At least, not yet.

He was currently deeply engaged in his training and lessons, until his routine was interrupted by a new schedule of social gatherings, mandated by his father.

"This will be your new schedule until you begin at the academy, Young Master," Sibelle said one afternoon after lessons, handing him a piece of paper with a marked calendar and several invitation letters.

Bastion looked it over and immediately frowned. 

It listed meetings with the Marquesses who governed the border territories, including the Shadow Wolfkin village chief, as well as meetings with the Counts who controlled regions within his family's domain. There were also appointments with Viscounts and Barons in the immediate vicinity of the castle.

In addition, he saw meetings scheduled with the Merchant Guild, the Adventurers Guild, and messengers from the royal palace.

And lastly, there were multiple social gatherings designed for young nobles to mingle, clearly an attempt to secure him an engagement as soon as possible.

Altogether, there were more than twenty meetings and events scheduled for him over the next two years.

"Please tell me Father doesn't go to this many meetings regularly," he said in dread.

He would have to follow a similar schedule once he became the duke, and he dreaded having his time wasted on reports that could have been sent by email... or letter.

"No. His Grace only attends official matters. The Duke is not expected to show up at every social function a lesser noble hosts," Sibelle replied. "You, however, are the exception, Young Master. As an engagement is expected to be arranged soon."

"Can you convince Father to delay the engagement meetings until after I start at the academy? I might meet someone better there."

"Your father has stated that you may defer engagement decisions until after graduation, but you must attend the gatherings to know your options."

"I was afraid of that," Bastion muttered.

How else could he be sure the women he met at the academy were truly better than those he was meeting now?

"Alright. Tell Father I will comply."

And so, for the next two years, Bastion attended meeting after meeting, social gathering after social gathering.

During his meetings, Bastion's dread was confirmed. 

Discussions with the Marquesses and the Shadow Wolfkin village chief amounted to little more than routine reports on local monster activity, mundane details that even the participants seemed to consider a waste of time.

If he ever became duke, he would immediately scrap these needless gatherings and instead require regular written reports. A manager could then summarize the information for him to analyze at his convenience.

One interaction, however, stood out during these otherwise dull proceedings, his meeting with the village chief.

"So, you're the heir who managed to snag my daughter. Hahaha! You chose well, my lord."

"Elyra is quite the catch, after all."

"Hah! Well said. And don't worry about those pups who complained about you wanting to burn the village. They were too immature to understand your intentions."

"I appreciate your understanding, Marquess."

"Bah, call me Varyn. We'll be seeing each other plenty from now on."

"Sure thing, Varyn."

And just like that, Bastion's meeting with his father-in-law came to a close. He did find it a little odd that Varyn hadn't spoken to Elyra the entire time, but he chalked it up to business taking priority over anything personal.

The meetings with the Counts were also just as boring. Men who had better things to do than to speak aloud what could have easily been sent via letter.

However, the meetings with the local Viscounts and Barons had an anomaly.

Unlike the respectable Marquesses and Counts, Bastion found a Viscount and two Barons from the meeting suspicious. They seemed cautious and guarded, unlike the rest of the participants, who appeared bored.

He was quite certain they were involved in some under-the-table dealings but wasn't sure about the specifics.

He informed Sibelle at the first chance and received a report after some investigations.

"The Viscount has been arrested for embezzlement, and the Barons have been found to be involved with the cult. They've been taken to the royal palace for interrogation. Your father commended you for uncovering their deceit," Sibelle reported.

'I guess these meetings aren't so bad. Perhaps once every decade would suffice,' Bastion decided.

The report went on to explain that their children had taken over the titles as they were uninvolved with their father's dealings. 

Bastion found the amount of power in his hands to be quite potent. He had only suspected, relying on intuition, but results quickly followed after a discreet investigation.

The two Barons were arrested after a commoner spotted a priest meeting with both of them in secret, in an alleyway. The priest, who didn't belong to any known congregation, was immediately suspected of being involved with the cult.

Back on Earth, such a discovery would not have been enough to justify any serious action. The evidence would have needed to be far more damning for it to proceed similarly. But here, things were different. A word from a noble could destroy lives.

In the end, they were sent to the royal palace for interrogation, as they were currently conducting a manhunt for the cult.

The following meeting with the Adventurers Guild was a simple report on the quests they had handled within the territory. The Merchants Guild provided an update on the taxes collected from merchants in the region, after their cut. Meanwhile, the hawkmen who attended the meeting were given a report on the expected tax amount for the upcoming year.

All in all, being a duke didn't seem too bad if this was all they were responsible for. 

Running his manufacturing company was far more difficult. The sheer amount of paperwork Bastion had to manage, despite hiring a team of managers to help reduce the load, was far more than what the dukes here faced.

Just the applications for licenses, permits, and patents alone could fill an office with stacks of paperwork to sign, compared to the few decisions made by the nobility.

The same couldn't be said for the social gatherings, though.

The meetings were all held at the castle, so Bastion didn't need to travel, but the social gatherings took place in the nobles' territories. He had to spend days or even weeks in a carriage just to get there, attend for a week or a night, and then head back the following day.

But it wasn't all in vain, as Bastion had the chance to meet some very interesting people.

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