Chapter 11 : Chapter 11
Chapter 11. The Statue Made of Gold (2)
“If we cannot meet at the first assembly point, Norington, the second assembly point will be Baltimere, the capital of the Felix Kingdom.”
“Baltimere is an incredibly vast place. Where exactly in Baltimere are you talking about?”
The one-eyed elf raised an objection to the wrinkled old man’s words.
“To be precise, the Central Plaza. Let us meet where the statue of Wilhelm I stands.”
“Ah…… That place with the ignorantly large statue?”
It was the three of them who had decided to wait for each other there.
“But we can’t just wait endlessly, can we? What should we do in that case?”
The one-eyed elf raised a question.
As the elf said, waiting for a day or two was one thing, but sitting around for several months was impossible.
***
Another name for the Central Plaza was the ‘Meeting Plaza’.
It was so famous that most people in Baltimere would set their appointments by saying, ‘Let’s see each other at the Central Plaza,’ which was how it got its name.
Of course, there was another reason it was worthy of being called the Meeting Plaza.
It was because a huge bulletin board stood right there.
It was a bulletin board used not only to disseminate important matters in the Felix Kingdom but also by ordinary people when they missed their appointments or needed to exchange important secret messages.
This bulletin board, along with the statue of Wilhelm I, was considered a famous attraction in Baltimere.
And there was a black-haired boy staring intently at that bulletin board.
‘It’s not here! It’s gone!’
Blanc, looking extremely flustered to the point of his hands trembling, checked the paper slips pinned to the bulletin board.
“Young Master, it has already been two hours. What is so fascinating?”
“Wait a moment.”
“I wanted to eat…… scones.”
“Rakshar.”
“I will stay by the Baron’s side.”
“Billy.”
“Shall I guide you?”
“If possible, take your time coming back.”
“It is a famous place anyway, so we have to stand in line to eat.”
Having sent away Emilia, who was whining about wanting to eat scones, Blanc examined the bulletin board closely once more, but as expected, it was not there.
Any trace that the two Regressors should have left behind.
‘This makes no sense.’
He had not been too flustered about regressing to a point one month past the set time. He had anticipated a certain degree of error from the start.
Even if he had nearly died because of it.
However, he could not hide his bewilderment regarding the situation unfolding here in Baltimere right now.
He had not expected the two Regressors to keep waiting for him at the plaza in the first place.
Since his location had already been clearly exposed, the two would have come to find him long ago if they had intended to meet.
Those two possessed the skills to easily penetrate the security of the Tolome family.
Yet, no one had come to find him. There was no one waiting in this plaza, and no one had left a trace on the bulletin board.
There was no one.
Even if one person could not make it to the second assembly point because they were swept up in some incident or accident, it was hard to imagine a scenario where both could not make it.
Furthermore, since they were two people with extraordinary skills, they were the type who would smash everything and come out even if they were caught up in an incident or accident.
‘But why are they not here?’
Rakshar looked worriedly at Blanc, who sat leaning against the bulletin board, unable to hide his despondency.
Filling Blanc’s vision was the golden statue of Wilhelm I, standing majestically while emitting a glittering light.
That thing was further aggravating Blanc’s confusion.
Clearly, in his past life, it was a statue made of bronze, not gold. This was something he could not mistake even if he wanted to.
‘What crazy lunatic in the world made that huge statue out of gold!’
That statue far exceeded the bounds of common sense.
Blanc, exhausted by the current situation where everything was a messy jumble, stopped thinking for a moment.
Before he knew it, the sun was setting over the glittering statue of Wilhelm I.
From the end of the plaza, he saw Emilia approaching with a beaming smile, holding a paper bag full of scones in her arms.
It was time to return to the Tolome family.
***
Blanc had obtained a secure background called the Tolome family and a safe place.
There were tasks he had to solve here before building his strength and going out into the world.
The first would be to borrow the influence of the Tolome family as much as possible to solidify the position of the nominal Baron Cadmus, and the next was.
‘I must definitely master the White Thunderbolt.’
The second was to strengthen his martial power.
Blanc had secured the Aura cultivation method in his past life, but that was not the case for swordsmanship.
That was why Blanc had asked Count Bartomyu to invite experts.
Although there were techniques he had naturally acquired while rolling around as a mercenary in his past life, those techniques were miscellaneous tricks that were embarrassing to call swordsmanship.
It was more accurate to express them as struggles to survive rather than techniques.
So, in this life, Blanc intended to learn step by step from the basics from experts of the Swordsmanship Guild.
With solid basics, the experience engraved in his soul, and the excellent Aura cultivation method called White Thunderbolt, he would sufficiently rise to the ranks of the strong.
‘I also have to reclaim Norington.’
Reclaiming Norington, which was the territory of the Cadmus family, was not a problem that could be solved in a short time.
It was land that had to be retrieved through the form of territorial warfare rather than individual strength, so it was a part that the current Blanc could do nothing about.
‘I already have the justification, so I will have to organize an army through fame and money.’
The owners of Norington for three generations. Since three families had forcibly driven out the Cadmus family with power, they would not be able to voice any complaints even if they were judged by power as well.
However, large-scale resources were needed to organize a strong army.
This was something impossible with Blanc’s power alone.
‘If only I could meet them.’
However, the two Regressors would give unsparing support to reclaim Norington.
They were figures who belonged to the strong even in the past life, and among the two, Ulrich Tiedemann, who was called an Archmage, was the head of the Illusion School and the Master of the Tower of Mirage.
If he received full support from a big shot like Ulrich, there was a high possibility that the Tolome family would also join in.
If these two forces stood up holding the banner called Blanc, many would follow in pursuit of profit and justification.
To do that, meeting Ulrich was the urgent priority, but currently, there was no way to contact him.
‘It is too far to go find Ulrich personally…….’
Moreover, the current Ulrich resided in the Red Desert beyond the Gartaria Kingdom.
To meet him, one had to cross a kingdom and find the Tower of Mirage in the middle of the desert.
Unless Ulrich came to find him, the way to meet him was arduous.
“Phew…… I should first handle the things in front of my eyes.”
“Exactly. Stop looking at books and finish your lunch first.”
Emilia, who cleared away the books and bundles of paper piled up in front of Blanc, put down the dishes with skillful hands.
“What on earth are you researching these days that you are skipping meals? At this rate, you won’t even grow to your full height.”
Lately, Blanc talked to himself a lot, frequently skipped meals, and was constantly immersed in something.
Blanc himself was just planning step by step for the work he would do in the future, but it did not look that way to those around him.
Since he was a boy who had lost his parents and family overnight, it was natural for the people around him to send worried glances whenever he mumbled to himself.
On top of that, Emilia’s anxiety was significant because he was not even eating properly at the age of fourteen, a time when he should be growing rapidly.
Since his father, Baron Pallard, was robust enough to be nearly 190 centimeters tall, Blanc would likely have the potential to grow that much as well.
If he did not grow to that extent, it would be the fault of her, who failed to take proper care of him by his side.
“So please eat well at every meal, go to sleep early, and do not overexert yourself when training…….”
“If you say one more word, I won’t eat this.”
“…….”
Emilia had become much more nagging lately.
***
Blanc, having finished lunch under Emilia’s surveillance—which was not really surveillance—turned his eyes back to the bundle of papers.
‘Iron Bank.’
It was an organization that did not exist in his past life.
Dwarves, the craftsmen of minerals, ores, and various mechanical devices.
However, because they frequently went bankrupt unable to afford expensive materials and labor costs, the beginning of the organization called the Iron Bank was created for them.
Starting from an economic union of dwarves, it was now an organization with immense wealth influencing the whole world.
It was an organization with a firm position in this world, having a history older than the Felix Kingdom.
‘I am certain. It is a group that did not exist in the past life.’
If it was such a famous and old group, there was no way the Blanc of the past life would not have heard of it.
Blanc, who harbored doubts about the giant golden statue of Wilhelm I, began to investigate the statue, and in its origin, he was able to discover the organization called the Iron Bank.
It was not even a hidden secret. Rather, that giant golden statue was not only the pride of the Felix Kingdom but also a representative symbol showing off the wealth of the Iron Bank.
‘So they made the insane proposal to make that giant statue out of gold here?’
Looking at the records, it seemed the statue of Wilhelm I was initially planned to be made of bronze, just like in the past life.
Bronze was also difficult to handle and an expensive material all the same.
Nevertheless, the Felix Kingdom had made a big decision to commemorate the achievements of Wilhelm I and show off the kingdom’s power.
But then, the Iron Bank suddenly appeared here.
They proposed to make the statue of Wilhelm I, which was to be made of bronze, out of gold and said they would cover the cost.
Historians who left records speculated that it might have been an intention to firmly reveal their existence since the Iron Bank did not have global influence until then, but…….
-Nevertheless, their idea to make that giant statue out of gold was certainly a dizzying idea, beyond bold and almost violent.
Even the historians who left the records clicked their tongues regarding that golden statue.
‘I definitely have to investigate that statue.’
Since he had discovered a singularity decisively different from the past life, Blanc intended to investigate it thoroughly.
Blanc investigating materials with such concentration.
Emilia, who was quietly clearing the tableware beside him, saw the golden statue of Wilhelm I written among the passing materials and spoke to Blanc indirectly.
“Come to think of it, about the statue of Wilhelm I.”
“Yeah.”
“There is a romantic legend. You know the book Wilhelm I is holding? They say there is a picture drawn inside it.”
“Huh?”
Because Blanc had poured all his attention into investigating the origin of the statue, he had not paid attention to the book the statue was holding.
The achievements of Wilhelm I, the first king of the Felix Kingdom, were so numerous that it was burdensome even to count them, but there were two famous achievements among them.
Turning his eyes to the north to expand the territory, and creating the first code of law to circulate throughout the kingdom were his most famous achievements.
To commemorate this, the statue of Wilhelm I held a sword in its right hand and an open code of law in its left hand.
But there was a picture drawn in that code of law?
“Go on.”
“So, there is a romantic legend that if two lovers look at the picture drawn in that code of law together, Wilhelm I will protect their love…….”
Although it was the statue of Wilhelm I holding a sword and a code of law in the past life as well, there was no mention that a picture was drawn inside that code of law.
It was a singularity.
“Emilia.”
“Yes?”
“The scones they sold at the Central Plaza. Don’t you want to eat them again?”