Mimic Awakening

Under the shade of a pavilion on a cliff, Azrael and Claire have taken their own seats around the table, sitting across the other party, Carlene. Alina has offered a seat, but she flatly refused and said she preferred standing behind them.

From the pavilion, Azrael has a great view of the sea. It makes sense to him why Claire and Carlene chose this place as their secret spot. It was probably bare land before they decided to build a pavilion on it.

Before the meeting starts, Claire and Carlene have laid their own anti-reconnaissance barriers to prevent anyone from hearing their conversation from the outside, but they have detected no eavesdropper so far.

For this meeting, Azrael is still naive about this world, so he has left everything to Claire. All he can do is listen and observe and maybe speak a few words.

"You know that the Siafran Empire declared war with the Kingdom of Roheazul a while ago," Carlene states. "According to my investigation, your and the hero’s disappearances pushed the empire to advance."

"It’s because I am the most powerful person in Western Revoria after all," Claire replies with a smirk. "We both know that the empire cannot stand against me."

"That might be the case if I didn’t join the war," Carlene retorts, her smirk sharper than Claire’s. "You should be grateful that I chose to live a normal life this time."

"You..."

I wonder who’s more powerful between them. Silently listening from the sideline, Azrael cannot help but wonder.

He already knows how powerful Claire can be, as seen in her fight with Zyren. With a magia points of three million, it is undoubted that Claire has the power to threaten a nation. In addition to her being a second awakener, she can even efficiently utilize her mana to spread her scope.

Back when they met in the dungeon back then, Azrael now realizes that Claire can actually finish him off if it were not for her injuries. Azrael only judged her based on her mana, which is about equal to him, but he had no idea what an awakened ability was at that time.

If he toyed with her longer, she might have the leeway to activate her multiplier, which is more than enough to reduce his entire existence to ashes. Even in her base form, a healthy Claire would win most of the time against Greater Dragon Azrael.

The only chance he could win is by speed blitzing her before she can do anything with his griffin form.

Based on their conversation just now, Azrael assumes that Carlene can probably hold her ground against Claire.

According to Claire, Carlene certainly possesses an awakened ability, though she is not sure if Carlene awakened once more. Claire considers Carlene more powerful than an archdragon in terms of mana capacity.

A disaster-class threat.

For some reason, Azrael cannot read how much mana she possesses through his radar. It only shows a red dot. It might be because Carlene is so proficient with suppressing her mana that she is ostensibly no different from a civilian.

The appraisal glass might be able to measure her mana more accurately. But he is afraid that it might break or lose if he were to take it outside, so he does not bring it with him. Even if he brought it, the device looks too alien for this world, and people might find it strange or suspicious.

I wish we could somehow replicate its technology, he thinks to himself.

Given that Carlene has lived longer than Claire, her experience might give her an undefined advantage. She might even have more cards in her sleeves that she has yet to unveil.

"Besides," Carlene continues. "Your knowledge about the empire is outdated. They have massively improved their economy and military through the decades, thanks to the legacy left by the first emperor of the current dynasty, the Manndier family."

"Ah, yes. The marquis who overthrew the royal family decades ago," Claire blurts out. "Well, I might be lacking info about them these years, so I probably missed how much the empire improved. So what about the war with the kingdom?"

"As the kingdom’s court mage, you must know who are the allies of the kingdom, yes?"

"Of course, I know. The kingdom has been on friendly terms with the Holy Lands of Velerian and the Tixiar Empire. There are also some nations with whom they have neutral relationships. Wait—" When that nation pops into her mind, Claire realizes something important. "Since the Kingdom of Roheazul is currently at war... Don’t tell me they have sent reinforcements."

"Correct. But only the Empire of Tixiar responded to the war."

"That empire, huh?"

The Empire of Tixiar? Isn’t that one of the most powerful nations in Revoria? As Azrael thinks about that, he unconsciously turns his gaze to Claire, which she quickly notices.

"The Empire of Tixiar is one of the biggest and most powerful in the world," Claire explains as she faces Azrael. "It is also one of the oldest nations still standing alongside the elven nation."

"I see. So they are friendly with the Kingdom of Roheazul?"

"The Empire of Tixiar is just a bigger Roheazul. They are both nations that believe in human supremacy."

"Birds of a feather."

"Much like that. Though they treat elves the same as humans."

The Empire of Tixiar is a large nation situated in Central Revoria. They have been existing for thousands of years, and their existence can be traced back as far as the era before the arrival of the two gods.

As a nation that believes in human supremacy, the Empire of Tixiar has expanded its territory through campaigns against nonhuman races. They drove other races out of their own lands, which caused several migrations throughout history.

"The Tixiar Empire has been invading lands for thousands of years, expanding their ideology. That’s why they have such a vast territory. Their biggest enemy, the demonic nation, is right beside them, only separated by a mountain range. They have been at each other’s throats for thousands of years, but the tall mountains just prevent a great war between them."

"Thanks for the explanation, Claire."

"Since you have done, let me continue." Thinking that she might have forgotten, Carlene chimes in, which catches their attention.

"If the Tixiar Empire is sending reinforcements to the kingdom, it might help them push the Siafran Empire’s forces back," Claire says as he holds her chin and then shifts her gaze to Carlene. "The outcome might depend on the prowess of the reinforcements. How many have they sent?"

"According to my reliable source, the Tixiar Empire has sent a force of around fifty ships, or forty thousand men excluding the crews. The fleet is currently sailing the sea, and they are estimated to arrive as early as two weeks from now."

"I see. There is something I want to tell you. I actually don’t care what will happen to the kingdom anymore. But I do appreciate your effort to relay this information to me."

"Oh, really. Have you realized that the kingdom is not worth your time any longer?"

"Yes. Though I didn’t expect that imperial assassins were sent to me when I tried to explore the dungeon. But due to some circumstances, I somehow survived and deliberately did not come back."

"That’s a bizarre way to escape your responsibilities," Carlene says as she sips the tea prepared by Alina. "To be fair, I also let myself die whenever I feel like I want to reset my life."

"Didn’t you have children in some of your lives?"

"I made sure everything was settled before I left. Most of my deaths are from old age or sickness, as you have known."

The conversation suddenly comes to a halt, and the pavilion goes silent. Claire and Carlene take sips of their cup of tea with elegance. Azrael tries to follow their noble manners, but he does not seem to move the way they do.

Now this is awkward.

"Is that all you want to say," after putting her cup to the table, Claire finally breaks the silence. "If you don’t have some information of some importance to relay, it is better for us to take our leave."

As Claire and Azrael are about to get up from their seats, Carlene opens her mouth.

"Before you can leave, I have one more thing to say."

"What is it?" Claire asks.

"Amongst the forces that the Empire of Tixiar has sent, one of them is a Paragon."