Chapter 333
Chapter 333: What a Coincidence? I May Be a Mage, but I Can Fight Up Close!
Upon hearing the King's words, Auréliane paused briefly and glanced around at her surroundings.
The nobles nearby seemed unsurprised by this sudden proposal.
But...Auréliane found it difficult to understand.
Had he gone mad?
In this Kingdom, the high nobility were, without exception, warriors who had secured their positions through force of arms.
Because they needed that power to consolidate their hold over their territories.
Therefore, the lord of a territory was, by necessity, the strongest individual within it.
This was fundamentally different from the Empire.
The Empire's strongest individuals were generally deployed under Imperial command to garrison cities across the realm, and they would not interfere in the administration of those cities.
Because the Empire's supreme authority was the Emperor, and all power was concentrated in the Emperor's hands.
In the Empire, it was rare for anything resembling a true lord to exist.
Even the Clavena Family was not a lord in any substantive sense.
Though the Clavena Family had once been granted a large territory, permitted to bear the Clavena name—
That being the Clavena Territory.
Yet within that territory's largest city, Blairstone,
The Clavena Family did not hold complete governance.
While everyone knew the Clavena Family was Blairstone's dominant power,
On the surface, the Empire would still station its own personnel to manage the city alongside the Clavena Family.
This was the most fundamental distinction between the Kingdom and the Empire's systems of governance.
In the Kingdom, so long as a territory's order remained relatively stable, with no signs of unrest or rebellion,
Lords would not, as a rule, be arbitrarily replaced.
The Empire, on the other hand, would constantly rotate the mayors of its cities in the name of development.
A mayor's term might be 5 years, or it might be 10, before being replaced by another.
The outgoing mayor would naturally earn promotion after accumulating sufficient experience, rising to a position of greater authority.
But the King of Kant, constrained by his Kingdom's unique circumstances, was obliged to ensure his lords were militarily formidable.
Without that, the followers beneath a lord's banner would never submit.
For commoners, the most accessible path to advancement was to become a warrior—to transcend class by forging the body through rigorous training.
This had made the warrior class the path of least resistance, and consequently the dominant profession of the Kingdom.
It had also given rise to the Kingdom's distinctive peerage system—the Star-tier System.
A lord's administrative competence, the reputation of his territory, and his personal martial prowess all influenced his star rating.
Competition within Kant Kingdom was thus ferocious—ferocious to a terrifying degree.
Because warriors had driven internal competition to such extremes, they had essentially rendered every other profession in the Kingdom obsolete.
Mages in particular, who devoted enormous time and effort to accumulating knowledge,
Found themselves with almost no foothold in this brutal competition.
And so the Kingdom's Mages had simply abandoned the traditional Mage profession and turned instead to obscure, unconventional paths in pursuit of power.
Unfortunately, all of them ultimately destroyed themselves on that road.
The territories were filled with warriors, and the lords were invested in ensuring the nobility remained entirely composed of warriors.
But if the King were to aggressively champion Mages—even go so far as to establish a Magic Academy—
Setting aside what impact that might have on the Kingdom's power structure,
For the lords, at the very least, the impact would be considerable.
And so Auréliane spoke up, addressing the King directly:
"Your Majesty, do you know how extraordinarily difficult it is to cultivate a Mage?"
King Auguste nodded, leaning back into his throne with an easy smile:
"Yes, I am well aware."
After all, their nation was home to one formidable Mage—Grand Duke Festan Balo.
Auréliane's expression grew a shade more serious as she continued:
"Then I would like to know: if stronger Mages were to emerge, would you be willing to grant them a noble title?"
This was a question that concerned virtually every pillar of the Kingdom's entire system.
Mages rarely produced individuals of great power, but even under an institutionalized education system, a certain number of talented individuals would inevitably appear.
They might not grow as swiftly or command as much raw strength as warriors, but the emergence of a few 2nd-Tier or 3rd-Tier Mages was not out of the question.
At that point—should the Kingdom grant them noble titles?
If it refused, then why would anyone attend a Magic Academy in the first place?
Wasn't the whole point of learning Magic to eventually become a noble and bring glory to one's family name?
King Auguste's reply was masterfully evasive.
"If their contributions reach the standard corresponding to a given star rating, they will naturally receive the treatment that star rating entails."
In other words, the answer had been given from the very beginning.
In Kant Kingdom, competition was fierce.
Even for Mages—as long as they could meet the standards of the Star-tier System,
They could become nobles.
This seemed, on the surface, to be entirely fair—after all, this was a Kingdom with a Star-tier System.
Earn a star rating, even a single star, and one would leap from commoner to Baron.
At first glance, this appeared perfectly sound. The problem, however, was this:
In their early stages, Mages were simply too weak to compete with powerful warriors.
In the broader environment of Kant Kingdom, warriors were far greater in number and far stronger than Mages.
But one crucial point could not be forgotten:
Mages lived far longer than warriors.
A single Mage might outlive 3 generations of warriors.
That longevity gave them ample time within the Kingdom's noble hierarchy to build their own standing.
Sustained use of elemental Magic kept the magical current flowing continuously through the meridians of their bodies; nourished by that ceaseless flow, their bodies remained perpetually youthful, filled with vitality.
A well-maintained Mage living to 100 or even 200 years old was hardly unusual.
By the time those veteran warriors had died, the Mages would still be alive.
Once that period was weathered, the entire noble hierarchy of the Kingdom would likely fall firmly into the hands of those aging Mages.
Mages were rare, of course—not everyone could become one.
But longevity meant seniority.
Give it 100 Mages who had each lived for a century, and what place would there be for newly risen warriors among the noble lords?
Why was Kant Kingdom powerful?
Precisely because warriors were plentiful, and advancement among them was swift.
The warrior class had a low barrier to entry, which meant that even commoners harbored dreams of becoming warriors of their own free will.
They might not know how long the effort would take, but once they grew strong enough—once they earned a star rating—would they not leap to nobility and bring honor to their family name?
As a result, even the Kingdom's commoners possessed considerable martial strength.
But once Mage nobility began appearing in large numbers,
Anyone seeking to rise in the future would first have to face the enormous barrier of becoming a Mage—
And not everyone was capable of that.
On top of which, there was the sheer tedium of study.
A powerful Mage required time to accumulate knowledge, and only a powerful Mage could become a noble.
Yet the stronger the Mage, the more inescapably time would advance their age.
So, you wished to become a lord?
Then first, live to 100.
Auréliane had analyzed the Kingdom's situation thoroughly, and she could see the underlying problem with perfect clarity.
Could Auguste, as the ruler of a nation, truly be unaware of this?
And yet, despite all of this, he still spoke of wanting to build a Magic Academy?
Had the other lords actually agreed?
The question left Auréliane deeply conflicted.
No matter how she turned it over, this was not the kind of thing she ought to answer herself.
Any response she gave would only draw her further into this young King's trap.
Too many words, too many mistakes.
And so Auréliane offered a gentle smile and replied with measured courtesy:
"I apologize, Your Majesty—but if you have looked into my background, you will know that I have had 2 teachers."
"Though I am a Mage, the time I have spent studying swordsmanship is no less than the time I have devoted to Magic."
At these words, many of the noble lords could not help but turn their gazes toward Auréliane.
Their faces betrayed unmistakable astonishment.
This princess—this Mage who seemed, at a glance, almost on the frail side—was actually a close-combat Mage who had cultivated both Magic and physical combat?
Dual cultivation of Magic and physical combat demanded several times the ordinary effort.
The nobles present could not help but reassess the Princess, and a fresh wave of admiration welled up.
After all, in this Kingdom, lords typically valued only 2 things: strength, and whether the other party was a warrior.
Auréliane spoke in a calm, unhurried tone:
"So regarding this question—I am afraid I cannot offer an answer, since I am not a Mage in the traditional sense."
"However, Your Majesty, you may wish to consult my teacher—Viktor, Council Member Clavena."
The moment those words left her mouth, every noble in the hall fell silent.
A palpable aura began to rise throughout the entire chamber.
Powerful and vast—as though every elemental force within that space had been set into motion at once.
Magic Power seemed to stir restlessly, like a rushing current coiling around every noble present.
This suppressive weight of Magic Power made all who were there feel a creeping unease.
Many eyes turned involuntarily toward Viktor.
He sat in perfect stillness, hands in his pockets.
And yet the noble lords could sense it unmistakably—
This oppressive pressure was emanating from the man known as Council Member Clavena.
Many of them already knew of Viktor—after all, that ocean battle, which had reverberated across the world, had been nothing short of staggering.
They had heard the story as well:
On the road to the Kingdom, Viktor's party had blown apart the Nangabur Valley, the mountain pass that stood between the Empire and the Kingdom.
That feat, something virtually beyond human capability, had left these warriors even more shaken.
However powerful they were, none of them could have wrought devastation on the scale of a Natural Disaster.
King Auguste raised an eyebrow with distinct interest and continued addressing Auréliane:
"Oh? Council Member Clavena has expertise in this as well?"
Auréliane responded with a smile.
"But of course—my teacher is, himself, the Chief Professor of our Empire's Royal Magic Academy."
As she spoke, an undisguised pride spread across her face.
That small, quiet pride did not escape Auguste's notice.
He smiled softly:
"I see."
Then he turned his gaze to Viktor, and within it lay a deep and evident respect:
"Council Member Clavena."
Viktor's expression remained impassive; he responded with nothing more than a cool nod.
The King spoke:
"Truth be told, my desire to establish a Magic Academy was not born of impulse."
"Within our Kingdom, we already possess an institution comparable to the Empire's Magic Academy."
"Only—it leans toward cultivating formidable warriors."
As he said this, Auguste straightened in his seat, and something of a deep, quiet emotion surfaced in his eyes.
"The Stardust Academy."
"The name is drawn from our Kingdom's peerage system."
"When I was young, I studied there myself for many years."
He rose from his throne as though extending an invitation, and with a smile, reached out both hands toward Auréliane and Viktor:
"I wonder, Council Member, and Princess Auréliane—"
"Would the 2 of you care to join us in a visit to that great institution?"