A few days earlier…

“So… what do you want?”

In a room, with three people in it, a tense atmosphere was created. The man, that seems to be the one in question, is quivering in fear. He was clearly afraid of the man in front of him, the one who is questioning him, the Baron of Skydusk.

“I-..Milord, Th- the farmlands, it’s-” The man was stumbling with his words. It was as if there was a pressure being held on him. He does not know this but the pressure was coming from the bulky man behind the Baron. It is usually called as killing intent.

“The farmlands, what about it?” The Baron faked a I-do-not-know-anything-about-this look. He obviously knew about the problem and most probably may have cause parts of it. And further pressure was released to him.

But the man was too scared to speak that out loud so instead he,

“Uhm, nothing. The farmlands-, the farms are doing great! Ther- There’s no problem, milord.” The man furthered stuttered with his words.

“If there’s no problem, then stop wasting my time!” The Baron banged the table with his fist. “Go now and tend to those farmlands!!”

The man made a cowardly yelp before stumbling to get out of the room. The Baron sighed as he looked at the papers at his table. “Those lowlifes”

His name is Blaine of the Noble House of Oesau. He is the fourth son of Viscount Marcus. Being the fourth child is hard. The first son would inherit the family’s legacy while the second son will be a backup. That leaves him with little to no heredity.

To compensate for that, he was given the title of Honorable Lord. Not satisfied with what he has, he made his way up to becoming one of the Barons of Skydusk. Needless to say, he didn’t do his work with ‘clean hands’.

He got such an important seat in Skydusk that he got himself a bodyguard from the Knight’s Order. The Bodyguard isn’t fully a core member of the Order but his skills is not to be made lighten off. That was the man behind him who was emitting the pressure earlier.

“Tell me that was the last one.” Blaine had a complicated look shown in his face.

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“My lord, the next one is the last one.” The Knight relied with a rough voice.

“That’s good. I still have a meeting in the Church.” Blaine seems to have gain energy as he learned that this will soon be finish. “Let’s end this quickly. Let him in.”

The door opened to reveal a stout man with a lot of trinkets in his neck. Wearing striking clothes, the man pleasingly bows to the Baron. He has charisma not seen from the previous people. His face shows that money is all there is. Obviously, a merchant’s charm.

“My lord, my name is Gihir, I have traveled far and wide, and now came to visit the beautiful city of Skydusk” He spoke with such fluidity in his voice that it almost drowned the pressure “It is an honor to see the famed Baron of Skydusk.”

“Cut the crap.” Blaine was unfazed by the praises of the merchant. “What do you really want?”

Honestly speaking, he doesn’t like this part of politics. Going with a fake smile, speaking with overly exaggerated accomplishments, power struggles, conspiracies, and the likes. He doesn’t get the gist of it. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want any of it.

“I would soon depart in a journey to the Empire of Sound. As you know, terrible things happen in the roads.” Gihir tried to look troubled to appeal to the Baron. “Just earlier, in my way here, we were attacked by bandits. Bandits, I tell you.”

Blaine was becoming impatient. Why can’t they just go straight to the point? His face seems to be saying.

“Then there was this Ogre. Can you believe it? The Ogre was holding a sword! And it was magical one. It might have been an artifact.”

The Baron snorted at what he thought a poorly made joke. “An Ogre using a sword? Don’t Jest with me”

But it seems the knight was interested in hearing this out. “You said that it looks like an artifact. Can you tell me what it looks like?” The knight has a nagging feeling that this sword is what he thinks it is.

The merchant was not ready for the unexpected question of the knight. He was here only to appeal and asked for guards to protect him in his journey to the Empire of Sound. He was not there to further talk about a sword.

But a larger pressure was released to him and soon he has sweating all over his face. He was forced to recall his memory and described the sword as best as he could. When he finished, the Knight was wide-eyed.

“What is the significance of this sword anyway?” Gihir found the courage to asked.

“It does not concern you merchant.” The Knight then faced the Baron. “My lord, may I have your permission to leave? I have some important news to report to the Order.”

The Baron lightly gave his permission to the Knight. He was smart not to obstruct the Order. He doesn’t want them to be his enemies.

“And you. You want some guards to protect you right?” Blaine already knew what Gihir came here for. It was a skill he develops during his time in politics. “I’ll go hire you with some mercenaries.”

“Thank you.” Gihir bowed again to the Baron. “Your help is greatly appreciated.”

“Send my regards to the Emperor.” Blaine said as Gihir was about to take his leave. “IF you happen to see him”

“I shall make that as one of my priorities.”

And the Baron smirked at that.