The sun had already fallen as they headed back to the manor, and the inside of the carriage was entirely overtaken by eerie silence and thoughtful expressions about what they had learned from the hunter just an hour earlier.

“Lady Elaria, what do you think is our best way to deal with those filthy bastards.” With a bursting vein on his face, ready to pop at any moment, Josh asked his mentor.

Whole village terrorized by little green shits, and I can’t do anything about it.

Fuck man.

Elaria sighed a clear frown on her face. “I don’t know. We clearly don’t have the manpower to deal with what the hunter has told us.” She paused for a couple of seconds. “The only way I can think of is to ask Count for help, but he already denied it once.”

“We have to ask for his help then,” Josh sighed as he replied.

It doesn’t matter which world you are in. You still remain powerless to help Josh.

Way to go, Josh.

Josh asked Leo. “What do you know about Count Voss? If I need to ask for his help, it’s better that I at least know what sort of man he is.”

“Milord, Count Maximus Voss, he hails from an ancient lineage tracing back to the founding of the Kingdom. He himself belongs to the loyalist faction, who were heavily opposing the summoning of foreign heroes. The Voss family itself is one of the six founding families of the Pertis Kingdom. Over the years, their repeated failure at the wars that our kingdom was waning, together with insufficient contributions to the kingdom, has seen them getting demoted and their lands taken away. Once a mighty ducal family, now remains only a county.” Leo gave some of his insight on the County.

“For the Count himself, from what I’ve heard, he’s a daring man who would do anything to restore his family to former glory. He’s also been keen to remarry as he’s on his fourth wife with twice as many mistresses and thrice as many children.” Leo, after thinking for a moment, added.

So, ambitious womanizer. Gonna be an enjoyable experience working with him.

“Leo, when is the earliest I could meet the Count?” Josh asked.

“You would have to write him a letter and get invited, Milord,” Leo replied.

“The moment we get back to the manor, we need to write him a letter. Explaining that his poor vassal requests assistance and would love to have a meeting with him.” Josh replied.

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The following day, serious Leo and not-so-serious Josh, who couldn’t stop laughing for the love of his life, were sitting at the table trying to draft a letter for the Count. Josh, not being proficient in overly formal letters, was a nightmare for Leo to work with as they were drafting this letter.

Could the highest of highest Counts of this world of ours listen to my humble plea for assistance?

In the end, they did manage to settle on something that was still noble and acceptable to Josh.

“Honorable Count Maximus Voss

I hope this letter finds you in good health. It is your loyal vassal Baron Josh Brookes of Daim Barony, that seeks you out, A matter of great concern has arisen, and your esteemed advice and help is required. Please grant me a meeting at your earliest convenience.

With all due respect,

Baron Josh Brookes.”

Josh let out a massive sigh of relief after they finished the letter as it has taken them a better part of the morning to draft a simple letter.

“Milord, would you like to accompany me as we send out the letter?” Leo asked Josh with a slight smile.

“Sure, lead the way,” Josh replied.

I wonder what he wants from me.

It didn’t take them longer than a couple of minutes to reach a small hut just outside the manor. The hut itself wasn’t overly anything special, just a regular hut made out of wood and cobblestone. But what was inside of it totally caught Josh off-guard.

With the first look, you would say it’s a chicken coop. With a second look, Josh noticed that instead of chickens, you had sky-blue pigeons whose feathers were glowing in the light, leaving a trail of sparkling dust as they squandered from place to place. A small cylindrical container was tied on their legs for letters to hold.

“A-amazing, what are they?” Josh said while trying to pet one, but it kept strutting away from his grasp.

“They are Skylight Pigeons, Milord,” Leo caught one as he said that and gave it to Josh. “They are cowardly creatures for people unfamiliar with them, but trust me when I say that when it comes to delivering letters, you won’t find a better messenger bird in the whole Kingdom.”

They are so cute. I want one… Wait, I do have six of em.

Good job, Josh!

Josh was still petting the fluffiest, cutest creature he had ever seen, and definitely not because it was the first magical animal he ever touched. Leo spoke out.

“Milord, I’ve meant to ask you. Would you like me to train you with the sword?” The old steward asked with a smile that couldn’t hide his eagerness.

Sword?

“Why would I train with swords out of all weapons? Wouldn’t a spear make like ten times more sense?” Josh replied.

“Milord, it would if you were a peasant, but as a person with mana, it would be dumb not to choose a sword. It’s already hard enough to get the mana to the tip of the sword for a regular knight, let alone to the tip of the spear,” Leo rebutted his proposal of training in a spear instead of a sword. “Also, the old Lord had a Mana Sword as his only magical weapon, and you are the one who should inherit it, Milord.”

I have a magical sword? Please tell me it’s named Excalibur.

“Okay, so it’s easier to use the mana for a sword than a spear. It makes sense, I suppose, though how come I didn’t see the mana sword yet if I was supposed to inherit it?” Josh asked.

Leo unsheathed his sword and examined it briefly before handing it over to Josh.

“Milord, here it is, ‘Stellar Night,’ the biggest treasure of the Daim household.”

Josh gasped as he took the sword into his arms. Its blade was made out of dark blue metal, reminding Josh of the depths of the ocean. The guard was purple shaped like a crescent unbelievably beautiful. The hilt was wrapped in a simple dark leather, though you could catch glances of the same purple as the guard.

“Beautiful,” Josh whispered.

I don’t think I ever wanted to know how to use a sword as badly as now.

“Milord, the ‘Stellar Night’ is part of Thousand and One Dwarven Masterpieces, and even among them, it ranks in the upper half at 487th place,” Leo said.

“You can’t under any circumstances let the Count or anyone else, even your mentor Lady Elaria, know this sword's nature. Promise me that, Milord,” he quickly added, his voice filled with caution.

Josh returned the ‘Stellar Night’ to Leo, and he said, “I promise I won’t mention to anyone how precious this sword is. However, you have to be more specific with me, Leo. I have no clue what any of that means,” Josh said.

“Milord, this sword would be enough to purchase ten baronies like this,” Leo replied.

“If that was your selling point into trying to talk me into training with a sword. You got me.” Josh said, with awe in his voice.

“Glad to hear that, Milord. When do you want to start?” Leo asked.

“Now,” Josh replied.

They stepped out of the hut, letting the Skylight Pigeon deliver their letter to the Count about the crisis they were facing, and headed towards the small clearing behind the Manor to commence their training.