Cthulhu Gonfalon

The old man did not answer but just stood there hunched over between him and Olian.

“Teacher, are you okay?” Olian hurried back from the manager’s desk, holding the old man by the arm and asking worriedly.

The old man smiled and with a husky, hoarse voice, he waved his hand, “Do not worry, I am not as fragile as you think.”

“Sir, you do not have to worry.” A light flashed on Ray’s head. Sui Xiong cast a spell to cover the area and came out. “I didn’t mean to put Olian in a disadvantageous position, but I really want to make her the viscount of the next generation.”

“Oh, which god?” The old man raised his head. On the wrinkled face, there were a pair of bright eyes that had a completely different look from the rest of him. He looked at Sui Xiong without fear, while his sharp eyes made Ray feel like he had been scratched.

After a long time, the old man lowered his head again and hid his sharp eyes.

“I know, let’s go into the house to discuss it.”

As a territory being developed, Geerteng City had few people who liked reading. Its library was quite desolate. If not for the believers of the God of Classics, the subordinate of the God of Wisdom and Magic, who took it as a sacred temple, it would not have any popularity and would have been a haunted house.

Olian asked a clergyman to replace her temporarily, and then she returned to her room with her teacher and the unreliable god who wanted her to be a viscount as well as the god’s “horse”.

Olian’s room was small with simple decoration. It was not like a young girl’s place of residence. If not for the small rabbit doll on the bedside table that showed a bit girlish flare, it was just like an old nerd’s home. There were books everywhere. Although the quality of the paper was poor, it was bound in a fine way. It was clear that when Olian copied and bound it, she put in great effort.

Noticing Ray’s gaze, Olian did not feel shy but said frankly, “Copying and binding low-grade books is my main source of income, but there are too few people who love to read, and the books of value that I can find are too few.”

“When you become viscount, you can do something to promote culture and education,” Sui said. “I do not think you live an extravagant life, and by not spending money on some luxuries, you can do a lot of things.”

“But an aristocrat’s decency is also very important, and you cannot be too negligent of it.” Ray remembered something and shook his head, “Oh, it does not matter to you. With such a strong man as your teacher, it doesn’t matter whether other aristocrats look up upon or despise you as long as you do not do anything that makes the gods and humans angry.”

Olian was dumbfounded for a moment, and then she turned around and looked at her teacher. She was not stupid, but in the past, she was never exposed to the real aristocratic life, so she couldn’t think of a lot of things. As a girl from a family that had gone down, an aristocratic status gave her nothing but a surname of Geerteng and a relatively good job.

Things such as aristocratic parties or the aristocrat’s education had nothing to do with her— In fact, as early as when her father was born, their family had been ordinary citizens in relation to the aristocrats. Thanks to a sentiment of kinship, she received few benefits from the Viscount’s mansion to maintain a lifestyle that wasn’t rich but also not poor.

Her parents died early, and she grew up in the library. Books were her companions and her only friends were the followers of the God of Classics. Those nerds had always wanted to assimilate her into the church, but she was stubborn in her faith despite her easy-going personality, and she was only willing to believe in a god whose ideas she identified with. She didn’t disagree with them, but she didn’t identify with the idea of the God of Classics: ​cherish books, collect books, and pass on civilization. The love of books could only be her hobby or self-cultivation. It was far less profound if referred to as a life philosophy!

Originally, if there had been no accident, Olian would probably have taken reading as interest and copying books as work, so that she would have been a nerd all her life. Then she would have married an honest man and had children… Then spent her life in this way. But when she was ten years old, her fate changed dramatically.

When looking for a book in the library, she accidentally discovered that the elderly man sweeping the floor could unexpectedly jump onto the tall bookshelf! This ability would astound an experienced adventurer, let alone Olian who was still a kid. She suddenly became interested. She persuaded the elderly man for around six months and eventually convinced him to promise to accept her as a student and to teach her some skills…

Time flew, and she was already fifteen years old. Olian learned from the elderly man not only fantastic abilities such as how to leap onto roofs and vault over walls, but also many truths of doing things. Since she had also read a lot of books, she had unconsciously become a talent who was well-versed in both polite letters and martial arts.

So when Sui Xiong cast a spell to look for the talent most suitable to lead the territory of Geerteng, he naturally found her.

“If it is ‘the talent most suitable to lead the territory of Geerteng’… wouldn’t the young master Romon be more suitable?” Olian asked. “After all, he almost controls the territory of Geerteng, and he’s indeed very talented.”

“But he is, after all, a fake,” Sui Xiong said.

“It’s actually very easy to make a fake blood line.” Olian really knew a great deal about it. “I’ve seen that it was said that most senior mages are able to make fake blood, but the ritual materials are slightly expensive.”

“But the fake are after all is still a fake, and in the future, there is always the possibility of being exposed,” Sui Xiong said.

“The ceremony of blood succession could not be dismissed with ‘Advanced Magic of Removal’, but could be dismissed by ‘Magic Disintegration’,” the silent elderly man said. “But the ‘Magic Disintegration’ is a legendary spell and few people can cast it. But since there is a god willing to help you, then please ask him to create such a scroll for you.”

As her teacher also showed agreement, Olian’s eyes lit up.

Sui Xiong smiled and said, “Then it is decided. You will be the viscount.”

“Wait!” The elderly man interrupted before Olian answered. He raised his head and looked attentively at his disciple, “I want to remind you first, that being a lord is a very laborious and dangerous thing. From the very beginning, your peaceful and quiet life will be far away from you, and all day you will have to deal with schemes and fight against people that you do not like. In many cases, you will have to compromise, and you can not simply act according to your heart. For many times, even for a trivial matter, you will have to work hard on it, and you can only be successful after many swings and roundabouts.”

“You will be physically and mentally exhausted, and there will be no leisure at all; your hands would be stained by blood, and you will no longer be innocent at all; you will fight all day long, and have no peace at all… Will you not regret it even if these all happen?”

Olian was silent for a moment and whispered, “I think a lot of things in the territory of Geerteng are not good and need to be changed. I want to use my talents in more places, and make people’s lives peaceful and allow them to enjoy their work like those intelligent people recorded in books. I even would like my deeds to be recorded in future library books… Although I am still uneasy, I will try my best to do it!”

The elderly man smiled, lowered his head again, but did not say anything.

“Rest assured, you will be able to do a good job!” Sui patted the girl’s head with his tentacles and silently read two verses of poems.

For the purpose of the nation’s benefit, everyone is obligated to sacrifice themself rather than escape from the misfortune for their own benefits.

Young girl, I expect that you will win!

Neither side that was interested in the Viscount’s Palace knew that the outcome of the battle for territorial succession had just been decided in a plain hut in the desolate library of Geerteng City.

Even for the few people in the hut, the most important thing was not this.

“Venerable sir, how can I call you?” Sui Xiong tried to talk with the mysterious elderly man after solving the succession of the Viscount of Geerteng’s territory.

The elderly man laughed. “In the presence of gods, I am not venerable. I am Wall, but now Frye. People who know me call me old Frye… Oh, and few people would call me by this name. After all, I’ve been leading a hermit’s life here for almost 50 years now. ”

“Wall… Wall…” Ray said to himself, repeating the name several times, and finally remembered its origins. His eyes were wide open, “You are Wall the ‘Black Blade’?! Are you the one whose whereabouts have been unknown since you assassinated the Duke of Holy Fire of the Kingdom of Holy Angels with one sword because your relatives were killed and then made a sortie out of the Holy Fire City despite the mighty siege? You are alive!”

He was so excited that he encountered his idol. His heart, long being closed, became opened due to his excitement, so Sui Xiong could clearly see the scene reflected by his heart.

Inside a gorgeous house, an adolescent about ten years old was learning to fence from a very serious old man wearing a wig.

During the break, the adolescent asked, “Teacher, you often say that ‘a good aristocrat should master politics. No matter how powerful your skill of fencing is, you, after all, cannot defeat the hand that holds the political power.’ So is there any exception in this world?”

The old man pondered for a moment and said with a smile, “Of course, yes. For example, thirty years ago, when the Duke of Holy Fire of the Kingdom of Holy Angels wanted to attack the legendary realm, he arrested civilians who originated from wicked creatures and purified them with fire by taking them as sacrifices to please the God of Glory, the Sun God. Many people died, and many people complained but had no solution. Later an adventurer named Wall assassinated the Duke of Holy Fire and several senior officials of the church with one sword because his relatives were killed. He did that by breaking into the Cathedral of Glory of the Holy Fire City and also by taking advantage of the night when the Duke was holding a ceremony of promotion. He was taking a shower and fasting. The adventurer also killed many guards. Then he made a sortie out of the Holy Fire City by breaking the mighty siege at night and went off with a swagger.”

“You see, when your fencing skill reaches a certain level, you are indeed superior to the power. But… it’s harder to reach that level than becoming the king!” The old man kindly smiled and stroked the adolescent’s head. “After all, for you, it is somewhat hopeful to be king…”

“Teacher, you are looking down on me!” The teased young boy suddenly became upset. “I will also become such a master! By that time, I will be unstoppable with a sword in hand, and I will uphold justice by leading a chivalrous life!”

“Well, you will…”