Episode 44
“Melissa Allensia.”
Seeing her in good health, it seemed she had recovered from the Scarlet Fever thanks to the remedy Zeke had provided.
He bowed his head toward Melissa.
“I’ve heard much about the esteemed Princess Melissa. I’m truly grateful that someone of your stature has graced my promotion party. It’s an honor to meet you.”
The compliments were so sugary they made his skin crawl, but in the world of nobility, such flattery was essential.
Before the party, he had crammed a crash course in etiquette from Andrei, which was a lifesaver; otherwise, he would have struggled to keep up with the social niceties.
Melissa responded to Zeke’s words with a smile.
“I’m delighted to know that the continent’s youngest Blue-ranked knight is aware of me.”
“I’ve always been interested in the charitable work you lead, Your Highness. While some might think it’s just about giving away what’s available, managing relief efforts requires meticulous attention to every budget detail, doesn’t it?”
Melissa’s expression shifted at Zeke’s reply.
Her mask-like smile broke, revealing genuine surprise.
Most young knights she had encountered were full of bravado, driven by a thirst for honor and competition. They only ever discussed her charitable endeavors superficially, never grasping the underlying challenges.
But Zeke, in just a few words, had pinpointed the core difficulties of her philanthropic work.
‘Perhaps Cliff was right; he’s not just any ordinary knight.’
“Thank you for understanding. I shouldn’t take up more of the guest of honor’s time. It was a pleasure meeting you. Until next time.”
Melissa thought she should learn more about him and bid Zeke farewell before stepping away.
After Melissa, Zeke was swamped with a parade of royals, nobles, politicians, and other dignitaries, leaving him utterly exhausted.
“I’d rather endure Master Kaishir’s hellish training.”
The Draker family, while a knightly house, was also deeply entwined in the politics of various kingdoms.
As a stabilizing force on the central continent, other kingdoms valued their relationship with the Drakers and actively sought to maintain alliances.
Though just one family, they wielded more influence than any kingdom or empire.
That was the transcendent power of the Draker family.
Just then, a group approached Zeke.
As they neared, others stepped aside to make way.
The party’s atmosphere shifted as these attendees, clad in armor rather than formal attire, entered.
At the forefront was a youthful man who approached Zeke with an imperial salute.
“Zeke Draker! The continent’s youngest Blue-ranked knight!”
The young man, slightly tipsy, acted as if he were an old friend of Zeke’s.
With a flashy hairstyle and gleaming armor, he grinned at Zeke.
“I am Karus Nerva Constantinus, the fourth prince of the Great Rom Empire.”
The central kingdom’s attendees murmured in surprise at the young man’s words.
No one had expected a member of the Rom Empire’s royal family to attend a personal promotion party.
Facing Karus, the fourth prince of the Rom Empire, Zeke found himself in a dilemma.
‘Why on earth is that damned prince here?’
Though he didn’t know him personally, Zeke recognized Karus as the one responsible for the desolate Atlas he had seen in his past life.
Reluctantly, Zeke greeted Karus with a forced smile.
“Your Highness Karus, thank you for attending my promotion party.”
Truthfully, he had no desire to converse with him.
Yet Karus approached Zeke with an air of camaraderie.
“Come now, let’s have a drink together. Bring the finest wine! We must commemorate this historic first meeting between the continent’s greatest bon vivant, Karus, and the future greatest knight, Zeke Draker!”
At Karus’s command, a servant hurriedly brought over a wine glass.
Ignoring the stares of others, Karus handed Zeke a glass and proposed a toast.
“Drink it all; it’s wine bestowed by the imperial family.”
Karus’s words made the surrounding guests frown.
Even if the Drakers were just a family, their influence was such that such disrespectful behavior was unacceptable.
As whispers spread among the attendees, Zeke downed the wine Karus had given him.
Karus clapped his hands in delight.
“Excellent, excellent! Zeke! Let’s drink until we can’t stand tonight.”
At that moment, Abel approached from behind Karus.
“Your Highness.”
Karus greeted Abel warmly.
“Oh, Abel. Thank you for inviting me to such a delightful gathering. Come, let’s toast together!”
Abel maintained a composed expression as he spoke to Karus.
“I’m delighted to see you in good health. I have something to discuss with you. Would you care to join me for a drink and a chat?”
“Hmm, I’m not keen on hearing about troublesome matters.”
“Your insight is crucial, Your Highness.”
With that, Karus reluctantly nodded.
“Very well. Sir Zeke, next time, let’s spend the night discussing the epic tales of dragon slayers over drinks!”
With a flourish of his long cape, Karus strode away.
Once he left the banquet hall, the others breathed a sigh of relief.
They whispered among themselves in hushed tones.
“It’s surprising to see an imperial prince behave like that.”
“The Rom Empire lacks tradition, doesn’t it? That’s why both the emperor and the prince are like that.”
“Still, the way the Lion Sword handled it was impressive. He stepped in and resolved the issue swiftly.”
“Indeed. It’s no wonder people praise him.”
Zeke watched Karus, Abel, and the Siemens family members depart, lost in thought.
‘An imperial prince, the Siemens, and Abel. There’s something going on here.’
Zeke’s eyes gleamed sharply.
The promotion party continued for several days.
For nobles, parties and banquets were of great importance.
They were a crucial indicator of a family’s power and influence.
If they were to host a banquet, they had to ensure their guests were well entertained.
As the party’s main figure, Zeke had to engage with attendees for several days.
Only after the official banquet concluded could he finally catch his breath.
“Training is a million times easier than hosting a banquet.”
He tossed aside his stifling formal attire.
Then, he pulled out a note from the family head.
“A report from the Drakers.”
True to their reputation as a dragon-slaying family, the report contained countless items accumulated over a thousand years.
Without further thought, Zeke headed straight for Winterkeep, where the Draker’s vault was located.
Once his identity was confirmed, he was promptly escorted to the underground vault.
‘It’s chilly.’
As he followed the guide into the underground, Zeke noticed the temperature was magically lowered.
“Please proceed inside to complete the formalities.”
Walking down a narrow corridor, he saw dozens of knights guarding a massive door.
Zeke approached the desk to complete the formalities.
“Confirmed. By the family head’s order, you may take one item from the vault. The interior is quite vast, so it will take considerable time to explore. Once you exit, you cannot re-enter, so if you wish, you may take provisions, a chamber pot, and bedding inside.”
It seemed some spent days inside to select their desired item.
For Zeke, who had an inventory, these were unnecessary, so he declined.
“Then we shall open the vault.”
The desk attendant pressed a switch, and the massive vault door opened automatically.
Rumble!
As Zeke stepped inside, the door closed behind him.
“Wow, what is all this?”
The vault was a colossal storage of items.
Tens of thousands of items were displayed on large shelves.
Seeing this, he understood why some spent days searching for items here.
He knew the vault was impressive, but he hadn’t expected this scale, and he couldn’t help but be amazed.
“There are so many, I don’t know where to start. I’ll have to check their functions.”
Zeke activated his skill, Dragon’s Eye.
Information about the items appeared before him in a flood.
Overwhelmed by the sheer volume, he quickly deactivated the skill.
“Damn, this is going to make me dizzy.”
He pondered for a moment and then opened the system window.
“System, is there a faster way to find useful items?”
[Checking available functions at the administrator’s request.]
[Activating the intermediate administrator’s system linkage function.]
[Linking the Dragon’s Eye skill with the minimap to display items on the map.]
“I’m not sure what that means, but let’s try it.”
[Linking functions.]
Soon, the map displayed information about the items within Zeke’s line of sight.
“So that’s what the system linkage function is.”
It seemed the items had to be within his view for the information to appear.
Using his Shadow Step, Zeke quickly moved through the vault, exploring every corner.
Even so, the vault was so vast that it took quite some time.
“Phew, that should do it.”
After scanning the vault, Zeke switched the minimap to a 3D view to review the scanned item information.
Yet, there were still too many.
“System, can you filter out the items without magical properties?”
[Filtering possible.]
“Great. Then exclude all non-magical items from the list.”
More than half of the listed items vanished from the screen.
“Alright, good. Now, erase the one-time use items too.”
Another half disappeared.
“How many items are left?”
[2,832 items remain.]
“Still quite a lot.”
Zeke decided to personally inspect the remaining items.
Using his shadow step, he moved swiftly from place to place, examining each item.
“Why are there so many swords? System, remove any swords that aren’t better than Bahamut.”
In an instant, the number of swords was halved again.
Zeke scanned the remaining items. It seemed there were no swords superior to Bahamut left.
As he continued, Zeke noticed something peculiar among the listed items.
“What is this? Why is all the information just question marks?”
Beyond the black mark on the map, the info screen showed nothing but ???.
Curious, Zeke headed to the item’s location.
It was stored in a corner, not in the usual display area, but in a box within the unclassified items section.
Zeke had almost missed it, but his thorough search had at least marked it on the map.
He cleared away the stacked preservation boxes and finally uncovered what lay inside.
“What could possibly be in here?”
Zeke opened the preservation box to inspect the contents.
Inside, various odds and ends were haphazardly mixed together.
He pulled them out one by one, examining each.
“Not this… not that either.”
Then, something caught his hand.
“Is this it?”
It was a rough bracelet with a sky-blue gem set in the center.
Zeke tilted his head, puzzled as he examined the bracelet.
“Why can’t I get any information, even with the Dragon’s Eye?”
Just then, a message appeared.
[The title ‘Heir of Terracan Draker’ is activated.]
[You are registered as the inheritor of the ‘Sacred Guardian Stone.’]
[Through the ‘Sacred Guardian Stone,’ you can summon a spirit beast that matches your soul.]