[Trantor - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 73
''My mother was a Healer ss?''
As Zeke expressed his surprise, Rufus nodded and said,
"You might not understand what that means. The concept of sses has disappeared these days."
Zeke knew what a ss was through his master in his past life, but he pretended not to know.
"This is the first time I''ve heard the term ''ss''."
"As a pure-blooded awakened of Draker, you must remember the blessing ceremony you received at the Cradle."
"Of course. I could never forget it."
"Draker calls it a blessing ceremony, but in reality, it''s just a ss awakening ceremony. Most Drakers awaken to the ''Swordsman'' ss."
Surprisingly, Rufus urately grasped the Draker bloodline''s ss.
"Swordsman ss. Are there other sses then?"
"Of course. In ancient times, people''s talents were discerned, and they were assigned sses that matched their talents, systematized to draw out higher abilities. However, with the advent of the age of knights, most people simply divide sses into knights and mages."
"Assigning and awakening sses ording to talent. That''s quite a rational concept."
"Indeed. Those with talent in swords walk the path of the swordsman, those with talent in bows walk the path of the archer, and those with talent in spears walk the path of the spearman. That''s the meaning of sses."
Zeke nodded at Rufus''s words.
Just thinking about how he had suffered in the Swordsman n of Draker simply because he had the talent of a Healer still made him shudder.
''Wait, if my mother was a Healer ss, doesn''t that mean my father knew about it too?''
Zeke asked Rufus,
"If my mother was a Healer, would Arthur Draker have known about this ss concept?"
Rufus nodded.
"He probably would have known."
Zeke was puzzled by those words.
''He would have known that I had a different talent than that of a Swordsman, so why did he expel me from the n?''
If his mother was a Healer, Arthur would have known the effects of a Healer, so Zeke couldn''t understand why he was neglected.
Zeke asked Rufus,
"Do you know anything about the Healer ss?"
Rufus slowly opened his mouth.
"I don''t know much either. It''s such a rare talent that there are hardly any records left, even in the inherited records. One thing is certain, though, my aunt, the previous head of the n, also had the Healer talent."
As Zeke expected, the previous head of the Agamemnon n was a Healer ss.
Considering that only the previous head of the n, who had the power of a Healer, and Zeke were able to activate the Golden Mask, it was highly likely that this sacred object was an artifact that could only be used by those with the Healer talent.
"Were there many Healers in the Agamemnon n?"
Rufus shook his head.
"It was rare. Most were swordsmen with innate bravery, like me and the elders of the n. But the position of head of the n was traditionally held by someone with the Healer talent."
"Then my mother could have also held the position of head of the n."
"She was certainly qualified. But Laura left this castle and went to the Holy Kingdom before she even came of age."
Zeke was surprised by the unexpected words.
"The Holy Kingdom? Why did she go there?"
"Laura didn''t tell me the details. She just left, saying that she was going to find a way to save the n. Later, she left again, saying she was going to marry Arthur Draker."
The more he heard, the more questions Zeke had about his mother.
Zeke looked at the symbol on the forehead of the Golden Mask, simr to the Holy Kingdom''s insignia, and fell into thought.
''Perhaps my mother went to the Holy Kingdom to investigate the Healer ss. To purify the demonic energy that was eroding the n with her own power.''
There was only one person who knew the exact truth about this.
It was his father, Arthur Draker.
''Would he even answer if I asked him?''
Circumstantially, it was as if Draker had neglected the cursed Agamemnon n to consolidate their own power.
Moreover, Arthur Draker in his past life had known Zeke''s true nature but still left him alone until he was expelled from the n. So, in his past life, the Agamemnon n would have beenpletely consumed by the demonic energy and disappeared without a trace.
Zeke realized that things were moreplicated than he thought.
''There are many things I need to investigate step by step.''
"Zeke, there''s something I want to give you."
Rufus unfastened the ne he was wearing and ced it in Zeke''s hand.
Zeke examined the ne Rufus gave him.
The pendant attached to the ne could be opened, and inside was an old picture of a woman.
Zeke''s eyes wavered as he saw the woman''s face.
"Lord, this picture..."
"Laura Agamemnon. Your mother."
Zeke had never seen his mother, not in this life or his past life.
The mother in the picture was around Zeke''s age.
With her beautiful, silky long hair swept to the side, she was a beautiful woman with an elegant yet strong impression.
Looking at the picture, Zeke asked Rufus,
"...Were my mother''s eyes also ck like mine?"
Rufus shook his head.
"No. Laura''s eyes were a beautiful emerald green."
"I always thought my eyes resembled my mother''s."
"Except for the color of your eyes, you''re the spitting image of Laura. When I first saw you yesterday, I thought Laura hade back."
The other elders behind him nodded in agreement.
Zeke closed the locket and put the ne around his neck.
"Thank you, Lord. I will treasure it."
Rufus looked at Zeke and said,
"After Laura left the n, one day, she returned after a long time. And then she left again after saying just one thing."
"What did she say?"
"The child with ck eyes will restore the n to its original state."
Zeke''s expression hardened.
"My mother made a prophecy?"
Rufus nodded.
"Laura was a Healer ss, but she was also an Irregr. She was extraordinary from a young age."
In the Central Continent, Irregrs weren''t viewed favorably.
During the Holy Empire era, there were even religious trials and witch hunts for Irregrs.
''My mother was an Irregr...''
Rufus held Zeke''s hand and said,
"More than that, you said you needed the support of the n. What do you need support for, Zeke? You are the sole sessor of this Agamemnon n."
***
"Whew."
Zeke stood in the training hall of Agamemnon Castle, holding Bahamut, adjusting his breathing and swinging his sword.
Because the head of the n had designated Zeke as the n''s sessor, he decided to stay longer at the castle to handle various procedures.
Since there was still time before the martial arts tournament, Zeke decided to follow the head of the n''s words.
And during his stay, Zeke learned the Agamemnon n''s secret swordsmanship, the ''Golden Swordsmanship.''
He first familiarized himself with the sword forms by looking at the Agamemnon n''s inherited swordsmanship records.
As befitting a n with a long tradition, the Agamemnon n had a deep history of swordsmanship.
The inherited swordsmanship that direct descendants had to learn was a shield swordsmanship that used both a shield and a sword simultaneously.
While learning the sword forms, Zeke felt that this swordsmanship was simr to both the Pdin inherited swordsmanship and the Imperial swordsmanship.
''Could it be that all three swordsmanships have the same roots?''
In particr, the Golden Swordsmanship, Agamemnon''s shield swordsmanship, was created on the premise of wearing full te armor and wielding arge kite shield.
Zeke thought he understood why the members of the Agamemnon n were sorge.
He recalled something while learning the Golden Swordsmanship.
''The Golden Swordsmanship is a technique with a good bnce of offense and defense. If Ibine it with the Desperation Strike I learned from my former master...''
He couldn''t use theplete Desperation Strike yet because his dragon-rted skill, Dragon Language, hadn''t been unlocked.
Once Dragon Language was unlocked and hebined the Golden Swordsmanship with theplete Desperation Strike, he might be able to create a new weapon, following the Elemental Sword and the True Dragon Sword Skill.
After familiarizing himself with the sword forms to some extent, Zeke activated Hercyon, wore it in full te armor form, and held Gelion''s shield and Bahamut before disying the Agamemnon''s Golden Swordsmanship.
Whoosh!
He struck with the shield, retreated, stabbed with the sword, turned around, and swung the sword again.
He used Gale Force to increase his agility and Aura to strengthen his attacks.
Wheeik!
Even without creating an Aura de, Zeke''s attacks were fast and powerful enough that ordinary knights wouldn''t be able to easily withstand them.
Thud!
"Whew."
Zeke, who had removed his helmet, smiled with satisfaction at his movements.
He looked down at Hercyon and licked his lips.
"This is really good, but I can''t use it properly for fear of being tracked by those Imperial bastards."
If he could just change its form, he would actively use it.
Zeke thought he should make time to meet Gelion in person and modify Hercyon.
Deciding to end his training here, he deactivated Hercyon and left the training hall.
When he went out to the garden, he saw the elders of Agamemnon surrounding Felix and watching his swordsmanship.
Wheeik!
"You shouldn''t turn there!"
"Hold your stance better!"
"Keep your center of gravity firm!"@@novelbin@@
The Pdin inherited swordsmanship and the Agamemnon''s Golden Swordsmanship had many simrities, so it was clear that learning from the elders would be beneficial for Felix.
However, Felix, who was actually receiving the teaching, was miserable.
"Ugh, Master, please save me."
Felix looked at Zeke with a tearful expression, but Zeke turned his head away, ignoring the distress signal.
''Work hard, Felix. It''s definitely not because I''m toozy to teach you.''
For the elders who had been cooped up in the castle for 50 years, Felix was a good target for their pent-up energy.
Zeke left Felix to be tormented by the elders and went inside the castle.
Just then, the head maid approached Zeke.
"Young Master, the lord summons you."
The head maid, who had lost the gloomy old woman appearance from their first meeting, became more elegant with each passing day.
''Although it''s still a bit scary when she sometimes goes ''hee hee hee'' when sheughs.''
Zeke followed the head maid''s words and headed to the lord''s office.
When he arrived at the office, he saw documents piled up like a mountain on Rufus''s desk.
With the Agamemnon n emerging from seclusion after 50 years, there were countless matters to deal with.
"Grandfather."
Rufus had asked Zeke to call him grandfather instead of lord when they were alone.
Rufus saw Zeke through the pile of documents and got up from his seat.
"Whew, it''s a headache to do paperwork after such a long time. Let''s go out and have some tea."
As Rufus and Zeke went out to the terrace, the maids brought out tea.
Zeke asked Rufus,
"Then how have you been managing the city all this time?"
Rufus stroked his neatly trimmed beard and said,
"We entrusted it to agents outside the territory and sent important decisions by letter."
"So there were agents."
Rufus put down his teacup and said,
"Actually, that''s why I called you."
He looked at Zeke and said,
"The Agamemnon n has protected this ce for a long time as the guardians of Mycenae. At the same time, three ns have helped us manage Mycenae and the surrounding territories."
"You mean vassals."
"Zeke, to be the official sessor of Agamemnon, you need to be recognized by them."
It was a kind of safety device to prevent the person in power from bing a dictator.
Zeke nodded at Rufus''s words.
"That''s good timing. Actually, there was something I wanted to ask you, Grandfather."
"What is it? Tell me anything."
Zeke''s eyes shed at Rufus''s words.
"I would like you to invite the heads and lords of those three vassal ns, as well as all the ns rted to Agamemnon, to the castle."
[Trantor - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]