21st Century Archmage

'Huhu, but it's not like there's no harvest at all.'

There were still the unnamed territory Skyknights who attacked the beastmen and me without knowing their place, leaving behind seven wyverns, airplates, and one hundred Blessed Spears. The fools chasing us came all the way to the cusp of the Rual Mountains before turning back in unison at some point, and as soon as they retreated, I went back to collect whatever spoils I could before heading back to Nerman.

'Everyone arrived ahead of me, I see.'

I had commanded the beastmen to escort the guests to Weyn Covert. They had apparently touched down ahead of me, because eight pitch-black wyverns were situated on one side of the already cramped Weyn Covert.

Guoooooooooooooo!

We left the prey in the temporary wyvern hangars constructed outside the city before heading in. Flying above the covert, Bebeto let loose his characteristic deep and heavy cry.

Kiaaaaaaa!

Kuaaaaaa!

And then, I saw it. The wyverns sitting in front of the covert hangars or playing on the runway flapped their wings and cried out as if to respond to Bebeto's bellow.

'Argh, you enviable bastard.'

Just how much had he captivated the females to receive such a passionate welcome? Bebeto flapped his wings gracefully as he made a cool landing. It was as if he were the master of this place.

'I can't lose! How can a human be less than a monster! Bebeto, you're my lifelong greatest rival now!'

I was pathetic for treating a wyvern as a rival, but the envy boiling up inside me wasn't easy to tamp down. The master worked and struggled half to death but still went to bed clutching a pillow, while a certain someone lived the easy life and received the attention of many female wyverns like an emperor. I was envious as hell. I wasn't asking for much, just five loving women and an awesome life with a harem, alright?

"Salute!"

As Bebeto and I touched down, the knights and soldiers standing by gave a resounding salute. It felt pretty good. Only someone who was welcomed like this after a long day of work would understand such a delightful feeling.

Derval came out to greet me, as if he had been waiting here for my return.

"My liege, welcome back!"

"Haha, I'm a bit late to the party."

"Perish the thought. Please, come inside. His Highness the Prince and Her Highness the Princess are waiting in the dining hall."

"Is everyone safe?"

"They have no external injuries, and Saintess Aramis was kind enough to give them a blessing, so their minds should be settled now as well."

'Gosh, our pretty lady is kind as well.'

It was impossible not to cherish Aramis, who took care of things without being told what to do.

"My liege, grilled pork belly, kimchi, and rice made with steamed kotiv have been prepared."

"Ohh! Really?"

There wasn't much to life. As long as you could return home after working hard to those who greeted you warmly and a table of warm, tasty food, that was the epitome of happiness. Of course, if the person greeting you was a woman, that would be the icing on the cake.

"Let us go inside."

From start to finish, Derval was the perfect picture of a man serving his liege. Besides the few times lately when he showed the rather stingy side of himself, he was a great knight.

'Igis and Irene. Huhuhu.'

Simply recalling those beautiful visages uplifted my mood. My footsteps grew light as I headed to the dining hall.

* * *

I stopped by my room to change from my airplate to formal attire, the suit I wore just one time at the banquet at the palace last year. Despite my hurry to make a getaway back then, I brought it in case Igis was saddened, and it was serving its purpose today.

'Even I have to admit, I look cool.'

I didn't measure my height, but it felt like I grew a bit from last year, and I'd become a bit more muscular. My figure was cooler now than any muscleman from Korea. In particular, my chocolate bar (sixpack) had grown more pronounced. The suit was worn over such a perfect frame. It was clothing made for summertime, but because the headquarters building was heated with a temperature control magic array, I didn't feel the cold.

'Shall we head out then?'

I felt like a noble going out to entertain guests invited to his territory. A sense of pride I'd never felt before warmed my chest. Just one year ago, I was chased out with only the hybrid wyvern Bebeto and Derval by my side. But in just one year, I became a noble with a territory that could entertain royalty. Though of course, when spring arrived, it would become a battlefield.

But who cared? Today, I was someone who could fully enjoy the moment.

Click.

I opened the door to the dining hall. Seeing as they were invited to none other than the dining hall, I could guess they hadn't had a single proper meal during their journey.

'Hooh!' The very first thing I saw was a line of beautiful women sitting on the right side of the table. 'Is this some kind of beauty pageant? My god…'

On the right side, sitting closest to the head of the table was Igis, next to her was Aramis, whose status was no less honorable, and then there was Irene gazing at me with an inscrutable smile, her silver hair glowing radiantly.

'Huh? The seat at the head of the table is empty.'

On the other side was the little Prince Razcion, who grinned wide at the sight of me, and Viscount Rothello, who greeted me with a wink.

The seat at the head of the table, the one I had always taken, was empty.

'!!'

But the most astonishing thing had yet to come.

'R-Russell!'

It was really her. Next to Sir Rothello, where the men were sitting, was Russell. The very first person on the continent to steal my lips, my roommate Russell, or rather, her real name was Luminia, was looking at me with a head of short hair.

Seeing my look of surprise, Russell grinned.

'Is she still living like a man?'

It seemed she hadn't yet revealed that she was a woman, but I could see it. Russell, who had a ton of androgenous charm, possessed a beauty that didn't pale in the least to the women sitting at the table like a field of flowers.

'Haah, so complicated.'

The beauty pageant was good and all, but when I thought about it, it was actually rather difficult. Russell, my first kiss and a woman of androgenous charm, the Saintess Aramis, the one where my feelings had come to rest, the intellectual Igis, who treated me sincerely despite her status as a princess, and the sexy, silver-haired Irene, who was many years my senior, but a beauty who absolutely couldn't be passed up.

'Bebeto, once again, I'm jealous of you.'

A monster could take care of ten or twenty females as long as he had a decent physique and the vigor for it, but as a human, doing such a thing would prick my conscience. I might be getting ahead of myself, but I didn't think I could give up on any of the people here. Honestly, with this kind of attitude, I deserved to get stabbed by every random dude out there.

"I offer my humble greetings to Princess Igis, and Prince Razcion," I said, following noble decorum with a bow of my head.

"Greetings to Count Kyre, the savior of my life."

"Thank you, savior of my life."

Igis rose from her seat and bowed her head, as did Razcion, who had grown quite a bit.

Irene's clear, blue eyes sparkled as she bowed her head. "Thank you for saving our lives."

"It was nothing…" I said, speaking with an air of dignity, as was prescribed by courtesy.

"Haha, if not for the Count, I would have totally been appointed a knight of the Evil God, Kerma. I will be sure to repay your great favor," said Viscount Rothello with a good-natured smile. He had never liked stuffy customs to begin with.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Sir Rothello."

After Sir Rothello finished his greeting, Russell and some knights I didn't know the names of rose one after another, putting their right fists to their hearts in a show of knightly respect. "We thank the Count's great grace."

"What grace, I merely did what I naturally had to do."

A man completely ignorant of formalities was no different from an animal. It was my first time in a while engaging in noble mannerisms, but it didn't feel awkward. After all, I'd always been a young man from the eastern Land of Courtesy, Korea.

"Please be seated. It seems the meal has been delayed on my account."

'But where am I supposed to sit?'

I had entered the dining hall, but my designated spot was really unclear. To sit at the head of the table like usual might be rude to the Princess and Prince. I didn't want rumors to spread among the territory knights that they served a lord without any manners.

Still standing, Igis pointed to the empty seat at the head of the table. "Please sit here. You have more than enough right to sit here, Count Kyre."

"But how could I possibly sit there when you and the Prince are here…"

"No, from now on, we are no longer a princess and prince of the Bajran Empire. We are merely homeless exiles who are at the mercy of your care."

Even as she spoke, Igis didn't reveal any sign of sadness. It seemed she was very determined.

"Hyungnim, please sit. From now on, I'm Kyre hyung's little brother."

TN: Hyungnim is the respectful version of hyung.

The little Prince followed up Igis, offering me the seat with great maturity.

'Sigh, they're pitiful.'

The two had lost their parents, their house, and even their homeland. I felt a pang of sorrow for them.

"Please sit. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse," urged Viscount Rothello. It also felt like Irene and the other knights were silently giving their approval. Any further refusal would be impolite.

"Then, if I may."

With a quick dip of my head, I sat down at the head of the table.

"The food will come out at once." Because I didn't have a designated butler, Derval was in charge of the meal.

'My family sure has grown.'

I already had a considerable number of knights under my care, but the Princess, the Prince, and seven Imperial Skyknights also ended up flying into my embrace.

As I sat, my heart grew calm. The moment I accepted them, I became a formal enemy of the Bajran Empire. I wasn't scared, but the weight of my responsibility grew heavier.

These people, who had nowhere to go if I threw them out… I planned on taking them all in.

That was the way I lived my life.

* * *

Munch munch.

"Mmgh mmgh."

Clink clank.

The meal fell leagues short of the feast Igis offered me in the palace. However, no one showed an ounce of regret. They were simply busy slicing the lamb steaks loaded on their plates, slathering honey on their bread and eating it, and drinking the refreshing soup made with seafood.

Chew chew.

'Nngh! This is the taste.'

I enjoyed a little meal of my own, one so delicious I didn't envy the food others were eating. A good chunk of ripening kimchi, as well as a heaping bowl of white rice, along with a plateful of pork belly grilled perfectly on charcoal. I was in bliss.

"Hoho, please give this a try. It is called kim-chee. Eating it truly awakens the palate, and it is quite addicting."

"Truly? It smells spicy though…"

"You can wash it in water before eating it like I do."

"Then allow me to give it a try."

Aramis had quickly realized the joys of kimchi. She hadn't gotten used to the spiciness yet, so she washed it clean in water and enjoyed it like that. Today, in order to create more converts, she recommended the kimchi to Igis.

'Come to think of it, everyone's names start with an 'ah' sound.'

Aramis, Igis, Irene. The food I ate while watching the three women tasted better than ever. Even a miser who savored every bite wouldn't know this flavor, the pleasure of eating a bite of rice, then wrapping pork belly with kimchi and using a glance of beautiful ladies as a seasoning. I polished off a bowl of rice in no time.

"I shall bring out the nurungji soup."

"Thank you."

Once I finished my rice, Derval prepared to bring out the nurungji, scorched rice soup, as usual. I had asked the dwarves to make a stainless steel pot, which was used to make rice and then nurungji. Unlike kimchi, the people of this world were able to properly pronounce nurungji.

"Please give me a bowl as well, Sir Derval."

"Of course, Saintess."

'Her palate has already changed.'

Up until very recently, Aramis had liked bread. But now, she was well accustomed to eating rice, she enjoyed kimchi and grilled pork belly, and even understood the pleasures of nurungji. Aramis probably didn't know, though, that once you were hooked by Korean cuisine, it was like an addiction you could never escape.

"What is 'nurungji'?" Igis asked, looking over with a red face. Despite washing the kimchi completely in water, it seemed it was still too spicy for her.

"Would you like to give it a try? It is a soup made out of kotiv, and has a sweet, delicate flavor. It's very easy to eat."

"Is that so? Then may I give that a try as well?"

"I will prepare some for you at once, Your Highness," said Derval with smiling eyes.

"Thank you, Sir Derval."

"No thanks are necessary, Your Highness. It is my household's honor to be able to serve you."

Derval harbored deep antagonism towards royalty and nobility, but it seems he was won over by Igis' affable and polite manner.

'That's a relief. It would be a pain if Sir Derval didn't like her.'

It was only natural to side with your closest aide in a conflict. If my right hand, Derval, didn't like her, it would be uncomfortable for me, too.

With a swish, the maids brought out three bowls and placed them on the table.

"Slurp." I got a spoonful of the hot nurungji and put it in my mouth. "Haah…"

It warmed up not just the inside of my mouth, but my chest, too. Nurungji eaten on a winter day was especially the definition of delicious.

"It's tasty!"

"Isn't it?"

"Yes, this sweet and gentle, warm soup really warms the heart. Hoho, it's a taste I've never had even in the palace."

"Hoho, it's a relief to hear you say that you like it."

Igis and Aramis were already rubbing elbows like old friends. Aramis had a truly kind personality in addition to her good looks.

'Huhu, I'm relieved as well. To see them getting along.'

I gazed at the two women with satisfaction.

Zing.

'Hrm?'

Just then, I felt two gazes boring into my face.

'Irene…'

The silver-haired fairy Irene, who had crossed her arms after finishing her meal, was giving me a smile that was as unreadable as ever. However, her eyes were clearly saying, 'As expected of a playboy.'

'R-Russell.'

On top of that, Russell was also telling me with her eyes, mid-chew on a piece of bread, 'Am I a third wheel here?'

'I should be careful from now on. If they find out that there's also Narmias, Lokoroïa, and Rosiathe…'

I didn't know exactly what would happen, but sharp warning beeps were going off in my head, telling me that my list of wrongdoings was long, so I should settle things nicely before I was caught.