The Amber Sword

v4c7

Deal(1)

“You got some clue right?! Right, right?!” Tania flew up, looking down at the two. The Faerie looked thrilled and spun around several times in the sky, “I should’ve thought of that. Ever since the late King Erik built the city here thousands of years ago, Aouine’s noble families have been holding onto the secrets of this harbor. How can you not know of Ampere Seale’s secrets?”

“Gryphine, why didn’t you tell me beforehand?” Tania’s head snapped back, and her glasses nearly flew off her nose.

“Aunt Tania. Hah… Mr Brendel, you…..” The princess was speechless. She really didn’t want to monopolize the Azure Lance, but the legend of the Holy Lance was too influential. No one could imagine how much turmoil the legendary Holy Lance would cause when it reappears in this world.

No one would give up the fight for a holy artifact from the legends, whether it be the Holy Cathedral of Fire, the Holy Cathedral of Wind, or the Dwarves’ and the Golden Mane Clan’s Holy Cathedral of Earth.

When that time comes, what would happen to the kingdom of Aouine?

Brendel thought otherwise. He shook his head, “Your highness, no secret in this world can be kept forever. Aunt Tania has given me an idea, leave this to me.”

The princess looked at him and nodded with a sigh.

Brendel raised his head and looked at the Faerie flying in the sky. “Aunt Tania, you haven’t answered my question yet.”

“Of course I want to find it, it’s my lifelong wish.” The Faerie flew to the counter next to Brendel. She sat on the edge of the counter with one leg crossed over the other and her hands resting on her knees. She then looked at Brendel, “What do you want, little fellow from Kardiloso, son of the Earth Sword Saint Darius. What do you want from me?”

“That’s my grandfather.” Brendel replied.

“Same thing. I don’t even know your father, I couldn’t possibly say ‘Hey, random guy’s son,’ Right?”

Brendel felt like he was out of his mind for trying to argue with a Faerie. So he ignored it. He took a page of the manuscript from the princess and asked, “Will the Silver Folk know about this deal?”

“Huh? Why do you ask that?” Tania was slightly surprised.

“You know why, Aunt Tania.” Brendel had long suspected that this Faerie was the Buga’s spokesperson in the mortal world. Besides, other than Buga’s scholars, who would actually study ancient writings? He reached out and tapped the manuscript, “This is important, because it’s the precondition of our deal.”

“Precondition? I see.” Tania pushed her glasses up and her eyes shone with excitement, “Of course they will know, I intend to bring it back to the Great Library of the Gods. The Silver Society will be so proud of me. Just think about iit, the Silver Alliance hasn’t been this boisterous in at least sixty years.”

On the side, Gryphine wanted to interject several times but just frowned and held back.

Brendel could sense Her Highness’s concerns. He figured he should quickly get to the main point or the half-elf maiden would be worried sick. He said, “One more thing. What if the lance already hs an owner?”

“Of course it has an owner, isn’t the owner from the legends…… Wait.” Frowning, Tania turned around. Her gray blue eyes were glowing like sapphires. “Did Aouine’s royal family already obtain the Azure Lance? Or does it already have a new owner?”

“I’m sure you know, Madam Tania. The Holy Relics that appeared in ancient legends, when they reappear in this world, will each come with its own destiny. They all symbolize the beginning or the end of an era, therefore if the Azure Lance appears in Ampere Seale or Aouine, it means that the Holy Lance had already chosen someone.” Brendel looked at the little Faerie lady. There’s no way she wouldn’t know of this legend.

Of course, Tania knew, but she just forgot about it. She stretched out her fingers and tapped her tiny chin, “I see, does this mean that the Azure Lance was not discovered by Aouine’s former royal family?”

“It was Mr Brendel who discovered it, Aunt Tania, in that war not too long ago.” Princess Gryphine spoke up.

“Oh, I knew that. Those awful devils, I heard that they unearthed the Titan Statue without planning to return it to the Silver Society.” Tania nodded, “But I didn’t realize that the discovery was so recent… This is good news. Just like you said, Holy Relics have a will of their own; if Kardiloso’s little fellow was the first to discover it, it means that the chosen one must be someone around you. If it’s not, then it must have foreseen your meeting with me today. You understand me right?”

Of course Brendel could understand what the Faerie was trying to say, if the people around Brendel could not claim ownership over it, then the Holy Lance must have foreseen that Tania was going to bring it back to the Silver Alliance. He thought about it for a moment and figured that it was a good idea. If the Holy Lance did not belong to Aoine, leaving it in this small kingdom would only bring disaster to Aouine.

But it would be a different story if the Holy Lance was handed over to the Silver Alliance. Who would dare to attack the Buga Mages? Even more so, the Buga Mages would owe Aouine a favour because of this.

It was definitely a win-win solution.

Even Her highness could discern the hidden meaning within this, though she was still a little skeptical about what Brendel and Tania said.

“No matter if the Holy Lance stays in Aouine or not, the Silver Society will get word of it through you, right?” Brendel asked again.

Tania thought for a moment and nodded, “Well, there’s no way I’m not going to report something so important.” She looked at Brendel again and frowned, “Why are you so familiar with our ways of handling things?”

Brendel smiled, “Have you forgotten that I studied ancient writings too?”

It suddenly dawned on the Faerie. Mortals can’t have access to the knowledge of the Silver Society. If Brendel had studied under those mortal mages, the best thing he could learn was some crude magic. This was why Tania assumed that Brendel was taught directly by a Buga Mage, and could not help but ask, “Little one, who is your mentor?”

“Have you forgotten that I’m a Highland Knight? According to the rules,, this is not something we can speak of.” Brendel replied.

“You’re a Highland Knight?” Tania was completely befuddled by Brendel. Her tiny eyebrows straightened then furrowed again, “Oh yeah, that idiot Darius was a Highland Knight too. I almost forgot about that. Never mind, let’s just skip this topic.”

Brendel muffled a giggle. The split between the Black Tower Mage and Silver Society was a stain on the Silver Alliance’s history, although it happened such a long time ago, that both sides had long forgotten their former feud and each formed their own legacies. Though, customarily, in order to prevent disputes, neither side would mention each other’s histories. Tania, who had accepted Buga’s legacy, was no exception.

This allowed him to avoid that topic, and so he continued, “Madam Tania, you should admit what would happen if news of the Azure Lance being in Aouine is leaked.”

Hearing this, Gryphine pricked up her pointy ears. It was obvious that this was the part the princess was most concerned about.

Tania put one leg down and stood up on the counter, She sank into deep thought, with her arms crossed and her fingers propping up her chin. Obviously, she knew what Brendel was about to say. Once news of the Azure Lance being in Aouine was leaked, it would definitely attract greedy attention.

Of course, if it was just some inconsequential challengers, she could easily take care of them. But their enemies would be far more than that; it was unlikely that the Holy Cathedral of Fire and the Holy Cathedral of Wind would let go of this opportunity.

She glared at Brendel and asked calmly, “You must have a well thought-out plan, right?”

“This is exactly what our deal will be about.” Indeed, Brendel had been planning this ever since he discovered the identity of the Faerie. Otherwise he would not have revealed this information to anyone.

“Tell me about it.”

“In the first scenario, where the Azure Lance is sent to Buga, there will be no problems. But you must declare that the Azure Lance is indeed under your possession; you can not cause trouble for Aouine. Is that okay?” Brendel asked.

He looked at the princess and she nodded in agreement.

“Definitely, that’s quite fair.” Tania thought for a moment, “As your senior, I will not take advantage of you; I’ll even give you some compensation.”

Brendel smiled and did not refute her. “As for the second scenario, how about I lease you the Azure Lance?”

“Ah.” He immediately heard Her Highness cry out softly.

But Tania’s eyes lit up.

“You’re so cunning!” The Faerie could not help but exclaim, then turned towards the half-elf girl. “Gryphine, where did you find this guy? You better hurry up and tie him to you.”

“Aunt Tania….” Princess Gryphine was a little exasperated, but also a little curious, “What exactly did he do to deserve such praise from you?”

“I’m not praising him.” Tania replied, “The Silver Society’s interest in the Azure Lance is limited to research. As you all know, throughout their long lives, the Silver Folk have slowly lost interest in mortal secrets; Only secrets of ancient origin can capture our interests. That’s why we won’t ever consider taking the lance for ourselves. This guy must have known about this, which is why he chose to lease it to us. Lease, so it’s called, but in truth, this is just a facade to take attention off of Aouine.”

“And speaking of leasing.” Tania stared at Brendel, “You wouldn’t try to charge us a leasing fee, would you?”

“Wouldn’t it be right to do so?” Brendel asked, “And that’s just part of the deal. Before this, we agreed to take you to the Azure Lance; shouldn’t you pay for that too, Aunt Tania?”

The Faerie felt like she was talking with the shadiest merchant ever. Of course, she did not know that such merchants were called players. She glared at Brendel, but heard Princess Gryphine laugh, “Brendel has a point, doesn’t he, Aunt Tania.”

“Of course you think he has a point.” The Faerie snorted, “But it’s fine, I’m still at an advantage overall. Tell me, what do you want?”