The Amber Sword

v4c4

Belonging of the White Lions

The White Lion Legion was still considered a formidable force even in current-day Aouine. Marquis Batta had once used this legion to crush the Lion Beastmen in the year of the dawn of spring to prove it. However, if he wished to satisfy aristocrats’ complacency, he wanted a lion with fresh claws, sharp teeth, and an impressive mane.

He pondered it for a short moment before he replied. “Your Highness, I’m afraid I’m not the right person for this position right now.”

The princess looked back at him in surprise. Brendel’s forehead – which was knit in a tight frown – seemed to be slowly relaxing and slowly turning into a look of determination.

“Why?” she asked in confusion.

“Well… would Your Highness like to hear the truth or a lie?” Brendel looked up. The sky over the distant sea of Ampere Seale had a breathtaking blue tint to it; such beauty, however, was merely a sign for the next round of storms. The air was dense with the dampness from the sea as he and the princess walked to the pure white square. The half-elf princess was just slightly above his shoulder in height. She wore a long silver dress, its thin satin clinging to her porcelain-like skin. Her skirt’s folds fell in place like enormous flower petals, emphasizing the elf’s slimness perfectly.

“The truth, Mr. Brendel.” The princess sounded unhappy.

He just needed to identify that goal and persevere through it.

The princess froze slightly, but she seemed to have understood and she looked at Brendel brightly. Brendel gave her a slight nod – some things were as simple as that, but they were still trapped in this situation. Even in the princess’s most vulnerable moments, the Holy Cathedral of Fire hadn’t taken the slightest advantage of her. Did the Kirrlutz people presume that they will bow to them now?

The tables had turned.

A faint smile came to Princess Gryphine’s face and she let out a soft breath. She turned around and extended an invite in that energetic, bright and clear voice that was characteristic of elves, “It’s a nice day, Mr. Brendel. Would you like to walk with me? I’d like to see the rebuilt Ampere Seale Port.”

Brendel gave a little shudder.

He felt those beautiful silver eyes looking at him, and the fondness contained within them was self-evident. However, he was in a dilemma; on one hand, it was an invitation from Her Highness, and on the other hand, it was an arrangement of equal importance to him.

Before coming out, Brendel checked his gained EXP from his spoils of war. The reward could be described as very handsome, especially in the final battle, where nearly all the EXP gained from the defeated Titan that Romaine took out was granted to him. The only problem here was that the gained EXP was now turning a bleak grey.

This represented only one situation.

And that was when the EXPs arrived at the upper limit of the Elemental Activation. What followed was a process he was exceptionally familiar with, the task of the Elemental Activation.

In fact, the timing was just right. The Ampere Seale War was like an important point for Brendel. After the war, everything was all on the right track, and as long as the situation in the north was pacified, he would have time to complete this series of tasks.

But there was a problem.

Now that all of his equipment was damaged, he couldn’t possibly go on a mission completely unequipped. However, repairing equipment – especially magic equipment – was a time-consuming and lengthy task in the game. He had to prepare for it as early as possible.

Princess Gryphine seemed to see his hesitation and asked, “Any problems?”

“Well, I was thinking of going to the workshop area first,” Brendel replied somewhat awkwardly.

“I see.” The princess seemed to understand, and she thought for a moment. “Does Mr. Brendel know the most famous blacksmith in Ampere Seale?”

Lucretia’s Armory.

The name immediately came to Brendel’s mind. Ampere Seale’s most famous armory was neither run by the dwarves who were best at forging steel, nor did it belong to those elves who were skilled in magic.

Instead, it was a shop ran by a demon.

This shop was very famous in the game, but it wasn’t specifically open to players. Rather. it only catered to nobles. Only a few prominent players with enough prestige could enter it, but Brendel, who dealt with skeletons all day long, was apparently not one of them.

He looked up. Her Highness can’t be thinking of coming with me to the clanking, smoke-filled armory for the whole day, right?

However, he heard Princess Gryphine reply in a pleasant voice, “Please get in the carriage, Mr. Brendel. Triniyss, send the carriage to Lucretia’s Armory.”

Before Brendel could react, he saw the female officer in front of him personally open the carriage door for him…