Chapter 13: Pride of a Noble
Arriving at the Northern Tower didn't take very long. The ground floor appeared to be a receptionist hall or Librarian counter of sorts. There, stationed staff would be able to guide visitors toward an available teleportation node.
As a butler guided them, such staff were unneeded, allowing Sam and Regina to make their way immediately towards a teleportation node, selecting the top floor as their destination.
Arriving in the blink of an eye, Regina and Sam were feeling a little disorientated and queasy; however, Sam recovered almost instantly. Unfortunately, Regina was not so quick, losing her balance while sticking her arm out for support. Sam quickly supplied his support, asking,
"Dr. Halloway?" Sam was internally trying to assess whether this was a side-effect of the teleportation or a type of attack.
"I am alright, Sam. Just a little disorientated." Regina said, trying to assuage Sam's worries; however, it seemed it wasn't enough.
"Solace, full diagnostic," Sam stated in a firm tone.
"On it," Solace replied, sending out a pulse from Sam's palm, which was supporting Regina, allowing it to pass through her body and scan her vitals.
"All clear, there is nothing abnormal. It was most likely due to the unique form of teleportation we experienced. Your bodies aren't used to it yet."
All the while, the butler was standing to the side, a little nervous. However, he finally gained a bit of courage to speak.
"My apologies, esteemed Guests. I forgot to mention that teleportation can be troublesome for first-time users… However, most of the guests received by His Majesty have some prior experience with teleportation; thus, I incorrectly assumed that the esteemed Guests would be alright."
Finally regaining her bearings, Regina stood on her own two feet, replying,
"That's quite alright. It shouldn't take too long to get used to it."
"I thank you for your understanding." The Butler bowed steeply.
With that, they made their way away from the teleportation node. The Butler then led them toward a group that seemed to be listening to someone in front of them. However, neither Sam nor Regina could see who.
"Be prepared, you lot. His Majesty forked up a right o'l sum fur us te fulfill whatever request these Guests may fancy regarding this'n here construction. Could either be a surprisin'ly wee amount'a work or a muckle of an order that'll have us grindin' our teeth and pullin' at our hairs till we're right scunnered. Whatever it be, dinnae be crabbit and get it done. Drinks're on me when we're done."
"Yes, Sir!" The group replied.
With that, the group finally noticed their arrival, making way for the person who had been speaking previously to come forward and welcome them.
"Guid efternuin, Me names Adhamh, 'ere ta help with any specifications ye be needin."
Finally able to put a face to the voice, Regina and Sam were greeted by a short and stocky man, roughly about 121cm tall (4 feet) with reddish-colored hair and a matching beard that reached all the way to his rather portly belly. Evidently, he was a part of the Dwarven Race that Ariana had previously mentioned during their first meeting.
"Good afternoon; my name is Dr. Regina Halloway. I appreciate the help, Adam."
"Aye, dinnae fash yersel, it be an honor to werk fer His Majesty. Now, what'll ye be needin?"
As Regina began walking around and discussing the changes she'd like, the teleportation node behind them once again lit up, signifying the entrance of another person.
Ariana suddenly appeared in the room with Shirogane on her shoulder with a flash of light. She looked around before settling her eyes on Sam, beaming a significant smile.
"Sam! Let's go! It's time for our lessons to begin." Ariana said, running over to Sam and grabbing him by the hand.
Sam looked over at Dr. Halloway, only to find her smiling in his direction.
"Go, Sam. But come back as soon as you're done. I may need your assistance with some equipment."
"Understood," Sam replied with a nod, finally allowing Ariana to drag him away.
…
..
.
After a relatively short journey through the Palace Grounds, Ariana and Sam arrived at a dimly lit chamber.
Upon entry, Sam's eyes scanned the room, a sort of habit that had been quite literally beaten into him during his training.
The room had 4 supporting pillars, each designed as a statue depicting some sort of Holy figure whose eyes were made from a type of colored gem. The walls had murals carved along each of them, likely telling a story of some sort.
At the very center of the room, a marble pedestal stood with what appeared to be a transparent orb hovering over it.
Next to the pedestal was a woman in what appeared to be white scholarly robes that had black and golden trims.
Seeing the woman, Ariana beamed a smile, running over and calling out,
"Sylvia! We're here!"
The woman, Silviya, smiled lightly.
"It's good to see you, Princess Ariana. I hope you've been diligent in your studies."
Hearing what she had to say, Ariana froze, her smile growing slightly awkward as she averted her eyes and giggled slightly.
Seeing Ariana's antics, Sylvia sighed before looking over and staring at her new 'student'.
"I suppose you must be Sam, the visitor from another world."
Staring at the woman, Sam began to take note of her features.
Sylvia was quite a pretty young woman, around the age of 22 or 23. She had peach-colored skin, yellowish golden eyes, long blonde hair, and rosy-shaded lips.
She was roughly 158 CM tall (5ft 2) and had quite the shapely figure that her scholarly robes barely concealed.
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Well, according to what I've been told, the world you originate from lacks any semblance of Mana at all, which also means that those from your home do not have Mana either. I'm not sure whether or not your arrival has granted you access to Mana, so before I go about wasting my time teaching you something you might not even be able to use, I'd like to perform a simple test to see if you can use Magic or not."
While her tone was a little scathing, with her even sneering when she mentioned people from Sam's world weren't able to use Mana, Sam wasn't bothered by it one bit. His Drill Sargent had much more talent in the field of provocation than Sylvia likely ever would.
However, Ariana didn't seem to enjoy Sylvia's tone or expression.
"Sylvia, why are you being rude to Sam?" Ariana asked, her previous happy expression nowhere to be seen, replaced by what Sam could only describe as perfect apathy.
Sylvia seemed to shudder slightly before quickly appending,
"I apologize, your Highness; I did not mean to sound rude to our guest."
Ariana nodded, still with the same apathetic expression on her face, as she asked,
"You didn't answer my question. Please explain why you were rude in the first place."
"I… Well… the people from his world don't have Mana… so I.."
"Oh, I see. I sometimes forget this fact about the Nobility."
Suddenly, the holographic lenses on Sam's helmet lit up, projecting Solace's image, allowing her to 'stand' next to Sam.
She was projected to be roughly the same height as Dr. Halloway.
"Is there something we should know about the Nobility, Ariana? I'd like to record it for reference for future interactions, should they occur."
Sylvia was startled when she saw Solace's appearance but pushed down her surprise as Ariana continued, now smiling at Solace's sudden appearance.
"Hi, Solace! Well, you see, Mana Capacity tends to be one of the determining factors when it comes to succession, whether that be for a Noble House or even the Royal Throne. It's not the only thing considered when determining an heir, but it definitely is a major role. As a result, the Nobility tend to think themselves superior to those with lesser Mana Capacity than themselves. To them, someone without any Mana whatsoever is considered the lowest of low. Hence, I believe Sylvia was looking down upon Sam and his people for their apparent lack of Mana."
"Hmm, I see. I suppose that is natural. It's normal for one to feel a sense of superiority towards others of lesser capability than themselves, especially so for Mana and Magic. From what I've gathered so far, the versatility of Mana and the multitude of Spells available make Mages an indispensable workforce. Having someone capable of performing more Spells would value them higher than those who could not." Solace replied, crossing her arms and putting on a contemplative stance.
"You're right, logically speaking, that would make them more valuable. However, some of the Nobility tend to believe their greater Mana Capacity allows them the privilege of treating those they consider inferior however they wish with no fear of repercussion. There had been repeated incidents in the past where a Noble believed they were untouchable due to their perceived indispensability and harmed citizens of the Kingdom either out of sadistic joy or to lord themselves over them. However, they soon found out how dispensable they truly were when my Father sentenced them to capital punishment for their crimes." Ariana replied. She finished her statement with a smile that she directed toward Sylvia.
Sylvia once again shuddered when she saw Ariana smiling at her. It was well known among the Nobility that the Royal Family had zero tolerance for those who abused their power and believed themselves superior. So having slipped up and fallen into the habit she had when interacting with other Nobility, Sylvia was quite literally fearing for her life.
"I… I… Your Highness, I…"
She tried to speak but was suddenly cut off by Ariana.
"But I'm sure Sylvia didn't mean anything by it, right? After all, she is usually such a nice girl when she interacts with me. Surely that isn't just because of my position as Princess and my vastly superior Mana Capacity, right?"
"A-absolutely, Your Highness, it was a slip of the tongue. I apologize."
"Good. Wouldn't want anyone giving Sam and the other Esteemed Guests the wrong idea and causing an international… or rather, intergalactic incident, now would we?"
"Of course."
"Splendid! Sorry for the interruption, Sylvia. Please continue!" Ariana said, now returning to her usual cheerful nature.
Solace looked at Ariana with an intriguing gaze, fascinated by how quickly the little Princess could swap masks.
Sam also noticed this, but having spent the majority of his life raised with trained killers, he knew that some of the more 'intellectually gifted' subjects tended to wear different faces depending on who they were interacting with.
It generally wasn't for any malicious intent towards fellow Einherjar but merely to gain the most 'benefit' for themselves that they could out of each interaction.
An example of this is wearing a different mask to quell internal conflict between subjects, something they did quite often to save themselves from the trouble of getting involved or avoid any potential harm from coming their way.
Most of those people became Squad Leaders for the various Einherjar Teams that were constructed, as their natural ability to wear 'masks' when interacting with others was a perfect asset in manipulating their squadmates into working together or achieving a specific mission outcome.
"R-right, Sir Sam, please step forward and place your hand on the Orb before you."
Sam looked over at the Orb and stepped forward.
He was about to place his hand on it when Sylvia interrupted, asking,
"Please remove the armor around your hand first. Skin contact is required to get a proper reading."
Hearing this, Sam paused briefly.
"What is the purpose of this Orb?" Solace asked.
"A-ah, right, this Orb can read how much Mana a person currently has as well as determine their Magical Affinity," Sylvia replied.
"Does Magical Affinity affect the type of Spells one can cast?"
"Mhm! It sure does! For example, if you had an Affinity for Fire Magic, any Flame-based Spells you cast would be comparably stronger than any other Element you used. Depending on the purity of your Affinity, the difference in power could range from a factor of 5-10% potency, all the way up to 500% potency!" Ariana explained enthusiastically."
"Does every person only have a single Affinity?" Sam suddenly asked.
"Nope! People can have more than one, but it's kinda rare. People with two different Affinities tend to be considered talented Mages; those with three are considered Geniuses, while those with 4 or more are considered Blessed by The Divine."
"Understood."
With that, Sam ordered the nanobots that made up the inner bodysuit of his armor to move away from his hand, revealing his somewhat pale hand to the onlookers as he placed his palm against the smooth surface of the Orb.
Everyone in the room stared at the Orb with bated breath.
However, even after waiting 10 full seconds, nothing seemed to happen.
"Is something supposed to happen?" Solace asked.
"Um… sometimes it takes a while," Ariana replied.
Ariana said while internally hoping something would eventually show up…
They waited almost an entire minute before eventually….
…
..
.