"I'm hungry." Lucas says as he runs away from his sister. He goes toward where Risa is and joins her in the consumption of sugary snacks.
"..."
Lerena looks at her gluttonous brother in silence.
"It's good to have a big appetite when young. It makes sure they don't stunt their growth from a lack of nutrients." I say with a smile.
I had found a commonality between the two of us. We both have siblings with a ferocious capability to eat.
Lerena turns to me and makes a strange expression of confusion.
"How does your sister not gain weight eating like that?" she questioned.
"Honestly, I have no idea. probably just high metabolism." I replied while shrugging my shoulders.
"Hmm, if only my little brother could have such a trait." she exclaimed.
"I heard he started to learn the spear. Has the exercise helped him lose some weight?" I asked.
The young boy didn't seem to be too big. He was probably only slightly overweight but that was common for boys his age. Parents tend to feed their kids as much as possible when they are young. Even I was quite chubby during my younger days.
Only after starting my training with my sword did I balance out.
"Yeah. He has lost a couple of pounds in the last year." she replied while taking a seat on one of the couches.
I did the same and sat on one opposite to her.
"That's good. Does he enjoy the spear?" I asked with curiosity.
Even though the sword is my favorite weapon, I had learned the spear in one of my previous lives. The feeling of a spear was obviously very different from a spear. Even though the spear is very versatile, I felt much more comfortable with a sword.
"Enjoy? I'm not sure. I'm not home often." she replied with a sense of loss.
"The academy?" I asked. She must have been too busy with her studies to focus on her sibling.
"Yes. Most of my time goes away in research." she said with a little bit of enthusiasm. I could feel that she enjoyed her work.
"Am I allowed to know about what you are researching?" I wanted to know if it was anything special or just the usual improvement of magic spells.
"Ah! That's confidential." she said with a grin.
This meant that it wasn't the usual thing. It must be some important research for her to specifically use the word confidential. It was secretive enough to where even a high noble like me couldn't even get a hint about it.
***
The conversation with Lerena then shifted towards more refined topics. She was interested in how a martial type academy functioned. The Royal Academy was a school in the capitol that focused on the academic research of magic.
The Supreme Sword Schol was mostly just about sword techniques and incorporating the sword with magic.
The two institutions were different yet similar. We discussed our experiences and opinions on these matters. Overall, it was nice talking to someone near my age who wasn't drunk on the power of nobility.
She was a fine example of an educated, noblewoman. Of course, Elina is still the best but Lerena wasn't bad either.
The rest of the trips to other noble houses were somewhat lackluster. I didn't like the vibe that the young nobles usually had.
They were respectful enough but they exuded this feeling of immaturity and indulgence. Usually, the parents were better as they had already matured. Those kids would mature as well or they wouldn't be able to inherit their titles.
"No more snacks for a week!" Mother berated Risa. The girl had consumed piles of sweets everywhere she went.
Se had definitely eaten more than a month's worth of sweets in one day. When the mother threatened Risa with taking away the snacks. the girl didn't even flinch.
She just sat there with a big smile.
"That was worth it!" she said cheerily.
Clearly, the food she ate today was more than worth it for her to lose a week of snacks. Mother sighed in defeat when she heard this.
I bet she is planning on figuring out some way to restrain the girl.
"I think this is it." I announced as we approached a building that looked a gothic church.
It was made of dark gray stones and had black patterns running across it. Te patterns were mostly just lines, placed in a random yet tasteful manner.
"So this is the SSB's headquarters." I said out loud.
"Indeed. It is not as grand as all the other military HQs but it is certainly the oldest." father explained.
The Security Strategy Bureau was a branch of the imperial military that focussed on countering and performing espionage itself.
It was basically an intelligence agency but narrowly focused on military affairs. They were also where most of the smartest warfare planners were assigned.
The SSB took on the extra role of backline commanders during wartime. It was responsible for formulating almost every strategy during the small wars the empire had engaged in the past.
The building they were headquartered in was a church that worshipped a forgotten god years before the empire was established.
We got off the carriage and walked to the front entrance of the building.
There were 2 knights radiating a 6th-tier aura at the gates.
"Your badge please." said one of them as I approached.
I took out the black badge I had revealed during General Karina was attacked.
I showed it to the guards and they nodded. Even though they knew I was coming, they still had to follow the formalities.
"I'll be quick." I said to Risa and my parents.
"Go ahead." my mother said softly.
I nodded lightly and entered the doors that were opened by the knights.
I walked in calmly as the doors shut behind me. The inside of the building was dark.
There was not much lighting as the lamps on the walls were fire-based. There were no bright, magic lamps in sight.
I could smell the coal that was being used to fuel the primitive wall lamps.
Before I could process the reason for such a thing, a figure quickly approached me.
It was a man with a broad, rugged face and bald head. He wasn't very tall and had a slim figure covered by his tight black robe. He had large dark circles under his tired brown eyes. His eyes brows and beard were gray with small specks of black. This was quite the aged man.
I could feel a faint aura of a powerful mage from him but he was keeping his energy close. Since I couldn't tell what rank he was, he must be tier 7 or higher. That was the only rank of people that were able to suppress their aura so well.
"Welcome to the SSB, heir of Vornix." he said with a powerful, husky voice.
"You are.." I said with surprise as I recognized the voice.
It was the same voice with which I communicated when I first used the black badge.
"I am Assistant General Edgar Borvkin." he introduced himself without a hint of pride.
Rather, there was a scowl on his face when he mentioned his title.
"Nice to meet you Assistant General Borvkin." I said formally while putting my hand forward for a handshake.
"Hmm." A.G. Borvkin hummed in agreement as he shook my hand firmly.
"You should address me as just sir Borvkin. I don't need that unnecessary title." he said after letting go.
"As you wish. That would be easier for me." I said honestly.
"Follow me." he commanded lightly. I nodded in agreement as he started walking down the dark hall. I followed right behind.
"Hmm. I saw you staring at the lamos earlier. Are you curious as to why we don't use magic lamps?" he said after a while. we were turning right into a different corridor.
He guessed my query so easily. This might be a question that most people who enter this unusually dark place might have.
"Indeed. I'm curious." I replied.
"Good. Curiosity is a good trait for people who work here. Unfortunately, I can't answer that question. It has been like this since before I started here. This was over a hundred years ago. Even my predecessors don't have an idea."
For how stern the man looked, Sir Borvkin was very talkative.
"Not just magic lamps but no magical artifacts are allowed to be used in this building. Even mages are not allowed to cast any spells within." he revealed.
"Has no one even tried?" I asked. He said that most people in the SSB were curious, for sure someone would have had the balls to try using magic here.
"People have tried." He said while turning his head back to look at me.
"Here's what happens." He raises his hand up while a small amount of mana comes out from his fingertips.
Within the blink of an eye, a small fireball is formed.
Swoosh!
But the fireball doesn't even last a second as it suddenly disappears. There was no wind or anything. Just an eerie sound as the fireball strangely disappeared from existence.
Thump!
My heart skipped a beat.
There was something very wrong with this place.
"As you can see. Mana that isn't within one body just ceases to exist. As for why this happens, no one except the royals knows why."
Sir Borvkin put his hands down as we approached a weary, old wooden door.
Thuck! Thuck!
He knocked twice on the door.
"He's here." he announced.
"Come in." replied the voice of General Karina from inside.
Sir Borvkin opened the door and walked in. I did the same.
My eyes were quickly adjusted to a change in lighting. The room had tens of torches burning small chunks of wood. They made this room at least 20 times as bright as pitch black hallways.
This stark contrast was more than welcome as the warmth of this room was better than the eerie chill of the corridors.
The walls of this room were lined with shelves that held tons of documents. General Kaarina sat on a desk in the middle.
the desk was topped with a foot high stack of papers. The stately woman was going through the papers at a brisk pace.
General Karina was wearing a white, fitted dress shirt and somewhat loose black pants. She put down the pen in her hand and stood up. She picked up a sword that was sitting right behind her.
"You know what to do." she said after turning to me.
"Hmm." I hummed and nodded. I took a couple of steps towards and arrived at just the right distance.
I kneeled and tilted my head downward. The general lifted her sheathed sword and patted me on each shoulder.
Pat! Pat!
I stood up once she was done and looked her in the eyes.
She smiled and said "You are now officially part of the Special Strategy Bureau of the Imperial Army. Your official position will be Team Leader but you have no team under you."
She then took a stack of papers from her table and handed them to me.
I took them as she said "This is what we have on the Languis Kingdom so far. if you need anything, let Sir Borvkin know. Any questions?"
I did have a question.
"Am I going to see any of my other colleagues?" I asked.
She shook her head.
"No. They are all busy with tasks or out of the capital. No one has any time to spare. You can meet them after things start to calm down or if you need their help."
The general then told me that Sir Borvkin was the man that all communications went through. However, he did have his own assistant who sometimes took over when the old man needed some rest.
I was also told that none of the SSB members met or contacted each other unless it was necessary. The only time we would all come together is for major disasters.
However, there will be a similar event soon. If Elina's plans come to fruition and if certain future events haven't changed, I think I'll meet with all the members of the SSB quite soon.
In fact, we might meet often.
After everything that needed to be said was said, I bid my farewell to the two. I was going to the general at the emperor's birthday ball tomorrow.
Sir Borvkin guided me back to the entrance where I met with my family and we departed.
Tomorrow was the beginning of the festivities and I had some final preparation to make.