The next day, the Marquis of Corteviko's mansion was bustling with activity. The visitors were all nobles of the Empire, and they all claimed to be there to pay a visit to Crozer. However, everyone knew their true intentions. They were actually here to see Linton, the rising star. Unfortunately, the Melovi family, to which Linton belonged, didn't have a residence in the Imperial Capital and were currently staying at the Corteviko's.
"You're really causing me trouble, kid!" Old man Crozer found Linton and yelled at him with annoyance. "I finally retired and had some peace, but now you've stirred everything up."
"Just get rid of them," Linton said.
"Me? Tell them to leave? Offend them? How could you even think of that?" Crozer roared.
"You're retired, why are you afraid of offending people?" Linton asked.
"My son is still in court! Do you want our family to offend all these people?" Crozer retorted. "You go out and meet them. This is your problem in the first place."
"Not my problem, I'm not their servant." Linton shrugged and pointed to Gassen beside him. "Nephew, doesn't my cousin love to socialize with nobles? Let him handle it."
"You really know how to use people," Gassen rolled his eyes.
Indeed, Gassen had been released. After the duel, the Church declared him innocent and released him on the spot. Because the trial by combat was conducted in the name of God, Gassen was legally innocent. As expected, since the demonic beast incident had nothing to do with Gassen, neither did the First Prince's death.
After Gassen returned, Linton and the others went straight back to Crozer's place. Of course, after witnessing Linton's power, many factions came to pay their respects. It wasn't that they wanted to control Linton, but anyone who could defeat a Saint-level combatant was someone they had to get acquainted with.
Linton and the Melovi family enjoyed the spotlight for a while, but Crozer, who had been concentrating on his ninjutsu research, suffered. A large number of people wanted to visit him, many of whom were his old friends from his time in court. He couldn't refuse some of them, which made it impossible for him to continue his magic research.
Of course, Linton didn't have the time to meet these people one by one. He was also getting annoyed by the disturbance.
"But... why hasn't His Majesty summoned you?" Gassen suddenly asked curiously. In his opinion, the Emperor should have summoned Linton by now. After all, Linton had defeated a Saint-level combatant, making him a strategic weapon. But for some reason, Emperor Wigley hadn't made any moves.
After the trial by combat yesterday, the Emperor left quickly and didn't stay to see Linton. Now a day had passed, and they still hadn't received any notice from the palace, which made Gassen feel strange.
"Because this Emperor is smarter than that," Linton said. "Of course he wants to see me, but he also knows that it's useless to call me over now. I wouldn't bother with him, so summoning me would be a waste of time."
"Huh?" Gassen was taken aback. Did Linton mean that he didn't even care about the Emperor?
"So he's looking for leverage now," Linton continued. "At the beginning of the match, I specifically mentioned the assassin to him. If he wants to talk to me now, he needs to at least find the mastermind behind it. So don't worry, we should soon know who killed your father."
Gassen was stunned. Was that what Linton meant before the match? To be honest, Gassen was a little touched. He knew that Linton definitely had no feelings for his father, so what Linton was doing was indeed helping him.
"At least until the mastermind is found, the Emperor won't look for me..." Linton continued, "Wait, why am I still staying here then? Waiting for these people to annoy me?"
"Huh? What are you going to do now?" Gassen asked.
"Lay low," Linton said. "If I disappear for a while now, won't all these problems be solved? No one will bother old man Crozer, and I won't have to deal with these people. When things calm down, I can just come back."
"That... is a good idea." Crozer thought about it and nodded. If Linton left for a while, these people wouldn't bother him anymore.
"What about me?" Gassen said. "If you disappear, won't these people come looking for me?"
"Hey, hey, I went through so much trouble to save you, can't you help me deal with these people?" Linton said.
"I..." Gassen was speechless. Linton had indeed just saved him.
"Aren't my cousin and nephew very fond of this kind of thing? Just persuade them to help you," Linton said. "At least you're a noble with a fief now, it won't hurt to know some other nobles."
Gassen was taken aback. What Linton said seemed to make sense. Yes, he was different now. Before, he had no chance of inheriting the title, so he naturally wouldn't consider these things. But now he was the heir of the Melovi family and would officially take over after reporting to the Emperor. He did need to get acquainted with some other nobles...
"Anyway, I just received a telepathic message from my master, saying that he wants to teach me a new secret technique, the苇名 sword technique..." Linton stood up and said.
"Wait, wait, you already used that before, didn't you say you learned it?" Gassen said.
"Oh, right..." Linton nodded.
"So you were making it up?" Gassen shouted.
"Nonsense, the 苇名 sword technique is invincible. I didn't even have time to use it before that Sword Saint or whatever fell down. What else could I do?" Linton said. "I'll give you a good demonstration next time, the number one sword technique in the world."
"I actually believed you." Gassen facepalmed.
"Have you heard the motto of our Melovi family?" Linton asked.
"I'm about to become the head of the Melovi family, can you please not start with this next time you're trying to trick me?" Gassen said.
"Then you should remember it even more. This is the earnest instruction of an elder to a junior." Linton said. "You see, you just inherited the Melovi family and are not very familiar with our family motto..."
"Just say it, just say it." Gassen facepalmed.
"'Be sincere and steadfast, never break your word.' It means that our family must be honest and never lie. So everything Uncle says is true, understand?" Linton said.
"So I just have to believe it, right?" Gassen nodded. "I believe it, I believe it."
"Good to know. Uncle is leaving now." Linton finished and walked out the door.
"Hey, hey, there are so many people..." Gassen originally wanted to say that there were so many people at the door, how could Linton leave like this? But when he chased out, he found that Linton had disappeared. Gassen looked around, but couldn't find him at all, and didn't know how Linton left. But recalling the incident where Linton suddenly appeared in the prison, it was probably that magic. It seemed he was overthinking it.
Linton naturally activated the Exploration. If he stayed here, he would probably just be greeting these nobles with Gassen and the others. Although he had put on an act during the previous duel, his fame was now too great. He would probably be surrounded if he went out, so it was better to take this opportunity to earn some points. Linton still had a lot of things to buy, and the points required were enormous. He really didn't have enough.
As for the world to earn points in, Linton also considered it. First of all, Linton actually wanted to open a new world. Currently, there were two worlds he particularly wanted to go to, one was the world of Bleach, and the other was the world of Kamen Rider. In the world of Kamen Rider, there wasn't anything Linton wanted. The main reason was that the Kamen Rider transformation poses were cool, and Linton... wanted to try them.
Then there was the world of Bleach, which was awesome. Linton currently wanted to go to this world the most because it was a world where battles were fought with style.
Yes, in Linton's memory, this world didn't have any so-called combat power measurement standards. It was normal for anyone to defeat anyone instantly. The only thing that could be considered a standard was style. When two people met, whoever had more style would instantly defeat the other.
Linton yearned for such a world. All the skills were stylish and explosive. If he could get his hands on them all, he would be overjoyed.
But wanting to go was one thing, actually being able to get there was another. Opening a new world seemed to be completely random for now. Linton really wanted to go, but there was no guarantee he'd get his wish. So Linton thought about it, and figured the only way he might be able to choose his destination was by raising his authority level.
Although Linton didn't know what would happen after his authority level increased, it was something he needed to do. Not only might it allow him to choose which world to visit, but it might also help him with his identity issue. So after some consideration, Linton decided to earn some points this time, and then try raising his authority level when he got back.
Of course, raising his authority required a million points, so Linton needed to find a suitable place to farm them. After careful consideration, Linton once again chose the One Piece world. Hadn't he discovered that Devil Fruits could be uploaded? Last time he didn't have time to collect any, but this time, Linton was determined to get his hands on a bunch of them. Of all the worlds he had access to, One Piece was the one where he was most confident he could get a million points.
With a flash of white light, Linton activated Exploration. The next moment, he found himself in midair.
"Holy crap!" Linton was startled as he plummeted downwards. Before he could react, he crashed into a thicket of trees. The branches cushioned his fall somewhat, and Linton's body was pretty tough anyway, so he wasn't seriously hurt.
"My... my orange trees!?" Just as Linton was trying to figure out where he had landed, a female voice suddenly came from nearby.
(End of Chapter)