Lord of Charm

"Now we are on the verge of a full-scale war against the Chijakor Empire because Elizabeth assassinated 2 magi and dozens of other high-profile targets."

"What? Was she caught?"

Gale asked and his eyes widened.

"No. Catching a magus they can't sense with magic circles isn't simple, especially since they still don't know how she does it. Now their empire is on high alert to find suspects and tries to find a solution to this problem. Since they don't know how Elizabeth does it, they can only shoot in the dark."

"Why did she kill so many?"

"She first killed the magus who poisoned her and escaped. Then she kept going on a killing spree against his family and 10 of the best genius Expert Mages of their empire to complete her revenge. 2 of them were considered to have a great chance to become the next magi in their empire."

"Thank you for telling me, but I still don't understand why Your Highness had to come all the way here yourself to tell me that."

"Do you like Freya?"

"If I could keep looking at Princess Freya for a day, I would, and if I could look at her for a year, I would die starving."

Gale complimented Freya's beauty with a confident smile, making the faint blush return to the princess' cheeks.

"If Mister Gale would forget eating while looking at me, I'd forget breathing when looking at you. I can't accept a compliment on my beauty from someone who looks better than me."

Freya wasn't a shy girl who could only blush and act coyly. She was a powerful woman contending for the throne and acting shy only because it was the first time she met someone who looked better than her. She could receive compliments and return them as well.

Another reason for her unusual behavior was that Gale didn't restrain his charm while in the academy since nobody had a mind so weak that they'd lose rationality just from his passive charmful aura.

Although she didn't lose her mind, she already had a good opinion of Gale when she heard about his talent, and she was shocked to find out the rumors about his perfect visage were doing injustice to reality.

"Haha, I'm happy you two get along, but please, flirt later without the two old men here."

"Grandfather, you still have so many years to live, how can you call yourself old when you're still at your prime?"

Freya complimented her grandfather and elicited a smile from him, but both she and Gale stopped talking, prompting Caligula to continue his words.

"She seems to like you too, but the problem is that you're still unknown, and we cannot be sure you will keep improving at the same pace as you do now. Many geniuses advanced quickly to the Expert Mage Stage yet couldn't become magi."

"What do you suggest?"

"We have a special mission for you, it will take you a few years to complete. When you're back, you may have Freya's hand if you complete it successfully.

After a short pause, he continued.

"If you can keep getting stronger you might have a chance of making her the empress, and your offspring will be the next emperors and empresses. The current emperor still has nearly 50 years to be on the throne, so you have a lot of time to get stronger."

'They're quite smart. They don't just force me to marry Freya but even entice me to work for it. By risking my life to achieve it, I will already convince myself that marrying her is what I want.'

However, Gale didn't say that out loud. He understood he could only play along or die.

'I can at least admit they're sincere, Freya is indeed beautiful and can even make me the next emperor if I'm strong enough to support her.'

"What's the mission?"

"Elizabeth left us with an inferior device, probably a prototype of the device she invented. The version we have can restrain your magic by up to 3 levels, sending you to the Magician Phase until you turn it off or forcibly connect with mana to cast a spell above the restraints."

"And you want me to use it?"

"Yes, we want to send you to a spy of ours, a man we've managed to bribe. He will fake your past as a commoner, and we will set the device to restrain your aura to the Expert Magician Stage. Then we want you to join the palace's guards and steal an object."

"And is there a plan?"

"No, that's why it's a long-term mission without a time limit. You'd have to figure it out yourself, we severely lack information. However, you can ask for help and advice from the spy. You can abort the mission if you feel they're onto you."

"I see. Freya, do you agree to it?"

"Of course, but don't fret, I wouldn't mind letting you try to have me even if you feel you can't do it."

'She's not a naïve girl, she's playing on my pride to make me accept. After hearing that such a beautiful woman wants to date them anyway, most men would volunteer to prove their worth.'

"Princess, you must be joking. How could I back down from a challenge in front of a lady like you?"

He acted his part in the show and everyone was happy.

"Since you agree, that's great. You can read in this book about Chijakor's general structure to know what to expect when you get there. If you have any questions, you can contact Albus for more information. You'll be moving out in a week from now."

"Did you also contact my sister?"

Caligula looked at him hesitantly and eventually shook his head.

"We didn't."

"Why?"

"She had disappeared, I'm sorry."

"Disappeared? Did she run away?"

"No, she disappeared inside ruins. She was sent on a special mission to explore ancient ruins along with a few other students from her academy and other forces, but she didn't come back."

"Are you saying she was killed inside?"

"Unlikely. The ruins had an age limit for people under 35, so not many can kill her with this limitation. Furthermore, the fallen bodies came out of the ruins when the exploration time was over along with those still alive. She just didn't come out."

"Do you have any hypotheses about what happened to her?"

"We don't know. One theory is that she died in a way that didn't leave a body behind, and another says she found a great inheritance from the former owners of the ruins and got the chance to stay and train there. I'm sorry, but I won't tell you what to think."

Gale was shocked to hear about this. Lena was one of the strongest people in their group age, and he didn't believe anyone under 35 could kill her. Even if her enemy was an advanced mage, she'd still be able to at least run away if not even defeat him. Her status as a higher elite wasn't just for show.

'I will have to trust her and hope she's all right.'

"When is the next time those ruins open again?"

"Only after you pass 35, and nobody under the Great Magus Stage can hope to barge inside unless all Grand Magi from all empires attack the ruins together. Needless to say, this is impossible."

Gale nodded slowly and chose to trust Lena in the lack of any better option.

"But why did you pick me for the mission?"

"The nobles' geniuses are well known, and people in the other empires might recognize them from various tournaments and events from the past. As for the commoners, you seem like the person fitting the most as your family has a grudge against the Chijakor family and you're unlikely to switch sides."

After answering, Caligula got up and left the meeting room with a few last words.

"You may leave, now. Good luck in your mission, and I hope you will become part of my family the next time I see you."

Before Gale left, Albus had one last thing to say.

"Oh, and we will use the previous records and mention your name in a different section of your own in the Hall of Glory, or else the students would have nothing to strive for. Good luck in your mission, I hope you can help unite the continent under our Amistrys Empire."

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Gale returned to his apartment and thought about the mission he just received.

'I wasted my time breaking all those records, in the end, I can enjoy the open menu only for one more week before I have to go, and I can't even open the potions menu.'

He spent the next week reading the book and enhancing his mental strength. By the end of the week, it finally rose to 74. Normal mages often needed months to raise their mental strength by a single unit, and the time would only increase the higher their mental strength was, but he raised it by two in a few weeks.

He learned that the Chijakor Empire was consisting of 3 main dynasties and a few smaller ones. The main dynasties created a triangle in the empire's territory, while the smaller ones were between them.

The dynasty that had a border with the Amistrys Empire was called the Nikkokuni Dynasty. The other main ones were Minjung and Xia, but he doubted he'd have to travel there.

Each dynasty was independent, but they worked together to keep the combined empire safe from outsiders. To prevent danger from the other forces, the entrance was only allowed to magicians and mortals, and the dynasties guaranteed the safety of merchants, so they won't need mages to escort them beyond the borders.

He was supposed to join a caravan of merchants that belonged to a merchant group loyal to the imperial family to the Nikkokuni Dynasty and separate from them at night once he was already inside and meet with the spy to receive his fake background.

He would then go to the test to join the imperial guards as a talented magician from a commoner background and try to infiltrate into the treasury and find what he was looking for.

He was looking for a small red gem that couldn't be stored in a magic bag, but that's all he knew about it other than the fact it should be around the size of his fist. Caligula claimed he didn't need to worry about its uses and effects, and that it would be determinant to the empire.

'It's time to go.'

A week passed and he went to the stables where all the mounts were raised to start his journey toward the Nikkokuni Dynasty.

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End of Volume 3 - Academy Arc