In a Civilized Manner

In the elegant glass conservatory, the dark-haired man suddenly became still. His silence caused both Dolan and Celio to glance towards him in puzzlement.

"Have you made your choice?" Dolan asked after sensing his hesitation. He was almost certain that of the three options, Edris would decide on the monetary reward. The man didn't seem like the type to be a swordsman, nor did his performance back at the tournament place him as a mage.

After a second, Edris let out an indiscernible sigh as he reluctantly withdrew his gaze from the 150 000 gold bars.

"I'll go with the notebook."

"...Interesting choice." Dolan didn't question his decision. With a lift of his hand, he activated his mana, bringing the Harkness Notebook off the cart and into Edris's hand.

A pressuring energy flowed out of the notebook. It wriggled and squirmed, as if threatening to rip open the vine-like seals encased all over the front cover. Celio tensed at the abrupt spike of magic in the room, instinctively turning his attention to the source of the disruption.

Even those who weren't an Awakened could sense the Harkness Notebook's peculiarities, let alone an attributed beast tamer like him.

Beside him, the traveller weighed the item in his hands, appearing contemplative before giving the Crown Prince a polite bow.

"I'm sure you've recognised the potential of this item after coming in contact with it. But despite the obvious mana presence, it'll be quite difficult to unlock Verity Harkness's seal fully." Dolan shook his head with a laugh.

The Harkness Notebook consisted of centuries of knowledge from the Harkness family, one of the most powerful families who supported the Zacriya family from the beginning of the Eultra Era.

Most of their family members were recorded in history as enthusiastic pursuers of knowledge, and all the Awakeneds in this family line ended up on the path of a mage.

"Forgive my brazenness, but didn't most of the Harkness family perish during the Manifestation War?" Celio cocked his head to the side.

According to historical records, the Harkness family lost most of their members in a quasi-war against the Adalan Kingdom over three centuries ago. Since then, their power and influence have continuously declined, and those remaining live in seclusion until this day.

Celio vaguely recalled being taught the history of the Eastern Continent and all the influential families back when he was in the Adalan Kingdom.

He had learnt the knowledge, but whether or not he remembered it was another story.

"You're correct, Sir Celio," Dolan said with a smile. "Although the Harkness family has significantly reduced their involvement with the kingdom's affairs, they still left on good terms with the Zacriya family.

"During their time of prosperity, a total of fifteen volumes were created by the leaders of the family. These volumes had been scattered throughout the continent after their downfall. Five of those fifteen are in the hands of the Resource Faction, here in the Zacriya Kingdom."

Nobody knew of the exact contents of the notebooks, but the fact that these were from the Harkness family was enough to categorise the series as sacred artifacts. However, they were ultimately only deemed exceptionally rare items due to its mounts of unknowns.

The Harkness series were undoubtedly popular, but despite this fame, it was difficult for even archmages and those who dedicated their lives to studying mana and magic to unlock the seals.

As a result, the series' value accumulated mainly from rumours, eventually framing the volumes as items with boundless unravelled potential. But even then, the uncertainty hindered many from continuing their pursuit of the notebook series.

There were historians and collectors who spent their lives searching, hoping someday to discover all fifteen volumes of the Harkness Notebook.

After all, people become thrilled by the impossible and unexplained.

With these thoughts in mind, Dolan thoughtfully observed the traveller, who held the notebook in his hands with a complexed gaze. His knuckles had whitened from the grip, yet the man remained unmoving, as if indulged in nostalgia.

The corners of his lips upturning, Dolan thought that quite an interesting person had arrived in the capital.

Contrary to the Crown Prince's entertained smile, Edris's heart was bleeding.

The sound of money escaping down the drain filled his ears every time he looked at the heavy notebook in his hands. As with everyone else in the greenhouse, he had sensed the menace emerging from the item the moment it was revealed, perhaps even more prominently due to him not being an Awakened.

Edris slowly breathed out. He clenched the notebook tighter in his hands. If he didn't, he had a feeling they would start trembling on the spot.

— You didn't have to pick the notebook.

Ace's deep voice rang in his mind, and Edris scoffed inwardly. He tucked the notebook into his bag, and lowered his voice into a small mutter that only the two of them could hear.

"I'm someone who keeps their word."

— …I see.

Although he wasn't a saint, Edris tried to uphold his reputation as someone who kept his promises. He would rather give up the money than be bothered by the guilt that came with choosing the monetary reward—especially since he was aware how rare it was for Ace to come upon a trace of truth behind his amnesia.

Of course, he didn't explain any of his thoughts to the voice inside his head. He turned to the Crown Prince and, with a slight bow, thanked him for the reward.

Dolan acknowledged his gesture with a half-hearted wave. Brushing back strands of his red hair, he relaxed his features into a pensive smile.

"Let us meet again at the banquet."

***

"Master, when is the banquet?" Celio asked. He heaved his leather bag tighter to his back as he walked alongside Edris on Nolme's packed streets.

In his bag was the Harkness Notebook, which Celio had voluntarily asked to hold on to after seeing Edris's leaked discontentment towards the item.

"In exactly a week," Edris replied.

Banquets among nobles occurred with prevalence, and they were held at least twice a month by different families in power. The approaching banquet was special in that the hosts were none other than the royal family themselves.

"I heard the Crown Prince is the second son in the Zacriya Family," Celio commented as he lowered his voice. "So why is he the Crown Prince?"

Under normal circumstances, the heir to the throne was always the eldest of the royal family. In the case of the Zacriya Family, it was Treo Zacriya, Dolan Zacriya's older brother.

"The first prince has fallen ill," Edris said simply.

From what he'd heard through the gossip circulating the capital, Treo Zacriya succumbed to an unknown sickness and willingly passed his status as the Crown Prince to his brother.

"The first and second prince must have a friendly relationship with each other." Celio nodded thoughtfully to himself. "That's nice."

Even if the brothers are friendly with each other, it doesn't mean that no conflicts arise from this situation.

Edris merely responded with a low chuckle. The various forces behind the Zacriya Kingdom were driven by their own incentives. Treo Zacriya's decision to give up his position no doubt instigated opposition from those who supported him.

Naturally, the King wasn't planning to stand still and let the conflict ferment into something bigger.

The political spotlight had shifted from Treo Zacriya towards Dolan Zacriya, so this banquet was likely planned as an opportunity for him to reinforce his new status; it was a chance to gain favorability and support from the nobles while asserting his power against the opposition.

To think I have to participate in something tiresome like this…

He was not looking forward to witnessing interactions between passive-aggressive aristocrats, but he supposed it was inevitable.

"Come to think of it…" Celio paused in his steps before eyeing himself up and down. "What's the dresscode for the banquet?"

For a convenient escape, he had only packed comfortable and inconspicuous clothing which were, without a say, unfitting for formal occasions.

The boy's words incited similar thoughts in Edris's head as he silently noted his appearance. Beneath his dark cloak was a casual collared shirt and black pants, which were identical in style to the rest of his wardrobe.

Now that he thought about it, it would be quite awkward to attend a royal banquet looking like this.

Something clicked in Celio's mind at the dark-haired man's long-held silence, and the boy put up a proud smile, like a child eagerly awaiting to show off his skills.

"I understand, Master." His eyes sparkled with resolve as he pumped a fist to his chest. "Just leave it to me!"

***

By the time Edris arrived back at Mosky Inn, it was already night.

He had parted with Celio halfway through, as the latter seemed distracted by something and left in a hurry. Of course, Edris was content with that and didn't press for details.

Steering towards the back of the hub, he sat down at an empty table.

Skimming through the variety-filled dinner menu, he ultimately went with the sweet omelette and a limberry smoothie. After the waiter left with the order, he took out the Harkness Notebook from his bag. Celio had returned it to him before the two parted ways.

"The Crown Prince said that it was sealed. Do you have a way past this?" He asked, his voice automatically drowned out by the boisterous chatters in the pub.

— I can try.

"What's so special about it?"

As he wasn't an Awakened, Edris only scrutinised the strange engravings with his bare vision. While all types of speculation emerged in his mind, he couldn't expand on any of them due to his lack of knowledge in magic and mages.

— It called out to me.

Ace's response caused him to lift his eyebrows in surprise, but it lasted only a few seconds. The dark-haired man rested his elbows on the wooden table.

"I'll leave it to you then."

Despite his curiosities, Edris decided to not meddle in whatever the entity in his head was planning and let Ace figure things out himself.

From what he knew about the item, he'll give it at least a month for Ace to examine the seal. After all, this was a rare magic item sought out by the most renowned mages, and its potential was something even archmages failed to unlock.

A young waitress approached his table with a tray of food, and Edris reeled in his thoughts as he fixed his gaze on the scrumptious meal placed before him.

Drooling with a dense layer of cheese, the golden omelette oozed a mouthwatering aroma that wafted into Edris's nose as it melded with rising steam. Positioned beside the main entree was a strawberry tart, fancifully decorated with colourful sugar.

Edris looked at the piece of dessert with knitted brows. "I didn't order this."

"It's on the house."

At the response, he lifted his head to habitually thank the waitress, only to stop as the latter abruptly leaned towards him with sparkling eyes.

"I knew it. It's you again!" The waitress exclaimed, her loose bun wobbling on the top of her head. Her words faded amidst the noisy pub, and it took Edris a good second to recognise the familiar face.

It was the same person who had recognised him the night after he had won against Faren Ablemore.

If he remembered correctly, she had also reacted in a similar manner then.

"Yes, it's me," he replied calmly, a gentle smile hanging across his face.

"Congratulations on winning the tournament, you're actually famous now!" She grinned. Not waiting for him to reply, she pressed her index finger to her lips with a wink. "Don't worry. I won't go around telling people that you're here. After all, even famous people gotta be able to eat in peace, right?"

— She's very talkative. Are you acquainted?

With Ace's blunt comment reverberating in his mind, Edris upheld his gentle smile as he muttered a few words of thanks to the waitress. While he would have traded a few useless pleasantries on such occasions, he couldn't help but notice that his omelette was growing cold.

A short silence followed their brief exchange, and Edris thought she would take this as a sign to leave him and his omelette in peace. However, the young waitress only glanced around before sitting on the seat across from him.

Edris raised an eyebrow.

"You see… I somehow managed to serve your food multiple times and even recognised you twice, right?" She fiddled with her apron, eyeing the dark-haired traveller with a sheepish smile. "In a way, isn't this Serenity's Will?"

This sounds awfully familiar…

— …

Edris had no idea where she was going with this. No, more like he didn't want to know.

Unfortunately, the waitress took in his perplexed look as a sign to continue. With a clear of her throat, she straightened her posture and stared into his eyes.

"My name is Darcie." She inhaled deeply before blurting out her next words. "Please be my teacher!"