Overpowered Extra Noble in a Novel

Boom!

Calion erupted with a loud sound as it slammed into the ground.

The force sent Baron Vane’s lifeless body flying to the side, sending up a spray of water.

“Hmm.”

Perhaps I used a bit too much force.

It was unavoidable, given how riled up I was after Iris’ comment about widows.

I took several deep, calming breaths to steady my racing heart. As I was about to pull Calion from the ground again—

“Ah.”

My vision suddenly distorted, and a searing pain shot through me.

It felt like staring at the sun for too long—tingling eyes accompanied by a stream of uncontrollable tears.

Then came the intense, wave-like pain.

On instinct, I clutched my eyes and crouched down.

“Gah… What is this…!”

It felt like my eyes were being scorched by fire. This was far beyond having dust or an eyelash in my eye.

“Guh…”

I couldn’t possibly gouge my eyes out, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t pry them open with the pain.

As I endured for what felt like an age with my eyes tightly shut, the piercing pain began to slowly subside.

When I finally managed to open my eyelids, my vision, which had been slightly blurred, began to gradually return to normal.

And then, a world bathed in blue light unfolded before me.

“Mana…?”

I had asked my master this a while ago, during one of our training sessions.

“Is mastering one’s physical strength and surrounding weapons with mana all there is to being a mana manifestor?”

To which my master simply replied:

“You will begin to see mana.”

“As you begin to directly utilize the power infused throughout the world, you will be able to see it with your own eyes and understand it.”

“This is the world’s true form, isn’t it.”

I glanced briefly at the faint blue flickers emanating from the sky and the lower levels before turning my head.

The gentle glow of Calion now had a faint bluish hue, and even a slim, blue thread extending from the blade connected directly to me.

“…Have I finally awakened?”

The ability to see mana was one of the defining traits of a manifestor. I wondered if this was a sign—it would be time to test it out.

I quickly closed my eyes and focused my mind—but nothing happened.

I couldn’t perceive the mana flowing within me or dispersed in the air.

So, I hadn’t awakened as a mana manifestor, yet I could still see the mana.

“Come to think of it, Master did mention something about imbalance stabilizing.”

When my master began teaching me the various sword arts of the empire, He gave me an extremely fantastical evaluation: my spirit and body were misaligned.

He theorized that the force resulting from my spirit trying to penetrate deeper and my body resisting was manifesting as superhuman strength.

While he admitted this was purely speculative, I calmly accepted it, even going so far as to feel confident about it.

The discord between spirit and body.

There was a reason for this abnormality—an explanation. I was a reincarnated soul.

It’s not a rare plot device; if the power I obtained from reincarnation manifested in this form, my limits might already be somewhat predictable. The reason I hadn’t yet awakened as a mana manifestor was likely for the same reason, I suspected.

If my spirit and body were to merge, I would likely reach the level of a mana manifestor, and perhaps even that of a Swordmaster.

That was my judgment; once settled in the capital, I intended to examine my condition thoroughly.

“Could it be that handling things imbued with mana triggered something?”

A change had occurred in my situation, which had until then been stagnant.

The cause was clear: the mana-infused monsters, the knights of Bradden, and Baron Vane.

Handling these three mana-filled entities seemed to have done it.

“Hm.”

Why hadn’t this happened when I faced the monsters with Ruben in the forest? Could it have been due to a lack of experience?

“No, wait… Could it be that my power has been continuously increasing?”

Just a hypothesis, yet as I glanced down briefly at the remains of Baron Vane and then looked away, the sound of metal striking the ground echoed several times.

Even though the duel with Baron Vane had been brief, the intense sounds of combat must have carried far.

It seems the members of the extermination squad are now rushing to investigate the noise.

As I pondered how to explain the scene before them:

Voices from beyond the damaged buildings of the lower levels became audible.

“Hurry! That sound isn’t from an ordinary monster!”

“Who was in the central part of the lower city? The captain?”

For a moment, the sound of conversation ceased, only to be followed by a loud clanging of metal.

Having prepared my explanation, I picked up Calion while the conversation restarted among the squad members.

“Is the captain safe?”

“That’s true, but he’s no mana manifestor!”

“Didn’t he beat Sir Isaac?”

“Huh…”

Had they really relaxed so much after merely hunting monsters? When we left the imperial palace, they were practically following me in silence, but now they seem to be chattering like they’re in their own living room.

The black rain may have stopped, but the mission is not yet over. Once we return, I’ll need to remind them about maintaining proper attitudes while on duty.

“Isn’t that Calion?”

“Captain! We’ve arrived!”

The squad members who appeared before me were far from their best condition.

Their outer robes had long been reduced to tatters, and the palace’s emblem on their armor was warped or split in various places.

Their previously pristine faces were now a mess, as if they had been drenched in muddy water. Despite this, the expressions on each of their advancing faces were bright.

However, their expressions dimmed when they noticed the pool of blood on the ground.

“Knight Commander Palmer.”

The abrupt silence was broken by Cruel, who slowly spoke.

“That sound you heard was from a fight with a monster.”

Upon hearing Cruel’s words, the squad members’ faces became serious.

“…Perhaps hoping for no casualties was too luxurious.”

Luniya bit her lip and approached the body that Baron Vane had crushed into the corner.

“The armor has cleanly split, yet there seems to be no other damage. It seems he fell in a single blow.”

Luniya’s report, delivered to me, deepened the gravity on the soldiers’ faces.

“Someone strong enough to take down Commander Palmer so swiftly—did the captain handle it? That is a relief.”

“Hmm.”

It seems everyone had misunderstood something. If I let this go, Baron Vane might become a glorious martyr. So, I clarified the misunderstanding.

“Baron Vane… no, Commander Palmer was killed by me.”

“…”

Silence.

It was so quiet that I could hear the drops of water falling from the roof. As I casually mentioned this, the squad members slowly turned their heads.

Their eyes and mouths began to widen slowly.

Before they could utter a word, I added an explanation.

“How could one have suspected that Sylvester had planted a spy within the royal knights, let alone a knight commander? Truly, these are the end times.”

After a while, I led the squad, who were silently screaming, back to the imperial palace.

—

*

After a short bout of chaos. With the order given to the squad to keep quiet for the moment, the next day arrived.

Accompanied by Cruel, Luniya, and a few senior knights, I once again ventured outside the imperial palace.

Our destination was the lower levels. The reason was rather simple.

During the time I was preparing to frame Baron Vane, I instructed Alberto to track his movements.

As a covert operative, one must have a place to consolidate gathered information.

It would be virtually impossible for someone like Baron Vane to conduct operations in the palace grounds or their vicinity. Naturally, they would have arranged for another hideout.

Even if they had somehow managed to stay hidden within the palace—”There’s no way,” according to the chamberlain.

When someone makes such an absolute statement, there’s usually something behind it. Perhaps this is the source of Alberto’s vast network of information. I’ll have to ask him about it later.

In any case, focusing on the fact that Baron Vane often ventured outside the palace, Alberto managed to trace several of his hideouts.

We arrived in the lower levels, still clad in the armor of the royal knights, and approached our destination without any interference.

An old and weathered house that had escaped the effects of the previous night’s battle.

There were no signs of anyone living inside the house.

“Captain. Here… the sound is different here. Let me check.”

Cruel, who was tapping around the interior, abruptly slammed his sword into the floor.

While senior knights watched with interest, Cruel swiftly began digging into the floor, soon revealing a securely locked door.

“It’s locked…”

“Crack!”

Before Cruel could even finish his sentence, he shattered the lock.

I pointed at the locked door on the ground as Cruel, startled back to his senses, quickly opened it.

“This is…”

“…Quite a lot of documents here. Knight Commander Palmer joined the knights about five years ago, didn’t he?”

Following the lit torch down the staircase leading to the basement, we found a room where countless files were stuffed into corners and cabinets.

Looking around, I picked up one of the documents.

“Progress of the mining veins in the western border… Illicit goods status in the southern grand forest?”

A list of significant figures within the imperial palace and their family relationships.

Operational status of strategic resources and progress of weapon development.

A list of royal knights along with basic strength and an index of Altain mana manisfestators and their movements.

“Wow, he gathered quite a bit.”

While examining other documents one by one, I heard conversations from the squad members.

“Could he really have been a spy for Sylvester?”

“Baron Vane, wasn’t it? They said he was a mana manifestor. He sure did a good job of hiding his strength.”

“Commander Palmer… Was Baron Vane the only spy? Could any of the other members be spies too?”

As Luniya began to waver, I patted her shoulder lightly.

In the dim light, I observed her small trembling red irises and shook my head.

“Don’t worry too much. Just collect everything without missing a thing. We have a few more places to check, so hurry up.”

—

*

The biggest gain, as expected, was the information related to the nobles.

Whether it was in the east, west, or south, there were people exchanging information with other spies, quietly accepting bribes or favors from Sylvester or even foreign countries.

Other than that, there were lists of various organizations within the empire along with appointed officials from various regions.

Surprisingly, even some of the high-ranking officials within the imperial palace seemed to be included, though this was marked as speculation.

Collaborating or assisting in espionage activities for hostile nations and foreign countries is entirely different from merely benefiting from corruption within the empire.

This information was a double-edged sword.

A piercing blade capable of penetrating the hearts of all those involved.

Those who were not directly involved could also be linked to treason in various ways.

There were few people in this nation who could claim they had a spotless record. Each had their own flaws, and that fact mattered.

And a clean slate world where nothing unusual happened was given clear evidence.

The fact that Baron Vane was dead had not yet spread outside the capital, which meant that those involved would take some time to realize it.

This small window of opportunity could be utilized efficiently.

Even with careful handling, there were factions whose leaders would inevitably be eliminated. But at the very least, anything akin to limbs would be crushed to cripple their power.

I am a member of the royal family, one of the highest points of immense power, and I possess formidable strength.

There is no one who can stop me now, except for one.

Therefore, I asked the young master of the empire.

“Your majesty. No, Iris. What do you intend to do?”

Inside the dimly lit audience chamber with only a small lantern glowing, Iris’ calm eyes stared steadily at me.

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