—----------- Lord Theodore Valarious RazenHeir —------------
Physique : 57
Mana : 63
Mind : 45
Defense : 47
Primary attribute : Darkness, fire
Height : 2.1 metres (6.9 ft)
Weight : 120 kg (264 lbs)
Martial proficiency : 56
Arcane proficiency : 20
Firearms proficiency : 20
Dark flames of the RazenHeir house potency : 50
Hikari stood in the waiting area in front of Lord RazenHeir's study. She wore her wool sweater, brown skirt, knee socks and loafers, her hair neatly tied up in a pony tail.
The room was quite spacious, comparable to her own room. Paintings lined the walls, depictions of the Razenheir house's previous headmasters predecessors.
The door behind her opened and the head maid entered. Two columns of little girls in maid uniforms entered behind her, walked along the wall, feather dusting away.
They were skinny and pale, the contours of their bones visible from behind.
"Alright! Finish up, dust off your feathers into the bucket, and get to work on the Madam Knight's shoes." The head maid, a middle aged woman, clapped her hands twice. Like a school of fish, they swarm around the huge loafers, making up for their lack of strength with numbers.
"Where are they from?" Hikari lifts one loafer, allowing them to dust off the bottom. "Rescued from the cultists camps, Madam Hikari. They were used as slaves there. The RazenHeir house volunteered to take them in as a gesture to encourage everyone else to take in orphans."
"Where are the boys?"
"Courtyard and latrine duty. The drillmaster dreams about them being able to hold a sword some day. But If you would indulge me, we could just about keep them fed right now. Even porridge is hard to come by these days."
"I see."
"Let's go! Chop! Chop! The knight has a meeting with the Lord RazenHeir. On to the next task!" The girls dust off their feathers, walking in two neat columns past either side of Hikari.
"The Lord RazenHeir is waiting inside. You may enter now." The head maid closed the door behind her.
Hikari took two strides towards the door on the opposite end. With a gentle nudge, the wooden doors creaked open.
Lord RazenHeir's desk stood on the opposite end of the room. Books and ledgers stacked on either side of the table. His elaborate armour, Runium scales hammered onto an inner fur coat hung on the rack in one corner. The arrays of runes on his sword glowed in response to Hikari's presence.
On the walls, there were portraits of himself together with Ria, her siblings and his wife. There were portraits of a much younger version of himself with what appeared to be the previous Lord RazenHeir.
Conspicuously, there was also a full body painting of Hikari in shining steel plate armour, the latest one on the wall in fact.
In the center of the room was a huge stool. It had shiny steel linings and a red cushion on top the size of a queen-sized bed.
"Greet me."
A puckering sound. The lord RazenHeir bowed his head back down into the carpet. Then he shuffled to the side to make way for Hikari, all the while keeping his face close to the ground.
Hikari paced forward. Slow deliberate steps, each making a deep imprint onto the carpet. Lord RazenHeir crawled behind her, following the trail of crushed carpet fibres.
Once the left shoe finished its third step, her right leg raised over the stool, landing on the ground on the other side. Hikari lowered herself into the stool. She swung the other leg over, crossing it over her right, slightly slanting her knee to the left.
"Go to your seat."
The Lord RazenHeir crawled under Hikari to his table, curving his path slightly around her shoe, then under his own table and finally onto his chair.
"Hands on the table. Look at me."
The pair of trembling, rugged and scarred hands slowly emerged from below the table.
"Keep them there."
Using all his willpower, he pressed his hands against the surface of his table.
"Good. You may speak."
His mouth was open, but all that came out were howls not dissimilar to that of the cultists strapped in the dungeons. Deep breaths through his nose, the veins on the sides of his temple flexed, like an overpressured steam engine. It took several minutes before he could compose himself.
"Now, there's something very important I wish to tell you."
"Oh?"
"I'm sending you to the academy."
Hikari raised her eyebrow, slanting her head slightly, the white of her eye expanding outwards.
"School? I'm a grown woman aren't I?"
"Not just any school. The spire academy. The gathering of all knights from prestigious houses all across the continent in one place and with one goal, to maximize their potential. Age is not really a consideration, a cadet graduates once he realizes his full potential. That's their motto anyways. "
"Knights from prestigious houses? I'm not one am I?"
"Oh, that's not a problem. As a Ahem!* prestigious house ourselves, if I may say so myself, we have connections to the academy. There is a programme catered to veteran para-knights from the various houses. Many of the current RazenHeir knights had gone through it. In fact, there's even special arrangements for giants."
"Even so, I don't really fit in?"
"Not initially I imagine. In fact I think you might have some trouble with that. But! My daughter Ria will be enrolling in the same semester as you. She's not a good fighter, but the girl's got a pretty good sense of her surroundings. "
Hikari ponders the offer for a bit.
"Speak plainly, you kept me guarding the estate for the past few years. When the orcs attacked again, you did not return me to the front."
"Haha! You are astute yourself. Perhaps you learnt a thing or two from Ria? " The man laughed.
"Alright, it's not a secret anyway. You are the future of our house. "
Hikari blinks in confusion.
"Thats as plain as I can put it. You are far and away the strongest knight the RazenHeir house has fielded in its history. There is no way I'll put you in the line of an endless battle of attrition. Sure, you are not of the bloodline. But as long as you dish out some beatdowns in the colosseum while flying our banner, that is sufficient to boost our rankings and prestige."
"Rankings and prestige? I don't recall you being a man that hoards such notions?"
"There is, of course, a very concrete prize if one accumulates enough."
He takes a deep breath.
"I want the RazenHeir house to have a seat in the spire."
"You wish to move us to the spire city? I honestly would rather live in a cave."
The Lord RazenHeir's face turned grim. "Four territories were overrun in the last campaign. There might soon not even be a cave that is safe."
Hikari fell silent. She had been living a relatively comfortable life at the RazenHeir estate. But now, the realities of the frontline were starting to return to her.
"I'm stronger now."
"That you certainly are. But you alone would not be able to defend the estate."
Hikari takes a deep breath.
"I understand."
"Good girl."
"Don't call me that."
"Haha!" The Lord RazenHeir laughs.
"Just out of curiosity, you just came back from a long campaign. How would you fund my enrollment?"
"Well, that's… the part where I would need a favour from you."
Hikari uncrossed her legs and stood up. A stride from the left leg and right leg, she reached the Lord RazenHeir's table. Boom! The bore of her left shoe landed on the wooden surface, right in front of the Lord RazenHeir.
"A favour huh?"
"Yes, umm… we are in fact lacking a bit of coin as of late, especially if we were to fund your enrollment. But, your recent achievements have drawn in some rather wealthy clients. Especially in the neighboring kingdom of Herdial which is in some turmoil right now."
"Oh?"
"We spent some of our reserves to get you the best gear we could afford for you… glup! … my daughter Ria will go with you … in case the assignment requires some delicacy… mmm… "
"Hands on the table."
Hikari's skirt briefly swung over him, causing him to start sweating bullets.
"Fufu~, so my Lord is all milked dry"
"Umm… not yet… we could still… "
Tap! Tap! Hikari taps her foot. The sole of her loafer banging against the table.
"I think it's time I give my Lord a little refresher."