"Third, word of your return to the Heavensfell estate already began to circulate throughout the Morninglory Kingdom. The nobles are all making plans to contact you and offer eligible daughters as your marriage partner. They also want to organize your social debut since you skipped yours when you turned twelve."
"When people learn of the pope's secret visit to your estate, they will speculate on your relationship with the church again because of your status as Altima's Godson. Will the church seek to cage you like a bird or permit your freedom to live freely?"
Luka became dizzy because he didn't understand why the citizens would care so much about him. "I'm an ordinary person fortunate to be born to an upper-class noble family and possess some magical talent," he argued.
Cloten clapped his hands and laughed. "Hahaha! You are too modest, young man!"
However, the mother frowned because she felt the heavy attention toward Luka was troublesome and could endanger his life. Juliette made a mental note to hire more private guards to patrol the estate grounds.
As if he read her mind, James drew closer to her ear and said quietly, "I already reinforced the guard rotation when the pope arrived earlier today. I also sent word to our vassals to lend more knights and mages for security purposes."
Juliette nodded her thanks.
Lord Evans' face turned serious. "Since you are a mage, may I assume that your primary weapon is a staff? If so, are you proficient in using it for combat?" he inquired.
Luka furtively glanced at his mother.
She nodded subtly and gave her permission.
"Yes, I acquired a magical staff recently but haven't learned to use it to fight," the son replied. Luka took the staff out of storage and laid it on the table.
When the guest tried to lift it, he discovered it was heavy! Cloten examined the wooden item with his Appraisal skill and learned two things: its name was "Staff of Alraune," and its quality rating was "Legendary!"
The nobleman studied myths and legends as a hobby, and he remembered "Alraune" as a nature god and the World Tree's spirit. Moreover, she favored the elves and avoided contact with other races. "How did you meet Alraune and receive her favor?" he asked incredulously.
"I met her during my apprenticeship under Alectos," Luka answered succinctly. He couldn't reveal his brief stay at Langerlan and jeopardize the safety of this elvish village.
Cloten quickly read between the lines and understood that the boy couldn't elaborate further. He turned toward Juliette and asked, "May I arrange a staff master to teach your son?"
"Please do," the mother agreed. She, too, recognized the need to train Luka to use his staff correctly. However, she didn't know any fighters who specialized in this weapon. Therefore, she was stumped.
"The person I wish to recommend is a traveling monk named Sanjiv Karki. He left his small island homeland across the sea to travel through our continent. He is staying at my house in Erz City as a guest. I'm not sure how long he plans to stay, but I hope to convince him to tutor your son for a few weeks."
"Also, I must warn you that he is an atheist; he does not worship any god. Instead, he's a believer in pacificism and uses the staff to disable his foes rather than kill. I admit that his background may be problematic to the Divine Church of Light, but his fighting skill with a stick is second to none," Cloten explained.
Juliette turned her head toward Luka. "What do you think? Should we hire him to instruct you?" she asked.
The son tilted his head for a moment. He never expected to meet an atheist in this world. Thus, Luka became fascinated with Sanjiv. "I would love to meet him," he replied.
The mother nodded at Lord Evans. "Please make the arrangement."
"Yes, Your Excellency," Cloten bowed respectfully to his feudal lord.
Bianna entered the dining hall. She approached the duchess and said quietly, "The guest bedroom is ready."
Juliette nodded and said aloud, "Lord Evans, my head maid will guide you to your room. If you need adjustments, please inform her. I hope you will start teaching my son tomorrow."
"Thank you, Your Excellency," the guest replied and stood up. Cloten followed Bianna out of the room, leaving the Heavensfell family behind.
"Luka, you may rest for the remainder of today. I will continue our early morning spars until Sanjiv arrives, assuming that he accepts our offer to hire him as your instructor. Even if he declines, I intend to help you acclimate to using your staff in a combat setting," the woman said.
"Yes, mother. Thank you for the meal." The heir got up from his seat and left the dining hall. However, instead of returning to his bedroom, Luka departed the mansion and went to the fields. He wished to find an empty lot to grow soybean. Unfortunately, the nearby areas were already in use.
The young master continued walking around the family estate's outer regions with his maid and animal companions following along. Luka took his time strolling through the vineyard. He saw red grapes growing on many acres of fields.
"The Heavensfell estate is most famous for our red wines," Hanna said proudly. "We export them to all parts of the Morninglory Kingdom."
Luka made a mental note to ask the butler for more information because he wished to learn how the duke family earned sufficient money to maintain its household. He noticed that the family employed over a hundred servants, guards, and farmers. As the next head of the family, Luka needed to learn sooner or later.
He returned home after dusk. Luka washed up and changed his clothes before arriving in the dining hall for supper. The teenager saw his mother and tutor already seated at the table.
"How was your day?" Juliette asked. She knew that her son departed the mansion after lunch and returned not too long ago. Unfortunately, the duchess was too busy with clerical work to accompany him to explore the estate. To some extent, she envied his lack of household duties. However, Juliette didn't want to impose her work on him and pull Luka's focus away from his studies for the royal academy's entrance examination.
"It was great, mother," Luka replied. "I explored our estate to familiarize myself with our land. Could you spare a plot of land for me to grow some crops?"
The duchess remembered his status card and his moderate skill in farming. "What do you plan to grow?" she asked with great curiosity.
"Soybean," he answered.
"Why? Soybean is only good for animal feed. You're not going to grow food for your pets, are you?" Cloten interjected.
"No, I need soybeans to make this product," Luka responded. He took out packs of tofu puddings from storage and distributed them around the table. The young master also gave samples to the butler and two maids. "This is a dessert served hot or cold, and either salty or sweet."
Cloten opened the container and sampled a spoonful of his pudding topped with honey syrup. "This isn't bad," he admitted honestly. "Where did you learn to make it?"
Luka smiled faintly. "I created it during my apprenticeship."
Duchess Silverblade looked at James. "Do we have any unused plots of land available?" she inquired.
"We do, Your Excellency. But the free lot is right next to the Grandlan Forest,' the butler answered.
"Have there been any recent incidents lately?" she pressed.
"No."
"Send some hunters there just in case. Once they clear out the dangerous animals, have the carpenters build a fence around the plot," the duchess ordered.
"Yes, Your Excellency." James bowed his head.
When Luka returned to his room, he looked at Bel and said, "Can you go with the hunters tomorrow? Unfortunately, I will be stuck taking my tutoring lessons and can't accompany them. I would feel reassured if you enter the woods under their guidance. On the slight chance that the hunters encounter dangerous beasts, you could summon me immediately to assist them."
The familiar patted his round tummy. [I guess I could use some exercise. And I'll bring Gripper along, too.] Bel added and slapped the gorilla's knee.
Hoot! Gripper became excited because he ha
dn't visited the woods in a while.
"Fantastic!" Luka clapped his hands in thanks. "Let's sleep early."
Chapter 42
Grandlan Forest
A dozen hunters gathered in front of the Heavensfell mansion early in the morning. Juliette and Luka stood atop the front steps of the building. James, Bianna, and Hanna stood on the side to avoid obstructing the nobles' views. Both mother and son wore exercise outfits while the servants wore their customary work uniforms.
When Bel and Gripper strolled over to the group, Luka said, "My pets wish to accompany your hunt."
A middle-aged man wearing a dark brown cloak, olive pants, and obsidian boots stepped forward and scrutinized the animals. "Young master, my name is Reiz, and I'm the organizer of today's expedition. The gorilla looks strong, but your rabbit seems weak. We haven't visited the Grandlan Forest for several weeks, so we don't know if any dangerous beasts claimed it as their territory. If you insist on having your pets come along, then we won't be responsible if something happens to them," he warned.
In response, Bel kicked him in the shin. Crack!
"Augh! My leg!" Reiz screamed in pain because his tibia fragmented from that simple attack.
Luka teleported next to the injured man. "Advance Cure!" A golden aura enveloped his patient's lower leg and began to mend the broken bone. Within seconds, Reiz returned to full health.
"Thank Altima!" someone spoke up and raised his hands.
"Thank Altima!" the other hunters praised.
"I apologize for my familiar's behavior. Bel has a bad temper," Luka explained and lowered his head slightly to Reiz. He helped pull the leader to his feet.
"The fault is mine for insulting your pet," the man replied. Reiz looked at Bel with respect and fear. "His kick is as strong as a horse," he marveled. "We're wasting valuable time. Let's set off immediately!" Reiz ordered. He saluted, turned around, and marched through the gates to exit the estate.
"Reiz is a retired soldier," James noted while standing next to Luka. "He served the captain of an archery squadron until he reached the age of thirty-five. Then he married and retired from the king's army to raise his family."
"Once Reiz filed his retirement papers, I immediately swooped in and hired him to work under our Heavensfell banner. He's currently living in subsidized housing with his wife and two kids. The children will receive our recommendations to attend the Royal Academy. The hunters accompanying him came from the same unit and received similar arrangements," the butler explained.
"Thank you for informing me," the heir replied. Luka needed to know this type of information to fulfill his duties whenever he ascended to the Heavensfell Duke House headship.
Hanna handed Luka a wooden staff.
"Let's begin our morning exercise," Juliette said gruffly and took a stance. Bang-bang! She slashed her practice sword from left shoulder to right hip; the swordswoman followed up with a sweep parallel to the ground.
The defender set his feet to accept her sneak attack with his stick and desperately twisted his wrists to stop the second strike. Luka countered with a snap kick to Juliette's gut, but she read it and blocked with her knee.
The two combatants hopped back a step to reset their positions.
This time, the son took the initiative and sent a barrel of jabs toward his mother's face and chest.
Since Luka's staff had a longer reach, Juliette could not retaliate. Instead, she waited patiently for his burst of adrenaline to run out.
A minute later, he faltered and loosened his grip.
Whack! She smashed her sword against his left fingers and quickly smacked his skull with the butt of her weapon.
Luka dropped his staff and rubbed his head.
"You made two mistakes. First, you were overeager and attacked without pacing yourself. Then you lost your concentration. The lump on your head could have been a thrust to your throat instead," the instructor warned.
"Well, I tried to take advantage of my long reach," he responded.
"True, your staff offers that advantage. But it's useless if you forget to target your opponent's weak spots. You didn't activate Critical Insight," she pointed out.
Luka scratched his chin with embarrassment and laughed weakly. "Yeah, I forgot to use it due to my excitement," he admitted helplessly.
"Also, I thought that your thrusts lacked power behind them. Your arm strength is inadequate. I think you're better off practicing strikes using the staff to build up muscle memory. Divide the strike zone into nine quarters, and attack each region a thousand times," she ordered.
"Yes, mother," the son nodded. He backed away from her and began to practice his strikes with the staff.
Juliette watched for several minutes before she clapped her hands. "I'm not convinced your grip and hand position are correct. But I'm not an expert in using the staff; I might be wrong. I think you should wait for Sanjiv to arrive instead of developing bad habits. So stop training the staff for now and resume practicing swordsmanship to maintain your hand and arm strength."
Luka handed his staff to Hanna and took up a wooden sword. He resumed practicing under his mother's watchful eye.
In the late morning, Bel contacted him via telepathy. [We ran into a problem. There are man-eater plants inside the forest. These monsters ambushed and caught two hunters, but your men still live. Our party can't free them because the monsters have too many tendrils for us to cut off. We need your magic to take them out.]
Luka was bathing when he received Bel's urgent message. He quickly dried himself and put on clothes with Hanna's assistance. Then the mage used Spatial Sense to determine his mother's current location -- her study. Luka teleported and arrived before her door. Knock-knock!
"Come in."
The son entered and said, "I'm sorry to interrupt your work, mother. I received a request for rescue from Bel. The hunters encountered some man-eaters, and these monsters have caught two men. I'm going to teleport to my familiar's location right now."
The listener opened her drawer and took out a gold ring. She wore it and looked at him. "Take me with you," Juliette ordered.
Luka approached the desk and touched her shoulder. Then he instantly teleported to Bel's location. The duo arrived in the Grandlan Forest and witnessed a fierce tug-of-war between the hunters and the man-eater plants over two men wrapped tightly by vines.
The mage immediately used Spatial Blade to cut the victims loose. Luka pulled out his Staff of Alraune and used his Divine Summoning to call forth Alraune.
The nature god hovered over the summoner's head. With indifference, Alraune waved her hand. Vines grew out of the top of the magical staff and wrapped around the base of each man-eater. Then they tugged and pulled the monsters out of the earth!
Luka activated Critical Insight to identify their weaknesses. The mage used Spatial Blade and slashed the exposed roots!
Since the monsters lost their connection to the earth, the plants began to wilt and die.
Luka pointed at the two human-sized bundles. "The hunters are still alive. Cut them out immediately before they suffocate! And don't go further into the forest; I detected another cluster of these monsters," he warned.
Luka unsummoned the divine spirit and took a deep breath as he sat on the ground. The mage watched as Reiz and other hunters cut out their trapped comrades.
The commoners cheered as they pulled each person out.
Juliette sat silently beside her son. She felt relief in witnessing Luka use Divine Summoning without harm to his life. "What kind of magic did you use to cut the vines trapping the hunter?" she inquired. The veteran fighter didn't feel any wind movement and realized that he didn't use wind magic.
"I used a spatial spell called 'Spatial Blade.' It disrupts space at a designated area and cuts through matter," the son explained.
The mother shook her head. "I've never heard of it."
"I'm not surprised," Luka grinned. "It's a new magic spell that I developed while stuck inside Alecto's private realm.
But it has certain limitations such as a range of twenty feet, and the blade can't cut through high-level magic barriers."
She glanced at him with exasperation. "You don't fully appreciate its application -- such as for assassination," Juliette observed solemnly.
Her son was shocked by the suggestion and looked at her skeptically.
"I'm not telling you to take up the dark path and become an assassin. I'm merely pointing out the implication of your unique magic," Juliette reasoned. "Powerful magicians are both revered and feared in this world because they possess the might of kings. You could overthrow the Morninglory Kingdom and become the next ruler with your magical power if you wish. It just depends on what you want out of life, my son," she smiled faintly.
"All I want is to protect you, mother. I don't have the ambition to rule a country or take over the church," he answered solemnly.
Juliette sensed the sincerity behind his words and believed him. "I appreciate your feelings, and I think your father will be happy as well. Okay, let's hunt down the rest of the man-eaters before they cause more trouble for our hunters."
To her shock, the son refused and shook his head. "Mother, I activated my Divine Summoning ability at a great cost of my mana. I may need to borrow Alraune's power again to deal with the next cluster of man-eating plants. Hence, I require at least an hour's rest to regenerate my magic," Luka explained.
"We'll wait here with you, young master," Reiz interrupted.
"Why don't you return home instead?" the heir asked. "It's not safe for you to venture deeper into the forest now."
The hunters became visibly angry. "We're not cowards!" someone yelled out. "Right!"
Reiz turned toward Juliette and said, "Your Excellency, you assigned us to clear out the monsters in Grandlan Forest. If you force us to return without completing this task, we will lose our reputation in the eyes of your other subjects. And as my comrades pointed out, your followers will see us as cowards fleeing from danger while leaving our feudal lord behind. Please don't force us in a bad predicament," the leader pleaded and knelt on the ground.
The Divine Summoner: Godson of Altima Page 35