—----------- 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. Plain white shirt, black skirt, knee socks and a pair of plain brown loafers. Not as heavily enchanted, but it meant she could look forward to a clean set while one is at the washing bay. It appears Ria was getting really good at keeping her properly clothed.
The waiting room was quite spacious, roughly the size of a village abbey. A straight forward decor, wooden walls and a warm brown carpet. Paintings lined the walls, chiefly those of the current lord's predecessors, a couch, a coat of arms, a wyvern header and antiqued suit of armour whose inscriptions had not been imbibed in ages. A good effort at minimizing the clutter.
A squad of maids circled around the room, furiously feather dusting away. A lot of catch up maintenance to be done on a room sealed away for a year due to the absence of its chief inhabitant. They were children, signs of malnourishment, skinny and pale.
"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 arches one foot forward, allowing them to dust off the bottom. "The cultists camps, Madam Hikari. They were used as slaves instead of sacrificial material from what I hear, unlike the adults. The boys are on the courtyard sweeping duty."
"How are they?" "If you would indulge me, we could just about nurse them to shall we say, 'living' condition. 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 of her finger, the wooden doors creaked open. The doorway was wide enough, but she had to bend over to make it through.
The interior was as plain as the outside, same decor, some light fixtures, oiled lanterns. A row of fine suits and coats took up half a wall on one side. Books, ledgers, paperwork occupies another section.
On the other side, portraits of his family, Ria and her siblings together with his wife. And a live sized painting of Hikari in shining steel plate armour, the top wooden frame extending to above Hikari's hips.
In the center of the room, a conspicuously huge stool, wooden surface, with shiny steel linings and a red cushion on top the size of a queen-sized bed.
On the opposite end, a wide rectangular table, half the height of the stool. The empty table top, Its wooden surface, shiny and well polished.
And an empty chair.
"Greet me."
A puckering sound. The lord RazenHeir bowed his head back down into the carpet. Then he shuffled to the side, rotated 90 degrees, 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 across the continent in one place and with one goal, to maximize their potential."
"Really? How did someone like me manage to qualify?"
"Thats 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 since after all, you're not the only one of that size.
"Even so, I don't really fit in do I?"
"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 of a bloodline. But as long as you dish out some beatdowns in the colosseum while flying our banner, that would 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 campaign that drained our coffers. 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, just diagonally right 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. His neck collar was soaked through at this point.
"Fufu~, so my little piggy is all milked dry"
"Umm… not yet… we could still… "
A mass of damp, strong smelling cotton was dropped to the right of him.
"This is for the armour you will be buying. Though I'm not sure how you might earn the next one."
"Mmmm….. ! I … "
"I think it's time I give my piggy a little refresher."