Chapter 420

Following the party Ajax had plans to put in a lot of time and effort into his Alchemy, he had almost an entire week before he could delve into the other dungeon. His plans didn’t have a good chance to get underway before they were interrupted the following morning.

“What did you do last night?” Both Silvia and Alana sprung on him the moment he took a seat at the breakfast table.

“What do you mean?” Ajax asked, confused as he filled his plate with food.

“A representative of House Blackthorn just left.” his mother said.

“They were here to finalize a few contracts that we would take over to help establish a stable route to Sylvanthal.” Alana continued. “What did you do at that party?”

“They move quick.” Ajax was surprised at how quickly House Blackthorn seemed to move, clearly they appreciated the gift Ajax had given them a lot more than he had thought. “I shared my training technique with their son, this way he won’t be among the weaker of his generation.”

In the coming months Ajax very much expected that his family as well as the Gryndor royal family would receive several letters all but declaring open hostilities from families whose main heirs missed out on being able to hold their points by a few months.

“With the four contracts we picked up just from them we have enough to break even on sending out a regular caravan all the way here every four months.” Alana said with a smile. “Those worms are going to be worth their weight in gold over the next few years with how much we will save on actually buying the carriages and carts and maintaining them.”

“We also have an invitation from Elara to visit her manor later this afternoon.” Silvia reminded him after he finished his meal.

Unlike what Ajax expected there wasn’t a party at Elara’s house, thankfully for Benedict’s sake her father wasn’t present either. The only people present were the rest of Elara’s family as well as the delving party.

“Why not just do all this at the party yesterday?” Ajax asked as he recognised most of the people from yesterday’s festivities.

“The invitation was mainly about having Benedict visit to meet her family.” Lexi explained. “Only inviting him however would be the same as telling everyone that the two of them were courting so they invited the rest of us as cover.”

The visit turned out to be very interesting for Ajax once they moved on to their training area, as a primarily military based House just like House Steelblade. The way they trained their retainers as well as the amenities was something Ajax was taking mental notes on for how his own House could do things.

“These are our sharpwing falcons.” Elara’s mother beamed as she presented the aviary. “Every one of our retainers has to raise their own from the moment their training begins.”

“Are you looking for them to form bonds?” Ajax asked as he watched the younger retainers call their falcons to them.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“We do encourage any bonds to form but they are more of a secondary objective.” Elara said with a sad tone. “The average sharpwing falcon only lives for a total of ten years, while most of our potential retainers are recruited at the age of nine.”

“There is a lot we can’t know about a potential retainer given the short time we observe them for when scouting them.” Elara’s mother continued the explanation. “As for once they arrive at our estate the militaristic atmosphere can cover up some daming character flaws. How well they take care of their falcon as well as how well trained it is tells a lot about a person.”

“For most who don’t fail earlier in their training the falcon can also become something of a final test.” Elara said with her head bowed.

“You have them kill them?” Ajax’s voice was very accusatory.

“We most certainly do not.” Elara’s mother responded quickly. “We are training loyal retainers not spies and assassins. Most falcons do die around the end period of the training, the test is on how they handle the grief of losing someone they care about so much.”

Ajax had to admit that this was a very good way for young children to be both trained and tested, more than that with such a low life expectancy the falcons made for the ideal first bond preparing the retainer for bonding a young more magically infused creature early in life. Ajax made a mental note to inform Alana about a potential buyer for any of the kits Fluffy might have in the future once they find one or multiple suitable mates for the shadow cat.

The visit ended with a series of spars between Xavier, Anna, Lexi and Benedict and some of the younger retainers, though all of them were four to five years older than Benedict.

“I must say, while I had heard about the so-called Generation of Prodigies, you do live up to the name.” Elara’s mother complimented them after Lexi took her sparring partner out with just four spells. “Most shocking is that I can still see room for improvement despite the overwhelming victories.”

“The large consistent influx of stats over the last year will take us some time to get accustomed to.” Ajax said as he watched from the sidelines as Benedict finally took the field. “I expect all of us will stagnate a little in our levels for a few months as well fully adapt to our increased stats before we start pushing our limits once again fully clearing out dungeon floors.”

Benedict’s advantage over his opponent showed more than any of the others, while all of them had won handedly they all did so through the use of spells. Benedict, still being a fully physically based fighter up against an elf who while mostly physical, had also invested a little in his mental stats, could truly show their superiority.

Benedict showed his own genius in that he didn’t engage the trained retainer in a display of skill, knowing he hadn’t adapted to his stats just yet he instead forced the fight into a series of engagements where he would exchange a blow or two before backing away and circling his opponent once more.

It only took five exchanges in the span of twenty seconds before the retainer’s footwork failed him and Benedict rested the blade of his sword on the man's shoulder next to his exposed neck.

“That will be enough.” Elara said as the fifth retainer stepped up with his eyes locked on Ajax. She was very happy with Benedict’s showing as a potential suitor and wanted that to be the match her family remembered.

Elara knew that these were some of their most promising retainers, having them defeated by Xavier, Anna, Lexi and Benedict who were younger than them would push them to train harder and curtail any overconfidence that might have developed. In the same vein however, showing them the difference between them and Ajax could very well have the opposite effect and demotivate them as the gap was just that big.

“I am still recovering from my latest delve.” Ajax tried to let the guy down gently, the retainer nodded at his words and stepped back.

As they were walking away from the training grounds Ajax could hear Elara’s mother talking to the older retainer in charge of training. “Best increase their training in recognising deception.”

“My Lady?” the retainer asked, confused. “Was the baron lying?”

“No, which does surprise me since he doesn’t strike as hindered in any way, but we won’t be looking into that.” the duchess shook her head. “But while it might not have been a lie, it was an excuse.”

“He didn’t want to fight?” the retainer asked.

“He didn’t want to offend or embarrass us.” the duchess explained. “He is the one who defeated Elara in the tournament and since then he has been through eight more dungeons, any fight would have ended in an instant or he would have had to hold back considerably.”

While the retainer had good enough social skills to not show how surprised he was that did nothing for his curiosity. His curiosity earned him a sharp spike of pain as his inspection skill hit the wall that is [Enigma].

Ajax had enjoyed this visit much more than the usual parties he was invited to; his day took a turn for the worse as he arrived back at the embassy to find an elf waiting for him.

“Baron Hearthbound.” the elf greeted with a nod. “I am Viscount Deeproot, I am here to discuss the possibility of an arranged marriage between our houses.”

Ajax was so shocked by what he heard that for a moment he doubted if the treats they had been served before leaving weren’t laced with something extra.