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Kairen continued to speak. He probably could never guess what Azell was thinking at that moment.

“This is why you should skip around half of the records regarding Azell Karzark. He was very popular. He was considered to be a sacred hero. There are a lot of exaggerations regarding him.”

“Do you perhaps dislike him?”

“Me? Do I dislike Azell Karzark?”

“Yes.”

“No way. I also was a young man who listened to his legendary exploits, and it made my heart beat faster. However, this makes me want to look at his exploits through strict standards. Even seeing his exploits through such stringent standards, he was really incredible. This kind of blatantly false stories devalues his legacy. These foolish bastards don’t understand that.......”

“...Ah, I understand. I’ll take your word to heart.”

Azell quickly stopped Kairen from speaking any further. If Azell left Kairen alone, he would continue to give endless praise regarding him. The praises was akin to a mental attack.

“Hmm. Now that I think about it you do look similar to Azell Karzark.”

“Do I?”

“At the very least, your appearance is similar. There aren’t that many portraits left, but his physical characteristics are almost identical as yours. Even your name is quite the coincidence. You even share his name. Wasn’t that the last name of Azell before he was elevated to nobility with the name Karzark?”

“.......”

Azell could only let out cold sweat as he listened to Kairen. He hadn’t expected Kairen to know all that.

‘In the official records, the last name of Karzark should be the only one recorded. Was my other last name passed down through oral tradition?’

Azell realized he had been too lackadaisical. It was understandable. When he had woken up, he wasn’t planning on coming up with some elaborate story to trick everyone. He had responded to his situation as if everything would eventually work out somehow. Truthfully, if he had told people he awoke from a 200 year sleep, who would believe him? This was why he didn’t put too much effort into hiding, who he was.

Kairen spoke.

“Your parents probably was well acquainted with the knowledge regarding Azell Karzark. I feel as if they intentionally named you after him. If that’s true, your real last name probably isn’t Zestringer.”

“That might be true. Hmmm.......”

Fortunately for Azell, Kairen was very practical with his reasoning.

It was normal for the people of the world to have several names. Normally, a person had their name and family name. However, there were those who used their blood relative’s name as middle name. This was why there were some really long names.

For example, Arrieta had one too. Officially, Arrieta’s full name was Arrieta Essendria Tiaris Rianda Weil Rulain. When she was born, she was named by the elders of the royal family, and those additional names were just added on to her original name.

This was also the reason why Kairen knew the Marquis Karazark’s former last name was Zestringer. It also was the reason why he wasn’t suspicious of Azell’s identity right now. If someone suspected him of waking up from a 220 year sleep just because he had a suspicious background, that person was the abnormal one.

Kairen spoke.

“Did Arrieta tell you something unnecessary about me?”

“She asked me whether if I had any interest in taking up a position in the Duchy of Tarantos. She said you will offer me a position.”

“Hoot.”

Kairen snorted at those words. There was a meaningful pause, so Azell tilted his head in puzzlement.

Kairen hesitated before he continued to speak.

“You kicked away a position prepared for you by my pupil. If I give a similar proposal and suffer the same result, I will lose face. I’ve prepared a more attractive proposal.”

“What’s the offer?”

Kairen started laying out his proposal, and the content was something Azell would have never guessed.

“Why don’t you show me the Dragon Slayer’s Ritual in my territory?”

7

It had been 5 days since he started staying at the palace. Azell received an invitation from Boar. He was invited to the Marquis Zilred’s mansion.

Kairen had decided to leave with Kairen towards the dukedom of Tarantos, so his days of living at the palace was numbered. This was why he accepted Boar’s invitation when he had time.

They were on a carriage heading out of the palace, when Boar spoke.

“You must be very popular inside the palace. Even I heard all the complaints about you not accepting any invitations.”

“If I stacked all the invitations, it would reach the ceiling. I’m an utter stranger, yet they are showing such fervor to meet me. I feel like some rare animal.”

Azell grumbled. The invitations kept coming in at a rapid pace. On the fourth day, he ordered the maids to gather them into a pile before delivering it to him rather than delivering the individual invitations to him throughout the day.

Soon, the carriage reached the Marquis Zilred’s villa. When Azell got off the carriage, the building was very large compared to the other luxurious buildings at the heart of the capital. He was a bit impressed by it. The front gate was so far from the villa that one had to ride a carriage to get there.

“What a stately mansion.”

“It pretty much has everything one needs. It even has a practice yard.”

“Hey. Did you perhaps bring me here to spar with me? It is unnecessary. The Dragon Sword Duke comes everyday to bother me for that very reason.”

“You really are monopolizing him. I might become jealous.”

“If you were pestered every day by him, you wouldn’t be saything that.”

Azell grumbled. He had a daily sparring session with Kairen at the palace. It really was...

‘It’s fun. I can’t deny that.’

Azell was a martial artist by nature, so it was fun to match one’s skill against someone of his own caliber. The numerous fights he experienced as he sparred gave him an incredible thrill. The best vacation in the world couldn’t compare to this.

Boar spoke.

“Anyways, you don’t have to worry about him. He won’t bother you today. Let’s spend the night away drinking alcohol.”

“I would welcome such an activity.”

During the trip, he was always on his guard, since he had to worry about the presence of enemies. He hadn’t been able to drink alcohol to his heart’s content, since he awoke in this era. Just the mention of such an activity brightened up his day.

When they arrived at the villa, Giles was there. Azell asked him a question.

“I was wondering where you were when you never returned to the palace. Were you here the whole time?”

Giles had been staying at the mansion as Boar’s guest. When Azell saw Giles’ attire, he spoke in a playful manner.

“Anyways, doesn’t these clothes suit you more than your military uniform? You could probably become a popular man in the high society.”

“Don’t make fun of me.”

Giles put on a bitter smile. However, it was as if there wasn’t any truth to Azell’s words. When he took off his military uniform and armor, he looked like a young noble in his finery. He gave off such a delicate air that it was hard to believe Giles led a dangerous life of an enlisted man.

Boar’s family wasn’t all living in the capital. There was the Marquis Zilred who worked for the crown, as well as his wife. There was also the second son Reewin, who was a 2nd rank administrator. At dinner, Boar’s parents introduced themselves to Azell, and they showed a lot of interest in him. After sharing food and conversation, Azell and Giles was guided towards Boar’s room. Boar was there, and he showcased a high quality alcohol he had taken out from the cellar. Azell and Giles let out their praise.

Boar spoke.

“It seems my father has a lot of interest in Sir Azell. He was lamenting the fact that he didn’t have an unwed daughter he could introduce to you. He was thinking about introducing you to a relative. However, I stopped him by saying you won’t make your debut in high society and you will be leaving soon.”

“So you can’t stand seeing me being introduced to a pretty young lady?”

“I’m happy you understood my true intent.”

“Oh right. How come sir Boar isn’t in the marriage talks? At your age, it wouldn’t be strange if you were a married man by now.”

Boar was 26 years old. He was the same age as Azell. As a son of a prestigious noble house, it wouldn’t have been strange if he was married with a child on the way.

Boar was ill at ease as he talked.

“Mmmm. Lot of things came up. It hasn’t been too long since I’ve joined the Royal Knights, so I told my parents to wait a little bit. I’m not that well known in the high society as a knight.”

“So you don’t want to be introduced to a lady by your elders. You want to look for a nice young lady for yourself.”

“That’s exactly it. I had to live through an occupation that was filled with burly men, since I wanted to climb the ladder of success. I want to experience the fragrant flowers the high society has to offer myself.”

“Uh-huh. You haven’t even washed dishes before, so you shouldn’t talk about hardships.”

“Let’s stop talking about that story now.”

Boar laughed During the journey, he had come to realize he had grown up without realizing what the real word was like. After his self-awakening, Boar had changed a lot.

Giles queried.

“So how long do you plan on staying in the palace?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll probably leave a day after tomorrow at the soonest. At the latest, it’ll be four days.”

“That fast?”

Giles and Boar was surprised. Azell didn’t have any place to go, and Arrieta was showing goodwill towards him. They had assumed Azell would stay a bit longer in the palace.

Boar spoke.

“I had heard you were leaving soon. I guess it’s true.”

“It’s really bothersome to live in the palace. If I stay there any longer, I don’t know what annoying work might follow me around. I don’t want to even imagine it. I don’t want to draw the attention of the throne to me.”

He could ignore the invitations of the nobles, but he wouldn’t be able to turn down an audience from the throne. Since he had no desire to assimilate into the capital’s noble society, it would be best for him to disappear before anyone showed too much interest in him.

Boar laughed.

“You really are... You are different from any person I know. In my view, the lack of desire to advance in one’s station is a problem.”

“Is that so?”

“Maybe I’m saying this because I was born into a noble family, and I’m working for the throne... Wasn’t there an old saying that said a talented hawk hides its talons? It basically means modesty is a virtue.”

“Why are you suddenly bringing up such a saying?”

“It’s a saying that shouldn’t be followed in the noble society. It wouldn’t be a problem if you don’t have the ability. However, if you slack off while having the capability of advancing, than the nobles will ostracize you. If one could use one’s talons to further the name of the family, one should do so. This is how they think. This is why my 2nd brother has had such a hard time.”

“He’s already a 2nd rank administrator for the throne at a such a young age... Did he use to play around?”

“He was very smart even when he was little, and he loved to play around. Father had to force him to gain experience by dumping work on him, then he made my brother take the test to qualify for the administrator position. This caused a lot of hardship for me. My parent were very strict on me saying I shouldn’t turn out like my older brother.”

“I see.”

Boar had the talent to become a Quadruple Master at a young age, but it seemed a lot of effort had been made to support him. His parents wanted him to maximize his potential for the family, and Boar had tried hard to fulfill that expectation. There was a side of him that was like a naive young noble, but he had trained himself in earnest as a martial artist.

‘Promotion...’

Enora and now Boar was bring up such a topic, which suddenly made him think about his past.

It would be hard to imagine it by looking at the current Azell, but he had thirsted for advancement during the Dragon Demon War. There were two reasons behind this desire.

First, he was merely a lowly mercenary, and he was angry that no one acknowledged his accomplishments. He had accomplished many deeds that was worth merit, but the nobles and knights claimed his meritorious deeds as their own. It deeply angered him.

He had fought and fought in this unreasonable system. He fought until he was promoted. He became a knight and made personal connections that would shore up his background. He survived and fought through impossible situations and his reputation spread far and wide. No one dared to cross him any more.

The discontent he had in the past disappeared, but the desire to advance in rank consumed him as he kept fighting. The reason was simple.

‘These bastards are unworthy. I have to seize a station of power!’

...The sense of crisis continued. He felt helpless at the sight of his superiors who were incompetent. He had to constantly risk his life because of their incompetence. Moreover, the people with noble spirits were dying because of them.

There were even those who had made traps to get rid of Azell, since he was advancing at a blinding speed through meritorious deeds. They tried to kill him even when it was a situation where the human race couldn’t afford to fight with each other.

‘Hoo.’

Azell laughed as he thought about his past.

It was all an affair of a bygone age. He didn’t have the burning desire to want to stand above others. He didn’t have any reasons to do so.