CHAPTER 245: MAKING AN IMPRESSION

“Hmm?”

The next day.

Regia was surprised by the changes in Yerica and Schudlen.

Clearly, until yesterday, the two guards had barely been able to keep up with Regia’s lessons.

But now, the condition of the two guards was remarkably good.

Of course, their expressions weren’t good, but their physical state was quite excellent.

“What happened?”

“…We didn’t eat dinner yesterday.”

“There was no need to eat. And it’s not that we didn’t eat, but that we couldn’t eat…”

“What does that mean…?”

Regia frowned. He didn’t know what had happened last night, but an enormous amount of mana had accumulated in their bodies.

“It seems Teacher Ethan gave you a gift.”

“…It wasn’t a gift.”

“Ugh, my stomach still…”

“Well then, now we can do things properly.”

As Regia grinned, the expressions of the two guards hardened.

“When you say ‘properly’… does that mean what we’ve done so far wasn’t proper training?”

Schudlen’s voice trembled.

“Of course. What we did yesterday was just a warm-up before entering the real lessons. Thanks to Teacher Ethan, we can now start the main training, so be grateful, everyone.”

Then Regia pulled out a thick stick from his waist.

“Let’s start with corrections first. Don’t worry. My corrections are painless.”

***

‘From today on, the quick-witted princes and princesses will come looking for me.’

If they check whether Ethan has sided with Evangeline and find out he hasn’t, they will try to recruit Ethan by any means necessary.

‘A day should be enough time to investigate me thoroughly.’

Given a day’s time, they should have received sufficient reports on who Ethan Whiskers is.

And they must have been quite shocked.

‘Their investigation will only reveal things incomprehensible to their common sense.’

A new swordsmanship teacher at Ivecar Academy who overcame an incurable disease.

This was the one-line description of Ethan after he left the Whiskers family.

‘If I saw someone like this, I’d be suspicious and investigate further too.’

But there’s nothing more to find.

‘Then they’ll try to recruit me somehow.’

If that’s all the information available about Ethan Whiskers, it shouldn’t be difficult to recruit him.

They’ll offer a much better position than the academy teaching job and say that by staying close to them, one can gain wealth and honor.

‘It’s quite a good offer.’

If Ethan were an ordinary teacher at any academy, it would be tempting enough to accept.

But Ethan knows well that this offer isn’t just a purely good one.

‘It’s a matter of life and death if you don’t stand on the side that’s certain to win.’

Moreover, since all their power must be focused on this immediately, it’s not such a good offer for Ethan, who has other clear goals.

That’s why Ethan didn’t join Evangeline’s side even though he could have.

“There’s absolutely no reason to take sides with any particular faction.”

Ethan already knows.

Who becomes the victor in this succession battle.

Of course, now that Evangeline has been cured, there was a high possibility that things wouldn’t flow exactly as Ethan knew the future.

‘Still, I know who’s empty inside and who’s solid.’

Ethan, having finished his preparations, quickly went outside.

He was now heading to the First Prince’s office.

‘I’ll visit before they come to me.’

That’s how to take control of the situation.

***

“Bring him here immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

Knock knock-.

Just as the vassal who received the First Prince’s order was about to go out, someone knocked on the door.

“What is it?”

“Mr. Ethan Whiskers has come to visit.”

At that moment, the First Prince and his vassals in the office looked surprised.

“T-Tell him to come in.”

The First Prince cleared his throat and spoke.

As the door opened and Ethan appeared, everyone couldn’t hide their curiosity.

They were just about to go meet Ethan, but he came directly?

As Ethan entered, the First Prince immediately signaled his vassals. The vassals quickly rose and vacated their seats.

The First Prince and Ethan sat facing each other alone.

“I didn’t expect you to visit first. I was just about to go and thank you for curing Evangeline of that vicious disease.”

The First Prince said with a smile.

“It’s nothing special. I just happened to have a small talent, and I used that talent to treat the Third Princess.”

Ethan also replied with a smile.

“I didn’t come to receive thanks. I just came to pay my respects.”

Ethan continued naturally and started taking something out of his spatial pocket.

What Ethan took out were two things.

“I wonder if you might need items like these?”

What Ethan pulled out was a splendid sword and shield. A sword with blue flames flickering and a shield with a red aura rising.

Following that, what Ethan took out was a special golem that could be used for training.

As he suddenly produced these items, Prince Eduardo looked bewildered.

The reason Ethan came to the imperial palace was to obtain the imperial seal.

To advance to become one of the Twelve Families, a strong backing is needed. Whether the imperial family will actually help in an emergency is not important. What’s important is tangible evidence that the imperial family stands behind you.

‘It’s the name value that matters.’

Among the countless name values in the world, the most expensive was naturally the name of the imperial family. As he had just made a connection with Regia, the imperial tutor, Ethan used that connection to come directly to the imperial palace.

‘I’ve obtained the imperial seal through Evangeline. I’ve also made some connection with the Emperor. But the imperial palace is vast.’

The power of the imperial palace is immeasurably enormous.

The pillars of the Holy Empire are the Twelve Families, the greatest houses on the continent, but it’s the Holy Empire’s imperial family that reigns over these houses.

‘So any influential power holder bearing the name of the imperial family has that name value.’

Anyway, this succession war won’t end easily.

It will continue long and hard until that Cairodias steps down on his own.

So Ethan intended to form connections with all the influential figures participating in the succession battle.

It would be best if he could solve problems for them like he did for Evangeline, but in Ethan’s opinion, business was still the best approach.

‘Getting back to the original reason I came here. It’s better to be tied through business than to be swept up in power struggles.’

“These are items handled by my Ethan Workshop.”

“…Is this a golem?”

“Yes, it’s a special golem. It’s an excellent golem for training purposes. One of the most popular artifacts from Ethan Workshop.”

Eduardo, who had been surprised, regained his composure.

He seemed to have realized why Ethan had come here.

“So you’ve come for business. Hahahahaha-.”

To think he would come directly to sell items to a prince like himself.

Ethan is a lifesaver for Princess Evangeline. There’s no reason for him to come sell things to Eduardo.

If he used Evangeline’s connections, he could sell mountains of these things anywhere.

Yet the fact that he brought them to him must have some other meaning.

For a moment, First Prince Eduardo stared intently at Ethan.

It was a brief time, yet also long.

‘Here, I stay silent. Let him ponder more on his own.’

First Prince Eduardo is quite intelligent. That’s why there were aspects that made him easy to deal with.

‘This is really a good point.’

Intelligent people don’t just look at the situation in front of them as it is.

They try to analyze the phenomenon and understand the intentions behind it.

‘I just came to sell items from Ethan Workshop.’

This means it looks different in Prince Eduardo’s eyes.

‘I, who became Evangeline’s benefactor, deliberately came to Prince Eduardo to sell items? What does that mean? He must be thinking like that.’

There is no hidden meaning in it.

Because there is no meaning, meaning is created.

“Hmm…”

The prince’s expression brightened considerably.

It seemed he had figured out Ethan’s intentions in his own way.

“I’ll buy them. Especially this special golem, I’ve heard about it, but I didn’t know you were operating it yourself, Mr. Ethan.”

“Yes, I’m conducting sales in collaboration with the David Merchant Guild. Of course, I also sell directly like this.”

“Then I’ll buy as much as I can.”

The prince willingly expressed his intention to purchase. While doing so, he casually threw a question at Ethan.

“Mr. Ethan, do you plan to sell these items to my other siblings as well?”

‘I see how he understood it. He’s accepted that I have no intention of participating in the succession battle.’

Ethan said what he wanted to hear.

“Yes, if there are others who want them.”

With this, Prince Eduardo will no longer try to drag Ethan into the succession battle.

He couldn’t bring Ethan to his side, but Ethan didn’t side with Evangeline either. And it doesn’t seem like he intends to side with anyone else.

“I’ll try the special golem once and purchase more if needed. I’ll buy that sword and shield too. I hope we continue to have good transactions.”

In that case, maintaining this good relationship is enough.

The next place Ethan headed was the imperial library, which the Emperor had granted him access to.

It would take a bit more time for the news that Ethan had visited Eduardo to spread.

It seemed good to be in the imperial library during that empty time.

Ethan was also very excited as it was his first time entering the imperial library.

‘Especially swordsmanship.’

Ethan had already created his own unique swordsmanship called Ethan Swordsmanship through the New World.

It would be fair to say it was an original swordsmanship that Ethan had created by modifying various sword techniques he had learned so far in his own way.

‘I’d like to add a bit more destructive power to this.’

He wanted to combine the swordsmanship existing in this MePan, not learning from the gods of the New World.

‘Like Frost Sword technique and Thunder Sword technique.’

“We’ve confirmed your imperial library access pass. You may enter.”

As Ethan entered the library, he unconsciously let out an “Oh” in admiration.

First, what greeted Ethan was the smell.

The smell of old books. Beyond that, an overwhelming number of books caught Ethan’s eyes.

‘I can’t even tell how many there are.’

It was larger and more vast than any library he had visited so far.

Books everywhere you look.

A library consisting of a total of 4 floors. All the bookshelves in it were packed full of books.

‘There are also a lot of artifacts installed. It seems they completely control not only external access but also removal from inside.’

“Hello, Mr. Ethan Whiskers? Welcome to the imperial library. I’d like to explain the precautions of our Royal Library, if that’s alright with you?”

“Yes, please do.”

“There are numerous books in the Royal Library. Not only books related to swordsmanship and magic, but also many historical books. They are classified according to the numbers and letters marked on the bookshelves, so you can find and read the books you want accordingly.”

The imperial librarian’s explanation continued.

“Those with access rights to the Royal Library can read all the books here. However, external removal is absolutely prohibited. The books of the Royal Library can only be read within the Royal Library. That’s all. Have a pleasant time.”

With those words, the imperial librarian instantly disappeared.

‘More like an assassin than a librarian.’

It seemed they combined the role of librarian with security against those trying to smuggle books out secretly.

Of course, only princes and princesses can enter here.

Ethan first went to the bookshelf where books related to swordsmanship were gathered.

“There are too many.”

There were truly countless books.

“All kinds of swordsmanship are here.”

As Ethan was examining the bookshelves full of swordsmanship books, he noticed the magic book section.

“Curses.”

The classification of the bookshelf was for books related to curse magic.

Ethan quickly went to that bookshelf and examined the books on it.

“…Cruciis, Arsens, Mana Depletion.”

Ethan looked through the magic books one by one.

And at the end.

-[About Extinction]

He found Extinction.

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