Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 300 - 299: Santis’s Mission

Kamel’s last words were quite imposing, but Gawain did not take them too seriously.

No Mage could resist the things Kamel mentioned — not even the most self-important traditional archMages.

Although some of Kamel’s ancient Spells indeed cannot be used in this era, and many of the ancient technologies he knows rely on the Well of Deep Blue to be realized, this ancient Master Mage still holds countless pieces of knowledge that would make contemporary Spellcasters flock to him. Those magic circles, magic symbol knowledge, and classical Spells that have long been lost — if even one-tenth of them can still be used, it would be enough to create a sensation in the traditional Mage community.

What’s more, Kamel himself, a living ancient Master Mage transformed into an arcane body from the Meteoric Era, would be enough to cause a shock among the Mages in the royal capital.

What Gawain needs to consider now is not whether the Cecil’s domain has any appeal to the Mages in the royal capital, but whether Kamel should now be exposed to the traditional Mage community, and to what extent those attracted Mages would spread the news.

He does not intend to make the traditional Mage community notice this ”heretical land” of Cecil too early, because the order being implemented on this land is completely opposite to that of the traditional Mage world from the start. Although Gawain does not fear those already decaying folks, now is the critical stage of Cecil’s development, and attracting hostility too early would only disrupt many of his plans.

But he also wouldn’t give up the opportunity to recruit talent from the royal capital — it’s just about finding a balance between these two matters.

He expressed his thoughts, and Kamel immediately understood Gawain’s concerns. The ancient Master Mage let out a low chuckle, ”Leader, you are right. If those mediocrities knew that even a craftsman from Cecil could use Scorching Ray for welding, they’d probably go crazy.”

”So we need to control the spread of the news and also the content of the news,” Gawain looked at Santis. ”You said the down-and-out Mages in the royal capital have their own little circles, so can you ensure the news circulates only within these circles? At least for a few months or a year, the news only circulates within these small circles.”

Santis nervously fiddled with his button, but after a brief contemplation, he gave a positive reply, ”Sir Byron, I can guarantee that — moreover, I think we don’t even need to make a deliberate effort to control it. Just guide it a little, and no one would spread the news widely...”

”Oh?”

”Mages won’t let resources fall into others’ hands,” Santis showed a helpless smile, ”especially ’knowledge.’

”Just tell them that I got a bit of luck in Cecil, gained the favor of the leader, accessed a little bit of ancient magic knowledge, and received some guidance from an ancient Master Mage. Let them realize that these resources and opportunities are quite limited. Then the news will naturally be confined within small circles, and even if you want to spread it outward, you’d need to make quite an effort...”

As he spoke, the young Arcanist couldn’t help but sigh softly.

He thought of the children in the schools, those eyes yearning for knowledge, those printed textbooks that everyone could read, and the sense of achievement when sharing knowledge.

The longer he lived in the Cecil, the less he could adapt to the lifestyle in the royal capital — even though those lifestyles for him now had turned into memories.

”Hmm... It is a problem if it can’t spread at all, but as long as it’s guided properly, it seems everything can be managed,” Gawain, unaware of Santis’s thoughts, was weighing who should be assigned to complete this task. ”Amber, are there suitable candidates among the first batch of operatives?”

”Witch Giply, she’s a quick-witted woman and knows some unofficial Spells. We can consider her a Mage apprentice. Then there’s Quick Leg Pierce; he doesn’t understand magic but is very clever. He can pose as a guard and provide help during the mission. But sending them alone to the royal capital for the task won’t work – they’ve never been to the capital, nor do they have access to the Mage community there.”

”Of course, they are just responsible for the persuasion. The real person to lead and connect...” Gawain said while looking at Santis, ”Mr. Santis, would you be willing to make a trip back to the royal capital?”

To successfully recruit talent while controlling the flow of information during the process and filtering the recruitment targets, relying on a few letters is obviously insufficient. Santis going personally is the best choice for overseeing this matter in the royal capital. However, this introverted and unconfident Arcanist probably isn’t great at working independently, so Gawain would arrange one or two aides for him. Those operatives trained extensively in the Military Security Intelligence Bureau would be suitable.

Santis hesitated slightly upon hearing Gawain’s words, appearing a bit reluctant.

He didn’t want to leave the academy, nor did he favor returning to that stifling and oppressive place — but he knew he must comply with the leader’s command.

”You won’t need to stay long in the royal capital,” Gawain said, seeing his hesitation. ”You just need to play the role of a guide. Afterward, the people I send will set up a relatively long-term base in the capital. Once you successfully establish contact with the Mage community there, you can return. You’ll travel by carriage, escorted by Soldiers, and if you hurry, one month will be enough for a round trip — plus the time you’ll spend in the capital, you should return just in time for a new wave of immigrants in the territory, and the academy will also have a new batch of freshmen.”

Previously, when Gawain traveled to the capital, they deliberately slowed the pace, almost stopping at every village and even took many detours. As a result, the journey nearly took two months, but in reality, Anzu is a country with a narrow north-south territory, and traveling from the southern borders to the capital isn’t a particularly lengthy journey.

After learning about these arrangements, Santis finally felt relieved and nodded vigorously, ”I won’t let you down.”

Gawain nodded slightly, ”During your absence from the academy, your classes will be temporarily taught by someone else. I’ll have Jenni select a suitable substitute teacher, and you can hand over to her then. Additionally, you can stay at the residence at 4 Crown Street and use it as your activity base after arriving in the royal capital. It is my residence in the capital, and it’s very safe, ensuring no disturbances from irrelevant people.”

Hearing that he would be staying at the Duke’s residence, Santis couldn’t help but start feeling nervous again...

At this moment, Amber mentioned, ”By the way, since you’re suddenly sending someone back to the royal capital, do you need to come up with an explanation? Those aristocrats of the capital can be quite sensitive...”

”Is there a need for any explanation? Just plainly announce it’s for recruitment, no need for explanation or disguise,” Gawain said unconcernedly. ”Anyway, whatever excuse I think of, as long as I send someone to the royal capital, those sensitive folks will imagine a mountain of intentions. It’s better to be open about it; I can save a lot of effort, and how they speculate is their problem. Also, recruiting talent is not something shameful.”

Amber’s ears twitched, ”You’re right...”

”As long as I don’t personally return to the royal capital, neither the King nor those aristocrats have any standing to question the affairs of the Cecil Clan. The Duke’s title is quite handy in this respect,” Gawain said as he pulled out a sheet of parchment specifically used for drafting aristocratic documentation, swiftly wrote a certificate, and stamped it with his emblem, ”Mr. Santis, take this. You are now my envoy to recruit Mages in the royal capital—this is your public identity. As for the ’secrets’ of the Cecil, you’ll need to organize secret gatherings. The Intelligence Agency operatives will guide you on how to do this. Don’t be nervous or pressured; with this, you represent a Duke, and those ’little Mages’ standing in front of you should be the nervous ones.”

Santis, somewhat flustered, took the document Gawain handed over, and in the process, just like last time, he accidentally tore off his button, ”Y-Yes, sir!”

”Remember, they must have clean backgrounds and no ’concerns’. We don’t need Mages just for combat power, nor aristocratic Mages for appearance. Those with family ties or school backgrounds can be recruited, but you must understand their backgrounds clearly—not knowing how to inquire is fine, the Intelligence Agency operatives will know how to get information. Consider their opinions more.”

”I understand,” Santis carefully placed the document close to his body and hesitated for a moment before speaking a thought that had lingered in his mind for a long time, ”Sir, actually, I hope this time... I can bring my family here.”

”Your family...” Gawain recalled slightly, ”Ah, it’s your parents, right?”

”Actually... there’s also a younger brother apprenticed to someone and a little sister,” Santis lowered his head, ”I hope I can bring them all here.”

Gawain’s face showed a genuinely happy smile, ”Of course, there’s no problem. In fact, you’re not the only one wanting to bring family over. Among the hundred people who came with you from the royal capital, more than half have already applied to bring their families to the Cecil. I have approved all, but I haven’t had the chance to organize an escort team yet. This time as you go over, you can take the opportunity to handle this.”

Santis and Kamel left satisfied, while Amber observed Gawain’s expression and couldn’t help but say, ”You seem to be in a good mood.”

”Am I?”

”You’re smiling too obviously,” Amber raised an eyebrow, ”Why are you so happy that people want to bring their families over?”

”Choosing to stay here and hoping to bring family here are different things,” Gawain patiently explained. ”The former can be loyalty, a sense of honor, responsibility, or driven by interests. But the latter has only one explanation: the Cecil has truly become the place they see as home, a beautiful place in their heart where they want to settle.”

”Is that so...” Amber blinked, seeming to understand, ”Even though this place borders the Gondor wasteland and was attacked by monsters not long ago, they still want to bring their families over... that’s indeed quite determined.”

”Rather, the fact that we wiped out all the monsters outside the walls without any casualties last time has further strengthened the confidence of those craftsmen and scholars from the royal capital,” Gawain nodded. ”In this era, the people’s sense of security comes from whether the leader and the leader’s army can protect them. If they can, then the Dark Mountain Range can be a livable paradise; if not, even living on the Plains of the Holy Spirits, one cannot sleep in peace.”

Seeing Amber earnestly thinking, Gawain couldn’t help but laugh, ”Alright, stop thinking about these things. Help me watch over again—I’m going to ’meditate’ once more.”

”Again? Same as last time?”

”Free wifi, might as well use it.”

”...Ugh, there you go saying things no one else understands!”