Shepherd Wizard-Chapter 178.1
Translator: Pai_ 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Around the time the messenger from House Aravion arrived, the nobles of Lavitas were deeply engrossed in relieving their fatigue, having loosened up considerably.
Unlike House Parsha, who had returned directly via the Jade Mirror after the Varaha War, they had once again boarded a ship and sailed for over a month. Not long after that, they had to travel by land to meet with the House Zahar and return.
Naturally, a guest arriving in such circumstances was not going to be welcomed.
The House head, Osel, didn’t even bother to step out and meet the visitor, and only a few elders and prominent nobles of House Lavitas received him.
“The head of House Aravion declares. Turan, head of House Parsha, is a low-born bastard who has never properly learned the discipline of nobility. If the nobles of House Lavitas hold pride, they ought not associate with him......”
Though embellished with all sorts of flowery language, it boiled down to nothing particularly noteworthy.
They find House Parsha and the emerging new powers unpleasant.
They plan to suppress them properly from now on, so are you still going to stay friendly with them?
If you don’t side with us, we’ll consider you part of their group and subjugate you as well.
Naturally, House Lavitas’s reaction to this was cold.
"What nonsense are you talking about."
"If we were to really argue about who the villain is, wouldn’t it be your family head?”
"Acting as if you didn't attack without even declaring war."
While one could argue that the lack of a formal declaration of war at that time was because Turan and the House Aravion were already mortal enemies, this was the general sentiment.
As everyone responded coldly, the messenger looked around confidently and said,
“I expected you would react this way. That’s why the head of Aravion has promised to present a gift so Lavitas may make the right choice.”
“A gift? Let’s hear it.”
“What could be so amazing......”
“Immortality.”
A word so short and simple.
Yet its impact on the nobles of Lavitas was immense.
For those with ageless bodies, overcoming the limit of lifespan was an even more urgent task than for others.
As everyone opened their eyes wide, the highest-ranking noble among them, Rida, stepped forward.
"So, by what means?"
“We’ve researched souls for many years, so we’re not without relevant knowledge. We already have the knowledge and technology to resolve the aging of Soul Chains.”
Knowing this wasn’t an offhanded claim, the nobles of Lavitas looked at each other with surprised expressions.
Since Turan had first taught Lavitas the basics of Soul Magic, they too had come to understand that the deaths of Lavitas nobles were not merely due to the aging of the soul.
‘If what he says is true......’
‘It might be worth hearing out, at least once?’
Of course, the head of House Parsha had worked closely with them on many matters, and their bond had deepened through numerous battles, but the weight of immortality was even heavier than that.
As the atmosphere quickly shifted, the Aravion envoy subtly curled his lips into a smirk, just as Rida crushed the desk with a light gesture and shouted,
“Get out.”
"My lady?"
“To think you would try to shake our alliance with such cheap tricks, has Aravion finally begun to sense its own crisis? How little do you think of Lavitas to presume we’d betray our allies so easily!”
With Rida’s rare display of fury, the other Lavitas nobles were too stunned to say anything, and the meeting was called off.
After the Aravion envoy departed, the nobles finally turned toward Rida, questioning her.
"My lady, wouldn’t it have been worth listening a bit more?”
"That is right. If they know that much, they might have grasped some clue......."
Among those present, there were nobles even more powerful than Rida, who barely made it to the top tier by Turan's classification, but none of them could express anger.
They could only show passive disappointment.
Such was the power of the position brought by being the beloved cousin and wet nurse of the family head.
Rida gently explained to the Lavitas nobles who were pouting their lips at her, as if speaking to children.
“If such a method truly existed, they would have used it long ago. While having an ageless body is our privilege, there are other ways to merely slow aging.”
In the past, Rida had offered Turan and several other wandering nobles a sacred relic of Lavitas, Modest Wish, in exchange for bringing a White Elf. Its effect was to continually bestow the power of the Healer and Purifier bloodlines upon the wearer.
That meant, like a Lavitas noble with 24x7 and having them continually exert their power, the one receiving the healing and purification would likewise cease to physically age.
If they truly had a way to prevent the aging of Soul Chains, they would have invaded long ago, kidnapped Lavitas nobles, and used them as slaves, or assigned one Healer and one Purifier to each subject to continually use their abilities. There were many possible methods.
“They wouldn’t have refrained from doing so out of some noble reason like upholding the discipline of nobility in the face of immortality.”
“Hm.”
“Now that you mention it……”
The high officials here, even if they didn’t know the truth about the fallen old gods, had some understanding of Soul Magic and the immense power it could achieve when combined effectively.
Naturally, they were also aware that the power of some ancient great noble houses capable of wielding such magic far exceeded their own.
However, unfortunately, some still could not readily accept Rida’s explanation.
“Still, I believe it’s worth talking more, just in case. If, just if, they really can offer that as compensation, wouldn’t we need to reconsider our current alliance?”
That was how deep the Lavitas nobles’ desire for immortality ran.
Eventually, the faction that believed they needed to continue dialogue with Aravion conveyed that opinion to Osel, and Lavitas was nearly split in half in an instant.
***
