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Chapter 532.1: Strategic Boasting (1)

Nothing much happened after the New Year’s Prayer.

It was already dawn by the time Roel and the others returned to the Ascart House. Exhausted from a night of standing, they headed straight for breakfast to replenish their depleted energy. Even as the first ray of light dubbed as Sia’s gaze fell upon them, Roel was still unable to quell the unease he felt.

He had thought hard about the matter on his way back, but he couldn’t find a good reason behind this inexplicable warning his intuition was relaying to him.

Worried about his condition, Alicia asked Carter over breakfast if he had a solution.

“Lord Father, Lord Brother suddenly felt uneasy in the midst of his prayers. Do you know what could be the reason behind it?”

“You suddenly felt uneasy? Well…”

Alicia’s question brought a frown to Carter’s face. He spent some time listening to Roel’s story before finally expressing his helplessness. Even with his vast experience as a transcendent, it was impossible for him to make a deduction without ample information to work with.

That being said, Carter didn’t just leave them hanging. He proposed a couple of possibilities regarding the matter.

“Your encounter seems to be a warning, but it’s not necessarily directed at you. It could be pointing toward someone whom you’re close with or a matter that you’re intricately linked to…” Carter advised.

Those words expanded Roel’s scope of thought, but he soon shook his head.

Times had changed now. He was not the homebody he used to be. He had traveled widely over the last few years and became close with many people. If the warning was targeted at someone else, his attempt to find that person was no different from searching for a needle in a haystack.

It was then that Carter raised another conjecture.

“Alternatively, the warning might also be referring to an undiscovered internal issue, similar to how a patient afflicted with a terminal illness occasionally suffers bouts of pain.”

“Internal issue?”

“Yes. It could be physical traumas arising from severe side effects or an accident in the midst of a breakthrough. These were threats faced a transcendent may face in the absence of external intervention. There were reports of transcendents feeling uneasy before such happenings.”

“I see…”

Roel’s eyes widened when he heard Carter’s second suggestion.

He was reminded of his recent difficulties in trying to establish contact with Witch Queen Artasia. The contracts binding him and his ancient gods together had placed them on the same boat, creating a situation where they either flourished or drowned as one. This made it unlikely for the Witch Queen to double-cross him.

It could be possible that the warning was pointing at this matter.

However, that didn’t make sense upon further thought, considering how it had been half a month since he lost contact with Artasia. His intuition ought to be alerting him to something that had yet to happen rather than something that had already happened.

In the end, Roel was still unconvinced that the unease he had felt was caused by Artasia’s bizarre disappearance, though he conceded that her absence did diminish his sense of security. Since he was unable to figure out the issue, he turned his thought toward how he could mitigate the risks instead.

First and foremost, he would keep a close eye on the enemies’ movements and remain vigilant at all times. Other than that, he would work hard to raise his fighting prowess and do everything he could to re-establish his connection with Artasia as soon as possible.

He had reached the peak of Origin Level 3 after his battle with Flooding Death. He would be in a better position to deal with any threats heading his way if he could make a breakthrough soon. It was frustrating how everything seemed to boil down to his strength after all was said and done.

After breakfast, Alicia and Carter returned to their respective rooms to rest. Roel, however, was in no mood to sleep due to the unease welling in his heart, so he made his way toward the study room by himself.

…

While the Saint Mesit Theocracy was enjoying their break after the New Year’s, Roel had plenty of work to deal with as the architect of the Ascart Fiefdom’s development blueprint, especially since he had been away for so long.

Due to the frequent absence of its fief lord, the Ascart Fiefdom had to learn how to function by itself and had become quite competent at it, but that was limited to daily operations. A leader was still required to make high-level decisions and set a clear direction for other officials to work toward. It was also important to vet important projects lest they go astray.

The growth of the fief led to a corresponding increase in the number of important projects that needed to be vetted. While Roel had pushed out many new policies that were beneficial to the fief, he knew that his policies might not appear as straightforward to the officials implementing them due to the academic divergence between both worlds. Thus, he ordered the officials to immediately report any confusions regarding the implementation to him…

… And that naturally meant overloading himself with work.

Looking at the two tables filled with documents evoked a deep sigh from Roel. Not the type to procrastinate, he picked up his quill and began reviewing the documents. Meanwhile, Anna took her position next to him and began organizing the documents. a.e2e1e8d84

Roel would usually have several assistants with him whenever he was reviewing documents, but unfortunately, the Ascart House was tight on manpower as many servants had returned home for the holidays. Anna was the only one who was able to help him.

The lack of assistants still greatly reduced his work efficiency.

Truth be told, there was actually someone in the Ascart House who was able to aid Roel, and that person was none other than Alicia.

Back when they were young, Roel didn’t allow Alicia to help him with his documents because he didn’t think that it was right to burden a child with work. However, as Roel was made the proxy fief lord and started pushing for a revolutionary change in the fiefdom, his workload swelled to a point where there were days he couldn’t return home.

That sparked a change in Alicia.

She couldn’t accept how her older brother was working his fingers to the bones while she was idling around at home. Furthermore, the two of them wouldn’t be able to meet if Roel couldn’t finish his work in time and had to stay overnight in the office.

That was practically the end of the world to her!

Thus, Alicia devoted her time and effort to studying fiefdom administration. That was why she could smoothly transition into Roel’s job when he left for Saint Freya Academy. The documents Alicia had reviewed in the past two years definitely didn’t pale in comparison to his.

When Anna saw Roel sighing at the huge mountain of documents for the umpteenth time, she suggested bringing Alicia in to help, only to be rejected right away.

“It’s the first day of the new year. It hasn’t been an easy year for Alicia either. Let her rest a little.”

Gazing at the busy streets outside his window, Roel could feel a festive atmosphere lingering in the air. He wasn’t in a mood to head down to the streets, but he thought that it would be great if Alicia could take this opportunity to unwind herself.

“Even I wouldn’t want to work on New Year’s Day, let alone Alicia. Anna, you should accompany Alicia to the streets when she wakes up later.”

“But young master…”

“Don’t worry about me. I want some time to myself.”

“… I understand.”

Having overheard what Roel said over the dining table, Anna understood how what he was going through and lowered her head in acknowledgment. After the quick conversation, the two of them dived back into their work.

Roel’s focus on the huge stack of documents before him alleviated his unease a little.