All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 220

◈ Chapter 220

110. Center of Conflict – 2

“No one is allowed to pass through the gate right now!”

Fully armed knights and gatekeepers blocked the gate with their weapons.

The reason was simple: the explosion in the Great Plains.

“Isn’t that ridiculous?!”

“Get your superior out here!!”

The merchants and nomads in front of the gate shouted, but the knights paid no attention.

Ian smirked at them.

“C, Count Ian Brandon? You wouldn’t be…?”

“Wouldn’t be what?”

“Well… you wouldn’t be angry about the gate being blocked, would you…?”

“Why would I be angry if they’re doing their job?”

“Then why are you reaching for your sword hilt…?”

Swan asked cautiously. Ian paused for a moment, then started walking.

As he approached the knights, Swan was horrified and chased after him.

“I appreciate the act of controlling the gate to protect the Empire because of an unknown event. So, once that problem is resolved, the gate will open, right?”

“Who are you?”

“Ian Brandon.”

“……Ian? If it’s Ian……”

The knight tilted his head, then turned pale.

The name of the newly emerged powerhouse in the North came to his mind, and he stepped back.

“Why is Count Ian Brandon of the Scarlet Kingdom here? There is no record of you passing through the gate.”

If someone of Ian’s stature entered the Empire, official documents would be sent to all regions.

And dozens of personnel would be assigned just to guide him.

But the dozens of people near him didn’t seem like escorts.

“There are many ways to get here without passing through the gate.”

“……Did you sneak in?”

To get to the Southern Great Plains, one had to pass through the Empire.

And one had to go through the Empire’s gate, no matter where it was.

Therefore, the knight became even more vigilant.

The strong are arrogant.

And they want to test their skills by fighting other strong people.

Currently, in the Empire, Ian, along with the Sword Saint, the Forest Keeper, and the Emperor, were being called masters beyond masters, even Grand Masters.

Why would such a strong person sneak into the Empire?

Was it not enough to have four Grand Masters, and he wanted to become the strongest?

That’s why the knight had to ask.

“……Did you come to attack His Majesty?”

“Stop!! I am Swan Engelim!! The daughter of Count Witol Engelim, commander of the Southern Response Division of the Imperial Army!!”

The knight looked surprised at Swan’s shout.

Why was she, an Imperial Academy cadet who had gone to the South for training, with Ian?

Swan spoke in a sharp tone to him, who was asking for an answer.

“Count Ian is here at the request of Count Witol, the commander of the Southern Response Division!”

“I have not received such orders.”

“It was for a secret operation! Why would we have to tell you about that?!”

In case Ian got angry because of the fussy knight.

And in case he caused another explosion like the one that blew away the Red Fang Orc tribe.

Swan tried her best to defend him, feeling as nervous as possible.

The knight stared at her intently, tightening his grip on the sword hilt.

“My mission is to guard this gate!! And to punish those who sneak in! If Count Ian came here for the Southern Response Division, please submit the relevant documents!”

“I will submit them as soon as I return.”

“Until then, Count Ian must remain here! Even if I die trying to stop you, I must carry out my mission!!”

In the end, the knight drew his sword.

“I will not arrest you out of respect for the Count! But you must come with me!”

As he shouted stubbornly, Ian smiled even more deeply.

Swan despaired at the sight.

It was over.

Ian would definitely get angry and blow this place away, just like he blew away the Red Fang Orc tribe.

But this time, something different happened than she had expected.

“Alright.”

“Huh?”

“It’s not a problem to stay for a while.”

“B, but.”

“But what about you guys? I heard you can’t go in right now.”

“Uh……”

At that moment.

The gate opened, and armed knights and a mage came out.

They were all on horseback, probably heading to the Southern Great Plains to investigate.

“Huh? Isn’t that Swan!”

The burly mage with a red beard got off his horse and approached, looking puzzled.

“Count Frinda!”

“Oh? Botan, Rutaja… Huh? Imperial Academy cadets? Wait? Isn’t that Viscount Poscal?! Why are you all there?”

Kirke told him simple information while Ian was watching.

He turned his gaze to Ian as he was talking to Swan and the other Imperial Academy cadets.

“And who might you be…?”

“Count Ian Brandon.”

“Huh? I heard you were coming down, but why the southern gate instead of the northern gate? Hey. Did we get a report that Count Ian passed through?”

“He said he came down for a secret mission for the Southern Response Division. But there are no related documents. Therefore, according to procedure, we must detain him here, or arrest him and then receive the documents.”

He frowned slightly, then sighed.

“Still, we can’t arbitrarily arrest a count from another country. Let’s hear the situation first.”

He said a word to the knight and approached Ian, greeting him politely.

“Nice to meet you, Count Ian. I am Frinda Olken.”

“Nice to meet you, I am Ian Brandon.”

The two counts greeted each other lightly.

“The situation is not good right now. You must have known since you were in the Great Plains… There was a huge explosion over there…”

“That explosion.”

Ian smiled.

“I did it, so you don’t have to worry about it.”

Frinda was horrified at his words.

Frinda took him to the gate guard office and personally poured tea for Ian.

Then, he gently offered the cookies that the knight had brought.

“Please, have some.”

“Thank you.”

“Myaah~.”

Mya Ne cried at the sight of the cookie.

Frinda watched Ian pick up a cookie and feed it to Mya Ne, then asked cautiously.

“I am a mage affiliated with the Magic Tower, so I have heard a lot about Count Ian.”

“I see.”

“Yes. Um. But Count, what you said earlier, is it true? That explosion……”

“Yes. I did it. Would you like me to show you here?”

*If someone else said this, I would laugh and tell them to try it.*

But Ian was the one who obtained the legacy of the Magic Kingdom.

And he was also famous as a researcher, attracting attention from the Magic Tower.

He also heard that he had recently obtained an incredible artifact.

So his words could not be taken lightly with a laugh.

“Ha, haha. Is there any need for that? But why did you sneak in?”

“I didn’t sneak in.”

“Isn’t the fact that Count Ian is here proof of sneaking in?”

According to Imperial law, sneaking in is a serious crime.

But since the other party was a nobleman from another country and someone watched by various organizations on the continent, he could provide some protection.

And in the process, he could form a relationship with Ian and ask him for various things as an excellent researcher.

As he quickly calculated and asked, Ian held up his bracelet.

“If you heard the news from the Magic Tower, you must have heard about me building a fortress, right?”

“Yes? Ah. Are you talking about the teleportation device? But I heard that it can only teleport to the Academy now……”

“Mine is a little different.”

Ian lightly manipulated the bracelet.

Then, his sitting body disappeared and appeared on the other side.

“Huk!! I, incredible……. Then did you use that to go to the Southern Great Plains?”

“Yes.”

“……To think you would make such a dangerous thing……”

If you can move without restrictions like that, it will be a huge problem.

Because the protection plan for important figures will have to be rewritten from scratch.

The problems and confusion that will arise in the process will be enormous.

“Of course, this only works for me right now. Coordinate calculation is not easy.”

“I, I see. That’s a relief.”

Ian returned to his seat and sipped his tea.

A moment of silence follows.

“But why did you go to the South……”

Since there was no need to hide it, Ian explained what had happened so far.

Frinda listened to the whole story with a surprised expression and nodded.

“Ah. I see……. Yes. I understand.”

Anyway, according to Ian’s words, he did not sneak in.

Then, as the captain of the gate guard, he could be as kind as possible to Ian.

“I can help you, Count. From passage permits to selecting escorts. I will help you before you go to the capital and while you stay there.”

“I came because of the Academy exchange, so there is no need for Viscount Frinda to worry about it.”

“Ah…… Yes.”

“Then, now that your doubts have been resolved, will you open the way?”

“Of course. But do you really not need an escort?”

“Since the Imperial Academy cadets have to return to the Academy anyway, and I can go with them, you don’t have to worry.”

Frinda was quite disappointed at Ian’s refusal and went out with him.

Swan was pacing back and forth in front of the building, not knowing what to do.

She was worried about what would happen if he caused a commotion.

In that moment, when the two came out, she rushed over in a fluster.

“Count Ian!”

“Why are you standing there?”

“Yes? No, that’s.”

“Swan, this is perfect. You guys have to return to the Academy, right?”

“Yes.”

“Count Ian is also going to the Academy, so you guys escort him. I’ll pay for the escort.”

With that, he took out a few slips from his pocket.

As Swan received them, Frinda politely bowed to Ian.

“Then, Count, I hope you have a pleasant time in the Empire.”

“Thank you for your kindness.”

“Haha. It’s nothing. And there is one thing I would like to tell you: when you go to the capital, be careful of the Iron Blood Duke faction.”

“The Iron Blood Duke……”

He is the one who sponsors Princess Kirishnan.

Frinda nodded and said cautiously.

“After His Majesty the Emperor relinquished his duties, the Iron Blood Duke became the center of power. Since then, the capital has been a bit unstable.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. And they probably know that Count Ian is coming because of the Academy exchange. They may have already gathered troops in preparation for your arrival.”

“Would they bother me on purpose? Well, it doesn’t matter if they do. It’s my rule not to avoid fights that come my way. Anyway, thank you for the advice.”

“You’re welcome. Then please be careful.”

As he politely greeted, Ian moved to the gate with Swan and the other cadets.

The place where they came out after riding through the gate was in front of the capital.

Perhaps because it was near the capital, inspections were being carried out right from the gate.

“We won’t have any big problems.”

There were no problems at the gate, which was the biggest concern.

This time, they even had a passage permit and a permission slip.

That’s why Swan was very relieved.

“Please submit your passage permit and identification card.”

The cadets handed over their identification cards.

As the knights checked them and let them pass, Ian stepped forward last.

“Hmm…… Ian…… Ian Brandon?!”