The days passed slowly, and the New Year’s celebration was far calmer than expected. All of the family’s friends spent it in their own homes, and we didn’t do anything out of the ordinary either. We drank for a few hours, ate a delicious meal, spent time together, and I became the target of jokes from the four girls.

  I haven’t been able to train my mana during these days; I decided to only use it when absolutely necessary so I can recover faster.

  I have trained my Imra every single day without fail, and it has grown considerably stronger after my Banner’s upgrade. My body has also undergone a noticeable change—mana and Imra circulate more freely, and their flow is faster. On the first day, I tested some of the differences; now I can endure a greater amount of mana.

  Where I’ve noticed the biggest change is in my Personal World ability. My Banner now actively merges with the skill directly; I no longer need to do it manually. It feels as if it had always functioned this way.

  The mana around me inside my sphere is easier to dominate; I can feel it throughout the environment. I can’t control it completely—there is still a clear limit to my ability—but after many tests, I’ve reached a conclusion: this is like a rudimentary Jurisdiction.

  I can’t strip anyone inside my domain of mana with a mere thought, I can’t use ambient mana as part of my own body, nor can I control every event within my sphere—but I can force things if I focus hard enough.

  I can dominate someone in the Sapphire or Ruby rank if their Imra is weaker than mine using my prison ability, and it’s now much simpler and faster; I can force the ambient mana around me using my own mana and Imra, though in a very crude and clumsy way; and I can at least impose a bit of my will on certain things within my ability.

  It’s a very poorly made and clumsy Jurisdiction—it can’t even compare to ten percent of a real one. I won’t complain, though. I’m very happy with all the benefits from my Banner’s new rank; I never expected to gain so much. According to my grandmother, it’s all due to several factors: my sensory ability, a special Banner, gravity magic, strong Imra, and good mana control.

  The same applies to my other abilities—they’ve all benefited, but none as much as my Personal World.

  Training like a madman has paid off. Now I truly feel like I deserve a rest. Just as I’m thinking about relaxing, I feel someone running toward our house.

  The person speeds up when they see me step outside. It’s a woman dressed as a guard from my territory.

  “Young Lord Maki, I’m glad I found you.” I hand the poor woman a bottle of water; she’s having trouble speaking. “Your grandmother is looking for you—it’s urgent.” I frown when I hear that.

  What could be so urgent? Before I can ask, the guard continues. “She said: The test results are already in—come with Brendu.” Now I understand the urgency.

  “Thank you, I’ll go right away.” The guard says goodbye, turns around, and runs off to who knows where. Does everyone in this territory live in a hurry? People are always running back and forth.

  “Brendu, we have to go.” I see the princess poke her head out of the kitchen; three more heads turn to look at me a moment later. Today, the four of them decided to make desserts together. “Tiani has come or sent a message—my grandmother is waiting for us.” In less than five seconds, she’s already changed clothes and appears at my side. That was fast.

  “Aren’t we going?” Marga asks. The three of them puff out their cheeks.

  “Only the two of us were called, sorry. We’ll be back as quickly as we can,” I answer.

  The three girls don’t get angry—they just complain for a second and wish us luck. I can see it on their faces: they want to come, but they also understand the situation. I’m the one most involved, and Tiani is very close to Brendu. I’ll tell them everything when we get back.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Brendu takes my hand before we head to my grandmother’s office. “It’s been a long time since we walked hand in hand alone.” She looks very happy.

  “We need to hurry, but we can take our time on the way back.” My answer makes her sigh, but she agrees.

  I wrap her body in gravity magic and we fly together toward the office. I can’t go as fast as I’d like—I can’t strain my cube—but it’s still the fastest way.

  “Did you call for the most handsome and intelligent man this territory has ever produced?” My attempt to lighten the mood is met with dozens of balls of ice and light mana—my mother and grandmother are responsible. I ignore the attacks; no physical damage, only emotional.

  “This is the report sent by Tiani.” My grandmother takes out an envelope containing several pages and begins reading them one by one.

  We are informed of several matters. The attack on our territory was merely a distraction; they sent that crazy woman along with all those monsters to weaken the defenses of Marquis Timal’s fortress.

  Everything was planned by the Withered Tree group—they wanted as few people as possible stationed at the fortress while causing as much damage as possible to our territory.

  The mental magic woman was not part of the original plan; she was only supposed to orchestrate the attack with simple, clear ideas. She came here out of curiosity—her presence was never intended. She was captured due to nothing more than her own whim.

  That curiosity will cost her life; she has already been sentenced to torture and death.

  Our territory wasn’t the only one attacked—several locations were besieged by monsters almost simultaneously. None were destroyed, but all barely held on. Most territories ended up deeply indebted after promising large sums of money to adventurer groups.

  This crime was the last committed by that woman; she had nearly complete control over all the monsters.

  Two terrorist hideouts were found and immediately destroyed. None of those rats were captured alive—they all committed suicide the moment things turned against them.

  My family’s territory wasn’t attacked because of me or out of hatred from the Withered Tree group. We were chosen at random and were extremely unlucky to receive that deranged woman. The marquisate wasn’t the only target; some counties and other territories suffered the same misfortune.

  At the very end of the long, detailed report, there is a letter addressed directly to our family, from the Qolud royal family.

  “Maki is an extraordinary being and has proven his love for our daughter. She is in love and delighted to marry your son. My family and I are very happy about the union of our families.” Those were the final words my mother read before the usual formal closing.

  “I get a headache just thinking about how we’ll host the royal family here—at least we have time until they decide on a date.” My grandmother rubs her temple gently.

  “At least that won’t be anytime soon. Both of you already decided to take it slow—perhaps we’ll be a Viscount family by then. Maki is a tremendous driving force.” My father looks at the two of us.

  He’s right—we haven’t set a date, nor are we thinking about it anytime soon. The territory’s growth shows no signs of slowing down; if we expand enough, rising in rank again in a few years won’t be a dream.

  “Keep in mind we’ll be receiving four families…” My mother speaks while staring at the ceiling. That wasn’t the only letter. Arisa’s and Marga’s parents also sent letters; Uncle Camux said it in person. Everyone has coordinated to marry at the same time and come together to celebrate here.

  I’m sure all the families have been communicating; they’ve practically agreed on the order of wives and many other terms. My family has been involved too—I know it. They’ve been hiding things from me, and I’ve noticed.

  They all used different expressions, but with the same meaning: they want a grand wedding in a peaceful place. I don’t know when that day will come, and I won’t worry about it—the Maki of the future can deal with it and figure out how not to go bald from stress.

  Technically, we were kicked out of the office so they could discuss other matters and make future plans. Brendu and I left happily; neither of us wants to waste time in boring meetings unless absolutely necessary.

  “The girls will be very happy,” Brendu says as we walk hand in hand. We decided to go slowly and enjoy the weather and our surroundings.

  “Yes. I’ll let you give them the big news. Though I don’t understand why they couldn’t come to today’s meeting.” They could have listened without any issue.

  “I probably shouldn’t have come either—I was only invited because the information came from my family,” Brendu replies. That makes sense; she was lucky.

  The news was well received—everyone was very happy. The night was beautiful, the desserts turned out delicious, and we played many board games. Nights like this always leave a mark on my mind, especially when we’re so close to the end of the holidays and returning to school.

  I never thought I’d miss being both a student and a teacher. I need to make the most of that time. At the same time, I don’t want these vacations to end—my days have never been as hectic and spontaneous as these past few weeks. What awaits me in the future tomorrow?