Rise of the Weakest Summoner

Back on the street level, Asterios wandered closer to the runic pathway to once more take a look at it from up close. He and the girls had seen it multiple times during its construction but it still was incredibly impressive when finished, and especially when finally turned on. The crimson glow and quiet hum the draconic sigils emanated gave off a feeling of power and protection.

He approached the sizable strip of black rock and admired it briefly. The mineral was supposedly one of the best spiritual conductors known to demons but only he and his trusted allies knew that detail. It wasn’t exactly a secret, just an unnecessary characteristic to mention publicly. The material would look like a simple, extremely dark stone to any bystanders.

The elves had chimed in with their original recipe for the marking fluid that filled the carved niches making up the symbols. That element was an actual secret, but after properly drying up, no one would ever be able to examine its contents as the liquid changed the structure of used components.

Together, the two had created an impressive belt of protection around the core of Glimmervale while also looking great and ominous. As Silvia had taught Asterios, the best way to prevent anyone from trying anything unsavory was to make them hesitant about their chances with as flashy and scary defenses as possible. That was why they had chosen these specific colors and the draconic script.

As he stood atop one of the pulsing tiles, Asterios felt the barrier lying in wait. With a simple thought and flick of his finger, it would activate, and most likely push him away from the surface of the black stone, above which a thick magical wall would form, shaping itself into a high dome above the protected area.

They had of course tested its capabilities on a scaled-down version and found the results more than satisfactory. Attempting to check the real thing could end in at least some chaos. The barrier was flashy and ominous when actively working against possible threats, just as Silvia had requested. To give a detail or two, the spot that would end up being hit by a spell was supposed to glimmer with the pattern of scarlet scales.

Thinking about how glad he was about his companions coming up with this design, Asterios started walking away. Thanks to this barrier being in place, even if something unpredictable happened while the solid wall was still being patched up, there would be scarcely any danger or damage. Only the currently uninhabited plots of prepared foundations lay between the shield and the new location of the defensive wall. 

Not leaving Glimmervale open to assault had been one of the major requirements for doing anything else than putting up another solid wall without touching the first one.

As Asterios made his way through the spacious academic section—which had already made Glimmervale grow almost twice in size with just the area it covered outwards the core of the town—and returned to the Head, meaning the Old Town, he admired everything calmly.

He had to admit, to some extent, it was a smart idea to separate these layers. This way, no matter what they added outside the borders of the past Glimmervale, it wouldn’t seem too incompatible with the current style and general feel of the architecture. The Head would be the original design and would never be altered, save for critical and necessary situations. Anything new would be properly separated into the Body and the Tail, and even if both of them ended up with completely conflicting designs, there would still be a certain charm to it.

“It’s such a huge disappointment.” A mature woman sighed heavily somewhere to his side and brought Asterios out of his internal musings. “I had no idea the prices in the Head would rise this fast. We shouldn’t have waited this long with our decision. Now, we won’t be able to stay here, and I’ve already fallen for this beautiful place.”

“It’s alright, dear,” the man, most likely her husband, replied comfortingly. “No one could have predicted so many important events taking place one after another. We can still pick something in the newly appointed Tail first. You saw how quickly these artisans work. It will take just a moment for the first homes to show up.”

“Tail? But it doesn’t sound as magnificent as Dragon’s Head…” The wife let out a quiet, ladylike groan.

Her partner chuckled softly. “Maybe, but remember the words of the Lord’s advisors. The current Tail won’t stay the Tail for long, becoming the Body with the next expansion.”

“So?” She hummed noncommittally.

“We can make use of that opportunity,” he said confidently. “Let’s get a place, start a business, begin building trust and clientele, then the area changes names, people who didn’t want to settle down in the Tail flock to the new Body, prices go up, they pay more for everything, and we earn ourselves quite a small fortune.”

“Maybe…” The lady didn’t sound convinced.

“Then, we can save enough money to buy a residence in the Dragon’s Head with the perfect view of the majestic Dracodon you love to gaze upon so much,” the man continued.

His wife gasped suddenly and hugged his arm tighter. “Oh, honey, you think about me so much! That would be delightful! Do you think we would be able to stay here until the first vacant buildings are put up for auction?”

The middle-aged pair wandered out of Ast’s sight and he decided against following them with his sharp hearing that he could further enhance with the draconic energies. With a faint smile, he was on his way, happy to know how nicely the community seemed to be growing. Hopefully, he and the girls would be able to keep it the same way no matter how far it expanded.

However, that might be difficult with any potential other locations for new towns and cities, and his ladies had already started thinking about growing his kingdom.

For now, Asterios wanted to focus on Glimmervale and turn it into a real jewel and safe haven.

Reaching the Town Hall, he slipped into the building and walked up to the correct floor. Entering the circular meeting chamber, he noticed copious amounts of paperwork on the round table. He didn’t see any of the Committee members, but he could feel the presence of his beloved mates in one of the offices, finding Tina and Silvia behind a sizable desk, going through some documents.

They noticed him instantly and the azure-haired noble lady smiled at him joyfully. “Welcome, Ast. How did the terraformation go? We could feel and even see part of it from here.”

“You really should have come to watch it. Everything is alright at first glance. The runic paths seem fine too.” Approaching the girls, Asterios greeted them with a tender peck on the cheek. “What are you hunched over right now?”

“A little bit of international politics,” the flaming princess answered. “We are revising the code of conduct for foreign persons of high standing so that the information is easily available for any interested individuals. It’s always important to provide the means of learning about proper procedures and respects at the place of arrival or it could scare away potential guests. No one wants to accidentally offend the local ruler and get beheaded on the spot.”

“Plus, we are preparing a version for you too,” Tina added with a wink. “As the Dragon Valley’s lord, you should start acting a certain way in certain situations, including official visits to allied and neutral nations. The more people recognize you, the less you will be able to just show up and simply improvise. Your conduct is as important as that of others.”

He stroked his chin. “I assume that will be useful for our trip to the dwarves. I’m certainly not too familiar with their laws and customs past the common, basic knowledge.”

“Definitely.” Silvia nodded, a delicate smile blooming on her royal face as he understood them quickly. “That was part of the reason. And, you have nothing to worry about. We will learn all the details together when the time comes. Until then, your people will gather the necessary information and compile it for you. Remember that being a ruler doesn’t mean that you have to do everything on your own. Rely on your subordinates and you will achieve so much more.”

“I plan to.” A small chuckle escaped Ast’s lips. “Would you like some help?”

They both delicately shook their heads before the scarlet-haired lady responded. “Thank you, but it would be too inefficient to make a proper introduction to this as of now. We can handle it. And please, don’t think that it’s not fun for us. It honestly is a little exciting, forming your own nation almost from the ground up. For my father’s kingdom, we could mostly alter things. This does make me feel like an actual princess. Or a queen.”

“But, if you want to do something for us, take a closer look at this.” Tina handed him a folder that was resting near the edge of their desk, clearly waiting to be picked up.

“What is it?” Asterios asked curiously as he opened the packet.

“A little project of ours,” she answered. “It’s for the noble ranks in our nation.”

“We could technically continue doing as we have been so far, meaning give the arriving nobles the same status as in their country of origin, but while it’s a solution, it’s not a great long-term solution, so we came up with a better one,” Silvia continued after her. “Leaving things as is, some nobles might be unhappy about the higher ranks just showing up with more potential privileges no matter how late they settled down. It’s fine for the founding families like Hestizos, Nobelles, or Richtensteins, but the further it expands, the more tension it could cause. We needed a somewhat fresh start with a decent rank-up system based on merit and other aspects. What you are holding is our suggestion.”

He read through the initial bits and looked up from the text with a raised brow. “Does everything have to be themed here?”

Tina giggled shyly as a faint blush tinged her cheeks. “You don’t like it?”

“I didn’t say that.” Asterios brushed through her pretty hair. “I can simply notice some influence in these names. Did you perhaps consult Miria?”

The ladies chuckled adorably and he snickered too.

“I promise it does start making sense after you read the whole thing,” the flushed Summoner said. “Our main goal wasn’t just to recreate the same hierarchy with different names but achieve something akin to harmony, where all nobles will be somewhat equal amongst the ranks but tiered in their own category.”

“Oh?” He was getting more intrigued the further he listened and read in.

“We thought of two paths with two ranks each. All of it is unique, save for the contents of a rank, which currently is assumed to take three grades,” Silvia picked up after her. “The Drake and the Wyvern are in the first camp while the Wyrm and the Amphiptere are in the second camp. The grades can be Lesser, Full, and Greater, with the middle one being just the name. Though, we might cut it down to just the two. Each rank is given for specific contributions in certain fields, like military, trade, community, and agriculture. Sorted into the two paths in pairs in the order I listed them. Every one of them is worth taking pride in while minimizing conflict of status. Nobles may still compete in their own fields to achieve better titles, ending up a Greater Drake for example.”

“It does sound quite interesting. You basically want to eliminate the fighting between the four ranks and equalize them while letting their members still have a way to work up to something amongst the others with the same range of options, perhaps rewarding creativity and productivity,” Asterios commented. “It could work? But I bet people will still argue which one is the best even if each relates to a different field.”

Tina snorted adorably. “Idiots will be idiots no matter where, when, or what you do. If someone wants to see a hierarchy in something, they will make themselves see it. It will be easier to spot the bad apples.”

“Well, I’m curious to see where this could lead us, so if you are wondering about my opinion, I would like to familiarize myself with it more because I’m very much for it.” He waved the folder at them with a proud smile.

The girls hit a high-five and smiled at each other too.

“Will those with the old ranks be okay with the change, though?” Asterios mused. “I can’t see us leaving both systems in just for the current families.”

“Everyone has been forewarned that our nobility system is currently under development and might change drastically. We have the signed attestations of being informed and willing to continue settling down, additionally stamped with the family seals for legitimacy,” the princess explained. “Quite a few households turned around hearing that but it allowed us to further screen through the newcomers. The others might return after we put our new system into its proper place. Then, just like the current residents, they will mostly receive the Lesser grade for their respective rank. Our three families will start as Greater, even if they didn’t have to since many might consider them to be royals right by your side, so that people see that we don’t play favorites too much and to avoid nepotism wherever possible.”

“I’m really lucky to be surrounded by such smart women.” He smiled at them appreciatively.

Both of them stood up and pulled him into a group hug. They stayed in each other’s embrace for a little while, simply basking in the feelings connecting them deeply. All three of them sensed the love, respect, pride, and awe they held for each other, with Asterios receiving a concentrated dose of those since they were coming from so many sources, namely seven.

“Let’s save that for the day everything works without a hitch,” Tina said with a smirk after they parted.

“No plan or regulation survives the first contact with the reality of the situation,” Silvia wisely stated.

“Let’s do whatever we can to achieve the perfect iteration, then.” Asterios laughed openly.

They spent a moment longer together, simply enjoying the company and taking a short break to rest their minds. Not wanting to interrupt the ladies for too long, Asterios soon bid his farewell to them and headed out. They had plenty of time to chat and laze about in the evenings or even the nights in their own home.

Speaking of their home, he decided to jump to the castle and grab something to snack on before visiting the next person on his list. Traveling through the shadows, Asterios let the servants fix him a sandwich roll since he didn’t want them to start up a massive feast. He knew that going in on his own and making something himself would make them unhappy and possibly even hesitant about their competency so he was giving the staff as many chances to do things for him as he could.

Walking through the castle grounds, he wandered over to the training area, led by the sounds of clashing metal and other noises connected to fighting. As expected, someone was practicing hard, and that someone was Irelia, alongside another woman Asterios recognized from their garrison. The others might have possibly already wrapped up their session, with the duo staying behind for a few more rounds.

Dining on the handout meal he had received, Asterios observed them in silence for about ten minutes. At that point, the mock spar ended and the ladies exchanged respects, jumping right into providing feedback to each other. When the older girl was about to leave, her gaze took a note of him and she tensed a bit, her body taking a bit more respectful gait. With a proper salute, she excused herself while he thanked her for her service.

Irelia wasn’t far behind and reached him soon after, still gradually calming down her breathing. “My Lord.”

He chuckled quietly at her taking a knee. “There’s no one else here. You can relax.”

“Thank you, Ast.” She smiled timidly. “What are you doing here?”

“Having something to eat.” Asterios shrugged. “How is your training?”

“I’m learning many tricks my mentors haven’t mentioned before. It seems that actual soldiers with battle experience are very knowledgeable in effective ways not only to defeat your opponent but also to survive,” Irelia replied.

“Which is basically what you are aiming for.” He nodded to himself.

“Yes. My only goal is to protect you and others the best I can,” she agreed. “I don’t want to be an ornamental parade Knight with only fancy techniques. Though, they do look breathtaking.”

“And you will too while also being a complete badass on the real battlefield.” Asterios patted the young lady on the head.

They didn’t talk much after. He let her unequip and do maintenance on her training gear without any interruptions. It was an impressive sight and proof of how seriously Irelia took her life path. She wasn’t cutting corners, knowing that what she had chosen wasn’t easy.

Near the end, as Asterios was helping her pack everything up, she glanced at him with a pondering expression. “Can I ask something?”

“Always.” He smiled.

“Why haven't you made me your servant? Or slave?” She watched him curiously.

Naturally, as one of the few people aware of Ast’s true self, Irelia also knew some more specific details about his qualities. Since she was a refined young lady of character, always reliable and trustworthy, he had a chat or two with Irelia about Dragons, including the parts about their contracts and bonds. So, the question didn’t surprise him that much.

“Because you are young,” he answered calmly.

A faint grimace showed on her face before getting quickly hidden, not fast enough for him to miss it.

“It’s not what you are thinking.” Asterios chuckled and shook his head. “It’s not about you not being mature or fully an adult or other silly things like that. You simply have a lot of time for many opportunities to stumble upon in your youth. I wouldn’t want to tie you down this early. There’s no rush anywhere.”

She considered his words briefly before forming an answer. “I’m already your sworn Knight. I don’t plan on breaking my oath. I will be protecting your family until the end of my days.”

The conviction in her tone was very apparent. Asterios believed her. She hadn’t mentioned protecting her own family, but she didn’t have to. He knew how much she valued them and that they were what pushed the young girl ahead in life.

“If you are that certain, I’ll consider it.” He let out a light sigh. “But if you want to go through the ceremony now, you will need to convince your parents to agree to you entering a magical contract which is much more serious than a verbal oath. I will be able to influence you directly through my will. I understand that it’s your own decision on what to do, but I would like your guardians to understand the ramifications instead of learning about them later and thinking that I was taking advantage of your good heart.”

“That’s alright. If I can convince my parents, I would like to partake in the ritual. If I fail, I will wait until I’m of age and ask for the privilege then. I know how much they care for me and I don’t want to betray the trust they put in me by doing it behind their backs,” Irelia said resolutely.

“Great. You are an admirable daughter.” Asterios patted her some more. “Are you done here?”

“I am.” She nodded with a cute smile.

“Come on, then. I’ll accompany you home so that you can ask me any questions about the servant bond you might still have. It’s on the way to my next destination anyway.”