The capital of Cairo.
Where is the most luxurious place in Kairos? Foreigners would naturally mention the royal palace, but those who have experienced it firsthand had a different opinion.
"The mansion of Marquis Benedict is truly the finest attraction in Kairos."
Benedict.
He was a powerful figure in the central government, often referred to as a living authority.
He built a grand mansion symbolizing his power not far from the royal palace.
It was a place one could not avoid on the way to the palace.
There was even a saying that to enter the palace, one must first catch the eye of Marquis Benedict, for he was at the heart of power.
To him, news arrived from the outskirts.
"Is that true?" He set down the pen he had been signing with.
The middle-aged man, with his white hair stylishly swept back, looked at his family's strategist as if urging him to speak.
"Yes, from what I've gathered, it seems to be true. Willas from the Valhalla Temple personally went down to Dimitri to confirm the aura of a 3-star warrior, and after gathering testimonies from those present at the great warrior's battle, it has been confirmed that Roman Dimitri defeated Homeros. However, there are opinions that Homeros, having let his guard down, was unable to unleash his 4-star aura and thus was defeated."
"How old is Roman Dimitri this year?"
"Twenty-five."
"At just twenty-five, he has reached the level of a 3-star warrior. A remarkable talent has emerged from the outskirts."
Achieving 3-star status in one's twenties was an extraordinary feat.
Historically, those who showed such growth always broke through the barrier of 5-stars and gained fame across the continent.
It was only natural for Marquis Benedict to be intrigued.
Especially since the royal knight of the royal family firmly held the title of the best sword in Cairo, his desire for a capable warrior was immense.
It did not matter who Roman Dimitri was.
If he truly possessed the talent as rumored, it was necessary to recruit him by any means.
"What about the movements of other factions?"
"Everyone is moving swiftly. In particular, the actions of the two empires are the most aggressive."
"Damn those imperial bastards. A talent has appeared in Cairo, and they shamelessly try to contact him before us."
Currently, the Kingdom of Cairo was divided into four factions.
There was the royal faction that followed the king, the noble faction centered around Marquis Benedict, the pro-Chronos Empire faction, and the pro-Valhalla Empire faction, which were composed of those born in Cairo but aligned with foreign powers.
It was the reality of a small nation.
Despite the presence of factions openly supporting empires, the Kingdom of Cairo had no special means to impose sanctions.
Marquis Benedict spoke.
"Roman Dimitri is a warrior who can reach the 5-star level in the future. To prevent him from being snatched away by other factions, send someone quickly to recruit Roman Dimitri. I will support anything needed in that process. Especially from the royal family. We must not allow them to take Roman Dimitri from us."
"Understood."
The strategist bowed his head.
The war had already begun.
A talent had appeared in the outskirts.
The powerful figures of the Kingdom of Cairo were focusing their attention on Dimitri.
At that time, Dimitri was in a festive mood every day.
"Roman Dimitri has become a ranker of the Kingdom of Cairo!" Even though he was still an unofficial ranker, news of the first ranker born in the northeastern region brought people from all over to congratulate Dimitri.
Baron Romero willingly opened his purse.
He held a party filled with delicacies and welcomed guests, enjoying the festival with laughter that echoed from morning till night.
In such an atmosphere, there was one person who felt uncomfortable.
"Hoo."
It was Count Lawrence.
He let out a deep sigh without anyone noticing.
He did not want to attend the party, but for the sake of maintaining a friendly relationship with Dimitri, he had no choice but to visit him with a smiling face.
The result was the current situation.
It would have been nice if it ended with simply blessing Roman's achievements, but every time he turned around, other nobles scratched at his wounds.
"Hahaha, this is a great event for the northeastern region. Finally, we have produced a ranker, haven't we?"
"…But Count Lawrence, are you alright? If Flora's marriage had proceeded as planned, you would have had the outstanding talent of Roman Dimitri as your son-in-law, wouldn't you? Since we're on the subject, if I were in your position, I would be too sick to attend Dimitri's party."
Despite the cautious tone, it was a blatant mockery of Count Lawrence.
At that moment, all eyes were on him, and Count Lawrence forced a nonchalant expression.
"Why would I be sick? Although the marriage fell through due to lack of fate, I am genuinely happy to see the Dimitri family thriving. A family that can exert influence over the central government should be born in the northeastern region, shouldn't it? I only hope that Dimitri continues to prosper with this momentum."
"Is that so?"
"Indeed, Count Lawrence is a magnanimous person, hahaha."
Everyone laughed and chatted.
On the surface, it seemed like a warm atmosphere.
However, the truth was different.
Count Lawrence was in great pain, as the words of those around him suggested. 'Roman Dimitri could have been my son-in-law.' In just a few months, the status from the time of the broken engagement to now was like night and day.
Back then, Roman Dimitri was regarded as a fool from the Dimitri family, someone who deserved to be rejected, but now his value had skyrocketed to the point where he was untouchable.
He was the heir of the Dimitri family.
The youngest ranker in the Kingdom of Cairo.
Hearing the titles that adorned Roman's name made Count Lawrence's already bleak reality feel even more bitter.
At first, he thought time would heal the wounds.
However, with each shocking step Roman took to elevate his worth, Count Lawrence could not hide his despair.
He gulped down wine like water.
He wanted to forget his regrets about Roman, even if just for a moment.
'Let's think that I made the right choice for Flora.' He had no intention of calling Flora back now.
Count Lawrence respected Flora's choice and hoped that his daughter, who had gone to the capital, would genuinely achieve her dreams.
However, the pain in his heart was unavoidable.
Thus, Count Lawrence suffered from stomach pains throughout the party and, as soon as he returned home, made a magical communication to somewhere.
"Silviani?" Yes.
Count Lawrence had not completely given up his lingering feelings for Roman.
In the Kingdom of Cairo.
The western front.
Due to a fierce battle, numerous corpses and blood were scattered around the fortifications built by Cairo.
"Damn those imperial bastards."
"I'll chew on the flesh of those Chronos bastards someday."
As they cleaned up the battlefield, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Cairo vented their anger.
The Kingdom of Cairo shared borders with the Chronos Empire to the west and the Hector Kingdom to the south.
While there were not many direct confrontations with the Hector Kingdom, the Chronos Empire had been demanding that Cairo become a vassal state for several years and had already crossed the border to attack.
The Chronos Empire.
A major power on the continent alongside Valhalla, the nation that produced Emperor Alexander.
If they truly wanted to destroy Cairo, they would have already walked the path of destruction, but due to the interests between nations, it had not come to an end.
The Chronos forces that crossed the border from time to time.
At the front lines, the soldiers of Cairo were dying, while within, traitors siding with Chronos urged surrender.
It was the miserable reality of a small nation, and on top of that, due to foreign powers like Valhalla that sought to take Cairo, there had never been a peaceful day.
The soldiers busily moved, carrying corpses.
The situation where comrades died simply because the nation was weak was something one could never grow accustomed to, no matter how much time passed.
In the vast plains, they set fire to the piled-up corpses.
In this front line where they could not even hold a proper funeral, this was the only way to show respect for the deceased.
"Rodwell, are you alright?" A man spoke to a comrade who was staring at the corpses.
They bore the insignia of officers on their chests, and the man named Rodwell fixed his gaze and replied, "I'm used to it now. It's not like this is my first or second experience."
"I didn't expect the reality at the front lines to be this bad. When I was sent to the training camp for practical training at the academy, I thought a rosy future awaited me. But this is the reality. Dozens of times a day, I contemplate giving up my diploma and returning home."
Rodwell chuckled.
He understood.
When they were promoted to S-class at the Cairo Royal Academy, he and his classmates all had the same thoughts.
However, the reality was the worst.
Under the pretext of gaining practical experience, they spent hellish times at the front line training camp, and finally, they earned the qualification to command and were deployed to the western front.
Just one year.
If they could gain practical experience there and return to the academy, they would earn glorious honors, but at this point, where they had not even filled half of that time, their mental state was gradually crumbling.
A comrade spoke.
"Have you heard the news? Your brother. Roman Dimitri has become a ranker."
At that moment, Rodwell slightly furrowed his brow.
He had heard the rumors about Roman.
The title of the youngest ranker was so significant that it reached even the front lines, and as a result, he was bombarded with questions about Roman from his superiors.
What kind of person was Roman? What did he like? Interest in a brother he had never cared about before exploded.
'Roman.' The brother in his memories.
Had he truly reached the level of a 3-star warrior? No. That couldn't be.
No matter how much fortune he had gained, the Roman Dimitri he remembered was irredeemable trash.
"That's just nonsense. I don't know what kind of tricks the family played, but Roman couldn't even protect himself, let alone become a ranker. He's still an unofficial ranker, right? The truth will surely come out soon."
He turned away, empty.
A brother was not important.
Now was the time to focus on the reality given to him and climb higher.
The subject of the rumors, Roman, was diligently training with an expressionless face, unlike the lively atmosphere around him.
"Hoo."
He took a breath.
His body was drenched in sweat from the training that had started in the morning, and his heightened senses encompassed everything around him.
Training using the Flame Transformation Technique after his rebirth.
Although it would still take a lot of time to reach the level of his past life, one thing was certain: he was steadily growing.
"What’s going on?" With his keen senses, he detected the presence of someone.
Hans, accustomed to such things, spoke with a face that showed little surprise.
"A guest has arrived from outside."
"A guest?"
"Yes. Shall I guide them?" There were no scheduled guests.
Roman decided to postpone the meeting and walked to the reception room after finishing his shower.
"Nice to meet you. I am Bentner."
"I am Roman Dimitri."
A man with a bright smile extended his hand for a handshake.
It was a face Roman had never seen before.
After signaling for everyone in the reception room to leave, Bentner finally revealed his true identity.
"To get straight to the point, I serve His Majesty the King of Cairo. I have come to recruit you, Roman Dimitri, to become a royal knight of the Cairo royal family."
Among the four factions of Cairo, Bentner was from the royal faction.
To secure the rising talent from the outskirts, people had begun to move in earnest.