Chapter 142: Chapter 136: Cut me if you can

“If you want to be a sharp thinker be around sharp people.”

John C. Maxell

Cleo arrived on our island later that day in the company of Grandpa Smit. He seemed amazed at our grand welcoming hall and I realised that other than our family and employees, no one from the town had actually ever visited, especially when it was decked out to impress.

He did not arrive alone. One other acolyte from the Archbishop’s retinue accompanied him.

Aware that he was coming we had set up to be ostentatious as possible and had the immediate family arrayed at the end of the hall to welcome him. While Baldric announced his entrance. Honestly, it was still a little bit of a game for him to do so. Lady Acacia had given everybody the appropriate lessons in etiquette and the formal statements to be made but without the years of history making them a tradition, they all seemed very arbitrary and almost whimsical in nature. One day they would be our traditions but it all still felt a little like a game for everyone involved. Well, maybe it did not feel like a game for the new arrivals. But perhaps that was half the of the point. To put them slightly on edge.

“Announcing Acolyte Cleo and Theo to visit with Lord and Lady Silversea accompanied by Seneschal Silvertongue.” He beamed as his voice boomed across the empty hall. When we did this for Archbishop Grigori we would have our whole clan in attendance but for now, this was not a bad idea to have a practice run on just the two poor acolytes.

Acolyte Cleo stumbled not expecting such a large shout or the fact that he was standing right next to where it originated. I could hear well enough across the hall but those with more mundane levels of hearing would have needed the loud introduction to cross the long hall or quieten the Silversea court if we had them in full attendance.

“You may approach,” Aleera spoke into the silence that filled the hall once the echoes of Baldric’s voice had ended.

We were no longer wearing our day-to-day townspeople-styled clothing but our more fancy robes of state a symbol of our noble status alongside our pearl necklaces. He was here to see our parents more than he was to see us but as we outranked them it was our prerogative to respond or rather to command their entrance.

Cleo hesitatingly stepped forward, unused to such pomp and circumstance which was far removed from the face we had shown him only a few hours ago when we were hustling him for all that he had on him. He finally crossed the floor to stand before us. Our raised dais and chairs left him below us even though we were sat down. I wondered what he made of our performance. Was he surprised or shocked? Or merely entertained at children his juniors were playing such a role. Wester Ponente had never had nobles and he had grown up on Wester Ponente so therefore never experienced them before.

Once he arrived in front of us he unrolled a finely embossed scroll to read from, “The Archbishop Grigori as part of his Compass Circumnavigation for Ordinal or Cardinal selection, presents his congratulations to the scions of the new noble house of Silversea. He formally requests an audience with the family to congratulate you in person and discuss both the path of pilgrims and other possible joint ventures between the Church of the Lodestar and the Silversea House.” Before he then handed it to Grandpa Smit Silvertongue who then handed it on to us.

Grandpa seemed inordinately proud of the first piece of official correspondence to be received from the church and from and from an Archbishop no less. While for me, this was just another step forward along the path my new life had taken. For him, it was the culmination of decades of preparation and it showed in his smile as he handed it over. We were no longer only acknowledged by the crown but by the church as well. Whoever would it be next?

“It would be our pleasure,” Aleera answered despite the less-than-pleased look on our mother’s face. “Tomorrow at noon for lunch?” she suggested. We would have to get the great hall table out but it would be worth it to make an awe-inspiring first impression on the Archbishop.

“Tomorrow at noon,” Cleo confirmed, "It would be our pleasure," and turned walking swiftly back across the hall with Theo.

As soon as he had exited the hall with Grandpa Smit, or Seneschal Silvertongue as he enjoyed being called now, we stripped out of our robes to return to our lessons. Now that I had the Tier 4 Block Status skill it was back to the grindstone in regards of our other skills. Lady Acaia felt that it was important to keep trying for the other status skills but there was now no longer any reason not to continue with our academic, physical and etiquette lessons particularly in light of who would be visiting tomorrow.

. . .

That afternoon though I continued to practice my new skill Multiple Minds as well. While I was working through my physical forms under my Grandfather’s glaring eye, Callen was listening to the lessons Lady Acacia was teaching Aleera. Normally when this happened Grandfather would catch my lapse in concentration and punish me for it. Now though I could focus on both things at the same time.

“Supply and demand. We will be there to watch and support the meeting between you two and the Archbishop tomorrow stepping in if necessary but the fact that his missive was worded as possible joint ventures implies that he has something to offer us on top of what we already know, that he wishes to request the purchase of land or at least the permission to build. The question you need to ask yourself is what?”

“What might an Archbishop need or want from the Silversea House?” Aleera asked the rhetorical question.

“Precisely,” Lady Acacia answered.

“Other than the land, our pearls.” Aleera jumped to our most profitable product.

“Possibly but it should not be too difficult to realise that they are the product that has funded the Silversea expansion. He may ask for some but the church has deeper pockets than the Prince spread out as it is across the entire continent.” Lady Acacia agreed but suggested Aleera continue to think deeper. "He may be interested in buying directly from the source but they are not as important to the church as they are to the crown.

“Salt?” Aleera questioned as if unsure of her answer.

“Doubtful.” She shook her head.

“I doubt they would be interested in your production of salt. While it would weather the journey well and we would not be able to produce it in sufficient quantities for it to matter significantly to them and I doubt they have room on board for it either.” She thought it through.

“Look around you.” Lady Acacia led Aleera through the hoops she had already lined up.

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Snickering to myself I thought I had the answer. But I was punished for it once more by Grandfather as he rapped my knuckles with the flat of his blade slipping it past my guard with sheer speed of stats, “Focus, Kai he berated.”

I had been, but it was clear that he was not to be denied despite my two minds. “You’ve improved a lot but Foes Focus still tells me when you are not paying attention.” He chided. Now that was just cheating. I was paying full attention but apparently his stupid skill that had let him know when I was faking being asleep as an infant also told him when Callen was concentrating on something else.

“Let me use the left arm, Kai.” Callen whispered in my head and I did. Together we drove ourselves forward pushing him harder until as I blocked with my right blade Callen focused on the left and snuck in a little prick on his left hand.

It was not much but it was the first time we had ever managed to cut him before.

"Yes!" I shouted in delight. First blood ever!

Grandfather sucked his hand and rose his eyebrow in suspicion. “It looks like you are ready to face two blades then.” He said as he pulled a second blade from his belt. Merde! He had only ever duelled us with one despite our wielding two. “Cut me if you can.” he challenged grinning at my falling expression. There was something seriously wrong with the delight he took in training me.

“Idiot.” I mentally whispered to Callen who had caused this. The irony being that I was effectively calling myself an idiot was not lost on me. I think I had firmly established that even though I was progressing as if a genius I made more than enough stupid mistakes.

“What? We need to learn to fight together. Better now than we actually need to.” He mentally shrugged back indifferent to the pummeling we were probably about to receive.

“Yes, but what is going to happen when our skill runs out.” I found myself exasperated with myself. I could only keep the skill running for so long before the pain drove me to end it.

“Ready?” Grandfather interrupted my internal dialogue or was it a monologue? He could probably tell I was focusing on myself rather than on him.

He stepped forward stabbing down with his right blade, forcing Callen to block the strike to my neck with my left while I turned and stepped into his body to strike from below with my right. He blocked with his left forcing my arms apart leaving my body open to a hip check which sent me flying backwards and landing painfully on my backside.

My prediction of it being a mistake came true only too quickly.

“Well done with your arms but do not forget your feet. If you do, I will not hesitate to use mine next time. Strike and retreat, strike and retreat. You will not have the same reach as your opponents for a long time yet. In strength and speed you are quickly catching up but you are not there yet. Well done for aiming for the femoral artery." He said as he tapped where I had attempted to cut on his inside thigh. Being significantly shorter than everyone else meant striking for the chest or the head was still out of reach for me. He criticised and complimented the two sides to his method of teaching although the coin landed critique side up more often than not.

He helped me up from the floor. I knew that if you wanted to hone yourself to a fine edge it was best to go against sharp people but sometimes it was painful.

“Again?” he waited for my confirmation.

“Again,” I answered resigned.

“So much for you helping out,” I muttered internally to Callen.

“Double me, double the trouble,” Callen replied. “Hopefully one day soon it will be to others rather than ourselves.” And we turned all of our attention to blocking the two knives our Grandfather wielded.

For the rest of the session neither had enough spare attention to listen to Aleera and Lady Acacia. But we presumed she continued to be prepared for tomorrow’s audience. If I wanted to be overlooked, then silence was the best course of action. I could always listen into the conversations.

. . .

That night as I lay in bed, I activated Multiple Minds once more. I discovered that so far, I could keep it active for about 30 minutes but then it required 6 or 7 hours for my brain and body to recover before I could activate it again. This meant that I could use it when I first got up, once at midday and once in the evening depending on how I managed to time it.

I was still working on my inspect and observe skills and the two mind meant that I could observe two items at the same time. I was able to pull up the information of two items at the same time. It was still a little uncomfortable having the two up at the same time but my brain was gradually getting used to it.

I also had my amulet out to use my mini slice of the Lodestar out to help as well. I was really happy to see that his was still surviving. I had taken the opportunity to spend eighty percent of my mana in filling up the amulet every morning and night to ensure it lasted as long as possible now that I was not wearing it all the time. I had plans for my secret sliver of the Lodestar and did not want it to die before I was ready to enact them.

When I had stretched my brain enough for the night I packed everything away and lay down to sleep. Life was good.

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