With such a loud voice, those in fifty meters vicinity could hear the official’s message. Kairos’ dad, Vouno, also rushed out of the hut and looked at the spectacle. He was a tall and handsome man in his thirties, with a great smile on his face as he saw Kairos. Rumours had spread to the village about what his son did at school.

Although he had always been proud of his boy, he could not believe his ears when he first heard of all the fantastic things that had happened. It is only now that the conferring party and his son are right in front of his eyes that he could finally believe that his son had gone and made a name for himself in the capital.

Kairos shot a smile at his father who still looked the same as he remembered, with his long dark hair tied behind and glittering in the sunlight, and that ever-present earthly smell about him. The boy went on a knee and the official representing his Majesty the Emperor continued in his loud voice.

“For great service to the crown and exceptional display of leadership against the Orcs, his highness our Emperor Galahad the twelve, confer onto you the title of Viscount, and the rank of hundred Aristocrats.

You shall receive a thousand hectares of land, a manor and a hundred White Gold with the graces from his highness, our Emperor Galahad the twelve.

Bow your head.”

Kairos bowed his head as told and the official held up a golden sceptre and lightly touched the top of the boy’s head.

“Very well. Stand and receive your mantle, seals, and land deed.”

A member of the conferring party took out a small package and handed the official which he, in turn, passed to Kairos.

Within that beautifully wrapped package is the symbols of his nobility.

The official nodded at the boy and got back onto his black lion mount and soon left.

Even if many of those that are bestowed titles would often invite him out of hospitality, the young boy has nought but a small hut. Instead of leaving the boy with the dilemma of whether it is appropriate to invite him, who represents the crown, into such a pathetic little shed, he decided that it is more appealing to immediately return to the comforts of the capital.

“Son!” Vouno almost shouted with a large smile on his face, and he ran forward. Kairos laughed and hugged his father for a long moment before finally letting go.

“You’ve outdone yourself this time son. Quickly, rip that package and let’s see what his highness gave you.”

The boys also crowded close for a look as they took out a beautiful mantle in royal blue with white feathered plume and a long cape from the package.

Embroidered on the middle part of the cape are a pair of lions, one in pure black and the other pure white, the symbol of the Empire. And along with it is a coronet at the crest between the twin lions. Nine pearls could be seen on the coronet, indicating the rank of Viscount, middle-lower rank of the nobles. One of the Hundred Aristocrat of the Empire.

Next, they took out a small jade seal, and a pair of jade rings from the bundle. These items are the symbols which represent him and his title. The seal can be used to officiate any documents while the rings signify his title as Viscount and all the powers and benefits therein.

Just as they happily discussed this new title of Kairos' and were to have their manor built, the ground rumbles again.

This time around the brothers simply ignored it, but Vouno almost went into a panic. As a ranger, he quickly grasps that this shaking is not natural and he pulled out a sharp dagger.

“Monster!” he cried out in alarm.

*roar?*

*stab*

*clank*

Just as the land wyrm broke out from the ground, Kairos’ dad reacted so quickly that it seemed almost instinctual. He stabbed his dagger right at the cranium of the huge brown beast, aiming between the scales at the back of its head where a weak point should be, but instead, his dagger only bounced away harmlessly.

“What a beast! Boys, move behind me quick!”

“Dad, it’s okay, this is my pet.”

Nooo, Wyrmy is Aisa’s pet!

A tiny voice protesting in his mind has been ignored.

Aisa has named this massive Land Wyrm as Wyrmy, and at this moment Wyrmy is obediently lying down flat on its stomach and looking at Kairos’ father with large eyes.

To the draconic beast, this person before it may be a stranger, but the scent is rather similar to the master of its master. If it shows that it is very obedient, maybe this man may decide to keep it, then it will never need to play that dreadful & dangerous hide-and-seek ever again!

“T..this is a C rank beast with dragon bloodlines! You say it is your pet?”

Previously, when Kairos and group went into Rutea village, they had instructed it to follow them from underground. The land wyrm being a powerful burrowing beast could travel underneath the ground almost as quickly as the other beasts roaming above it. When it felt that this location was freed of outsiders, it quickly resurfaced.

However, before Kairos could answer his dad, all five of the brothers felt the presences of curious villagers coming into their Soul Perception range and are getting closer by the moment. They immediately told the land wyrm to hide itself again, and they continued their conversations as if nothing occurred.

If this is in the city, there is no real need to for something like a land wyrm to hide. The C rank beast is not something exceptionally strong among beasts, but to a weak and poor village like this, they could easily go into a panic if they saw such a vast and powerful creature. And if that happens, then most likely they will inform the village guards, and the entire matter will blow up.

No matter how diluted, it is still a beast with a dragon’s bloodline, and its aura is intimidating for most citizens.

And for many of the villagers, they had attended Saint Cadets Academy when they were younger and might even recognise this beast from the training grounds.

If that happens, more trouble will subsequently appear as it is a wild beast that was subdued by Principal Gai to test the first-year students of the school but has now been illegally brought out by Aisa.

Not much longer after Wyrmy, the land wyrm had disappeared underground, the villagers arrived. They congratulated the boys on their recent achievements wholeheartedly. Most of them are people that had seen these children grow up and having people of the Rutea village achieving something great is rare, and they were all immensely proud.

“You boys are the future of our village!”

“No doubt, how many years since a child from our village have passed the mock battlefield exam? Wahaha!”

“What are you saying, you old idiot. That is not something to be proud about.”

“You know nothing, you old woman! We Rutea villagers always have poor cultivation talents. Just by passing the mock battlefield is a commendable deed. Rahaha!”

“Old crook, you’re right this time. It is not easy to pass that damnable exam. Do you know anyone living in the village that passed it?”

“I think only old Pete down the river had passed the exam, but he got kicked out immediately the following year. Hilarious old fellow he is.”

“Yeah, he still proudly goes around calling himself Second Year Pete. This time, you kids will be able to shut him up. You made us proud.”

The villagers continued to sing praises to the boys and with earnest and kind intentions. The people of this place where the children grew up are all rather hardworking and honest folks. They said a few more nice things and then left to return to their work.

Of course, a few of them asked Vouno to look after them in the future since he is now the father of a Viscount, but most of their words are simple flattery than anything serious.

In the end, these commoners may struggle to find things they can spare, but they are the types that would rather rely on their own strength to survive than to depend on someone else.

After hosting Edward, Tommy, and Alan for a while, the boys left Kairos to catch up with his father and headed back to the orphanage. No doubt the other kids will be wide-eyed with shock when hearing everything that had happened in school!

They also agreed to move into Kairos’ house after the Viscount manor is built and it is something that secretly delighted Kairos.

Since a long time ago, he had wanted his brothers to live in the same place as him, instead of where they are staying now.

Compared to the dreary orphanage which serves plain porridge day after day almost any place would be better, but this dream has never been met. While the small ranger hut could house another boy, it would be too cramped for three or more. Having permission to build a new manor would bring in a lots of new opportunities for them.

Kairos and his father quickly sat down in their small wooden hut, unrolling a flaky piece of map and placed a candle on the table.

Being a ranger, Vouno is one of the few that owns a chart of this area, and it came in handy.

His father took out the land deed and compared it with the map, then took a black piece of charcoal and outlined a broad area. A thousand hectares was a sizable piece of land that could probably house the entire village and more.

“This area is your bestowed land, my son,” He said pointing to the map.

“Father, it is ours. Say…. Where do you think you would like your new house to be?” Kairos said with a rare cheeky grin.

“Hahaha. You little fellow. This time your dad’s face really has shine thanks to you. Since this is your achievement, father will not control your decision.”

“Hmm…how about here then?” Kairos pointed at a location that is rather close to the village, with three water sources. During the siege by Orcs, the underground river that they could draw water from was what kept them alive, and he wanted a place with the same advantage.

“Looks fine to me. Your dad doesn't really know which place is more strategic. Any location would work for me.”

Since the location has been (randomly?) decided, they went to look for the builders from the village, but it turns out that those people are rather unfamiliar with the structure of something complicated like a manor.

Left without a choice, the father and son duo was forced to travel back to the capital on wyrm back find proper architects. They stayed in the city for a little while to hammer out the blueprints, and seven days later they were back at the village with solid building plans.

The price to build their manor was a hefty three hundred White Gold, however, the cost has complete subsidy by the empire. They did not know this, but several days later, when the bill was sent to the palace, the Emperor commended on the boy’s sensibility for using only such a small sum.

Most Viscount Manors would have cost over 500 White Gold, even with humble estimations, because those lords will make full use of the Empire’s treasury to build as extravagant a home as possible.

It is very likely for many people that a rise in noble title will be a huge thing that occurs only once in their lifetime. That’s why very few would miss out the chance to spend as much as they are allowed to build their manor.

However, using only three hundred White Gold was not to save the cost for the Empire but to allow a secret expansion in the future. This expansion must not be known by anyone else until it is done, and it would be unwise to report the funds to the empire.

Besides that, the blueprint he had in mind is a single core building, with enough room for more buildings to be set up nearby. A design he based off his astral formations.

After the builders looked through the designs and finalised the plans, they told the Kairos and Vouno that everything requires a month to complete.

This is still a rather short amount of time. For practitioners, these sort of heavy labour are an easy and profitable job, but if non-practitioners were to build this manor, it would definitely take years to complete.

Having the building plans finished, the father and son pair finally have time to chat. They returned to their small ranger hut. This shabby old place held many memories, both good and bad, but the past defined the future and the father and son have no intention to tear it down even after the manor is completed.

Finally, Kairos decided it is time to tell his father of all that had happened in the school in details. It will take quite a while to say it all, but when it is done, there is no doubt that his father’s eyes will be bulging.