Published: January 4, 2026
"'Luthier'... it possesses the power of fire, does it not?"
"You saw through it that far?"
"Yes. And it seems to have considerable power."
"Hmm. Shall we test it? Then let's go outside."
Your Majesty said this and started walking ahead.
Leaving the treasure vault, he called his trusted eunuch, Cruise, and ordered him to prepare a target.
"That won't be necessary, Your Majesty."
"Oh? You look like you have an idea."
"Yes."
"Then show me."
With permission from Your Majesty, we went out into the garden.
I bowed to Your Majesty and stood a little apart.
Luthier, which brought a '+' to my status, has two things in common with Leviathan.
One is that it has a will. That's why it connects to the '+' bonus, I suppose.
The other is that, regardless of my abilities, it can launch attacks by the power of the ring alone.
Luthier also has a charge attack similar to Leviathan's.
I unleashed it—aimed at myself.
In an instant, my body was engulfed in flames.
"Noah!?"
Your Majesty was startled.
He instinctively took a step forward and reached out his hand, clearly surprised.
"I'm fine," I said, still ablaze.
Because my voice was so normal, Your Majesty was surprised twice—his eyes widening in astonishment.
I casually raised Leviathan so it was visible.
"...I see."
After a few moments, Your Majesty's expression turned understanding.
Though I doused myself with Luthier's flames, Leviathan reacted.
Linked to the armor ring, Leviathan immediately produced a water-based shield.
Water and fire are mutually weak against each other.
If equal in strength, they simply cancel out, but if one clearly outmatches the other, the effect magnifies drastically.
To put it in numbers:
An attack with 100 fire power normally produces 100 effect. The same goes for water.
However, if 100 fire power attacks an opponent with 99 water power, the effect nearly doubles to around 200.
Conversely, if 99 fire power attacks 100 water power, the effect drops near zero.
That is the current situation.
"Hmm... even though the ground around is melting, you remain completely unfazed. Impressive, Noah."
Your Majesty was also amazed; Luthier's flames were strong enough to melt the ground into a gooey mess, yet it had no effect on me.
This means Leviathan's power is stronger than Luthier's.
"Hmm?"
"Is something wrong, Your Majesty?"
"Despite the heat enough to melt the ground, I feel no warmth at all."
Your Majesty said, suspiciously extending his palm toward me, who was still engulfed in flames as if it were just a campfire.
"Please look at the ground again."
"The ground...? Hm, it appears the melting is contained within a circular area."
"Yes. I am also holding it back to keep it from spreading."
"Remarkable! That is amazing."
"Much obliged."
I bowed deeply to Your Majesty's praise.
I had come to understand Luthier's power and had demonstrated it to Your Majesty.
With that, I ordered Luthier to retract the flames.
What had been flames moments before reverted as if nothing had happened.
No scorch marks were left on my hair, skin, or clothes.
Only the ground, melted into a gooey puddle, showed the true strength of Luthier's power.
"To be able to control it so completely is truly admirable, Noah."
"I am honored."
"Very well. I hereby bestow Luthier upon you once again. Use it to serve the empire with greater vigor."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Your Majesty looked satisfied, turned on his heel, and said, "Follow me," as he started walking.
We returned from the garden to the palace and went straight to the study.
Your Majesty took his seat behind the desk, and I stopped where a subordinate should stand.
"There is one matter on which I wish to hear your opinion."
Your Majesty extracted a single report from a mountain of documents and handed it to me.
I took it and read through.
It was about Your Majesty's younger brother—my uncle, Graham Ararat—who had voluntarily offered to pay a fine of thirty thousand Liens.
"Did Lord Graham do something wrong?"
"His son—my nephew—ran rampant in Graham’s territory, and eventually, in a drunken quarrel, killed the person involved."