The Divine Summoner: Godson of Altima

by Antony W. F. Chow

  The pope shook his head. "I'm not worried about Luka becoming entangled in the kingdom and racial politics. I'm more concerned about his physical safety. If I bring the boy up to Lumina City, the assassins can't reach him."

  Luka had a faint memory from a decade ago of that place. When he revived from a coma after a failed assassination attempt, Luka stayed inside a bell tower at the flying fortress. The breeze carried the unforgettable smell of clean air. And he remembered seeing his mother riding on a pegasus as well.

  "I don't mind visiting that city in the sky for my winter break. Will my mom come too?" The son was looking forward to spending quality time with his family after the academic semester ended. If Luka could convince the pope to permit her to come along, that would be awesome!

  The two older adults exchanged complicated looks. Demetrius didn't expect to hear this request. Furthermore, the church elder preferred Luka to come alone and focus on his training under church supervision.

  Juliette had planned to do some research in the family library; this required her to remain at the family estate. The two looked at Luka and saw the sincere desire in his eyes; they felt pressured to accept his request.

  "How about it? You could spend time at the pegasus stables. We have a new batch of horses ready to take partners, and you could choose one," the pope offered.

  Juliette's eyes sparkled for a split second before she recovered her calm demeanor. Her last pegasus, Abby, died of old age recently, and she hadn't returned to Lumina to choose a replacement. Now was as good a time as any. "Okay, I will come with my son," she agreed with a nod.

  "I'm glad to hear it, mother. Since you are more familiar with Lumina, I will ask you to show me around when we arrive," Luka suggested.

  "Sure," Juliette smiled faintly.

  "Excellent! I will return and pick you up tomorrow morning," Demetrius declared. The elder gingerly rose from his seat with Matty's aid. "I won't linger. I'm sure you two have a lot to discuss."

  "I'm sorry for your inconvenience," the duchess stood up and lowered her head.

  Luka quickly copied her gesture.

  "Thank you for indulging in my selfish request," the pope replied with a wave of his hand.

  The hostess and her son walked with the guests until they exited the mansion. Juliette and Luka remained on the front steps. They watched as Demetrius gathered his templars and created a Gate to leave the estate. Once the visitors departed, the two returned to their residence.

  Although the duchess had a pile of paperwork on her desk, she declined to return to work. Instead, Juliette chose to spend the late afternoon talking to her son. She noticed that Luka wished to speak with her and was curious to hear what he had to say.

  When the duchess returned to her seat in the parlor room, Luka took a spot adjacent to her. The woman's brows twitched when her son released Bel and Gripper into the room.

  The two pets promptly investigated the snacks on the table and began to devour the assortment of delicious cookies.

  Juliette ignored them and focused her attention on Luka. "What do you want to tell me?" she inquired in a gentle voice to encourage him to speak up.

  "I wish to share my experience during this past semester and get your opinion on things that occurred at the royal academy," he replied.

  The mother nodded. "Go ahead," she smiled.

  "First of all, I want to express my appreciation for Lord Evans' willingness to tutor me for several weeks in preparation for the entrance exam. I wouldn't have become the co-valedictorian without his tutelage. I'm wondering if there's anything I could offer to show my gratitude towards him," the son asked.

  Juliette shook her head. "Child, Lord Evans is our vassal. He helped you out of loyalty to the Heavensfell family, not in hopes of a nice reward from us. You are the heir, and the best reward you can give him is to act as a model student at the academy. Your excellence will naturally shine a spotlight on him as your former tutor," she explained. "Furthermore, if we give him something like gold, he might regard it as an insult to his noble pride," she warned.

  "I see." Luka retained his previous life's mindset and viewed his relationship with the tutor as a transactional one. He didn't consider the aesthetics of nobility nor the possibility of gifting as an insult. Luka was glad he took the time to consult his mother first!

  "What else?" she prodded him to continue.

  "I had an opportunity to serve as the class representative but declined. The co-valedictorian, a noble named Terrwyn Cadogan, took over instead," he told her.

  "Normally, I would encourage you to accept the post. But the Cadogans are powerful aristocrats that control the king's army. So I think you made the right decision in letting Marshal Cadogan's daughter accept the honor," Juliette remarked. "The man demands excellence from his offspring, and her service as class rep helps reinforce this notion. The poor girl must be facing a lot of pressure from your presence in her class," she giggled.

  Luka shrugged helplessly. In one breath, his mother encouraged her to act as a model student. The next moment, she wanted him to be considerate of Terrwyn. The son wondered if his mother realized these things were contradictory to some degree.

  The woman twirled her wrist to signal for him to continue. Juliette hoped to wrap up this discussion before dinner.

  "I understand that attending the academy would help me develop relationships with students from influential families. For this reason, I agreed to help train the bottom half of the freshmen classes and teach them how to fight together. I spent a week with each of six classes, and I brought them to my private shadow plane to practice."

  "Did they improve?" she interrupted with her question.

  He nodded. "In the Battle Royale event, one of my teams pulled off an upside and defeated a higher-ranked class."

  "But your Elite Class won the freshmen division, right?" she asked.

  "Yes. But Class A put up a great fight, and the outcome wasn't certain until the end," Luka noted. He remembered Terrwyn withstanding a Firestorm with her shield, and the heat seared her flesh during the match. Although she lost consciousness from the pain, the fighter stubbornly refused to let her body drop to the ground. Luka admired her tenacity and thought she served as a real role model for her classmates.

  Juliette watched her son's face intently. His eyes glazed over as if remembering something important. When they regained clarity, she asked another probing question. "Am I correct to assume that you were the Freshman Representative for the Student Exhibition Match?"

  "Yes."

  "Who was your opponent?"

  "Llewel Ilbryen."

  Duchess Silverblade's eyes widened at the name. "What is his relationship with Elorshin Ilbryen?"

  "Llewel is his grandson."

  The woman closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She took a deep breath and looked at Llewel. "You won the match, right?"

  Luka nodded.

  "Tell me how the battle unfolded. I'm especially interested in hearing how you overcame his infamous antimagic field."

  "Yes, mother. I went to the arena unarmed. I intended to match against whatever weapon he chose as my gesture of goodwill. But Llewel misunderstood my intention and became upset with me. When I took out my elven bow, he accused me of thievery. I explained that I received it as a gift from the elven village where I stayed for an apprenticeship, but Llewel wouldn't believe me."

  Juliette raised her hand to interrupt. "He's right in that regard because elves hold a deep, but understandable, mistrust of humans. It's hard to accept the idea of a human being living in an elvish village," she observed.

  Luka shrugged. He recognized that the ten-year apprenticeship under Alectos brought many disadvantages, such as a lack of opportunity to learn the world's common sense. Frankly, Luka wouldn't choose to apprentice for this long, either. Thankfully, Lord Evans made up for the gaps in his learning.

  "What happened next?" she prodded.

  "Llewel started firing arrows at me, and I shot them down. It
turned into an impromptu archery contest where neither person held an advantage. Llewel gave up and switched to a melee fight with his sword. I chose to defend barehanded and somehow won the exchange. After I roughed him up, Llewel decided to use his trump card."

  Juliette nodded.

  "When the antimagic field activated, I felt weird as if several parts of my senses shut down. I took a moment to confirm that I couldn't access my magic. Llewel tried to use my distraction to attack me. But I recovered in time and used a body enhancement skill, which I learned from Bel, to fight my opponent and knock him out."

  "What's the name of that ability?" the mother asked.

  "Enragement."

  Juliette shook her head. "I'm not familiar with it." She turned and stared at Bel, who ignored her while drinking tea. The sight of a rabbit holding a teacup with two furry paws amused her greatly. Since Bel couldn't talk, Juliette didn't ask him about Enragement. Instead, her focus turned toward Llewel.

  "Luka, try your best to avoid a conflict with Llewel at the royal academy. While in exile, his grandfather secretly met the previous pope and revealed the Delfrir Kingdom's defenses. According to rumor, the Divine Church of Light made war plans based on Elorshin's information. Some historians believed that he singlehanded changed the outcome of The Religious Wars. The elves call him Elorshin the Betrayer, and his family became a lightning rod for controversy when they received refuge with the church."

  "Elorshin is still alive today due to his elvish longevity. After the war ended with Morninglory capturing Delfrir's territory, the king conferred Elorshin with a knighthood. The elf joined the king's army and worked his way up to becoming a general. But now, he's retired and serves as a sword instructor to the church templars," she explained. "Elorshin lives in Lumina, and you'll likely see him sooner or later."

  "Terrwyn said the students dislike Llewel because of his arrogant personality. From my brief interaction with him on the field, I could see why. I will try to avoid his grandfather, but I can't promise to stay out of trouble. There's a strong likelihood that Llewel will avenge his loss by seeking Elorshin's aid," Luka replied.

  "If Llewel creates trouble for you in school, please inform the headmaster immediately. Ladis has full control over the school grounds, and he's responsible for all students' safety at the academy," Juliette said.

  "You should also inform Matty, who is your escort assigned by the church. I'm sure he has a method to notify the pope and seek direct intervention on your behalf. After all, Demetrius is your godfather. Therefore, it is proper for him to protect his godson."

  "Yes, mother."

  The head maid entered. "Pardon my rudeness, Your Excellency, but dinner is ready."

  "Thank you, Bianna. Luka, let's eat."

  The two followed the maid into the dining hall. The chef prepared fish, fowl, pig, and other dishes for this homecoming feast. Mother and son ate small portions while Bel and Gripper devoured all the remaining meat.

  Duchess Silverblade declined to admonish the animals because she recognized their value to Luka as his important allies, friends, and bodyguards. However, the mother wanted to probe his attitude toward Terrwyn because Juliette thought the girl possessed a suitable background to become her son's marriage partner. "What do you think of Terrwyn? And what does she think of you?" Juliette asked.

  Luka lowered his spoon and looked at the questioner. However, she maintained a poker face, and he couldn't discern the reason behind her surprising inquiry. "We have a cordial relationship as classmates, but I wouldn't say that we're friends," he explained.

  "Terrwyn has a strong personality, and she's highly competitive. She sees me as a rival and uses me as a measuring stick for her performance in school. Frankly, I find her close-minded, and I'm tired of her attitude towards me. But Terrwyn has a strict father and faces enormous pressure from her family. That's the only reason I tolerate her," he admitted honestly.

  "I'm happy to learn of your kindness towards Terrwyn. Marshal Cadogan treats me similarly. Like father, like daughter, I guess," she chuckled and shook her head. Juliette dropped the idea of Luka marrying Terrwyn because the girl would stifle Luka with her ambitions and competitiveness.

  The mother inwardly sighed because Terrwyn's family background fits the Heavensfell duke house perfectly. But a loveless marriage would only make her son miserable, and Juliette didn't want Luka to live his life that way.

  After the meal, Luka took his pets to his bedroom and retired for the evening. Meanwhile, Juliette returned to her study to continue her administrative work.

  Chapter 81

  Church Apprentice (Part 1)

  Luka awoke at dawn the next morning. He washed his face and dressed without his personal maid's assistance because Hanna hadn't shown up yet. Luka left his pets behind and quietly exited his bedroom. The mage then teleported directly to his farm. When he arrived, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest!

  Standing on the field was a silhouette of a woman. Although her back faced him, Luka was intimately familiar with the feminine figure. After all, it was his mom!

  Juliette sensed his arrival and slowly turned around. "Good morning, my son," she greeted with a faint smile.

  However, he was too surprised by her unexpected appearance to talk.

  Fortunately, she read his mind. "Why am I here? I wanted to inspect this farmland with you before we leave it behind for two months," Juliette explained. Wordlessly, she walked over to stand behind him.

  The owner ignored her presence and began to survey his property. Luka felt pleased with the healthy appearance of his crops. He visited the storehouse to check the soybean inventory and took a few barrels into his storage. Luka planned to keep them as an emergency food supply or for bartering in Lumina. He turned toward Juliette and said, "Please let the steward know that I claimed four barrels of soybeans for personal use."

  His mother nodded. The warehouse manager would undoubtedly discover the missing barrels and report the presumed theft to his boss. Thus, Juliette needed to intervene before the misunderstanding escalates to involve outsiders.

  After a fifteen-minute tour, she spoke up. "Luka, it's getting late, and we need to return to the manor."

  "Yes, mother." He obediently turned back and followed her home.

  "We'll skip morning practice. Get dressed in appropriate aristocratic attire. Many church followers will see us for the first time, and we must make an impression worthy of the Heavensfell duke house," she warned.

  "I will, mother," he nodded.

  The two climbed the grand staircase together before parting for their respective wings on the upper floor.

  Hanna stood in front of Luka's room with a frown. "Welcome back, young master," she said in a frosty tone of voice. The attendant discovered Luka missing from his room and frantically searched the house for him. She just learned of his return and rushed up the stairs to wait in front of his bedroom. The maid wished Luka would act more responsibly and leave word before he ventured out of the house.

  "Hanna, please pick out an appropriate attire for a meeting with church officials," he requested.

  "Yes, young master," she bowed and opened the door for him. The servant followed Luka into his bedroom and combed through his wardrobe before selecting a red doublet over a white dress shirt and white leggings. She chose red and white because both colors represented the church.

  Hanna helped Luka put on his garments and then placed a red cap on his head. She walked in a circle around him to confirm the clothing fit him properly. "Perfect," she assessed with a smile.

  "Thank you." He smiled back.

  When Luka entered the dining room, Juliette stared at his figure intently before nodding her approval.

  Hanna secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She pulled back Luka's chair and helped him sit in his seat.

  The two nobles ate a simple breakfast of oatmeal with milk, fruits, and hot tea. Bel and Gripper received enough ham steak to satisfy their craving for meat.

  The group f
inished their meals in silence and assembled in front of the driveway. Four maids stood behind them with packed luggage.

  James and Bianna stood aside because the steward and the head maid will remain at the estate as caretakers in place of the duchess for the next several weeks.

  At eight o'clock, a magical gate appeared in the driveway. A contingent of templars crossed the portal to ensure the landing site was safe. Then Pope Demetrius and Matty walked through.

  "Good morning!" the pope greeted. "I'm glad to see that you're ready. Let's go to Lumina," he invited and went back through the magical portal.

  With the perfect poise of a noblewoman, Duchess Silverblade strolled through the portal, followed by her entourage. She wasn't surprised to find a welcoming committee on the other side.

  Throngs of church worshippers gathered in the plaza under the bell tower. A sea of white robes erupted in cheer to greet someone -- not Juliette but the person directly behind her.

  "Welcome back, Godson of Altima!" the crowd chanted in unison. Somehow, word leaked of the mythical, half-man-half-god Luka coming to this holy city, and the residents dropped their activities to greet his arrival. The result was five thousand people standing at the plaza before the magical gate.

  Luka calmly surveyed the crowd. As the one mortal who possessed a portion of Altima's divine essence, he was the equivalent of a demigod in their eyes. Thus, Luka must treat her worshippers with kindness and respect. Furthermore, he recognized the importance of this moment to create an everlasting impression on them. And he thought of a way to do just that.

  Luka waved his hand to accept their adulation and made an impromptu speech. "Thank you, everyone, for your warm welcome. I arrived here over a decade ago under dire circumstances when I was between life and death. But I haven't forgotten the people who made this place special in my heart. I'm full of gratitude toward Pope Demetrius for inviting me back to this holy city, and I look forward to meeting all of you shortly. May Altima's Light guide my life!" He finished the speech by offering an aristocratic salute.