NOVEL NEXT B2 Chapter 58: Strategic Citizenship
B2 Chapter 58: Strategic Citizenship
Tiberius blinked. It took all of his effort to keep his face impassive at the Grand Mage's sudden declaration. He half expected the eccentric old man to burst out into laughter or announce that he'd been joking about joining the Legion. But the sparkle of unabashed excitement in his eyes made it clear that this was no prank.
Yet before Tiberius had a chance to even consider his answer, he heard a stampede of heavy footsteps rushing down the hall. A moment later, the door was flung open with such force it nearly splintered rather than swinging on its hinges.
Tiberius leapt to his feet as a veritable tide of Legionnaires poured into the room, their weapons already drawn. They spread out across the room in a flurry of activity and leveled their swords at the mage without hesitation. Sweat ran down their brows as a slightly out of breath centurion called over to him.
"Emperor Tiberius! Are you unharmed?"
Grand Mage Claude glanced up disinterestedly, but remained where he sat as though the matter didn't concern him. Even though nothing could have been further from the truth. In fact, the borderline panic on his men's faces was entirely due to the mage's own actions. As far as the Legion knew, the emperor had been kidnapped from right underneath their noses and could well have been held captive or dead. After the near-miss with that [Rogue] woman's assasination attempt, another failure like this was unacceptable.
Normally, Tiberius would have agreed and punished them quite severely. But he well understood how powerless his men were in this situation. Talking to the mage had only further confirmed his initial suspicions. If this man wanted to kill him—or even wipe the entire city off the face of the map—it would have already happened.
Still, it made him consider once more how to improve the capabilities of his personal guard. While their level would necessarily always be tied to that of the Legion, perhaps they could rethink what skills the men prioritized to better respond to unforeseen circumstances like this. And he wouldn't trust any non-Legionnaires with the duty, even if they had some kind of [Bodyguard] class.
"I am well, centurion," Tiberius said, gesturing for him to be at ease. "I appreciate your concern, but I assure you that it is unwarranted. Please take your men and wait outside."
The centurion stood unmoving as he scanned the room and evaluated the situation himself. His eyes narrowed as though searching for other threats or evidence that Tiberius was being coerced. After a few seconds, he snapped a salute. "Yes, sir!"
At the man's orders, the rest of the Legionnaires began filing out of the room much more slowly than they'd come. By this point the men had calmed down slightly, due in part to their commander's own composure. But there still remained a certain wire-tight tension throughout the room, as if a string was about to snap. These men were trained soldiers and every single one of them remained on edge.
"Forgive them." Tiberius lowered himself back into his seat with a deep sigh. Claude remained entirely unbothered by the interruption, so relaxed that he may as well have been lounging in the park or preparing himself for bed. "My men took my sudden disappearance as reason to fear for my safety."
Claude, waved him away. "Oh, don't worry about it. That's entirely my fault. Like I said, it probably wasn't the best manners to just teleport you suddenly like that. Though I guess I should have gone the extra mile and just taken us to my tower. Far less likely to be interrupted there."
Tiberius raised an eyebrow at that. Such an act would have likely sent his men into a continent-wide manhunt. And given the strangeness of the man before him, he wouldn't blame them. It certainly would have felt as though the mage intended to keep him hostage as a test subject.
"Now… where were we?" Claude continued. "Ah, yes! I want to be a Legionnaire. How do I join?"
"That is not so simple of an ask as you may assume." Tiberius replied. "A Legionnaire must be a citizen of Rome.That means being born into a family of Roman citizens or completing a period of military service as an auxiliary. However, that period is usually long enough that any man who becomes a citizen by that path would be old enough to retire, and certainly too old to become a Legionnaire himself. Often it would be his sons who joined in his stead. Only then can you be recruited and begin training to join the Legion."
"Well that sounds needlessly picky." Claude said flatly. "Those are the only ways to become a citizen?"
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"Those are certainly the most common. However…" Tiberius mulled the matter over. "There are certain powers that an emperor has. His word is law, after all."
That wasn't entirely true, Tiberius knew. But until they established a senate to reprimand and advise him, it may as well be.
"Perfect! So just make me a citizen then." Claude grinned.
Tiberius hesitated, then shook his head. "That is not something I am willing to do so quickly. There is a reason why citizenship is difficult to earn. It ensures that Roman citizens understand our culture, our values, and have a vested interest in carrying them forward. That is something that I have little desire to undercut."
Despite the obvious fact that adding the mage's strength to that of the Legion would surely be a boon to them all, acting rashly here could set a poor precedent. True, they needed a way to replenish their ranks—one that wouldn't require multiple generations and at least a decade of time. But he didn't want to dilute the Legion by adding random strangers at the drop of a hat, powerful though they may be. Not to mention that he wasn't entirely sure whether he trusted the man yet.
"Additionally, I have no guarantee that the System will allow new members to be added." Tiberius continued in an attempt to soften his rejection of the proposal. "Perhaps it will enforce adherence to the laws we are familiar with."
Claude let out a long sigh and shook his head. "Unlikely. I've found that the System most often reflects reality as it is rather than dictates it. So if you change the laws or use your power as emperor or whatever, the System should take that into account."
Tiberius frowned. That certainly wasn't how he saw things. In particular, the effects of assigning stat points seemed to fly in the face of such a proposal. But saying as much felt like it could potentially derail the entire conversation for hours. Perhaps Clyde simply had a better understanding of the System than he did. Or perhaps the mage was wrong.
"If that is the case, then good. However, it does not change the other issues at play." Tiberius remained firm. "There will be conditions to be met before I allow you to become one of my men. Perhaps not the same requirements that we have put forth historically, but requirements nonetheless. At minimum I will insist that you spend time among my people and learn of our ways."
As he finished speaking, Tiberius tensed. He half expected the mage to press the issue and force Tiberius into accepting him into the Legion regardless. But his resolve was firm. Until he'd had a bit more time to know the mage's character, the man would remain an outside observer.
Claude sighed, his head falling back against the headrest. "Fine, fine. Just do me a favor and don't take too long to set all this up, all right? I've got more years on me than you have hairs on your head, but that doesn't mean I want to spend another decade doing busywork. I'd much rather just get started on my research. Especially something with this much potential."
Tiberius allowed his shoulders to relax slightly. He nodded. "I assure you that I will. Our partnership promises to be beneficial to both parties. Although I am still uncertain why you consider the Legion to have such promise."
"Are you kidding?" Claude exclaimed incredulously. "Do you even realize how absurd you people are? The amount of stamina you people are throwing around should be enough to send a normal level four into a coma, not to mention a whole group of them! Why, if your mana has those kinds of reserves as well… That kind of power could fuel spells that have only been theoretical until now. It would change the very face of spellcasting."
The mage was practically salivating at the idea. For a brief moment, Tiberius began to wonder if he'd made a mistake. He began to reconsider the wisdom of giving this man access to such power. Then again, if he'd be using it for their sake…
"What scale of things do you believe you could achieve with power like that?" Tiberius prodded. "Could you level a city?"
"Pah." The old mage waved a gnarled hand dismissively. "You're thinking too small. I can already do that. Hell, consider even a continent. Just give me a few months to whip up the right kind of spell framework, round up some mana-rich materials, and re-familiarize myself with the right skills. No, this… this would be something else entirely."
"Ah."
Tiberius fell silent. Suddenly, it made a lot more sense why this man wasn't particularly interested in getting involved in conflict. It wouldn't exactly be a conflict with that kind of power.
"...I will introduce you to our own mages. Or rather, what we call mages." The Legatus moved past the topic. "They can explain their approach, experiences, and so on. Perhaps you can provide advice to refine their skill selections and have your students train them in the local custom of mages. In exchange, they will answer your questions to the best of their abilities and assist you in your experiments—within reason." Tiberius added pointedly.
Claude's grin widened as he rubbed his hands together eagerly. "That sounds good to me. Well, don't keep me waiting! Where are they?"
"I'll have one of my men show you to them." Tiberius assured him. "I will also instruct my second in command to speak with you about his own research into our class. He is currently away on a mission, but I will have him sent your way as soon as he returns."
Tiberius hid a slight smile at the thought. Who knows? Perhaps the pair would get along well, given their mutual enjoyment of research.
Or maybe Tiberius had just doomed the poor tribune to be incessantly harried by the old man for the foreseeable future. Either way, the idea was quite entertaining.