The Lord of the Seas - An Isekai Progression Fantasy [ Currently on Volume 2 ]

The morning sun cast golden streaks across the stone tiles of the Royal Palace's training yard, the sound of waves crashing in the distance faintly echoing through the air.

Lukas stood silently beside Celina, arms crossed over his chest, his eyes never leaving the young girl in the center of the yard.

Rosalia's wooden blade arced through the air with surprising precision as she stepped forward against her opponents—two glistening warriors made of water, their movements fluid, almost too fast for someone still learning. Their blades—thin and curved—had not been sharpened to wound, but to pressure and to push Rosalia.

Celina watched carefully, her hands on her hips, a slight frown of focus settling on her face.

"The right one's left foot is still lagging," she muttered. "Tell the left one to feint right and sweep."

Lukas gave her a nod, and the left water construct immediately shifted its stance, dipping its shoulder forward before pivoting with surprising grace, its blade slashing low. Rosalia was caught off-guard, but she jumped back just in time, stumbling slightly as she reset her footing.

"She's learning," Celina commented, her voice even. "Quickly too. She is going to make a fine swordswoman."

Lukas didn't speak right away. His hands were loose at his sides, fingertips still glowing faintly with the Divinity of the Seas as he guided the constructs. Rosalia lunged, her wooden sword crashing into the shoulder of the construct to the right—water exploded outward, splashing across the floor before it reformed.

Celina glanced sideways at him. "You've got good control over those dummies," she noted. "Fluid, reactive. You really are a remarkable Mage, Klein. No wonder the Tower's obsessed with you."

He laughed, shaking his head. "I wouldn't go that far. Just doing my best."

There was a pause.

Silence, save for Rosalia's breathing and the soft sloshing of the constructs, followed as he adjusted to Celina's next set of instructions.

Neither of them had brought up what had happened the night of the graduation ceremony. Not directly, at least. But there was no lingering awkwardness between them. Celina carried herself like she always had—disciplined, focused, kind. She had taken his rejection with grace, and for that, Lukas was quietly thankful.

She spoke again, her voice low, meant only for him. "Klein, I just want you to know...that you don't owe me an explanation. I know your heart belongs somewhere else."

Lukas finally turned to look at her. Celina met his gaze, and there was no resentment in her eyes—only understanding.

He nodded. "You would be right. My heart belongs to another. I'm sure you have many others suitors to pick from, anyways."

"I'm a Divine Knight, Lukas," she said, offering a faint smile. "I need no other purpose in life than to serve Oceanus."

Lukas exhaled slowly, his eyes returning to the training yard as Rosalia charged again, sweat glistening at her brow. She moved better now—more confident, more composed. Each strike was deliberate.

"She's getting good at using that blade," he commented.

"Like I said, she's a quick learner. Talented too, immensely so. She'll be better than both of us one day," Celina replied. "That much I can guarantee."

A small laugh escaped Lukas as he nodded. "That is kind of the point of us training her, Celina."

"The rate she's growing, she might very well be the only Divine Knight Hiraeth needs," Celina said dryly. "I've been meaning to take a break. I deserve a bloody holiday."

Another pause. Though Lukas didn't mind the casual conversation as they trained Rosalia together to improve her swordsmanship, he could tell that there was something else she wanted to ask him.

"Have you made your decision yet?" she finally asked, her gaze still fixed on Rosalia, who had just managed to parry a downward strike from the remaining water construct.

So that was what it was. She was referring to who Lukas had decided to pick as a sponsor.

Lukas nodded. "I've already accepted the Merchant Guild's offer."

Celina didn't look surprised. If anything, she seemed like she had expected that answer. But after a beat, she asked, "Was it because of King Daerion?"

Lukas shook his head, the motion small but certain. "I grew up in Ilagron. The Countess gave me a home when I had nothing. My loyalty lies with them. No amount of wealth or prestige can change that, I'm afraid."

Celina turned to glance at him, her expression unreadable. "That's a good answer. But it's not the whole truth, is it?"

He didn't reply right away. She didn't push.

Instead, she said, "That night…when we walked through the Chapel. I made a vow. I swore I wouldn't tell the Church about Rosalia's powers."

Lukas looked over at her then, the air around them still with anticipation.

"Do you know why I still serve the Church?" she asked, her voice quieter now, steadier. "Even after everything I've seen? After everything I know goes on behind its walls?"

He shook his head again, slowly this time.

Celina turned her eyes back to the training yard. Rosalia was panting hard now, swinging with effort. Her form was still awkward in places—her back foot dragging slightly, her shoulders rising too much with each blow—but there was effort. Will. Determination.

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"It's because I'm able to make a difference," Celina said. "It's because as long as I continue to act as the Church's Divine Knight, I can change it. Bit by bit. Quietly. Carefully. And the only reason why I am able to do that...is because of King Daerion himself. The same man that you think to be your enemy."

Celina's voice dropped lower, barely rising above the sound of Rosalia's panting breaths in the distance.

"The first few years of training to become a Divine Knight Candidate…" she paused, the words sticking to her throat for a moment. "They were hard. Brutal."

Lukas turned toward her slightly, catching the subtle shift in her posture—the tension in her shoulders, the way her jaw tightened.

"They called it purification," she continued, her tone clipped. "Breaking the body to cleanse the soul. Making us kneel for hours in frozen halls, beating the doubt out of us—if not physically, then through prayer and silence."

Celina didn't give any more than that. She didn't need to. Lukas could hear what she wasn't saying, the things that she could not bring herself to put into words. He doubted that was all the Church did to her.

It was a quiet kind of anger that Lukas felt—towards the Church, towards the priests who had hurt her, towards world that called pain a path to holiness. But there was something else that Lukas felt for the warrior standing next to him: Respect.

Respect for Celina, the Divine Knight of the Church. Because she had endured it all, and she hadn't let it shatter her will.

"You never broke," he whispered quietly.

"No," she answered, her eyes distant. "I bent the knee. Over and over. But no. I never broke."

For a long moment, they stood in silence, the afternoon wind brushing past them like a ghost.

She finally spoke again. "I would have had to endure that treatment for many more years…if not for Daerion."

Lukas blinked.

"The moment he learned what they were doing to me," she said, "he killed the priests responsible. Publicly. Without hesitation."

There was no pride in her voice when she said it. No awe. Just quiet truth.

"He's not a saint," she added. "I know that, Klein. That man has committed more sins than any living man has. But that doesn't make him a monster. That day, he chose to protect me. And he gave me the strength to keep going. To fight for what the Church should be."

Lukas studied her face—saw the hardness there, forged from years of suffering. And the flicker of light beneath it, the unyielding faith she still clung to. Of course he had his qualms with the sea god but what Celina stood for…that, he could commend.

She shifted slightly, eyes now watching Rosalia closely as the girl stumbled again, then caught herself mid-strike.

"I know her grandfather supports her," Celina said. "And you do too. You both want her to choose her own path. She dreams of becoming a Divine Knight, a holy warrior of the Church. And I know how that path must look to you now. Especially after hearing what I went through to become who I am today."

Could she blame him? Why in the world would he ever want Rosalia to go through what Celina had? He knew the Church was corrupt but to such an extent that they were willing to hurt children?

Lukas had made an oath to protect the young princess of Easthaven and it was an oath he meant to keep.

"If I thought she would go through what I went through," Celina said, "I would never have let her do it. I wouldn't have accepted her as my student. But I can protect her now. Because the King stands behind me. Because we both want the same thing: to restore the Church to what it once was. To what it was after the Great War."

"An institution that serves Oceanus," Lukas answered, his mouth quirking up faintly.

Celina chuckled. "Yes, yes. I know how that sounds to you unbelievers."

"At least you're self-aware," he replied, amused.

"What I'm trying to say, Klein, is that you should give King Daerion a chance," she said. "In fact, he could be a great ally. But that will only be possible if you allow him to stand with you instead of deciding that he is already against you. Let him grow on you, like he did on me."

Lukas didn't answer right away.

His gaze drifted back to Rosalia, who had finally brought both water constructs to their knees, her breathing heavy, her stance wide. Determined. Steady.

He sighed softly. "We'll see," he muttered. "I'll...I'll think about it."

She nodded, giving him a small smile. That was all she was asking him to do. And with that, Celina turned and walked toward Rosalia, offering a hand and a word of praise. As Rosalia's training session came to an end, the constructs melting back into harmless puddles at her feet, Lukas stood there a moment longer, watching her quietly gather her breath. Celina's words still echoed in his head, lingering with an uncomfortable truth.

Lukas meant what he said. He would take some time to consider what she'd told him. Because to some extent, Celina was right.

Maybe Daerion Ittriki wasn't the monster he'd made him out to be in his mind. Maybe there was more to the man than just control and shadows. After all, people like Celina didn't give their loyalty lightly.

At the same time, Lukas could not just ignore the warning in his gut. That instinct, honed through lifetimes and sharpened by battles both physical and mental, still told him one thing with clarity.

Daerion was dangerous. Not just powerful. Dangerous, to him and the people he loved.

How could that explain why Daerion had used the Church to exert control over the Magic Tower?

Still, he'd keep an open mind. Not because he trusted the King of Nozar—but because not giving the man a chance would be no better than heading into a storm blind without realizing going the other way would bring good weather and clear skies.

As Celina walked over and threw her cloak around Rosalia's shoulders, the girl brightened up immediately.

"I'm going to bring her to the town square," Celina said, smiling. "Buy some treats, just a bit of fun. She's earned it."

Rosalia turned instantly to Lukas, eyes wide with pleading hope. "Can you come with us? Please?"

He felt the tug in his chest, the pull of her voice, that warmth she always brought into the room. But Lukas shook his head gently, ruffling her hair.

"I wish I could," he said. "But I've got something to prepare for."

Her smile faltered slightly. "Something important?"

He nodded. "Very important."

Rosalia pouted a little but didn't press him further. "Okay…but you owe me next time."

"I'll make it up to you," he promised the young princess, grinning.

Celina gave him a subtle nod—no more words between them. Just a shared understanding. And as Lukas watched the two walk away, Rosalia laughing as she skipped ahead, he turned back toward the Tower, his expression sobering.

The meeting tomorrow was more than just important. Because tomorrow, the Merchant Guild would be meeting the King of Nozar.

Lukas would see if Celina was right, he would see if King Daerion was friend or foe. As open-minded as he wanted to be, something told Lukas that Daerion...was not the former.