Chapter 138: Quite Timid for a God (4)

Eslow recalled the conversation he had with Keter.

“Like you asked, I will treat you and Sefira as honored guests and allow you to stay at my palace. But if you fail to treat my son, I will burn Sefira down to the ground.”

It was true—they had never explicitly agreed that being allowed to stay as guests was the compensation for healing Ryze. But even if it hadn’t been said explicitly, there was something called an unspoken agreement, which meant that right now, Keter was...

Did he just pick apart my words?

Eslow smirked slightly.

“Keter, you ended up crossing the line after all.”

Eslow took out a smoking pipe from his chest. But instead of putting it in his mouth, he raised it and pointed the pipe at Keter’s chest. He slowly raised the pipe until it nearly touched Keter’s forehead.

“It seems you’ve misunderstood me.”

The pipe stopped, as if Eslow were granting him just one more sentence.

“I’m already receiving the hospitality as compensation for the first treatment.”

“First treatment?”

“The surgery to suppress extreme mana disorder was a success. What remains now is the procedure to control it.”

“Hah. So you intentionally didn’t finish the treatment?”

“If Master Franken heard you, he would be heartbroken. A doctor never deliberately leaves a patient half-cured. Suppression is essential, but control is optional.”

“You sure like using Franken’s name.”

“Master also once said this: ‘A doctor must never practice medicine without compensation.’ My lord, if you won’t offer compensation for the second procedure, I cannot perform it.”

“...Hmph.”

Eslow gave a short laugh and lowered the pipe.

“Amusing. I thought you were recognized by Besil as an archer because you held Amaranth. But perhaps you intend to live your life as Franken’s disciple, as a doctor instead?”

“I’m neither an archer nor a doctor.”

Keter created a small flame at his fingertip and used it to light Eslow’s pipe.

“I’m a Solver.”

“...A Solver.”

Eslow took a puff from the pipe, then exhaled a wisp of smoke.

“Tell me what the difference is between having or not having the control surgery.”

He was implying that he wasn’t going to get it if it was unnecessary.

“Without it, he will live as a regular person. With it, he will become someone who keeps only the benefits of Extreme Mana Overload Syndrome without the drawbacks. Reaching the level of a Grand Mage wouldn’t be difficult.”

“A Grand Mage, huh.”

After another puff, Eslow continued.

“Keter. From now on, you are Henya and Ryze’s personal doctor. In return, I’ll protect Sefira until the day you die.”

“No thanks.”

“Don’t you want to save Sefira?”

“To live means to live autonomously. If my life hangs in someone else’s hand, can you really call that living?”

“Better than disappearing from this world. Endure, and wait for your chance.”

“Sefira has already found its chance.”

Keter pointed at himself.

“...Haha.”

“I will take that laugh as a yes.”

“Just one question, Keter. Your answer will determine the weight of your reward.”

“Gladly.”

“What do you think of Her Majesty the Queen?”

If it were anyone else, they would have instinctively started praising her. But this wasn’t public; only Keter and Eslow were here.

What was he testing? What did he want to hear?

Even if one had a hundred days, even if one had already decided on your answer, anyone would struggle to answer. Eslow was Queen Lillian’s closest confidant—one of the four lords empowered by her directly.

Keter thought for a moment—a very brief moment.

“For a god, she’s quite timid.”

“...What?”

“Other kingdoms’ kings and queens are also deified, but they still appear now and then, even if not often. But Queen Lillian? Almost no one has ever seen her in person. Is she even alive?”

Keter subtly mixed a question into his answer. But Eslow didn’t let it slide.

“So, she seems timid... That’s your answer as someone who lives in the Lillian Kingdom?”

“That’s what came to mind first. Do you like it?”

“Leave.”

Normally, if someone was dismissed like that, they would protest about their reward, but Keter just shrugged and left the room without another word.

* * *

“Timid, huh...”

Eslow mulled over the words Keter had left behind.

“That’s something only someone who doesn’t know what Queen Lillian is like could say.”

The Lillian Kingdom was geographically blessed with rich strategic resources and fertile lands ideal for agriculture, but militarily, it was one of the worst-positioned nations.

It was not because the technologically advanced Kingdom of Baen lay to the east, nor was it because the barbaric Kingdom of Adeus lay to the west. It also was not because of the sea monsters and pirates running rampant in the southern seas. It was because of the Demon Capital that lay in the heart of the continent.

The Demon Capital was the present-day hell, teeming with bizarre lifeforms and demons. Of all the nations, the Lillian Kingdom shared the largest border with it, even larger than the empire, which was the largest on the continent.

Currently, all the nations devoted over half their military power to holding back the monsters and demons pouring out from the Demon Capital.

But the Lillian Kingdom was different. Even though it shared the widest border with the Demon Capital, it devoted only thirty percent of its national defense to the threat. This was all thanks to Lillian, a truth that only the Four Lords were aware of.

“I don’t know what Lillian did, but the Demon Capital is clearly showing favoritism toward this kingdom.”

Just like Keter had said, Lillian rarely revealed herself. It had been close to a hundred years since her last appearance.

But to the Four Lords, she appeared on rare occasions. Of course, she once appeared to Eslow as well. Over a decade ago, after nearly eighty years, Eslow met Lillian, and she only left one comment before vanishing again.

“Test whether Sefira deserves its title as a master family.”

She called it a test, but Eslow understood that it was a soft-worded order to erase Sefira from this kingdom.

Even then, he thought it strange.

Why would Lillian concern herself with something like Sefira?

To Eslow, destroying a noble family was trivial. Even if it was a long-standing house, it made no difference. So he wondered why Lillian—the queen—delivered that message herself just to suppress the weakest of the master families.

Could this be... an opportunity?

He wasn’t certain, but he quickly realized this was an extremely rare opportunity.

There’s definitely something wrong with Queen Lillian. If not, she would never have bothered to come to me in person to issue that command.

To test his theory, Eslow intentionally delayed action. Rather than carrying out her order immediately, he used the Sword of the South Tournament as a convenient pretext to observe for ten years.

In doing so, he became even more convinced.

Queen Lillian is currently unable to directly intervene in this world.

But further confirmation would be difficult. It would cost too much causality, and in doing so, he would risk becoming trapped even deeper within her grasp.

Besides, my trump card still isn’t ready. It will take ten years, twenty at most, so I can wait.

Eslow decided to patiently wait until the weapon he was preparing was complete.

But recently, one being changed his mind: Keter, the Solver of Liqueur and the bastard child of Sefira.

“You’ve succeeded in drawing my interest, Keter.”

Eslow postponed Sefira’s downfall. Instead...

“I’ll use you all to see how Lillian reacts.”

Why does Lillian obsess over Sefira?

Eslow now had hope that if he could uncover that secret, he might also uncover Lillian’s weakness.

* * *

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal striking metal jolted everyone from Sefira from their deep slumber.

“Rise and shine! Get up!”

“Wh-what?!”

“What’s going on?!”

The archers of Sefira slept with bows and arrows at their sides. They all grabbed their loaded bows and rushed toward the source of the noise: the kitchen.

“Come eat. It’s all ready.”

Seeing Keter stirring a giant cauldron, the three Sefira brothers and the members of the Order of the Galaxy, who had come running in a panic, let out a sigh of relief.

“But there’s nothing on the table.”

“I’m setting the plates and spoons. Almost done.”

“Mm.”

The group couldn’t fall back asleep even if they wanted to. More importantly, an unbelievably delicious scent of chicken soup was wafting from the cauldron. The rich aroma of chicken, with a subtle hint of ginger, tickled their appetites.

Though they rarely ate breakfast together, now gathered in one place by Keter, everyone sat around waiting like baby birds eager for his cooking.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

“All right, it’s done. It’s chicken soup that is so good it’ll send your soul flying.”

“Ooh, smells amazing.”

Taragon, the big eater, licked his lips. The others didn’t say anything out loud, but they were clearly swallowing their drool. After all, the food Keter had made last night when he was in a good mood had been astonishingly good.

Shredded chicken, golden-clear broth, bright orange carrots, and vibrant green beans—just the sight of it brought joy to their eyes.

As Keter distributed the soup, he sat at the table and said, “Eat slowly and savor it. This stuff is precious.”

“Huh? Uh... thanks, Keter.”

Myle didn’t think chicken soup was really that special, but he still thanked Keter and took his first spoonful.

That moment...

“Huh?!”

Myle’s eyes went wide in shock. The same happened to the others.

“Whoa?!”

“W-what is this?!”

“My body’s heating up!”

From Katherine to the Galaxy Knights, everyone was stunned the moment they took a bite.

Keter casually sipped the soup straight from the ladle and said, “It’s chicken soup boiled with the leftover elixirs and Eternal Snow Water from the surgery. It’s probably the most expensive chicken soup in the world.”

After Ryze’s treatment, Keter had, of course, taken the leftover elixirs for himself: one Pure Spirit Pellet, one White Flower Pill, three Dragon Essence Pellets, and all the remaining Eternal Snow Water—he had thrown it all into the soup.

Ordinarily, boiling them like that would destroy most of their effects. But in Keter’s chicken soup, at least half of the elixirs’ power remained. That was thanks to the ultimate culinary technique he learned from his cooking master, Demeter: the Will of Food.

Demeter’s Will of Food, which allowed one to pour their will into food, could open a blind man’s eyes or make the paralyzed walk. Keter hadn’t reached that level yet.

But retaining half the effect while increasing the yield? That much is doable.

If Demeter had cooked it herself, the effects might have even been amplified. But for Keter, preserving even half took considerable energy and focus.

The others didn’t have time to appreciate the gesture. Not only was the soup delicious beyond words, their bodies were undergoing shocking changes. Sweat poured from them like broken faucets. It was the effect of the Dragon Essence Pellet, purging waste from their bodies. Even toxins built up in their bone marrow were expelled. The sweat was yellow and smelled foul, but no one in the room cared.

“Haaah... haaah...”

“I can’t stop eating!”

“My body feels so light!”

Whoosh!

They threw off their clothes and devoured the soup like madmen, as if they would eat the bowls next.

“Don’t eat the bowls. They’re just ceramic.”

Keter, who had only eaten enough for a snack, left them behind and stepped out into the garden.

After his metamorphosis, Keter’s body no longer held any toxins or waste. The chicken soup, for him, was simply delicious.

He basked in the morning sun, enjoying a walk in the garden, when someone approached him.

“Lord Keter. Good morning.”

It was Butler Fifty-Five.

“You’re not just here to say hello.”

“No. In fact, someone has come to see you, sir. They claimed to have an appointment, so I came to confirm it with you.”

“Who is it?”

“Minerva El Aegis, also known as the Shield of the East. He requests an audience with you.”