Chapter 14: The Second Customer (2)

“Archers typically focus on building upper body strength to the extreme. It makes sense because in war, the goal of an archer is to shoot as quickly and accurately as possible from a fixed position, so there’s no need to train the lower body. But now, we have many enemies and no one to protect us. We need to focus on learning how to fight on our own and master shooting while moving.”

Taragon’s jaw dropped. Keter was three years younger than him; although he had grown up in the infamously tough lawless city of Absinthe, it couldn’t account for the enormous difference in perspective.

What kind of life must he have lived to be able to speak about things like that so freely and fluently?

Keter really didn’t seem like a junior to Taragon.

“That’s why running is necessary for members of the Sefira family, because it allows you to improve your stamina while also training your lower body. Of course, you’re probably doing it now, but it’s just for warming up. Building the strength to run all day is the priority, then we can move on to shooting while moving.”

If given the choice between training and actual combat, Keter would choose combat. However, only one in a hundred survived and became stronger through real battles. The likelihood that Taragon would be that one person was very low. Of course, the odds would increase significantly if Keter watched over him, but Keter didn’t care for Taragon that much.

“Do you need more reasons about why you need to run?” Keter asked.

“No, I understand. I’ll run from sunrise to sunset, and after building up my stamina, I’ll learn how to shoot while moving,” Taragon replied.

“There should be manuals on shooting while moving, so don’t come to me. And don’t skip running even for a day. No matter what happens, make sure you run—even if it rains, even if you catch a cold, even if you’re mentally out of it.”

“Huh? That’s a little...”

“You can do it. You won’t die. I know because I’ve done it.”

“I’ve heard that overexerting yourself can lead to negative effects.”

“That’s what happens when you give up right before your limit. You have to push past that limit to get stronger. Just so you know, the moment you ignore my advice, you lose your status as my client.”

Taragon gulped. Even the thought of Keter turning his back on him was horrifying.

“Okay. I’ll run, even if it kills me.”

Taragon seemed eager from the way he was talking. Keter found that commendable and decided to give Taragon one more piece of advice on the house.

“Knowing our family’s nature, I think Father or one of our brothers must have given you some tasks. But you seem to have a lot of free time. What’s going on?” Keter asked.

Taragon racked his brain to recall a distant memory.

“Uh... Oh! Hissop told me before to protect the house. Does that have anything to do with it?”

“So they entrusted you with the task of guarding the family. So, what did you do?”

“Guarding the family? Does that mean I should have been in charge of security? I just thought Hissop said it in passing, like a formality.”

“And you became even more convinced of that because your family didn’t say anything about you neglecting your duties?”

Taragon got goosebumps hearing Keter, who sounded like he knew the whole story.

“... That’s right.”

“It’s the exact opposite. They were deliberately not saying anything to show that they trust you. They figured you must have some plan.”

This wouldn’t make sense to an outsider, but this was a plausible explanation for the Sefira family.

Keter drummed his fingers on the table, pondering for a moment before speaking up.

“The soldiers and knights in charge of security were probably already told to follow your orders. Check if that’s true today.”

“If that’s not true, won’t they treat me like an idiot?”

“If it’s not true, then it’s not true. Those who nitpick about it won’t be helpful to your life, so ignore them.”

“Okay...”

“If you’ve been entrusted with guarding the family, then naturally, you should be taking on that responsibility.”

After exhausting my stamina by running for half of the day, I’m also supposed to be responsible for protecting this vast estate?

Taragon understood what Keter was saying, but it all seemed so difficult. This was because he had never been so busy before. However, he couldn’t bring himself to say that he didn’t know if he could do it. It wasn’t a matter of pride; Keter’s gaze was simply too intimidating.

“I-I got it. I’ll take care of security, too.”

“Of course, you should. And...” Keter pointed at all the books in Taragon’s room. “... throw it all away. You are not a jack of all trades. Stop wasting your mind on useless knowledge.”

“I’ll burn everything; it was bothering me anyway. But... what do I tell other people?” Taragon asked.

“Try to fix at least one problem in your life by yourself. You can do that.”

A random person hearing their conversation would have no idea which of them was the elder brother and which the younger.

Taragon might have taken this as an insult under normal circumstances, but right now, his spirit was already broken. He simply scratched the back of his head and said, “Okay. I’ll come up with something.”

“I like that you’re obedient.”

When Keter stood up, Taragon followed as well.

“Are you going already?” Taragon asked Keter.

“Yeah, I should get going, but so should you.”

“Why me?”

Keter silently pointed at the window, which only showed the clear blue sky.

As Taragon stood there, clueless, Keter sighed.

“What did I say just now? What should you be doing until the sun sets?”

“Running in the field... Are you saying I should start right now?”

Taragon was aching all over from getting pummeled by Keter. Taragon subtly revealed his bruised forearm as if wanting Keter to notice.

“Were you going to have a nice rest today and start tomorrow? Is the family’s precarious situation a joke to you? Get out there right now,” Keter said, raising his fist.

“O-Okay, I’ll go.”

Taragon, the owner of the room, ran out first, and Keter leisurely followed him. The soldiers in the corridor who saw them were curious about what had happened between them, but they didn’t dare to ask.

* * *

In the center of the Sefira family’s garden, there was a bell tower. It was still too early for the bell that announced the arrival of the night to ring. The sun was still high in the sky, so there was no reason for anyone to be around. Yet, there was a middle-aged man down below, pacing back and forth.

“My lord! How and why did you get up on the roof of the bell tower?! Please come... no, I’ll come get you, so please wait!”

The person who was shouting toward the top of the bell tower was Jacques, Keter’s butler. He blankly stared at the ladder that led to the top of the tower. The tower was small and had no stairs, just a ladder. It was very sturdy, but the problem was that Jacques had an extreme fear of heights.

“T-This is insane.”

Jacques looked up at the roof of the tower again. It was a dizzying height; it was clearly much higher than the heights that humans feared the most. One would surely die if they fell from such a height. However, at that height, there was a person.

On the very narrow roof of the bell tower with no place to even set a foot, Keter was casually sitting, as if on a picnic, and looking around.

People who didn’t know that Keter was sitting on the roof became aware of it as Jacques kept shouting.

“That was a person?”

“I thought it was a falcon.’

“My, he’s so brave.”

Keter could hear people talk about him, but he didn’t pay attention to it and just stared at the field. He could clearly see Taragon running around. He was panting, but he maintained his form and ran well.

If left alone, Taragon was going to become a disaster to the family, so it was beneficial to work him to the bone so he couldn’t cause any trouble. Plus, Keter could at least break even for his service if he used Taragon as a pawn.

I keep him alive and help him grow. That’s enough for an equivalent exchange.

There was another reason Keter had ordered Taragon to run around the field. It was because he wanted to see approximately how many spies were hiding in the family. They had avoided detection from both soldiers and knights, but...

There’s no way they can escape my eyes.

The Sefira family had a lot of enemies. Naturally, there were plenty of spies within, keeping an eye on things. The Sefira family wasn’t unaware of the existence of these spies; they probably knew better than anyone else.

But they probably don’t have the resources to root out the spies. That’s why they’ve only identified them. If they took action against some of them, it would only cause the others to hide even more cunningly.

Simply put, it was an uncomfortable cohabitation.

As he entered the family, Keter had already sensed the lurking presence of spies hidden in the shadows throughout the estate. He didn’t know how many there were, but with Taragon drawing attention, he got a rough idea now.

There’s a swarm of them.

With so many spies, there were bound to be traitors as well.

The question now is: who are they?

Traitors could range from insignificant servants to key individuals like vassals or the family’s descendants. Finding them may be difficult, but dealing with them would be easy.

They might change their minds when the situation changes. I’ll just kill the ones who don’t.

Keter wasn’t going to make any exceptions, even if they were family members.

At that moment, Jacques, who had overcome his fear of heights and climbed up to the roof, called out from below.

“

Huff, huff

, my lord...

Ugh,

I’m here.”

Jacques was holding his head in agony, like he was dizzy, but he didn’t give up.

“My lord, I will extend my arm, then you can step on it and... c-come down.”

Jacques overcoming his fear was nothing but devoted, but Keter just clicked his tongue.

Gramps sure is diligent. I know he’s been ordered to take good care of me, but he doesn’t have to do that.

Keter believed Jacques’ affection was because of the patriarch’s orders. Keter’s unwavering belief was that there was no such thing as kindness without compensation in this world.

Just then, a strong gust of wind blew, causing the flag on the bell tower to flap wildly. At the same time, Keter swayed, which alarmed Jacques.

“Woah! My lord!”

To Jacques, it looked like Keter had lost his balance in the wind and was about to fall. However, Keter flipped in the air, grabbing the edge of the roof, and landed safely. The movements were so smooth and quick that Jacques couldn't comprehend what had just happened.

“Huh?”

Jacques was dumbfounded as he watched Keter descend from the roof in the blink of an eye.

Keter winked and said, “Out for a breath of fresh air? I’ve had enough, so I’m off now.”

Instead of climbing down the ladders, Keter grabbed the ends of the ladder and slid down quickly.

Jacques, who was left alone at the top of the bell tower, clung to the railing and blankly stared at Keter head back to his residence.

“Lord Keter is like the wind,” Jacques said.

Keter didn’t hide what he wanted to do; he did what he pleased and went wherever he wanted. The way he acted, as if he didn’t care who tried to stop him, seemed cheerful, but Jacques was worried.

“Nobility and freedom are opposites. I don’t think Lord Keter will live as a noble if it means giving up his freedom.”

Although he felt helpless, Jacques was not going to give up on Keter.

“Lord Keter grew up in the lawless city alone. Naturally, he is not used to a controlled life, so I have to work and try harder.”

Though he spoke bravely, Jacques descended the ladder with trembling hands.