Chapter 163: Do You Feel The Difference in Power? (2)

Norman had asked Keter if he was curious about his identity, and Keter had replied that he expected Norman to tell him himself. That could only mean one thing.

“You’re going to make me say it by torturing me, is that it?” Norman asked.

Keter stood up from his seat.

“Not exactly torture, but I am going to keep beating you until you tell me.”

“Ehehehe! Hehehe! Hahaha!”

Norman, who was laughing with his mouth closed, looked incredibly creepy. His killing intent emanating from him was enough to shake the ground. From an ordinary perspective, Keter, Kai, and Rajis were all near-transcendent beings, but even they became tense. That was how great Norman’s killing intent was.

The five assassins who ambushed Keter were three-star warriors, but their hearts stopped just from hearing Norman’s laughter laced with killing intent. Even accounting for the fact that they were already weakened by Keter’s beating, a killing intent strong enough to kill three-star warriors through laughter alone was beyond human.

“Ha... I’ve never been humiliated by a human this greatly before. I couldn’t stop laughing.”

Norman didn’t hide the fact that he wasn’t human anymore. However, Keter wasn’t very interested, as he had already realized that Norman—or rather, his true identity—wasn’t human.

“Are you done showing off? If you’ve finished what you need to say, can you leave? As you can see, I have two other visitors.”

“I’m excited for when your nonchalance will shatter. I wonder what face you will make in the face of death.”

“You’re looking at it right now.”

“I don’t care about the tournament. I want to rip you apart right now, but... that’s not the human way.” As he walked out, Norman added, “See you in the match, Keter.”

Norman left, implying that he wouldn’t let Keter off easy if he ran away.

Watching this, Kai remarked, “That one is trouble.”

Kai didn’t know about Norman’s true identity, but he figured that he wasn’t human from his killing intent and the way he spoke.

Non-human races are distinct and have a lot of variables. That’s why they are trouble.

Most non-human races were special. Not only did they have superior physical abilities compared to humans, but it was also common for special abilities only present in a very small subset of humans to be granted to an entire race. Moreover, it was impossible to predict what Norman was. He couldn’t be classified as four or five-star, as variability could surpass strength itself.

To that, Keter was indifferent.

“You know the saying that flowers are bound to attract butterflies? It’s wrong. Flowers are bound to attract all kinds of bugs. Not only that, people pay more attention to beautiful flowers and want to take them.”

Keter didn’t bother finding a reason as to why Norman, who he had just met, was so obsessed with him. He was certain that the reason would be something trivial like envy and jealousy. He had experienced many people like that in Liqueur—people who were jealous of his freedom and thus tried to take it from him. As such, Keter wasn’t really curious about Norman’s identity.

Why should I care if he’s Phillip or not, what race he is, or why he participated in the tournament pretending to be human?

If Norman wanted to be his ally, he would need to ask himself, and if he wanted to be Keter’s enemy, all he would do is beat him to a pulp.

“Ah, my table and chair are dead.”

All of the furniture, except for the sofa, was destroyed when the assassins who were hiding in Keter’s waiting room ambushed him. That was why Keter was using the assassins as his chair and table, but Norman had killed them all. That irritated him more than Norman’s identity and his declaration of war.

Meanwhile, Rajis was bewildered.

Is Norman not human?

Rajis had kept an eye on Norman. But after coincidentally running into him here and talking to him, he didn’t feel human at all. He had to investigate, as Norman was a savage non-human race posing as a human, but now was not the time; he must not be distracted.

The reason Rajis came here was to give Keter a heads-up about the shocking information he heard from Jordic, his friend. Of course, he was planning on hinting at it because he and Jordic, who told him the information, could be held responsible if he told Keter directly.

“Sir Keter, I will speak to you next,” said Rajis.

“Make it short. My next guest is running out of patience.”

Like Keter said, Kai didn’t have spare time to listen to other people’s stories. Every second of his time was worth gold, but the reason he still waited was that Keter was worth it.

Taking a deep breath, Rajis calmly said, “After this tournament ends, Sefira will receive some kind of offer from Garcia. You must remember to absolutely decline that offer.”

Rajis was extremely serious, and so was Keter.

“How will I know if you just vaguely say ‘offer?’ If you’re going to tell me, just tell me all of it. Don’t be mysterious; it’s frustrating and petty.”

“...I have my circumstances as well, and I’m trying to help Sefira.”

“Why? Are you indebted to Sefira?”

“It’s not for a materialistic reason like that. It’s for justice,” Rajis said, putting emphasis on justice.

To that, Keter frowned like he was sick of it.

“There you go again with that stupid justice talk. Do you realize that everyone who claims they’re doing it for justice is out of their mind?”

“I’m different.”

“Do you all go to some academy or something? You all say the exact same thing.”

“...Even though it is risky, I still came here to help you. But you don’t trust me.”

Rajis thought Keter was mocking him because he didn’t believe him.

“Of course, I don’t. Would you? And even if it’s true, your reason is trifling. Ha, justice? Then are you saying what Sefira will suffer is unjust?”

“Yes, it is. Didn’t you feel the injustice Sefira had to endure? It’s not over yet. Look, even now, you were ambushed by assassins, and worse things are still waiting. If Sefira had been a great villain, maybe it would be understandable. But your family has always shown goodwill to the people of the kingdom and yielded to other nobles. Those trying to bring down a family like that are acting unjustly.”

“What a joke. Hey, can you wait just a little bit more? I just can’t stand bastards like this.”

After asking for Kai’s understanding, Keter cracked his neck and stretched.

Rajis was nervous. To him, Keter was the kind of person to actually start a fight right here, saying that if they couldn’t talk it out, they would just have to settle it with their fists.

However, it was all an absurd guess. No one could guess what Keter would do. Even Dork, who had lived with him for years, couldn’t predict what he would do.

Thud.

Keter sat cross-legged on the ground and tapped the floor right across from him.

“Come here and sit down.”

* * *

Rajis was baffled. He imagined this would be what it felt like to be lectured by his seniors.

“Rajis, you said it was? I don’t care if you meddle in our business, but your justification is all wrong. For justice? When I hear that kind of mediocre, half-hearted reasoning, it makes me furious. How nice would it be if you said you personally wanted to help Sefira because you want to be friends with us? But justice? Justice? Please, explain to me what that great justice is.”

Keter wasn’t being forceful or shouting, but Rajis’ voice trembled like he was on trial.

“I-I told you that earlier. Sefira has good character, and your family sets an example for other nobles. To destroy a family like that out of one’s own greed is unjust—it goes against justice.”

“Have you checked? Did you see for yourself that Sefira has good character and sets an example for other nobles?”

“I don’t have to check that myself; I can tell from how others react and from history.”

“So, you’re saying that you only believe what you see on the outside and what others say?”

“That’s true, but...”

“And why is someone being greedy considered unjust? That’s what I hate most. People being greedy is natural. I mean, look at you right now. You’re wearing nice clothes, and you’re using very expensive bath salts from the way your skin looks. You probably eat very high-quality food as well. That’s all greed. Wanting to eat delicious food, wearing nice clothes, wanting to look down on people from a higher position, and even wanting to be safe—all of that is human instinct and desire. But you’re saying that is unjust. How ironic is that?”

“W-what are you saying?”

Rajis sincerely couldn’t understand Keter. To him, who had only lived in high society, Keter’s theory was too sophisticated.

Recognizing that, Keter changed his tone.

“Okay, listen. You probably can’t relate, but let’s say you’re incredibly hungry. You think you’ll die of hunger if you don’t eat right now. But there’s a little shop that is selling bread in front of you. But, oh no! You don’t have any money. You don’t even have anything that you can sell. Then what are you going to do?”

“Well... I would tell them my story and ask for some bread, sir.”

Rajis didn’t even realize that his tone had shifted; he was actually treating Keter like his senior.

“What if they don’t give you any? What if they tell you to piss off?”

“Then...”

Rajis was stumped. What could he do if he was about to die of hunger but he had no money and others weren’t being compassionate?

“Don’t act like you don’t know the answer. You have to steal it or take it from someone. By your standards, this would be considered unjust. Then, would it be right to die in order to stay just?”

“... Dying of hunger is a matter of survival, but greed is unrelated to survival, no?” Rajis answered.

Thinking he couldn’t just sit back and take it, Rajis gave it his everything and hit back. However, Keter had already heard this spiel dozens of times before.

“Survival isn’t just about having enough to eat. This needs to be fulfilled too,” Keter said, tapping his head. “For some, it’s here.”

This time, Keter tapped Rajis’ heart.

“People need a reason to live. Why do we live? Why do you live? It’s because we want something.”

“Want... something...”

“And that goal is endless. Even when you reach it, another one takes its place. That’s how I see humans—they keep chasing new goals until the day they die, and they live for those goals. Naturally, those goals are deeply personal. Sometimes they’re trivial. Some don’t involve anyone else, but most of them do affect others. So what should we do then? Should we yield? Should we push back? In the end, whatever the choice, it belongs to the individual.”

“...”

Rajis trembled. Never in his life had he heard such a profound philosophy of life—especially not from Keter, of all people.

“So it’s only natural for nobles to attack us. Sefira is weak, and they want to take advantage of it. It’s not strange. Of course...” Keter raised his fist and added, “Fighting back is also natural for Sefira.”

“Natural...”

Rajis contemplated what Keter said.

“Ha...”

Keter stood up. He grabbed Rajis by the shoulders and forced him up as well.

Pushing Rajis out, he said, “In conclusion, I refuse this insignificant help from someone who defines Sefira as weaklings based on your flimsy notion of justice. You can be lost in thought outside.”

Thud.

After making Rajis leave, Keter pretended to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

“Phew. I got through two people, and now...”

Keter glanced at Kai, who realized that he had definitely changed after meeting Keter. He could tell, even without seeing, that he probably looked puzzled.

“So, why did Mr. Spy come to see me? If it’s about Decameron, no, I can’t give him back. Go away.”

“Decameron? Did you give Unit Three a name?”

“I know from experience how terrible it feels to be called by a number. So, I gave him a name.”

“What does it mean?”

“That’s something he will have to figure out from now on.”

“The more I get to know you, Keter, the harder you are to understand.”

“I wasn’t lying when I said I don’t have much time,” Keter said, pointing to the screen that was broadcasting the team tournament.

The bracket was also on there, and it showed that Keter’s team was next.

Kai nodded and said, “I won’t be able to say all of what I wanted to because of those weird people, so I’ll keep it brief. I introduced you to the empire as my assistant, and the six million gold you gave me has been reported as support. I also said I gave you Unit Three to keep an eye on you.”

“Is this where I’m supposed to praise you?”

“Keep listening. The higher-ups who got my report gave me an order. I am making this offer as a representative of the empire, not as an individual,” Kai said, standing up straight. “Would you like to work at the Imperial Special Task Force?”