Chapter 289: Treason If We Fail, Revolution If We Succeed (3)

Nila, the Moon Rabbit Tribe of the Seven Cursed Species, was dumbfounded. Keter had just uttered nonsense, and yet he wore the expression of someone who believed he was being generous.

What kind of person is he?

If someone said something absurd, they should at least explain why, but Keter kept his mouth shut, even looking at her as if she were the strange one.

He’s waiting for me to ask what he meant.

Nila found him ridiculous, but since he didn’t seem intent on attacking her, she decided to play along.

“What do you mean by that?”

“What else? I’m saying I’ll send you to someone even the emperor of the Samael Empire can’t touch.”

“...?!”

Her drooping ears shot straight up. That was impossible; there was no place on the continent beyond the emperor’s reach. Even other royalty wasn’t free from the emperor’s pressure. Above all, no one would bear the risk of defying the emperor just to protect a member of the Seven Cursed Species. If someone or a faction like that existed, Nila would have gone to them already instead of hiding in the Bydent family like a parasite to help them rise.

“You’re not playing some kind of game, as in sending me to the afterlife, right?”

“I stopped making jokes like that seven years ago,” Keter replied.

“Must I really ask for you to explain? So who is this great person, and where are they?”

“Kazaran, the Sword Emperor. I’ll tell you where he is once our deal is settled.”

“The Sword Emperor Kazaran?! He’s alive?”

Kazaran, the Sword Emperor, was a figure from three hundred years ago. He was a god-slayer who killed a god with nothing but a sword. It also wasn’t just one god, either; he killed more than three. His feats were so extraordinary that they were recorded in history, though scholars disagree on the details.

“He killed an evil being who failed to become a true god.”

“He killed a demigod.”

“It was a cowardly attack exploiting a moment of divine weakness.”

But one fact was never disputed: Kazaran had killed a godly being while still human.

Then one day, he vanished. Most assumed the highest gods had killed him, enraged at his god-hunting spree.

But Kazaran is alive, though he’s a little unhinged now.

Keter had met Kazaran in his previous life. It was only for about a week, but Kazaran’s level of mastery was far beyond anything that could be described as merely strong. He was an eight-star Irregular—a human who truly possessed the power of a god.

He’s incredibly stubborn, but there’s one thing that worked on him.

The one reason Keter ever managed to meet him was a beastfolk.

Who would believe Kazaran is a total fur-lover?

Kazaran loved animals. That was why the uninhabited island he lived on was overflowing with them. There was even one of the Seven Cursed Species living by his side: those from the Flame Dog Tribe.

Keter had talked to one of them before.

“The Samael Empire knows I am here, but they still cannot touch me.”

Keter agreed. No matter how ruthless the emperor was toward the Seven Cursed Species, facing an eight-star Irregular was not worth the risk.

His presence was practically on the level of the Godfather.

In any case, Keter hadn’t offered to save Nilla on a whim. He had a solid basis for it, and, of course, he had calculated that the reward would be worth it.

“Kazaran will protect you, but the place he lives is far removed from the human world. Once you enter, coming back out is nearly impossible. You understand what that means, don’t you?”

“You mean I won’t be able to interfere in the world anymore. So that’s why you said I’d be giving up my life.”

“What are you talking about? I meant that if you’re going there, you hand over everything you own.”

“...”

“Well, what you said isn’t wrong either, and I also need to make it look like I killed you for the Special Task Force. Otherwise, you won’t be able to escape safely. So I’ll need that from you,” Keter said, pointing at Nila’s fluffy rabbit ears. “Both would be the most convincing, but Kazaran might not like that. So just give me one.”

“You understand what ears mean to the Moon Rabbits...”

“You said that it was second to the heart. That’s why I’m telling you to hand one over. If I’m going to make them believe you died, I need something of that importance, don’t you think?”

“...Keter. Fundamentally, how am I supposed to trust you? I can’t be certain Kazaran is alive, or that you know where he is, or that you can actually take me to him.”

“That’s how life works. Some deals only function if you take the leap and believe first. If you don’t, then it can’t be helped, but usually the desperate party is the one who chooses to trust. To be blunt, killing you right here and handing your corpse to the Special Task Force would be much easier for me.”

“Then why choose the harder path? The moment the emperor finds out you helped me, not only you but the entire Sefira family will be exterminated.”

Nila held a small hope that perhaps Keter hated the emperor as much as she did.

“I just don’t like doing what everyone else does, and I like doing what everyone else isn’t. If I see a beautiful flower field, I want to burn it. If I see a barren desert, I feel like planting flowers. You get it?”

Trying to understand him, Nila eventually found the answer.

“...So you’re insane?”

“People keep saying that.”

“Ha... I’m supposed to entrust my fate—my entire species’ fate—to a madman?”

“Try considering the madman’s feelings too.”

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Then, Nila grasped her left ear and ripped it off. It was a grotesque sight, but Keter didn’t even blink.

“A clean cut from a blade would look suspicious. An ear that’s been torn to shreds is much more convincing. A wise choice.”

Nila handed him the severed ear. Strangely, it still held warmth and a faint pulse.

“For the Moon Rabbits, ears are like prophetic pouches. Without one, my foresight will weaken... but with the world as it is, it hardly matters.”

“Your treasures?”

“I left them all in Bydent, including our knowledge that could overturn the world. What you do with it is entirely up to you, Keter.”

“You even left the original Moonlight Spear techniques as well?”

“Yes.”

“Smart.”

“What do I do now?”

“Return to Bydent and help Katherine and the knights escape. After that, prepare yourself.” Keter instructed.

“Simple enough. It almost makes all my years of fleeing the empire feel pointless.”

Nila turned to leave, then stopped. He suddenly remembered Keter calling himself a Solver.

“Keter. If I asked you to kill the emperor, would you take it?”

Killing the emperor was an impossible request that no sane person would accept.

However, Keter rubbed his fingers together and replied, “Depends on the price.”

“...What a shame. I should’ve hoarded more treasures.”

Even countless fortunes wouldn’t be enough for an assassination at that level. But Nila figured that if it were a different kind of request, it might be worth asking.

“Keter, this is a personal request. If you ever come across another member of the Seven Cursed Species... tell them about me, including what I did, and what happened to me.”

“And the payment?”

It wasn’t a difficult request, but Keter never did anything for free.

“I’ll teach you the code used among the Seven Cursed Species. With it, no one will dare treat you carelessly.”

“Oh? And I assume the payment comes first?”

“I trusted you once. You think I won’t trust you twice?”

“Clever.”

That night, Keter completed his official mission and gained a private request as well. Satisfied with such a productive outcome, Keter slept soundly under the moonlight.

* * *

“What in the world is happening?”

On the rooftop of the palace tower, a place where the entire city lay clearly in view and icy winds howled through the air, Crown Prince Rukan stood alone. He was clutching his chest with a frown on his face, as if something was frustrating.

“Why is everything falling apart like this?”

Everything had gone exactly as planned up to the execution of the Family War, but for some reason, nothing went according to plan after that. It was bad enough that Lerkin, the king consort, escaped, but now he had somehow formed a faction out of nowhere.

At first, Rukan never considered Lerkin a threat. After all, he was just an ordinary man who had done nothing but sit in confinement. Lerkin possessed no exceptional abilities, nor did he come from any distinguished family. Rukan was certain no one would support him and yet...

“How could half the palace knights swear allegiance to him!”

The Grand Corps, the Order of the Dragon, and the Royal Guard—three of the palace’s foremost military forces—publicly declared their support for Lerkin. These were people who had already sworn allegiance to him or Rakan, yet they had now changed their loyalties.

“How could they pledge allegiance to someone like him?!”

Rukan had no respect for Lerkin, his biological father. He could not believe this was happening.

Even Keter and Daat had not predicted this outcome. What should have ended as a small disturbance in the palace had somehow exploded into a massive shift in power.

They wondered if Lerkin had some sort of hidden special ability, but the secret was in the queen’s personal ornaments.

Lerkin was the only person in the palace who was allowed to enter the queen’s chambers. There, he had adorned himself with her accessories and used her perfume before appearing before people.

Originally, it was merely a stunt to visually assert his legitimacy as the one who should inherit the queen’s lineage. But an unexpected effect had occurred: those ornaments and perfume, saturated with the queen’s scent and aura, triggered her innate Charm ability. As a result, those with strong loyalty to the queen became charmed by Lerkin instead.

It was natural that Rukan and Rakan were horrified. They were immune to the queen’s Charm, but ordinary humans were not. As even some of the nobles were beginning to shift to Lerkin’s side, Rukan and Rakan needed to come together and expand their own influence, but their relationship had already crumbled.

They had originally maintained a neutral relationship, but the small rift Keter created between them proved effective. There was no need for a great fracture, as even a crack small enough for an ant to slip through eventually broke the whole structure.

Instead of joining forces when unity was desperately needed, Rukan and Rakan only kept each other in check, and as a result, Lerkin’s faction continued to grow.

And this wasn’t the only problem.

“Why has there suddenly been an explosive increase in foreigners in the south?”

A civil war had broken out, so it was expected that it would draw international attention. However, only the southern region was being flooded with foreigners. It felt strange to chalk it up solely to the conflict between Sefira and Bydent.

“Why are they coming to watch, as if they knew in advance this would happen?!”

The foreigners behaved as though they had known about the Sefira–Bydent Family War in advance, which was impossible.

It wasn’t just one or two countries either. Not only people from the neighboring Baen Kingdom and the Adeus Kingdom, but even those from the Belferio Kingdom and the Samael Empire had come to watch.

And on top of that...

“The Order of the Sun, the Syndicate, the Saint Zarbella Foundation... Everyone from around the world is gathering in the south?!”

He had no explanation for this strange phenomenon. He had no way of knowing what their purpose was, or how they had all gathered in the south to watch the Family War between Sefira and Bydent. It was natural—after all, it was Keter who had invited all of them to witness his and Sefira’s accomplishments.