Chapter 319: My Father Is Everywhere (8)

Memories tended to be romanticized, sure, it was bad, but there were good parts too. But Keter could never bring himself to soften what had happened in Liqueur—being abandoned there, living through days that were nothing short of hell.

He had resented his parents. He had sworn that if he ever found those who had thrown him into Liqueur, he would take revenge. That was why, in his previous life, he had turned his back on Sefira. Only after everything ended did he learn the truth and forgive them.

In any case, he no longer harbored resentment toward Besil, whom he had believed to be his biological father. He had thought that all that remained was his biological mother, Akrah.

But that wasn’t it. The fact that he was a monster, one whose blood was mixed from multiple humans, meant nothing to Keter. What truly angered him were those who knew of his existence and still chose to ignore it.

“If you call me your son, then why did you ignore me, knowing I was trapped in a hell like Liqueur?”

He was genuinely curious. He wanted there to have been unavoidable circumstances—some reason he could accept. Yet despite Keter’s intense reaction, the three men showed no sign of agitation.

After exchanging glances and seemingly coming to an agreement, Chancellor Natas spoke up first.

“If you were truly my son, I believed you would be able to escape Liqueur without my help. I also wanted to see whether you could grow without relying on my authority after leaving Liqueur. And in truth, you did splendidly.”

Next, Scala snorted.

“I didn’t believe Akrah’s letter. I thought it was a trap set by an enemy nation. Dispatching troops into Liqueur, a forbidden zone, based on uncertain information? That would have brought nothing but harm.”

Kundeline, looking utterly uninterested, added flatly, “I forgot.”

Keter nodded at the excuses of his three would-be fathers.

“Mm.”

Just as he’d expected, there weren’t any profound reasons behind it. That was precisely why he was angry, yet he couldn’t immediately understand why he felt this anger.

I was hopeful at first... but after that, I stopped expecting anything. So why am I still angry?

Just as standards of good and evil differed from person to person, so too did what one considered important in life. Keter valued that deeply. He could disagree or argue with others’ views, but he rarely let his emotions get involved. And yet now, his emotions were boiling. It took only a moment of reflection to understand why.

“Then why did Besil of Sefira come to save me when you all ignored me?”

It was both a question and an accusation. Once again, the three answered without much thought.

“I wasn’t particularly curious.”

“He probably gambled on a whim.”

“He must have had time to spare?”

Keter hadn’t seen Besil in quite a while, but he felt certain that if Besil were here now, he would have answered...

The answer is because we are family.

The three showed no sign of agreeing with that answer. Keter shrugged.

“We’re not the type to stake our lives on blood relations. Hard to relate, right? I mean, you can always just have more children. However, at least I know that way of thinking isn’t normal, but you speak as if it’s only natural,” Keter said.

To those who called him insane, Keter was clear that he lived like a madman because the world was mad. He was fully aware that what he did was madness.

“You’re all failures as fathers, all unfit to be anyone’s father.”

They no longer glared at one another. Instead, they all stared at Keter.

“So even if we truly are your biological fathers, you won’t accept us?”

“In Baen, blood relations are something even the law cannot sever. Whether you like it or not doesn’t matter.”

“Is this what they call a rebellious phase? I hear a good beating usually fixes that.”

Their ugly nature was laid bare, but Keter no longer felt angry. He stood from his seat.

“You’ve probably already guessed it, but all of you are likely my fathers. My mother, Akrah, took all of your seed, and I inherited that blood. Honestly, aside from whether it’s possible or impossible, it feels unfair. You all boast extraordinary bloodlines, yet I never really felt it.”

“Your intelligence is not learned; it’s the manifestation of my blood.”

“And your creativity must be mine.”

“You may be small, but that toughness is from me.”

The three showed neither shock nor hesitation at the idea that Keter was a chimera, a monster born of multiple bloodlines. To them, it posed no obstacle to their goals.

“Anyway, even if you’re undeniably my biological fathers, I have not the slightest desire to call any of you that.”

“And what if we don’t allow that?”

The three, who had been snarling at one another just moments ago, were once again united, this time pressing down on Keter.

Keter slowly circled the table.

“I have no intention of acknowledging you as fathers, but...”

Whoosh!

At his gesture, the flames lighting the room were extinguished all at once, leaving only a single candle on the table.

Standing cloaked in darkness, Keter leaned into their ears and whispered, “But I can treat you as customers.”

* * *

In Sefira’s office, Hissop sat with a plate piled high with peanuts, cracking them open with a loud crunch.

Every ten minutes, he would shout, “Has Keter come out yet?”

Each time, the attendants waiting outside answered in unison, “Not yet.”

Hissop was visibly anxious, and he couldn’t hide it at all.

Crunch, crunch.

His hands moved faster, and the interval between his questions grew shorter. By the time he was asking every five minutes, the door finally opened. Hissop, who had been waiting on edge, jumped to his feet.

“Keter?!”

“It’s me.”

The one who entered was not Keter, but Daat.

Daat casually walked over to Hissop and grabbed a handful of the shelled peanuts, popping them into his mouth. Hissop slumped back into his chair, covering his eyes with both hands. He had realized his own inadequacy as the head of the family and an older brother. He should have trusted Keter and waited. Instead, he had shown how little faith he truly had.

“What has you so worried?” Daat asked.

Hissop opened his mouth to answer, then stopped. But Daat didn’t need an explanation; he had already come knowing the reason.

“The empire’s chancellor, Baen Kingdom’s genius inventor, and the Grand Duke of Adeus... You’re afraid Keter might choose one of them, aren’t you?”

“...If one of them truly is Keter’s biological father, what am I supposed to do? Compared to them, Sefira has nothing to offer.”

No matter how rapidly Sefira’s power was growing, everyone in the world knew it was all thanks to Keter. Sefira wasn’t incompetent, but compared to those three, the difference was like an ant versus an elephant. They were wealthier, more stable, and far stronger. The Samael Empire, the Baen Kingdom, and the Adeus Kingdom—anywhere Keter went would be far better than Sefira. Hissop couldn’t deny that reality, and it filled him with insecurity.

“If Keter says he’s leaving, should I send him off as his brother? Or stop him as the head of the family? And if I do stop him, how am I even supposed to do that... I have no idea.”

“Hm. You were worrying about something unnecessary. Keter won’t leave Sefira.”

“Does that mean none of them are actually his father?”

“No. They’re probably all his fathers.”

“What...?”

Not one, but all three?

That wasn’t something Hissop could comprehend.

“To borrow Keter’s words, the world is crazy. Anything can happen. Being born with multiple bloodlines isn’t impossible, though I agree it still sounds ridiculous.”

“...”

“More importantly, those men wouldn’t act based on a single flimsy piece of evidence. They came to Sefira this confidently because they have one-hundred-percent certainty. So, rather than his biological fathers... it’s more accurate to say they’re all men who had relations with his biological mother.”

Even Daat scratched the back of his head; the situation was complicated even for him.

“Anyway, that part isn’t important. What matters is that they didn’t come just to take Keter away as their son,” Daat added.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not acting like a patriarch right now. Calm down. The answer will be obvious.” Daat added quietly, “This isn’t because I’m too lazy to explain.”

Hissop took a deep breath, recalling Besil’s words that a patriarch must always remain composed. He forced down his tangled emotions. Then, he was able to see their true intentions.

“They intend to use Keter as leverage to take over Sefira.”

“To be more blunt, they’ll try to install Keter as Sefira’s future patriarch. They have more than enough justification.”

“Haha. That’s not just blunt; that’s brutally honest.”

If even one of them backed Keter and exerted influence in Sefira, they could seize the position of the patriarch by force if necessary.

“There’s even a joke going around that Sefira’s power ranking is: first, the all-capable Keter; second, the adorable Slurpie; and third, the capable but distant Lord Hissop.”

“Heh.” Hissop let out a self-deprecating laugh, but his head felt much clearer. “You said Keter won’t leave Sefira. Does that mean he won’t side with them either?”

“If Keter wanted to become the patriarch, he’d have declared it the moment he arrived in Sefira, but he didn’t. More importantly, he hates troublesome positions like that.”

Daat hadn’t expected Keter to reject calling Natas, Scala, and Kundeline his fathers simply out of personality, but in the end, his prediction hadn’t been wrong.

“Then that makes things worse. Will they really withdraw so easily?” Hissop asked.

“Yes. That’s why I kept them all in one place. Even if trouble breaks out, they won’t cooperate with each other.”

Daat had deliberately stationed Baen’s forces facing Adeus’s forces. Hissop had wanted them separated, as it was hard enough to manage them when they fought the moment they locked eyes. But Daat had insisted, strongly, that they must be kept together. Hissop had trusted him.

“I’m glad I didn’t ignore your advice.”

“It’s still too early to relax. Even if they fight each other, Sefira won’t come out unscathed. We need to quietly set up an encirclement and wait for the right moment to eliminate them.”

Hissop nodded and discreetly summoned the butler, ordering him to establish a containment perimeter exactly as Daat had said without drawing attention.

While Hissop prepared for every possible contingency, Navakin rushed into the study.

“Lord Hissop! Lord Keter has left the banquet hall!”

“Finally, you bring good news.”

Hissop grabbed his coat and was about to hurry out to meet Keter...

“Where are you rushing off to?”

Keter appeared as he opened the window and stepped inside. Hissop let out a hollow laugh. He wanted to ask why Keter insisted on entering through windows, but there was something more important.

“Was it resolved?”

“That depends on you now, Big Brother.”

“...What?”

Seeing Daat there, Keter judged that Hissop already understood the situation and skipped the explanation.

“They only came to use me now that I’ve made a name for myself. So I decided to return the favor.”

“...!”

“What they want is the collapse of the Lillian Kingdom, not some touching family reunion. I dealt with their petty ambition to swallow Sefira whole, and now it’s your turn.”

After straightening his clothes, Keter dropped to one knee before Hissop. Though they were inside the office, the door stood wide open. Servants and knights in the corridor were subtly peeking inside. Even without that, Keter’s voice carried clearly.

“Lord Hissop. As ordered, I have gathered the representatives of the Samael Empire, Baen, and Adeus in one place.”

“...!”

The way Keter phrased it made it sound as though Hissop himself had planned everything. Hissop was speechless.

Keter leaned closer and whispered, “Ah, my knee’s cold.”

“Ahem. Keter, my brother. You’ve done well. Leave the rest to me.”

Sefira had already declared independence from the Lillian Kingdom, and they had already fought a massive battle. Having drawn in outside powers once, there was no reason they couldn’t fully make use of them now. Of course, what to offer in return had yet to be decided. As Keter said, negotiations now fell to Hissop.

It was a matter of utmost importance that Sefira’s future depended on. The weight of responsibility made Hissop’s heart pound, yet his eyes grew hot with gratitude toward Keter. Even if it was an act, how could he not be thankful to someone who always tried to elevate him?

At that moment, the office door closed. Daat had quietly shut it.

As soon as it did, Keter sprang to his feet.

“Perfect timing, Dork.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen you kneel for anything other than food.”

“It’s not that big a deal. Want to see it again?”

“No, no—please don’t.”

Having regained his composure, Hissop said, “Thank you, Keter. You’re nothing less than a savior to Sefira and to me.”

“Just keep it at that. Gratitude isn’t free.”

“If there’s anything you want, name it.”

“Just keep things exactly as they are. That’s all I want right now.”

There were no farewells. With those words, Keter slipped back out through the window he had entered from.

* * *

Sefia gained new residents: two airships from the Baen Kingdom, along with one thousand crew members and combat personnel, and Marquis Gallua Scala remained behind as their commanding officer.

From the Adeus Kingdom, two thousand elite troops under Grand Duke Kundeline also stayed in Sefire, led by his younger brother, Madeline.

From the Samael Empire, the Special Task Force began providing internal support to Sefira, digging up and delivering information so thoroughly that they might as well have known what kind of underwear Rukan and Rakan wore.

Sefira experienced both unprecedented growth and utter chaos. It was exhausting and grueling; incidents broke out everywhere, and voices were raised constantly. But in the end, whether willingly or not, everything concluded with a handshake.

January passed in the blink of an eye, and February arrived. February came with brutal cold, as if winter were wringing out its last reserves of strength, unleashing severe cold waves and snowstorms.

“This makes any kind of activity impossible.”

Even Master-rank knights found their bones aching with cold despite wearing winter gear.

“All units: outdoor activity is prohibited.”

It was not a temperature humans could endure. The cold was so insane that even firewood burning indoors froze over. Across the Lillian Kingdom, hundreds of people froze to death each day. At least Sefira managed to endure thanks to aid from the Ultima Trading Company and sticker magic that emitted heat using minimal mana.

“I really want to jump into a pot of boiling water,” muttered Taragon, wrapped in thick winter clothing, as he took care of his crossbow.

Anis, who had been reading beside him, nudged him with an elbow.

“Don’t say that. There are knights standing guard outdoors even in this cold.”

“I stood watch yesterday, you know? Did you, Anis?”

“...”

Rustle.

Without a word, Anis turned the page. Just then, two servants entered the room where they were resting.

“Hm?”

“What?”

At the moment, all work in Sefira had been suspended except for training and guard duty. Servants weren’t supposed to be coming around at all, so their appearance was unsettling. The two servants quietly handed them a slip of paper. For some reason, Taragon and Anis both felt a sense of deja vu.

“No way...” Tarragon muttered with a hollow laugh as he checked the note.

—Assemble at the Second Training Grounds. First five to arrive.

It was familiar handwriting and familiar wording.

After reading it, Taragon shot to his feet and bolted. Anis rose half a beat later and hurled himself through the window.

Crash!

There wasn’t even time to open it properly.