Chapter 43: Just Take One Hit, You Little Punk (3)

Arbold, who returned to the village hall with the commander of the Order of the Silver Leopard, frowned as soon as he entered.

“Where’s Keter?”

Arbold, not wanting to risk anything going wrong, was on edge.

“Look at you, badmouthing me as soon as I’m not here.”

Keter emerged from a side door leading to the basement, and he wasn’t alone—he had brought Luke with him. Arbold couldn't hide his irritation. He had said that Luke had been imprisoned as he was being uncooperative. Now, with Keter bringing Luke along, it made it seem like Arbold had lied.

Keter patted Luke on the shoulder and said, “Don't worry. I convinced him. He has family, too.”

“Hmm.”

Arbold glanced over at his superior, the commander, who finally revealed his presence.

“So, you’re Keter.”

Luke felt a wave of tension from just a single sentence from the commander. Arbold was a strong opponent, but compared to the man standing before him, Arbold seemed insignificant.

He doesn’t even seem much older than me... Yet he’s said to be as strong as or even stronger than the leader of the Sacred Order of Sefira... Who is this guy?

Luke's curse had been warning him about this man from the beginning.

Keter, also intrigued, asked the man for his name.

“And what should I call you?”

“Heh, I have to introduce myself? How absurd. You really don’t know who I am?”

Although his arrogant attitude was off-putting, it didn't seem like he was bluffing. Keter glanced over at Luke.

“Do you know him?”

”...Ah! What? No way... Is it really you?”

“Took you long enough to recognize me. Very fitting for a Sefira.”

Luke felt ashamed that he hadn't recognized the man sooner. He couldn’t believe that he missed it. The man standing before them wasn’t just any strong knight.

“Jordic, the Spear Dragon...”

At Luke's exclamation, the man finally smiled in satisfaction, and his subordinates’ chests visibly puffed up with pride.

“Keter, you still don’t seem to know who I am.”

“You look like someone with... refined sexual tastes,” Keter quipped.

“... As the knight beside you said, I’m Jordic—Jordic El Bydent. It means that I have cleaner blood than you, a bastard.”

The fact that his last name was Bydent meant he wasn’t just a regular knight; he was the youngest son of Bydent. Not only that, the title of Spear Dragon was not something that one could just simply obtain. Luke knew this, which was why he was shocked, but Keter didn’t seem to care.

“Spear Dragon, sure whatever. Are we doing business or not?”

“How insolent. You shouldn’t take that kind of attitude with me, especially since you’re nothing more than a halfie who hasn’t even earned the title of a noble yet.”

“It’s very noble-like of you to start with threats, but it’s not my style. I prefer getting straight to the point. Are we making a deal or not? Or are you going to attack first?”

“I’ve heard enough from Arbold. You’re good at deceiving people, aren’t you? But you actually have no idea why we’re here, do you?”

Jordic was certain that Keter was a conman. He believed Arbold had been fooled, which was a mistake, but he also thought it would be fine if he fixed it.

“You really lack faith. Do you need me to spell it out for you? Will it make you feel better if I said that the beastfolk you’re after are in this village?”

”...!?”

Jordic’s eyes widened in shock. On the other hand, Arbold wore a triumphant grin. He had been reprimanded harshly by Jordic for being conned by Keter, but now it seemed Jordic was wrong. His loyalty aside, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction.

Keter truly knew about the secrets of the village.

“...”

Jordic glared at Keter. He then glanced at Luke. Jordic finished calculating the chances, and he came to the conclusion that he could kill both of them in one hit. He was sure that he could kill them before they even got a chance to shoot the flare or even scream.

Jordic’s fingers, gripping his spear, twitched slightly. At that moment, Keter began speaking as well.

“There’s someone waiting for me. Can we hurry this up?”

”...You're treating me as if I'm on the same level as this fool. I know you two are the only ones who came to this village.”

Jordic had already confirmed before coming that only Keter and Luke had entered the village.

“You're right. It's just me and this idiot here. Today, at least.”

“Today?”

“This is disappointing. Did you really think I would come here with no backup, really just the two of us?”

“Arbold.”

At Jordic's call, Arbold quickly responded, “We haven't fully searched the area. Our tracks might have been exposed if we did, so...”

“

Tsk.

”

Jordic’s frown deepened. He didn’t want to admit it, but he knew that killing them to silence them was a gamble. If word of the beastfolk’s existence and their connection to the Bydent family spread, the house of Bydent would be utterly ruined. Jordic knew he didn’t have the authority to gamble with the fate of his family.

Reluctantly, the grip on Jordic’s spear loosened.

“Now, shall we start the real negotiations?”

Keter sat at the table first.

* * *

“Fifty thousand gold is too much. We'll send one thousand gold every month instead. Don't get too greedy.”

“Forty thousand gold in a lump sum! I won't accept anything less.”

“I can't hand over forty thousand gold all at once without knowing if you will keep your word. And don't talk about making promises. I don't believe your life is worth that much.”

The real negotiation had begun. Neither side seemed willing to yield an inch.

“Shall we all just die, then? Like you said, I don’t have the ability to capture the beastfolk. But I can definitely claim the ten thousand gold reward for the tip. By the end of today, the empire will get word. You seem desperate to capture them, but do you think you can find them by the end of the day?”

“No, we will tell the empire first. The reward is only given to the fastest person. You won’t get a single coin,” Jordic said, his voice firm.

“Okay, fine. Take your ten thousand gold. I'll concede this time. But since you might just be bluffing and not actually report it, I'll make sure to report it too. We're done talking, so I’m leaving.”

As Keter stood up and started walking toward the exit, Jordic shouted angrily, “Sit down!”

“Buzz off,” Keter replied, ignoring him and heading for the door.

At last, Jordic composed himself and spoke in a more measured tone. ”... Twenty thousand gold.”

Jordic proposed a more realistic offer. Although it fell far short of the originally mentioned fifty thousand gold, it was never a feasible amount. Twenty thousand was still a substantial sum that a mere knight couldn’t typically offer. However, it was a much more plausible amount compared to fifty thousand gold.

Without turning around, Keter responded, “I hate the number two.”

“

Tch

... fine, make it thirty thousand gold,” Jordic relented.

The offer went up exactly ten thousand gold without any hesitation. Keter returned to his seat. It was clear from Jordic’s face that this was the limit. The look on his face showed that he wasn't willing to go any higher, and if Keter tried to push further, Jordic would most likely seek other means to resolve the situation.

Even though it wouldn't matter much to Keter whether Jordic looked for other means, there was no reason to push things further.

Why turn down thirty thousand gold when they're offering it?

Keter returned to his seat and pulled out a document and a pen from his coat.

“You've seen this before, right? It's a blood contract. No forgeries or backing out.”

Keter scribbled the contract quickly. His handwriting was terrible, but it was still legible.

Jordic frowned as he reviewed the contents. He had expected hidden traps or toxic clauses since he thought Keter was a conman, but there was nothing. To his surprise, the contract was remarkably straightforward.

—Jordic El Bydent, representing the Bydent family, agrees to transfer the sum of thirty thousand gold coins to Keter El Sefira. This transaction must be completed within one month as stipulated in this contract. Failure to do so will grant Keter the right to claim ten times the amount, three hundred thousand gold, as compensation. Furthermore, this contract certifies that Keter will keep the secrets of the Bydent family in exchange for the agreed payment.

“Anything you'd like to add?” Keter asked.

”...Arbold,” Jordic called out.

Together with Arbold, Jordic rechecked the contract. There wasn't much to scrutinize. If Keter was marked as an ally of the Bydent family, he would not only be exiled from the family but possibly face death. If Keter just took the thirty thousand gold and broke his word, Jordic could simply release the contract to the public. This would destroy Keter's reputation, and no one would ever trust him again, tarnishing the Sefira name as well.

For Keter, it was a reasonable contract—one that left him no choice but to keep the secret.

“I've already signed it.”

Keter had already signed the contract and handed it over. All that remained was for Jordic to sign. He grabbed the pen, which was enchanted to automatically extract a small amount of blood from his finger, using it as ink.

”...”

Before signing, Jordic hesitated once more. This was only the second time in his life that he had signed something with his name.

When he had signed the first time, Patrah, his father and the patriarch of Bydent, told him that no amount of consideration—whether two times, three times, or even ten—would ever be too much when signing a contract.

This contract has no issues.

With a smooth motion, Jordic wrote his initials in elegant handwriting and handed the contract back to Keter. Keter split the two stacked copies of the contract, keeping one for himself and handing the other to Jordic.

Thus, the delicate and precarious agreement was finalized. Keter would remain silent about the existence of the beastfolk, and Jordic would pay him thirty thousand gold in return.

* * *

The once crowded hall was now empty, leaving only two people: Keter and Luke. All of the Bydent knights had left to search for the beastfolk without concern, thanks in large part to Keter.

“I’ll take care of silencing the villagers as a free service. Hurry up and find them, do whatever you want to them.”

Keter already killed the village chief. Having already seen Keter’s brutality, Arbold was completely convinced. In truth, it wasn’t so much that he believed Keter, but that he

needed

to believe him. The knights were exhausted. They had spent nearly a month in the field, constantly on edge. They were desperate to find the flying wolf and return home as quickly as possible.

“Keter, what do we do now? Our original mission was to find the missing knight, wasn’t it? Are you really planning on keeping this secret? Helping the Bydent family... That’s just not right.”

“Then why don’t you go report them?”

“Huh?”

“The contract said I have to keep the secret. Your name isn’t on it, though, is it?”

“Oh... You’re right.”

Luke felt foolish for not realizing something so simple sooner, as if he had been under a spell.

“Wait, is this magic? Did you trick them with magic?”

Realizing once again that Keter was a mage, Luke made a big fuss.

Keter waved the contract like a fan and said nonchalantly, “My mouth is magic itself.”

“Wait a minute. But why are we still here? Isn’t our business finished?”

“It’s not over yet. I told you earlier, we can’t let those guys find the beastfolk.”

“That’s the part I don’t understand. You’re supposed to keep it secret, but... Oh!”

“Now you’re catching up, huh? I said I’d keep the secret, but nowhere did it say we wouldn’t find the beastfolk.”

“But even so, how are we supposed to find them? Are we really going to hide them? Us?”

While it was good that Luke was asking questions to learn, there was a limit to how far that went. Being able to deduce things was important, so Keter slapped Luke on the arm.

“Are you planning to ask about every little thing? Try deducing something, no matter how small.”

“I really can’t think of anything. I don’t want to pretend I know something when I don’t.”

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“Pretending only works if you actually know something. But you know absolutely nothing.”

“...”

Luke pouted.

“Put those lips back in. We’re leaving now,” Keter said as he stood up.

Luke immediately followed behind Keter. They resembled more of a student trailing behind a teacher than an equal partner.

“We’re just going to follow the Bydent knights, right? That way, we won’t have to do the searching ourselves.”

“I'm telling you, we have to find them first.”

“But how are we supposed to find them first? There’s just the two of us. Are you going to use magic again?”

“If there was some method or magic like that, do you think the beastfolk would have survived this long? The emperor would've hunted them all down ages ago.”

“True... So, how are you going to find them?”

“Me? I'm not going to find them.”

“Huh?”

Keter stopped in front of a building, the Pumpkin Leaf Inn. This was the inn where Reganon's subordinate was waiting. With his hand on the doorknob, Keter finished his sentence.

“They’re going to come find me.”