Chapter 55: Call Me The Archery Genius (5)

Besil checked the time. It was now an hour until his scheduled dinner with Elder Panir. Yet, Keter still hadn’t shown up.

“I didn’t think he wouldn’t come at all,” Besil said.

As Besil sighed, Gasilius stepped forward. Suvide, the head butler, had left to prepare at Panir’s residence, so Gasilius, who was next in line to become the head butler, was temporarily assisting him.

“I’ll go and bring him here right away,” Gasilius replied.

“Hmm...”

Besil wondered what he should show his son, who returned with news of victory—authority or compassion? As Besil was thinking, both he and Gasilius turned to look at the window simultaneously.

Creak

.

Keter, who entered through the window, clicked his tongue.

“Seriously, I can never fool your ears, Father.”

“...You could just use the front door.”

“I’m helping you keep your senses sharp, Father.”

“Haha, well, thank you for that. But I didn’t sense you from the sound.”

“Then what?”

“Let’s just say it was the wind.”

“Well, I’ll keep that in mind. Can I sit down?”

“Of course. You can have some chocolate, too.”

“Great.”

Keter dumped the chocolates on the table into his mouth. Besil smiled, seeing Keter’s lack of manners, then put on a solemn expression.

“I heard what happened from Luke, your partner.”

“Oh, we should have matched our stories. What did Luke say happened?”

“Haha, I think that will differ based on what you say. I thought I gave you the easiest mission, but you were doing the hardest one.”

“I told you I’m the Solver.”

Keter gave his business card to Gasilius, who was standing behind him.

“You should take it too, Grandpa. I don’t give this to just anyone.”

“I’m honored, my lord.”

Gasilius smiled faintly.

“Now tell me: why were the knights of Bydent at Hacose Village, and how did you end up fighting them?” Besil asked.

However, Besil didn’t ask

how

they won. From this, Keter got an idea of how Luke explained the situation.

I guess he said something about me winning because of Amaranth.

It was the correct response. Their opponent was a novice—a rising star in the kingdom. Even though he was called the Spear Dragon, he was still just a rookie barely at the four-start level. He couldn’t possibly stand against Demon Bow Amaranth.

“It won’t be much different from what Luke said, but it’s true that there are parts I can’t talk about,” Keter said.

“Even to me, the head of the family and your father?” Besil replied.

“I have plans with Elder Reganon.”

“I didn’t expect you to mention your grandfather. I know you met him before leaving on your mission. Does that have anything to do with what happened?”

“Why would Elder Reganon be my grandfather? He’s just a stranger to me.”

“Don’t think of it that way. Even if you are from different mothers, we are a family bound by blood.”

“Anyway, I can only talk after I’ve had another conversation with Elder Reganon.”

It could seem like Keter was hiding something, but he wasn’t, as Besil could press Reganon for answers anyway. Besil didn’t probe further on that matter as well.

“Fine. Since you insist so strongly, I’ll wait. By the way, Sir Luke mentioned that you used both aura and mana at the same time. He said you defeated the knights of Bydent with archery he had never seen before without even using Amaranth. Where did you learn such archery?”

This was different from Keter’s expectations; Luke had reported everything honestly to Besil, telling him everything he saw. This was a pleasing outcome for Keter, as that was why Keter displayed those skills.

“It seems like you don’t think I had help from Amaranth,” Keter said.

“I heard about the condition of the Bydent knights from Sir Haxen. There were no traces of demon arrows.”

“Even if I say that it’s self-taught, you’re not going to believe me, right?”

“It’s certainly hard to believe. Archery isn’t just about placing an arrow on the string, drawing, and releasing. Its simplicity makes it all the more profound.”

When it came to archery, the Sefira family undoubtedly had the deepest history—excluding the empire, at least.

“How much do you know about Liqueur?”

“That it is lawless and a place shrouded in secrets.”

“There’s nothing you can’t find in Liqueur. As long as you have money and power, you can get anything.”

“Are you saying you learned archery there?”

“Isn’t that the most plausible excuse?”

“Haha, I can’t tell if you’re trying to deceive me or being sincere.”

“It’s more truth than lies, so it’ll be easier for the both of us if you just accept it as the truth.”

“Easier for both of us, you say...”

Besil took a sip of his lukewarm tea.

“My son has many secrets.”

“I heard that a charming man should have many secrets. And aren’t I actually quite charming?”

“You’re so charming that it’s dripping on my face. You could tone it down a bit, you know.”

“Then you should stand farther away. Or, perhaps getting soaked up close wouldn’t be so bad either.”

“What do you plan to do with the Bydent knights? I heard you even ordered them to be treated.”

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

“I intend to interrogate them. They dared to challenge Sefira, so they must pay the price.”

“You plan to do the interrogation yourself?”

Torture and interrogation were not things to be done with a clear mind, and without an understanding of human psychology, it could backfire. That’s why skilled interrogators were extremely rare and expensive.

Besil let out a scoff. It was because he thought Keter might actually be good at it. Though it was far from normal to have one’s own son do such a cruel task, what choice did he have? Not even Besil himself, nor anyone in Sefira, had anticipated the sudden, unauthorized intrusion of the Bydent family. Keter discovered it during his mission, subdued them, and brought them all in. Keter had earned the right to handle this.

“Do not kill them. I can grant you the right to interrogate them, but the right to judgment belongs to me.”

“Kill them? I’m not that ruthless. It’s the world that forces me to be so.”

“Then the world must be at fault. Would you like another cup of tea?”

“It’s almost dinner, so I’ll pass. Besides, isn’t it about time we got to the point?”

“The point?”

Keter rubbed his thumb and index together and said, “Time to settle the bill, my lord.”

* * *

The Godfather of Liqueur who taught Keter told him that he had to remember this if he wanted to survive in Liqueur: give if received, and receive if given. The Godfather told Keter that this rule applied to everyone, even the emperor and gods.

With that, the Godfather took ten gold from Keter as a lesson fee. He was only six years old at the time, and back then, his entire savings was seven gold. Keter certainly learned his lesson well—giving and receiving was the way of the world.

“The missing knight, Reynold, was confirmed to have run away. The fact that his family vanished with him proves it,” Keter reported.

“If it’s a reward for the mission, payments will be made individually through the treasury, so don’t worry about that.”

“Then, shall we talk about the reward for capturing the knights of the Bydent family? Normally, the ransom for a captured one-star knight in wartime is five hundred gold.”

“For seven of them, that would be three thousand five hundred gold.”

“Haha, my lord, why so modest? Those guys were at least two-star knights. And that Jordic fellow was a three-star knight close to being a four-star. You can comfortably consider him a four-star.”

“...”

Negotiation wasn’t Besil’s strong suit. He just learned right now from Keter that the standard ransom for a one-star knight was five hundred gold.

“I see you are quiet, so I’ll go ahead and do the math for you. Six two-star knights would typically go for three thousand gold each, but given that this isn’t a typical wartime scenario, a special premium should be applied—double the usual rate. That brings it to six thousand per knight, which totals thirty-six thousand gold.

“And Jordic, being a four-star knight and having the great title of Spear Dragon, should reasonably go for one hundred thousand. All in all, that’s one hundred thirty-six thousand gold, my lord.”

When Keter mentioned the full amount, Besil’s pinky twitched slightly.

Is he short on funds? Well, I guess I have no other choice but to offer a family discount.

“Since you’re not just the lord but my father, I’ll knock off six thousand, and let’s settle on one hundred thirty thousand. If you have any objections, I’m willing to hear them.”

“Objections... you say?”

Besil had experienced war, but it was nearing the end when he participated. As such, he didn’t really know much about negotiating ransoms for prisoners. Instead, he glanced towards Gasilius behind Keter, silently asking for his help.

“That seems like a reasonable price, my lord,” Gasilius commented.

Wait, what? Why’s this old man backing me up?

Even Besil seemed taken aback and confused.

“Are you saying Keter’s claim is accurate, Sir Gasilius?”

“It’s not entirely true. The premium is a bit overblown. However, I believe it’s acceptable,” Gasilius replied.

“The family’s financial situation isn’t in great shape,” Besil said.

“But the finances of the Bydent family are quite robust, aren’t they?” Gasilius responded with a subtle hint.

Ah, this old man is pretty good.

It seemed like Besil had caught on quickly, as his expression brightened almost instantly.

“So you’re suggesting that the Bydent family can handle three times the premium.”

Triple? Oh, Father, you’re thinking too small.

“My lord,” Keter interjected.

“Speak.”

“Ten times.”

“...!?”

Besil’s eyes widened in shock, clearly thinking that ten times was too excessive. Keter couldn’t blame him for feeling that way. Even though it was difficult to train and develop knights, demanding one hundred thousand gold as a ransom for each one did seem steep.

But the captured Bydent knights were no ordinary prisoners. They held secrets—secrets of the Moon Rabbit Tribe.

Bydent had to keep the existence of the Moon Rabbit Tribe absolutely hidden. If word got out, it wouldn’t matter how much gold they had—it would be the end for them. They could try spending tens of millions of gold to hire mercenaries, but it wouldn’t help; no one would dare take the job.

The emperor was serious about eradicating the Seven Cursed Species. Anyone affiliated with them, regardless of who they were, would face the emperor’s army and become erased from everything. History had proven this beyond any doubt, so there wasn’t any room to wonder about hypothetical questions.

Besil thought ten times the original premium was too expensive because he didn’t know this.

Should I just tell him? No, never mind. I can’t trust him. But telling my own father what to do doesn’t seem right. It’s better for me to keep control of the funds and use them effectively for the family. I can always hand it back to him when it becomes a hassle.

“Trust me. Even if Bydent claims they can’t or won’t pay, they will end up paying tenfold,” Keter said confidently.

“You seem to know the reason behind that, but I suppose that’s a secret too,” Besil replied.

“I’ll tell you someday, but not today.”

“Heh, Keter. If any of my other sons had said that, I would’ve told them to stop pretending to be wise. But coming from you, it fits. I might even believe you’re friends with Sir Gasilius standing behind you.”

Besil’s instincts were as sharp as ever. In Keter’s past life, he was around the same age as Gasilius, even though he wasted away the years fighting the queen.

“Oh, one more thing. If you decide to release them, make sure it’s thirty days later,” Keter added.

“You’re not even asking anymore, are you?” Besil replied.

“This is important. It’s more of a request than a favor.”

“The request of Keter the Solver, huh? It seems I’ll need to stay on good terms with him, so I’ll allow it.”

“Thank you.”

Jordic, after all, had a contract stating that payment had to be made to Keter within a month. Jordic knew that the amount would increase tenfold if the deadline passed, but the Bydent family didn’t. If Jordic failed to pay up, the Bydent family would be in real trouble.

I’m going to bleed them dry.

“Oh, and I’ve heard an interesting rumor that there’s a Sword of the South Tournament, and apparently, Sefira is going to participate.”

Keter had his eye on this tournament even before Jordic had mentioned it. The Sword of the South was set to happen three months from now. Until now, the Sefira family had always been denied entry, but this year marked their first participation. However, they were thoroughly humiliated in his past life.

That incident drove Anis to madness, and Taragon became obsessed with Amaranth, causing even more chaos. Externally, it would serve as proof that archery was no match for swordsmanship, dealing a severe blow to Sefira’s prestige.

Unaware of this future, Besil tried to pacify Keter.

“I’m not sure where you heard that, but it seems you’re interested. Unfortunately, the participants have already been decided. Four people, including Anis—whom you know well—will be representing us. Even if you wanted to join, the roster has been set in stone.”

Keter hadn’t even said he wanted to join, but Besil seemed to have assumed that’s where Keter was going with this. Besil said that it was impossible for him to join.

He’s technically right, but he’s wrong.

“If the roster can’t be changed, I’ll just find another way.”

That was just the way Keter lived life.