Chapter 64: It’s Right In Front of You (1)

Reganon couldn’t believe it; the Flying Wolf Tribe had left Hacose Village. They had meticulously erased any trace of themselves when leaving so that no one could track them. As such, Reganon had no way of knowing where they went.

As if that weren’t enough to cause a headache, knights from the Bydent family had shown up in Hacose Village. They were searching for the Flying Wolf Tribe, who was supposed to be a complete secret.

“You're saying that Keter and Luke captured all of the Bydent knights by themselves...?"

Reganon couldn’t understand where it all went wrong. There were no flaws or mistakes. Yet when he opened his eyes, everything he had built was crumbled to ruins. He was so anxious he couldn’t sit still.

"I don’t even know where the Flying Wolf Tribe is anymore, so Sefira should be safe from any involvement. But how did the Bydent family even go to Hacose Village knowing the Flying Wolf Tribe would be there?"

It made no sense, and asking the Bydent family directly would be foolish.

"Perhaps the Bydent family sent their secret knight order, thinking I would fail to take care of Keter properly. Then, maybe they happened to stumble upon a trace of the Flying Wolf Tribe. That’s the only explanation I can come up with. What incredibly bad luck."

It was the worst scenario Reganon could imagine. The trump card and ally he needed to protect Sefira was gone.

Bydent, who was refraining from pressuring Sefira as a favor to Reganon, would now certainly become their enemy. They would soon pressure them with full force.

"There’s no choice but to bring Keter in and ask him what happened. We need to know the whole story to plan our next move."

Reganon couldn’t summon Keter on the day of the incident as Besil got to Keter before he could, but now, he had to bring in Keter at any cost.

"Sir Gant, you must bring him here. Use force if necessary."

“Yes, my lord.”

Gant went to get Keter with two knights from the Order of the Galaxy.

“Keter, this isn’t a request; it’s an order. You’ll regret it if you refuse to come with me.”

Jacques was the one who became angry at Gant’s hostility.

“Sir Gant! What do you mean by this disrespect? No matter how important Lord Reganon’s summons, do you believe threatening Lord Keter is in keeping with a knight’s honor?”

“Stay out of this, Butler Jacques. This is a matter of grave importance.”

Gant signaled his men with a glance, and they moved to grab Jacques by the shoulders. At that moment, Keter quietly began counting down.

“Five, four, three...”

Just as Gant counted to three, Keter punched forward. The knight holding Jacques’ left shoulder quickly raised his right arm to block. As he was a three-star knight, his reflexes and reaction speed were quite fast.

But...

Crack!

The knight’s metal gauntlet was crushed first, and his arm twisted at an unnatural angle.

“Urgh!”

He staggered back in shock, inhaling sharply. Gant’s brow furrowed as he saw this. The knight had responded well; if he had resisted rather than retreated, his arm would have snapped.

“A seemingly simple punch, but a skilled technique... So you must have focused on martial arts training.”

Gant understood why. Punches and kicks were primitive forms of attack, meaning martial arts was something that the lower classes could easily learn.

“Don’t touch my property again without permission. Next time, it’ll be your fingers,” Keter warned.

Jacques hurried to intervene.

“Lord Keter, please don’t fight them. These men are from the Order of the Galaxy, the main military force of Sefira.”

“Because you think I’m going to lose?”

“Regardless of winning or losing, this will ruin your relationship with them.”

“Oh, that’s it? Sefira won’t crumble just because we lose these guys.”

Gant believed he had already shown more than enough patience.

“Lord Reganon has authorized me to use force if you refuse his summons. How dare a bastard child defy an elder’s orders? I’ll make sure you pay for this insolence.”

“Hold on, man. I haven’t refused yet,” Keter calmly said as Gant reached for his bow.

“Then come quietly. My business is with you, not Butler Jacques.”

“I said I would, jeez. For now, though... Luke! You can come in now,” Keter called out toward the door.

Then, the door slid open, showing Luke, who entered with a sheepish expression.

Luke and Gant’s gaze briefly met. Gant glared at him, while Luke awkwardly avoided his gaze and walked toward Keter.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I wasn’t eavesdropping for fun. I just thought things would get even messier if I stepped in.”

“Don’t care. Hey, you. Why don’t you wait outside? I’ll get dressed and come out,” Keter said to Gant.

“Do you really think I’d fall for such nonsense? I know you slip out through the windows whenever you feel like it,” Gant replied.

“Prejudiced much? How can you even call yourself a knight? Fine, I swear on Sefira that I won’t use the window.”

“Hmm...”

Hearing Keter swear on Sefira made Gant pause.

Keter... Seems like you’ve realized your place.

No matter how bold Keter acted, he was still just a street thug from the lawless city of Absinthe. The incident with the knights of Bydent was likely a fluke because of Amaranth’s power. Surely Keter realized the difference between their strengths now that he had witnessed the might of the Order of the Galaxy,

“If you’re not out in five minutes, I’ll have you restrained and dragged out,” Gant warned.

A vow sworn on Sefira carried weight. Breaking it could result in expulsion from Sefira itself. And since Keter relied on Sefira’s name for his own purposes, Gant was certain Keter would comply.

Satisfied, Gant led his men outside to wait.

“Lord Keter, what’s going on with Lord Reganon? Why is he being so forceful about taking you away?” Jacques asked.

“I told you when we first met him, didn’t I? That old man is definitely a traitor. He’s desperate to get rid of me before I expose him.”

“And I’m supposed to believe that?”

“Well, it’s your loss if you don’t believe me.”

“Hmm... In any case, please change into something proper. I don’t know why Lord Reganon is summoning you, but I’m sure this can be resolved through conversation.”

“About that... I do have a little favor to ask.”

Jacques felt a wave of unease.

“You’re not planning to escape through the window, are you? You swore on Sefira. If you break that vow, you’ll be banished immediately.”

“Who even uses windows anymore? That’s so childish.”

Keter suddenly flipped over the carpet on the floor.

“What in the world!?”

Jacques gasped in shock. For a moment, he thought there might be a hole hidden under the carpet, but no such thing appeared.

“A magic circle!?”

Even Jacques, who knew little about magic, could easily recognize the intricate design. It was a teleportation circle.

“Lord Keter, did you carve this yourself? When, and how!?”

“Don’t you know that a magic business card is the symbol of a mage? And for a mage, it’s basic knowledge to know how to draw a teleportation circle.”

Keter stood in the center of the magic circle and gestured to Luke to join him.

Luke’s misfortune alarm blared loudly in his head. Even without it, the unfamiliar magic circle made him extremely anxious.

“Keter, what is this circle?”

“It’s a teleportation circle. It’s a direct link to my office in Liqueur. Amazing, right? Magic is something else, isn’t it?”

“Wait a second. Are you seriously activating this thing yourself? I heard teleportation magic is extremely advanced and dangerous!”

“It is difficult and risky. Even a specialist in teleportation magic fails about one percent of the time.”

Luke gulped nervously at the mention of a failure rate.

“W-what happens if it fails?”

“If you’re lucky, you die instantly. If you’re not... I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

“I’d rather not imagine it! Why can’t we just take a carriage!?”

Of course, Keter wasn’t going to fail. With fifty years of experience in magic and a powerful enchanted tool ensuring the coordinates were fixed, the teleportation circle was foolproof. The failure rate was effectively zero.

Grabbing Luke by the scruff as he tried to step off the circle, Keter smirked and said, “Gramps, if the idiots outside come in, please tell them this.”

Whisper.

Hearing Keter, the color from Jacques’ face drained.

“H-how could I say such a thing?!”

“I’m leaving it to you.”

Keter clenched his fist, revealing a glimpse of the Akrah’s ring he had received from Besil. Ordinarily, teleporting directly into Liqueur was impossible, but it became possible with the intervention of her ring. It was the same for leaving Liqueur was true as well—a lesson learned from his past life.

Boom! Crackle!

Keter struck the center of the magic circle with the fist wearing the ring. A burst of crimson sparks scattered as the two figures vanished without a trace.

“Lord Keter? Lord Keter! Did you really leave?”

Left alone, Jacques looked around, half-expecting Keter to pop out and say it was a prank. But Keter was truly gone.

Bang!

Moments later, Gant burst through the door, flinging it open violently.

“Keter! It’s been five minutes as promised. Come out immediately!”

But there was no Keter to be found. Gant let out a scoff.

“That fool. Did he escape through the window? He must be willingly exiling himself from Sefira.”

At this, Jacques sighed deeply and stepped forward.

“Lord Keter did not leave through the window. Besides, the windows are all locked tight.”

“Do you think I’d believe the words of his butler?”

“If he had used the window, there would be witnesses. Feel free to confirm it. Also... Keter left a message for Lord Reganon.”

“That runaway is shameless enough to leave a message? What did he say?”

Jacques sighed again, hesitating briefly before saying, “...‘I’ll visit you soon, so please wait a little longer.’”

In truth, Keter’s exact words were, “Hey, you traitorous old bastard! Don’t you dare move a muscle! I’m bringing an army to crush every last one of your heads!”

For the sake of the family’s peace, Jacques had carefully rephrased the message.

* * *

Crackle! Boom!

With a red flash, two figures appeared in the air.

“Ugh...”

Luke gagged the moment they arrived. Nausea was one of the common side effects of teleportation.

“Ah, it’s been so long! Oh, right—four days, to be exact.”

“Ugh, Keter... Where the heck are we?”

The pungent smell of damp wood mixed with stale tobacco made Luke dizzy.

“Welcome, stranger, to the infamous lawless city of Liqueur. This is my office.

“Liqueur? Not Absinthe?”

“Absinthe is just a knockoff city built next to Liqueur. This is the real lawless city.”

“Ah...”

Luke shook his head, trying to regain his senses, then looked around. The place was a mess, with random junk cluttered on the floor. In the middle of the room was what seemed to be a table.

“So... you actually work here?” Luke asked.

“This is more of the waiting room, really.”

“The table... is it made of bones? It’s not human bones, is it? Ugh! And what’s that green stuff stuck to the ceiling?”

“That’s a slime. A cute little guy that cleans up corpses. His name is Popo. Popo, come here, boy.”

Keter held out a finger, and the green slime stretched down from the ceiling, wrapping around his hand with a sizzling sound.

“Hahaha, still adorable as ever.”

“Um, is it me, or do I smell something cooking?” Luke asked.

“Popo, that’s enough.”

The slime obediently retreated back to the ceiling.

Keter chuckled as he said, “You want to stick out a finger and feel him? He would love it.”

“I’ll pass...”

Luke shuddered as he touched the bone table, his skin crawling.

“Keter, I swear I just heard a voice coming from this table... It was begging for death. Am I hearing things?”

“It’s a table made from the bones of a Death Knight. Everything here is either an artifact or a magical tool, so handle them carefully. Otherwise...”

“Otherwise what?”

“Otherwise, you’ll end up as the chair that matches this table.”

“Gah!”

Leaving behind Luke, Keter headed for the door.

“Wonder if Dork is outside.”

As Keter left, Luke glanced upward and saw Popo, the green slime. As his eyes met Popo’s glowing green eyes, Luke jumped out of his seat.

“Eek! Wait for me!”

Luke quickly followed Keter into the next room, where the smell of tobacco was even stronger. The smell was fresh, as if someone had just been smoking in the room.

“This is my main reception area where I take requests,” Keter explained.

One person was in the reception room. It was Dork, Keter’s trusted subordinate. Luke couldn’t see his face, as he was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, but he looked like an average young boy at first glance. He was lounging in a lion-skin chair with his feet up on the desk, fast asleep.

“Hey, you lazy brat. Living the dream, huh?”

Keter poked Dork, and the young boy muttered in his sleep, “Mm... We’re closed today... Scram.”

“You forgot my voice after just four days?”

Keter kicked the chair, sending Dork sprawling onto the floor.

“Ow, my tailbone! Who is it?! Do you know who I am?!”

“Do you know who

I

am?”

Dork, who scrambled to his feet, looked up at Keter.

“Huh...?”

Dork had an innocent face, one that seemed out of place in a lawless city.

Looking at Keter, he muttered to himself, “Is this a dream? Ouch!”

Only after Keter flicked him on the forehead did Dork come to his senses.

“That hurts! Guess it’s real. Wait—Big Brother! Why are you here so early? You sounded like you were never going to come back from that noble family’s estate.”

“I feel like it’s been forever since I saw you.”

“It’s been four days, Big Brother.”

“Ah, come here.”

Keter ruffled Dork’s fluffy hair affectionately. In his past life, Dork had stuck with him to the very end. He didn’t know whether Dork survived, but he never forgot his loyalty.

“Dork, my dear Dork. How’ve you been?”

“Uh... Big Brother, did something weird happen at that noble family? You’re acting strange. Anyway, I’ve been eating, sleeping, and working, same as always.”

“That’s my Dork. Best of the best! You’re the best!”

“I’d prefer cash over compliments... just kidding.”

“You’re right. Words don’t pay the bills.”

Keter pulled a one thousand-gold bill from his coat and handed it to Dork. Though it was a huge sum, Dork looked at it suspiciously and didn’t take it.

“Big Brother, you promised no take-backs. Is this for real?”

“It’s yours. Keep it.”

“Why are you giving me this? I didn’t even do anything special these past four days.”

“Just staying alive and sticking with me is enough.”

“Did that noble family brainwash you or something?”

Dork finally turned to Luke, who had been standing awkwardly nearby.

“Hey there, Mr. Knight from Sefira. What’s your relationship with Big Brother?”

Luke hesitated, unsure how to explain his connection with Keter.

“We’re... friends, I suppose. Though we are still getting to know each other... I guess?”

“Geez, I thought you were some rookie. So you’re a friend of Big Brother, huh? What’s your name? Just call me Dork.”

“I’m Luke. I don’t have a surname. As a knight, I’d like to address you properly. May I know your full name?”

Luke had never seen Keter act so warmly to someone. He couldn’t bring himself to address someone like that so casually.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

“Dork is fine, but if it bothers you, call me Daat.”

“Mr. Daat, pleased to meet you.”

“Uh... I don’t really like knights, though.”

Then, Keter interrupted, “Dork, get along with Luke. He’s just undercover as a knight. He’s actually a big shot.”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier? Let’s be friends. If you’ve got questions, feel free to ask.”

“Thanks, I actually have a lot.”

“Save the bonding for later. Dork, I came back for a reason. I’m entering the Sword of the South Tournament.”

That was all the explanation Keter gave.

Luke stared, dumbfounded.

How could Mr. Daat understand with just that?

But before Luke could step in to clarify, Dork nodded.

“Ah, so that’s why you’re back. Hang on, it should be... yep, right over here.”

Dork acted as if he already knew everything and knew exactly what Keter needed.