Chapter 5

Episode 5. Handle It Neatly and Sensibly (2)

“Just saying hello, just hello.”

I quickly slipped out of the residence while the old man was distracted. He’ll catch on soon enough, so no need to stick around.

I headed to the west wing where the Bloodline of Sephira resides.

I have six siblings, but there’s one I wanted to meet first.

“Anis.”

Anis El Sephira. The third son of House Sephira.

In my past life, my other siblings ignored me, but this guy challenged me to a match. I made some dismissive comments about archery, and he got all fired up.

Of course, I utterly destroyed him.

After that, we became close. We fought every time we met. In my book, if you can fight without killing each other, you’re close.

Anyway. I’ve come this far, but I’m not entirely sure. Is this current life exactly the same as my past life?

So far, it’s the same. But I don’t think it’s 100% yet.

Seeing Anis will make it clear.

Who knows, maybe the kind and gentle Anis will welcome me.

I’m not exactly sure where he is, but I have a rough idea.

From what I know, he’s a training fanatic. And he always trains in the creepy underground. So, he might be in the underground training room. If not, he’d be in the ground-level training room.

As I walked briskly, I felt someone’s gaze.

The soldiers avoided eye contact, but the maids were glancing at me. When I looked back, they averted their eyes.

I couldn’t help but say something.

“If you want to see my handsome face, look properly. How else will you see it clearly?”

The maids squealed and ran off. They looked just like sparrows.

Then, I heard a familiar sound.

*Creak.*

The sound of rubber being stretched. It’s the sound of the Sephira family’s unique archery technique, ‘Zodiac Twelve Bows,’ specifically the ‘Bow of the Dead.’

Anis is definitely in the underground training room.

As I descended, I saw several training rooms. But one in particular had two soldiers guarding it.

They’re really obvious about it.

I approached the two soldiers, who were noticeably bulkier than the others. The one on the right, probably the senior, held out his palm and said,

“Halt. This is Young Master Anis’s private training room. If you’re lost, I can guide you back.”

Judging by his palm lines, he’s destined for an early death.

“I’m in the right place. Move aside.”

“No. This area is off-limits to unauthorized personnel.”

If this were Ruquer, I would’ve said,

“5… 4… 3……”

If they didn’t move by the count of 2, it’s my rule to turn them into half-wits.

But this is Sephira, and I’m a noble.

Let’s resolve this like a noble.

“Are you prepared?”

“Huh?”

“Prepared for blocking my way.”

“We know who you are, Young Master. But still, no.”

I clearly tried to resolve this like a gentleman, but these two just squared their shoulders and glared at me.

This makes it legal.

“You’re mistaken.”

They see me as a young master, but I need to remind them.

“You don’t know me at all.”

* * *

The two soldiers guarding Anis’s private training room didn’t look kindly upon Keter.

Their fellow soldiers had quickly informed them that Keter was from Absinthe.

Moreover, Keter’s aggressive demeanor only heightened their wariness, making them view every action of his negatively.

‘Putting his hands in his pockets? Does he think we’ll just bow to authority and let him through?’

They had been repeatedly instructed by their squad leader. Even though Keter was a direct bloodline member, he hadn’t officially joined the family yet, so they didn’t have to obey every command. They were told it was okay to refuse unreasonable orders.

Plus, Keter’s attitude, as if he didn’t care about a physical confrontation, made the soldiers scoff.

Keter’s slender build and handsome features made him look like someone who had no business in a fight.

In contrast, their biceps were thicker than Keter’s calves.

‘Typical of someone from Absinthe, trying to solve things with force. How immature.’

The soldier flexed his thick biceps and said,

“Last warning. Return to your quarters.”

Keter took a large step forward and said,

“I don’t take orders from those weaker than me.”

“If you insist on using force, we’ll have no choice but to respond in kind.”

Ignoring the soldier’s warning, Keter chose to advance, and the soldiers grabbed his shoulders with their large hands.

The difference in physique was so vast that one soldier alone seemed more than enough.

No matter how infamous Keter was for being from Absinthe, he shouldn’t have been able to overcome such an overwhelming physical difference.

But—

“Huh?!”

Keter didn’t budge.

Like a pillar deeply embedded in the ground.

But the real issue was that Keter was human, and he still hadn’t stopped moving forward.

“……!”

“Whoa!”

The soldiers, now using their entire bodies instead of just their arms, tried to stop Keter’s advance, but they were pushed back as if in a poorly staged play.

The friction between their shoes and the ground was so intense that smoke began to rise.

“How is this guy so strong?!”

“Alex! Are you even trying?!”

The soldiers’ faces were already red, and their muscles were bulging as if about to burst.

Meanwhile, Keter remained calm, his hands still in his pockets.

*Whoosh! Crash!*

With a single shake of his body, Keter sent the two soldiers tumbling to the ground.

But they had spirit, immediately grabbing Keter’s pants and ankles, trying to weigh him down.

*Screech.*

Keter started walking, dragging the two soldiers clinging to his ankles.

‘They’ve got spirit. Too bad it’s just muscle without substance.’

To Keter, training was child’s play. The strength gained from training you could start and stop at will was insignificant.

Life in Ruquer, however, was all about real combat and hell. You either pushed your body to the limit or were left behind or killed. That was life in Ruquer.

Even if the soles of your feet were torn and bleeding, you had to keep running. To get a piece of bread, you had to carry logs five times your weight.

Keter had tested his physical limits daily, not by choice, but for survival.

Every day, pushing past his limits, Keter’s body evolved his muscles differently.

Not by bulking up, but by compressing.

Thus, while he looked ordinary, Keter’s strength was on par with a monster.

The elite soldiers trained rigorously, but not to the point of risking their lives. They were too valuable to lose.

Thus, comparison was impossible.

Muscles grown without the fear of death could never surpass those forged with life on the line.

“Huff, huff…”

“…Gasp.”

Keter, dragging the panting soldiers, reached the door and said,

“You should’ve let go by now. No sense of timing. Handle it neatly and sensibly. Got it?”

“Handle it… neatly… and sensibly… huh?”

The two soldiers were flustered. They had keenly felt that they were no match for Keter in strength. But their loyalty to the family wasn’t so shallow as to run away.

Keter sighed in annoyance.

“Hey, guys. Do you think I’m here to eat Anis? I just want to see my brother. Why make me out to be the bad guy? Want to see what a real bad guy looks like?”

Only then did the two soldiers scramble to their feet and say,

“No, sir!”

“We’re sorry! We were just……”

Keter cut them off with a wave.

“I get it, guarding the door is your duty. But you need to read the room. Since it’s my first day, I’ll let it slide, but if you act clueless next time……”

Keter drew a line across his neck with his finger, and the sound of gulping was unmistakable.

“W-we’ll keep that in mind.”

Though most of their brainpower was devoted to training, their strong survival instincts had taught them respect.

Even after just one scuffle with Keter, they instinctively realized that opposing Keter was akin to not wanting to live.

The senior soldier, without Keter asking, opened the door to Anis’s training room.

The overwhelming difference in strength had the effect of instilling manners where there were none.

* * *

Anis El Sephira.

He had spent an entire week eating and sleeping in the training room.

“Haa, haa.”

His entire body, gripping the bowstring, was drenched in sweat and trembling. His right hand, holding the string, was bloodied from how much he had been shooting.

“Not enough. This won’t do, this won’t do……!”

*Creeeak!*

Anis twisted the already taut string one more turn.

What he was attempting was the manifestation of the fifth technique of the Sephira family’s representative archery, ‘Zodiac Twelve Bows’—the ‘Bow of the Dead.’

*Creeeak!*

The string was stretched to the point of snapping, and the bow was bent to its limit.

“Uwaaaaah!”

*Thwump!*

As Anis released the string, the bow shot out a shockwave. Caught in it, Anis was knocked down, but—

*Crash!*

The power of the Bow of the Dead was terrifying. It pierced through a thick steel shield 200 meters away, tearing it apart in a spiral.

The shield, specially crafted to be thick and round to block arrows, was pierced in a single strike. A feat only possible for the Sephira family.

Though the power was praiseworthy, Anis himself didn’t look satisfied.

In fact, he looked disappointed.

“It shouldn’t even leave a mark on the shield.”

Anis’s obsession with strength was simple. He would need it soon.

Anis acutely felt the family’s crisis and anticipated an armed conflict.

In such times, who else would protect the family if not him? Anis was burning his soul, even sparing sleep, for that day.

“Grrr……”

His fingers, abused to the point where the skin split and white bone was visible, didn’t seem to feel pain as he reached for another arrow.

If the training room door hadn’t burst open, that is.

“I clearly said no one was to enter, didn’t I?”

Anis spoke sternly without turning around.

He had told the guarding soldiers. Even if his father or the elders summoned him, he wouldn’t see them. He wouldn’t leave until he achieved satisfactory results.

So, the door opening naturally angered him. When no response came, Anis turned his head to reprimand.

And the next moment—

His eyes widened.

If it were his father or a family elder, he might have understood. But the person he saw was a young man smiling brightly.