Chapter 50

Chapter 50. I’m an Attention Seeker (4)

Tears streamed down Luke’s face.

He’s alive. Keter is.

That calm face, which could be mistaken for madness and an annoying tone. If that’s not Keter, then who is it?

“Was it you who did this?”

Jordic, catching his breath, pointed his spear at Keter and asked.

Instead of answering, Keter threw his bow to the ground. The tattoo on his left arm flowed down his forearm and gathered in his left hand.

Soon, it transformed into a pitch-black bow.

Demon Bow Amaranth.

The fact that Keter wielded this, and his refusal to respond to Jordic, had a simple reason.

‘Because he’s no longer worth talking to.’

Jordic’s usefulness had come to an end. Kill him and Baydant’s knights, and retrieve the Beastman Karn.

Whoosh!

A Mana Arrow was loaded into Amaranth.

At the appearance of an arrow with a completely different nature from Aura, Jordic’s pupils trembled.

It was something he had never seen before, but his instincts knew. That was the power of death.

Though both of Jordic’s palms were torn, he gripped his spear even tighter and shouted.

“Did you think I, the Spear Dragon of Baydant, would be scared? Bring it on!”

Jordic prepared for a second Moon Eclipse.

Exhausted, Luke stumbled backward. His instincts were screaming at him. Jordic would be the one to die. So, to avoid getting caught up in it, he needed to retreat further. His spine tingled.

A situation where it wouldn’t be strange if it exploded at any moment. Suddenly, someone intervened between the two.

“Stop.”

It was Karn, who stretched out his arms to stop Keter and Jordic. Despite having fallen with deep wounds, he had somehow recovered and now wore a calm expression.

At Karn’s mediation, Jordic withdrew his Moon Eclipse, but Keter did not. He placed Karn and Jordic on the same line of fire and spoke.

“What?”

“Both of you. I trust you both. So, stop fighting. There’s no reason for allies to fight each other.”

“Huh— Looks like our grandfather raised you wrong. Are we your subordinates? If you tell us to stop, do we just say ‘Yes, sir’ and stop?”

When Keter spoke as if he was going to finish things, everyone was stunned.

“You lunatic! I risked backlash to withdraw my Moon Eclipse. And you still want to attack me? And you call yourself a noble’s child?”

“You’re the one who withdrew it, why are you blaming others?”

“Lord Keter. Please withdraw your arrow. It’s just that I couldn’t show proper etiquette because I wasn’t sure about you.”

“Keter. Why don’t you listen to Karn first before deciding?”

As the three tried to persuade Keter, he reluctantly withdrew his arrow.

“I’ll give you a chance. Because I’m merciful.”

With that, the initiative completely shifted to Keter. Everyone now knew who held the authority in this situation.

“Haaa.”

Luke, his tension released, collapsed backward. It was an un-knightly action, but he didn’t have the energy to care about that.

The three ignored Luke and gathered among themselves. The first to speak was Karn, who had mediated the fight.

“Lord Jordic. I am convinced that you are the representative of the Moon Beast Tribe. Through the technique you just displayed.”

“…Hmph!”

The technique Karn was referring to was, of course, the Moon Eclipse.

“Lord Keter. I had thought you were unqualified to be the representative of Elder Leganon. But if you are the master of that relic, I can acknowledge you.”

Karn might not know the name of Amaranth, but he clearly felt the power it held.

Whoosh!

Amaranths resonated for the first time in a long while, announcing its presence to Keter.

Slap!

Keter then smacked the bowstaff to stop the resonance and spoke.

“I get that you trust both of us, but what do you want to do about it?”

“First, I’d like to hear why Lord Jordic came looking for us.”

Finally given the chance to speak, Jordic’s chest swelled with emotion.

“The Moon Beast Tribe had a premonition that you would be in danger if you stayed here. Come to our House of Baydant. We can protect you.”

As he spoke, Jordic was anxious, wondering if Keter would attack him.

As expected, Keter immediately interjected.

“Don’t inflate something anyone could think of as a premonition. Elder Leganon also said it’s not good to stay in one place for too long. We have a prepared hideout. Let’s move there, Karn.”

Of course, it was all a lie.

A lie Keter made up on the spot.

An unverifiable lie is as good as the truth, so it couldn’t really be called a lie.

Karn made a troubled expression.

And for good reason, as both sides had their justifications.

Elder Leganon had saved and hidden him and his comrades from danger. He knew very well how much risk that entailed. Of course, in return, he had done some errands, but his secrets were definitely protected.

The Moon Beast Tribe, which Jordic claimed to have sent, had been allies for a long time. So, he understood their desire to protect them, and honestly, being with the Moon Beast Tribe felt psychologically better than being with humans.

Karn couldn’t easily come up with an answer.

Jordic was the one feeling frustrated.

“My subordinates are seriously injured right now. We don’t have time to leisurely wait here!”

Jordic rushed to his subordinates and began treating them.

“Hmm.”

But the injuries of humans did little to ease Karn’s worries.

Keter, as usual, approached Jordic to demand payment for healing.

“Huh?”

But then he caught a scent that grated on his nerves. In this place filled with the smell of dirt and blood, there was an unusual scent.

It was the scent of oranges.

Not the scent of fresh orange flesh, but the light scent of sun-dried oranges. And this scent was the same as the one he had smelled from Leganon.

Jordic spoke to Keter, who had approached him.

“I’ll pay you, so heal my subordinates. Hurry up and bring out that damn contract!”

“Hmm. You, give me everything in your pockets. Then I’ll heal them.”

“What? That’s all it takes?”

“Yeah. Hurry up and hand it over. Before I change my mind.”

“Fine. Take it all.”

Jordic handed over his entire belt pouch to Keter. There was nothing important in it anyway.

Sniff sniff.

Keter sniffed the belt and nodded.

“Okay. Accepted.”

Keter, now wearing Jordic’s belt around his waist, began treating the injured knights of Baydant.

Keter’s healing was fast.

Both his hand movements and the visible effects.

At the very least, the seriously injured knights of House Baydant wouldn’t die from bleeding or infection. Though they would still need proper care.

“Sigh, this is the limit here.”

Relieved that his subordinates were saved, Jordic let go of the spear he had been gripping tightly.

Keter immediately snapped at him.

“Hold your weapon, you fool.”

“…….”

Jordic silently picked up his spear again.

For a moment, Jordic had felt a slight sense of camaraderie. But Keter scolded him, telling him not to let his guard down.

‘To lecture me in this situation.’

Though his pride was hurt, Jordic thought that Keter might have the right to do so.

In his hand was the pitch-black bow.

“Is that Amaranth?”

Jordic asked, remembering the name Luke had mentioned. But instead of answering, Keter asked an odd question.

“What’s this used for?”

Yellow powder stuck to Keter’s finger. It was powder from one of Jordic’s pockets.

Jordic was annoyed that his question was ignored but answered readily.

“It’s scented powder. It has no other function.”

“I didn’t find it in the others’ pockets.”

“Tch, you went through them? Of course, it’s not in my subordinates’ pockets. It’s high-grade scented powder only given to the direct bloodline of Baydant.”

“Oh, really? So, no one outside your family uses this, huh?”

“That’s right. Want some? Heh. Your House of Sephira doesn’t have a perfumer, so this must be a luxury you can’t even dream of.”

“A modest luxury, huh.”

Then, Karn, having finished his deliberation, approached the two and spoke.

“I’ve thought about it. I think I need to speak directly with Elder Leganon.”

Neither Keter nor Jordic wanted to hear that conclusion. Of course, Karn could say that because he didn’t know the relationship between the two houses.

Keter took the initiative.

“No. We don’t have time for that. Pursuers could be here any moment. Don’t you realize how stupid it is to be doing this here?”

Fearing the Birang Tribe might be taken, Jordic also chimed in.

“You want to consult with Elder Leganon? How naive. Are you doubting the Moon Beast Tribe’s foresight?”

“Why do you even trust the Moon Beast Tribe? They might be trying to reassure you only to sell you out to the Emperor later.”

“Don’t you dare compare our elder to a scammer like you!”

Keter ignored Jordic’s retort. After all, the choice was Karn’s.

“The Beastman traitors all started like that. Sacrificing other tribes to protect their own. Do you know the story of the Sword Wing Tribe? The Moon Beast Tribe might want to become like those scum.”

The Sword Wing Tribe was one of the Beastman tribes wanted by the Emperor.

But ten years ago, they were pardoned by the Emperor. In exchange for capturing and offering other Seven Evil Tribes as sacrifices.

Years of exile and endless pursuit had broken the spirit of the Sword Wing Tribe.

“……!”

Hearing the story of the Sword Wing Tribe, Karn visibly wavered.

He had heard of it too. The Sword Wing Tribe had even been at the forefront of calling for the Emperor’s overthrow.

Yet, they had captured other Beastman tribes and offered them to the Emperor to save themselves. And now, they lived as nobles in the Empire, enjoying their status.

Would the Moon Beast Tribe be any different? Could he be sure they wouldn’t do the same? Now, the only remaining Birang Tribe might be just him and his comrades.

No, not all.

He had heard from Keter that there were other survivors. His older brother, Aliori. He was alive.

‘Then, perhaps we can afford to take some risks.’

The Birang Tribe in Hakoz Village was just hiding.

But the Moon Beast Tribe was different. They had taken over an entire noble house. Their situation was much better than ours, who had no standing in the House of Sephira.

And, honestly, he also thought this.

‘With archery… we can’t oppose the Empire.’

Of course, the divine power Keter and Luke had shown was impressive. But if they had wielded swords instead of bows, they would have been ten, a hundred times stronger.

On the other hand, spears weren’t bad. They were weapons with as much potential as swords.

Karn made up his mind.

Just as his resolve was about to spill out of his mouth.

“Keter, look up!”

Luke, who had been resting, suddenly pointed to the sky and spoke.

At his words, everyone looked up and saw something rapidly descending from the sky.

Something landed right in the middle of the three scattered people. It was clearly a humanoid figure.

But with wings.

Whoosh!

The folded wings spread, scattering dust.

Karn’s body trembled.

A winged human descending from the sky. Those wings were not of a bird. They had a color and sharpness akin to steel.

The upper body was human, but the lower body was that of a bird.

The world called this Beastman tribe by this name.

The Sword Wing Tribe.

“Did my insulting the Sword Wing Tribe reach the Empire?”

Keter said, sounding intrigued. But everyone except Keter wore serious expressions.

Of course.

The Sword Wing Tribe is the Emperor’s hunting dogs. If they appeared here, there was only one reason. To hunt Beastmen.

“You.”

The Sword Wing Tribe member who had landed and looked around pointed at one person.

“Me?”

It wasn’t the Birang Tribe’s Karn, nor Keter, who had insulted the Sword Wing Tribe.

It was Baydant’s Spear Dragon, Jordic.

The Sword Wing Tribe member spoke to Jordic with a murderous aura.

“You’ve been found out, Moon Beast Tribe. Surrender quietly, and we’ll spare your human allies.”

At the Sword Wing Tribe’s blunder, some laughed, while others wore grim expressions.