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Chapter 190

Chapter 191. The Essence of Archery (1)

The carriage stopped in front of the Main Building of the Mansion. It had returned to the exact spot from where it had departed.

Just like at the checkpoint, there was no grand welcoming crowd.

Keter let out a chuckle.

‘Typical Sephira.’

But it wasn’t that no one came out at all.

Three people came out to greet them. The four butlers were waiting with smiles.

The personal butlers of Mail, Anis, and Taragon. And Jacques, Keter’s personal butler, was also there.

“You’ve arrived, young masters.”

Creak.

The carriage stopped. Mail’s butler opened the right door, and Anis’s butler opened the left door.

“Young master.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

Each butler handed a wet towel to their respective young master and helped them out.

Jacques also approached Keter.

“Young Master Keter. Welcome back. Let’s head to the recovery room first. I’ve had the doctors on standby.”

“Making a fuss as soon as I return… Do you think I’m injured somewhere, old man?”

Keter spun around. From head to toe, Keter’s body was not just clean but smooth.

But Jacques, with a stern, solemn, and serious face, said,

“Even if there are no visible wounds, there might be internal injuries.”

“That’s certainly true. But I don’t foolishly hide things. Instead—”

Keter gestured towards his brothers.

“My brothers are stubborn. Please take good care of them.”

At Keter’s words, the other butlers nodded in agreement and said,

“As Young Master Keter said, let’s head to the recovery room first, young masters.”

“I’ll inform Lord Hisop that you’re running late.”

Taragon, trying to show off his health, said in a booming voice,

“What recovery room? Do I look injured to you, butler?”

Of course, Taragon had suffered numerous injuries during the tournament, but the wounds could be instantly healed with Elixir. His clothes were also neatly changed, so he looked perfectly fine.

Then, Keter poked Taragon’s shoulder with his finger.

“Kyaak!”

Taragon’s back arched like a bow. Keter continued to poke him with his fingers and said,

“Your trapezius, deltoid, pectoralis major, and external oblique muscles are all fatigued. It’s almost like it would be faster to disassemble and reassemble your body.”

“S-stop poking! I get it! I’ll get treated!”

“Don’t think about using Elixir to get rid of fatigue. Elixir is like medicine; your body will get used to it.”

“Ugh…”

As Taragon slumped down awkwardly, groaning, Keter looked at Mail and Anis.

“…Shall we head to the recovery room?”

“I was planning to go to the recovery room from the start.”

The two weren’t needlessly showing off like Taragon.

While the three brothers went to the recovery room, Keter headed to the bathhouse.

“Ahh, this is the best.”

Keter submerged himself in the scalding hot bath, soaking his hair.

His body, tempered like steel, had been cut and reassembled countless times. Parts of his body no longer felt like his own, and the metamorphosis he underwent during the tournament had given him strength and flexibility that could no longer be called human. Yet, Keter’s body was undoubtedly human. A human body that felt pain and accumulated fatigue.

The fatigue in Keter’s body melted away in the hot water. The pleasure of that moment was one of Keter’s favorite things in life.

Bubble, bubble.

While Keter was enjoying his bath, a guest arrived.

Bang!

“Are you here, Keter?!”

“Y-you can’t do this, Vulkanus!”

Vulkanus, the blacksmith of Sephira, who had Jacques clinging to his leg, shouted loudly.

“What, Keter’s not here, just some kid?”

Keter was nowhere to be seen, and Decameron, sitting quietly, greeted Vulkanus instead.

“Huh? Wait, that guy, that’s…”

Perhaps it was the blacksmith’s intuition, but Vulkanus showed interest in Decameron and approached him.

Even as Vulkanus came right up to him, Decameron didn’t move a muscle.

“This guy, this… human—”

Snap.

At that moment, a hand emerged from the water and grabbed Vulkanus’s wrist as he tried to touch Decameron’s eyeball.

Keter revealed himself. He brushed back his wet bangs and said,

“Don’t look at Six Hundred with those eyes, old man.”

“What kind of eyes was I making?”

“Eyes that say ‘love at first sight.'”

“…Crazy talk.”

Vulkanus shook off Keter’s hand and glanced at Decameron before saying,

“I’m curious… but if it’s something you cherish, I won’t touch it.”

“Of course. By the way, what brings you here?”

“What brings me here?! Didn’t you ask me to develop a new weapon?”

Before the tournament, Keter had indeed requested Vulkanus to create a new weapon.

Using the Empire’s Portable Artifact obtained from Ruquer and the shape-memory alloy technique of the Birang Tribe, which was its origin.

He had urged Vulkanus to finish it before the tournament ended, but he hadn’t really expected much.

“Is it complete?”

“It’s not at a level to call complete. But it’s not unusable either. Come out quickly. You’ll be surprised.”

Vulkanus didn’t seem to care at all that Keter had become the Southern Palace. That was just like a blacksmith. Only his own creations mattered in life.

“Vulkanus. Young Master Keter has just returned from the tournament. Lord Hisop is also waiting for Young Master Keter. It’s not acceptable to go to the forge first.”

Jacques, whether his clothes were wet or not, followed Vulkanus into the bath and tried to dissuade him. Even though he was a Branch House Lord, with the main lord’s seat vacant, the Branch House Lord’s power was equal to the main lord’s.

“Nonsense! Are you ignoring my new weapon now? It’s a historic discovery that will revive Sephira!”

A blacksmith’s pride isn’t easily crushed by mere ‘authority.’ In fact, the more you press, the more it rebounds like a spring.

Jacques struggled to break Vulkanus’s ‘stubbornness.’

“No matter how much you are Sephira’s greatest blacksmith, you are not above the Branch House Lord! Please watch your words!”

Even Jacques, filled with pride for Sephira, raised his voice, but in a volume contest, he could never win against Vulkanus.

“Tell Hisop to wait a bit! I’ve made more bows and arrows than the number of bread he’s eaten in his lifetime! It’s okay to give a little!”

“Absolutely not!”

Zap.

The two exchanged glares, each refusing to back down.

“Old men. Aren’t you embarrassed in front of me?”

“Ahem!”

“So, Keter, you choose. Who goes first? Of course, it’s me!”

“That’s obviously not even a question—”

Splash.

Keter, who had stepped out of the bath, placed a hand on his stomach and said,

“Food first.”

* * *

Sephira Mansion, First Banquet Hall.

The head chef, whom Keter called ‘Uncle Octopus,’ personally set the dishes on the table and said,

“I don’t know how many years it’s been since I’ve served a meal to Lord Hisop.”

All of Sephira’s brothers had gathered in the banquet hall.

The eldest, Hisop; the second, Mail; the third, Anis; the fourth, Taragon. And finally, Keter.

Hisop had been handling documents before coming to the banquet hall, and the black ink stains on his rough fingertips were evident.

“I missed Chef Altein’s cooking, and thanks to Keter, my wish has been granted.”

Hisop looked at Keter.

Keter also met Hisop’s gaze.

The two were seeing each other for the first time.

‘He looks much stronger than I heard.’

What Hisop felt from his first impression of Keter was ‘strength.’ Not just physical strength. He sensed that Keter was mentally strong as well.

Keter’s first impression of Hisop was also very intense.

‘He feels like a lucky Taragon.’

Using Taragon as an example, Keter held Hisop in high regard. It wasn’t just because of his sturdy build and strong gaze.

‘He doesn’t guard against me at all.’

Mail, Anis, Taragon. All the brothers were wary of Keter. But Hisop wasn’t.

Even if it was fake, it didn’t matter. Keter didn’t see deception as bad.

‘Deceiving oneself and others is also a skill.’

This world isn’t just about fighting. Even wild beasts don’t solve everything with strength alone.

Keter, who took a liking to Hisop, stood up.

“Brother Hisop. Nice to meet you. I’m Keter.”

Keter didn’t just say he was glad to meet him. As expected, he offered a wine glass to Hisop.

This was a very rude act in noble society. Offering alcohol was something a superior did to a subordinate.

“……!”

The three brothers who knew Keter understood that there was no ‘hostility’ in his action. But they were still tense and shocked.

Hisop was seeing Keter for the first time today. It wouldn’t be strange if he scolded Keter for such behavior.

Gulp.

At the tense moment when everyone wondered how Hisop would react, Hisop pushed the wine glass away with a gentle smile.

“I appreciate the gesture, but I have a lot of pending work, so I’ll drink after finishing it. Will you join me then?”

“……!”

The brothers’ gazes turned to Keter this time. They wondered if Keter, having been rejected, would react like, ‘Do you know who I am to reject my offer?!’

But Keter quietly put down the wine glass he had been embarrassed to offer and said,

“If you have a lot of work piled up, shall I help?”

An ambiguous honorific.

But Hisop still shook his head leisurely.

“How can I ask the pride of Sephira, the Southern Palace, to do paperwork? You’ve only just returned. I’d like you to rest well today at least.”

“Paperwork and such. Isn’t it through that paperwork that the family runs?”

“I appreciate you seeing it that way.”

“Will you go to the office right after the meal?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Old man Vulkanus has been pestering me, so I’ll stop by the forge first before heading to the office. Is that okay?”

“Anytime.”

Nod.

As Keter nodded, Hisop also nodded, exchanging something affirmative.

Hisop stood up. He lifted a water glass above his head and lightly tapped it with a spoon.

Ting—

“Let’s all drink to celebrate Keter’s victory in the Southern Sword Tournament and becoming the Southern Palace.”

At Hisop’s words, which eased the tense and rigid atmosphere, the brothers raised their wine glasses.

“To Sephira.”

Hisop, who had shouted a simple but resolute slogan, took the first sip.

“To Sephira.”

The brothers also chanted in unison and took a sip of wine.

Keter, who had been watching this, didn’t like how solemnly his brothers were speaking, so he shouted loudly,

“For Sephira!”

Whoosh!

Keter truly felt like he was back home.

* * *

The meal ended quietly and quickly. All the brothers had things they wanted to do.

Hisop had duties as the Branch House Lord—

Mail and Anis needed to organize the insights they gained from the tournament—Keter wanted to check out the new weapon Vulkanus had made.

After the meal, Keter was dragged by Vulkanus, who had been waiting at the banquet hall entrance, to the forge.

But he wasn’t alone.

“Keter, can I come too?”

Taragon, who had a strong obsession with weapons, begged like a pitiful puppy when he heard Keter was going to see a ‘new weapon.’

Vulkanus was displeased with Taragon wanting to come along. After all, Taragon had a history of causing trouble because of Amaranth.

But the decision was Keter’s.

“Of course.”

Keter readily agreed as if it were no big deal.

“Tsk, Taragon. I’m telling you in advance, don’t touch anything carelessly. You have cursed hands that break everything easily.”

“Since when?”

“If I say so, then it’s so!”

“Tch, old man, you always…”

“What? Old man?”

“N-no, it’s nothing.”

While Keter didn’t mind being called an old man, Vulkanus was merciless with Taragon.

The two bickered all the way to the forge, which looked like an exhibition hall.

Tables covered with cloth were everywhere. A soldier and a knight stood with their hands behind their backs, presumably for demonstration purposes.

“Hoho, the first thing I’ll show you as a teaser is… this!”

Snap!

The cloth on the first table was pulled off with a flourish.


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I’m the Madman of This Family

I’m the Madman of This Family

Status: Completed
Keter, the Fixer and Madman of the Lawless City, finds himself transported back to his younger days as an illegitimate child of a once-great archery family doomed to annihilation. “If I’ve been given a second chance and can’t even save my family, I might as well drown myself in a bowl of water.” For my family? No, for my freedom!

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