Chapter 27

Episode 27. I’ve Shown You Everything (1)

Keter was highly knowledgeable.

It was more of an acquired trait than an innate one, thanks to the nature of Ruquer.

‘Ruquer, the place where everything in this world exists.’

There’s nothing that doesn’t exist there.

Born and raised in Ruquer, Keter had seen, learned, and experienced countless people.

He didn’t learn because he wanted to. It was purely for survival. In Ruquer, the more skills and knowledge you had, the better your chances of survival.

Keter knew how to tan leather, cook at a high level, and wield every weapon. He even excelled in medicine and commerce.

Through this learning, Keter naturally developed an exceptional ability to grasp any situation.

Even at Vulkanus’s bow blacksmith shop he visited earlier, Keter wasn’t satisfied with just obtaining a bow.

He observed and analyzed.

And then…

‘I see. Areas for improvement.’

With his outstanding observational and analytical skills, the things that needed fixing were glaringly obvious.

‘Sephira’s Bow Blacksmith Shop.’

Keter felt that this place was stagnant. Though filled with pride for producing the best bows and arrows on the continent, to Keter, it seemed like a space filled with ‘vanity.’

Vulkanus, the head blacksmith, did feel a sense of crisis, but he only felt it without taking any proactive steps.

It wasn’t that he disliked the House of Sephira. Having spent his life hammering iron, he simply had a straightforward mindset of repaying with high-quality bows and arrows.

It was old-fashioned.

What was needed now was innovation.

Then, Ultima appeared at just the right time. Keter had been pondering how to dispose of the bows unnecessarily occupying the blacksmith’s warehouse.

‘Test Ultima and sell the bows. Two birds with one stone.’

It was just the beginning, but things were definitely changing. The fate of the House of Sephira.

* * *

The dining room connected to the reception room.

Ultima, whom Keter had sent ahead, was engaged in a peculiar activity. He was writing characters on a square glass panel the size of a finger taken from his pocket.

The glass panel was thin and small for taking notes. But Ultima kept writing.

The reason it was possible was that the written characters were disappearing.

Ultima was currently using a ‘magic communicator.’ A communicator where writing characters on a square glass panel would transfer those characters to another glass panel.

It could only send, but it had the advantage of an overwhelmingly longer effective range compared to other communicators.

The content Ultima sent was as follows:

– Level 1 threat identified. Name: Keter. Attack teams 1 to 3, prepare for immediate engagement. All personnel on leave, return and standby.

The forces Ultima Merchant had under the guise of escort numbered about 300. All were mercenaries of at least Silver Class.

Among them, Gold Class like Jacoz were quite common, and even rare Platinum Class mercenaries were included.

No matter how much Ultima seemed to be swayed by Keter, it was merely to appease him. He hadn’t truly submitted to Keter.

‘If only the House of Sephira matter was concluded, I could have been among the top five in this kingdom, but now that’s uncertain.’

Due to the damn appearance of Keter, things had gotten severely tangled, and Ultima gnawed on his thumbnail.

‘But it’s absurd to deploy my full strength to kill him.’

Killing Keter would be the same as fighting the House of Sephira.

And that’s insane.

The House of Sephira isn’t weak. If it were weak enough to fall, it would have collapsed long ago.

The House of Sephira’s weakness is political power, not military strength. It’s not something a mere merchant group can handle.

‘But there’s no indication that Keter will be assassinated either.’

The most common thing in Ruquer is assassination requests. But there are people assassination guilds won’t take requests for.

The Grand Duke and the five madmen of Ruquer.

‘Can’t handle him with force either. In the end, I’ll just have to appease him until he leaves Sephira.’

If Keter follows me and leaves the House of Sephira, I’ll think about it then.

While pondering Keter’s treatment, Ultima felt a presence at the door and put the communicator back in his pocket.

Creak.

The dining room door opened, and Keter, whom Ultima had been waiting for, finally entered. Beside him was also Hans, the butler.

Seeing Hans’s pale face, Ultima felt pity.

‘Keter. You really don’t care about nobility or anything.’

Keter spoke to Ultima, who was sitting quietly.

“Why are you sitting so calmly? Like someone who just hid a communicator after using it secretly.”

Having regained his composure, Ultima spoke nonchalantly.

“I was just reporting business. Haha.”

“Sure you were. Anyway, let’s go see the goods.”

“Oh ho. Seems like you have more than a few things to sell. But why is Butler Hans with you?”

Ultima looked at Hans.

Hans, having not heard anything from Keter yet, averted his gaze. Instead, Keter answered.

“Because he’s needed. Stop questioning and just follow.”

Thus, Keter arrived at Vulkanus’s blacksmith shop with the two.

“Master Keter?”

The soldier guarding the entrance recognized Keter and awkwardly greeted him. It was the same soldier who had previously blocked Keter and suffered embarrassment.

“Yeah, I’m going in.”

“P-please wait a moment. Master Keter and Butler Hans can enter, but this person cannot.”

As the soldier pointed at Ultima, Ultima looked around the blacksmith shop with curiosity before looking at Keter.

Keter narrowed his eyes and looked at the soldier.

“Why not?”

“Outsiders are not allowed in the blacksmith shop. It’s the rule of Sephira. Really.”

Hans, who had been silent, nodded.

“That’s correct. It’s a core facility of the house.”

The soldier, having gained Hans’s support, sighed in relief, but Keter pointed at Ultima and said.

“This person isn’t an outsider.”

“Huh?”

“He’s my sworn brother.”

Thud.

Keter put his arm around Ultima’s shoulder. Suddenly becoming Keter’s brother, Ultima quickly caught on and said.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Ultima of Ultima Merchant. I’m lucky to have Keter as my brother.”

“Ah…”

The soldier made a somewhat convinced yet uncomfortable expression. If they’re brothers, isn’t he an outsider? Such regulations weren’t detailed.

As the soldier hesitated, Keter approached him and said.

“If you don’t make it a problem, it won’t be a problem. Do you want to cause trouble with me?”

“N-no! But Vulkanus hates outsiders intensely…”

“Then I might start hating you intensely.”

“I’ll step aside.”

Having experienced Keter once before, the soldier praised himself for holding up well and made way.

* * *

The heat of the working blacksmith shop couldn’t be described as just hot.

It was scorching. The heat of the blacksmith shop, handling flames of at least hundreds to thousands of degrees, was something that couldn’t be endured with just patience.

“Ahem.”

Feeling the heat from the entrance, Ultima took off his outer coat and hung it on his arm.

Clang, clang!

The constant sound of blacksmiths hammering iron regularly echoed in the ears.

Scrape, scrape!

The sound of planing and carving wood for bow bodies or arrows carried strength.

“How is it, Ultima? The skill of our Sephira blacksmiths.”

Even amidst such noise, Keter’s words strangely stuck in the ears. He wasn’t speaking loudly either.

Ultima gave a thumbs up and said.

“More impressive than the rumors. Each one is worthy of being called a master craftsman.”

It wasn’t just flattery. Ultima was sincere.

Keter nodded with a satisfied smile and quickened his pace.

“What I want to sell is Sephira’s bow.”

“……!”

At Keter’s words of selling Sephira’s bow, every part of Hans’s face widened. Ultima looked at Keter with eyes asking if he was serious.

Before Keter could answer, Hans stepped ahead and blocked the way.

“Young master. Are you serious? Selling Sephira’s bow to Ultima? The lord would never allow it!”

Unlike Keter, Hans’s words were drowned in the blacksmith’s noise. Even Ultima, who was right beside him, couldn’t hear Hans.

But Keter understood.

“How do you know? Did you ask the lord?”

“No, but… he’s never sold them before, and selling Sephira’s bows would harm the house.”

“No. The benefits outweigh the harm.”

“What, what are they?”

“I’ll tell the old dwarf too, so listen then.”

Pushing Hans aside, Keter took the lead again.

Ultima didn’t hear the details, but it wasn’t hard to grasp the atmosphere. Hans opposed the sale of the bows, but Keter ignored him, something like that.

‘If I can just buy Sephira’s bows, I can cover the losses from Keter and more.’

At the end of the blacksmith shop, where Vulkanus worked, Keter arrived and looked around. Vulkanus wasn’t there, but another blacksmith was organizing tools.

“Has the old dwarf gone home?”

Keter asked the blacksmith, who recognized Keter and nodded.

“Go call him. Tell him we’re here to see the bows.”

At Keter’s command, the blacksmith stopped his work, pondered for a moment, then nodded.

Having visited the blacksmith shop once before, Keter skillfully guided Ultima and Hans to the warehouse.

But a problem arose. The warehouse door, as expected, had a thick lock.

Since the blacksmith’s noise didn’t reach here, Ultima spoke.

“Leaving aside whether we should be looking at this alone, without the key, can’t we enter?”

At Ultima’s words, Hans added.

“Young master. Isn’t it rude to look at the bows without Vulkanus?”

“Old man Hans. The old dwarf and I are comrades now. And don’t worry, I brought the key.”

As Keter put his hand in his pocket, Hans looked puzzled.

“Why do you have the key to the bow warehouse…?”

Keter didn’t pull out a key.

Instead, he pulled out a wire.

Crouching in front of the lock, Keter inserted the wire into the keyhole and began to twist it delicately yet decisively.