Chapter 43

Episode 43. You Brat, Just One Hit (3)

Arbold, who returned to the hall with the Silver Leopard Knight Commander, immediately frowned.

“Where’s Keter?”

Arbold, who didn’t want things to go wrong even in the worst-case scenario, acted cautiously.

“Look at you, immediately spouting nonsense just because he’s not in front of you.”

Keter emerged from the side door leading underground. Not alone, but with Luke in tow.

Arbold didn’t hide his discomfort. He had already reported that the uncooperative Luke was detained. Now, if Keter came out with Luke, it would make him look like a liar.

Keter placed a hand on Luke’s shoulder and spoke.

“Don’t worry. I’ve persuaded him well. He has a family, after all.”

“Hmm.”

Only then did Arbold glance at his superior, the Commander. Only then did the Commander make his presence known.

“So, you’re that Keter.”

At the Commander’s words, Luke instinctively tensed up. Arbold was a formidable figure, but compared to the man before him, he was nothing.

‘He doesn’t look much older than me. To be on par with or even surpass the Holy Knight Commander… Who the hell is he?’

Luke’s curse had been warning him since earlier.

Keter, also intrigued, asked the man for his name.

“And you, what should I call you?”

“Keh keh. I have to introduce myself? How ridiculous. You really don’t know me?”

Though his arrogant attitude was annoying, it didn’t seem like mere bluster. Keter looked at Luke.

“Do you know him?”

“…Ah! Ah? No, that can’t be… Is it really you?”

“Took you long enough to recognize me. Sephira, huh?”

Luke felt pathetic for not immediately realizing who the man before him was.

How could he not have known?

The man before him wasn’t just a strong knight.

“Spear Dragon Jordic…”

At Luke’s exclamation, the man finally smiled with satisfaction. His subordinates also puffed up with pride.

“Keter. It seems you still don’t know who I am.”

“You seem like the type with picky tastes.”

“…As the knight beside you said, I’m Jordic. Jordic El Baydant. Meaning, I have a cleaner bloodline than you, a bastard.”

The fact that his surname was Baydant meant Jordic wasn’t just any knight.

He was the youngest of the Baydant family.

And that wasn’t all. The title “Spear Dragon” wasn’t something one could casually obtain.

Luke was shocked knowing this, but Keter showed no interest.

“Spear Dragon or Spear Bastard. Are you going to make a deal or not?”

“Arrogant brat. You’d do well not to show that attitude in front of me. A half-baked noble who hasn’t even received a title yet.”

“Starting with threats is very noble-like, but it’s not my style. I prefer to start with conclusions. Deal or no deal? Or do you want to attack first?”

“I’ve heard the story from Arbold. You’ve done well to test the waters. You don’t know why we’re here, do you?”

Jordic was certain. Keter was a swindler.

Arbold falling for it was clearly a mistake, but Jordic thought he could fix it.

“Lack of faith, huh? Do you need to hear that the Beastmen are in this village to feel at ease?”

“…!?”

Jordic’s eyes widened.

Meanwhile, Arbold wore a triumphant expression. He had already been scolded by Jordic for being fooled by Keter. But now that Jordic was wrong, he couldn’t help but feel a bit smug, loyalty aside.

And Keter truly knew the village’s secret.

“……”

Jordic glared at Keter. His gaze flicked to Luke as well.

The calculation was done.

He concluded he could kill both in one strike.

There would be no time to fire a signal or shout. Jordic was confident.

His fingers holding the spear twitched slightly.

At that moment, Keter’s mouth also opened.

“I have people waiting. Can we hurry this up?”

“…You’re treating me like I’m on the same level as this guy. Only you two came to this village.”

Jordic had already confirmed before coming. Only Keter and Luke had come to the village.

“Only this idiot and I came to the village today. Today.”

“Today?”

“This is disappointing. Did you really think I came here with no insurance, just the two of us?”

“Arbold.”

When Jordic called Arbold, he quickly responded.

“We couldn’t search thoroughly. Our tracks might be exposed…”

“Tch.”

Jordic’s expression twisted.

Reluctantly, the strength in his fingers holding the spear loosened.

It was a gamble. Killing these two now to silence them.

If the existence of the Beastmen became known, and their connection to the Baydant family was revealed? The Baydant family would be utterly ruined.

He didn’t have the authority to gamble with the fate of his family.

“Now, shall we start the real deal?”

Keter sat down first.

* * *

“50,000 gold is too much. I’ll send you 1,000 gold monthly. Don’t be too greedy.”

“40,000 gold in one lump sum! Anything less is a no.”

“I don’t know if you’ll keep your promise, so I can’t give you 40,000 gold all at once. And don’t swear. I don’t think your life is worth 40,000 gold.”

The real negotiation began.

Neither showed any intention of backing down.

“Then shall we all die together? As you said, I don’t have the capability to capture the Beastmen. But I can definitely get 10,000 gold as a reward for reporting. The Empire will hear about it by today at the latest. You look like you want to capture them, but can you find them by today?”

“Our report will be faster. The reward goes to the fastest reporter. You won’t get a single coin.”

“Okay. Fine. You take 10,000 gold. I’ll back down this time. But since you might just threaten and not report, I’ll report too. The discussion’s over, so I’m leaving.”

As Keter stood up, Jordic shouted.

“Sit down!”

“Screw you.”

Keter ignored him and headed for the exit. Only then did Jordic calm down and speak.

“…20,000 gold.”

A very realistic amount came from Jordic’s mouth.

It was far from the promised 50,000 gold, but that amount was unrealistic anyway.

Even 20,000 gold wasn’t an amount a mere knight could offer. But compared to 50,000, it was much more realistic.

Keter, without turning back, spoke.

“I don’t like the number 2.”

“…Tch, let’s settle at 30,000 gold.”

Cleanly, without hesitation, it went up to the ten-thousand unit.

Keter also returned to his seat and sat down.

That this was the limit was clear from Jordic’s face. If he were to demand more, he’d rather find another way.

Not that it mattered to Keter, but there was no need to push further.

‘He’s offering 30,000 gold just like that. Why refuse?’

Keter, back in his seat, pulled out a document and pen from his pocket.

“Seen this before? A blood contract. Impossible to forge or back out of.”

Keter scribbled down the contract terms. His handwriting was terrible, but it was legible.

After checking the contents, Jordic frowned. He expected some hidden clauses from a swindler, but there were none. It was overly straightforward.

– Jordic El Baydant, representing the Baydant family, will transfer the amount of ‘30,000’ gold to Keter El Sephira.

This must be completed within one month as stated in the contract, and in case of non-compliance, Keter gains the right to claim ten times the amount, ‘300,000’ gold, according to the contract’s terms.

Additionally, Keter receives the aforementioned amount in exchange for keeping the Baydant family’s secret.

“Any additional clauses you want to add?”

“…Arbold.”

Jordic reviewed the contract with Arbold.

There wasn’t much to review. If Keter were to help the Baydant family, he’d be marked for expulsion or even death.

If Keter took the 30,000 gold and didn’t keep his promise, Jordic could spread the contract. Keter’s credibility would be ruined, and Sephira’s reputation would plummet.

For Keter, it was a reasonable contract that forced him to keep the secret.

“I’ve already signed.”

Keter had already signed and handed it over. All that was left was Jordic’s signature.

Jordic took the pen. The magic on the pen automatically extracted blood from his finger, using it as ink.

“……”

Before signing, Jordic hesitated once more.

This was only the second time he’d signed something in his life.

The first time he signed, his father and family head, Patra, had said that when it comes to signing, thinking twice, thrice, even ten times isn’t enough.

‘This contract has no issues.’

Scratch scratch.

With a smooth stroke, Jordic wrote his initials and handed the contract to Keter.

Keter separated the stacked contract into two. One for himself, the other for Jordic.

Thus, the icy negotiation came to an end.

Keter would keep the secret of the Beastmen, and Jordic would pay him 30,000 gold.

* * *

Only two people remained in the packed hall.

Keter and Luke.

The Baydant knights had all left. Now, they could openly search for the Beastmen.

Of course, Keter played a big role.

“I’ll silence the villagers as a service. Find them quickly and do whatever you want—boil or roast them.”

Keter, who had already killed the village chief once. Seeing his cruelty, Arbold firmly believed Keter’s words.

More than believing, he wanted to believe. They were exhausted.

After nearly a month of extreme tension and absence, they just wanted to find the Birang Tribe and return as soon as possible.

“Keter. What do we do now? Our original mission was to find the missing knight. And are you really planning to keep it a secret? Helping the Baydant family… it’s unthinkable.”

“Then go report it.”

“Huh?”

“The contract says I have to keep the secret in my name. Your name isn’t on it.”

“Uh… right?”

Luke felt like he’d been hit by magic for not realizing such a simple fact.

“Gasp, is it magic? Did you trick them with magic?”

Luke’s sudden realization that Keter was a mage. Keter fanned the flames with the contract.

“My mouth is magic itself.”

“Wait. But why are we still here? Isn’t our business done?”

“It’s not over yet. I told you earlier. We can’t let them find the Beastmen.”

“That part doesn’t make sense. Keeping the secret… Ah!”

“Now your brain’s working? I said I’d keep the secret, not that I wouldn’t find them.”

“Even so, how do we find the Beastmen? Find them and hide them? Us?”

“Don’t get too eager. Try to deduce it yourself.”

“From my perspective, nothing comes to mind. I don’t know, and I don’t want to pretend I do.”

“Pretending requires knowing something. You just don’t know.”

“……”

Luke’s mouth pouted.

“Shut your mouth. We’re leaving now.”

Keter stood up.

Luke, who had been nervously pacing, immediately followed Keter’s lead. Their partnership had long since faded.

“Are we tailing the Baydant knights? Then we don’t need to find them ourselves.”

“That’s why we need to find them first.”

“So, how do we find them first when it’s just the two of us? Do you know something? Or is it magic—”

“If there were such methods or magic, how would the Beastmen have survived this long? The Emperor would’ve hunted them all down.”

“Right. Then how are you going to find them?”

“Me? I’m not finding them.”

“Huh?”

Keter stopped in front of a building.

Pumpkin Leaf Inn. The inn where Leganon’s subordinate was waiting.

Keter, holding the inn’s doorknob, finished his sentence.

“They’ll come find me.”