SWNOVELXO Chapter 315
Episode 316. The Whole World is My Father (5)
The civil war in the Lilian Kingdom has caught the attention of the entire continent. From neighboring countries to the Empire.
“The Sephira family survived?”
“Yes, Your Excellency, the Chancellor.”
Chancellor Natas. The Empire’s second-in-command spoke with an intrigued expression.
“Even if it’s a small country, the royal family couldn’t handle a single family… Is the Kingdom Army incompetent, or is Sephira just that exceptional?”
“From what I see, it seems to be both. The Lilian Kingdom Army is split into factions supporting the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the Nationalists, and their loyalty is extremely low. On the other hand, the Sephira family is just beginning to rise. They are full of passion and ambition, yet calm and merciful. Moreover, it’s no exaggeration to say that Keter is the focal point of Sephira.”
“Such vivid testimony, as if you saw it with your own eyes, Kairos.”
The man bowing before the Chancellor was ‘Kai’ from the Special Operations Unit. Called by a different name than the one he gave to Keter, he continued his report.
“I first met Keter half a year ago. At that time, Keter’s combat prowess was at the peak of Master level, bordering on Grandmaster. But the divine power he displayed in the recent battle with the Kingdom Army was nothing short of Prime level. Such a growth rate is rare even in the Empire.”
“Is there no possibility he was hiding his strength?”
“Keter is a man who always shows only 70% of his power. But even considering that, it didn’t seem like he was deliberately hiding his strength.”
“Kairos. I’ve read all your reports. It seems that Keter has effectively been the driving force behind all the internal strife and chaos in the Lilian Kingdom.”
“It wasn’t just Keter’s power alone. The strategist Daat by his side is also an extraordinary figure.”
“For you to praise someone so unreservedly is surprising. That must mean Keter and Daat are truly exceptional.”
Natas fell silent for a moment, then showed a faint smile.
Kairos was startled. He had seen Natas for decades, but the only time he had seen him smile was during his appointment as Chancellor.
‘Is the division of the Lilian Kingdom such a joyous event?’
Kairos naturally thought Natas was smiling because of the division of the Lilian Kingdom.
“What benefit does the division of such a small country bring to me or our Empire that I would smile?”
“……!”
Natas spoke as if he had read Kairos’s mind.
“But it’s not a meaningless smile either. This is definitely a smile of joy. Look. Even now, the corners of my mouth are twitching. Hahaha.”
A different kind of smile from the one during his appointment as Chancellor. To Kairos, it seemed like the smile of someone who had found an unexpected treasure.
“Kairos. If I summon Keter, do you think he will come here?”
Even if Keter is a rising Divine Archer and Prime in the Lilian Kingdom, Natas is the Chancellor of the Empire. Even a king of a country would not dare to flatly refuse Natas’s proposal.
But Kairos shook his head without hesitation.
“Unless you threaten him, he won’t come.”
“Are you saying Keter is a man who yields to threats?”
“No. It may be presumptuous to say, but he would surely come to assassinate you.”
“Assassinate me? On the Empire’s soil?”
“Yes. Keter is more than capable of that.”
“Hahaha!”
It’s not a laugh of disbelief. He’s genuinely laughing with joy. Natas laughed for a while, then stood up.
“If he won’t come when summoned, then I have no choice but to go myself.”
“What? Your Excellency, are you saying you will go personally?”
Kairos couldn’t understand. He acknowledged that Keter was a man of immense potential, but it wasn’t enough for the Chancellor to personally move.
Moreover, the whole world is watching the movements of the Empire’s Chancellor. If the Chancellor goes to Sephira, everyone will suspect the relationship.
‘I can’t understand why he wants to meet Keter so badly.’
Natas doesn’t lie. When he says something, he means it. He truly intends to go to Sephira to see Keter.
“Kairos. You will guide me. You seem to have some acquaintance with Keter.”
“It would be an honor, Your Excellency. I will summon one squad from the Special Operations Unit and two from the Eight Great Swordsmen as escorts.”
The Eight Great Swordsmen. They are the eight greatest swordsmen in the Empire, each at least at the Prime level.
But for some reason, Natas waved his hand dismissively.
“No need for the Special Operations Unit or the Eight Great Swordsmen. Just you and me. We’ll go alone.”
“That is not advisable. Sephira is not hostile to the Empire, but they are not allies either. Moreover, nobles from various countries have nested in Sephira, and Sephira has yet to control them. To prepare for any unforeseen events, at least one of the Eight Great Swordsmen should…”
Kairos thought Natas didn’t want to make a fuss and reduced the escort to one of the Eight Great Swordsmen. But Natas had already put on his coat and said,
“There is already someone in Sephira who will protect me, so it’s fine.”
“With all due respect, to my knowledge, there are no Imperial spies in Sephira. Could there be some mistake?”
“When did I say I planted spies? Hoho.”
Natas, dressed neatly, pondered for a moment in front of the mirror and said,
“Kairos. Lift your head and take a look at my attire. How is it?”
“…It looks modest.”
“Then it’s well done. It’s better to be modest than flashy when going to see my son.”
“Yes. What?”
Kairos’s eyes widened. He thought he must have misheard.
“You didn’t mishear. Keter is my son.”
“…Your Excellency, when you entered the Imperial Palace, didn’t you undergo sterilization? That was 30 years ago. And Keter is 19 this year. Without some supernatural force, it’s physically impossible.”
“If it’s a supernatural force, as you say, isn’t it possible?”
“……!”
“Of course, I am human. It’s just that Akra, the woman I had a relationship with, is not human. So I’m very curious. Is Keter human, or is he a monster?”
“This is too sudden. At the very least, you should verify the truth.”
“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I’ve known about Keter’s existence since a year ago. Akra, she told me. That I have a son named Keter.”
“……!”
“I ignored it until now because even if he is my son, if he’s ordinary, he’s not worth bringing back.”
Natas’s words were shocking. Until now, it was believed he had no children, making his words even more shocking.
“Finally, you understand. Then, let’s go.”
As if looking forward to meeting Keter, Natas’s steps were unusually light.
After completing his coming-of-age ceremony, Keter was flooded with countless handshake requests. All from nobles who wanted to ‘marry’ Keter.
Keter, who became a Prime at 19. Even if his personality is trash and he’s a madman, there were a bunch of nobles who wanted Keter’s ‘seed.’
Hisop subtly probed Keter.
“Keter, you seem lonely lately. Want to meet some noble ladies?”
“I have no intention of marrying.”
“I’m not saying to marry, just to meet them.”
“I already have five wives. If I add more, I’ll die.”
“What…?”
Hisop, who only now learned that Keter had five wives, was surprised but also relieved.
“…I see. I’ll tell the nobles clearly.”
From then on, Hisop rejected all marriage proposals for Keter. He bluntly told them that Keter already had wives.
But the nobles were persistent. They begged for him to take even a concubine. When Hisop couldn’t get through to them, some nobles went directly to Keter to propose.
“I can’t punch them all.”
Keter avoided the nobles who begged him to hold their daughters just once. If it were one or two, he might have punched them, but with dozens, avoiding them was the best option.
“The scenery here is nice.”
At the top of the main building. Keter, lying on the sloping roof, looked around.
They were clearing the piled snow, chopping firewood. On the other side, knights were training with soldiers, while elsewhere, they were busy expanding and building new structures.
“This is happiness. While everyone else is working, only I get to rest.”
Munch munch.
Keter, enjoying the dried meat and ice-cold beer he brought in a bundle. After a while of enjoying the scenery and drinking, he yawned.
Swish.
Covering his face with the bundle of dried meat, Keter fell asleep.
Exactly one hour later. A shadow fell over Keter’s bedside.
“…….”
A man shrouded in darkness looked down at Keter.
Keter showed no sign of waking up, as if unaware of the man’s presence. It was understandable, as the man’s presence was almost like air.
He didn’t breathe, and his pulse was faint. The black-robed assassin, clearly an Assassin, reached out to Keter.
Snap.
The Assassin didn’t attack Keter. He simply placed a note in his palm.
That seemed to be the extent of his mission, as he turned to leave. But as if unsatisfied, he returned to Keter and reached into his pocket.
Rustle rustle.
Keter’s pocket was magically treated, making it much deeper than it appeared.
“……?”
All sorts of things came out of the pocket. A skull, a dagger, half-eaten dried meat, a poker… None of it seemed to be what he wanted, so the Assassin kept rummaging.
A wad of 10,000 gold checks fell into the Assassin’s hand. Seeing the amount, the Assassin grinned.
As he was about to leave with the checks, the Assassin, on a whim, lifted the cloth covering Keter’s face.
Flash!
Keter’s gleaming eyes glared fiercely at the Assassin.
Swish.
The Assassin covered Keter’s face again and blinked.
“…….”
The Assassin returned the stolen checks to Keter’s pocket and lifted the cloth again.
Keter’s expression was milder now, but his eyes were still wide open.
Scratching the back of his head, the Assassin took out a gem from his pocket and placed it in Keter’s hand.
Lifting the cloth again, Keter closed one eye.
“…….”
The Assassin placed another gem in Keter’s hand. Only then did Keter close both eyes, and the Assassin muttered before leaving.
“Ruthless guy.”
Sephira remained tense. No one could guarantee when the princes might change their minds and start a war.
But because of that, there was a weak point: the movements of the Adeus Kingdom.
Who could have expected it? Duke Kundelain of Adeus, leading 3,000 elite soldiers, was heading towards Sephira.
Despite being in the middle of winter, their march, with only vital areas covered, was madness itself.
Even more striking were the desert’s bizarre cavalry, riding creatures that seemed like a mix of lions and scorpions. Even the Empire’s seasoned knights feared these bizarre cavalry, each evaluated to have the combat power of an intermediate Master, and there were 100 of them.
Of course, Sephira still had the numerical advantage, but they were completely unaware of Kundelain’s attack.
Who could have expected it? That they would brave the flesh-tearing cold, bare-skinned, and cross treacherous mountain ranges.
“The cold in this country is quite biting!”
Duke Kundelain, riding a rickshaw, was so large he could be mistaken for a giant. It took eight people just to carry him.
At that moment, the black-robed Assassin who had visited Keter appeared by his side.
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
“Long time no see, Black Assassin Grandmaster. Let’s skip the small talk for now. How was Sephira from your direct observation?”
“Even in the cold, their discipline didn’t freeze. Their equipment is practical without decoration and well-maintained. Even in the strong wind, their vigilance was so high they could hear my breath.”
“So, you couldn’t infiltrate?”
“I had to take a detour, but I succeeded. I also met Prince Keter.”
“Was he a Prime as the rumors say?”
“I was caught. An arrow was floating behind me.”
“Oh?”
Kundelain’s eyes widened.
The Black Assassin Grandmaster is one of the top three assassins in the Adeus Kingdom. If he truly hides, fewer than ten people in the country could detect him.
But Keter, who just became an adult, caught the Black Assassin Grandmaster. That meant he not only detected his presence but also prepared for it.
“He truly is my son. Hoho.”
Kundelain called Keter his son without hesitation.
“Your Highness’s bloodline is indeed the best in the world.”
“Do you believe me? Everyone else says it’s impossible.”
Kundelain rested his chin on his hand as he spoke. As he said, Keter and Kundelain didn’t resemble each other at all.
Yet Kundelain insisted Keter was his son and believed it.
“Your Highness doesn’t act without certainty. Mobilizing such a force to meet Prince Keter means you are certain of your paternity.”
“I must be getting old. Flattery makes me smile, and it doesn’t sound bad.”
The Black Assassin Grandmaster believed Kundelain not for any grand reason.
Even if their appearances didn’t match, a magical tool could determine paternity in just one second. A more precise tool would take a day, but the accuracy is 120%.
If Kundelain was making a baseless claim, he would be a fool. A fool trying to deceive the undeceivable.
‘He must be that confident.’
That’s why the Black Assassin Grandmaster believed Kundelain.
But that made things ambiguous.
“Your Highness. It’s known that Prince Keter’s father is Lord Basil of Sephira. But another person has come forward claiming to be his father.”
“Huh? What lunatic is spouting such nonsense?”
Kundelain didn’t think much of Keter having the traits of the Sephira bloodline.
If Akra, who carried his seed, was a daughter of Sephira, it made sense.
So for someone else to claim Keter as their son was pure madness.
“The Marquis Scala of the Baen Kingdom.”
“That’s the least funny joke I’ve heard recently. If someone from the Scala Marquisate said that in front of me, I would have blown their head off right then. Do you think there’s any basis for that claim?”
“No basis was seen, but the Scala Marquisate was also confident.”
“Playing with toys in a gloomy place has finally driven them mad. How dare they compare our Keter to such riffraff?”
“Your words are wise. Oil fetishists who lust after oil, daring to covet Prince Keter, they must be thoroughly mad.”
“I heard many nobles have nested in Sephira’s territory. Are the Scala Marquisate among them?”
“No. The Scala Marquisate is not staying. But they didn’t seem to have given up.”
“Good. We’ll arrive before they can spout nonsense to Keter.”
Kundelain’s words were almost a command.
The elite soldiers, already climbing a steep slope, sped up even more, rushing towards Sephira.