SWNOVELXO Chapter 359
Chapter 360. What You See Is All There Is (3)
Keter had five wives.
Each one was a woman Keter cherished, but there was one he avoided—Inara, who stood before Daat.
Swish, swish.
Inara, wagging her tail, approached Daat. Daat couldn’t look her straight in the eye and turned his head away.
“Please stop coming closer, sister-in-law.”
“Our Maknun is just like before. Even your shyness is cute.”
“It’s not like that. Right now, I’m here as Keter’s and Sephira’s representative. I didn’t come here for personal reasons.”
“Hmm, aren’t you being too stiff? Though, I guess men being stiff isn’t a bad thing.”
Inara’s every strand of hair was enchanting and beautiful. Everything about her stimulated men’s desires.
But Daat, to show even more determination, struck the spatial wall to push her away.
“Don’t do anything suspicious. Why are you here with other races when you should be in Ruquer?”
“If I were to explain from the beginning, it wouldn’t take just a day or two. Can’t you just accept that it happened this way?”
Inara bent over, trying to meet Daat’s gaze. Her outfit was so loose that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say her chest was fully exposed.
The charm of the Fox Tribe is something even a Transcendent Being couldn’t withstand. Even Keter, who had extraordinary mental strength since childhood, couldn’t escape Inara’s embrace for a month.
Back then, Inara only had four tails. The Fox Tribe grows dozens of times stronger with each additional tail. Currently, she has seven tails. The amplified charm tickled Daat’s instincts, but—
“Haah.”
Daat, who had been avoiding her gaze, let out a deep sigh and finally looked straight into Inara’s eyes.
“If you don’t intend to talk, step aside. Otherwise, I’ll interpret your actions as the will of everyone here.”
“……”
Daat’s mental barrier was anything but weak. In fact, it was so sturdy that even Inara was surprised.
Thud.
A snake-man stood up. Inara raised her hand, and the snake-man sat back down. Standing straight, Inara adjusted her collar and smiled slightly.
“It seems nothing in this world lasts forever. Daat, you’ve grown up.”
“I’m still growing. I’ll grow even more.”
“I wish I could stay like this…”
Inara, sitting back at the table, beckoned Daat to come closer.
“Sit down. I’ll explain everything.”
Daat obediently sat down, but knowing Inara’s talkative nature, he kept a serious expression.
“Please summarize it for me: the beginning, the crisis, and the conclusion.”
“Can’t you at least listen to the development?”
“This isn’t the time for that.”
Inara, aware of Keter’s situation, nodded obediently.
“As you can see, we are races ostracized by human society. But we thought Sephira, with Keter, would accept us, so we came here.”
“You summarized it a bit too much, didn’t you?”
“You’re being picky. Do you at least remember why I went to Ruquer?”
“To escape the Empire.”
“That’s not wrong. But we didn’t come to Ruquer just to hide. We came to live proudly in this world again.”
“Us?”
Inara spread her arms, indicating that everyone here was from Ruquer.
Daat suddenly blurted out what came to mind.
“So, you can leave Ruquer now?”
The people of Ruquer coming out into the world. The impact of this is something only those from Ruquer truly understand.
There, using Aura or Mana is part of daily life. Humans who can’t use it can’t even survive.
To put it simply, even a common restaurant worker has the strength of at least a 2-star Knight.
Inara nodded in affirmation. Only then did Daat understand the strange phenomena in the Kingdom.
“The Kingdom’s security wasn’t ruined because of the war.”
“You’ll have time to prepare. Not many have the courage to venture outside. But it’s only a matter of time. Eventually, everyone will leave Ruquer. No one knows what will happen to this Kingdom, to this world then.”
“It’ll be chaos.”
“That’s how we felt when we came out. Anyway… we, especially those hated by the Empire, wanted power. Desperately enough to sell our souls without a second thought. And in Ruquer, there was a visible path, not just vague possibilities.”
“But you didn’t find it.”
“We found it. We just couldn’t obtain it.”
The mixed races gathered here, including Inara, all possessed bloodline abilities of Authority-level.
If they couldn’t obtain it, there was only one reason.
“Did the Grand Duke have it?”
“No. Even the Grand Duke couldn’t obtain it.”
Even the Grand Duke, known as the ruler of Ruquer, couldn’t obtain it? Daat honestly couldn’t imagine it.
“I thought I almost had it, but I didn’t.”
From Inara’s tone, filled with regret and longing, Daat caught a hint.
“Don’t tell me… it’s Keter?”
The one thing even the Grand Duke of Ruquer couldn’t obtain. The only one Daat could think of was Keter.
“Ahahaha.”
Inara covered her mouth and laughed. The others remained silent, their stiff expressions filling the room with an awkward tension.
Inara, stopping her laughter abruptly, spoke with only her eyes smiling.
“We know Keter is a Pioneer.”
*
Daat didn’t know what a “Pioneer” was.
But, as was his habit, he pretended to know and acted surprised.
“A Pioneer!”
“Yes, that’s right. A Pioneer changes the world. The war between gods and dragons. The war between humans and gods. All of them were either started or led by a Pioneer. When a Pioneer appears, they inevitably change this world.”
No matter how much of a genius Daat was, he couldn’t understand everything immediately. But pretending not to understand would make him look foolish.
“Changing the world…!”
“As you know, after the Divine-Demon War between humans and gods, the Transcendent Beings who noticed the existence of Pioneers tried to use the next Pioneer to shape the world to their liking. Our Fox Tribe was one of them.”
“So, you didn’t love him.”
“It’s true that we approached him with the intention of using him, but it eventually developed into love. At least, that’s what I think.”
“And now you’re trying to use him?”
“Not use, cooperate. You know what’s happening to this world, don’t you?”
It’s chaotic. That much wasn’t just felt by Daat, but by everyone. But it wasn’t just about stating the obvious.
Daat, sensing that Inara knew more about the chaos, subtly probed.
“You know the story of the Demon King and the hero, right? No matter how strong the Demon King is, the hero always wins.”
Daat believed the Grand Duke was behind this war. So, he compared the Grand Duke to the Demon King, which left Inara baffled.
“Demon King?”
Inara’s gaze toward Daat changed completely.
“You really don’t know anything, do you?”
Caught off guard, Daat gave up on pretending.
“Yes. Honestly, just the war alone is overwhelming.”
“Does Keter not know either?”
“Probably not?”
“How can you be sure? Keter might know something on his own.”
“He’s not a fool. If there’s something he needs me to do, he’ll tell me directly. So, please tell me. What’s really happening in this world?”
“…I’m not sure. Should I really tell you, who are already overwhelmed by just the humans’ war?”
“You’re mistaken? Then go ahead. I won’t stop you.”
Daat stood up without hesitation. His demeanor was so similar to Keter’s that Inara couldn’t help but laugh.
“You really learned all the bad things from Keter.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“So, we…”
As Inara tried to continue, someone interrupted.
“I’m concerned about placing a fate you can’t handle on the shoulders of unprepared humans. It could lead to ruin.”
Inara bent her back as if to encourage him to speak further, and he stood up as if waiting for this moment.
Even while sitting, his large frame drew attention. Standing, he was so tall he almost touched the ceiling. His large, sturdy horns, not even hidden by his hood, hinted at his race.
“I am Puga of the Tian-ox Tribe.”
Puga extended his index finger.
Inara explained further.
“It’s the Tian-ox Tribe’s greeting. Just grab it.”
What was a pinky finger to Puga was thicker than Daat’s thigh, requiring both hands to hold.
“Nice to meet you, Puga. But why do you think we can’t handle it? Knowing about the underground tunnels and leaving them alone isn’t out of fear but…”
“I know. Your potential overwhelms us. But what’s about to happen in this world will be too much even for the Emperor of the Empire.”
Too much for the Emperor of the Empire. That practically meant no one could handle it.
“You hate the Emperor so much you don’t want to help him, but you want to protect the world. So, you came to Sephira? That doesn’t quite add up.”
“I’m sorry for my poor wording. I’m a cow, after all.”
“…?”
“Did my pun not sit well? I guess it’s because I’m not a horse.”
“Pfft.”
Inara covered her mouth and laughed.
Daat’s lips twitched, but he coughed and spoke.
“Ahem, you can’t just brush it off like that.”
“I didn’t mean to brush it off. Just understand. We have no leader. Each of us has different opinions and ideals.”
“It sounds like you’re saying there’s no alternative but Sephira.”
Bang!
One man, perhaps hit a nerve, slammed the table and stood up.
“Look at this, getting all cocky.”
A Beastman with fiery red fur bared his teeth and growled.
Daat pretended to know him.
“You’re from the Flame Dog Tribe, right? I heard the Flame Dog Tribe submitted to the Emperor, but I guess not all of you did. Are all of you here from the Seven Evil Tribes?”
Inara waved her hand and answered.
“Not all, just five.”
Five of the Seven Evil Tribes were gathered here. Daat whistled.
“Suddenly, you all look like mountains of treasure to me.”
Just reporting one of the Seven Evil Tribes would bring a mountain of gold. And here were five of them.
Of course, it was a joke, but the already agitated Flame Dog Tribe’s fur began to glow like flames.
The flames of the Flame Dog Tribe could even melt Orichalcon. Meaning, just the heat alone could melt a person’s lungs.
As Daat began to feel the heat, he was about to act when—
Splash! Sizzle.
A torrent of water poured over the Flame Dog Tribe member, drenching him.
“I apologize on his behalf. He’s been betrayed too deeply by humans. Especially by someone he trusted… It made him despise humans.”
Puga apologized to Daat.
Daat was more surprised by the magic Puga had just displayed.
“I didn’t expect someone of your size to use magic. And such fast casting speed is a first for me.”
“It’s not magic, it’s Spirit Magic. I can teach you if you want.”
“Let’s finish what we were saying first. What exactly is this threat that even surpasses the appearance of a Demon King?”
Daat liked jokes, but like Keter, he knew when to be serious.
Puga, agreeing, straightened his posture and spoke.
“The Pioneer has appeared twice before. The war between gods and dragons, and the war between humans and gods. The third Pioneer, Keter… What kind of war do you think he’ll start?”