Chapter 15 : Chapter 15
Chapter 15: Blackmail
Simurtr let out a hollow laugh.
He just now realized a fact that every swordsman knew? That was nonsense. He had just gotten scared.
“…That is so. I had never imagined it before. Because such a thing had never happened.”
Medeoban glared, but eventually admitted it. Simurtr's words had hit the mark.
“It was not a given. It was a position that could be taken away at any time. Death is fair and easy.”
He had become rotten due to stagnation.
Because competitors had always been defeated. He had considered the position of Sword Master a given. Because it had been that way for a thousand years.
“Are you afraid that I will take the position of Sword Master?”
“That is so. Because you have that possibility.”
“Then announce it to the main house, no, to the entire empire. I will not become the Sword Master.”
Medeoban's worries were utterly useless.
That's what Simurtr thought, and he scoffed.
He had no intention of becoming the Sword Master. What he wanted was the environment and time of Mectera. And the truth.
That was all. If he could obtain those sufficiently, Simurtr was ready to leave Mectera at any time.
“If that is not enough, then after my coming-of-age ceremony, establish a new collateral branch in my name. I will quietly leave the main house.”
3 years from now. 4 years at the latest.
Simurtr had estimated his growth period as such. If he was given that much time, he was confident he could grow enough to survive while keeping the traitors in check.
‘I just need to get through my growth period. From then on, I can get stronger on my own.’
The late teens were the most important period.
Real combat? Experience? I had already piled up more than enough of that.
There was a more urgent problem.
The poverty of my body and mana. While uncovering the truth in Mectera, Simurtr had to resolve that.
“…Your words are not wrong. But I cannot allow it.”
It should have been resolved by now. Just as I was thinking that, Medeoban spoke.
“What is the problem now?”
I even told him a solution myself. Simurtr's face contorted. By this point, it was starting to get frustrating.
“Shall I be honest? It is because I am scared.”
At Medeoban's words, everyone's eyes widened. Orde, who was next to him, was even more so. He had never heard weak words from his father's mouth in his entire life.
“Your words are right. An announcement. Yes, that would certainly work. I would hear complaints from the swordsmen of the main house, but I could protect the position.
Establishing a collateral branch early is also a good alternative.”
Medeoban looked back at Aran.
From the moment he spoke of Simurtr's expulsion, Aran's face had been thoroughly hardened.
That face would be the face of the swordsmen belonging to the main house when they learned the truth. Head of the 6th Sword, Aran Lubeil, was like a symbol of the Mectera swordsmen.
“But I will not allow it. I cannot harbor the possibility of the main house's order being disrupted.”
That Aran. The swordsmen who will be inspired in the future.
There was a possibility they would become the adopted son's faction.
To announce that the Sword Master belongs to the direct lineage?
If that happened, complaints from the swordsmen would surely pile up. To them, the most important thing was the sword, not the bloodline.
Although faction formation was forbidden in Mectera, the precedent of the lady of the house had already been set.
Furthermore, wasn't Medeoban himself violating the ideology of the main house right now?
“It is just one person. Is it likely that the main house will be shaken by that one person?”
“It is. Humans weaken, and die. I, and your adoptive father, are the same. A mighty mana is protecting him, but there is an end. I am scared of that.”
‘Suddenly?’
They were words I couldn't understand.
Simurtr furrowed his brow again.
“My end is near. I cannot not know. That is why I am scared. Because I feel you will become the disaster of Mectera.”
‘Fuck. What is he talking about.’
“If you grow in the future… I feel that even if Jahar, Ael, and Orde join forces, they will not be able to face you.”
For a moment, Ael dug out her ear once. Jahar's eyes widened. The siblings checked each other's expressions.
Because they thought they had misheard. Father too? Is that little brother that strong?
“I am scared that the swordsmen inspired by you will unite. I am afraid that you will become the next Sword Master.”
“Just…”
“Will it be shaken by one person? It certainly will. If that one person is overwhelming, what could be impossible?”
Change comes from small things. If Simurtr stayed in the main house, the main house would eventually change.
Medeoban had already experienced such a fact during the war.
“Exa Mectera.”
Medeoban spoke the name of the dead hero.
“That child was like that. Even though he did not belong to the main house, all the swordsmen who participated in the war insisted that he should be accepted as the Sword Master.”
Heh. Simurtr let out a sound without realizing it.
To think that my past self was the cause of this fear.
“In the main house, there are only those who are enthusiastic about the sword. How could such people just watch such a being? It is clear to see that even the Head of the 6th Sword here cherishes you.”
…Even after time passes, Simurtr might still have no desire for the Sword Master position.
“Your desire is not important. Your existence will stimulate the swordsmen of the main house. They will naturally be inspired. They will try to enthrone you. Just as the existence of Exa Mectera was in the past.”
It was clear that it would happen even if he had no desire. Medeoban recalled the past. The Sword Saint, Exa. The world had once buzzed that such a hero was a superior version of the Mectera Sword Master.
Such a precedent, a time when the public sentiment of the Mectera swordsmen had been greatly shaken, had already occurred.
What if the future Simurtr coveted the main house, the Sword Master?
‘I will not be able to stop it.’
The Medeoban of that time would surely be weak. Or dead.
The Sword Orders maintained neutrality. Although an exception had occurred this time, the cleaning had already been finished. He was confident that such a thing would never happen again.
‘If only this guy wasn't here.’
He was just 16 years old.
But he had captured the interest of Aran, who hadn't even given any attention to the direct descendants.
As he got older, as he grew, he would draw the attention of the swordsmen.
And among them, he did not think his son or other grandchildren could stop that future monster.
‘He is a guy with an excellent mind too.’
He would hide his swelling greed and wait for an opportunity. He would move when he was sure.
That guy was someone who would not be caught until then. That foolish son of his, Orde, was unlikely to notice.
‘I must assume the worst.’
It was the role of the family head. Even if it was extremely slight, if that possibility existed, he had to prepare for it.
“Speak clearly. What is the problem? Me? Or your lifespan?”
Medeoban's fear became clear.
The injury he carried. The contamination of his mana circuit. The person himself would know the extent of it best.
Medeoban was convinced that he did not have much time left.
“Both.”
“Then take an elixir. There are more than ten in the main house, aren't there?”
“……”
“Live long and watch for a long time. If you think I am disloyal later, if you think I am aiming for the Sword Master position, then you can kill me then.”
Medeoban's problem was a really easy one. He just needed to create a deterrent.
“No. That belongs to the successors. If I drive you out, there will be no need to use it. When the best option is possible, what reason is there to choose the second best?”
But that damned stubbornness was the problem.
***
While already violating the ideology of Mectera, he tried to protect useless things.
‘What's so precious about an elixir.’
Preciousness was relative. Although an elixir was a very precious healing potion, compared to Medeoban, it was just an object.
If the Emperor and the four heroes were grouped together, Medeoban was right below them.
A recovered Medeoban was that strong.
‘But why?’
Medeoban's recovery would be a great strength to Mectera.
It wouldn't surpass the Hero Families, but at least it could act as a breakwater.
‘Successors.’
Medeoban had said successors.
That the more than ten elixirs were for them.
‘The siblings and Beden. No, even further in the future.’
Medeoban was looking far ahead. He was considering a case in the distant future where an elixir would be needed.
‘Even while saving the elixirs for the successors like that.’
He was refusing the method of protecting the successors from the future Simurtr.
He only needed to take one. He was too stingy for that.
‘He can't get them.’
There was no way to obtain more.
Therefore, he was saving what he had as much as possible.
Simurtr reached that conclusion. Only then would Medeoban's stubbornness be established.
‘Because elixirs belong to the Magic Tower.’
And the master of the Magic Tower was a Hero Family.
The Hero Family, Basor. That sacred ground of magic and Mectera's natural enemy. While Mectera detested magic, Basor detested the sword.
Unlike in the past when their strengths were similar, the current Basor had a hero.
‘Rivals is an old story. A hero is alive there. Basor surpassed Mectera long ago. Should I be surprised that they possess more than 10 elixirs in the meantime?’
Basor.
One of the traitors Simurtr would have to crush someday. Elixirs? It meant he could get them if he crushed them later.
If only Mectera hadn't betrayed him. By all means.
‘But he won't be persuaded by such words.’
One can say anything with words.
If it could have been solved with that, the argument would have ended long ago.
He had said countless times that he had no intention of becoming the Sword Master.
“I understand.”
In the end.
Simurtr looked at Medeoban and nodded.
“Hmm?”
At the sudden change in attitude, Medeoban's eyes widened.
“I too will follow the Head of the Senate of Elders' best option.”
Then, he turned his gaze to Jahar and Ael.
“You wish for the successors to consume so many elixirs, don't you? I will help you.
Someday, when Jahar and Ael leave the main house, I will visit those two.”
Suddenly?
The siblings had such an expression on their faces.
“I will cut off both of their arms and gift them to you. Ah. There is a priest from the Holy See. I will destroy their mana circuits. In the hopes that the elixirs you so cherished will be used valuably.”
“How dare you…”
Simurtr uttered a threat. He took the grandchildren who would become the next Sword Master hostage.
Medeoban's energy spread in all directions. His characteristic black mana spread densely like a spider's web.
The surrounding space began to vibrate. Simurtr's eyebrow twitched. It was the precursor to a Mectera secret technique.
“Then I will kill you now.”
Semenu reacted to the killing intent directed at Simurtr. The green shadow fluctuated greatly, as if it would shoot up at any moment.
‘He has gotten weaker.’
Simurtr drew his sword. The pressure was bearable. The mana was not burdensome.
The secret technique that had begun to dominate the space… was certainly threatening, but not to the point of being burdensome.
“Then I will also kill Jahar and Ael now.”
A proof that Medeoban's mana circuit was severely contaminated. The mana he had saved up rotated through his body. 4-star Star-Breaking Style. Simurtr poured all his power into his sword. Something white undulated from the sword, then soon solidified its shape.
“With the current Head of the Senate of Elders, I will be able to take both of them with me.
Even if I cannot kill them, I can inflict a fatal wound.”
…People often compare sword ki to a gas or a liquid.
If one was still clumsy, it was close to the form of a gas, and if one was skilled, it looked like a liquid.
“Heo…”
“How could this be.”
“How could he use Sword Aura…”
What formed on Simurtr's sword was close to a solid. The properties of a liquid were faint. It was proof that he had reached a considerably skilled level.
“Congratulations. You will finally have a use for the elixirs you so cherished and saved.”
Simurtr cut off Medeoban's words and pointed his sword at the siblings. The siblings' gazes were fixed on the sword.
“How…”
They could not believe the current reality.
It was not because of the threat.
It was because, of all things, it was a Sword Aura. The symbol of a distant powerhouse. The exclusive property of a Sword Master.
“Even with the Sword Master, I can somehow manage one of them. The Head of the 6th Sword, Aran, seems to have not yet made up his mind.”
Did it not mean that this audacious youngest brother, who was still spouting nonsense, had entered the same realm as their father or grandfather?
On top of that, he was going to kill them?
Jahar and Ael flinched simultaneously and turned their heads. Their two widened eyes turned to each other.
“And for some reason, the Degrate seems to be on my side too.”
At those words, Semenu responded.
The shadow that had been emitting killing intent next to Medeoban had, at some point, risen behind Simurtr and was emitting its characteristic green light.
”What will you do? Will you kill me and use the elixirs on your grandchildren? Or will you take them yourself.”
In front of that green background.
Simurtr smiled brightly.