Chapter 76 : Chapter 76
Chapter 76: Bahab (3)
The main character always appears last.
In other words, the noble extend their hand only when the lowly become utterly desperate.
That bastard, Akarr Bahab, loved that saying the most. Simurtr could never forget that damn woman.
“What are you doing here?”
Once, when a Doom Species rift opened in Bahab and Bahab’s land was being trampled.
“Are you crazy?”
…Akarr was observing from a distance.
Exa, who had been deployed late, unknowingly drew his sword at the sight. Akarr was just watching the scene of his domain’s people being slaughtered.
“The time is not yet right.”
“What kind of bullsht is that? If not now, then when?”
It was a nearby mountain.
The walls of Bahab were less than a few hundred meters away.
If you strained your ears a little, you could hear screams, and the roar from the collapsing buildings echoed like a premonition.
The number of standing people was rapidly decreasing. The number of people defending was decreasing even faster. The number of knights captured by the Sword Net had already been halved.
“They are not yet desperate.”
Nevertheless, Akarr and the Swelling Flame Knight Order showed no signs of moving.
“What the fck are you talking about?”
“Exa Baperr. As the Grand General, you now need to learn the mindset of a high noble. Your lowly origins will not change, but you still stand in a higher position than other lowly ones.”
“That’s Bahab over there, you son of a btch. It’s your land.”
“That is precisely why they must seek me out more desperately. Only when they become utterly desperate will they truly serve me.”
“Are you serious?”
“The day will come when even you, of lowly birth, will understand.”
“Bullsht.”
Unable to watch any longer, Exa rose.
His unit members had already finished their preparations.
“You fcker. We’ll see after I get back.”
“Stop. You are not going to Bahab. This is my role as the lord.”
“You crazy bastard. I came here because you weren’t doing your role and were pulling this sht.”
“I believe I told you that it is not yet time to set out on the mission.”
“This son of a b*tch…”
“Insolence!”
“Stay out of it.”
Exa knocked out Akarr’s approaching adjutant and dashed towards the domain.
***
Haryun Bahab.
In fact, she hadn’t expected much.
The message she had sent to Harkinwagen would, she could assert, not have reached Harkinwagen.
No matter how high it went, it would have been cut off at the head butler’s level. It was nothing new; that was the current position of the person named Haryun Bahab.
That was why she had looked forward to meeting Harkinwagen at today’s banquet and had searched for them herself. For Haryun, who could not leave Bahab, it was her only chance.
So, he had to be there.
She had to find out. It was only right.
‘The partner banquet? Ah. Ah, I know. That rude… ah, I’m sorry. I’m the rude one. Um, you met him there?’
…They had exchanged not a few words, but she didn’t remember much.
‘That can’t be. Harkinwagen is an only child, you see? There’s only me. Perhaps you’ve mistaken him for someone else…’
Egna.
There was no such person in the County of Harkinwagen.
Not even a collateral branch. Harkinwagen was not an old enough family to have formed collateral branches.
The main family of the Harkinwagen head was somewhere in the east, but it had been destroyed during the war. From a distant future perspective, he was in a sense the first of the Harkinwagen, newly reborn as the gimlet.
“What the…”
It felt like chasing a mirage.
I had approached because it was there, but there was nothing.
But the place where she had met Egna was not a desert, nor a virtual space created by magic. It was none other than Bahab.
He was clearly a real person. Haryun remembered the Egna she had met a month ago distinctly.
“Who are you.”
Her guard, Jeremiah, had said that Egna wielded the swift sword of Harkinwagen. He was certain that he had gained experience in the harsh place called the Black Land.
Meaning he was a person who knew Harkinwagen’s sword and Harkinwagen’s situation.
…But Ruina, who was a Harkinwagen herself, did not know of Egna’s existence.
“What is this.”
It wasn't a lie. Though pushed aside by Hejel, Haryun was not simply an incompetent princess.
Ruina Harkinwagen was a talented individual whose exploits were circulating within the empire. She was rough due to having experienced the Black Land from a young age. There was no pretense. She did not wear the mask a noble should rightfully wear.
She was not adept at lying. She seemed similar to Egna, who had deceived the kidnappers so brazenly, yet she was of a completely opposite type.
“What on earth…”
Emptiness, disappointment, and anger at the fact that she had been toyed with. Crrunch.
The staircase railing she was holding buckled, unable to withstand her grip.
“What kind of person are you…”
It went without saying that he wasn't a Harkinwagen, and the name Egna was likely not his real name either.
Brown hair, brown eyes, fair skin, particularly fierce eyes, a height taller than the empire's average, and the muscles unique to those who have trained with the sword.
Haryun began to recall Egna's features. Which family matched him? Or which group? The Black Land?
He must belong somewhere.
That achievement at that age, that skill, that experience. Those were not things that could be achieved without any background…….
“What are you doing here alone.”
“Ah.”
At the voice she suddenly heard, Haryun realized her mistake.
A banquet where the main characters had appeared. She should have left the 5th floor while they were finishing their host-like greetings and exchanging tiresome pleasantries with the VIPs of the 5th floor.
“Why are you alone?”
“……”
“This older brother even held a banquet especially for you.”
Hejel Bahab.
The heir of Bahab, who had come of age this year.
***
“Simyun, you look just like a lost puppy right now.”
“That’s not an incorrect statement.”
Simurtr wandered around the 5th floor.
Akarr Bahab was nowhere to be seen.
The 5th floor was the highest in the banquet castle, but it was said that if you went halfway up the stairs, there was a separate reception room.
Akarr Bahab was said to be meeting the VIPs of the 5th floor in order.
‘What a shame.’
I could endure it. That’s why I wanted to see him more.
Mectera would also have a reception, but there was still a lot of time left. Aran had said that Mectera was last in line.
‘Because it will be the one that takes the longest.’
Akarr had information he absolutely had to find out from Mectera.
But to others, it would look like he was paying attention to a comrade-in-arms and fellow Hero Family.
‘A consistent bastard.’
As expected, Akarr Bahab hadn’t changed.
He was quite pleased with that fact. Simurtr hoped the other traitors were also the same.
“Where are you going?”
“To look around.”
Leaving the siblings, Simurtr roamed the 5th floor.
He was so excited that he couldn't stay still.
Aran was glancing this way from a distance, but he didn't particularly approach.
It was because he had gained the conviction that Simurtr would not do anything rash.
“Where is your partner.”
A peculiar tone.
It was then that he heard a somewhat familiar and disgusting way of speaking. Simurtr snapped his head to the side.
“I don’t have one.”
This voice was also familiar.
Haryun Bahab. Simurtr looked at the man facing her.
Flaming red hair and eyes.
Unlike Haryun, a face that was utterly malicious, a spitting image of Akarr Bahab.
‘Hejel Bahab?’
There was only one person who fit the description.
The main character of today’s banquet. The 19-year-old eldest son of Bahab, celebrating his coming-of-age.
“How troublesome. Did I not hold a banquet especially for you?”
Hejel Bahab pinched his brow.
That familiar habit. Simurtr almost punched him without thinking.
He was just like that puppet-like Akarr. That bastard used to needlessly pinch his brow whenever a situation he disliked occurred.
‘Bastards whose scars even out.’
Simurtr frowned for Hejel Bahab’s sake as well.
It was bad enough when he saw Haryun, who looked nothing like Akarr, but seeing that son who was a carbon copy of him, a sense of displeasure crept up.
‘It’s not like the child is to blame, but.’
Looking and acting exactly like Akarr, could that not be a crime? Simurtr thought without thinking.
“Did you not like the last banquet? I selected them rather carefully.”
“Yes, it was very bad.”
“It was a banquet prepared with you in mind.”
“I never asked for it. Now that you are an adult, wouldn’t it be better to stop such embarrassing acts?”
This was precious.
Simurtr stopped in his tracks and watched their argument.
A fight between masters of the poker face. This was a sight he hadn’t seen even in his past life. Even the professional gamblers of casinos wouldn't dare to compare themselves to Bahab.
“How dare you!”
Due to the unique trait of Swelling Flame that prevented wrinkles from forming, the forcibly iron-plated Bahab expressed their emotions through tone and gestures.
“Are you disrespecting this older brother?”
In that sense, Hejel Bahab could be called the textbook example of a Bahab.
Just as Akarr had in his past life, he put his authority first and wanted to tailor everything to his own liking, considering it natural.
“It was you, older brother, who was disrespectful. You should show a behavior befitting a Bahab. Wouldn’t it be proper to apologize to those who participated in that banquet?”
On the other hand, Haryun Bahab was utterly weak.
Her tone, of course, and even her gestures. Except for her poker face, no Bahab habits were visible.
‘How strange.’
Even her words and actions, which were considerate of others.
Simurtr was slightly surprised. To the extent that at a glance, one wouldn’t know she was a Bahab.
‘Something felt off. So that bastard was the one who created that kind of underground banquet.’
Simurtr nodded.
He roughly got the gist of it. The sense of unease he had felt from Haryun and Jeremiah at the underground banquet was explained.
“Haryun Bahab!”
“Lower your voice. There are many distinguished guests.”
“…It was a place held with you in mind.”
At the gazes of the attendees, Hejel Bahab lowered his volume. Grind. The emptiness of his expression was filled by his molars instead.
“It was an insulting place for them. I did not want it either. It might have been different until last year, but now that you are an adult, to still be so childishly…”
“The insult is what you are doing to me now…”
“Pfft.”
At that moment, Simurtr bowed his head.
A laugh he couldn't hold back escaped through the cracks of his hand that had been covering his mouth.
Considering himself to be the correct one, valuing his authority above all else, and even the way he made a fuss over such insignificant acts.
‘Perfect.’
Not only did he look like a carbon copy of Akarr, but his every move was the same.
‘Yes, that’s how that damn Bahab should be.’
The sense of unfamiliarity he had felt from Haryun went away.
Bahab was Bahab, after all.
“Ah.”
The laughter stopped, and Simurtr raised his head.
Hejel and Haryun were both looking this way.
“Ah, please continue. I wasn’t laughing at you. I just thought of something funny for a moment.”
I had seen a precious sight, and the old sense of unease had all gone down. Simurtr nodded his head and moved his feet.
“Mectera. An attitude befitting your position.”
He scanned Simurtr’s entire body.
Hejel Bahab recognized the Black Sword on his chest at a glance.
“But this is Bahab.”
In fact, I hadn’t really expected to be able to just leave.
Simurtr saw the grinding Hejel again. The informal speech was natural. Befitting the arrogant Bahab. Akarr had also spoken informally from time to time.
‘But I did too back then.’
To be treated like this by Akarr’s brat, various emotions boiled within me.
‘Endure.’
I must not forget my current position.
Causing friction with Bahab here would be like pulling out Mectera’s pillar.
“Prince Egna?”
At Haryun’s voice, Simurtr realized his mistake.
Distracted by Akarr and amused by the rare Bahab family squabble… he had forgotten that he had hidden his identity from Haryun.
“You know him? With a Mectera?”
“That is…”
Haryun was staring intently at Simurtr’s face. Her pupils were trembling, and she was scratching her palm.
“Tsk.”
Hejel’s gaze fell from Haryun.
Unbefitting a Bahab. He often had that thought whenever he saw his younger sister.
“Mectera. You speak. What is your relationship with my younger sister.”
What could be his intention?
Vigilance. Simurtr felt it in Hejel’s eyes and tone.
He perceived Mectera as beneath Bahab, but that was from a point of view where he had gauged their respective strengths.
‘And it’s true.’
But if you lowered that viewpoint.
From the eyes of a Bahab successor, not a Bahab, from the gaze of one worried about a competitor’s potential to overtake him.
‘Power.’
In terms of recruitment, there was no ally as reliable as Mectera within the empire.
“Me?”
Grin. Simurtr smirked.
He felt sorry for Haryun. And seeing her so surprised upon seeing his face, it seemed she had been searching for the person named Egna all this time.
And the way the eldest was shamelessly keeping his younger sister in check didn’t sit well with him at all.
‘Mectera did a much better job of raising their children. Maybe because they’re not Gerehk’s children.’
Jahar’s vessel was truly large.
It was a fact that resonated upon seeing Hejel.
“I’m her partner.”
Simurtr stood next to Haryun and yanked her shoulder firmly.
***
“Sir Aran!”
Aran was looking around the 5th floor for a change.
It was because his anxiety about Simurtr had been completely resolved. He would have to be careful again during the meeting with Akarr later, but for now.
“Homer.”
The head of Harkinwagen. The empire’s gimlet.
He was approaching with quick steps.
“What brings Sir Aran to a place like this?”
“I wanted to ask you the same thing.”
Of all places, it was Bahab.
A place that Aran and Homer, who knew the truth, had never come to.
“I came because of my daughter. She was so curious about places like this. Since we were coming anyway, I thought it would be a good way to see it for myself and reaffirm my goals.”
“Has Ruina already reached that age?”
“Yes. She is already eighteen. Next year is her coming-of-age ceremony, but I don’t know what’s so curious about a place like this.”
Aran recalled something he had heard once.
Homer had thought of names for his future generations even before he was married.
‘If it’s a daughter, Ruina. Ruina’s partner is Exa.’
He had also decided on his grandson’s name regardless of gender.
However, he didn’t know what he had decided on. Homer had said he had never told anyone that name except for Exa.
“She is your daughter, is she not? It will be a curiosity that soon fades.”
“That’s right! She will surely return to the sword.”
Aran smiled bitterly.
He was a man who reminded one of Mectera, but had rejected Mectera. He had accepted the title, saying it would surely be of help to the Young Master who would one day return.
A follower of Exa who, as much as Aran, had never doubted that Exa was alive. His focus was also solely on Exa.
“What brings Sir Aran here?”
At Homer’s question, Aran smiled bitterly.
“I am here to resolve the suspicion Akarr Bahab holds for the main castle.”
Gerehk Mectera.
Akarr Bahab, those who had killed Exa, found his death suspicious. They were treating Mectera with caution.
“Have you been found out?”
“No, it’s the same. He’s just suspicious. We won’t be found out.”
“Then couldn’t you have just ignored it as usual?”
This wasn't the first time they had been invited by a Hero Family.
Bahab and Basor would send invitations to Mectera whenever there was an event, calling them comrades-in-arms, but Mectera had never once accepted them.
“I was going to, but I couldn’t help it. A message came from the Emperor through the Information Bureau.”
Homer’s face hardened slightly.
The emperor, who had been holed up in the Imperial Palace and only using the Information Bureau, had begun to move.
“Did the Director of the Information Bureau not downplay it?”
“It seems it was difficult. Perhaps his mind was elsewhere. The Deputy Director contacted me directly.”
“Will this be alright?”
“Hmm, it should be fine. The Director of the Information Bureau will soon calm it down.
Hasn’t this happened from time to time? Don’t worry too much.”
“Yes, then there should be no problem. Even when meeting Akarr Bahab today.”
“Well. I hope so, but…”
The truth about Gerehk would not be discovered.
The illusion was for that purpose, and since it was still being maintained. The only person who would open the innocent coffin was Simurtr.
“Is there something troubling you?”
Homer asked Aran, whose expression had hardened.
“I am worried about the Young Master. If he hadn’t been so insistent on coming, I would have left him behind.”
He was worried about Simurtr, who would be meeting Akarr.
But, perhaps he would be surprisingly calm. He would laugh excessively, but that could be packaged as admiration for a hero.
He was not a man who would lose an opportunity by being swept away by his passions.
Exa might be, but at least Simurtr was not.
“The Young Master?”
For a moment, Aran realized his mistake.
He knew his own habit of speaking.
It was something he couldn't fix, and when he had started calling Simurtr that, it had become a big topic of conversation in Mectera once.
“Ah, I am speaking of the main castle’s adopted son. His circumstances are so similar to the Young Master’s. It sometimes comes out inadvertently when I’m alone. Perhaps it’s because I’m getting old.”
To make others agree with something that was not right.
An excuse was bound to be long-winded.
Aran felt the suspiciousness of his own words and actions. It was an excuse that no one who knew his disposition would be fooled by.
“Ah! I see. That’s right. I’ve also been talking to myself more lately. When I look at the sky, I’m reminded of Sir Exa. Ah, that’s not what I mean. He must be alive. It’s just that my heart feels at ease when I think he’s watching over me.”
Fortunately, Homer was fooled.
In a way, it was natural. The relationship between Aran and Homer was established and maintained purely because of Exa.
“Speaking of Sir Exa. Sir Aran. Have you heard? It is information from The Unsetting Sun.”
“Hmm?”
I didn't know.
From some point on. From the moment he started suspecting Simurtr, Aran had lost interest in the outside world.
He considered Simurtr to be Exa’s successor and had been focusing solely on him to obtain clues.
“It hasn’t been a few months. Do you happen to remember Kanan? That, the child who grew up in Sir Exa’s orphanage with Meram.”
“Ah, are you speaking of the stable boy?”
“Yes, that’s right. The one who experienced Bahab’s Red Flame and then left for The Unsetting Sun.”
Aran nodded.
The one who had rejected Mectera to trace Exa’s sword, had devoted himself to Bahab, known as a comrade-in-arms, and had eventually flowed to the Sword Tower.
A truly energetic child, one that the old Aran was even envious of.
“I remember him. But why about that child?”
“In Huit, he is said to have met a person who might be a clue.”
“A clue?”
“Yes. White magic, an attitude of contempt for Mectera’s Sword Master and Bahab, and a sudden show of goodwill upon learning the founding purpose of The Unsetting Sun.”
“……”
“The Unsetting Sun, having compiled Kanan’s report, concluded that the person might be related to Sir Exa.”
“…What do you think?”
“We must grasp at straws, mustn’t we? Lady Ejel and Lady Lete Dujeu already think that person might be Sir Exa’s disciple. I also think there is a possibility.”
Aran let out a hollow laugh.
“Indeed.”
People’s thoughts are all the same.
The 6th Sword Order, The Unsetting Heart, and the Sword Tower.
All of them were based on the premise that Exa was alive. Because they were looking for a living Exa, not a corpse.
Exa’s disciple was therefore a concept and conclusion that arose from that. Something Aran had already arrived at.
‘I never thought I’d come to think that Semenu Degrate was the smartest.’
Even with the same premise, Semenu had been certain that Simurtr was Exa. It must be the flexibility formed from growing up in a special environment.
“Have you found out his name, by any chance?”
“No. However, we have found out his appearance. Black hair and eyes. He is said to be a handsome young master with a fierce look. He is said to have a young man as his guard.”
“His whereabouts?”
“We are still investigating. We have defined the empire as the scope for now, but as you know, the territory of the empire is too large…”
“I will investigate Mectera’s jurisdiction myself.”
I must not let them into Mectera.
Aran felt sorry for Homer, but he had a duty to follow the Young Master’s orders.
“Are you that pleased?”
Homer smiled brightly upon seeing Aran, who was now smiling.
“It’s not bad. Yes, so this is what it felt like.”
Aran’s smile resembled Semenu’s, which he had seen once.