Chapter 51 : Chapter 51
Baren slowly rose from his prostrate position.
“My apologies. My disrespect—”
“Disrespect? Do you think I’m angry because you asked if I had forgotten Anse?”
The question had barely been asked when Sevha extended his right hand.
That was all Baren saw.
Thump!
He hadn’t seen what Sevha did, but a moment later he was airborne, sent tumbling across the ground.
“Pathetic. Truly pathetic.”
Sevha crouched before Baren, thrusting his face close.
“How can a clumsy whelp who can’t even hide his own feelings hope to read my mind?”
As if he had never been angry, Sevha was now smiling playfully.
Watching his unreadable expression, his sudden shift in mood, Baren was reminded of what Sevha was.
“I cannot read you. Because you are the most perfect Hunter of Anse in all of history.”
“You know that well.”
“And for that reason, I cannot trust you.”
Baren rose and looked past Sevha’s shoulder at Teresse.
“Are you scolding me for being unworthy of a Hunter, or are you shielding that woman from the Empire? I need to know… whether I should follow you.”
Baren’s words were a clear expression of doubt.
“It’s not enough that you can’t hide your feelings, but you… doubt me? You doubt a Dan Anse?”
Instantly, the smile on Sevha’s face froze.
His voice turned frigid.
“The likes of you… you’re no Hunter of Anse. Not even a hunting tool I require.”
Baren was seized by the fear that he was about to be killed. He threw a punch without thinking.
Sevha caught the fist effortlessly.
Almost at the same instant…
“Gah!”
Baren’s gut throbbed as if struck by a club, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud.
What just happened? The question arose in his mind, and with it came acceptance.
To Sevha, humans were the weakest, most effortless prey.
Sevha glanced down at the kneeling, coughing Baren, then looked forward. The other Hunters stood with tense expressions.
“You lot as well?”
Their faces stiffened more.
With an even colder expression, Sevha beckoned.
“Then come.”
When the Hunters didn’t move, Sevha walked toward one of them. As soon as he was close, he reached out.
The Hunter watched the motion, blinked, and was sent sprawling.
“Are you not coming?”
Even as he spoke, Sevha threw a punch at the Hunter beside him. The man raised both arms to block, but his feet were swept from under him and he was slammed to the ground.
“If not… I’ll kill you, then?” He sounded entirely sincere.
His words pierced the two Hunters standing nearby. Seized by the impulse that they had to fight to live, they rushed him at once.
Sevha extended his arms toward them, and they suddenly collided with one another, collapsing in a heap.
He looked at the remaining Hunters, his gaze utterly devoid of warmth.
“I see. You don’t trust me, so you won’t obey my commands.”
Sevha walked among the Hunters, felling them one by one, two by two, and at times, three at once.
Tataka watched Sevha subdue them and marveled.
To think I fought him bare-handed and survived. It feels like a monumental feat.
A strength that belied his small frame. Skills honed over a lifetime. A viciousness that exploited the blink of an eye.
The more Tataka watched, the more he believed that no two-legged creature could defeat Sevha with bare hands.
After a moment, it was done.
Sevha let out a long breath and looked behind him.
Baren was staggering to his feet.
“Even after this, I… we will not retract our doubts.”
Sevha slowly shook his head. “No. You will.”
Baren raised his head. The sight of every Hunter, groaning on the ground around Sevha, filled his vision.
As Baren stood there, overwhelmed, Sevha spoke.
“Baren. Teresse is necessary for me to achieve my… desire.”
Sevha slowly approached him, leaned in again, and smiled playfully.
“So let me ask you, Baren. Do you, too, have a desire? And are you confident you can fulfill it with your strength alone?”
Baren looked at Sevha’s unreadable face. He looked at the fallen Hunters, a testament to Sevha’s power.
What he saw meant only one thing.
To fulfill his own desire, Baren needed Sevha more than anyone.
With that realization, Baren suppressed his raging heart. He donned the cold expression Sevha desired.
And he knelt on one knee.
The other Hunters, understanding the gesture, also knelt, their faces becoming blank masks, as if they had never known pain.
Then Baren and the Hunters spoke in unison.
Use us, for our sake.
For vengeance.
Sevha dan Anse.
Vengeance.
Hearing the word that had so often been a phantom in his ears, Sevha flinched.
But he recovered quickly, his expression becoming as cold as a hawk’s, and gave his command.
“You know the name of the beast you must hunt. Do not waste arrows on rabbits who do not bear that name.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
“Until you are close enough to call the beast’s name from behind its back, you will conceal, you will endure, you will restrain.”
“Yes, My Lord.”
“And when you have finally called its name…”
Sevha’s mouth stretched wide, like the maw of a predator.
“You may forget these commands.”
Baren and the Hunters pressed their index and middle fingers together over their left breasts.
Sevha straightened up. He let out a great, languid yawn and sat back down on his crate.
“Right, Baren. One question. Why did Two Talons Fortress ignore the summons?”
“We did not ignore it. We were unable to answer in time. We were under attack.”
“An attack? The Empire shouldn’t have had the reserves to move on you as well.”
“It wasn’t the Empire.”
Baren named the power that had assaulted the southern fortress of Anse.
“The Maritime Kingdom attacked Two Talons Fortress.”
Now Sevha understood. “So it wasn’t only the Empire that marched into Anse. What happened?”
“The summons had been issued, so after a token fight, we ceded the fortress and made for Anse Castle. When we arrived, it was burning. Both the castle… and my family.”
When Baren finished, Sevha stared at him for a long moment, then shrugged.
“A shame.”
With equal nonchalance, Baren replied, “I agree.”
As the two men discussed the tragedy with such detachment, Teresse, Tataka, and even Legra felt a sense of the grotesque, a faint revulsion.
But Sevha, oblivious to their feelings, changed the subject.
“Shall we return to the main topic? Teresse, is it true that with our current strength, we can’t defeat the Carved Tusk Tribe?”
Teresse shook off the unsettling air of the Anse that seemed to cling to her.
She said, “We can’t. But if we lack strength, we simply have to find it.”
“How?”
“I intend to find out why Achuk and the Carved Tusks enter that strange state. I’ll investigate with Vega and Hwin.”
“Hwin?”
“Viscount Garde’s daughter.”
“Ah, the one Eshu was protecting. You think you can find the answer?”
Teresse nodded. “I have my suspicions. But even if we discover why, it’s clear we will still need more troops.”
“Is there any way to get them?” Sevha asked.
Everyone, even Teresse, fell silent.
Sevha sighed as if to dismiss the matter. “Then we’ll just have to keep thinking until we find a way.”
With that, the brief meeting concluded.
That night, Sevha was leaning against the same crate, tending to his handaxe. Legra was sound asleep, his head resting on Sevha’s lap.
Just as the boy began to stir and groan, Teresse appeared and stood beside them.
Sevha continued to work on his axe. Teresse continued to stand.
The silence stretched on, until…
“Aren’t you going to at least offer me a seat, Hunter?”
“No,” he said coldly.
Teresse sat down beside him anyway.
And silence fell between them once more.
After a long moment, Teresse glanced at Legra and asked, “Why is Legra sleeping here?”
“He was trying so hard to think of a way to help that he fell asleep.”
“I see.”
“Indeed.”
After the brief exchange, silence returned.
This time, Sevha broke it. “Why did you come?”
“No reason.”
“I see.”
“Indeed.”
After this even shorter conversation, silence fell yet again.
Some time passed before Teresse let out a soft sigh.
“Thank you,” she said.
“For what.”
“For protecting me from that bandaged fiend.”
“Who did?”
“You.”
“Protected who?”
“Me.”
Clicking his tongue, Sevha snapped, “I didn’t protect you. I just didn’t approve of what Baren was doing.”
“You had no desire to shield me at all?”
“None.”
“You’re lying.”
“I am not.”
Teresse gazed steadily at Sevha, as if trying to see inside him. “You’re a liar, Hunter.”
Sevha gazed back at her. What are you looking at?
“You’re a liar too, Magus.”
They held each other’s gaze for a moment.
“Commander, congratulations! You have succeeded in a grand challenge only a man can undertake!”
“What? W-What is this… Stop laughing! I did—I only took off my clothes, so stop laughing!”
The sound of laughter from Tataka, Eshu, the knights, and the Tusks drifted over from nearby.
Was it because of the laughter? Or was there another reason?
Looking at Sevha, Teresse gave a soft smile.
Looking at Teresse, Sevha let out a short laugh.
Then he said, “Don’t misunderstand. You are my tool. Where a tool comes from is irrelevant. All that matters is whether it’s useful.”
Not to be outdone, Teresse replied, “The very words I was about to say.”
And again, the conversation ended.
Sevha did not speak to her again, focusing on meticulously tending his handaxe.
Teresse did not speak to him either, instead playing with the sleeping Legra’s hair.
As if the silence was not the least bit uncomfortable, they simply remained.
In silence, telling each other no lies.
And then, after some time had passed…
“Lord Sevha!”
Legra stopped groaning in his sleep, shot his eyes open, and sat bolt upright.
“What is it?”
“Legra, if you stand up so suddenly, the blood in your head is pulled by the essence of the earth spirits and—”
“The earth spirits aren’t what’s important, Witch!”
Legra looked directly at Sevha and declared proudly, “I had a brilliant idea while I was asleep!”
“Isn’t that what we call a dream?”
“Whatever! The Count lost, right? He knows he can’t beat the Tusks on his own now, so let’s propose we fight together!”
“…Go back to sleep,” Sevha said.
“You can lie on my lap this time if you want,” Teresse added.
“Why! Did I say something wrong?”
To Legra’s outburst, Sevha replied curtly, “You really think… the Count… with a personality like his… would agree to fight alongside us?”
“W-Well… The First Prince! If the First Prince commands it, wouldn’t he have to help?”
At Legra’s protest, Teresse pointed out sharply, “That prince is a prince in title only. You know that, yes?”
“W-Well, that’s true, but still…”
Legra’s shoulders slumped, and he lay back down, resting his head on Teresse’s lap. Seeing him so dejected, Teresse chuckled and patted him gently.
And Sevha…
“The Prince? If we use the Prince… even if he offers no aid…”
A vicious smile spread across his face, as if a good—or perhaps wicked—plan had just occurred to him.
“If he won’t give it, we’ll just take it.”