I Am The Madman Of This Family

Nila, the Moon Rabbit Tribe of the Seven Cursed Species, was dumbfounded. Keter had just uttered nonsense, and yet he wore the expression of someone who believed he was being generous.

What kind of person is he?

If someone said something absurd, they should at least explain why, but Keter kept his mouth shut, even looking at her as if she were the strange one.

He’s waiting for me to ask what he meant.

Nila found him ridiculous, but since he didn’t seem intent on attacking her, she decided to play along.

“What do you mean by that?”

“What else? I’m saying I’ll send you to someone even the emperor of the Samael Empire can’t touch.”

“...?!”

Her drooping ears shot straight up. That was impossible; there was no place on the continent beyond the emperor’s reach. Even other royalty wasn’t free from the emperor’s pressure. Above all, no one would bear the risk of defying the emperor just to protect a member of the Seven Cursed Species. If someone or a faction like that existed, Nila would have gone to them already instead of hiding in the Bydent family like a parasite to help them rise.

“You’re not playing some kind of game, as in sending me to the afterlife, right?” “I stopped making jokes like that seven years ago,” Keter replied.

“Must I really ask for you to explain? So who is this great person, and where are they?”

“Kazaran, the Sword Emperor. I’ll tell you where he is once our deal is settled.”

“The Sword Emperor Kazaran?! He’s alive?”

Kazaran, the Sword Emperor, was a figure from three hundred years ago. He was a god-slayer who killed a god with nothing but a sword. It also wasn’t just one god, either; he killed more than three. His feats were so extraordinary that they were recorded in history, though scholars disagree on the details.

“He killed an evil being who failed to become a true god.”

“He killed a demigod.”

“It was a cowardly attack exploiting a moment of divine weakness.”

But one fact was never disputed: Kazaran had killed a godly being while still human.

Then one day, he vanished. Most assumed the highest gods had killed him, enraged at his god-hunting spree.

But Kazaran is alive, though he’s a little unhinged now.

Keter had met Kazaran in his previous life. It was only for about a week, but Kazaran’s level of mastery was far beyond anything that could be described as merely strong. He was an eight-star Irregular—a human who truly possessed the power of a god.

He’s incredibly stubborn, but there’s one thing that worked on him.

The one reason Keter ever managed to meet him was a beastfolk.

Who would believe Kazaran is a total fur-lover?

Kazaran loved animals. That was why the uninhabited island he lived on was overflowing with them. There was even one of the Seven Cursed Species living by his side: those from the Flame Dog Tribe.

Keter had talked to one of them before.

“The Samael Empire knows I am here, but they still cannot touch me.”

Keter agreed. No matter how ruthless the emperor was toward the Seven Cursed Species, facing an eight-star Irregular was not worth the risk.

His presence was practically on the level of the Godfather.

In any case, Keter hadn’t offered to save Nilla on a whim. He had a solid basis for it, and, of course, he had calculated that the reward would be worth it.

“Kazaran will protect you, but the place he lives is far removed from the human world. Once you enter, coming back out is nearly impossible. You understand what that means, don’t you?”

“You mean I won’t be able to interfere in the world anymore. So that’s why you said I’d be giving up my life.”

“What are you talking about? I meant that if you’re going there, you hand over everything you own.”

“...”

“Well, what you said isn’t wrong either, and I also need to make it look like I killed you for the Special Task Force. Otherwise, you won’t be able to escape safely. So I’ll need that from you,” Keter said, pointing at Nila’s fluffy rabbit ears. “Both would be the most convincing, but Kazaran might not like that. So just give me one.”

“You understand what ears mean to the Moon Rabbits…”

“You said that it was second to the heart. That’s why I’m telling you to hand one over. If I’m going to make them believe you died, I need something of that importance, don’t you think?”

“...Keter. Fundamentally, how am I supposed to trust you? I can’t be certain Kazaran is alive, or that you know where he is, or that you can actually take me to him.”

“That’s how life works. Some deals only function if you take the leap and believe first. If you don’t, then it can’t be helped, but usually the desperate party is the one who chooses to trust. To be blunt, killing you right here and handing your corpse to the Special Task Force would be much easier for me.”

“Then why choose the harder path? The moment the emperor finds out you helped me, not only you but the entire Sefira family will be exterminated.”

Nila held a small hope that perhaps Keter hated the emperor as much as she did.

“I just don’t like doing what everyone else does, and I like doing what everyone else isn’t. If I see a beautiful flower field, I want to burn it. If I see a barren desert, I feel like planting flowers. You get it?”

Trying to understand him, Nila eventually found the answer.

“…So you’re insane?”

“People keep saying that.”

“Ha… I’m supposed to entrust my fate—my entire species’ fate—to a madman?”

“Try considering the madman’s feelings too.”

Then, Nila grasped her left ear and ripped it off. It was a grotesque sight, but Keter didn’t even blink.

“A clean cut from a blade would look suspicious. An ear that’s been torn to shreds is much more convincing. A wise choice.”