I asked, “Is the family head at the main house?”
“That’s right.”
“And he called for ...”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm...”
This was a problem.
Not that the family head had summoned —the problem was sothing else.
“Can’t I see him after the camp has ended? The special test isn’t over yet.”
“Another collector is speaking with the instructors. You will not be disadvantaged because of this.”
“Ah.”
I couldn’t complain if they were doing all that.
I nodded.
“Why has the family head summoned ?”
“Of course, to reward you for your accomplishnts, Young Master.”
“...”
Jein gave a faint smile.
“He seed quite delighted. I haven’t served the family head for long, but even so, I have never seen him like that before. I believe you can look forward to it.”
***
I left the forest with Jein.
Honestly, I wanted to at least check whether Charon and Hector were doing their job well, but I didn’t get the opportunity to do so.
I glanced back as I said, “We just passed through Sir Asad’s barrier.”
“This was permitted by him as well.”
With that, I returned to the main house for the first ti in a while.
Since I had spent over 100 days on Spirit Mountain, I had been away from the house for a considerable amount of ti.
Though nothing about the place felt different to .
“Is he on the fifth floor?”
“No, the family head is in the annex building.”
“Where’s the annex?”
“I’ll lead the way.”
“Sure. We can go now, right?”
When I said that, Jein responded, his tone worried, “I feel that maybe we should clean you up first.”
“Ah.”
Only now did I notice how dirty I was from rolling around the Forest of the Butterfly for the last three days.
Although the Lord of Blood and Iron didn’t much care about things like this, it was only right that I try to look my best before eting him face-to-face.
I cleaned myself up and donned the clothes Jein prepared.
“This is uncomfortable.”
“They fit you well.”
It was killing , wearing sothing formal like this after only wearing loose and comfortable training wear for so long.
“Should I help style your hair?”
“Thanks for the offer, but no.”
After refusing Jein’s offer to touch up and style my hair with perfu and such, I was guided by him to the annex.
However, this annex, within which was the Lord of Blood and Iron, was completely different from what I had anticipated.
It was beyond the back garden of the main house.
This was the forbidden area that I had entered in secret with Sellen. So... the Lord of Blood and Iron was waiting for here?
“...”
For so reason, my fight with Hariba felt like it had been a lifeti ago.
I an, I guess it had been a long ti considering the ti I’d spent on Spirit Mountain?
“Young Master?”
“I’m coming.”
I followed after Jein through the ssy back garden.
Because I had just co from the Forest of the Butterfly, it was apparent that this area was much darker and more tightly packed than the forest’s interior had been.
Honestly, since there wasn’t anyone else here and there was no proper path, this place could hardly be called a location.
After walking through the forest a little longer, a building appeared.
“I will wait here.”
While looking forward, I asked, “Is the family head inside?”
“Yes.”
Considering that the Lord of Blood and Iron was within, the building itself looked rather worn down.
Speaking plainly, it looked more like a large shack. This was a house that would be used not by nobles but by hunters.
Even as I felt a little taken aback, I approached the shack and opened the door.
Clack.
Ugh...
Imdiately, I scrunched my nose at the piercing sll of blood.
The mory of the tragedy I’d seen in the forest whipped through my mind in a split second.
An ominous feeling, a small shack, and the girl lying in a pool of her own blood...
“You’re here.”
Unlike back then, I was welcod by a voice, not a corpse.
I hadn’t known that the Lord of Blood and Iron could speak in such a tone.
It was... kind, and benevolent.
“Family Head?”
I couldn’t see properly because the interior was dark.
I was considering using fire eyes, but then...
Fwoosh.
A lamp hanging on the wall was lit, illuminating the room.
And I was left speechless by the very first thing I noticed.
There was a long tal table in the center of the room, upon which sat all sorts of terrifying tools.
I recognized them as tools specifically made for torture. I also noticed that the blood on them was fresh.
There was also a chair.
It seed like a binding chair, and soone was sitting in it while bound up in chains, their face covered with a leather bag.
It looks like he’s alive.
The body looked like a man’s, but there was no movent—he seed to be unconscious.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Did you not hear from Jein?”
“No.”
“Hm.”
The Lord of Blood and Iron removed the bag from the man’s head.
“H-huak, h-hiek... hiek... hek!”
“...”
The man gasped for breath as if he was choking.
It was a familiar face.
I spoke the man’s na in a low tone.
“...Instructor Einsburn.”
“Instructor... that profession was not a lie, though his true identity is that of a cultist,” said the Lord of Blood and Iron, a smile in his voice as he looked down at Einsburn. “Ah, were you the origin of that information, Luan?”
The Instructor of Law, Einsburn.
This man had once had the appearance of a noble scholar, but I could see not an ounce of the grace and wisdom he’d once possessed.
He had aged a few decades since I had last seen him and was even worse for wear.
“N-n-no...!” Einsburn said with tears in his voice. “I-I-I’m not a cultist...! Family Head...! Please believe ...! I-I was just threatened by them, so—”
“Shush.” The Lord of Blood and Iron put his index finger on Einsburn’s lips. “...Circumstances. That is always the problem, Instructor. Is there anyone in this world who devoted themselves to the cult without a reason?”
“F-F-Family Head...!”
“Use that smart brain of yours to think. Aren’t you the genius who graduated as valedictorian from the Imperial Academy?”
As if toying with him, the Lord of Blood and Iron tapped Einsburn’s forehead with his finger.
Tap, tap.
Einsburn flinched every ti the finger touched his forehead.
“To be honest, I don’t particularly care that you had no choice because of your circumstances. Right now, I am just happy.”
“P-p-pardon?”
“Those cultists who always avoided were actually growing deep within my own house. I at least want an answer to this: Those disgusting rat bastards, have they finally gained the courage to face directly?”
“I-I-I... don’t know anything about the cultists’ situa—”
The Lord of Blood and Iron used what looked like a skewer to stab Einsburn’s ankle.
Stab.
“Kuaaaaah!”
“Your voice still works. One of my lacking talents is that I can estimate my target’s remaining vigor by their screams.”
“H-heuk, h-hiek...!”
“Calm down. You can live for at least three more days. Ah, of course, for you, those three days will be an eternity, Instructor...”
“F-F-Family Head...! I-I was wrong...! I was wrong...! I’ll tell you everything! I was wrong! So please... please... forgive this once...! Please save—”
The Lord of Blood and Iron placed the bag back over Einsburn’s head.
When he did, Einsburn’s voice stopped imdiately and his movents ceased.
He wasn’t dead; it seed to be a magic item that made soone fall unconscious?
“...You were in the middle of an interrogation.”
“In a sense.”
“Do you still do these things personally? Why not task one of your subordinates with this?”
“That’s a stupid question. None within this house can interrogate as precisely as I can.”
...The Blessing of Truth.
With that ability, his interrogating skills must be greater than even Juniang’s.
“Do you want to sit down? It’s a bit dirty.”
He wore an uncharacteristically bright smile.
* * * * *
* * * * *
Honestly, it felt like this was the first ti I’d ever seen him act in a way that genuinely matched his appearance.
Just what was the cult to the Lord of Blood and Iron... and what had the cult done to him?
I suppressed these questions and sat on the worn-down chair the Lord of Blood and Iron had pointed to.
He walked over the creaking wooden boards before straightening out his clothes in a nearby dusty mirror.
The Lord of Blood and Iron took off his bloodied gloves and spoke while wiping blood off his face.
“Luan.”
“Yes.”
“You have done very well.”
“...”
Was it possible for praise to be scarier than that?
The Lord of Blood and Iron was probably the only father who could say sothing like that while wiping blood off of his face.
I was a little dumbfounded as I replied, “Thank you.”
“It is a great achievent to kill a high priest at the age of fifteen. Honestly, ‘an achievent’ isn’t enough to describe what you have accomplished.”
“...”
“If this is made known, everyone in The Empire will know your na. The Great Houses, yes, but also the imperial house, the nobles of the Imperial City, Heroes, the rcenary industry, the wizard groups, and even religious organizations... they will all know your na.”
“Please suppress it.”
The Lord of Blood and Iron turned his head at my reply.
There was still so blood left on his face.
“You want to suppress it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Fa is a double-edged sword, and I am not yet ready to handle sothing like that.”
“Are you worried that annoying flies will flock to you? With the Bednicker na, you shouldn’t have to worry about such a thing.”
“That na won’t be able to stop the cult.”
The Lord of Blood and Iron fell silent.
“How did the cult beco the greatest enemy of The Empire? Was it because their ideas were dangerous? Because they possessed imnse power? I don’t think either is correct.”
“...”
“The cultists hide perfectly in their day-to-day lives and only reveal themselves at the perfect mont. And every ti they do, blood is spilled within The Empire.”
“Their covertness.” The Lord of Blood and Iron nodded. “A hidden blade is the deadliest.”
“Of course, I don’t want to waste this accomplishnt. It’ll be useful to at so point in the future. So please make it so that the information doesn’t leak until then.”
“So you’re saying that now isn’t the ti?”
“Yes.”
The Lord of Blood and Iron nodded.
“I will respect your wishes.”
“...”
“However, within Bednicker at least, none will be able to ignore your na.”
“By that, you an...”
“Starting today, you are the deputy family head.”
I looked at the Lord of Blood and Iron, filled with sheer surprise.
“Depending on your decisions, you may command up to thirty knights of the main house, and not even the Council of Elders will be able to oppress you without a suitable reason. If you require funds for personal reasons, you may ask the treasury... and you may use the Small Iron Hall, east of the main building, as your own.”
“Uh...”
“Butlers, maids, and other such servants will be sent to you at the earliest opportunity, and you shall have final say over who may serve you. It is important to beco proficient at discerning people.”
The Small Iron Hall was an empty building.
That was natural. The position of deputy family head had been vacant this entire ti.
“If you ever need to speak to , go and tell Asad at any ti. Even if I am unable to imdiately reply, I will respond to you within a week.”
I had even received the right to talk to him privately whenever I wanted.
“...I don’t intend to beco the family head.”
Even though I had just been given everything the Luan of the past had desired, I couldn’t help but voice my disinterest.
However, the Lord of Blood and Iron replied as if he had expected that response: “Being the deputy family head doesn’t an you will beco the family head in the end. What I wish to give you is authority within the house, and the process will be tedious if I try to grant you everything individually.”
“Still, this is too much.”
“It is not too much at all. Rather, this is lacking compared to the accomplishnt you have wrought.”
Since he was a man who handed out clear rewards and punishnts, what he’d just said was probably true.
Everything had ended so quickly that I still couldn’t believe it—but I was now realizing exactly what kind of feat it was to defeat a high priest of the Church of Darkness.
“So I will ask you here and now: Do you want anything else? I will give you anything within my power.”
What I wanted...
I spoke.
“Family Head.”
“Speak.”
“I am still weak.”
He furrowed his brow at my words.
“Are you being humble?”
“No.”
“You killed a high priest singlehandedly and survived a direct confrontation with a demon lord, but you are still weak...” the Lord of Blood and Iron mumbled, but then he nodded. “That makes sense if your sight is set much higher. I am curious, What is the level of strength you desire?”
“I want to be at least strong enough to fight a demon lord with my fists,” I said. “As you know, I encountered a demon lord in Hell... but I didn’t survive because I was strong. The monster encountered a completely unexpected situation, and so I barely retained my life.”
“...”
“Sothing like that, I never want to experience it again.”
At this, the Lord of Blood and Iron looked at and said, “‘Demon lord’... although many religious individuals in The Empire call them that, they are not too different from the gods.”
I knew that as well.
I had realized it upon first eting them.
There was Eldest Senior Brother, of course, but even that Tangtata was a monster beyond my comprehension.
“What you’re saying is... you desire to be able to fight a god with your fists.”
“Is that impossible?”
He fell silent.
He seed to be organizing his thoughts, but I sensed a bit of hesitation in him as well.
What could make this man hesitate?
“Luan, I have contemplated and fought that question my entire life. I have thought deeply about it and sought answers to it, and in the end, I did find an answer.” He then said sothing that completely shocked : “To fight a god, you must first beco a god yourself.”
“...Pardon?”
“ I could beco a god right now if I so desired.”
“...”
If soone else had said that, I would’ve dismissed it as a joke or the ramblings of a madman.
But because it was the Lord of Blood and Iron, I couldn’t help but furrow my brow a little.
“I don’t understand what you...”
“You, having killed a high priest, have the right to know the truth, so I will tell you. The gods who grant us their blessings are not omnipotent beings. Most of the gods who exist on this continent were mortals who beca gods after their death.”
I looked at the Lord of Blood and Iron in a complete state of shock.
I felt as if I had been shown a secret of this world that I could never have learned through normal thods.
In a calm voice, the Lord of Blood and Iron continued, “However, even the divine have their ranks and classes. And those demon lords... the ones called the gods of disaster, are quite strong even among gods. In the past, they weren’t able to rampage like this because there existed a powerful and good god strong enough to keep them at bay.”
A cold fla ignited in his purple eyes.
“That place is my goal, and it is the only divine na that has remained empty for thousands of years.”
I asked as if possessed, “What is that divine na?”
“In ancient texts, that god is given many nas. Though sotis called the Military God, the Combat God, or the Battle God, there is one na that represented them the most: the God of Martial Arts. To put it simply—”
I instinctively realized what the Lord of Blood and Iron was about to say.
“—The Martial God.”
A stillness settled over the shack.
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