bookpower Chapter 48
Chapter 48
Chapter 48
What question was he going to ask next?
I waited with bated breath, but the Lord of Blood and Iron didn’t say anything. He simply turned his gaze to the campfire and took it in.
“...”
Should I stay still? Or should I say something else?
While I was hesitating, Rudbick suddenly got up, retrieved the iron chains, and handed them to me.
“Want them?”
“Sorry?”
“What are you surprised about? I’m an older brother who hasn’t seen his younger brother for a while; there’s nothing wrong with me giving you a gift.”
A gift from my older brother?
I was taken aback. This was the first time in my life I’d been told that.
“You’re giving me a godly relic?”
“Yeah.”
“...”
“Look at this kid. It wouldn’t be weird for you to go wild with joy, but you look bothered instead.”
“I have learned that unprompted goodwill requires scrutiny.”
“Not cute at all,” Rudbick said as he shook his head. “You, do you know what a godly relic is?”
“One of the most precious treasures in the world. There are only 99 in existence.”
To be precise, “godly relics” referred to the relics of the 72 gods, 13 evil gods, 9 spirit gods, and the 5 kings.
The Sword of Seven Sins I’d acquired from that altar could also, in a sense, be considered a godly relic.
“Yeah. They’re treasures that can’t be bought even if you have dozens of carriages filled with gold.”
“I know. Still, I do not trust unprompted goodwill.”
“Look at how he talks.”
Rudbick laughed as he looked to the Lord of Blood and Iron.
It looked like he was asking for permission.
When the Lord of Blood and Iron gave a nod, Rudbick continued, “To put it frankly, that isn’t the real relic. It’s a replica.”
“A fake?”
“That’s right. But that doesn’t mean its effectiveness or worth is diminished. It was astronomically expensive to create.”
“Did the cult make it?”
“No,” Rudbick said as he kicked the chains with his foot.
“This iron chain, I borrowed it from the cult for this mission, and I’m pretty sure it’ll just be collected from me if I return it. I don’t want to have to return it, so I was going to use this mission as an opportunity to give it to the main house and say it was taken from me.”
“And you’re going to return to the cult?”
“That’s right.”
“Isn’t it dangerous? It looks like you failed your mission.”
Rudbick smirked.
“What do you know about the cult’s mission?”
“Isn’t it to kidnap someone who received a Blessing?”
“You’re pretty smart,” Rudbick said with a smile. “But I haven’t failed that mission.”
“What?”
“I have already secured someone who attended the Blessing Ceremony.”
I thought for a moment...
“I don’t think you’d kidnap just any normal young hero... so was it someone particularly evil?”
He seemed genuinely surprised. It took him a second to reply, “...That’s right. It was one of the rat bastards who tried to sneak into House Bednicker. I can’t give you the details, but they’re an enemy of Bednicker.”
“If they suddenly disappeared from within the main house, won’t the suspicion fall on us?”
“Do you think House Bednicker would handle it so sloppily? We waited for him to return to his territory. We left no traces either.”
In my heart, I finally realized that this young man before me was also a member of House Bednicker.
Sending someone to the Church of Darkness meant nothing less than death.
No, it would be even more terrifying than dying.
However, this man showed no hesitation or regret.
The only thing I saw were his eyes, which seemed to treat this as a natural outcome. He didn’t care how someone was treated if they were deemed an enemy of the House.
But I was a little surprised to find that I wasn’t much different.
“When I return to the cult, I will be praised for my work. Although the two people I was working with are dead, I finished the mission alone. I will be questioned about the loss of the chains, but I don’t think I’ll receive any real punishment.”
I looked at the chains and shook my head.
“They’ll try to retrieve the chains, so I’ll refuse.”
I didn’t know what might happen in the future, so I decided to maintain a low profile for now.
I didn’t want to walk around with a relic.
“Funny kid.” Rudbick laughed. “Family Head, I think this guy could work under me.”
Now that I thought about it, Rudbick was being much friendlier with the Lord of Blood and Iron than the other children.
“He was confident he could at least protect himself.”
“Is that why you didn’t ask any further?” It was obvious what Rudbick was talking about. “How Luan became so strong.”
The Lord of Blood and Iron stretched out his hand, and the firewood started to jump about.
“It is the most boring question in the world. Power is a pure thing. No matter what goal he has, it will be revealed clearly through his strength.” The Lord of Blood and Iron quietly mumbled, “I will know what Luan is truly thinking.”
“Is that all? Don’t you have other thoughts about Luan?”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s your youngest son... He’s still a plump little kid. Maybe you want to hear him call you ‘Dad’... I’m sorry.”
Rudbick quickly lowered his head.
The Lord of Blood and Iron looked at Rudbick expressionlessly before saying, “When will you be leaving ?”
“I’ll have to leave soon. They’re pretty quick at catching on to things.”
“I shall await your next report.”
“Yes. Please stay safe, Family Head.”
With that, Rudbick left.
The Lord of Blood and Iron wasn’t worried. Rudbick’s greatest talents were his survival skills and his adaptability.
He knew that even if Rudbick were thrown into the middle of a war, he would be able to live quite normally for at least a few months.
After being left alone next to the fire, the Lord of Blood and Iron mumbled, “...‘Dad’?”
It was an odd thing to say with his own mouth.
He erased from his mind the weird thought implanted by Rudbick.
***
I awoke in my bed.
Immediately after opening my eyes, I became quite confused; my mind and body felt completely refreshed.
“What the...?”
When was the last time my condition had been this good?
It felt as if I had slept for three days and three nights.
I got up and did some light exercise to wake my body.
I opened the window, enjoyed the warm sunlight, and took in the scenery.
For some reason, it felt like the mansion was particularly quiet today.
Growl...
As I did my morning exercises, I felt an enormous hunger consume me.
If I went to the cafeteria right now, would there be any food? What time was it? There were so many useless pieces of furniture in this room, but there wasn’t a single clock.
Knock knock.
As I was thinking that, the door opened with a knock, and Arzan stepped into the room.
Arzan seemed surprised to see me up as she lowered her head.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you had awoken—”
“It’s fine. Why are you so surprised?”
“Because—”
Arzan hesitated uncharacteristically.
Seeing her reaction, I felt that something was off.
“Was I asleep for long?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Today is the fourth day since the conclusion of the Blessing Ceremony. You have been asleep for three days, young master.”
So I did sleep for three days and three nights.
Well, even though I hadn’t done much after my initial White Flame state, sleeping on Arzan’s back hadn’t been restful enough.
My physical exhaustion had finally disappeared.
“I was wondering why I was so hungry. Give me food. I’m starving.”
“It will be prepared immediately. But before that, young master, there is something—”
Another knock was heard, and the door opened again.
The person who appeared this time was Kayan, who also looked surprised to see me awake.
“My apologies. I didn’t realize you were—”
“I already heard that, so please move on.”
Kayan shut his mouth.
His expression looked more hardened than usual.
“What is it? Did something happen?”
“No. I just thought that you woke up at a very peculiar time.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Council of Elders have taken action.”