Chapter 140. A Fish Out of Water
First of all, after calming down the rampaging Shine, I quietly went over the current situation.
“Are you sure about this? You must tell me next time we meet. If you don’t…”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m your damn dog, okay? Dog. Huh? So let’s just stop it already, damn it.”
Seriously… It was my fault for forgetting, but thinking about it again, I had plenty to say in my defense too.
Honestly speaking, the Infinite Chain wasn’t even in my hands yet, and I had too many other things to worry about anyway.
Anyway, back to the Infinite Chain matter.
After stuffing the mad dog Shine into a corner of the room, I continued my thoughts.
‘For now, the young lord has bitten the bait, but…’
Just because the fish bites the bait doesn’t mean I can relax.
That’s how fishing works. Just because a fish bites doesn’t mean it’s over, right? Of course not.
Sometimes the clever ones nibble off only the bait and slip away, and the big ones, those heavyweights, often snap the fishing line entirely.
Of course, I didn’t mean to imply that the young lord was clever. Rather…
‘…he’s in the heavyweight category.’
What I was worried about was the young lord snapping the fishing line and swimming away.
No, “swimming away” wasn’t quite the right expression.
“Swimming away” would mean he ran off on purpose, and I didn’t see him as someone that untrustworthy.
“…Something feels off.”
“What do you mean by that?”
At Parun’s voice, I looked up.
He’d just come back into the room holding two cups of coffee, and I naturally held out my hand to take one or tried to.
“That one’s not yours.”
Saying that, Parun downed the iced coffee in a single gulp.
“…”
He sat across from me, holding the other cup in hand, and somehow that sight alone was enough to make my faith in humanity fade a little.
Still, I supposed I should be thankful that he hadn’t only bought one for himself.
“So, what exactly worries you? Didn’t everything go as planned?”
I awkwardly pulled my hand back and nodded.
“For now, yeah.”
Although the phrase “as planned” wasn’t exactly accurate.
Ever since arriving in Lorutel up to now…Not a single thing had gone according to plan.
Running into the Third Sword unexpectedly, and finding that the rude, uninvited guest happened to be the young lord of Lorutel?! Every moment had been one shock after another!
‘If you only look at the results, I guess it did go according to plan.’
Either way, I had made a deal proposal to the young lord.
And he’d responded positively, but here was the problem.
“The young lord has bitten the bait, right? The hook’s firmly in his mouth.”
“And?”
Thinking over the situation carefully, there was just one thing I hadn’t accounted for.
“The fishing line might snap.”
“The fishing line might snap? You mean the young lord might break off the deal? I don’t think he’d do that.”
“And why’s that?”
Parun took a sip of his coffee and answered without hesitation.
“He didn’t seem like a man without honor.”
“…Honor?”
At that uncharacteristic answer, I tilted my head. Parun chuckled.
“I’m joking. There’s no illusion more fleeting than honor. But from the young lord’s standpoint, there’s no reason for him to make new enemies, right?”
Ah, that was a joke? Not funny at all.
Still, despite the bleak humor, Parun had a point.
“Yeah. He doesn’t need to make more enemies. He wouldn’t want to pick fights with secret groups like the Tower or the Sword Garden.”
The Tower and the Sword Garden, organizations I’d made up on the spot, had, through our conversation, unintentionally gained an air of credibility. From the young lord’s or the Third Sword’s perspective, they probably looked like…
‘The Magic Armor, Kalium.’
An artifact hidden from the world. And…
‘The true background behind the fall of House Impir.’
Dekulan’s corruption.
To them, that would make these “secret organizations” look like information networks with vast influence. They might not believe a hundred percent, but they’d at least consider the possibility that such groups existed. In other words, I had inadvertently issued a threat to both of them.
— “Oh? If you don’t keep your promise, we won’t sit quietly and watch.”
Even the young lord of Lorutel would find it troublesome to cross such mysterious powers.
“Somehow… I feel like that’s exactly the problem.”
“What do you mean?”
What I meant was this:
“Let’s set aside the young lord, he’s blinded by Dekulan, after all. The Third Sword will probably follow his decision anyway, so he might not care much about the Tower or the Sword Garden.”
If I stopped there, then our big fish, the young lord, wouldn’t cut the line.
But there was something I hadn’t thought of. Our dear young lord didn’t need to care about the Tower or the Sword Garden. All he needed was to take the bait hanging on the line.
Because Dekulan was his goal.
‘…this pond called Lorutel doesn’t only have the young lord in it.’
There was one creature in the pond far bigger than the young lord.
No, not a creature.
The ruler of the pond.
“…How would the head of House Lorutel see this situation?”
“The head of Lorutel?”
“Think about it. One day, his son comes home carrying something incredible. The Magic Armor, Kalium! The secret behind the fall of House Impir! From the head’s perspective, what would he think? ‘Excellent news’? ‘Perfect timing’?”
“That’s… hm.”
Parun couldn’t answer easily.
“That’s a hard one. But… he’d definitely be curious about where the information came from.”
“Right? And if the source turned out to be some unheard-of secret organizations called the Tower and the Sword Garden? If you were him, what would you do?”
“I’d probably… be more curious about those organizations than the Infinite Chain or House Impir.”
Exactly.
Inside this pond called Lorutel…The young lord was a fish that only needed to feed himself, but the head was the pond’s owner. He wasn’t just fattening his own belly; he was expanding the pond itself and fattening the fish within it. And to such a man, the Tower and the Sword Garden would be fascinating subjects, tools to fatten his pond.
So if I were him…
‘I’d cut the fishing line.’
Erase the deal entirely.
‘I’d walk out of the pond myself and devour the fisherman holding the bait bucket, not the bait.’
Oh, and the pond’s owner, by the way, could act both on land and in water. After all, this was just a fishing metaphor, neither the young lord nor the head were actual fish.
“Now do you see what I’m worried about?”
“…You mean, the negotiation table could get flipped over. And moreover…”
“The negotiation partner could change.”
If that happened, it wouldn’t be a negotiation anymore. Depending on the head’s temperament…
‘…If it were me, I’d rip the fisherman apart and scatter his remains in the pond.’
Of course, that was the worst-case scenario.
If the head himself took action, then that vague threat, “You might make enemies of the Tower and the Sword Garden”, would lose all deterrent power. Rather, the more risk the head sensed, the more his mouth would water.
‘There’s always great profit where danger smells strongest.’
By the time I reached that conclusion…
“But isn’t this thinking too far ahead? It depends on how the young lord handles things.”
“That’s true. But…”
As I trailed off, Parun spoke.
“The Tower, the Sword Garden… I understand that these unexpected variables arose as things unfolded. If everything had gone according to plan, you wouldn’t have needed to make up such organizations.”
“Right.”
If things had gone according to plan, we’d just have been the rats who stole Dekulan’s red crystal.
To the pond’s owner, not even worth eating.
Impressive information, maybe, but still small fry.
“But an unplanned variable doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll cause real danger. And even if it does, what could we do about it?”
“What could we do… nothing. Yeah, that’s true.”
Just because an unexpected variable appeared didn’t mean it would definitely turn into trouble. In other words, the pond’s lurking master might not even notice us.
But then, why…?
That uneasy possibility kept lingering in my head, tickling my nerves.
…And two days later.
Late at night.
I realized that this unease wasn’t just a possibility.
Knock! Knock!
“…Looks like you found the right place.”
Had he sent people to track us down?
Even though our next meeting was supposed to be a full day later, the Third Sword had personally come to the inn.
Judging by the heavy robe covering him, his business was definitely secret.
Well, our whole arrangement was secret, but this didn’t feel like it was just about the Infinite Chain.
As I looked at him in confusion, his mouth opened.
“There’s someone who wishes to meet you.”
At that moment, I realized.
‘…Damn it.’
The fishing line had snapped.
The pond’s owner had come ashore.
* * *
For now, we made quick preparations and followed the Third Sword.
“The one who wishes to meet us… could it be…?”
“…Yes. The head of Lorutel.”
I swallowed a quiet sigh at that answer.
‘Why is it that my bad premonitions are never wrong?’
But only for a moment.
Then I forced myself to look on the bright side.
‘If the pond’s owner were me, I’d tear us apart and feed the pond with our remains… But hey? That’s me, not him.’
I’ll admit it now, yeah, I know my personality’s trash.
Huh? If you lined up a hundred short-tempered bastards, I’d probably rank in the top five.
…Though on second thought, no.
‘…Not a chance.’
I probably wouldn’t even make the top 100. No matter how much I spun the hope machine, the odds of the Lorutel head being more good-natured than me were effectively zero.
Given that, I needed to at least find out what was going on.
“So… why would the exalted head of Lorutel wish to see us?”
“Perhaps he’s simply intrigued by your proposal.”
“What did the young lord tell him, exactly?”
“Well… hm.”
The Third Sword, walking ahead, trailed off. His previously firm stride suddenly faltered.
Though he quickly regained his composure, that brief hesitation was enough to reignite my anxiety.
When he spoke again…
“…He reported it exactly as it was.”
Yeah, right.
He must’ve embellished it plenty. From the young lord’s standpoint, this deal had to go through. And if possible, he’d want to cut down the Elder and take a shot at Dekulan.
To do that, he’d have to exaggerate the source of the information.
In that process, the Tower and the Sword Garden probably turned into near-mythical, awe-inspiring powers of unimaginable scale.
As I realized that, my gaze sharpened.
The Third Sword spoke again shortly after.
“You seem to be misunderstanding something… The young lord did his utmost to honor his promise with you. In doing so, he caught the head’s attention. That’s all.”
I see.
Apparently, their conversation had gone differently than I imagined. Rather than exaggerating to prove our credibility, he’d exaggerated to emphasize the importance of keeping our deal.
Still, that didn’t make things any better. Because…
‘…it means the head plans to eat the bait and then ditch the line.’
Which revealed one clear truth.
The head of Lorutel was an untrustworthy sociopath!
Then why would such a man call us to him?
‘Not good. Not good at all.’
No matter how I thought about it, nothing about this felt positive. Following the Third Sword through the winding alleys toward Lorutel’s estate…
Stop.
The Third Sword halted suddenly.
“…?”
“Wait a moment. I need to gather my thoughts.”
Just beyond this alley lay the Lorutel manor, but suddenly he’d stopped.
He closed his eyes, thinking deeply. And in that moment, I too had a choice to make.
‘Three to one.’
The Third Sword was off guard.
If I struck first… maybe I could still get away.
Sure, that would mean losing the Infinite Chain, but at least I’d avoid facing the monster that was Lorutel’s head.
At least I wouldn’t end up as fish food tonight. So it came down to this: future Dekulan, or present Lorutel’s head.
After a moment, I made up my mind.
‘Alright. Decision made.’
And just as I did, the Third Sword turned around.
He looked at us with a grim, resolved expression.
“The order to bring you was from the head himself. But the young lord gave me separate instructions.”
“…?”
Something in his tone felt strange, as if the young lord’s order conflicted with the head’s.
And my guess was right.
“The young lord left me a message.”
What message?
The Third Sword relayed it plainly.
“‘Go back.’”
“And the promise will be kept.”
When I heard that, I thought to myself, ‘…It’s certain now.’
If we met the head, we were absolutely, completely screwed.
No doubt about it.
