Reincarnation of the Sword Demon - Chapter 173

WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Chapter 173: You Should Have Done That Earlier

──────

There had been a few more exchanges, but Kyle did not back down. The choice was his, after all. If Izelion refused to accept it, he could simply leave.

He had come all this way because of Julius. Kyle himself had no ties or attachment to Izelion. The only people he knew in that family were Family Head Muheok and Soha, and even those relationships were not particularly close.

Even if something went wrong with the Spirit Tree's roots and everyone bearing the name Izelion died, or if Muheok and Soha were horribly tortured to death in prison, Kyle would not be greatly shocked, coldly speaking. That was how shallow his ties to Muheok, Soha, and Izelion were.

Still, Kyle was not entirely cold-blooded. Since he had come this far, he intended to do his best in his own way.

"Oh."

After an uncomfortable silence that lasted several dozen minutes, Muheok and Soha were brought over. Both wore white mourning clothes and looked more haggard than when he had seen them at the Imperial Palace a few months ago, though they did not appear to have suffered any horrible torture.

"It's been a while. You don't seem to have been doing well."

Kyle greeted the Izelion father and daughter as they walked over. Muheok, his beard unkempt and his hair disheveled, gave Kyle a bitter smile.

"As you can see."

"I came looking for you because there was no word from you."

Kyle glanced upward. The Izelion people standing at the entrance to the Secret Realm were glaring at them with obvious displeasure. Kyle openly met their eyes as he continued.

"Seeing you glaring daggers at us rather than welcoming us, I'm starting to wonder whether we came here for nothing."

"Please understand."

"Of course I should understand another family's circumstances. In any case, we've exchanged greetings, so we'll be leaving now."

"What?"

The brown-skinned middle-aged man who had been glaring at them from the center of the group twisted his face. He strode forward and spoke in an angry voice.

"You asked us to let you in, so we opened the door. You asked us to bring the deposed Family Head, so we brought him. And now you say you'll simply leave? Is Izelion's name that amusing to you?"

"Do you people take Alastor for a fucking joke?"

Katarina froze at his sudden words.

In truth, Katarina had been about to lose her temper first. Izelion had treated the guests who had come all this way despite having no reason to help them so much with nothing but rudeness.

But no matter how hot-tempered she was, Katarina was still a noble-born lady. She might draw and swing her sword, but she did not often use profanity. The sheer crudeness of Kyle's words left her blank-faced.

"It seems more like you people take Alastor for a fucking joke than I take Izelion lightly. Aunt, wouldn't you agree?"

"Uh... huh? Uh..."

"Why do you keep getting angry at us? Did we come here to pick a fight? You were in trouble and could die at any moment, so we came to help. I wasn't expecting you to kneel and beg me for help, but why are you turning us away at the door and making such a fucking fuss? Hey, what's your name?"

Kyle raised a finger and pointed directly at the brown-skinned middle-aged man. Apparently, the man had also never imagined such words coming from a young master of a prestigious family. He could only stare with his mouth hanging open.

"Now you're ignoring me too?"

"Pfft... Pfft, little brother, that person's name is Yeonghu. Yeonghu Izelion. He's my great-uncle, and currently Izelion's Elder with the highest seniority."

Soha spoke while clutching her stomach and laughing. Kyle stared at Yeonghu for a moment, then nodded.

"You're a bit old for me to call you hey. Sorry about that."

"..."

"But being sorry is one thing, and disliking you is another. I don't particularly want to help you people because I dislike your attitude, but our Family Head is soft-hearted and told me to help a little. So let's do this."

Kyle tilted his head and looked at Muheok and Soha.

"Even if I approach those Spirit Tree roots, there is no guarantee that I can solve your problem. I'll cross into the East with Family Head Muheok and Miss Soha, then settle matters with the Mok Family."

"What?"

Yeonghu's eyes widened. His brown face turned bright red. His shoulders trembled as he spoke.

"Muheok is no longer Izelion's Family Head! And since the fate of our entire clan is at stake, the people we send must be carefully selected..."

"That's your problem. Why do you keep pushing your circumstances onto me?"

As far as Kyle was concerned, the only wrong he had committed against Izelion was arriving uninvited. There had been minor clashes along the way, but he had not killed or crippled anyone. Considering Izelion's circumstances, even those clashes could be called unavoidable.

Why should an outsider like him care about what had been unavoidable?

So Kyle decided to be rude. He placed a hand on Fenris's hilt and spoke in a cold voice.

"If you don't want to, then that's the end of it. I have no desire to go out of my way to negotiate. I'm crossing into the East for Alastor's business, not Izelion's. If you want to tag along, just say, 'I understand.'"

"You mad..."

"If you want to call me a madman, think carefully before you say it. The fate of your entire clan rests on your tongue."

Yeonghu's face shifted between red and blue. At the same time, cold sweat began soaking his forehead. Kyle's consistent attitude left Yeonghu no choice but to realize that this was not a simple argument.

Izelion's fate truly rested on Yeonghu's tongue.

The Izelion Elders who had come out with Yeonghu swallowed dryly and watched his reaction. At the end of the suffocating silence, Yeonghu finally opened his mouth.

"I... understand."

"You should have done that earlier."

Kyle smirked and turned to Muheok and Soha.

"Now then, let's leave for the East together..."

"I will remain in Izelion."

"Pardon?"

Kyle's eyebrows rose.

The deposed Family Head, who had only just been released from prison, was refusing to go east and instead wanted to remain with the family. The Elders, including Yeonghu, looked at Muheok in surprise as well.

"Yes. Please take only Soha with you into the East."

Muheok calmly stroked his messy beard.

"Father?"

Soha turned toward Muheok in surprise. Muheok gave his daughter a faint smile before turning his gaze to Kyle.

"If you go to the Mok Family in the East and lift Izelion's bindings, the entire family will regard you as the clan's benefactor. But if you return without any particular results..."

Muheok looked toward the Elders behind him.

"As you can see, the old people of our family are shameless and self-centered. My uncle will likely hold today's humiliation in his heart. It would be better for me to remain with the family, both to calm the unrest within it and to prepare a proper welcome for you."

Yeonghu's eyebrows twitched, but he did not speak. He merely narrowed his eyes darkly.

Kyle found him deeply unpleasant and fell silent for a moment.

Muheok's words were understandable to a degree, but they did not sit right with him. Muheok had been sincere enough about saving the family and clan to advocate assassinating the Emperor, yet he was refusing to go to the East, which might hold the answer.

[What other reason do you have for needing to remain in Izelion?]

Kyle sent the question through voice transmission without hesitation. Muheok answered without changing his expression.

[There are unsettling movements within the family.]

[Of course there are. Isn't that why you were deposed? Wouldn't it be better to overturn things now? If you wish to do so, I'll help.]

[No, we cannot. No matter how strong you and Lady Katarina may be, fighting within our family's territory carries too many risks. I will remain with the family, effectively as a hostage, while preparing to welcome you.]

I see.

It seemed that Izelion's territory beyond the spatial rift was covered in even more formation arrays than this forest. Kyle admired his own foresight in stubbornly refusing to enter.

"Soha knows most of what a Family Head's successor needs to know. She knows as much as she can about the Mok Family, Izelion's main house, and the East. Her martial ability is also considerable, though it cannot compare to yours."

[If we gain nothing from the Mok Family, could Alastor take Soha in?]

Spoken words and voice transmission overlapped. Kyle nodded as he replied.

"We're visiting the East for the first time and know almost nothing about it, so that's fortunate."

[What should we do afterward?]

"To be honest, the knowledge Soha and I have of the East is centuries old, so it won't be of much help. Still, Soha is an excellent archer, so hunting will be easier for her than it will be for you swordsmen. Hunting is her hobby as well."

[I know it is shameless, but I wish to make a request of Lord Thunder Emperor. Please send Alastor's elite forces and execute Izelion's reactionaries. If you do so, Izelion will serve as Alastor's vassal forever.]

As expected of someone who had resolved to assassinate the Emperor, Muheok's proposal was bold.

[Understood.]

Kyle nodded. Thus, the matter between Alastor and Izelion was settled.

Muheok and Soha spoke for a while afterward. Soha seemed deeply worried about leaving her father behind, but she eventually accepted Muheok's wishes and nodded.

"Little brother, wait a moment. I need to prepare before I leave too."

"Yes, we'll wait here."

Soha returned to Izelion's territory, and the uncomfortable standoff resumed. Yeonghu still had a furrowed brow when he spoke.

"You've come from far away. Wouldn't you like to come inside for a while? We can't guide you to the roots, but we can at least offer tea."

"No."

"How... how long do you intend to keep speaking to me informally?"

"Who knows? Until I feel better, perhaps. You should have treated us properly from the start. First impressions are important."

At Kyle's mocking words, Yeonghu trembled all over and ground his teeth.

About ten minutes later, Soha returned. Instead of white mourning clothes, she wore a gray martial uniform and a black leather breastplate. A dark brown bow as large as her body was slung across her back, while a quiver filled with arrows of various kinds hung from her shoulder.

"I'll be going now."

Soha set down her large bow and quiver for a moment, then knelt before Muheok and bowed. Muheok slowly nodded.

"Take care of yourself."

"Yes, Father."

They had already said everything they needed to say, so the father and daughter's farewell was brief. Kyle gave Yeonghu and the Elders, who were still glaring at them, an indifferent look before turning around.

"Whew..."

Jade, who had been waiting tensely, let out a long sigh.

"I was scared you were really going to start an all-out war."

"Why were you scared? What was there to fear?"

"You may have nothing in the world to fear, Commander, but we're not like you. Do you know how much my pathetic heart jumped every time you spoke?"

Jade grumbled, then bowed politely toward Soha.

"We briefly met at the Imperial Palace party, but this is our first time formally greeting each other. I'm Jade Krase of the Sword Wolf Knights."

"I'm Soha Izelion."

Beginning with Jade, the knights exchanged greetings with Soha. At their side, Kyle and Katarina communicated through voice transmission.

[Izelion becoming Alastor's vassal. If that happens, the Three Great Martial Families will become a thing of the past.]

[That's only if we return from the East without results.]

[Those results would be for Izelion's sake. Alastor has already been promised what it will gain in the East. And even if we do succeed in bringing back results for Izelion, I no longer wish to offer them solely out of goodwill.]

Katarina narrowed her eyes and stroked her sword hilt.

[Izelion has lived in this forest for a long time, maintaining a closed-off family culture. Their view has become too narrow, and they no longer know their place.]

[As you said, Aunt, they did seem to take Alastor for a fucking joke.]

[F... f... Ahem. You mean they're looking down on us, right? I felt the same, but Kyle, you are of Alastor's direct bloodline and may become the next Family Head. You should watch your words, especially your choice of vocabulary.]

Her transmitted voice trembled. It was only a crude comparison, but the word Kyle had chosen was far too stimulating for Katarina.

[Anyway...! Let's consider what we should demand from Izelion in return. Personally, I'd like to demand the head of that Yeonghu fellow, who dared act so arrogant before Alastor's name.]

[Receiving his head would only feel good for a moment. It wouldn't benefit Alastor. Wouldn't it be better to demand a treasure?]

[Hmph. Any treasure Izelion possesses would be shabby compared to Alastor's treasures.]

The trembling vanished from Katarina's voice. Endless pride in her family filled her heart.

[The only things worth demanding would be Izelion's eastern arts. Their formation arrays were especially strange and interesting.]

[You mean the formation array where the naked man popped out?]

[Um... Ahem! That's not what I meant. Kyle, don't say unnecessary things. I have forgotten everything I saw earlier.]

Katarina hurriedly added that before turning to Soha.

"Soha. What is the formation array in this forest?"

"Yes?"

Soha blinked at the sudden question, but Katarina could not immediately explain. To do so, she would have to mention the embarrassing sight she had seen earlier.

"A person came out of a tree."

Kyle spoke in place of the hesitant Katarina. He pointed to the tree from which the naked man had emerged.

"From inside the posts that make up the forest's formation array."

"Ah, I was wondering what you meant. That was my granduncle."

"Pardon?"

Soha gave a bitter smile at his question.

"He died about three years ago. Everyone bearing the name Izelion is buried in this forest when they die and becomes a tree."

Soha looked around the forest as she spoke.

"That's not a metaphor. Within a few days of burying a body in the ground, a sprout emerges. Within a month, it becomes a large tree. Then, forever, it becomes part of this forest and the barrier protecting Izelion."

"Does that even make sense?"

"Does it make sense for the entire clan to die if the roots they must protect die?"

He had no answer to that.

"Everyone born with Izelion blood is practically grafted onto the Spirit Tree's roots. They are human from birth until death, but once they die, they become trees and must remain in this forest forever."

"Did they defy death?"

"It's a little different from that. Once they become trees... they forget even who they were and become obsessed only with protecting the family. The granduncle you saw could speak a little because he had only been dead for three years, but it's impossible to speak with the ancestors who became trees deeper inside. They simply stand there as trees."

In other words, this forest was Izelion's tree burial ground, built over centuries. Soha let out a short sigh and shrugged.

"It's a strange fate in many ways. That's why I want to change it."

"The Elders we saw earlier seemed to have simply accepted it."

"Not at all. Who would want to die and become a tree? Those old people are only terrified that they might die at any moment. That's why they opposed and feared your visit, then imprisoned my father's faction and me when we tried to persuade them."

After saying that, Soha gave Kyle a small bow with a bitter smile.

"My thanks are late. Thank you for coming here yourself."

"I never imagined it would turn out this way."

"Neither did I. I never thought we'd cross into the East together. Hehe, but I won't be a burden."

Soha raised her head and smiled sweetly.

"I'm quite strong too."

Soha was nineteen this year. She was three years older than Kyle, and her realm as a martial artist was in the middle to late stages of the Will Realm, slightly below Lucia's.

Kyle's realm was simply absurd. Reaching the middle to late stages of the Will Realm before even reaching twenty was enough to earn praise as a genius anywhere on the continent.

"Normally, anyone joining my knight order has to be a swordsman."

Kyle smirked and continued.

"But I'll provisionally accept you, an archer and an older sister, as a member. Consider it an honor."

"I prefer being called noona rather than elder sister. You called me noona last time. Did you change your mind already?"

"Noona makes us sound too close."

"So what?"

"Show some respect."

Lucia coldly cut in.

"That person is the commander of the Sword Wolf Knights."

"Um... hm? Ah, I see."

Soha's smile curved strangely.

"Understood, Commander little brother."