Chapter 196
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 196
I listened to Japa’s story, organizing the details in my head.
For generations, the Menoa Family had selected slaves with exceptional combat talent and raised them as Elite Guard Captains, treating them almost as equals to family members.
When Japa was young, two boys had entered the family as candidates for that very position. It was rare for candidates of that caliber to arrive at the same time, but these two happened to be identical twins.
And one of them was the Elite Guard Captain who died by my hand at the office building…
There was a reason Japa had shown such complex emotions upon seeing the man. He must have had the exact same face as Japa’s former lover.
“Even within the family, no one dares mention it. It’s not something to be proud of. I know my tastes are… abnormal, but I couldn’t resist the attraction.”
Japa’s lover had been the younger of the twins. Since candidates for Elite Guard Captain frequently interacted with the direct Menoa lineage, they had grown close.
“A Tajirun having an affair with another species is disgraceful enough, but the family strictly forbids relationships with slaves. It destroys discipline and order.”
In matters of romance, even the strictest class hierarchies could crumble. A group that entrusted heavy responsibilities to outsiders and slaves for emotional reasons was a group doomed to fail.
“…I would have exiled you, too.”
I felt no pity for Japa. He deserved to be kicked out.
I couldn’t even judge him for it. I, too, had slept with Giselle Custoria, swept away by my own emotions. If that fact were ever discovered and I was exiled, I wouldn’t complain. It was a failure of my own conduct.
“Yes, as I said, I have no complaints about the exile itself. The problem is that my lover died at the hands of the Menoa Family.”
Japa’s vertical pupils narrowed into slits.
Within a Tajirun family, an exile order was practically a death sentence. And Japa had committed an act that had deeply tarnished the family’s honor.
“After being exiled, I was dropped alone in the wasteland. In two days, the execution squad sent by the family would arrive.”
The only reason they exiled someone instead of executing them outright was to avoid the stigma of ‘kinslaying.’ By sending assassins after the fact, they could claim it was a ‘death in a foreign land’ and that the family had nothing to do with it. It was a flimsy pretext, but it worked in a society where justification was everything.
“That’s when ‘Kato’ appeared with the other Elite Guards. At first, I thought he’d come to kill me. I called him my lover… but in truth, as a slave, Kato couldn’t have refused me. Looking back, you could say I used my status to toy with him.”
So, Kato was his lover’s name. Japa’s gaze drifted to the floor as he spoke it. It was the first time I realized a Tajirun’s eyes could hold such a wistful look.
“The Menoa Family gave you a cruel punishment. Dying by Kato’s hand would have been a far more miserable end.”
“That must have been my father’s goal. Kato probably claimed I forced him so he could join the execution squad. At the time, Kato’s twin brother was also in that squad.”
I recalled the conversation between Japa and the Elite Guard Captain who had died in the office building.
“Now the situation at the office makes sense. Kato must have betrayed his own brother to protect you. That’s why that stoic Elite Guard Captain showed such raw emotion toward you.”
“I didn’t expect it, either. Kato killed his other comrades and even ambushed his own brother—a man who was like his other half. My attraction to him… it wasn’t just a one-sided delusion. Kato was drawn to me, too. In that moment, I actually thought being exiled was a good thing. We could finally be free together.”
I tried to imagine it for a moment, then shook my head.
A boy and a girl who couldn’t be together, a desperate situation, a lovers’ escape…
It was almost romantic.
But the person involved is Japa.
The image just didn’t sit right. The thought of a human boy and Japa running hand-in-hand through a wasteland felt bizarre. I wasn’t a racist, but I couldn’t suppress a visceral sense of revulsion.
“We knew nothing about the outside world. Not just me, but Kato as well. Everyone we met tried to cheat us, and we escaped death more times than I can count. Few people trusted a Tajirun, and even when we found work, they’d kick us out in disgust the moment they learned of my relationship with Kato.”
Japa’s voice trailed off as he recounted Kato’s death. The Menoa Family had never stopped sending people after them.
“…We couldn’t hold out forever. Kato died saving me. I had no reason to live anymore, but I couldn’t take my own life. It was a life he had saved. That’s how I drifted to Border City. Let’s stop today’s story here. It’s a good place to end Part One, hoyot.”
Japa pushed himself off the counter. He looked at me and smiled, though I still found it difficult to think of him as a ‘she.’
“The reason I’m telling you this, Mr. Luka, is as an apology. I have revealed my personal history—my weakness—to you.”
Japa bowed his head slightly.
I stared at the entrance to the cafeteria as Ozmer and the other Tajiruns finally poured in, flanked by the remaining Elite Guards.
Japa immediately took control, questioning Ozmer first.
– Ozmer, why is Father’s body here?
Japa gestured to the Equesian mercenaries, who brought forward the refrigerated capsule containing the corpse.
– Cut the nonsense, Japa. Why are you here? Did you orchestrate the blackout?
– I rushed over because I sensed my ‘lover’ was in danger. I don’t wish to lose another lover.
Japa glanced at me. Goosebumps crawled up my skin, but I fought to keep my expression blank, my eyelids twitching.
This damned snake!
But it was an effective excuse. The Tajirun of the Menoa Family were well aware of Japa’s preferences.
Japa pressed on, as if to dispel any lingering suspicion.
– Besides, how could an outsider like me cause a blackout? Does the Menoa Mothership have such lax security? I think everyone here knows who the mastermind is.
A tense verbal spar erupted between Japa and Ozmer.
I tuned them out. I already knew the truth and how this would end.
The blackout was Ozmer’s doing. It was a cover for a slave riot. The moment the power went out, he must have ordered the brainwashed Elite Guards to kill their captain and massacre the trainees.
No matter how capable Japa was, orchestrating a blackout on the Menoa Mothership would be difficult, let alone timing it so perfectly.
But Japa knew when the blackout would happen. That means someone close to Ozmer was on his payroll. Many of the Round Table Conference attendees must be his informants, too. Lisanda wasn’t the only one.
Japa had been hollowing out the Menoa Family from within for a long time. Each informant probably believed they were the only one.
He had sent me to the cafeteria right when the blackout was scheduled to occur, certain that I would be able to suppress the situation.
Originally, this was En’s job. With En heavily injured, he had no choice but to use me.
Japa waved his hand with the grand air of a commander.
– More importantly, we have many injured. We must transport and treat them immediately. The very survival of the Elite Guard is in jeopardy. Thanks to our incompetent Family Head, one unit was wiped out by my own hands, and it seems less than half of the remaining personnel have survived.
– Who would take orders from the likes of you—
But contrary to Ozmer’s protest, the other Tajiruns began to murmur amongst themselves. Treating the injured was the priority. Without the Elite Guard, the Menoa Family’s entire military force was gone.
Ozmer, you should have ordered the injured to be moved the second you arrived. But it seems your plans going awry has left you unable to think straight.
I watched the scene unfold, my arms crossed.
– Is there a reason you were hiding Father’s body like this? Japa asked again.
– I have no reason to tell an outsider like you.
– I’m not asking you to explain it to me. I’m asking you to explain it to your brothers and sisters.
The eyes of every Tajirun present fixed on Ozmer.
Ozmer was flustered. Despite his dark-red skin, he possessed none of a Family Head’s dignity and had abysmal crisis-management skills. Judging by the atmosphere, almost no one here actively supported him.
Ozmer isn’t prepared to be the Family Head. As I thought, he wasn’t the one who killed his father.
Assassinating his father while his own foundation was so unstable would make it impossible to hold his position. Ozmer wasn’t stupid enough to miscalculate that.
– Th-there were signs of murder! That’s why! I had to hide Father’s body until I found the culprit. One of our siblings must be the murderer! Ozmer blurted out.
– You speak as if you aren’t a suspect yourself, Ozmer. As the current Family Head, aren’t you the most likely one? It seems far more reasonable to assume you murdered Father and hid the body to tamper with it. You must have panicked after killing him, only to discover he had entrusted the distribution of his estate to the Legato Law Firm.
– W-wait!
– And now, infighting has broken out among the Elite Guards. I wonder if you intentionally caused this violence to smuggle Father’s body out…
– I know nothing about that! I’ve barely become the Family Head! Do you think they would be that loyal to me? There have been suspicious movements among them ever since Father passed away. Especially that guy!
Ozmer pointed a shaking finger at the corpse of the Equesian Elite Guard Captain. That blatant disrespect was enough to make my own anger rise, and I almost uncrossed my arms.
The Equesian Elite Guard Captain was loyal to his master until the very end, even knowing he had been betrayed.
Ozmer was a man unworthy of such loyalty. I closed my eyes and calmed myself. This wasn't my fight. This was Japa’s stage.
– As I recall, if everyone with voting rights except for the Family Head agrees, the Head’s authority can be temporarily suspended, and the next in line can take over as acting head. Now seems like the perfect time. Conveniently, all voting members are gathered right here.
Japa’s gaze locked onto a specific Tajirun. It was Maldon, the one next in line for succession after Ozmer.
Maldon and Japa must have made a deal. Japa probably offered to help him overthrow Ozmer in exchange for his own reinstatement.
Maldon likely thought he was about to become the next Family Head, under the illusion that Japa’s only goal was to rejoin the family.
Japa’s plan was rolling forward, step by perfect step.
An informal meeting, led by Maldon, convened on the spot.
One by one, the Tajiruns raised their hands.
The motion to suspend Ozmer’s authority passed in an instant. With the Elite Guard in disarray and unable to protect him, Ozmer was utterly defenseless.
The Menoa Family was being played like a fiddle. They were greedy and distrustful of one another, falling hook, line, and sinker for the minor benefits Japa offered them while giving up everything in return.
I looked at Japa’s back. He was more cunning than any other Tajirun here. While being an untraditional member of his species, he understood them perfectly, exquisitely exploiting their desires and tendencies.
But this isn’t just Japa’s doing. This is part of the plan Kinuan laid out long ago. After visiting the Menoa Family, Kinuan must have perfectly grasped their personalities, their relationships, and all their weaknesses.
I could feel Kinuan’s touch in this grand design. He was a man who danced on the Empire’s spiderweb; shaking up a single family was child’s play for him.
Everything is falling into Japa’s hands.
Japa was directing the flow of the entire situation, yet the other Tajiruns felt no threat from him. They believed that his reinstatement would ultimately require their approval—which, technically, was true.
They could simply go back on their word once the dust settles and refuse to reinstate him. Japa would have done all this work for nothing. They might sign some trivial treaty, but for a plan prepared over such a long time, that would be an unsatisfactory outcome.
Right now, the Tajiruns didn’t trust each other. They were all convinced that one of them had murdered their father.
Maldon, the new acting Family Head, began giving instructions to Japa—an exiled outsider—entrusting him with handling the situation. He couldn’t risk giving the cleanup to another sibling, as it might endanger his new position.
No matter how capable Japa is, he isn’t currently a member of the family and can’t become the Family Head. They feel he is not a threat.
Watching from the side, I almost laughed out loud.
The one who killed the former Family Head is Japa…
I observed the Tajiruns and confirmed it once more. Not a single one of them had killed their father.
Japa killed his own father through some unknown means. His entire reason for visiting the Menoa Family was to secure the body and erase any traces of his crime.
And yet, the siblings, all suspecting one another, had temporarily entrusted the body to Japa, whom they saw as a neutral third party and collaborator. They had just handed the evidence over to the real culprit.
For a long time, Japa has been secretly contacting many members of the Menoa Family.
Since they couldn’t be caught communicating with an ‘exile,’ each family member had publicly pretended to despise Japa. Because of this, no one suspected just how deep his hooks were in the family.
The Menoa Family was a microcosm of the Empire, and Japa was the Emperor, looking down and orchestrating everything.
A wave of nausea washed over me. I leaned my back against the wall.
Only one question remained. How would Japa take over the Menoa Family? Given the atmosphere, the motion for his reinstatement was unlikely to pass at the Round Table Conference. A Japa without the Menoa name was a useful collaborator, but a Japa with the Menoa name would become a terrifying rival.
Until the lawyers arrived, none of the Menoa Family would sleep. They would be trading favors and making deals under the table, desperate to ride this new wave.
As the night deepened, the chaos subsided. At last, an opportunity to speak with Japa alone presented itself. Before I could even open my mouth, he spoke as if to himself.
“My untraditional side… I probably inherited it from my father. If the inheritance is donated rather than distributed, Father designated the donations to go primarily to public interest foundations, hoyot. Giving back to society… perhaps it’s his way of atoning for the past?”
Japa winked at me.
Japa Trading just happened to own a plausible-looking scholarship foundation.
…Untraditional Tajirun, my ass.