Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: The Sirentea Bribe
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At the mention of the back mountain, everyone shot Nihil looks that screamed they'd been duped.
Nihil insolently twitched his eyebrows at the stares, but then pretended to glance around warily, thinking the owner might come scolding.
"……Are you going to chew me out for picking it on my own?"
With his head slightly bowed and peeking up pitifully, he cut a sorry figure—but Sedes clamped his mouth shut with a subtle expression, more fixated on how no such precious treasure could sprout from the back mountain than on the herb-picking itself.
With no reaction from his father, Nihil decided to go for broke.
"Can't a son's friend slip up now and then?"
"…That's, true."
"If it weren't for me, you couldn't have harvested it at all. Let it slide this once."
"I had no intention of scolding you just for plucking weeds off the mountain."
"Then I'll keep picking away, worry-free."
"……."
"This back mountain's got a surprising haul of herbs."
"……."
Nihil's sheer gall left everyone speechless. But the real question nagging them was whether this red flower was truly Sirentea.
Sir Evan voiced what everyone was dying to know, his face a mask of reluctance.
"Is that really Sirentea?"
"It is."
"Then isn't it pretty common?"
The porters nodded in unison. Nihil arched a brow at the sight, then shook his head as he elaborated.
"It needs steady moonlight—not harsh sun—for over a hundred years, without fail. Even finding the right spot's a chore, and Sirentea blends seamlessly with its surroundings. To the naked eye, it's indistinguishable from the local grass and flowers—ordinary folk can't tell it apart. And before you dig it up, you have to drench the soil around the roots generously with blood. Spritz recklessly while hunting for it, and you'll bleed out for sure……."
"Hold on, wait. So how'd you harvest it? With blood?"
Sir Evan cut in, stunned to learn blood was required for Sirentea.
Nihil fixed Evan with a blank stare, then hesitantly rolled up his sleeve. The bleeding had stopped, but several deep, ragged gashes stretched long across his forearm.
Sir Evan snatched Nihil's forearm in horror, inspecting it up close. The flesh hung in tatters like a shredded rag.
"What in blazes have you done to yourself!"
"No tools on hand, so I scraped it out with my nails."
"Even then, you don't butcher your arm like this!"
"Don't make such a fuss. Find one more, and it's yours."
"That's not the point! What about these wounds!"
"…Next time, one clean slice."
"You—you!"
Nihil looked flustered as he palmed away Evan's looming face, tugged down his sleeve, buttoned it snug, and pressed on.
"That Sirentea started out looking like plain old weeds. I potted the flower and scoured the area for another, but came up empty. That's when I spotted the intruder—and bumped into you."
Nihil laid it out matter-of-factly, then turned to Sedes.
"Father, questions?"
"How'd you spot the Sirentea?"
"I can tell at a glance."
"No blood scent whatsoever, though."
"Sirentea sucks it all up. Exhibit A: the flower went red."
"Original color?"
"Translucent white. Fades back with time."
"Just feed it blood?"
"Drip it on the flower itself, not the soil. The fruit'll match the donor's aura or mana hue. Mix in someone else's blood, and it's worthless—mind that."
"……."
Sedes mulled over this 'bribe,' weighing his options. Meanwhile, one guard knight tentatively raised a hand, only to pout at a glance from another.
Sedes sighed at his squabbling knights, flicking his hand as if to say fire away. One piped up quick.
"Can our captain really hit Swordmaster by eating that fruit... sir?"
"…No need for formalities with me."
The knight paused, then chirped brightly.
"Can he?"
"Cut the nonsense. Folks meant for it don't need help. Never swung a sword myself—don't ask."
"How'd you gauge the captain's skill?"
"What level are we, in your eyes, friend?"
"Between this lug and that one, who'd win?"
"……."
One query cracked the dam; the guard knights unleashed a barrage.
The spectacle left Sedes at a loss for words, heaving another deep sigh. His guards were war orphans, stray mercs, battlefield scraps—he'd scooped up the promising ones and raised them. Small wonder they sometimes reverted to kid stuff.
Unwilling to field every inane query, Nihil bolted to Evan, clutched his hem, and tugged.
"Noisy—chase 'em off already."
"……."
The chamber hushed; all eyes pinned Evan.
Evan broke a sweat under stares demanding you really kicking us out? Truth was, as the greenest and lowest-ranked, his hands were tied.
Caught betwixt, Evan scooped Nihil up gently and soothed him.
"Buck up, you."
"Useless oaf."
Nihil shot Evan a glare, then yanked his cloak over himself in Evan's arms—a clear conversation over.
Sedes gave his knights the eye at the petulant tot's display; they shuffled back sheepishly, one step apiece.
"If that's genuine Sirentea, it's a rare prize. Why hand it to me?"
"…Told you: earn some goodwill. Got nothing else worth squat right now."
"Goodwill for what, exactly?"
"Nothing pressing yet. But brownie points with you? Can't hurt. Pretend it's me picking up a refined hobby, tending one bloom."
Hobby... The legendary Sirentea bore some hype, sure—but by the kid's rundown, its worth was staggering.
Sedes' thoughts drifted to the 2nd Prince, saddled with that Mana Curse stigma. Every trick in the book, and they couldn't pin his ailment. But this flower...? He ventured carefully.
"…Could one mana-less soul eat its fruit and gain mana?"
Nihil wriggled free of the cloak, locking eyes with Sedes.
"Rian's mana vessel's smashed—no dice. Possible? I'd have dosed him, not bribed you."
"…Smashed mana vessel? You know the 2nd Prince's state?"
Sedes' eyes bulged. Evan gawked too—it was news to him.
"Pre-mana heart reinforcement stage. Nearing death cracks the vessel."
"…What? So not the 'Mana Curse'?"
"Mana's got no brains for cursing."
"Then... near-death shattered the 2nd Prince's mana vessel? But......"
The 2nd Prince had teetered on death's door. Poison hit two years back—his wet nurse perished. Yet the 'Mana Curse' predated it; unrelated.
Nihil eyed Sedes' confusion, dropping one more flat line.
"Shouldn't have dithered."
"…Huh?"
"Father, too much delay. Head out."
"Wa-wait—what's that mean?"
Sedes had more, but Nihil evicted coldly once more.
"How'd you know the prince's state—just that!"
"I see mana."
"What?"
"Safe travels, Father."
And so Sedes clutched the wee pot, booted from the 2nd Prince's Palace.
Sir Evan bowed low, right on cue.
"…My apologies, Your Majesty."
"No, no—quite all right. Utterly bizarre, like a dream I'm still shaking off."
"He doesn't pull that in front of His Highness..."
"…Fortunate, then?"
Brazen to the king, docile to the prince—was that a win? Sedes felt no real offense; the boy's otherworldly maturity—nay, ancient vibe—saw to that.
The sun crested midday.
Sedes peeked at his bribed pot, recalled the no-strong-sun admonition, and reflexively lifted a hand to shade the bloom.
The coachman-shadow gripped the reins; the rest piled into the supply cart.
"…2nd Prince can't hold mana 'cause he cheated death......"
'Shouldn't have dithered.'
Sedes' face set at the boy's echo.
"My lord, something wrong?"
"No—nothing."
Sedes shook it off, querying Evan.
"Did you know he sees mana?"
"…He mentioned seeing forbidden sights, but mana? No clue."
"Explains sizing up the knights on sight. Sirentea too—thanks to that gift."
"Reckon so. Other senses are killer."
"…Nose was sharp. Physical prowess?"
"Muffles presence, apes footsteps. That's all I've seen."
Sedes whistled low. 2nd Prince scored big.
"…Speech too old for a kid. Older than he looks?"
"Claims so, but... circumstances. Fresh to kingdom tongue—like a tyke aping guardians, he mirrors speech. Drops it normally. Probably......"
Evan trailed, gauging. Sedes inferred, face twitching faintly.
"That gramps talk... mimicked me?"
Evan dodged eyes, replying a tick late.
"……With His Highness, it's pure kid-speak."
My speech is gramps-like.
Sedes, thriving in his thirties, sank a touch.