Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Netori or Die: Pick One and Get to It Lol
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Approximately five hours earlier.
The watchman. No, the imperial senior knight Habens, disguised as a watchman, had received a secret order.
'While doing the usual "that thing" watchmen do, probe the guy called Dre.'
What the king referred to as "that." It was something the soldiers called "that prank"—a sort of initiation rite exclusive to Outsiders.
It was a command from the king to whom he had pledged his loyalty.
But Habens knew someone's influence lurked behind that command, and it left a bad taste in his mouth.
'Yedre...'
He had heard from reports.
Three families boasting the greatest prestige and influence among the Ten Great Families.
Graize, Hart, and Blizha—houses so evenly matched it was impossible to rank them—had unanimously recommended him as a lecturer at Prynar Academy.
And even more astonishing, Prynar Academy had accepted the recommendation.
'What wind must have blown for those fearless folks to accept such an outrageous proposal?'
The overseers of Prynar Academy were arrogant.
Successors to the Ten Heroes who shared roots with the academy and propped up the nation's core—the Ten Great Families.
They only lent an ear to words from those of their own caliber.
And Prynar Academy had the accomplishments and prowess to justify that arrogance.
For them to place him—not in a student's seat, but a lecturer's chair—meant there was something special about this Dre.
Something even kept secret from the royal family.
'An Outsider, no less.'
Outsiders, who were loathed by default unless certified.
'Swordsmanship lecturer, right?'
Habens himself had once been a candidate for lecturer at Prynar Academy.
He hadn't made the cut in the end, but merely being nominated was enough for no one to doubt his skills.
If a mere candidate earned such high praise, how formidable must this Dre be to claim a lecturer position without a whiff of controversy despite the unconventional path?
He was a man Habens wanted to witness firsthand, royal command or not.
'The royal command was to uncover flaws.'
It was a convoluted order, but boiled down, it meant to provoke him, gauge his view of the royal family, and judge his temperament.
Amid that, the king's directive to pull "that prank" on an Outsider? Honestly, he wanted to ignore it.
Dre's rumors were downright monstrous, after all.
Turning Yulis into a half-corpse and nearly exterminating the Serton Viscount house—those tales were infamous.
Nine times out of ten, he had a foul temper, and Habens had no desire to stir up trouble.
Besides, Habens had virtually no experience with "that prank."
His routine duties centered on training in the imperial palace; he only came to the gates when the watchmen couldn't handle something, so he had little exposure even to routine inspections, let alone pranks.
But a king's command was a king's command—he had to follow through.
The prank was straightforward.
Suddenly declare the Outsider a traitor and observe their reaction to size them up—a stunt that felt anything but playful to the target.
This rebel proclamation had become a sort of tradition targeting Outsiders, with a track record of weeding out real threats. He couldn't dismiss it outright.
Habens waited, half expectant, half uneasy.
And then he witnessed the unbelievable.
"Sir Habens."
"Oh come on. Right now, I'm not a knight—I'm your fellow watchman. Forgot?"
"Look over there...!"
A watchman handing over the telescope, ignoring protocol.
Habens accepted it with puzzlement, followed the man's lead, and was stunned.
'Hart Clan and Graize Clan flags flying side by side up ahead?'
The Ten Great Families.
Long ago, when the "True Demon King" was at full power, ten heroes had saved the world from his monstrous legions and sealed him away. These were their descendant houses.
With legitimacy, artifacts, unique magics, and proprietary Ryunar training methods, they commanded renown not just in Entiaer but across the globe—families in name, but nations in influence.
Among them, the seven tied directly or indirectly to Entiaer—Hart, Graize, and Blizha—stood especially mighty.
Blizha had proliferated a downgraded variant of their proprietary Ryunar training, swelling their ranks to numerical dominance.
Hart had commerce in an iron grip and was recently making waves in culture too.
Graize reigned supreme in politics, second to none in national power.
All three boasted legitimacy and might without peer, fueling cutthroat rivalry.
They shared the Ten Great Families banner, but functioned as arch-rivals.
Even among the elite three, Hart and Graize clashed endlessly due to clashing natures, a feud legendary in its own right.
Open warfare between Ten Great Families would tarnish their legacy and image, so it never escalated—but petty squabbles and mind games? Endless.
Their rivalry was infamous.
It had raged for decades, even centuries.
Yet here were these perennial adversaries planting their symbolic banners side by side on approach to the capital?
Why on earth would these power-struggling houses pull that stunt?
This was seismic news in political circles at minimum.
Social season would buzz for ages, Habens thought, mouth agape.
Had he known Clarit of Blizha was somewhere in that procession, his mind would have blanked entirely.
'I knew Gold Viscount and Ellicia were in there. Childhood friends, right.'
The two finally smitten? Habens entertained the absurd notion before dismissing it.
He had met them.
Gold and El seemed polar opposites at a glance, but shared the same core.
Which was why they shunned each other like some tribal feud.
It wasn't just them—over centuries, no direct-line marriages had ever occurred between Ten Great Families.
So what variable remained?
The Outsider Dre sprang to mind.
No other reason fit amid his parade of unconventional rumors.
Had this Outsider Dre forged harmony between the houses? How?
Habens recalled a ridiculous rumor.
A human had slain a dragon. Name: Dre. Or perhaps Dragoongun.
Unlike the others, its source was murky, so it had been dismissed as bunk.
Made sense—what were dragons?
Even non-adult hatchlings mere days old possessed hides that shredded fifth-grade magic or lower, along with mana, Ryunar, and all manner of energies. Ultimate predators wielding draconic tongue, spells, and breath.
They were dubbed Outsiders' natural foes.
Hatchlings alone could seal the privileges fueling Outsider strength.
Those who overcame that handicap to battle dragons earned the title of top-tier Outsiders.
Was Dre one such?
'If he truly felled a dragon, his Prynar lecturer post clicks.'
Prynar loathed Outsiders by default, treating them harshly.
But a human capable of dragon victory? They might bend.
'Prynar's lot are curious enough that appointing—or even enrolling—such a one as lecturer wouldn't shock.'
But Habens was a "see it to believe it" man.
He threw open the gates, grabbed one nearby watchman, and stepped out to receive them.
His liege the king's ordered prank had to remain just that—a prank.
No need for a gaggle to manufacture intimidation.
The procession halted before the gates.
Marien and Kaisir up front spotted Habens and scowled.
What the hell is this? their faces screamed.
Habens flashed an awkward grin.
"You've had a tough journey."
Marien's words.
Subtext: What the hell is a royal knight doing here? But Habens bowed like a proper watchman.
"It's an honor to inspect Hart and Graize houses. Might I speak with the responsibles?"
"Your identities are registered."
Kaisir's gripe—We've passed here a dozen times; why so strict?—went ignored by Habens.
Marien stayed stone-faced. She grasped the situation now.
"A few unregistered among you."
"The second checkpoint's enchantments handle inspections automatically post-gate. What's the—"
"Sir Kaisir."
Marien reined him in, promised to fetch the responsible party, and led him aside.
She was sharp.
She had long pieced together that Habens was here to prank the Outsider making waves even in the capital.
No ignoring a royal command, though.
Moments later.
A carriage so opulent even Habens, steeped in palace luxuries, gawked wide-eyed rolled up.
The door swung open. Gold and El alighted first.
Spotting their mutual loathing—worse than ever—Habens reconfirmed his heir romance theory was utter bunk.
Then a man followed from the carriage.
Sloppy attire, utterly unremarkable at a glance.
Notable trait? Dangerously keen eyes, perhaps?
'That the Outsider Dre?'
Rude as it was, first impressions tanked hard.
But seeing him moments later clasp a young girl's hand to help her down sparked a sliver of goodwill.
'He has care for the weak.'
Dre eyed the gates, the sky, the floating isles overhead—eyes sparkling, gasps escaping.
Capital born and bred half his life, Habens swelled with quiet pride.
But that was that, and work was work.
"That one—you the Outsider Dre?"
El and Gold, locked in glares, turned to him. Fleeting bafflement crossed their faces.
The frontline knights knew the royal "Outsider prank" inside out, but carriage-bound heirs? Clueless.
They might catch hell later for their recommended man enduring this nonsense.
But royal command was royal command.
Habens approached Dre, inwardly tense.
"You the Outsider Dre?"
"Yes. That's me."
Dre's even tone against Habens' intimidating timbre.
Trust in the Ten Great Families at his back, or pure self-assurance? Either way, Habens approved.
'Approval's worthless. Now he'll peg me as the asshole...'
He truly hated this prank, but loyalty to the king won out.
Habens raised a hand. On signal, the watchman behind circled opposite, trapping Dre between.
Dre blinked back and forth, bewildered.
Spear hafts soon pressed in.
Habens swung his with feigned killing intent.
Well? What reaction?
Panic like average Outsiders, then cries of injustice and rage? Or total cluelessness?
"Outsider Dre! You're under emergency arrest for high treason against the nation!!"
"......?"
Still bewildered.
Habens, who had pinned hopes on Dre, felt deep disappointment.
He had woven ki and martial subtlety into that swing for maximum threat, yet no dice—he hadn't noticed.
Meant privilege-dummy, skill-reliant, combat amateur.
And then.
"Fucking bullshit."
An unbelievable curse flew out.
Habens blinked twice.
'Huh...? Any precedent for this reaction?'
Norm was panic, claims of mistake, frantic excuses snowballing to fury.
But Dre? No real anger—just resigned flat cursing.
'What the...?'
An oddly acclimated vibe.
The dissonance didn't end there.
Clearly no elite, yet something off.
Habens felt cold sweat trickle, limbs slacken.
'Why these chills...?'
No overt hostility. Just steady gaze.
Yet Habens sensed something unnerving from the man before him.
At length, Dre spoke slowly.
"Capital watchmen are a cut above."
"What?"
"Sharper threat than any knight I've seen. Hiding your skill, are you?"
"......"
Sarcasm. Pure sarcasm.
Dre had clocked Habens as way too skilled for a watchman.
And the ones behind? Mediocre hacks.
He had read the spear's nuance—yet stood unmoved, discerning no kill intent.
Extraordinary skill confirmed. Prank over.
"Treason charge, but just you two? Takes real confidence..."
"Forgive me, Outsider Dre. Understand the circumstances and sheath your ire."
Dre's nonstop barbs broke him. Habens lowered his spear and bowed.
Truthfully, he shouldn't stop here.
To truly gauge character, maintain pressure and probe with questions.
But he couldn't.
Mysterious dread crushed him.
"Sir Habens. What farce is this?"
Gold scowled, visibly irked.
"My apologies. Viscount Gold."
Gold had a reputation for magnanimity.
Habens figured it'd blow over and apologized.
But the reaction diverged sharply from norm.
"Apologies won't cut it. Explain why you troubled my brother."
Gold holding a grudge was shock enough, but that title floored him.
'Brother?!'
Gold Viscount calling Outsider Dre "brother"?
Rumors blanketed the capital: Dre had trashed Yulis, Gold's squire and direct knight. Yet no grudge—instead, bro status?
Shock didn't stop.
"Rude stunt on Dre. Means you're dissatisfied with our Graize recommendation too, right?"
"......!"
Ellicia Queens Graize.
Cold to strangers or misfits, but her warm core bled through—charismatic girl.
Now she glared murderously at Habens.
Two Ten Great heirs lavishing affection on Dre. Habens gaped.
'This guy really behind Graize and Hart marching as one?'
Reason Ellicia and Gold swallowed pride to unite: Dre confirmed.
"Likely royal command. Lady, please forgive Sir Habens."
Marien intervened.
"Royal? Why would His Majesty...?"
Marien whispered. Ellicia's expression twisted kaleidoscopically, ending in a sigh.
"What could His Majesty be thinking...?"
Verge of lese-majeste, but Graize heir? Fair game.
King's rep wasn't stellar anyway.
Habens kept bowed, sinner-like.
"So, Sir Habens. Prank done?"
"Yes."
Habens snapped to attention at El's words.
Gold chimed in.
"Rude to my brother, so you'll handle the report to His Majesty responsibly, as expected?"
"Yes. Naturally."
Gold nodded approval. Urged Dre back aboard.
Dre stared at Habens, pensive.
Seconds ticked.
Dre finally looked away.
The procession rolled onward to the second checkpoint.
"Whew. Most Outsiders are sloppy lots, but that one's got guts... Hm? What's wrong, Sir Habens?"
"......"
Habens dripped cold sweat everywhere.
He had pinpointed the dissonance.
From treason call to end, Dre fixated solely on Habens' arms and shoulders.
In that treason scenario, no thought to excuses, fury.
Families' shield? Shock? Future safety?
Not a whisper.
Just mulling how to neutralize Habens.
Small wonder the ominous vibe.
One wrong word, and he'd be half-crippled.
"A dangerous one's arrived."
"Pardon?"
"No, nothing..."
Prynar's eccentrics. And a matching oddball in Dre.
Marien's demeanor too—capital would buzz awhile.
'Botched the prank proper. Majesty will chew me out...'
Habens' head throbbed.