The Words That Bind
Father. Help. Gate.
She knew what this man was weak to after reading the diary. Liv had come prepared, deliberately combining only the words that would bind her master’s ankles and spitting them out.
With him flustered and half-dazed, this was her chance.
“We’ve prepared a system for dealing with the Gates, and I was curious how it would look through your eyes, Master. It would be wonderful if you could observe it once and point out any areas that need improvement.”
“……”
“Closing Gates always leaves us short-handed, so we would be even more grateful if you could lend your strength from time to time.”
Even Altare had lost to him.
She had assumed that while he might be their master, his identity as a Fighter would make it difficult for him to break through an Awakener. Yet he had succeeded in leaving without inflicting a single wound on his disciple’s body.
After confirming this, Liv gathered the returned Hwan and Altare and spoke.
“Forcing him to stay doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
Gaining his hostility would only reduce his hesitation. Once that hesitation vanished, his methods would grow even more ruthless, and he would reveal even greater power than he had shown them so far.
The only reason they had managed to hold him back this long was the lingering tie of their past as his disciples and children. They had to use that.
Since that alone wasn’t enough, they would layer on the subject he cared about most: the Gates.
“The records say he throws himself into anything involving Gates.”
“Let’s tie him down by involving the Gates. For example, by asking for support in handling them. Using his position as ‘Master’ to have him review the results of the work we’ve been doing all this time is a decent excuse. And if we add that we want to serve him using our position as his ‘children,’ he’ll ultimately yield.”
“He’ll let himself be caught even though he knows what we’re doing.”
Just as predicted, Raven froze.
Death had already given him an order. Go find your disciples, it had said. Confirm what the present your efforts created looks like and identify what needs to be improved.
The situation aligned perfectly with his disciples’ request.
There was no reason to refuse.
Since things have come to this, it wouldn’t be bad to stay here until Edardo contacts me.
Having finished his thoughts, he looked down at Liv, who was still clinging to his neck, and said,
“Just for a while.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Since he had nowhere particular to stay anyway, Raven readily accepted his disciples’ suggestion that he stay at one of their mansions, using the excuse of quick communication and swift response.
The rather adorable way they declared they could now serve one master without any shortage also played a part in his decision.
For some reason they headed to Altare’s mansion rather than Liv’s this time. Before entering, he received a promise from the homeowner himself that his freedom would be guaranteed, but…
“What is this…”
In a luxurious, ornate room fitted with large windows and ordinary doors, Raven sat on the sofa and stared down at his firmly bound wrists with a stunned expression.
What the hell.
“You said you’d guarantee my freedom…”
“I did make that promise.”
“Then why… Ah.”
“But the others didn’t.”
That kind child was pulling word games like this…!
Whether Raven was shocked or not, Altare, leaning against the wall as if to say any complaints should be taken up with someone else, simply closed his eyes. Raven stared blankly at him for a moment before turning his gaze to Liv, the one who had tied his wrists.
His lovely second disciple smiled brightly and naturally sat down beside him.
“The others said I was too soft on you, Master, and that’s why you managed to escape.”
“……”
“I know that something like this could be undone anytime you truly put your mind to it.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“So, as the price for betraying my trust and consideration, you’ll indulge me in this small act of pettiness, won’t you?”
The door was open. The windows weren’t locked. Altare, as the owner of the mansion, had clearly kept his promise.
She just hadn’t expected Liv to pull something like this.
Raven, who had already been feeling a pang of conscience for knocking out a child whose body was so weak, let out a sigh and leaned his upper body against the sofa’s backrest.
Liv watched her master tilt his head back and fall silent as if he had given up. A faint gleam flashed in her eyes.
As expected, he lets something like this slide.
Just as she had felt while frequently facing him, their master was incredibly soft toward his disciples.
Even after being confined, he stayed obedient until the moment he decided he truly had to move. That said everything. When they met again after his escape, there wasn’t even a trace of resentment over the confinement.
It was probably because he didn’t feel threatened at all. Since he was confident he could break free whenever he wanted, he had no reason to get angry.
Of course, if they kept confining him and became a nuisance, the story would change.
Thank goodness.
They could continue their bond as if nothing had happened.
After analyzing him, Liv made her judgment. There was no need to rush. Slowly, little by little, she would dye him with small things and bind his ankles.
Playing on top of his head would be difficult, and the risk if she failed was enormous. It would be better to lower herself so that he would close his eyes even while knowing what she was doing.
If he kept overlooking things and yielding one by one, eventually it would become too late for him to escape.
Since we are the ones he is especially soft toward, it shouldn’t be impossible.
She smiled brightly and placed her hand on the knot binding Raven’s wrists. The knot slowly came undone beneath her busy fingers.
“It was a joke. I never intended to keep you tied up, Master.”
“…I see.”
He had known.
The Guardian Spirit must have known as well.
Raven looked down at his freed wrists, then lifted his gaze. The message had remained completely silent, offering no particular opinion except for the displeased look it had given when he was first tied up.
Since it realized the binding hadn’t been a genuine attempt to control his limbs, the Guardian Spirit had responded calmly.
“By the way…”
“Please speak.”
“Is there a particular reason you moved the location to Altare’s mansion?”
“Ah, we all agreed to take turns hosting you for one month each. Originally it was supposed to be my turn first, but…”
Since she already had a record of losing their master once, the order had been changed.
Liv closed her mouth and smiled sweetly.
Considering the urgent situation, Liv’s turn—which had been given top priority—was pushed back.
The ones who had united to postpone her turn by emphasizing that their master had escaped immediately split over where their master would stay, as though they had never coordinated their hearts at all.
In the midst of the taut battle of nerves, Altare spoke first.
“He’ll stay at my mansion.”
“I remember you were originally scheduled for the very last turn. Are you planning to break the agreement?”
Hwan immediately protested.
Yet Altare’s expression didn’t change. His unwavering voice continued, as if he saw no reason he should step back.
“The situation has changed now. You couldn’t have already forgotten what happened when Master escaped, could you? In an emergency, the one skilled in physical combat can respond the fastest. That leaves either me or Rowina, and since Rowina hasn’t arrived yet, the answer is obvious, isn’t it?”
“You ended up losing to him as well.”
“Even so, I can at least buy time. How long do you think the rest of you could last against Master?”
Having said that much, Altare curled the corner of his mouth.
The smirk was so infuriating that it made them want to slap him. It was directed at everyone present.
“Don’t worry. I won’t kill him.”
“……”
“I just… got something I want to know.”
The first spot was decided, and the rest of the order was roughly set as well.
Deceiver joined in late, but since the sin of having hidden their master had not been erased, his turn became the very last.
Deceiver ground his teeth with a smiling face. His rather eerie voice pressed down on the air.
“If Father didn’t consider you his children…”
If he had no need to call you older brother or older sister.
“You would all be dead.”
“We know. That’s why we’re acting so boldly.”
Liv shot back calmly without yielding. Deceiver glared at her fiercely but could not bring himself to raise a hand against her.
Because Father considered them his children.
That was one reason he hesitated to touch them and earn irreversible wrath, but there was another, more important reason.
The reason he called the others older brother and older sister even while thinking he was Father’s only child.
Because Father doesn’t think of me as his child.
Instead, he still considered the other disciples his children. If he maintained a sibling relationship with them, then he could maintain his position as Raven’s child as well.
Because the father of his siblings would become his own father.
Therefore, he could not touch his ‘brothers and sisters.’
“…May I tie your hair for you? The me from the past used to touch your hair often, I hear.”
There was no way she could shamelessly say she had been disadvantaged for losing him. Liv changed the subject.
Raven, who had already inferred what she had been about to say from her previous words and the atmosphere, stared quietly at his disciples for a moment before slowly nodding as if he hadn’t noticed.
As if she had been waiting, Liv’s hand touched his hair.
“And if there’s anything else you need, please tell Altare anytime. We’ll do everything we can to accommodate you.”
“…Even though that kid is glaring at me like that?”
“If he doesn’t listen, tell me. I’ll take care of it.”
“I don’t really need anything, so it doesn’t matter… Ah, if possible, I’d appreciate it if you could gather a lot of books related to the Mythological Era.”
“Leave it to me.”
Swish.
He felt his hair sliding between her fingers. Raven closed his eyes. A memory from some forgotten day in the past rose to the surface.
A memory that had been incomparably beautiful and happy, yet one he could no longer accept with joy—a sorrowful memory.
When had it been? Back when he knew nothing and was simply spending time with his disciples.
Even then, Liv had been touching his hair. He remembered Deceiver approaching her with a sullen face and bluntly saying,
“Father’s hair is mine, Sister.”
“That sounds weird.”
Altare, who had been quietly watching, had frowned as well.
“Anyway, it’s mine.”
“Haha.”
The sky had been a vivid blue, the ground covered in fresh green grass, and soft sunlight had poured through leaves lush with green. Whether because of the sunlight tickling his eyes or simply because of the emotion, his eyes had stung with brightness.
The children bickering in the midst of peace were so cute and lovely that the entire impossibly beautiful scene felt like a dream.
Raven had smiled and spread both arms toward Deceiver.
“Come here, son.”
…Seeing how thoroughly it had shattered, it really must have been a dream.
He knew better than anyone that clinging to the past was the surest way to ruin a person.
Before bitterness or sorrow or any other negative emotion could surface, Raven opened his eyes and glanced at Altare, who was fiddling with his communication device. It seemed to be a call related to him. The boy frowned, then their eyes met as Altare sneaked a look in his direction.
“…It seems a guest has arrived. Would you like to meet them?”
“A guest?”
“Yes. Noisy ruffians are shouting that they want to meet their leader or benefactor. Since they appear to remember you, Master, I thought it best not to ignore them and informed you.”
“…I think I know who it is.”
Just then, Liv removed her hands, apparently finished tying his hair.
Raven turned his head a few times, finding the sensation of the high-tied hair unfamiliar, then kissed Liv’s forehead in thanks and stood up.
“I’ll meet them. Will you guide me?”
“……”
“Altare? Child?”
Why were they frozen?
Come to think of it, Liv had frozen as well. Just as Raven was tilting his head in confusion, Altare, who had been looking back and forth between Liv and Raven with rather wide eyes, turned away.
His answer came a beat too late.
“The reception room is right next door. This door connects directly to it, so you may receive guests here from now on.”
“You even prepared a reception room…?”
“Didn’t I promise to guarantee your freedom?”
Having guests meet him here was far better than letting him go outside to meet people.
That was why, despite his displeased expression, Altare had reported the guests’ visit and permitted the meeting.
“Instead, may we observe the meeting as well?”
“Well… sure.”
Considering they had tried to confine him in a windowless room, this was quite a lot of patience and concession. Raven gave a small chuckle and nodded.
“It’s been a long time since I met anyone like this.”
Well then. Shall we see who it is?