Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: The Castle Lord's Dilemma
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Hwiser was the first to notice the fading warmth, but he simply endured the cooling temperature inside the tent.
The campfire was dying down.
Rakrak belatedly glanced at the waning flames. He grabbed a few dry branches piled beside it, snapped them in his palm, crushed them, and tossed them in.
The fire stretched like it was yawning and came back to life.
The hot flames groped their way into the thicker branches that the lacking heat hadn't fully burned through before.
Rakrak said,
"If we set aside all that diplomacy and face-saving nonsense and just talk straight, it's this simple. Isn't everything straightforward?"
Hwiser remained silent, clearly not agreeing.
Rakrak said,
"In the end, you just have to choose one. Salkait or me. The Nol or the Lizardmen. The God of Raging Fangs or the Blue Insect God."
"No. It's not simple."
Hwiser placed his hands on his crossed legs and straightened his chest.
"This isn't just picking one of two options. Anyone hearing it might think you're choosing between two precious gifts. It's more like a tiger shark and a cockatoo have shown up, and you're wondering which maw to stick your head in to hurt less."
"Hm, regrettable as that view is, if you're set on it, wouldn't shoving your head into the cockatoo's maw be better?"
"Salkait said a tiger shark would be preferable too."
Rakrak decided to understand Hwiser's position.
From Hwiser's perspective, no matter how sweetly Salkait or Rakrak tried to persuade him, he wouldn't believe a word.
And that suspicion was likely keeping the Automat safe automatically.
"So, what do you plan to do?"
"Step back one pace for now."
Hwiser scratched his chin beard with his left hand.
"Then the tiger shark and cockatoo won't fight over eating me, right?"
"Probably. And then?"
"One way or another, there'll be a victor. But they'll be exhausted or injured. I'd prefer them half-dead... Then options will open up. Sure, their true colors will show by then, but exhaustion means I might have a way to deal with them."
Rakrak easily grasped Hwiser's metaphor.
'Once the successor is decided, he'll try something. The distance between us and the successor is greater than between the successor and Automat, so he thinks he can take hostages. But a successor has to be chosen somehow. And that time is drawing near.'
Hwiser said,
"What do you think?"
"Not bad. If you think it doesn't matter whether it's Salkait or me, Nol or Lizardmen, God of Raging Fangs or Blue Insect God, then yeah, that's the way."
"To me, they're all the same."
"You could see it that way. But to me, saying 'they're all the same' is basically admitting 'I can't do anything.' Just accepting your fate as a pebble. It's too late now, but there were other paths. Wouldn't it have been better to look sooner and see which was even slightly better? If you'd realized sooner that you couldn't avoid one or the other."
Rakrak's words wounded Hwiser's chest.
Rakrak shook his head as if brushing it off.
"No, forget it. You're right. Sometimes doing nothing is the best choice. You're wise."
"...Thanks for the praise."
A gust blew into the tent, making the campfire flicker.
The shadows of the two men facing each other by the fire danced largely with the flames.
This was Hwiser's second pain.
So he could contain it better.
"...I think that's enough talk. One question before I go."
"Ask away."
Hwiser leaned forward.
"In the end, you're just a pebble on the board too. Just on a bigger one. Doesn't that scare you? Make you angry? Don't you feel powerless or pained?"
Hwiser meant Rakrak was just another plaything of the gods.
Rakrak's lip curled slightly upward.
Hwiser knew Rakrak didn't think that way.
But he wouldn't get an answer.
"I'll answer that question after this is over."
"...Fine. Personally, I hope this is the last I see of both you and Salkait."
"Need an escort?"
"No. I came as messenger Hwiser; I'll leave as messenger Hwiser."
Hwiser stood, pulled on his leather hood, and walked out of the tent.
Perhaps due to Rakrak's prior warning, no one in the Lizardman tribe—the only humans there—stopped or stared curiously at Hwiser.
For a moment, Hwiser thought this was a chance to scout the Lizardmen, but he let it go.
'Not important anymore. Could be a trap. No... no...'
His mind was in turmoil.
Maybe Rakrak's words had broken his morale.
Hwiser had been through this before and knew that in such times, it was better to handle scheduled tasks in order rather than act on impulse.
Hwiser walked between the tents and out onto the wasteland.
He looked at the stars. He knew enough to navigate by them.
After walking two hours in the right direction, a low hill appeared. The smell of horse dung told Hwiser he'd found the right spot.
His adjutant and nephew Hwiwoo, four subordinates, and six horses were waiting.
Uga said,
"Lord, glad you returned safely."
"It's not 'glad' just because I returned intact."
"Still, is there anything in our citadel more precious than the Lord's life?"
"Spare me the jokes."
Hwiser removed his leather hood and began shedding his travel-worn clothes.
One subordinate brought a small water jug, which Hwiser gulped down.
Uga asked from the side,
"How did it go?"
"No changes. Stick to the plan."
Hwiser's 'plan' meant doing nothing and waiting.
Waiting with neck held high until the clash of the two giant tribes ended somehow, without sparks flying their way.
U nodded expressionlessly.
That was why Hwiser liked U.
"And you?"
"Sorry. We failed. The One-Eared tribe was tough, but the Black Scale tribe's defenses are tight too."
While Hwiser had entered the Black Scale tribe to talk with Rakrak, he'd ordered his men to scout it.
It wasn't just about numbers of people, warriors, or livestock.
Inside Automat were Lizardmen who were merchants, wanderers, or long-time residents.
Some were surely colluding with the Black Scale tribe and supporting that 'successor fight.'
'There must be threads connecting inside.'
They had to trace those threads to cut them, allowing Automat to escape the game board.
'Can't execute all the Nol and Lizardmen inside. That would breed resentment in the citadel. But can't leave them either. Find and sever the threads.'
Hwiser poured the remaining water over his face.
He handed the empty jug to a subordinate and said,
"Light a fire. Bring a mirror too."
As the subordinates responded and carried out the orders, U added,
"We watched for days with sharp-eyed scouts, but aside from warriors we'd already seen, no new faces."
"No one coming or going?"
"None in the last few days."
"...Right. Those Lizardmen would've noticed. Surely there are outsiders issuing orders to our Automat contacts and gathering info. Expand the recon range."
"Pulling more soldiers for recon will weaken citadel defenses."
"Doesn't matter. Automat's earthen walls will be safe for now. The invisible walls are the problem."
U nodded.
With two giant tribes blocking both paths, physical defenses weren't the worry. Automat's high walls had always repelled invaders, self-repairing even if breached.
The invisible walls were the issue.
Non-physical defenses. Hwiser couldn't pinpoint modern concepts like information and psychology, but he vaguely sensed them.
Meanwhile, a fire was lit, and a bronze mirror placed before Hwiser.
Hwiser drew an obsidian dagger from his bosom.
Holding the dagger with its long, sharp edge, he brought it to his throat.
Slowly scraping over the skin, he shaved his wet beard.
It didn't take long.
Hwiser was experienced and skilled.
Beards greatly affected one's appearance and were always useful for disguise.
Having cleanly shaved without a nick, Hwiser checked his jawline in the mirror and stood.
He donned several layers of silk garments held by a subordinate.
Shaved and properly dressed, Hwiser looked exactly like the Automat lord the citizens saw from afar.
"Time to head back. Lots to do."
"Yes."
"...Lots to do."
Hwiser mounted his horse and said,
"Need some time to think alone. I'll ride ahead. Follow at a distance."
"Understood."
U did so.
Hwiser rode ahead, then U, then the other subordinates.
Suddenly, a water drop hit U's face. He looked up; the moon was bright.
U stared straight ahead.
Another drop hit his cheek.
Only Hwiser was riding ahead.
Unlike Lizardmen like Owen or Rakrak, U understood face-saving well.
It wasn't as simple as Lizardmen thought.
U said to his subordinates,
"Too close. Slow down a bit."
The distance between Hwiser and the men widened further.
U felt no more drops.
Three weeks earlier, when the two gods' prophecy was spreading through Automat...
A woman was climbing the rock face barehanded.
"Damn bastards."
Her palms were already torn and bleeding, blood running down her forearms.
Her climbing form was skilled, so she wasn't bad at it, but her hands weren't the only issue.
Her left ankle was badly swollen.
She wiped the blood from her hands on her face and reached for a protruding ledge.
But that was a mistake.
The ledge was a cleverly hidden loose rock, which tilted under her weight.
Fortunately, she had good balance.
She shifted her center to her loosely placed left foot and grabbed the real hold hidden below.
But loading weight on the swollen ankle sent forgotten agony racing up her spine.
She didn't scream.
She just calmly pressed her forehead to the rock, grimaced, and muttered,
"Shit, fuck, damn thing..."
The woman's name was Hwikyung, Hwiser's fourth child.
At first, Hwikyung thought everything was going well.
She'd grown up hearing she was cursed, that she'd eaten her mother, ostracized by all, so being a loner was familiar.
Growing up without her father's support or any house's backing—unable to even boast as the lord's child—was no big deal to her.
Hwikyung knew many were in worse straits.
Outside was the wasteland, where countless races clashed over their interests.
Inside Automat, there was order.
Even if lord- and house-led.
Automat wasn't paradise, but being a citizen who could come and go from the walls freely was huge.
To gain citizenship, one needed major service or vast wealth to Automat. Especially harder for non-humans.
So Hwikyung planned to leverage her last advantage: trade.
Free wall access meant buying cheap outside and selling high inside, or vice versa.
Trading required tribute to the lord, but she could bear that.
'Father contributed to making me, so I can give that much. No need to feel too hard done by.'
But 'this time too,' things didn't go smoothly.
'Damn cartwheel broke. That bastard Gyojung lends me crap like this? Even if I stiffed him on salt repayment...'
Climbing further, Hwikyung glanced down briefly.
Several meters below, the one-wheeled cart lay smashed.
That she'd only gotten bruises and a sprained ankle tumbling with it was a miracle.
She could've died, but Hwikyung's mind was elsewhere.
'Lucky. Borrowing from Gyojung was a mistake, but choosing silk for trade was smart.'
As she climbed, she pondered recovering the silk from the wrecked cart.
So she didn't notice the tailed figure standing atop the rock face she was ascending.