Chapter 34
Chapter 34
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Guardian from the Black Scales
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Hwikyeong placed her hand on the final ledge of the rock face with a body battered black and blue.
The moment she thought this was the last stretch, exhaustion washed over Hwikyeong. Even in better shape, it would have been a climb that risked her life.
It would have been nice to use her relatively intact right foot as a foothold, but there was no such spot in this final section.
'Yeah. Enduring is what I do best.'
Hwikyeong took a deep breath to steel herself.
And just as she was about to put her weight on her swollen left foot, a voice came from above.
"Grab on."
"Huh?"
Hwikyeong looked up.
A shadow hidden by the rock face was extending a hand.
It was a lizardman.
The lizardman was wearing several layers of silk clothing, and Hwikyeong knew that was to maintain body temperature. Lizardmen were sensitive to temperature.
'But only one tribe is wealthy enough to wear multiple layers of silk garments.'
In fact, Hwikyeong already knew which tribe the lizardman was from, even without the clothes.
The lizardman had black scales.
The lizardman from the Black Scales Tribe wiggled his hand playfully and said,
"My hand is feeling lonely."
Hwikyeong couldn't reach out right away.
She believed her wariness had always kept her alive.
"Who are you?"
"Are you going to stay there?"
"You've been watching from above the whole time?"
"In my opinion, it seems better to come up and talk rather than chatting like this, but to answer your question, yes."
Hwikyeong figured the other wasn't a wandering bandit.
But he could still be a nuisance.
"Even if you help, I have nothing to give. I'm broke."
The lizardman asked incredulously,
"Is that what you say while dangling off a cliff?"
"I can climb up on my own."
"I know. But I saw you about to use your injured foot as a foothold."
"...Damn it."
"And I won't ask for anything in return."
With that, the lizardman leaned down sharply.
Hwikyeong caught the distinctive scent of lizardman scales. Some people wrinkled their noses and called it fishy, but others thought of water and foliage. Hwikyeong was the latter.
Before she could hesitate, the lizardman's hand gripped her wrist and pulled. Hwikyeong let out a startled "Ah!" and in the next instant, she was already standing on firm ground.
"Wouldn't it be better to step down with your right foot first?"
"I know that much."
As Hwikyeong, who had been dangling in midair, planted her right foot on the ground and leaned against the wall, the lizardman released her wrist.
'This guy just lifted me up with one hand? They say everyone in the Black Scales Tribe is built like tanks...'
Apart from Hwikyeong's inner surprise, the lizardman seemed baffled as well.
The lizardman looked back and forth along the path atop the cliff and said,
"It's barely wide enough for one person. One side could have rocks falling anytime, and the other drops several meters into a ravine. You were thinking of pushing a fully loaded cart along a path like this? You're lucky you didn't get hurt worse."
"If only the cartwheel hadn't broken, it would've been fine."
"Wheels are always prone to problems. You should have kept that in mind."
Considering the current technological limits, the lizardman's point was valid.
Hwikyeong knew exactly how to handle a tricky situation like this.
"So, who are you?"
"Hm, I was late with introductions. I am Sairan Muelle of the Black Scales Tribe."
"Sairan Muelle?"
"You can forget the Muelle part. It's a hereditary name, but neither I nor my father knew what it means. It's not a common lizardman name, but my father wanted me to carry it on, so I mention it in introductions. Just call me Sairan."
Hwikyeong nodded.
"Got it. Anyway, I figured I should at least say thanks since you helped. Thanks, Sairan."
With that, Hwikyeong tried to limp past Sairan.
Sairan blocked her way.
"Sorry, but my story isn't over."
"...Damn it, I knew it. I told you I have nothing."
"That's not it, Hwikyeong."
The moment her name came from Sairan's mouth, Hwikyeong's hand went to the obsidian dagger tucked into her waistband.
She knew her identity must remain hidden.
After inheriting automatism from her mother, Hwisuh decided to control it differently from her mother, who had met her end by assassination.
She hid her identity completely.
She only revealed herself to the trustworthy heads of the four great houses and their blood kin, turning the houses into her hands and feet while pitting them against each other.
There were precarious moments, but Hwisuh managed everything within her capabilities. What seemed risky over decades became seen as masterful. And no one could ignore a master of sleight with decades of experience.
Hwisuh's children naturally hid their identities as well, and they had to strive to do so under their father Hwisuh's orders.
Neglect that effort, and they would lose not only their claim as heir but their father's favor—and their lives.
She knew Black Scales lizardmen were strong.
But obsidian was sharp, and the dagger was long enough to reach the heart.
Hwikyeong reflexively reached for it but held back for now.
She thought,
'Even if I strike later, I need to find out how he knows my name. It doesn't matter if I pry it out first. ...No way he helped me out of kindness.'
Moreover, Sairan was showing his open palms to prove he meant no harm.
Sairan said,
"I came looking for you."
"Looking for me? You know who I am? How?"
"I don't know exactly who you are either. Rakrak simply told me your name."
"Rakrak?"
Hwikyeong racked her hazy memory for the name.
It didn't take long to recall who it referred to.
"You mean Rakrak the Giant Hunter? That thunder lizard? The first Chosen One? Great chieftain of the Black Scales Tribe?"
"...We just call him Chieftain."
Hwikyeong was well aware of the rumors around.
The Severed Ear Tribe and the Black Scales Tribe were gearing up for a big fight across the wasteland.
It was only natural that the residents of Automaton City, caught in between, were on edge.
If Sairan wasn't lying, how he knew might not matter much.
The Black Scales Tribe would have found out somehow anyway.
The next question was more important.
"Why did he send you to find me?"
"Hm. Honestly, I don't know completely. But I can explain about half of it."
"Then explain that half."
Sairan gathered his thoughts for a moment before speaking.
"Do you know about the two rumors spreading in Automaton City lately?"
"...What? The second son of the Toh House succeeded in horseback riding? Or the second daughter of the Suh House gave birth to twins? Or that the fishmonger at the market finally got live fish?"
"...Is the last one true?"
"Nah. I checked, and it was a lie. All salted."
"Anyway, none of those. They're rumors anyone would know—even an outsider like me heard them. You haven't been in Automaton City lately?"
"Yeah. Needed silk. To buy cheap, had to go far. Got lucky and met a human caravan, bought silk and a cart. Though the cart's busted now. So what are these rumors you're making such a fuss about?"
Sairan said,
"Precisely two rumors. One is that the castle lord's second child will become the lord of Automaton City, and the other is that the fourth child will."
Hwikyeong's brow furrowed briefly.
"Just baseless gossip."
"I know you're the fourth child of Hwisuh."
Hwikyeong shook her head.
"Not being human and not living in Automaton City, you might not get it, but fights aren't always fists and drawn blades. That rumor is part of the power struggle among my siblings vying for the next lordship besides me. I don't know the reason, but it seems my second brother and I got tangled up somehow. Someone's definitely benefiting from it."
In truth, Hwikyeong knew plenty about the succession struggle.
She just saw no reason to explain it to a random lizardman.
'Spreading false rumors isn't big brother's or sister's style. Low chance. Then second brother or the youngest? The youngest has a weak base, so they'd be tempted by gains from such gossip, but it's hard to get real benefits. Higher chance it's second brother. He loves scheming from the shadows. Wants to play the victim of false rumors but can't get enough attention alone, so drags in unrelated me? Childish.'
Hwikyeong said,
"Anyway, that rumor has nothing to do with me—or you. Why not just say you're here to gather intel on Automaton City for the Black Scales Tribe? You somehow figured I'm the lord's child, but unfortunately, I'm the fully disowned one. No gain there. Should've checked my other siblings."
Hwikyeong watched Sairan's reaction as she spoke.
She had squeezed out all the info, so this lizardman had to die.
She tightened her grip on the dagger hilt.
Sairan just stood there, but his hand position and posture showed no openings.
The height difference made it unlikely her strength would land well. Being called strong also implied fast.
Hwikyeong already knew the odds of successfully attacking this lizardman favored failure.
'What if I fail?'
Then she'd experience the full wrath of a Black Scales lizardman, as rumored.
But she couldn't just let Sairan go either.
If word of her identity spread outside and it became known she had a chance to stop it but didn't—and if father found out... she'd die anyway.
Some siblings had already died for such reasons.
'...Better to face a lizardman's rage than father's disappointment.'
As Hwikyeong steeled herself, Sairan spoke.
"You seem to be misunderstanding something. Rakrak's first order was to find you. Now I must carry out the second order."
"Second order?"
"I must protect your life."
Ridiculously, Hwikyeong felt an uncomfortable sensation in a corner of her heart.
It was something she had ignored and treated coldly for a very long time, because others had done the same to her.
Now it felt so foreign that she had even forgotten what to call it.
She wished it wouldn't resurface, but a voice echoed in her mind.
-Want me to tell you?
'Shut up.'
-It's called 'compassion.'
'I said shut up.'
The voice vanished quickly, but Hwikyeong found it absurd.
'Am I getting soft over words from a lizardman I've never met?'
But she couldn't help it.
As far as she could remember, no one had ever promised to protect her.
The strength drained from her hand already clutching the obsidian dagger.
She had no will to stab someone who offered protection.
Hwikyeong thought she was always rational, but those who knew her remembered she was weak to emotions.
Hwikyeong stammered,
"W-what are you saying?"
Sairan was oblivious to human emotions.
So he calmly laid out what he knew.
"You call it baseless, but your siblings don't—and neither do the other houses. Rakrak said the succession ceremony in Automaton City is approaching. Everyone's focused on the big changes ahead. So people will react sensitively even to small rumors and want to eliminate unnecessary variables. In times like these, the weakest get culled first."
Hwikyeong gathered her resolve while Sairan spoke.
"...Even if I accept all that, I can protect my own life. Go back. I have no reason to accept help from the Black Scales Tribe. As I said, I'm broke too. Check my other siblings."
"I can't. I have orders from the chieftain. Not the other siblings—the fourth, Hwikyeong. And neither I nor our chieftain wants anything from you."
Hwikyeong sighed.
Logically, this lizardman Sairan wouldn't budge.
Then she had to appeal to emotion.
'I didn't want to show this much.'
Hwikyeong pulled her hand from her bosom and approached Sairan bare-handed.
Sairan looked puzzled.
"What is it?"
"Look at this."
Hwikyeong lifted her bangs with her hand.
Above Hwikyeong's forehead, between her hair, was a pair of cylindrical stubs.
The cross-section was quite rough, so a keen eye could tell they were cut artificially.
"As you see, horns. Or rather, where horns used to be. Horn stumps, I guess."
"...Do they keep growing?"
Hwikyeong nodded.
"Yeah. So I cut them every time they get long. Everyone who knows me because of these horns says I'm cursed. Some just say it because horns on a person creep them out..."
"But?"
"People who really know me despise and avoid me even more. I truly am cursed."
Sairan crossed his arms and examined Hwikyeong from various angles.
"Messy, but you don't look cursed. Because of those cute little horns?"
"I'm not joking."
Hwikyeong pointed to her horn stumps with her finger and said,
"I was born tearing open my mother's belly with these horns. She died because of it. One of my siblings died because of them too. Misfortune always strikes people around me. That's the real reason I'm a loner."
Sairan looked down at Hwikyeong expressionlessly for a moment.
"I'm sorry, Hwikyeong. My condolences. But whether you're truly cursed or not doesn't change my offer. It's from our chieftain Rakrak, and I'm here representing the Black Scales Tribe's will."
"What if I refuse?"
Sairan replied calmly,
"Then by force. I have both the will and the ability."