Episode 6
Kayan asked, “Did something happen during the Blessing Ceremony that I don’t know about?”
I wondered what he was talking about, but then it clicked.
Was he perhaps misunderstanding that I had been hiding my talent all this time?
I was a little taken aback, but actually, thinking about it, he wasn’t technically wrong.
This was the year I would be banished to the frontier. Meaning, it hadn’t even been a year since I was kicked out of the main house, and although that wasn’t a long time, it wasn’t short either.
But it was difficult for someone to completely change within a year, and Kayan would know this from his own experiences.
It was more natural for him to think that I had been hiding my talent all this time.
I came to a conclusion: this was a misunderstanding that I didn’t really need to resolve—one that might even benefit me.
“You can think what you want.”
Kayan lowered his head without saying any more.
Seeing this, I started to think that something was a little off about the situation.
His face was filled with the same determination he’d shown when he’d been about to cut my tendon.
“Young master, about the report…”
.
As stated before, the ones who decided if a collector would be sent or not were those in high seats within the house, the ones on the Council of Elders.
Even if I were to send Kayan back, if they did not accept the situation, they could easily send a second or third collector after me.
Kayan, who had shown a bit of a favorable attitude, became serious once more.
“I am planning on reporting everything I have seen and experienced today.”
Yeah.
Although I wasn’t surprised, it was a bit of a bummer.
I didn’t know much about the personalities of the Council of Elders, but it was certain that they considered Luan Bednicker to be an insignificant existence.
Would they be able to accept this report? The report of how Kayan, the Collector of Blood and Iron, didn’t collect anything from Luan Bednicker?
I was 90 percent sure that they would send another collector to confirm the situation.
For this reason, I wanted Kayan to hide some facts in his report about today. Of course, the odds he would do so were minuscule.
Before I asked him about it, I thought about the opening I’d just spotted in Kayan.
“I’m curious to hear your opinion. What do you think the Council of Elders will do when you give them the report?”
“As I have said before, for a common collector like me, the will of the Council of—”
“That’s why I asked for your opinion.”
Kayan thought for a second.
“I do not think they will fully trust the report.”
That was obvious. But the same words held different levels of importance depending on who said them. That was why I was looking at Kayan with a bit of expectation.
“Will they doubt it even though it’s a report from the Collector of Blood and Iron?”
“There can be no guarantees with such an empty reputation,” Kayan responded, his face expressionless.
“Then, when they doubt the report, the Council of Elders…”
“They will try to eliminate that doubt.”
“So they’ll send another collector?”
“Who do you think will come?”
“At the very least, they won’t send someone weaker than me.”
.
I had to hold back from letting that curse out.
“That’s too much of a waste of manpower for a kid.”
“How could that be? The world may think that, but you are still the direct blood of the family head. This is a matter that must be treated very carefully.”
Kayan wasn’t wrong.
Thinking about it, they’d sent him as the first collector. If they had really thought of me as insignificant, then they would’ve sent a collector of a lower caliber.
How could I deal with the next collector? Would I be able to talk them out of it like with Kayan?
Then, Kayan, who had just been looking at me, spoke up.
“Young master, the night is late, so I shall return for now.”
“What? What about the White Sun Form?”
“I still have work to do. I must finish my work before day breaks, so I shall depart now to not be late,” he said, a hint of regret in his voice.
He didn’t look like he would change his decision, though.
An attitude that put his given task before his curiosity… He really was a model collector.
hidden steps
Since I now understood its fundamentals, I shouldn’t have trouble practicing it alone in the future.
In any case, I felt a little uneasy at being the only one who gained anything. It didn’t feel awful, just a little weird.
“Could I perhaps visit you again later?”
“Any time, if it’s not for collection.”
“Thank you.”
“But do you have the time for it? You always look pretty busy.”
“Who knows…” Kayan didn’t give a concrete answer as he looked at me. “Young master, could this old man unnecessarily interfere once?”
Kayan began to speak with a calm tone.
“The personalities of the collectors are all different. If there are a hundred collectors, then they will act with a hundred methods. Among them, some don’t even speak with their collection targets. It is rare, but there are some that finish their job without even exchanging a single sentence.”
It didn’t sound too serious on its own, but considering we were talking about the collection of souls, it was a little spooky. The target could die before they even realized what had happened.
“You need to complete your White Sun Form.”
“Whichever collector comes for you in the future, that will be the only way to make them back off.”
“I’ll engrave your words in my heart.”
“I apologize if I said something useless.”
“Not at all. Thank you for that.”
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Honestly, Kayan’s goodwill struck me more deeply than his advice.
A person I hadn’t even dared to look at in my previous life was showing such respect to me now. It made me a little ticklish.
“Then, I shall be going.”
“Yeah. It’s dark outside, so be careful on your way down the hill. You’re at that age where your vision fades.”
“Thank you for your worry. Peace be with you until we meet again.”
I was a bit saddened that I didn’t get any kind of reaction to my joke.
Kayan left the room with elegant steps.
He had appeared as a collector, showed the form of a martial artist, and then disappeared as a collector once more.
He was an old man with an incredible presence.
It felt like the air became lighter just because he had disappeared from my sight.
However, even after Kayan left, I didn’t let my guard down.
I stared at the door for a bit. First 10 seconds, then 30 seconds, and then a full minute…
Like this, a few more minutes passed.
“…Are you gone?”
Seeing how the door didn’t open, I mumbled quietly to myself… “You’re gone.”
I was certain that the Collector of Blood and Iron had truly left.
The nervousness that had been bundled up inside of me escaped in the form of a deep sigh, and I collapsed onto my bed like a puppet with its strings cut.
“…I somehow made it through that.”
In such a hectic situation, I had been able to attain the best result.
I was more relieved than satisfied with the result, and tiredness naturally followed relief.
Now that I thought about it, I had been woken up in the middle of my sleep.
Although there were multiple problems in my life right now, I chose to sleep and recuperate first.
And so I ended up falling asleep in the unfamiliar bed.
Kayan went down the hill as he left the mansion.
—It’s dark outside, so be careful on your way down the hill. You’re at that age where your vision fades.
He smirked. How long had it been since he was last treated like an old man?
Not too far away, Kayan could see the city under the cloudy night sky.
He would find his next collection target there.
However, before he even reached the walls of the city, Kayan stopped moving.
Kayan’s eyes soon landed on the forest covered in darkness.
The moon was covered by clouds tonight, and the dark forest over the hill looked as dark as a monster’s jaws.
Kayan looked at the darkness with a calm expression, but it soon morphed into one of fear.
He hesitated before slowly saying, “…Family Head?”
The person within the darkness didn’t answer, but Kayan was certain his intuition was right.
“For what reason are you…?”
“A mission.”
A mission for the Lord of Blood and Iron…
“A special mission given by the Imperial House.”
Kayan held his breath.
It wasn’t something he could dare ask about.
While Kayan was regretting asking the question, the dry voice asked him, “What about you?”
“…It was a collection.”
“I see. Did it go well?”
Kayan hesitated for a second before answering, “I was unable to complete the collection.”
“I held off on the collection. I am planning on giving a formal report to the Council of Elders after I finish my next collection.”
“You held off on a collection? Was this your personal decision?”
A moment of silence passed before the voice spoke again.
“You won’t need to report to the council. Tell me, what happened?”
This was blatant disrespect for the systematic report structure, but these were the words of the family head, the Lord of Blood and Iron himself.
In House Bednicker, the words of the Lord of Blood and Iron were law and truth.
Kayan lowered his head.
“The collection this time was in regards to Young Master Luan, one of your blood.”
“Luan.”
“Yes. Your youngest son, Family Head.”
“The Council of Elders commanded me to retrieve the house’s sword art that Young Master Luan learned. They deemed it punishment enough to just cut the tendons in his right arm—”
“The point.”
“Young Master Luan has created a personal martial art.”
“The level of completion was significant enough that I decided to defer the collection.”
“Any details?”
“If the martial art becomes completed without much trouble, it will bring you great joy, Family Head.”
The Lord of Blood and Iron did not immediately respond. A long moment passed before his faint voice could be heard once more.
“That is unexpected.”
“Is there anything else you want to say?”
“Hmm. I was planning on telling you this after returning to the main house…”
“Say it.”
“Could you allow me to retire?”
A sharp wind passed by, and the ruffling of leaves was heard.
The conversation faded into a new silence, longer than the one before.
“Did the elders of the house tell you some nonsense again?”
“No.”
“Then why? You were the one who said you could easily do this work for another 30 years.”
Hearing the family head’s words, a light smile appeared on Kayan’s face.
“It’s just that I now have something I wish to see in my old age.”
“Hm.”
There was a small pause, but an answer was given not long after.
“I’ll respect it, my old friend. I’ll tell the Council of Elders.”
“I’ve kept you here for too long. You may go now.”
While bowing his head, Kayan said goodbye, and then he headed toward Favizo.
After his silhouette disappeared under the hill…
The clouds parted and the form of the Lord of Blood and Iron was revealed in the forest, his red eyes gazing up at the mansion atop the hill.
