BXBX NOVEL Chapter 67 – Milena Akasha (1)
Chapter 67 – Milena Akasha (1)
Chapter 67 – Milena Akasha (1)
Elene asked in a cautious manner.
“Are you leaving now?”
“Because there is no reason to stay any longer.”
Ketal responded to Elene’s words.
“The rest is your problem now.”
Whether they would try to negotiate with the Lutein Kingdom or take up arms was up to Elene and Barbosa.
Ketal’s task had only been to escort Elene to the Denian Kingdom.
His mission was complete, and he had received his proof of completion.
“If you propose a new task in the future, I might accept it, but for now, there’s nothing more for me to do. From here on, you have to make the decisions.”
“I see…”
Elene bowed her head. After observing her for a moment, Ketal asked, “What is Aaron doing?”
“He’s shut himself in his room. He hasn’t eaten and doesn’t respond when spoken to. He seems physically fine since I can sense his presence.”
Elene chuckled faintly as she spoke.
“Maybe he committed suicide and then resurrected. …Sorry.”
“Why apologize?”
“…I promised to give you a reward for your services.”
A simple escort had turned into opposing a kingdom.
Elene had decided to give Ketal whatever he wanted as a reward, even if it meant giving herself.
But she knew no one would want a monstrous existence like her.
She bit her lip in self-reproach.
“You seem troubled.”
“Barbosa said that I, Farman, and Aaron are all human.”
There was no distinction between them and humans.
“I am…”
Elene couldn’t continue and fell silent.
After a long pause, she finally asked.
“What am I?”
Was she human or a deathless monster?
“You believe you are human.”
“But Adamanth said I was one of their kind. He…is probably right.”
“What does that matter? You think of yourself as human.”
Ketal’s words weren’t meant to comfort her.
He genuinely seemed puzzled as to why she was even worrying about it.
Elene looked up at him without realizing it.
“Do you remember the story of Theseus’s ship?”
“Yes…”
“What do you think the answer is?”
“…It’s not Theseus’s ship.”
It was just something carrying the name of Theseus’s ship after being replaced.
Ketal shook his head.
“No. It’s a paradox with no answer.”
“What?”
“From the beginning, it’s a paradox. There’s no right answer. What’s important is how the person hearing the story perceives it.”
Ketal spoke lightly.
“As I said before, I don’t know the former Elene. I only know the Elene of now. Whether you’re human or not is a secondary issue.”
“…Is that so?”
“I also spent a long time in a terrible place, but I still think of myself as human.”
Elene’s eyes widened at his words.
“Did you have a similar experience?”
Ketal nodded.
The white wilderness.
At one point, it was hard to even maintain his values as a human.
He seriously considered giving up and becoming like his barbarian companions.
But he retained his humanity and modern sensibilities.
“If you can’t decide, set a goal. You promised to give me a reward. But you have nothing to give now. So it’s simple. Survive and succeed to the point where you can give me a fitting reward.”
“…How could a monster like me do that?”
“Use it to your advantage.”
“What?”
“An alienated human. I think that’s rather unique. It has value.”
Elene couldn’t hide her surprise at his calm words.
“W-what?”
“There is no right answer. Whether you live as a human or accept the otherness that swallowed your kingdom and become their princess, it’s your choice.”
The princess of the otherness.
That was also a path for Elene.
Elene stared blankly at Ketal.
Using her altered self had never occurred to her.
After a final farewell, Ketal left.
But Elene didn’t move.
She stood there as if frozen.
“I…”
She murmured again.
“I am…”
The words did not continue as they had before.
However, Elene’s eyes, instead of wavering, gradually settled.
As if making a resolution, she rose from her seat.
* * *
The room was extremely simple.
There were no luxurious decorations, adornments, or jewels.
However, the quality and sheen of each piece of furniture were different.
The bookshelf was made of solid wood, and the covers of the books were all fine leather.
In the corner of the room stood an expensive full-length mirror.
The woman, who appeared to be the owner of the room, was seated in a chair.
Her blue hair swayed.
Fatigue was evident in her black eyes as she pressed her fingers against the corners of her eyes while looking at the documents on the table.
“In conclusion, you’re saying there’s no money to repay the debt.”
“That’s correct.”
The man standing in front of her nodded.
His attitude was exceedingly confident, without a trace of shame or self-reproach, causing the woman to inadvertently laugh.
“You’re in no position to repay the debt, yet you’re so confident.”
“I am the master of the great Diablos family. I will not be humbled by mere money.”
An ordinary noble would have been impressed and shown respect for such confidence.
But the woman sneered.
“Aren’t you on the verge of collapsing because of that money?”
The man’s eyebrows twitched.
“…How rude.”
“That should be my line.”
The woman carefully scanned the documents.
They contained disastrous numbers.
“The Diablos family. You borrowed money to save your family from collapsing due to the expenses of consecutive balls. It was a substantial amount. Where did all that money go?”
“I attempted to rebuild, but failed.”
“You don’t seem ashamed despite saying that.”
“I am not one to be ashamed of failure.”
It was a typically noble attitude.
That mindset was certainly correct.
But the woman was neither impressed nor moved.
“Failure? Well, I suppose squandering it in gambling and games of chance to revive your family counts as failure. You even beat up and dismissed the servants who tried to stop you.”
“You, you!”
The man’s face turned red.
He pointed his finger at the woman in anger.
“How dare you insult me!”
“Insults are only possible when you’re worth it.”
“I am the master of the Diablos family!”
“A family on the brink of bankruptcy with no money. Honor comes from money, power, and character, and you have none of those.”
The woman put down the documents as if she found further conversation tiresome.
“The deadline is one month. If you can’t repay by then, the Diablos family will come under our control. You won’t be able to use the Diablos name anymore. Be aware of that.”
“W-what!”
His eyes widened.
He looked as if he was hearing this for the first time, making the woman chuckle.
“Isn’t that the contract you signed in the first place? Why are you so surprised now that you used your family’s name as collateral?”
The woman rang a bell.
The door opened, and guards entered.
“Please do your best to protect your proud family.”
“Y-you wench! Do you think this tyranny will be tolerated!”
“I am acting in accordance with the nation’s will. The tyranny lies with you, who won’t repay the debt.”
“You madwoman!”
The man lunged at the woman, but the guards restrained him, preventing him from reaching his target.
He struggled, but couldn’t break free from the trained guards’ grip.
“Milena Akasha!”
The man shouted, his face contorted.
“You’re a disgrace who stained the Akasha family with money! A heretic who knows no honor! There’s a reason you abandoned your parents and siblings, even your retainers who accompanied you through the hellscape!”
Despite his tirade, Milena’s expression remained unchanged.
The man continued his rant but was soon dragged out.
One of the returning guards asked cautiously,
“Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
She calmly picked up the documents.
“What is the next schedule?”
“…It’s the inspection of the mansion put up as collateral. It’s about a twenty-minute walk.”
“We should verify it immediately. Let’s move.”
She rose from her seat.
Her expression remained unchanged from beginning to end.
* * *
A wide boulevard.
People walking along the street flinched and kept their distance.
They avoided eye contact or lowered their heads as if they didn’t want to look at him. Consequently, a large circle formed.
In the center of that circle stood a barbarian.
“Oh, it’s spacious.”
Barbarian.
Ketal looked around in admiration.
‘Is this the capital?’
The streets were quite clean.
Compared to the citizens of the Barkan territory, people here wore much neater and more refined clothes.
The buildings were also a step up from those in Barkan, not just in size but in variety.
The street vendors were selling a wide range of interesting and unique items.
‘Nice.’
Although Barkan territory was certainly a fine domain, there were many parts that operated on a hit-or-miss basis.
It felt more like a village than a city.
But this place was different.
It was systematically organized, like a modern planned city.
However, it didn’t feel entirely modern either.
It had a peculiar fantasy character to it as well.
The Barkan territory, representing a typical fantasy setting, was great, but this place had its own charm.
Ketal enjoyed looking around.
“Hey.”
Someone approached him.
Dressed in armor and holding a spear, they asked with a tense expression,
“Do you have any means to prove your identity?”
“This is the third time already. Here it is.”
He had been stopped by the guards three times in the twenty minutes since he left the royal castle and walked through the capital.
It could have been annoying, but Ketal was pleased.
He had learned that the security in this fantasy world wasn’t as lax as he thought.
Ketal showed the emblem given to him by Barbosa.
The guard’s eyes widened.
“W-what?”
“Is it confirmed?”
“It’s confirmed, but…”
The guard looked back and forth between the emblem and Ketal.
Even if a barbarian adorned himself with jewels, he wouldn’t be looked at like that.
After a while, the guard returned the emblem with a stammer.
“H-here you go.”
The guard hurriedly left.
Ketal took the emblem back.
‘They all react the same when they see this emblem.’
Initially, they approached Ketal with tense, wary expressions, but after seeing the emblem, they started to show respect in a different kind of tension.
‘Whatever it is.’
With this emblem, there was no problem moving around.
Ketal resumed his walk with pleasure.
And then he saw it.
A massive building on the outskirts of the main road.
“That’s big.”
The building was about twice the size of the surrounding buildings.
This was the Akasha family’s main house.
‘It looks like they’ve truly succeeded.’
He had heard rumors, but seeing it in person was a unique experience.
The woman he met in the white wilderness, who showed every emotion on her face, was now the owner of this huge building.
Ketal approached the building’s entrance.
“Hey, barbarian!”
A guard, taken aback, pointed his spear.
“Leave immediately! This is the Akasha family! Barbarians are not allowed here!”
“I am an invited guest.”
Expecting resistance, Ketal explained.
The guard’s eyes widened.
“…Invited. By whom?”
“Milena Akasha. She invited me. She said I should visit sometime.”
Upon hearing this, the guard’s demeanor changed.
Instead of relaxing, his tension increased.
He gripped his spear tighter.
“Everyone, over here! We have an intruder!”