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It was a moment when an unbelievable conversation was pouring out in real-time right in front of the concerned party.
It made Ella think that there was really no other place to fall back on.
If someone else saw this, they might laugh at the absurd situation, but she couldn’t do it at all. Because the words of the hooded Black Mamba and Durias were very sincere.
It was like they were truly waiting for the moment she jumped off the cliff.
‘……Crazy. These people are crazy. Are you going to even jump into the cliff together with me?’
Ella swallowed dry saliva.
As she took one step back at a time, Durias reached out his hand with an exclamation. It felt like he was flustered that she really choose to jump. Rather, the one with the hood was the relaxed one.
Ella felt suspicious.
With what confidence do these people stand by?
She clenched her fists as she felt her feet float into the air.
‘If I’m lucky, I might be swept away by the river and survive.’
Fortunately, she wasn’t a very weak beast, so she had enough confidence to gamble and somehow come out alive.
‘No matter how crazy they are, they won’t jump off the cliff together.’
For her, it was a matter of life and death. For the opponents, no matter how important the order was, it would not be more important than their lives.
When she had finished her thoughts, Ella, who was relieved, raised the corner of her mouth.
“You will never catch me, I’m really going to jump.”
Soon her body began to fall down quickly.
At that moment, a strong wind blew and the hood which had been covered the Black Mamba face came off.
A soft, bobbed hair flowed down and the hidden face was revealed. Durias glanced at the opponent and asked.
“Can you bring her back alive? …Hestia.”
“Don’t worry too much, Sir Durias.”
Hestia spoke kindly as usual, but she looked down the cliff with cold eyes while leisurely walking forward.
“I’ll definitely bring her back alive.”
There was no hesitation in Hestia’s actions.
Durias marveled at the sight of Hestia kicking off the ground and rushing down the cliff. She was so fast that it was hard to keep up with, even with a black mamba’s fuselage eyesight.
Hestia’s expression as she climbed down the cliff was colder than ever.
She had to live.
This mission was the first step in correcting her mistakes.
* * *
“…Are you saying that from now on, you want me to tell you things from the outside, one by one?”
“Yes.”
Fayman couldn’t speak at the sudden condition that fell on him, early in the morning.
“From now on, if you want to see me you have to do that.”
“May I ask why?”
The reason was simple. No matter how much I thought about it, there were so many things I didn’t know.
I realized for sure that growing up slowly in my actual situation was not a very good plan.
“I want to know more things.”
“I see.”
From now on, I thought that I should not neglect anything and work hard to learn. Even now, I was learning various theories indicated for my development, but the progress was rather slow because I was learning every other day.
Moreover, the most important thing was practice rather than theory.
While I was thinking about who could best teach me about things, Fayman showed up.
“Okay? You have to tell everyone.”
“I see.”
Fayman, who was silently looking down at the floor, nodded his head.
I didn’t feel like it was in hurry, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed to be a good decision.
Since they were the people who, most recently, stayed outside for a long time, wouldn’t there be a lot of stories to tell?
“What are you curious about?”
“Just, anything. Well… Something related to the South!”
I secretly slipped something I was hoping to know. First of all, I thought it would be good to know what the situation in the South was like.
Fayman seemed to be wondering why I was making such a request. At that lukewarm reaction, I grabbed his arm.
“Hm?”
“……”
“Fayman.”
“……”
“Fayman!”
Fayman sighed and took a deep breath as I hurriedly waved his arm. His dark green eyes began to wander in embarrassment.
“Yes. I’ll pass it on to the others.”
“Wait.”
I hurriedly grabbed Fayman as he was about to go back and stopped him.
“It’s a secret from others that you are telling me stories, okay?”
It didn’t matter if I was found out, but for some reason, seeing Cade and Baon’s reaction yesterday, it seems like a headache was about to burst.
Fayman nodded his head in agreement.
That’s how I got four new teachers.
* * *
“Look closely. This is the south, the right is the east. The top is the north. The left is the west.”
“Wow. Is this the North? We are really close.”
“That’s right. Even if it seems the furthest, it’s actually the closest.”
Messi was the first to teach me something. Surprisingly, he seemed to have a knack for explaining.
“We haven’t had a good relationship with the North in the past. It’s been a while since we formed an alliance.”
“Why?”
“There was an area where our domains overlapped. Now, we are managing it by exactly dividing it in half. But there are still mixed families living there.”
I thought it was peaceful until now, but I didn’t know there would be such a situation.
“Then, we are not close to the North now?”
“Not very friendly.”
“I see…”
What do you mean you’re not on good terms with the North? When Sage came to mind, my mood went down.
What if the Clans relationship breaks out again? I don’t want that to happen. I don’t think he will ask us to break the friendship we finally made, right?
As my expression darkened, Messi looked at me instead of explaining.
“Why are you suddenly looking like this?”
“I made a friend last time, and Sage lives in the North.”
“Oh, that little boy?”
Messi’s expression turned sour.
“You know Sage?”
“I knew, of course. So he’s name is Sage.”
“Yes. I and Sage are going to play again later.”
“Well… It won’t be that easy to get along, but the Clans relations are not that bad.”
That’s a relief.
Messi started again to draw maps on the other side. I paid attention to him as the story progressed without interruption.
It was very clever to sit down on the ground covered with dirt and scribble with twigs. In addition, the map was quite detailed, so it was easy to recognize.
This time Messi started the story by starring the South.
“The southern part is much more active when compared with other areas. Because of that, the Lord is very concerned and more than twice the manpower is dispatched to the border if compared to other regions.”
“Why send more than twice the people to the border?”
“To enter the South, you have to pass through the Terra Forest in here, and there are really tough guys living in there.”
“I see. Is it that dangerous?”
I asked, looking at the circled area near the border. It must have been the Terra Forest.
“The security in the south is good, but that doesn’t mean you can feel safe everywhere. That’s why we’re guiding guests from the border so that Clans coming from outside can interact more easily.”
“I see.”
“It’s expensive, but everyone prefers the South because it’s safe. What do you think? The more you hear, the better, isn’t it?”
“Very much.”
I thought Cade wouldn’t care much about that. But he was surprisingly attentive. It really felt like he was the head of the South.
I thought he was living in a way of completely following the Law of the Jungle, but it didn’t seem like that was the case.
When I think about it, it was amazing that the southern part, filled with wild black mambas, was so peaceful. Also, if everyone prefers the South as an exchange area, it means that the administration of the South is systematic.
Messi pinned the most central part of the South with a branch.
“This is where we are now. It’s called the heart of the South.”
“Then are we here too?”
“That’s right. The Head’s residence is usually hidden in the deepest part of the realm, but the Astrophel Clan stays in the middle.”
“Why?”
Wouldn’t it be best to stay deep inside?
I think it would be most advantageous to be in the depths of the realm when you are attacked by other clans.
“When there is a war, it is the family rule that the head of state is the first to take the lead. To do that, it is difficult if they live too far in front or too far at the back, so we settled in the center.”
“Then, if something happens, Daddy is the first to go?”
“Yes. That’s why no one is picking a fight. Who wants to see the Lord’s face right from the beginning?”
…I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
Does that mean that Cade is so strong that people don’t want to mess with him?
I had never seen the people of the family fight with all their hearts, but I knew how powerful the Black Mamba were. Each one of them has amazing destructive power, but I can’t guess how strong Cade, who is at the top, really was.
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“I see. How strong is Daddy?”
“I don’t know that either.”
“Why you don’t know?”
“I’ve never seen the Lord fight with all his might, and I don’t really want to see it, because it means the South is in danger.”
That’s true. I nodded at the explanation that made sense.