I’m the Youngest Daughter of the Serpent Family
Chapter 49
Right in front of her, an utterly absurd conversation was unfolding in real time without the slightest hesitation.
At that, Ella turned deathly pale.
She truly had nowhere left to retreat.
Anyone else watching might have laughed at how ridiculous and absurd the situation was, but she couldn’t laugh at all.
Because the words spoken by Durias and the hooded figure were deadly serious.
It truly seemed as if they were just waiting for the exact moment she threw herself off the cliff.
‘……They’re crazy. They’re out of their minds. Are they planning to jump off the cliff with me or something?’
Ella swallowed hard.
As she took a step back, Durias reached out a hand, muttering, “Wait, wait…….”
Now that she actually looked about to jump, he seemed flustered.
The hooded figure, on the other hand, remained completely composed.
Doubt flickered in Ella’s mind.
Where did that person get the confidence to just stand by and watch?
Feeling her feet float into empty air, Ella clenched her fists tight.
‘If I’m lucky, I might get swept away by the river and survive.’
Fortunately, she was not a weak beastperson, so she could hold out hope of opening her eyes alive.
‘No matter how insane they are, they won’t jump off the cliff with me.’
Their lives were on the line.
No matter how important their orders were, they wouldn’t be worth more than their lives.
With that thought bringing a wave of relief, the corners of Ella’s lips curled up.
“You’ll never catch me. Because I’m really going to jump.”
Soon, her body began plummeting rapidly downward.
At that moment, a fierce gust of wind blew, stripping away the hood covering the dark figure.
Soft, short hair tumbled out, revealing the clean, fair face hidden beneath.
Durias glanced at her and asked.
“Can you bring her back alive? ……Hestia.”
“Don’t worry so much, Durias-nim.”
Hestia spoke in her usual gentle tone, but her eyes were chilling as she looked down below the cliff.
Hestia strolled forward with ease.
“I will make sure to bring her back alive, so do not fret.”
There was not a shred of hesitation in Hestia’s actions.
Watching her kick off the ground and sprint down the side of the cliff, Durias let out a low murmur of admiration.
It was a terrifying speed that even the dynamic visual acuity of a Black Mamba struggled to track.
As Hestia bounded down the precipice, her expression sank colder than ever before.
She had to keep her alive.
This mission was the first step toward righting her past mistakes.
“……You mean we are to prepare a story about the outside world to tell you each time from now on?”
“Uh-huh.”
Early in the morning, Paymon fell silent at the sudden condition.
“If you wanna meet Airing from now on, you gotta do dat.”
“May I ask the reason?”
The reason was simple. No matter how I looked at it, there were still too many things I didn’t know.
Because I had clearly realized that my situation wasn’t leisurely enough to just grow up slowly.
“Jus’ wanna know startin’ now.”
“I see.”
I resolved not to neglect anything from now on and learn as diligently as I could.
Although I was currently learning various theories suited to my level, since lessons were every other day, progress was somewhat slow.
Besides, real-world experience was always far more important than theory.
And right when I was wondering who could teach me best, Paymon had appeared.
“Got it? You hafta tell everyone.”
“Understood.”
Paymon, who had been silently looking down at the floor, nodded.
Though it felt like a somewhat hasty choice, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a solid decision.
Since they were the ones who had stayed outside the longest most recently, wouldn’t they have plenty of stories to tell?
“What are you curious about?”
“Jus’ everyting. Like…… stuff about the South!”
I casually slipped in what I wanted to hear. For starters, I figured it would be best to know what the situation in the South was like.
Paymon seemed to ponder why I was making such a request. At his lukewarm reaction, I grabbed his arm tightly.
“Hmm?”
“…….”
“Paymon.”
“…….”
“Paymon!”
As I shook his arm in urging, Paymon flinched and drew in a sharp breath.
His deep green eyes began to wander in flustered confusion.
“Yes. I will pass the message along.”
“Oh, wait.”
I hurriedly stopped Paymon as he turned to leave.
“It’s a secret from the others dat you’re teachin’ Airing, ‘kay?”
It wouldn’t really matter if we got caught, but judging from Kaid’s and Baon’s reactions yesterday, it would probably turn into a headache.
Paymon nodded, indicating he understood.
And just like that, I gained four new teachers.
“Look closely. This is the South, the right is the East. Up is the North. Left is the West.”
“Whoa. Dis is the North? Dat’s super close!”
“That’s right. Though it might seem like the farthest, it’s actually the closest region.”
The first one to tell me a story was Mesis.
Surprisingly, Mesis seemed to have a knack for teaching.
“Our relations with the North haven’t been very good over the years. We haven’t been allied for very long, either.”
“Why?”
“Because there were areas where our territories overlapped. We’ve split it down the middle to manage it now, but both clans still live mixed together there.”
I had thought it had been peaceful all along, but to think there were circumstances like that behind the scenes.
“Den we’re not close with the North right now?”
“Not particularly close, no.”
“I see…….”
Not on good terms with the North. Remembering Seiji, a shadow fell over my mood.
What if relations sour again later? That shouldn’t happen.
He wouldn’t say he wants to take back being my friend, would he?
When my face fell gloomy, Mesis stopped mid-explanation and looked at me.
“Why the sudden long face?”
“I made a friend dis time, but Seiji lives in the North.”
“Ah. That brat?”
Mesis’s expression turned sour.
“You know Seiji?”
“Of course I do. So his name is Seiji.”
“Yeah. He promised to meet and play with Airing again later.”
“Well……. Our relations won’t break down so easily. There haven’t been any major issues so far.”
Then that was a relief. Mesis began drawing the other parts of the map again.
Listening to his explanation flow smoothly without a hitch, I saw him in a new light.
Sitting down on the dirt floor and sketching it all out effortlessly with a twig made him look remarkably smart.
Plus, the map was quite detailed and easy to understand.
This time, Mesis drew a star over the South and continued his explanation.
“The South engages in far more active exchanges than other regions. The Head of the family pays a lot of attention to it, so more than twice as much manpower is dispatched to the borders compared to elsewhere.”
“Why is it more dan twice at the border?”
“To enter the South, you have to pass through Terra Forest here, and some rough types live there.”
“I see. Is it super dangerous dere?”
I asked, looking at the circled area near the border. That seemed to be Terra Forest.
“Public safety in the South is relatively good, but that doesn’t mean you can let your guard down everywhere. So we escort clans coming in from the outside right from the border so they can conduct trade smoothly.”
“I see.”
“It’s expensive, but safety is guaranteed, so everyone tends to prefer the South. Well? Doesn’t it sound amazing the more you hear about it?”
“It’s amazing.”
I thought Kaid wouldn’t care much about such details, but unexpectedly, he looked after things with immense meticulousness. It truly gave off the profound impression of a ruler of the South.
I had assumed they lived strictly by the law of the jungle, but apparently that wasn’t unconditionally the case.
Come to think of it, it was truly wondrous that the South, teeming with Black Mambas, was this peaceful.
If everyone preferred the South as a trading hub to this degree, it meant the South’s administration was just that systematically organized, right?
Mesis tapped the center of the South with his twig.
“This is where we are right now. It’s called the heart of the South.”
“Den we’re here too?”
“Correct. Most families hide in the deepest parts of their territory, but the Astrophel Family sits right in the center.”
“Why?”
Wouldn’t being in the deepest part be the best?
Considering times when other clans attacked, being positioned deep inside seemed like it would be the most advantageous.
Mesis grinned.
“When war breaks out, the family rule is that the Head of the family steps up to lead first. For that to happen, being too far forward or too far back causes problems, so we took up position right in the center.”
“Den if someting happens, Daddy steps up first?”
“Yes. That’s why nobody picks a fight. Who would want to come face-to-face with the Head of the family right from the start?”
……I couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
It meant Kaid was so strong that nobody wanted to face him, right?
Although I had never seen the family members fight with all their might in earnest, I knew just how formidable the power of a Black Mamba was.
Every single one of them possessed destructive might, so I couldn’t even fathom how powerful Kaid must be, standing at the very pinnacle of them all.
“Hey, how strong is Daddy?”
“I don’t know that either.”
“Why don’tcha know?”
“Because I’ve never seen the Head of the family enter battle in full earnest. Nor do I particularly want to. That would mean the South had fallen into grave danger.”
That made sense. I nodded at his convincing explanation.