The Immortal Had a Guardian Spirit Chapter 31

Altair. My first little star that I picked up.

A child who had been living well in a peaceful village and a harmonious family, only to lose everything to a Gate and end up taken in alone. Later, when he learned that ‘Raven’ was the human who had caused the Gate Incident, it caused a major rift between them.

At the time, they managed to make up somehow, based on the trust and affection they had built up, but now he knew they were back to square one.

He had been writing in his diary, so only the records remained.

How would he react if he read the records about the human who caused the Gate Incident, without any feelings whatsoever toward ‘Raven’? Raven was certain that he would have harbored hatred toward him.

So he asked.

The arm pressing down on his neck flinched.

The man with the navy-blue hair gazed into those strange green eyes that radiated presence clearly even in the dark of night. Their eyes met, and at the end of the perilously sustained silence, the man’s lips slowly parted.

“Given that you stopped at the sight of me, I figured you were probably the person I had in mind…”

“…”

“Thanks to that, I’m certain. It’s an honor to meet you, Master.”

Your first disciple, Altair, offers his greetings.

Having spat out the greeting in a dry voice, he slowly withdrew his arm and pulled his body back. His demeanor was so composed it was as if he’d never lunged in the first place.

“You asked if I came to kill you.”

“…”

“Not right now. Rest assured.”

Not right now, he says…

Raven raised his upper body, reached out to grab Altair’s retreating clothes, and with his other hand lifted the fabric where the dagger had cut through. A questioning gaze followed him, but he paid it no mind and carefully examined even the surrounding area.

It seemed the dagger had only cut the clothes, but just in case.

Even while doing that, his mouth moved diligently.

“It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours since I got here, yet word travels fast. Seems my disciple has become a more impressive person than I thought.”

A sigh of relief escaped his lips upon confirming there was no wound.

“Putting together the bits of information I’ve heard, it looked like you became the Association Head.”

When the slave emancipation activists had tried to recruit him, they’d definitely said the Association Heads were looking for him. If he’d heard the news and come this quickly, it meant he’d been looking for him even before Raven came here, and at the same time, it meant he was that capable.

They’d even said that all of his disciples, despite death, had become big shots one and all…

“…Altair?”

“…”

His voice was composed and he kept talking smoothly, but the hand checking for any possible wounds was clearly trembling.

Did the past me say he thought of this man as a father? They said this man also thought of them as his own children.

Altair glanced down at Raven’s hand once, then faced this unfamiliar yet familiar person who had spoken his name.

“…I received word that Deceiver brought someone presumed to be our Master to the palace.”

“…”

“From the looks of it, it doesn’t seem like you’re staying here willingly, Master.”

He extended his hand.

“Will you come with me? —Father.”

Father.

Raven’s eyes trembled faintly.

“…You’ve rarely ever called me father.”

“But you wished I would.”

“Sharp, aren’t you.”

Unlike his dutiful reply, he didn’t take the proffered hand.

Considering how his fingertips had flinched, it seemed he’d almost caved. Altair, who had been squinting and observing Raven, shrugged and withdrew his hand.

“Well, it’s not like I was offering a choice in the first place.”

“…What?”

“From now on, Master, you’re going to have to let yourself be kidnapped by me.”

“?”

“Surely a Master wouldn’t actually knock out their own disciple.”

Besides, Master is a warrior and I’m an Awakener, so I wouldn’t be taken down easily anyway.

Muttering loud enough for Raven to hear, Altair hoisted him up and slung him over one shoulder. Raven, who hadn’t processed the situation, stood there dumbfounded, then belatedly patted Altair on the back.

It wasn’t really hitting; it was more like touching him to get his attention and convey his intent.

“No, wait. What about Deceiver? Deceiver brought me here.”

“What do I care about that guy? In the past, we might have put on a bit of a front in front of Master, but not anymore. We were never on good terms from the start.”

“What…?”

Raven’s expression turned blank.

Those kids weren’t on good terms…? It felt like just yesterday he’d watched them looking out for each other and sharing food, feeling pleased about it… So he’d thought that even without him, they’d take care of each other and live well…

Suddenly, the name of a disciple that had always particularly weighed on his mind flashed through his head. Roweina, the child he’d barely managed to make human again from a bird. He’d left, judging that with the others by her side, she’d be fine.

But if that wasn’t the case—…

His already pale complexion turned even ghastlier.

“…Then.”

He didn’t know what she was thinking, but that wasn’t his concern. Rather, she’d gone limp, making her easier to kidnap, so that was fine.

Altair glanced at Raven briefly, then, carrying him, quickly left the spot.

Danman, left alone all of a sudden, stared blankly at the spot where they’d disappeared.

‘They seemed to know each other, so I just stayed put.’

They fought, they talked, they said something about a father, and then suddenly, kidnapping?

‘To think, no sooner do I become a disciple than I see my Master get kidnapped right before my eyes…’

It was absurd, but for now… he supposed he had to follow…

It was a moment when he began to doubt whether choosing to become a disciple had been the right decision.

∞ ∞ ∞

“…Say that again.”

Deceiver tilted his head, not hiding his irritation.

“What was that?”

“The… the guest from the East Palace has been kidnapped…”

“Kidnapped, my foot. He let himself be kidnapped.”

That man wasn’t someone who’d get kidnapped so easily.

A cold sneer escaped him.

“Go.”

“Yes, sir!”

The nameless insect scurried away.

Watching its retreating figure with emotionless eyes, Deceiver let out a deep sigh.

Father had left this place of his own volition. It would be a lie to say it didn’t sting. But it wasn’t unexpected, so he wasn’t that angry.

‘I never intended to keep him confined anyway.’

It was better that way, even to foster his will to live.

Raven wanting to live meant he wouldn’t kill himself. In other words, he would live an eternity alongside him.

…Of course, whatever choice he made, if it was Father’s choice, I would welcome it.

‘The problem is his birth.’

A wry, irritated smile formed on his lips.

The flawed birth of a demigod, who, when truly wanting to care for someone, ends up doing the opposite of what they truly wish.

At least if he were a complete demigod, he wouldn’t have to deal with this unpleasantness.

He thought of Raven for a moment, then shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about that.

‘More importantly, in the form of a “kidnapping.”‘

Father wouldn’t just let himself be kidnapped by anyone.

Who was there with the ability to make Raven willingly be kidnapped and even enter the imperial palace to take him? He began slowly sorting through the candidates that came to mind.

First, the most desperate one: Lib.

‘…Without his soul shard, Lib is less capable than an ordinary person.’

He wouldn’t even be able to set foot here.

‘Hwan the shaman is said to be away right now.’

And they’d already taken measures to prevent the use of unapproved shamanism in the palace. He wouldn’t have the skill to come in here and spirit someone away.

‘Roweina is also said to be away.’

Besides, given her personality, if she’d entered the palace, she wouldn’t have acted so covertly like this; she’d have caused a huge uproar.

So, among those with sufficient ability and motive, the one left is…

“…Altair.”

That arrogant human.

Deceiver bowed his head deeply. A suppressed groan seemed to escape, then his shoulders began to shake.

A voice laced with laughter flowed out.

“He’s practically begging to be hated.”

Having stolen something from right under my nose, Altair wouldn’t have planned and acted alone unless he wanted to die. He was probably working with all the other siblings too.

I like it. Enough to let this matter slide.

“Might as well hope Father abandons them all.”

Father, being soft-hearted, probably wouldn’t do that, so I hope they make things more difficult for him on their end.

Like, say, imprisoning him.

Deceiver’s lips curled up in a smirk.

∞ ∞ ∞

Altair, moving while carrying Raven, rolled only his eyes to look at the crow following from a distance.

He stopped abruptly, and the hand not holding Raven reached into his bosom, pulling out a dagger. Noticing he intended to kill the creature, Raven quickly grabbed his wrist.

“That’s mine.”

“…I was under the impression you’d lost your soul shard, Master.”

“…Did I write about that too?”

“Yes.”

That’s why Lib, having lost his soul shard, was frantically searching for you with a fire in his eyes.

“Because I want to live.”

That was how Lib had answered when asked why he was looking for their Master. It made sense.

The Master in the diary had also lost his soul shard. Yet he was still alive, so Lib must have deduced that he would know some way.

“Still, that one’s off limits.”

A firm voice came. Having thought him soft, Altair’s gaze returned to Raven at this unexpectedly tough attitude.

Raven, with no way of knowing his inner thoughts, was prying open his disciple’s fingers one by one to take the dagger away.

“Is there a reason to kill a disciple you just took in?”

“Disciple, you say.”

“Yes.”

“Then that means we have another younger sibling.”

The ‘Raven’ in the diary wasn’t just a master to his disciples; he was a guardian, closer to an adoptive father and mother in all but paperwork.

So even now, with his memories gone, they still lived as friends and as estranged siblings.

‘Though the only one who actually uses cringey terms like big brother and big sister is the youngest, Deceiver.’

And it’s not even because he truly thinks of them as real siblings. Creepy bastard.

Altair, who had obediently handed the dagger over to his Master, continued calmly.

“A father who disappeared, showing up after ten years with a new younger sibling in tow… I wonder how the others will react when they find out…”

Flinch.

“Fine, I’ll let it slide for now. But if you try any funny business with that thing, I’ll kill you.”

“…That’s brutal.”

Clutching his stinging chest, Raven barely managed to speak.

“How did you turn out like this…? I don’t remember raising you that way…”

“Don’t you think it’s a bit rich to say that, considering you left without a word?”

Thwack.

Raven, taking a direct hit to a conscience he didn’t even know he had, went limp.

If the other party didn’t know him, and only he remembered them, he probably wouldn’t have reacted like this. But it was because the child, despite having been forgotten, had still found him and called him father.

“…”

So perhaps that was why Raven couldn’t bring himself to offer any response, and simply kept his mouth shut, letting himself be carried by Altair like a broken doll.

∞ ∞ ∞

After traveling in silence thereafter, Raven and Altair arrived at a certain mansion.

In one corner of the back garden, someone could be seen pacing back and forth, their anxiety plain to see. Recognizing the person, Altair furrowed his brow slightly, then kicked hard off the ground, closing the distance in an instant and landing right in front of them.

The woman, startled and stepping back, recognized Altair and brightened, but then spotted someone slung over his shoulder and went pale.

“Master!”

“?”

Raven turned only his head to confirm who it was, and his eyes widened.

“Lib…?”

Why was his second disciple here.