THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 321. THE SITTING

"What does it sound like to you?"

"It sounds like someone is guilty." The general said.

"I have the same perspective. They are going to call it the will of the people." Sagiri said.

"Well, the people’s will carries weight." The general said. Sagiri listened again. There had been chantings since the crack of dawn at the gate of the inner city. "The council’s sitting will commence today."

"They are still singing praises about me," Sagiri said after a while, and Zifara laughed.

That was completely the opposite. They were chanting something different.

’A southerner couldn’t have grown up in the north!

’He must be a northerner wanting to invade our nation again!!

’A scum of the north!!

’He killed my husband!! He must have bewitched the general!!

"The council should not allow him to stay!!...."

"Even a person with no hearing can hear clearly from here." Zifara said. That alone could explain the number of people chanting at the gate. It was still three hours after dawn and pretty early. The number could get fatter and fatter as the day went on.

"I wasn’t sure that someone who wanted Azir dead could be in the council, but now I am sure," Sagiri said. Someone must have brought in the fact that he was raised in the north. Up till now, the council had been hiding information about him. Well, it was not exactly a secret, but revealing it now, when the South still hated Northerners, was a rather low blow, and it made things interesting.

"Thank you again for saving Azir." Zifara said. He had been thanking Azir profusely since that day.

"You don’t have to thank me. It is what a big brother could do." Sagiri said, shaking his head.

"How did you not kill them?" The generals asked. "I did not take you for the kind type."

"Ask your nephew." Sagiri signed.

"Shouldn’t you be getting ready to go to the council. I have a feeling you will suffer a worse fate for the next few hours." Sagiri added, and a humourless chuckle escaped the general’s throat.

"I should keep them waiting a little more to add fuel to the fire. I should also mention I was having breakfast with you to make sure the fire burns harder." The general said, and it was Sagiri’s turn to chuckle. He could feel the man was now fully supporting him after he saved Azir. At least he could count on one vote of confidence or two, counting Azir’s, who would be sitting at the council for the first time with Zifara as his regent. That would be two votes, but considering the two were compromised, the votes would naturally call for more resistance.

"Perhaps you should vote no," Sagiri said.

"That is not a wise decision."

"They will expect you to fight for me. If you don’t, then it will make things interesting. Azir should sit this one out, too, and as his regent, you can vote no. Azir’s seat is fragile. He can’t be seen as weak. Perhaps someone wants to kill two birds with one stone." Sagiri said.

"I’d say three or four birds. Those greedy vultures." Zifara said.

"You’d better get going."

"Don’t do anything, rush despite this.

"I am not a patient man, but you should perhaps ask the council how many necks they have," Sagiri said, his eyes still resting on the chief’s fortress. The feeling of restlessness and uneasiness he had been getting in the inner city had now narrowed to the chiefs’ fortress. Sagiri did not doubt that the feeling’s source was coming from the chief’s mansion. It had gone from a silent hum to a scream now.

Sagiri listened to the footsteps of the Kai to depart before he tightened his fists and shut his eyes to calm himself. He was already on edge because of that feeling, and now with the noisy chants, he could not calm down. He did not know whether he could keep his cool for long. How dare someone put him in bed with the people who wiped out his clan?

Sagiri did not wish to pursue further the issue of using Azir to flame him, but this... this was just unforgivable.

He opened his hands, and the two black seals appeared on them. He plugged them into his ears to hear nothing of, or he could just send Nokai to shut them up permanently.

"Where are you, N’varu!!" Sagiri groaned.

He had said he would be back in two days. It was now the third day, and someone on the council had pushed the tight buttons to make him impatient. The sitting was going to take the whole day and night, if not longer, according to Sagiri’s knowledge of councils. The measuring of manhoods could begin, then doubt, then the plotting would begin. That would only be the beginning.

The supreme chief had to be present at the meeting too. This would be the perfect time for him to break into the chief’s fortress.

I will wait for that map for a little longer, then I will go my own way. Sagiri, though peeling himself away from the place. He did not have to walk far before he ran into Azir.

Sagiri did not even take off his seals. He was not in the mood for chatter. He ran into his squad playing some game outside the wing outer room. They must have wanted to say something, but he was not in the mood. He just passed them and shut the door to his room. He had not been hanging around them of late. They could hear the chanting too, and he just let them come up with an excuse for his behaviour.

He did not even manage to shut his door before it was thrown off its hinges. He knew it was Lira before he even turned around.

Sagiri stood at the centre of the room, his jaw tight and his thoughts no calmer than they had been for days. The feeling remained, gnawing at him no matter how much he meditated, trained, or tried to ignore it. When the door opened behind him, he didn’t even turn.

"Leave," he said flatly. Lira didn’t. He heard the door close and the soft sound of her footsteps entering the room.

"I said leave." Silence. Sagiri exhaled sharply and finally glanced over his shoulder. She was still there, watching him with that stubborn expression he had come to recognize.

"I want to be alone." Still, she didn’t move. The room fell quiet until he heard her approaching again.

"Lira."

No response.

"Don’t." She ignored that too.

Before he could step away, her arms wrapped around him from behind. Sagiri froze completely. The words he had been about to say disappeared. Lira simply held him, saying nothing, her cheek resting lightly against his back.

Sagiri froze instantly. He should have grown accustomed to the girl invading his space, but this he had not expected...

The silence stretched between them. Sagiri wanted to move away or shake her off, but for some reason, he stood still. Slowly, without realizing it, some of the tension left his shoulders. The restless feeling was still there, but somehow it was faint as if she was blocking it out. The unease had not vanished, but it was now like a distant hum. Standing there with her arms around him, it felt a little farther away than before.

"You’re annoying," he muttered after a long while. He felt her smile.

"I am sorry." Is all she said.