THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 233. TO WAIT

"So you want the Tatani out of Tagayia without starting a war with Safaya," Sagiri said after a momentary pause. The two men did not answer. Taziraka did not talk much and let Tsaka read his mind and do the talking. As long as the Tatani were not in Tagayia, and Tagayia did not care much about them.

"You will be afforded an elite squad to go with you. You can say the number you want. I will hand-pick them for you," Tsaka said after a while.

"I don’t trust any squad you afford me. I want my squad," Sagiri said. He did not want all of squad 25 on this, but he had a feeling they were not going to let him pick squad Salka or Seyika. He needed Kiuga for this. He did not know how he was going to complete the mission, but having someone whose head he trusted, he was sure to come up with a solution. He also needed to see nvaru.

"You can not be allowed to interact with students of the War College. Besides, they are in their homes now waiting for their college admission letters," Tsaka said.

"Then I will wait until they resume. I am doing this my way," Sagiri said, and the mandra tilted his face to look at Tsaka. Tsaka stopped whatever he wanted to say and took a step back.

"What else do you need?" the supreme mandra asked.

"I need to kill someone in your inner council," sagiri said, and the air froze for a moment. It was clear that neither of the two had expected him to say that.

"That is not possible. You get to go to the south and never return. The supreme mandra votes to send you south on condition that you never return," Tsaka said after the moment of shock passed.

"Is that supposed to be mercy? I still haven’t killed the ones I want to kill most, and I will kill them. " Blood is paid by blood," sagiri said. He agreed to stop a war between two states for Tagayia. That came at a price, too. "I will not rest until he is dead," sagiri said. He was not going to back down on that.

"Child, threatening to kill a person is okay, but the inner council of the supreme mandra is untouchable," Tsaka tried to reason, but sagiri was having none of it. Taziraka did not remain silent on this, and he finally spoke.

"Well, as long as you don’t return to the north and if you think yourself capable, I will not stand in your way," Taziraka said, and Tsaka’s jaw hung open. They both knew what he meant. ’You are never to return north, but if you are capable enough to return and eliminate an inner council member without my knowledge, then you are welcome to try. The supreme mandra could seem like he had allowed Sagiri to settle his scales if he was capable enough, but again, if he returned north and the mandra or all the factions that wanted him dead knew of it, then he would be dead. That was, however, enough for Sagiri. It would be harder after he went south, but no matter how many years it took, he would find him and kill him.

That was good enough for sagiri. For now.

"Is that all?" the supreme mandra asked again. He was harder to read.

"I will need to visit my parents before I embark on this mission. I need to know they’re still okay," Sagiri said. He wanted to talk to them and see if they would agree to go south with him. He needed to know they were alive, too. It had been almost a year since he saw them, and he was longing to see them.

"Tsaka make sure it’s done." Supreme Mandra Taziraka did not hesitate to give the order.

"Now is that all?" Taziraka asked again. It seemed like the man hated talking as much as he hated hearing people bicker.

"After this, I will have nothing to do with the north, but if the north tries to follow me south, then I will not hesitate," Sagiri said, and he meant it. He was going to retreat south to let the councils cool off. When they learned about the mandra’s vote, he could not be sure that the east, west, and war councils could not follow him. Not only them, but his benefactor was sure to make a move soon. If that happened, then the deal was off.

"As the supreme mandra, I will keep my side of the bargain. For the sake of all Tagayia and my people, I will not follow you south. As I said, you won’t return north, and I won’t go south." Taziraka said. Now the sun had risen all over, making his unnatural white hair look like clouds. The Tagan clan is also known for their white hair, and just as the red hair of the south is seen as a curse, the white hair of the Tagan is seen as a blessing.

Sagiri finally nodded in agreement.

"There will be two weeks before the colleges resume studies, and a week from now will be the orientation of the first-year college students. You will stay in this fortress till then, don’t try to escape or do anything reckless," Tsaka said. He was still very much a prisoner, and as long as he had people he cared about in the north, it would be difficult to ignore all caution.

"As you wish," Sagiri said. He was led away by the shadow corp. Those closest to Tsaka and back into a room, he would be staying till he left for the war college. He still had unfinished business with Lira, too. He’s going to the war college to pick a squad he trusted was still a way to get in touch with Lira again. Even if he decided to return north after his exile, she was still an important piece in his plan.

All he could do now was wait.