Chapter 182
Chapter: 182
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 182
>Chapter Title: Pavlov's Carmen (3)
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>§ 182. Pavlov's Carmen (3)
After leaving the capital, Giacomo Milo had been in a foul mood the entire time.
At first glance, everything seemed to be going smoothly.
The raw materials for the [tea], which had been in short supply for a while, had finally been secured in abundance after a long hiatus. Even Archduke Sigmundt's heir, who had been clumsily poking around the business sites, had quieted down recently.
Of course, he was still stubbornly tailing the merchant caravan without giving up, but considering the advantages of the Wolf Knight Order accompanying the procession, it wasn't a major annoyance.
Nevertheless, Giacomo felt an unsettling sensation, as if invisible threats were surrounding him and slowly tightening their grip. It was a kind of instinct honed through years of long-distance trading.
[Summon me already, Giacomo. We've come far enough from the capital now—there's no reason to hold back, is there?]
In that regard, Salos, the demon he had contracted with, was far from trustworthy.
Though he possessed considerable power as a high-ranking demon, he also perfectly embodied the strong's privilege of obliviousness. As a result, he was largely ignorant of human affairs.
Even now, without a care for the unfolding situation, he was blindly urging Giacomo to summon him quickly.
[The new hires you mentioned seem suspicious? I agree. There's definitely a whiff of the Dark Church somewhere around here!]
Giacomo did indeed suspect that the accident involving his employees wasn't coincidental.
That was why he planned to vet the new hires with the demon's help at a logistics relay point where church interference was minimal.
Had it not been for Director Collins's sudden death, he probably would have resolved his suspicions long ago and continued the caravan journey with peace of mind.
[Come on, call me out! I'll inspect their souls myself. If anyone's hiding something, I'll smash them to pieces in an instant! I'll tear them apart until not even their souls remain!]
Giacomo sighed at the demon's violent rhetoric.
['It's impossible right now, Salos. There are holy knights nearby.']
[Holy knights? Why are you traveling with those guys?]
['I told you already. We're moving with Prince Mores's group.']
[Hmm? Oh, right. The 'chosen one,' wasn't it?]
Salos referred to the 3rd Prince as the 'chosen one.' Giacomo had once asked about the reason, and unusually for the normally loose-lipped Salos, he had been reticent.
—It's a matter deeply involving the high demon lords. We can't know the full details.
What could a Holy Empire prince possibly have to do with high demon lords?
Giacomo had long thought the prince carried all sorts of bad rumors, but he was unsettlingly entangled in too many things.
['By the way, Salos. Any word from young Lord Ricardo?']
Ricardo Scarpino.
He was the one who had greatly assisted the demonology-ignorant Giacomo in summoning the high demon Salos. Thanks to him, Giacomo Milo, once a middling small-time merchant, had risen in just a few years to lead one of the north's premier merchant houses.
In hindsight, it was strangely fortuitous, but Ricardo—a highborn scion who had always lived in the capital—possessed an uncanny knowledge of demonology.
He also had deep connections to the Dark Church thriving in Ortona, land he had never even set foot in.
It was Ricardo who had mediated smooth dealings with the Sigmundt territory under the Penitence Order's influence.
Moreover, he had ensured the Milo Merchant House received a steady supply of certain goods obtainable only through the church.
In exchange, Ricardo had asked for just one thing: distribution rights to the [drug tea] produced by the Dark Church. At first, they had only handled a token amount, but recently volumes had grown, leading the merchant house to procure raw materials directly and operate its own workshops.
[What about him?]
Salos responded indifferently. Since he wasn't party to the contract, the demon had lost interest.
['There's word he was attacked by the Dark Church.']
The day before his birthday banquet, Ricardo had been assaulted by unknown assailants and was now said to be mentally unstable. Rumors also swirled that his younger sister Isabella, who often ran errands between his estate and the merchant house, had fallen ill as well.
Unconfirmed reports claimed a Dark Church medallion was found at the attack site.
Though the Milo Merchant House now dealt directly with the Dark Church for most transactions, Ricardo had been instrumental in starting it all, so Giacomo couldn't help worrying about him.
Had the Dark Church decided his involvement was no longer needed and moved to eliminate him cleanly?
[Hmph! That guy's probably just found another puppet by now. Obvious, isn't it? More importantly, you're in no position to leisurely fret over him.]
['Pardon?']
Giacomo blinked in confusion, and Salos clicked his tongue.
[If the Dark Church really did it, they wouldn't have targeted just one puppeteer.]
Giacomo doubted his own ears at Salos's next words.
[The Penitence Order has been tailing your caravan since earlier. Doesn't that mean they're after you too? I told you I smelled Dark Church around here! Still won't summon me?]
>* * *
>The bitter tea punishment plan was scrapped entirely. Knight Carmen, having regained his senses, flatly refused to drink it.
“Damn it! Just beat me outright! Huh?”
Seongjin eyed the knight's newly defiant glare and gave up.
['What a spineless bastard...']
There was another problem too.
Originally devised as a secret punishment to spare Knight Carmen's dignity, word of this 'shitty dog training' had quickly spread to most of the group.
Since they were all exceptional aura users, it was impossible to completely muffle the sounds.
In any case, Seongjin realized he needed to adjust the training method. After some thought, he settled on light corporal punishment as a compromise.
Swift retribution!
Strikes of moderate, non-brutal force!
Yet impactful enough to sear into the brain!
['Flick to the forehead it is!']
Seongjin thought as he rolled his shoulders.
['And for some reason, I feel like I can deliver them with expert precision.']
Confidence welled up that he could distribute uniform impact across the entire head, minimizing localized tissue damage while maximizing pain.
Probably from having taken proper hits himself.
“Ready.”
At Seongjin's signal, Carmen let out a faint sneer. Compared to the thrashing from Captain Bruno, a mere flick seemed laughable.
“Fuck!”
“Wanna curse? You fucking bastard!”
Then came the resounding crack echoing through the campsite.
*Thwack!*
“Gahk!”
Carmen let out a choking scream and toppled backward, clutching his forehead and thrashing wildly.
An intense shock that bleached his mind white!
Seongjin watched calmly, arms crossed, waiting for him to settle before speaking.
“Get up, Sir Carmen. Time for the next curse.”
“......!”
“Hurry. We don't have much time.”
Staggering to his feet at those words, clear terror now shone in Knight Carmen's eyes for all to see.
“Next.”
“...Fucking bastard......”
*Why so timid again?* Seongjin tsked and raised his hand.
Knight Carmen flinched reflexively and kept retreating.
*Thwack!*
Seongjin didn't miss the moment, sending him rolling across the ground again with a deathly scream.
“Kwaaaagh!”
The watching Wolf Knight Order members commented from the sidelines.
“Didn't you hear something really ominous just now?”
“No way, from just a flick?”
“No, it's unnatural. Look—his finger angle, the snap timing, the wrist absorbing the recoil! Everything's optimized for pinpoint impact!”
“It's like witnessing the pinnacle of single-point strikes. Beautiful, even!”
After two more solid flicks.
Knight Carmen's forehead had swollen ominously, and eventually, Priest Gustav was summoned for treatment.
From afar, Wolf Knight Order Captain Ilma turned to Bruno and remarked.
“He's quite diligent.”
“Yes, that young man is fully committed to reforming him.”
Captain Bruno's eyes held unmistakable pity, but he quickly composed himself and bowed to the captain.
“Thank you for graciously forgiving my unworthy disciple's rudeness, Lady Ilma.”
Not long ago, Carmen had picked a fight with the order's vice-captain, creating a tense atmosphere between Prince Mores's group and the Wolf Knights.
It could have bruised the knights' pride badly. Without Captain Ilma's mediation, a simple apology wouldn't have sufficed.
Observing the bowed Bruno for a moment, she said,
“You see that knight as your own child, don't you?”
“Indeed, he's a disciple I've watched grow like a son.”
Bruno sighed deeply.
“Though perhaps that's just my one-sided fancy. Now that he's gotten a bit older and bolder, he hardly listens to me anymore.”
Captain Ilma smiled faintly.
“I understand. I have a daughter around his age myself. I know how often children defy their parents' wishes.”
She fell silent, gazing into the campfire, her eyes deepening.
“If I may be so bold, Sir Bruno—do you know my husband?”
“Yes. I met him during the demonkin subjugation fifteen years ago. Sir Sebastian, now the garrison commander, correct?”
“Yes. Embarrassingly, when we married, my husband and I were the most renowned pair in Sigmundt territory.”
Ilma and her husband Sebastian had been the most promising knights in the Wolf Knight Order since their youth.
They naturally entered a friendly rivalry, and from longtime comrades-in-arms bloomed a love bordering on camaraderie.
Once aware of their feelings, marriage followed swiftly.
At the time, Ilma had already been slated for captaincy at a young age, while Sebastian commanded the garrison responsible for the territory's security and demon beast borders.
Their union was thus the joining of Sigmundt's two strongest.
When the long-awaited child arrived, everyone believed without doubt that she would surpass her parents as an exceptional swordsman.
“But my daughter had no talent for the sword whatsoever. Though she took after her father completely, her grandparents even spat that she couldn't be their granddaughter. She was obedient and sweet as a child, but corruption came in an instant.”
With perpetually busy parents and belittling grandparents.
With nowhere to belong, daughter Luise began wandering outside.
“The only one to comfort my sullen girl was the hunting hound 'Max' raised in the count's household. For a child who spent so much time alone, Max must have been her true family.”
*Was.*
Bruno could guess the story's grim end.
“That winter, as demon beasts from the demon realm began frequently invading count territory, Luise still came home late, dragging Max recklessly outdoors. Scoldings and spankings did nothing to correct her.”
It happened one day.
A border patrol reported possibly spotting Luise being chased by a demon beast atop a distant ridge.
Rushing there, the couple found her safe, thankfully. But they also discovered a blood-soaked ground and a hound's corpse shredded by the beast.
“And from that day to this, she has never once broken curfew.”
*Thwack! Gahk!*
Another crack resounded through the campsite.
Glancing at the knight rolling on the ground, Ilma turned back to Bruno and continued slowly.
“I learned from my daughter's case. When a headstrong youth changes their ways of their own accord, it's usually after losing something precious and regretting it bitterly.”