Chapter 66: Taming
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 66: Taming
Every prestigious family refused to fall behind when it came to the strict education of their children, and the Aslan Grand Ducal House was no exception. They were active participants in this fierce competition among the nobility.
In other words…
“…Why do you trust that guy, Aiden, Father?”
“What did you say?”
“Isn’t his only real merit getting lucky enough to marry a highborn lady? Why leave our territory’s biggest event, the Night of the Hunt, to a guy like—”
The moment Damian uttered those words, a fist slammed straight into his face with enough force to shatter his jaw—a brutal testament to that very education.
One of the knights let out a cough, failing to suppress an exclamation of admiration at the clean, textbook uppercut. Meanwhile, only a single thought passed through Damian’s flickering consciousness.
This old geezer… didn’t he say he was sick?!
That strike was by no means something an ailing old man could throw.
As his mind reeled, the Grand Duke’s contemptuous voice struck him.
“Weren’t you the one who got crushed in a single blow by ‘a guy like that’ in the first place?”
“…That was just a mistake because I let my guard down. If we fight next time, I’m confident I can win—”
Another fist flew at his face.
…If he had been even slightly unluckier, he would have bitten off his tongue and actually died.
“My body has barely finished receiving treatment, you know.”
“If you don’t want to receive it again, I recommend keeping your mouth shut.”
“…”
“Regardless of his background or current status, he is far more trustworthy than you or Liza. The moment you two heard false rumors of my illness, your first thought was snatching the ducal seat.”
Damian’s expression soured rapidly.
The fact that he had done absolutely nothing to stop those false rumors made his underlying intentions entirely transparent. It was highly probable that this sly old man had deliberately spread those rumors himself, just as he always did, to test their qualifications as ‘members of the ducal house’…
“And.”
However, Damian’s soured expression instantly snapped back to neutral.
Anyone who saw Grand Duke Aslan flaring Qi from his entire body—radiating an aura thick enough to kill a man—would naturally realize they had no other choice.
“You should consider yourself lucky that I haven’t disowned and banished you. Whatever else you might do, how dare you neglect your duty to protect the people of our territory?”
“…”
“You asked why I trust that fellow. Good question. Unlike you, he has a proper grasp of what responsibility means.”
“…”
“For someone who can’t possibly be ignorant of the Empire’s founding history… shame on you.”
The Founding Emperor, revered as the creator of the Empire and the first Sword Saint, was known to have raised his sword for the common villagers groaning under the oppression of the rampant Demon Race.
He was just a simple rustic youth who picked up a blade because he couldn’t stand to see the hungry and sick suffer. That man was none other than the Founding Emperor.
A sword was raised with conviction, trust gathered beneath its blade, and the man who took up arms for the happiness of the suffering became a legend.
As the Shield of the Empire—the ones who stood alongside that legendary figure at the front lines to protect the weak—the Aslan Grand Ducal House possessed a very clear family motto.
Responsibility makes a human being. He who does what ought to be done as a human being changes the world.
And as the Shield of the Empire, from the perspective of Grand Duke Aslan—who had been born into a position of responsibility over others—he could instantly grasp just how rare and precious a man with such open eyes truly was.
From their very first meeting, the Grand Duke clearly realized that Aiden understood how harsh—and how noble—it was to bear the weight of another person’s life.
…Furthermore.
Aiden instantly understood Grand Duke Aslan’s mindset. The Grand Duke was a man who tried to take responsibility to the very end for his disappointing son and daughter—children who immediately calculated their own profits the moment he faced a collapse—simply because they were his own flesh and blood.
What a pity.
He had heard the boy was a war orphan. If he had found him earlier and taken a liking to him, he would have doted on him as an adopted son.
He was a man worth doing so for. A man with boundless potential.
“However, even so—”
At the very least, Aiden was enough of a man for the Grand Duke to utter words capable of instantly shutting up the son whining discontentedly right in front of him.
“If he returns having subdued this Night of the Hunt, I will accept Aiden Kellermain as a member of the Grand Ducal House. I will entrust him with educating both you and Liza.”
Damian’s face went blank.
That meant accepting that man as practically a direct family member.
“…Pardon?”
“Furthermore, I will grant him voting rights regarding military actions and a certain degree of authority to requisition resources.”
…To speak those words meant granting Aiden authority almost equivalent to direct blood relatives like Damian or Liza.
Damian’s face turned stark pale.
“Wait, Father—!”
His protests died in his throat, his complexion turning sheet white under the Grand Duke’s fierce, piercing glare.
“He is a man we must hold onto, even if it takes all that.”
The one who takes responsibility changes the world. Such was Grand Duke Aslan’s absolute standard for judging people.
And that man named Aiden…
Though Aiden himself seemed to frame his thinking strictly within the category of ‘family,’ in Grand Duke Aslan’s eyes… For the sake of the people he bore responsibility for, he was a man who would fight against whatever threatened them—even if that threat was the entire world.
And those who could stand against a great evil by sheer force of responsibility alone usually…
“…do ridiculous things as if it’s nothing.”
In the first place, the Empire itself was a nation founded by such a human. And the situation that immediately followed served as positive proof of that belief.
“…What is that noise?”
Hearing the commotion outside the hall growing louder, Damian muttered under his breath.
Actually, describing the atmosphere as merely ‘noisy’ felt entirely inaccurate. It sounded more like… the panicked screams of people reacting to a bomb dropping right in the middle of the city.
“…?”
Sensing something terribly wrong, Damian leaped up from his seat and threw open the window. As soon as he did, he fully understood the reaction.
“…A Demonic Beast?”
Seeing a beast the size of a house prowling through the heart of the Aslan Territory, Damian groaned the words like a breathless whisper.
A moment later, he quickly realized the reason why the guards hadn’t immediately drawn their swords and entered a combat stance upon seeing it.
Because, with something resembling a ‘saddle’ strapped to its massive back…
Katya and Noel—both looking as though they had just lived through every imaginable absurdity—and a very proud-looking Aiden were riding atop it.
Sitting atop the beast, Aiden grinned brightly and waved his hand the moment his eyes met Grand Duke Aslan’s. He gave off the distinct vibe of a man showing off a brand-new car…
“…”
Damian stared blankly at the scene, his eyes unfocused.
What in the world is that guy? Where and how did he bring in such a Demonic Beast? No, what method did he even use to ride it so casually in the first place…?
“What did I tell you?”
As all sorts of chaotic thoughts flashed through Damian’s mind, Grand Duke Aslan stepped up beside him. He glanced down at the spectacle and chuckled.
“He does ridiculous things as if it’s nothing.”
“…”
Sadly for Damian, it was a statement he couldn’t refute even by a fingernail’s breadth.
* * *
Once again, I realized one thing.
This thing called the System Window was sometimes exceedingly adorable.
— System Message
▶ The ‘Aslan Grand Ducal House’ has been incorporated as a friendly faction!
▶ You have been granted resource requisition rights and manpower requisition rights for the ‘Aslan Grand Ducal House’!
▶ This group possesses enough influence to cause variations within the scenario.
▶ Positively affects the progress of Chapter 3: ‘Imperial Capital Rift’!
Especially when it popped up with something like this after a quest completion.
This is huge.
I had already devoured a ton of useful skills from Grand Duke Aslan. Above all, the system text clearly fulfilled the promise the Grand Duke had made to me at the start—‘to stand together against the prince.’
Of course, having resource and manpower requisition rights meant, well…
“…”
There was no telling just how highly that old man thought of me, but… it was clear he was dead serious about squeezing me in as an official family member.
Isn’t this level of authority practically what someone gets when they’re designated as the heir…?
Even then, the rewards didn’t end there.
— System Message
▶ As a friendly faction has been incorporated, Points will be continuously supplied from targets whose skills cannot be copied.
▶ Related contents have been updated in the ‘Point Shop’!
Oh.
Considering the potency that had previously breached even Noel’s resistance, the power output when specifying its effects would definitely be something to look forward to.
Truthfully, the Point Shop was hard to utilize because of its heavy RNG even after unlocking it. But with such a massive, passive source of Points created, it naturally gained a lot of utility.
…And I desperately needed that utility, too.
The start of Chapter 3 is right around the corner…
Come to think of it, wasn’t Chapter 3, ‘Imperial Capital Rift’, the final chapter of Act 1? It was infamous in the original game for linking directly from Chapter 2 without giving players a single second to breathe.
Which meant that the moment I received these rewards, I had to immediately figure out how to squeeze out every drop of their utility just to survive what was coming.
And that also meant… In effect, the single biggest ‘Reward’ gained from progressing through this Main Quest came bundled with quite a troublesome headache.
“…”
I scratched my head and stared straight ahead.
Standing right in front of me was Soul River, the beast we had been riding atop just a moment ago.
Because of its sheer size, it couldn’t be kept in a normal stable… so we had temporarily parked it in a large garage-like space. Yet even in a room this big, the pressure radiating from its massive body—which took up over half the area—was no joke.
Actually, it wasn’t just big, either.
Why does a Demonic Beast radiate such nobility?
A lustrous black mane, aloof blue eyes, a skeletal and muscular structure that seemed to elegantly condense sheer violence, and an innate ‘dignity’ binding all those distinct features together.
When its eyes had flipped due to Berserk and it pursued us to the death, nothing could have been more terrifying. But now, it gave off the aura of a highborn noble trapped in the body of a giant wolf.
However, there was one problem…
“…It’s going to be tough to keep riding it around.”
That was the first impression Noel voiced.
Perhaps because it was a Demonic Beast, our words didn’t get through to it, but… whenever our eyes met, the vibe it projected was crystal clear.
Thanks for saving me. Thanks for bringing me back to my senses.
But I won’t tolerate you trying to order me around as you please. If you want to do that, you’d better brace yourself.
Its eyes seemed to say something exactly along those lines.
…Hm.
I snorted internally and summoned the system window before my eyes.
— Monster Info
⊙ Soul River [Enslaved]
A Demonic Beast positioned at the apex of the ecosystem among quadrupedal Demonic Beasts inside the Void Zone. Targets that can compare to its sheer physical capabilities are extremely rare outside of the Dragon Species, and in certain fields, it even holds the upper hand against dragons.
It possesses high intelligence, capable of conversation, as well as immense pride. It is currently extremely dissatisfied with obeying your commands.
— Weapon: Entire Body
— Strengths: Pinnacle athletic capability among demonic beasts; defense harder than dragon scales; near-immortal life force.
— Weaknesses: None.
★ Under the influence of [Skill: Demonic Energy – Divine Command], it is forced to obey commands you compel upon it.
Compelling commands is limited to once per day!
…Well. If there was a problem, it was this.
In the end, the absolute commands I could issue to this guy were limited to just once per day.
Judging by the status marked as [Enslaved], the master-servant relationship seemed properly established, so at least it wouldn’t commit any actively hostile acts against me. But if I forced it to do something it hated, it felt like it could cause any number of other ‘accidents’.
Like this, it was nothing more than a ticking time bomb that could only be used once a day. Even if it followed the command for the moment, there was no telling what it might do afterward.
“…Well. I’m no expert on Demonic Beasts, but doesn’t it feel like it’s strongly demanding to be sent back inside the Void Zone? We could just take the achievement of subduing the Night of the Hunt and simply set it free—”
“No. I think that’s far too wasteful.”
Rejecting Noel’s suggestion flat out, I swept my gaze up and down the Demonic Beast.
“I’ve already given him a nickname. River.”
“…”
Well. No matter how you looked at it, he was far too splendid a resource to just give up like that.
His stats were incredible, and above all, if he was a target possessing this level of intelligence and… ‘emotion’…
…That means I can snag skills from him as well, right?
Which meant I could build Affinity and copy his skills. Looking at this guy’s stats made it all the more impossible to let him go.
“But with that attitude, keeping it as a companion…”
“Then we just need to fix his attitude, don’t we?”
“Do you have a way?”
I did. As always, a way could always be found.
“I’ll just have to tame his manners a bit.”
I said as much, looking down at the bracelet I was wearing. The item containing Mayer inside. An artifact meant for entering the Inner Mindscape, so to speak.
“One night will be enough.”
Well. It was fine for him to hold his head high with pride, but…
The world isn’t such an easy place.
…I was completely serious.