Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Use of a Treacherous Subject
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‘...How absurd.’
“Ah, you’re from the Dustycloak Barony. What brings you here, Young Master?”
Despite his internal irritation, Beonald outwardly bowed his waist and rubbed his hands together, treating the boy with a servile attitude.
Having started not as a duke but from an earldom, he knew exactly how to deal with someone who appeared to be the child of a higher-ranking noble than his current self.
p>“Ah! That backwater bumpkin? You come every year with nothing to show, yet you still manage to show up?”
“Isn’t it precisely because we have nothing that we come? We need to bask in even a little of the Earldom’s light to survive, you see.”
“Pfft-hah! You’re quite the talker! You look so stiff, though!”
Seeming to like Beonald’s witty reply and the attitude of someone older than him bowing and scraping so readily, the boy began to chatter away as he pleased.
Then he stepped forward and started rummaging through the birthday gifts for the Count that had been set out in advance.
They were covered with cloth, but as he rummaged, two bear cubs sleeping inside a small wooden cage woke up and began to cry.
“Oh, what’s this? Bear cubs? They’re alive? Wow~ You brought something pretty interesting!”
“Young Master, that is formally a gift for the Count’s birthday.”
“Huh? Really? But it’s fine. Grandfather won’t say anything if I take it. So I’m taking it, okay?”
‘...Must be the Count’s grandson. Ah, so that would make him my relative, wouldn’t it?’
Beonald realized this insolent boy was the grandson of Count Callermain, and thus his own relative, but he didn’t mention it. It was better to stay quiet until he revealed his face at the coming-of-age ceremony anyway. Moreover, seeing this rude, arrogant brat’s attitude made him think there was nothing good about getting close.
“It’s always just leather here. Hmm~ What’s this?”
“It’s medicine for wounds. Made from medicinal herbs.”
“Boring.”
The boy looked at the medicine Beonald had carefully prepared as a gift and tossed it aside dismissively.
It was just medicine in a small case, but Beonald had poured considerable effort into making that one item. He flinched for a moment but barely managed to hold back.
‘That damn brat…….’
It wasn’t that he had never experienced such humiliation in his past life, but it had been a long time since he’d met someone who looked down on him like this.
Even so, having the medicine he’d made with care tossed aside hurt his pride quite a bit. For now, he swallowed it down and memorized the face of this damn young master.
“Wooaah! This bear pelt! It’s amazing! I want this! I’ll lay it as a carpet in my room!”
“Young Master, that is also a gift prepared for the Count…”
“So what? I told you earlier. Grandfather’s things are practically mine! I’m taking it!”
Ignoring Beonald’s words, the boy just looted the gifts prepared for the Count as he pleased and left.
He hadn’t even gotten his name, but knowing that insolent, senseless boy was the Count’s grandson, Beonald figured he’d see him later. He quietly began cleaning up the messy room.
‘...I’ll definitely pay back this debt. More than that, just how are they raising kids in this damn earldom? Honestly~’
He wasn’t a very young child but around his mid-teens… that is, about Beonald’s age. The fact that he was pulling such senseless stunts was a problem, but his audacity in looting tribute items as he pleased, and even dismissing the medicine Beonald had made with care… The brat had already crossed every line there was.
A short while later, after Baron Leon returned from making his rounds of greetings, Beonald straightforwardly reported that some unknown brat who was apparently a relative and the young master of the mansion had barged in, caused a ruckus, and left.
“Blond hair and white clothes? That must be Young Master Ralt! So? What did you do?”
“He clearly looked like a young master of high standing, so I just left him be.”
“Phew~ Good, you did well. It’s not just ‘high standing’—he’s a very strong candidate for the next heir.”
‘...We’re screwed.’
His father then began explaining in detail about the boy Beonald had met.
His name was Ralt Callermain. His age, coincidentally, was 14, the same as Beonald. He was the eldest son of Count Callermain and the only child born to the second wife of Rengel Callermain, who was currently the most likely successor as family head. Being an only child, he was treated preciously within the family, and no one thought to stop or restrain his tyranny.
“A little tyrant, then.”
“That’s right. The Count and Lord Rengel say he’ll improve once he becomes an adult, but…”
“People are shaped more by environment and education than by innate nature.”
“I see you think so too. Hoo~ This is really troublesome. What do we do now that the Count’s gifts have been looted like this?”
“Can’t we just tell the truth?”
“Even if we tell the truth, we’ll just be humiliated. What to do~ Well, at least the jewels weren’t taken, so that’s something…”
No matter that he was a young master, if word got out that they couldn’t stop a single child and had the Count’s gifts stolen, everyone would criticize this barony that had risen so suddenly, saying they’d finally found a flaw to latch onto.
They couldn’t say a word to those stronger than them, but if a weaker party showed a weakness, they’d thoroughly trample them—that was the way of this world… no, the inherent nature of most humans.
As his father groaned and agonized, Beonald had been busily running calculations in his head.
‘Hmm… What should I do? An ending where we just get ignored and go back isn’t too bad either. Or should I make my debut a little early?’
“Hmm, what to do. Is there no way to procure something urgently? Ugh~ Should I use the money for buying things to get a separate gift? I should have brought my wife after all…”
Feeling sorry for his groaning father, Beonald clicked his mental abacus and eventually concluded he had no choice but to step forward himself.
“Let’s see, the Count’s birthday is in three days, right?”
“That’s correct. Do you have an idea?”
“In that case, we have no choice but to procure something on-site. Please tell me the direction of the adventurer’s guild and where to buy weapons. We need to save as much time as possible. You know that much, right?”
“Ah, understood.”
Realizing what Beonald intended to do, Baron Leon immediately explained the layout of the city.
Beonald then promptly gathered his own money and the medicinal supplies he’d prepared as gifts, left the mansion, and headed for the city center.
Although not entirely to his liking, it was a proper city, unlike the rural backwater, and he felt a sense of relief. He first visited the arms shop his father had told him about.
“Welcome~”
“One leather armor, one iron helmet, one axe, one longsword, three daggers, two bundles of sturdy rope, one water canteen, and a flint. Please make it quick. For the leather armor, studded is better. For the helmet, something that can completely cover the face. It’s urgent business.”
“Huh? Ah, yes. Ah, understood.”
The leisurely shop owner was startled by Beonald’s rapid-fire speech but began preparing swiftly.
Normally, he might have thought about swindling a first-time customer, but currently, many nobles had gathered in this city for Count Callermain’s birthday banquet, both those under the Count’s banner and those coming to offer congratulations. Moreover, Beonald’s appearance alone exuded nobility and an intimidating aura. Sensing he was a noble, the merchant didn’t try any tricks and gave him what he wanted.
“Hmm, fortunately the goods aren’t bad. The price?”
“Umm, eight silver coins.”
“Reasonable. Ten silver coins. Two are your tip.”
“Oh my! Thank you very much!”
Having obtained the necessary equipment, Beonald next headed for the adventurer’s guild in the city.
The Adventurer’s Guild. A place where people who take on monster subjugation or explore untouched areas gather. It existed in Beonald’s era as well.
Of course, Beonald was usually the one making requests, not the one solving them. Upon arriving, he first headed for the request board.
‘Let’s see, are there any usable monsters around?’
“Excuse me, sir, have you come to make a request? If so, please go upstairs to discuss…”
“No, I’m just looking around for a moment. I’ll speak up if I have business.”
“Yes, as you wish.”
A man who seemed to be a guild employee approached, but Beonald ignored him and looked at the requests on the board and the map displayed nearby.
It roughly indicated what monsters were present in the major mountains, forests, and rivers around the Count’s territory, their habitats, and there were clearly marked warnings about powerful monsters.
‘I was right to come. Major dangerous monsters include Owlbears, Great Wolves, Orc Lord tribes, Griffin nests… Hmm~ A bit scary, aren’t they?’
They were all large and medium-sized monsters he’d heard of even 500 years ago. Each area was marked based on the sacrifices and efforts of existing adventurers, with warnings not to enter their territories.
Beonald confirmed the locations and stored them in his memory, then without delay, chose his prey and began to move.
‘I’ll hunt a griffin.’
Griffin. A creature with the wings and forelegs of an eagle and the body of a lion-like beast of prey.
They mainly live on high mountains and are famous for diving down to snatch creatures like cows or horses.
However, their habitat was on very high mountains and quite far away. The reason Beonald chose this creature was very simple.
‘It would look the most impressive if caught. Hmm~’
All the other monsters were no pushovers either, but in terms of the standard of ‘coolness,’ nothing could match the overflowing majesty of a griffin with its giant eagle head and sleek, muscular feline-predator torso.
‘Just imagining it is awesome.’
Of course, the difficulty of catching one was beyond imagination, but since this was to be his debut stage, Beonald thought he should catch the coolest thing possible.
His mind, having lived a lifetime as a noble, was filled with a sense of noble dignity, style, and a desire for honor. He momentarily forgot the fact that he was 14 years old and should not reveal his abilities too much, but rather hide them.
“…Ah, right. I’m 14.”
Beonald, who had been drunk on ambition, realized he was 14 and had been carefully hiding his cards all this time at the moment he was about to set up camp deep in the mountains.
“Someone like me making such a mistake!”
Yes, starting with that brat Ralt irritating him, combined with the long-suppressed desires of a noble exploding, he had momentarily lost himself.
“Then a griffin is… impossible! Damn it! It’s impossible even if I catch it! Then should I downgrade? Ugh~ So what’s an appropriate monster for a 14-year-old’s skill level? Damn it! More than that… I think I came too far…”
By the time his overly enthusiastic head cooled down and he regained his senses, he was already deep in the mountains.
Close to the griffin’s habitat, at that. He had hacked his way through the rugged mountain path with an axe and sword to get here, and only now did it occur to him.
“Hmm… What to do? Hoo~”
Beonald let out a deep sigh, tore into the rabbit meat he had caught on the way and roasted just right, and pondered what to do.
His appearance and skill level might have surpassed that of a 14-year-old, but catching something too flashy would be problematic. As he sat with his arms crossed, lost in thought, he sensed a strange sound coming from somewhere.
“Huh?”