Chapter 311: Fay, Oh Fay...(3)
Chapter 311: Fay, Oh Fay...(3)
Fay stood before the well-preserved hatchling corpse, her mouth agape as she stammered in disbelief.
Beside her, I tossed an additional pouch of gold.
Thud.
It wasn't a jingle. It was a heavy thud. Only then did Fay snap out of it, startled by a sound far too weighty for a mere purse of gold coins.
"It’s 100,000 gold. I’ll give you the details once I’m back, but we’re starting to run out of time. Use the money to cut down as much time as possible. But like I said before, don’t settle for mediocre compromises."
"So... what you're saying, Junior, is that you'll give me plenty of money, so I should produce the best results as quickly as possible?"
"Exactly. I can give you more if needed, and if necessary, you can use my name and my position as a Duke."
"Eh? A Duke?"
"Ah, come to think of it, it might be a good idea to contact Sir Havel as well. It’ll be much faster to track down rare materials using the name of a Sword Master rather than just waiting for auctions."
"What are you talking about, Junior?! Why is the Empire’s Sword Duke being mentioned here?!"
Fay, who still didn't know we had visited the Levantine Empire, began to look dizzy, her eyes spinning.
"Now that I think about it, I haven't properly told you what’s happened lately."
"R-right. I have a few things to say too. There were some problems while you were away in Solaris, Junior."
It was still lunchtime, so I could visit the Chairman a bit later. For now, I needed to catch up with Fay.
I pointed to the messy piles of debris and said, "Let’s talk while we tidy this up. So, what happened when we arrived in Solaris was..."
*
"And that’s how it went."
"……."
There were still some small things left to do, but I nodded with satisfaction as I looked around the mostly organized workshop.
Fay, however, just stood there with her mouth hanging open, frozen and motionless.
Eventually, Helena, unable to watch any longer, cast a light blessing on her. Fay finally snapped out of it and scurried over, looking up at me.
Her sparkling gaze shot up from right below. The joy she couldn't hide, even behind her shaggy bangs, felt like it was tickling my skin.
"Junior, are you a Duke now?"
"The territory hasn't been settled yet... but for now, that's my rank."
"Wow...! Congratulations, Junior!"
Fay hopped up and down, clapping her hands. Her breasts bounced along with her, drawing my eyes.
Even though they were surely restrained by underwear and clothing, their movement was incredibly free.
"Wait...? But you said you were a Chimera created by that dragon named Fafnir, right?"
"Something like that."
"Then isn't this hatchling corpse your brother?"
"...If it contributes to defeating the Evil God, I'm sure my brothers would be satisfied."
I spoke in a distant, poignant voice as if looking at a far-off mountain, but the only response I got was a look that suggested she was worried about my mental health.
Hey, it would be such a waste to just leave this buried!
Of course, knowing that I’d be the only one looking like trash if I said that out loud, I smoothly changed the subject.
"By the way, Senior Fay, doesn't it bother you that I received the surname Lindelheit?"
The other women had been incessantly showing their envy all the way here, but Fay was just purely congratulating me, so I was a bit curious.
However, the answer I received was something I never could have imagined.
"Huh? But I'm the Duchess, right? So I don't really care what the surname is. Besides, I never really liked the name Yarnshard anyway."
"……?"
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Objects fall from high to low, and once born, life cannot escape death.
Fay spoke as if stating a universal, obvious truth, never doubting for a second that she would be the Duchess.
At her words, everyone except Carla tilted their heads in confusion.
"???"
"……?"
"???"
"……!"
Noticing the reaction around her, Fay jumped and shrieked.
"B-but that's the order of things!"
"Oh? Did you mention an 'order,' Miss Fay?"
Elisha, who also firmly believed she would be the primary wife, stepped forward and spoke.
"If we're talking about order, I recall being with him before you, Miss Fay."
"Eh... but Elisha, you're a slave. I mean, I think you'll be freed later, but..."
"Then isn't that enough?"
"Wouldn't there be gossip if the Duchess was a former slave? I may look like this, but I'm the daughter of a Dwarf Great Chief, you know? In the Empire, that's equivalent to a Ducal Family!"
"If we're going by that, both I and my Master are royal High Elves."
The two of them bickered, puffing out their chests. Watching them, Iona and Helena whispered from behind.
"Hey, hey. From what I see, in Student Yandel's heart, status doesn't matter—Carla is just the best, right? Not that he doesn't cherish us, but... what do you think?"
"I, and the Righteous Light, share the same thought as you, Professor. However."
"However?"
"The Lord said... the order of meeting doesn't matter at all; what's important is whoever gives birth to a child first..."
"...Wow."
Even Iona couldn't help but be impressed by Solari's incredibly wild assertion.
Is this the mindset of a Beast God who has lived since ancient times...?
Thinking about being milked every night after the Evil God is defeated brought tears to my eyes... from the bottom one, of course.
Anyway, even though I knew they were half-joking, it was the first time I'd seen them bicker over such a topic.
Until now, it felt like they were intentionally avoiding the "primary wife" talk for fear of a real fight... I guess they've become that close.
I glanced back to see Carla tilting her head with a peaceful expression.
Yeah, she’s fine. Now, I just have to deal with those two.
With a smirk, I stepped between Elisha and Fay. And then.
Slap!
"Kyaak!"
"Hngh!"
I smacked both of their butts simultaneously and wrapped my arms around their waists.
"W-what are you doing all of a sudden!"
"Right! Classes aren't even over yet, this is troublesome, Junior!"
"It's because you're bickering over useless things. If necessary, I'll make sure I can take multiple wives instead of concubines, so don't worry about that."
"Huh? Can you just do that as you please, Junior?"
"I'll make it happen."
As I and my companions grow stronger, the methods will increase.
"Well... that's all for after we defeat the Evil God, though."
"Ah."
"True..."
The two of them nodded obediently. I continued speaking while kneading their buttocks as if comparing the texture.
"I said earlier that we won't have much time, right? We defeated the monster army in Solaris and removed the spy hidden in the Imperial Family... but there's no way those cultists will just stay quiet after being hit like that."
Their forces have long since recovered to a level where they can challenge the entire continent again.
It's just that their priority isn't conquering the continent but liberating the Evil God, which is why they've been lying low until now.
"Since they can't hide anymore, they'll start moving in earnest, even if it's a bit early. Especially Boiling Silence, who even threatened me, saying he'd send assassins."
"Well, there hasn't been any attack yet."
Elisha shrugged. But for some reason, Fay's reaction was a bit unusual.
Her expression froze as if something was bothering her.
"Senior Fay? What's wrong?"
"That's..."
"Come to think of it, I haven't heard what happened to you while I was gone, Senior Fay. Is it related to that?"
After a moment of hesitation, Fay nodded.
"Yeah. For a few days now, I've been sensing a powerful mana reaction around the workshop. But there wasn't supposed to be anything there."
"...Tell me more."
Fay flinched at my low, sinking voice. Though she stammered slightly, she explained thoroughly.
"D-don't worry too much. Nothing actually happened; that was the end of it. It could have been a simple malfunction, or a temporary phenomenon because the Academy is such a place where mana gets tangled. ...It's just that after hearing your story, Junior, I got worried."
"I don't know. It's hard to believe such a coincidence would happen at this timing."
"Yeah, yeah. I agree with Student Yandel on that point."
Iona, having heard Fay's story, nodded and chimed in.
"From what I can see, I think the Chairman intervened."
"The Chairman?"
Of course, I had told her to watch out for cultists before I left for Solaris when I borrowed the staff.
Could she have been watching over Fay because of that?
"Think about it. Student Fay's workshop is in a corner of the Workshop Street. It's such a remote place that almost no one visits, so what if someone with no apparent connection approached?"
"It would be suspicious."
"Exactly. And the Chairman would have known that the Empire's Consort was a cult leader and that Boiling Silence had threatened Student Yandel."
Rebecca is still publicly regarded as a powerful Archmage and a member of the Hero's party.
Just like when she received news that Solaris was besieged, there are plenty of ways she could have gotten word of the events in the Levantine Empire.
"This entire Academy is the Chairman's domain. Even if the followers of Boiling Silence can hide their identities, they can't escape her detection entirely."
"So she didn't kill them immediately, but she rounded them up first."
"Probably? Actually, something similar happened before. In the early days of the Academy, students got into a fight, and one side hired an assassin to secretly take out the other, but they were caught by the Chairman for the same reason and in the same way."
"……."
The Academy's past was quite brutal.
Anyway, I'm glad Fay is safe. I was planning to see Rebecca anyway, so I can ask her everything then.
"Senior Fay. For now, don't go to your afternoon classes and wait here. I'll talk to the Chairman directly and find a way."
"Okay, I got it. I actually have so much to research now that I didn't want to go to class anyway. But are you going right now?"
"Yes. That's the plan... do you have something to say?"
"That's... well, you see..."
Fay hesitated for a long time, but then she spoke in a serious voice as if she had made up her mind.
"Before you go, could you undergo Dragonification and let me cut off just a bit of your horn?"
"……."
"Ah! If possible, I'll scrape off some claws and scales too!"
"……."
"U-um... I need these so you can control the golem, Junior."
"Is there anything else you need?"
I guess the owner authentication process is unavoidable.