Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: The Duchess Who Eats People: Cherno - 2
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"Would you care to introduce yourself?"
Ho ho ho. Wiping the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, Duchess Cherno struck up a conversation.
"Florian, currently acting as the de facto lord of the Wonder Pentanil fief, and confirmed to be engaged to Ellis."
When I offered no reply, one of her subordinates stepped forward to answer.
Just seeing how terrified the Wonderland members were around her made it clear that Duchess Cherno was no ordinary powerhouse.
Of course, she misjudged the scale of that 'powerhouse,' which is why she ends up executed—but anyway.
Cherno let out another ho ho ho laugh, then rang the bell to order more food. A swarm of servants rushed out at once, encircling me and Cherno in a ring.
"So you're Florian~? Ho ho ho~ You're far younger than I expected. I thought you'd have some real experience since you took down Cheshire Cat's underlings so easily."
Her tone grated on me in a peculiar way, so instead of responding, I pulled out a chair from the table and sat down. As I took a sip of water, Cherno spoke up.
"Who gave you permission to drink? Are you trying to die?"
The duchess's face grew rigid, but I met her gaze without flinching.
"Even if I wanted to die, it doesn't look like I could. Especially not by your hand."
"Hmm~ How does one even tame a brat like you? Ah, yes—I should demonstrate."
The bell she'd rung earlier had been gold, but now she picked up a silver one and shook it.
Ding-a-ling— The clear chime rang out across the garden.
From the distance, one of her subordinates came dragging something on a dog collar.
With a collar around its neck, I figured it might be a pup, but it turned out to be human. Hands and feet bound, eyes blindfolded with a patch.
Seeing a young girl in such a state didn't sit right with me at all.
Cherno addressed me.
"What do you think this is?"
"An innocent little girl."
She looked far too young to be guilty of anything, so this was the most honest answer.
I glanced back and forth at Cherno, the subordinate who'd dragged in the girl, and the ones fencing us in a circle.
Everyone but me and Cheshire Cat had their lips curled in anticipation of something.
Cherno broke the heavy silence.
"Cook it. Right here on the spot."
"Yes, Duchess Cherno."
Cherno's command and her subordinate's response were both lightning-quick. He yanked the leash hard, as if he'd been waiting for this.
With a muffled grunt, the girl collapsed to the ground. As the subordinate moved to stab her nape with his dagger—she offered no resistance whatsoever—
Thwack!
My Wonder Hammer flew from my grip and struck his brow first.
"Guh... Ack!"
His subordinate's final question was simple: 'how.' How could a hammer shoot out like a bullet?
But reality isn't kind enough to answer every little query. The subordinate, struck dead-center in the forehead, crumpled without so much as a last word. That was reality.
Everyone froze as if time itself had halted. In this suspended space, only I swam freely.
I yanked the Wonder Hammer free from his forehead, then pulled another random chair from the table and sat.
"I'm starving right now. What should I eat to fill up? Guess I'll mull that over for a bit."
I dumped one plate onto the floor, then the next one beside it. Both were unmistakably packed with processed human meat.
"Bring out some real food. Pork to stuff my gut works, or dessert to sweeten my mouth. But no human flesh, you fucking old hag."
I'd vented refreshingly, if a tad crudely. The subordinates encircling us narrowed their gap.
They drew their weapons one by one, gearing up to charge—until Cherno tinkled a small bell, calling them off.
"Old hag...? This ingredient's gonna be a tough cut. Everyone, hold."
Even as Cherno spoke, I quietly shifted the captive girl behind my back.
"You keep bringing up human flesh, so you must know something. Who the hell are you?"
"Figure it out with your own eyes."
"Ho ho ho ho, shall I?"
I rose from my chair and strode toward the seat opposite her. The duchess tilted her head ever so slightly.
"...Come to think of it, I don't hear footsteps?"
Her subordinates reacted the same: 'Now that you mention it.' Their heads cocked in unison.
It might look like some wondrous power to them, but to me, it was nothing special.
A lifetime in the shadows had made it second nature—shadows don't make a sound when they walk.
"Cherno. Hand over all your assets right now, and I might let you keep your neck. Thoughts?"
"Hmm..."
Cherno, habitually dabbing her mouth, suddenly flung her handkerchief to the floor.
"Looking at you now, minced meat fits better than a whole roast."
She gripped a red bell next—the most sinister one on the table—and shook it.
"Grind it till the shape's unrecognizable. Nice and fine."
Boom—!
But the instant her words ended, I moved fastest.
I smashed the Wonder Hammer down with full force where she'd been sitting. Only the poor chair shattered.
Cherno had somehow shifted to another seat among the table's many. Yet even after dodging, her face showed no leisure.
"What... what was that?"
"What do you mean, what? Speak plainly. Did chowing down on human flesh rot your brain?"
Cherno rang the red bell once more. She repeated it two, three times—then her eyes bulged wide.
"Why isn't the hypnosis working? This shouldn't be possible!"
"Hypnosis..."
Aha. Then it clicked.
The girl dragged out leashed but resisting not a whit, not even a single scream... I'd already found it suspicious.
"So those three bells were your hypnosis tools."
Crack—!
I swung the Wonder Hammer at Cherno over and over. She kept instant-shifting to other chairs, but repetition left scant few intact.
Hum—
The Restoration Stigma hummed in resonance. It seemed to auto-restore my body with every hypnosis attempt.
Back to my 'true self, untouched by hypnosis.'
At last, only three chairs remained.
"What kind of fake-ass mage are you? What'd you do all those years?"
I smirked and jeered. Cherno was far more despicable than I'd known.
"Fake...?"
"Yeah. No talent for hypnosis magic, so you lean on gimmicks. No talent for teleportation either, so you fake it with chair props."
I jabbed a finger at the long table.
"This whole setup's one big apparatus, isn't it? To make you look like some grand sorceress."
"So what? Winner takes all!"
Cherno snatched a knife, and waves of neutral mana arrows surged my way.
Pew-pew-pew—!
I flipped a massive table for cover and blocked them.
"I'm pretty damn good at shooting myself."
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Blind-fired purely on instinct, peppering the table here and there.
"Wha—what?!"
A panicked voice drifted from across.
Her mana arrows couldn't pierce the table, but my bullets did—small wonder she freaked.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
"Kyaaak! Kyaaaaa!"
I kept firing. When Cherno's shrill scream pierced the air,
I vaulted the table at last and beheld her. She slumped, thigh pierced through.
"S-s-s-spare... me..."
"I'd love to, but my body's not listening. Hypnosis?"
Crack—!
I bashed Cherno's skull with the hammer.
"Guhk! Hek... Uh... Urrgh... Sp...are..."
Again and again, I pulverized her limbs with the hammer.
Crushed the wrist groping for a knife, the ankle twitching to crawl, and finally her head.
The reason I spared the other Elbalom executives was simple.
They had value as cadres. Recruit them, and they bolster my forces while gutting Elfriede Dice's.
"But you're useless."
Cherno, fake mage that she was, offered zilch. Her wealth aside, nothing. So I killed her.
I swept my gaze around.
Everyone stared, breaths held.
Then a cat beastkin silhouette shimmered into view in empty air, and Cheshire Cat materialized.
"Congrats, Boss-nya. What's next-nya?"
"Well... gotta handle the leftovers."
"And after that-nya?"
What next, indeed... I pondered. Finishing Cherno had wrapped up far quicker than expected.
Then the Restoration Stigma crossed my mind.
"Come to think of it, Cheshire, you're a natural at stealth magic."
"Kept me alive this long-nya."
"Figured. Alright, here's the plan."
I nodded.
"Next up, time to fill you with some Restoration Stigma."
"...Nya?"
Cheshire Cat tilted her head.